I've been getting into creating custom game assets lately and I'm curious what tools everyone recommends. I've tried Blender and Substance Painter but I'm wondering if there are better options out there for someone just starting with custom game assets creation. What's your workflow like and what software gives you the best results without being too overwhelming for beginners?
For custom game assets, I've found that Blender is actually pretty great once you get past the learning curve. The thing is, it's free and has an amazing community. I started with Maya but switched to Blender because of the cost. Substance Painter is definitely industry standard for texturing though. If you're just starting out, maybe try Blender with something simpler like Quixel Mixer for texturing? It's more beginner friendly than Substance.
Honestly it really depends on what kind of custom game assets you want to make. For 3D models, Blender is the way to go since it's free and powerful. For 2D assets, I'd recommend Aseprite for pixel art or Krita for more general digital painting. The key is to not get overwhelmed by all the options - pick one tool and stick with it until you're comfortable. I wasted months jumping between different software before I finally settled on a workflow.
I've been creating custom game assets for about 5 years now and my workflow is Blender for modeling, Substance Painter for texturing, and then I use Marmoset Toolbag for presentation renders. But honestly, if you're just starting out, I'd skip Substance Painter for now - it's expensive and has a steep learning curve. Try Blender's built-in texture painting tools first, or even something free like Materialize for generating basic textures from photos.
Don't forget about the importance of good UV unwrapping tools when creating custom game assets. I've seen so many beginners create amazing models but then ruin them with terrible UV maps. Blender's UV tools have gotten really good in recent versions. Also, if you're planning to make assets for specific games, check what formats they support - some older games have really specific requirements that can limit your software choices.
I mostly work on mobile game assets so my perspective might be different, but for custom game assets that need to be optimized for performance, I use a combination of Blender for modeling and then Photoshop for texture work. The poly count and texture resolution requirements for mobile are much stricter than for PC games. Also, consider learning about normal maps and baking - you can make low-poly models look amazing with good baking techniques.