Learning ZBrush (Continued)

Back in August/September I applied to Travellers tales. I got asked to do an art test for them which involved a rock wall, a pillar a tree and some grass. I was fairly unhappy with the results, which was the main reason I began to learn zbrush, to really push my art to the next level. The lead artist who reviewed my test gave some great feedback which I have now taken on board with everything I now create.

Here is the rock wall I created for the art test:

Although it's not terrible, looking back at it I can completely understand why I didn't get the job. It would maybe fit in a mobile game but in a large AAA game, it would look really bad.


Now, after having practised with ZBrush for 2 months I wanted to go back and recreate the wall with Travellers tales advice in mind. Here is the result:

The difference is night and day. There's so much definition on the rocks, it actually has shape and the texture it miles better. This is the best example to show my progress over the last few months and I am extremely pleased with it. I am excited to see my progress in the future and I will share as much of it as I can on this blog.

If you want to view the wall in 3D: https://sketchfab.com/models/f2c240e982ff4f26b1f8d37ff09afa5d

Learning ZBrush

I recently applied for quite a few jobs within the Games Industry. In order to better my chances I had to really update my portfolio.

So one of the main things I did was to learn how to use ZBrush. Here is some of my progress using ZBrush over the last 2 months:

This is the first finished model I ever made in ZBrush. It is supposed to be a pavement curb. At the time I was quite happy with the result and was excited to really start learning the program.

To view in 3D: https://sketchfab.com/models/97bc41714e8742dbaad239e34ea024a6


A few days later I created the actual slabs for the pavement:

I feel as though this is a definite improvement. The texture has more detail in it and the surface has more shape, whereas the curb was pretty much flat on the top.

To view in 3D: https://sketchfab.com/models/5b86bbeda5d3492ebbed6a73f49aa935


Around a week After that I created A boulder:

I was very happy with the results of this one. The texture has much more detail than my older models and there are very few seams.
To improve I would go for a much more interesting shape, right now it's just round which is not what most rocks look like.

To view in 3D: https://sketchfab.com/models/7ab928b92aac4e9bbb5ee652be56c122



After a few weeks of practising for my next model I really wanted to challenge myself. I decided to try and sculpt a log with bark on it. Here is the result:

I am extremely pleased with the final result. The difference a few weeks of practice can make is massive.
Again, I feel as though I could improve the shape, have some branches/leaves. But overall I am happy with the model.

To view in 3D: https://sketchfab.com/models/40e4f5ac160b4d77b6066e5e65dcb147



For the next model I again, tried to make a dying tree. My main goal was to improve on the last model and to have more definition, branches and a more interesting shape:

I think I definitely achieved that. I went for more of a fantasy style tree, with the roots twisting around the bark.
To improve I would add more branches onto the top section as it is just kind of flat at the moment. And maybe bake an ambient occlusion map to really bring out the cracks in the bark.


Next I wanted to go back to rocks. For our game project we require some desert rocks, so I wanted to get some practise in.

Compared to the old rocks I made, this is a gigantic improvement. There is much more definition in the surface, the overall shape is interesting and the texture is much nicer. I think I may actually use it in the game we are creating.

Texturing (continued)

I put all of the models i created into the blockout of the Reception area and applied my Marble texture to the floor.

I also created a wall texture using the same process of the Marble.


Here I have added some basic lighting, reflections, movement in the fans and added some colourful neon lights to the vending machines. (Lighting for this room is nowhere near complete, which is why some parts are extremely dark.)

So far I am extremely happy with the progress we are making. Once all the models are textured and the scene has proper lighting I think it will be quite a nice scene.

I then created a Dirt Alpha texture to place around the scene to break up any repetitive parts and to add some age and depth to the scene.

In Unreal I used this to create a Defferred Decal material.

The material is very simple, just using a few multiplies to change the opacity and roughness to match the scene.

Here is the Decal used within the scene:

Without:

With:

This decal is good because it can be placed on any surface to make it look dirty/grungy. And will be reusable.

Texturing

I decided a good place to start would be to create a tileable floor texture for the reception. As it's quite a nice stylish place I created a seamless marble texture:

To create this I started in substance Painter. I started with a base concrete layer and overlayed it with a glossy material. And with the painting tools I painted in scratches, chips and dirt. Then from Substance Painter I exported the Diffuse, Roughness and Metalness maps.

In Photoshop I edited the maps to make sure that they tile correctly and then created a normal map using NDO.

Here is the Diffuse tiles 4 time in Maya:

I think the seams are very hard to spot and am quite happy with the result.


Here are all the maps put together in UE4 with some very basic lighting. I think it will be much more impressive once the room is complete as there will be reflections in the marble. And with proper lighting the roughness/metalness/normal maps will really show.

Blocking out the first level

We decided that we would start by creating the factory ground floor. The first step was to create the layout of the level and to block it out in UE4.

Our level designer Bleu, made some basic level layouts for us to work with. Here is the level layout for the factory ground floor:

After we were all happy with it, he made a blockout to scale in UE4.

The first room I decided to work on was the reception/Lobby area. We wanted it to be quite nice in comparison to the rest of the factory but still have an abandoned feeling.

The first thing i did was create some models for this rooms. I created some seats, vending machines, bins, floors/walls and some wall fans, just to start filling up the level.

The seats/Benches:

Vending Machine:

Corner Pillar:

Fan Blades:

Wall Vent:

Wall Piece:

Door Frame:

Looking for inspiration

After deciding our game idea, as an environment artist my job was to find inspiration for what the world will look like. I created a Pinterest board that we could all post to and share our ideas.

We had already decided that it would be set on a Planet similar to Mars. So we started with that in mind. We found all sorts of reference images both from real life and concepts. Here are a few examples of reference images we found for the Planet/factory, to give you an idea of the direction we are taking.

And here are some examples of inside the factory. I thought it would make sense that the factory is mining some kind of mineral or smelting materials so there will be a lot of molten pools and robotic machinery.

But at the same time, parts of the building such as the reception and the offices will be quite nice and stylish, as that's the part that public visitors will see.

working on a New Project

It's been a while since i've posted to this blog. I decided it's a really good time to start using it again as I have recently started working on a project with some friends from University, and I'd love to keep a diary of the development process.

After a month or two of Skype meetings we came up with the basic ideas, mechanics and setting of the game. At the moment we are calling the game "Silent Planet". So the basic idea so far is:

You are playing as a small Robot who crash lands on a planet. The planet is sandy/dusty and is very reminiscent of Mars. He has no way of repairing his ship so he explores the area and eventually comes across a massive factory. Once inside, you realise there is nobody there, the whole place seems to be on its backup power generator and it just feels abandoned. Once you turn the power on suddenly you will start seeing soundwaves emitting from the loud machinery. And then you realise your footsteps are also making them.

The main mechanic of the game is that all sounds you make emit a sound wave. All of the enemies in the game are invisible and are revealed whenever a sound wave passes over them. We are hoping to have physics based puzzles which will make some interesting interactions with the soundwaves (accidently knocking boxes over, throwing something too far) and revealing nearby enemies. There are no ways of damaging the enemies (At the moment) and you must run away and keep quiet in order to lose them. Once they are invisible they lose all aggression. And the game is all about you trying to find tools/ship parts in order to escape the Planet.