Conversations about polygons and pixels
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Recent episodes
Optimizing meshes for mobile platforms
Vivienne Ashford discusses polygon budgets and why counting triangles still matters in 2024. She explains retopology decisions that separate functional assets from unusable ones.
UV unwrapping without the frustration
Kenji Tamura walks through his approach to seam placement and texel density. He covers automated tools versus manual work and when each method produces better results.
Substance Designer versus hand-painted textures
Isabel Devereux compares procedural workflows with traditional techniques. She shares which approach serves different project types and how combining both creates flexibility.
Rigging basics for character modelers
Rolf Bergström explains joint placement and weight painting essentials that modelers should understand. He demonstrates how topology affects deformation quality.
Hard surface modeling for weapons
Anara Kozlova shares her process for creating believable mechanical details. She discusses reference gathering and how small design decisions affect perceived realism.
Normal map baking without artifacts
Dmitri Volkov addresses cage distance settings and ray projection problems that cause seams. He provides solutions for common baking issues that waste production time.
Why listen to another modeling podcast
Most tutorials focus on button sequences without explaining the reasoning behind topology decisions. This podcast exists because experienced modelers rarely document their thought process when solving edge flow problems or choosing between Boolean operations and manual modeling. Each conversation reveals decision-making patterns that textbooks overlook.
Guests bring diverse specializations—environment artists who optimize vegetation for open worlds, character modelers who handle facial topology for animation, technical artists who write tools for pipeline automation. They discuss real constraints like memory budgets, shader limitations, and delivery deadlines rather than idealized workflows.
Average episode length
48 min
Downloads per month
2,847
Episodes published
18
Who produces these episodes
Laurent Becquerel
Host and editor
Worked as environment artist on four shipped titles before starting this podcast in 2015. He handles recording, guest coordination, and post-production editing that keeps conversations focused on practical information.
Siobhan McTavish
Technical advisor
Develops tools for asset pipelines and ensures technical accuracy in discussions about rendering engines and optimization techniques. She suggests topics based on recurring questions from junior modelers.
Tomas Lindqvist
Guest coordinator
Maintains relationships with studios and freelancers who contribute their expertise. He identifies specialists whose experience fills knowledge gaps and schedules recording sessions around production cycles.