How to BAKE BEVELS for game asset models

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#1

Hey guys I am new to game asset modelling! I predominantly make hard surface models how do you go about baking bevels?

  1. at a low Polly stage do I physically add them? Via bevel modifier.

  2. at the high Polly stage do I add them? Even though because of the supporting loops it’s hard as they intersect and break geo

  3. or add no bevel at all since the high Polly has smooth edges?

I honestly am not able to find a straightforward answer, or the right workflow! If someone would explain the right way and if there is a course or video a link to it would be great :pray:t3:

#2

I would say that it depends on how low poly you need to go. When I first started researching this I expected to have more or less the same quality on the low poly as the high poly, but that is often hard to achieve.

So make sure that you have realistic expectations.

From there, use the bevel modifier with the limit method set to weight and mark your edge bevel weight from the edge menu with the “edge bevel weight”. This way you don’t have to deal with the extra geo in edit mode and you have complete control of where they go.

For the low poly you may have to add a low poly bevel as well or the angle difference between the high and low poly may be too great for a decent result. It depends on your poly budget for the object.

Also, how close to the camera will the object be? Maybe work with LOD and have like 3 levels if you have very high expectations. The lowest poly LOD could probably be fine without bevels at all since it will be viewed from a further distance.

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