Restitched: Dev Diary | Cosmetic Creation (Patreon)

Welcome to another Developer Diary! In this article, we'll be giving you an in-depth look into the creation process behind Stuffy's expansive wardrobe!

Stuffy's customization options are a major pillar of Restitched. We know how important it is for users to create a character and express themselves in-game - especially in such a creative and community-based game like ours! That's why we're so glad to be sharing this process with you, and exclusively revealing more of Stuffy's collection.

The Concept Phase

To begin the process, our talented team of 2D artists begin sketching out any ideas that they may have. We encourage our artists to go all-out for these - nothing is ever off the table!

Below you can see some of the very first outfit concepts for our plush pal!

We have loads of these great outfit concepts for us to reference at any time, featuring dozens upon dozens of potential outfits.

Concept sheets are often tailored to our story themes (where assets, backgrounds, levels, and more will all revolve around a certain aesthetic), as seen below:

Though they can also be a collection of random ideas by one of our artists:

It's worth pointing out that not every concept shown here will make its way into the final product. We are extremely ambitious when it comes to the expansive nature of Stuffy's collection though, and there will be tonnes of cosmetics to choose from!

3D Modeling Phase

The next step is a big one. It involves turning the concept into reality, as a 3D Artist translates the look and feel of the 2D concept art into tangible 3D meshes.

When modeling a cosmetic item or costume for Stuffy, the modeler will always start by building upon Stuffy's base mesh. This ensures the correct scale, positioning, and style. Since pieces in Restitched can be mix-and-matched at the player's discretion, the possibility of clipping with other cosmetics must be taken into account. In general, most items within a category (shirts, pants, etc.) are kept at a certain length and height to prevent clipping.

Here's a little insight into the modeling process of the original Posh Bee costume, from June 2020:

Adjusting For New Stuffy

After Stuffy's redesign (Dev Diary - 'Restitching Stuffy'), all cosmetics that had been made up to that point had to be adapted to fit the new Stuffy model.

Below is an image displaying how an outfit designed for the original Stuffy model looked when loaded onto the new Stuffy model, displaying just how much work needed to be done on those original outfits.

Luckily for us, this wasn't always a difficult process of adjustment, as it was mostly a matter of scaling and readjusting vertices. A before and after of the finalized Wolf and Bunny costumes are displayed below:

Additionally, here is an insight into the creation process of the Cowboy outfit. The first image is taken from the initial building of the cosmetics on the original Stuffy mesh, and displays the original concept artwork. The second image is how the outfit looks now on the current Stuffy model.

Compatibility and Implementation

As mentioned earlier, there can sometimes be issues when translating 2D concepts into a 3D space. While we do have special developer tools for importing and working with Stamps, Materials, and Props; we do not currently have a Cosmetics tool. As a result, cosmetics can be a bit more tedious and tricky to get working properly.

Usually, one of our developers who is familiar with both the technical and artistic sides of the game will import the wardrobe items manually. This is so that they can ensure everything is functioning correctly and displaying as intended.

Polishing Phase

Putting the finishing touches on in-game items is usually a goal for the end of development. Sometimes, however, this process is required earlier: in order to bring items to a presentable state for promotional media, etc. During this process, the original concept artist may request changes in order to keep true to the initial concept.

Here, a concept for a Sock Monkey costume has been annotated for the 3D Artist to bring the outfit to a more polished state.

Following this feedback, adjustments are made and the final product is then imported into the engine to be usable in-game! An interesting thing about the dress on this outfit is that it will morph Stuffy's waist inwards for a more tailored fit, showing just how dynamic cosmetic pieces may be!

Finished Product

Below are four great examples of previously-unreleased costumes being translated from concept to costume!

Future Plans

In our development roadmap, we have plans to make cosmetics more lively. This includes revising items with more details in the meshes and textures, improving their weight painting on Stuffy for more natural movement, and adding cloth physics. Another big thing we're excited to experiment with is the addition of jiggle bones within the cosmetics themselves - allowing Stuffy's outfits to bounce around with movement physics!

This Dev Diary merely scratches the surface when it comes to Stuffy's accessories, and we can't wait to reveal more to you in the future!