In this article i would like to show in summary how it is possible to create high-quality 3D graphics in a very short time.

We use automation for the respective parts of the work. Of course a little manual work and a lot of know-how is still necessary.

i took our main character the cultist as an example.

It starts with scuplting the characters. @toxicon use the program Zbrush for this. It took him about 3 hours to finish the high-poly mesh.

then I also used Zbrush to automatically create the low-poly mesh. Zbrush offers many different possibilities. I used the additional plugin: "SoMuchZbrush".

It's not perfect and of course you could make it much lower in the number of polygons, but for the fast one it was enough.

then I used the program RizomUV to automatically create a UV map. (You can tell I'm a nerd by the fact that I spend all my money on software I find cool)

then I used Substance Painter to transfer the high details via various maps (normal, AO etc.) to the low poly mesh and then textured the model in PBR.

then I used the auto-rigger on mixamo.com to rig the character. Then I used Maya to improve the skinning and animate the character. That was it. And in the end the effort for the little male was maybe even a bit too much.

here you can see for yourself:

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/cthulhu-the-cult-must-survive

thanks and if you have any questions, you're always welcome.