How many texture materials is a good idea on one character? (for performance, etc)

[billy7777]

I am sure this has been discussed before but I want to make absolutely sure since my artist is asking how many materials and what size before performance starts taking a hit?

Can he use 2 separate 2048x2048 materials on one character model without causing an performance slowdown due to an extra drawcall?

can he use 3? one for face, one for body, one for coat?

Or is it best to only use 1 material per character model?

Thanks
Bill

[JessieG]

I think 3 may be unnecessary for a character. If I remember correctly most people use 2 1024 maps roughly. But if you need more detail, go for it but try not to use all 2048 maps. That seems a bit excessive. If you optimize your maps well your performance may not take a bad hit with 3 materials. All you can do is try out different options and see which works best.

[Quackles]

Performance won't take a hit just from those draw calls. But if you are hitting a performance issue once everything is coming together that could be an area for optimizing. If it is possible use 1 texture sheet and material to reduce your draw call usage. However, if you need to have different characters share parts of a mesh, like a helmet or boots, then you have to seperate those onto their own sheet.

As for texture size you need to match it to whatever platform you are targeting. 1 set of 2048s is perfectly fine for current PC's. 2+ you can get away with depending on the scene or scope of the game.

Nick Quackenbush
Lead 3D Artist - Interceptor Entertainment