Sci-fi Garage Update - July 27th

I've been making steady progress on my Sci-fi Garage scene this week. Here's a run-down of what I've done in the 3 days since my last update:

• I have done a lot of work on the APC's materials including adding various markings, more details, refining base materials etc.
• I've also done a lot of lighting work on the scene such as trying to get the skylight and directional light right, aswell as refining emissives and additional lights such as the vehicle lights.
• Done a lot of post-processing and general improvements to the visual quality, such as increasing/refining the details of indirect shadows to elimate seams on the modular assets. Also started to experiment with different post-processing effects such as darkening shadows, boosting highlights and midtones etc.
• Added a smoke particle effect to the scene to give the whole scene a subtle hazy/dusty appearance.
• Added some placeholder clutter to the scene to help me begin to visualise placement of props.

 Here's how the scene is looking now. I'm really happy with how its going and I think the APC texture is very near completion. I will be starting on the props soon.

 

 

Sci-fi Garage Update - July 24th

Time for another Sci-fi garage update! Over the last few weeks since my last update, I've been working on the final touches on the all-important APC model, and I have now started on the textures in Substance Painter. The APC is now starting to reach a point where its nearly completed. The final APC model is made up of 10 different elements, each with their own UV maps which will have mostly 2K textures except for the outer body and interior which are going to have 4K textures for maximum visual quality. The total poly count is about 27,000. The APC is the central focal point of the garage environment, so by making lots of separate elements, using high-res textures and a relatively high poly count, it will hopefully look as high-quality as possible.

I'm going for a "guerrilla warfare" kind of vibe to the model, with colourful paint splatters, flags and signs of wear and combat. I'm also probably going to add some graphics and graffiti-style markings. These details will allow me to create a subtle narrative to the vehicle and the world in which it exists. I'm also using emissive textures for a lot of stuff. This model is probably my most ambitous one yet, and it has taken a long time to create due to the level of detail and quality that I am trying to achieve.

The APC model is now nearing completion and soon I'll be able to get to work on the things that I still need to for this environment - specifically, props, particle effects, post-processing work, cinematics and presentation video and so on. The APC has taken a bit longer than expected, but I'm confident that I can create the rest of the scene quickly enough to get it finished to a high standard come October.

I've also edited some of the lighting and post-processing settings in the scene and started to add particle effects. Here's how its all looking now.

 

 

 

Sci-fi Garage Update - June 14th

Time for another Sci-fi garage environment update! Since my last post, I've used Substance Painter to create PBR materials for the majority of the modular assets. Everything but the top ceiling, stairs and metal supports are now textured. The textures are all tiling to minimise seams where the modular pieces meet. I've also changed the stairs model so that it has proper rounded handrails instead of the original blocky handrail.

At the moment it doesn't look particularly "sci-fi". I'm going with the idea that the scene is set in the quite-near future (mid 21st century), in a garage/workshop building that could exist in modern times, and the sci-fi elements will come from the props and lighting and the vehicle that will act as the focal point of the scene. This will allow me to present contrasting visual styles of the aged garage that is in disrepair, but populated by post-modern props for an interesting overall aesthetic.

Walther P38 3D Model - Maya and Substance Painter

I recently decided to create a gun 3D model in order to develop my Maya and Substance skills and my 3D asset creation pipeline. Having recently created an Artstation portfolio and Sketchfab account, I wanted to create a high quality 3D model that I could post to these sites. It's been a while since I made a weapon so I decided to create a WW2 German Walther P38 pistol. I started working on it last Friday and finished it yesterday. This has probably been my most demanding Substance Painter work yet. Here's some pictures and a Sketchfab of the finished product:

Walther P38 by TheoClarke on Sketchfab

"Meet MAT: The 2017 Substance 3D painting contest"

This week, I have entered a Substance Painter 3D painting contest held by Allegorithmic. The contest involved creating a material for Allegorithmic's new mascot, MAT:

"For this contest the task is simple: nothing to model, no UV to unwrap – MAT is already fully modeled and is waiting to come to life with your brushstrokes! Just take your (digital) paintbrush, download the MAT model and start doodling away. "

I decided to enter the contest to put my Substance Painter skills to the test and also to develop my skills further. Having submitted my practical work last Friday, I was looking for something to do before getting started on next semester's work, so the contest came along at just the right time! I realised that there was a lot of people entering and talking about the contest online, so I figured it was an opportunity to get my art out there in the public eye.

Here's the untextured model provided by Allegorithmic:

I took one look at the model and thought that it looked a lot like a speaker, so I decided to base my entry on the iconic Marshall amplifier. My entry took about 10 hours to make. While taking part in this contest, I created accounts on Artstation and Sketchfab - this is something I had been meaning to do for a while and will help me to get my artwork out there in the future.

Here's my finished entry!

and here is the Sketchfab model (my first ever!)

Meet MAT - Amplifier by TheoClarke on Sketchfab

Stone Circle Level Progress - 27th April - Stones & Trees

Here's just a quick blog post to show some pictures of my recent 3D models that I've made for my stone circle scene: the 3 sacred trees and the stone circle stones themselves. These models are very important because they are central to the scene and act as unique focal points or "hero models" as I believe they are referred to in the industry.

In creating these models over the last couple of weeks, I've really started to refine and develop my  asset creation workflow. Only a 2-3 months ago, I was still hand-painting my textures, barely using Mudbox and I had no experience at all in Substance Painter - now my workflow is much more up-to-date and involves modelling low-polys in Maya, using Mudbox to sculpt and create high polys, then using Substance Painter to create PBR materials - and I'm really happy with the results!

The stones include the two larger, main stones that act is the entrance to the stone circle, and three smaller stones that make up the other 11 stones for a total of 13 stones in the circle (I didn't think it was a particularly wise use of my time to do 13 unique stones). Pictures of the finished stone circle in the scene will come soon. The two main stones feature Celtic circle rock carvings.

And here are the three sacred trees!

L to R: Ash tree, Oak tree, Hawthorn tree.

Ash tree.

Oak tree.

Hawthorn tree.