The Valve blog has updated with a recent post detailing the typical hat-creation process. The spotlight is cast on an old Halloween mask, and we're walked through just about everything–from the the inspiration behind the mask, to its evolution mid-creation, to the testing done after a model is made. You can check out the post in full here.
I for one, had no idea that the hat took it's initial cues from the image on a TF2 noisemaker, and it's neat to see an early iteration of the hat, too. Take a look:
Included in this piquant post is a brief announcement of an upcoming TF2 development: an incoming improved submission process. Said improvement will "make it easier for community creators to test, share and track the status of their creations. The new system will allow the entire TF community to participate by browsing, rating and giving feedback on all submitted items." No time frame or indication of when we can expect the finished development is given, but it's something that the Valve blog will keep us updated on.
