Today was cleaning up the GSLib example code to remove the bits I didn’t need and to make the camera handling and sprite drawing more streamlined. Also added the background asset generation for GSLib as part of the build process.
But the big thing was experimenting with Blender to make pre-rendered isometric (actually dimetric) sprites. It’s been a while since I’ve used Blender and I have to admit I’ve never really liked using it. But hey, it’s free. I downloaded the latest version and setup a basic orthogonal camera and messed with its settings until the rendered shapes fit the tileset I drew.
I first rendered a cube and then a rectangular prism. The top of the rendered shapes fit the background tiles perfectly but the bottom didn’t, which was annoying.
But it was good enough. I figure I’ll have to manually fix things anyway. As long as I get a guideline.
The next step was to get an actual 3d model of something. I am not a 3D artist so I got nice nice rally car from SketchFab.
I rendered it in my test scene and got a reminder that I’m not a lighting artist either.
The colors came out super flat and it wasn’t any better when I imported it into a Graphics Gale imagine using the Sega Master System palette.
Yeah, I don’t think this is gonna work. I want vibrant colors and sharp lines. Pre-rendered graphics are too muddy and will require too much work from me. But maybe I be able to use it as a guide to draw overtop.
Experimentation continues!
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