After a very informative conversation with a codemasters artist, I learned that the most reliable way into the industry, is environment modelling. From whole maps, to awesome props, its all important, and all goes down well on a CV.
SO, in reply to this, I think it would be prudent to act upon what I've been told, and improve my environment work. And so, I've started with trees, as these are in my opinion, the staple to any environment.
I've spent most of the afternoon running around in Call of Duty, on my own, gawping at the trees and other environment objects, and I've documented some of my findings in the picture below:
As you can see, I've identified three texture maps on the tree (though I suspect there are two different leaf maps, which would bring it to a total of four maps.).
I've also noticed that there are a lot more branches than I usually use, this is a fault on my part, not a more efficient technique. I've also noticed that the artists really know their trees! The placement of the branches and leaves reflect this, the leaves being at the end of the branches, in clusters, and not in the centre of the tree (where there would be no light).
Finally, I noticed the way the artists very rarely used any planes at right angles to the x and y. Almost all leaf clusters are actually two planes at 45 Degrees to the X axis. This means that you cannot 'see though' the planes from the sides.
I've learned a lot from my solo cod game, and will make sure to employ these lessons in a tree project that I am setting myself.
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