A Model President

Remember Jordan, A.K.A. Harris the Wannabe Hulk? He’s the game designer and 3D modeler working with instructor Erica as part of Game-U’s New Jersey Accelerate program. Jordan’s always looking for ways to share his skills with others, so it’s no surprise that his latest project – a 3D model – is meant to benefit the game design community at large.

The country’s recent celebration of Presidents’ Day inspired Jordan to create a 3D model of George Washington’s head, using Sculptris, the modeling software. After looking up references images online, Jordan began with the ball of digital “clay” that serves as the foundation for all Sculptris projects. Stretching and pressing the clay to match the shape shown in the reference image produced the – albeit colorless – model of George Washington’s head, ready for texturing. Jordan next added “paint” to the model’s surface to give the president his skin tone, hair, eye color, and more. When Jordan imported the model into Unity for a test drive, however, he and Erica discovered a problem! The model showed too many holes to be usable. Jordan went back to the Sculptris project, realized it had over 30,000 polygons in its makeup, and pulled out the reduce brush to bring that number down to 5,000, which makes the model suitable for a game. As Jordan redid his textures, he made further improvements in Washington’s skin tone, creating a more realistic look for America’s first president. The final step? Publishing! Jordan uploaded his model to itch.io, the indie gaming site, where it’s now for sale for $1. Jordan’s model comes textured and untextured, ready for use in Unity, and can be a marble bust, a game prop, or even a character. Go wild, game designers!

Excellent work, Jordan! You’re a fabulous student and an imaginative entrepreneur. Game-U’s proud to help you bring your skills into the market! We need more designers and modelers like you in the gaming industry. Let us know what project you’re tackling next!