Pelts Galore

So a few days past and time to blog again. I've been doing a lot of unwrapping and texturing and i have lots more to do but it's a good start. So I've got the base textures for the factory component, I just need to add the details to it and again these don't have to be amazing as they are behind glass but they still have to be textured half decently.

I got some pelts on the go, this will really help break up the floor tiles and add a bit of life to the taxidermist. 

I textured the deer table and made a fur coat which is unwrapped and i'm testing a few fur textures on now. gonna texture the bear rug white like a polar bear to add a little bit of different than just the brown bear. you can also see the heads at the side there, I'm making my way through texturing them to add that little more variation to the level. 

I made the Les Deux Garcon four deers stuck together, this is unwrapped and ready for texturing. The shark is almost done need to try get my Ndo working again for the textures to pop a bit. I've started texturing on the lamp, lamb crow and fox as well so getting through that.

Going a while back to this cabinet but finally unwrapped it and slapped on a wood tileable, I was gonna do the wood mahogany but when I put it in level i didn't like it, it seems to stick out way too much an take your eye away from the key assets. I can change all this at a later date if I think mahogany will work better but at this point I think i'll stick with this pine type wood.

So this is where the level sits at the minute, the fog is a different colour i pelt rugged the floor up, proper pimping now. Adding in new asset and tomorrow i'll get back onto texturing all the stuff i need to do. None the less it is coming together if I keep the pace up I should be fine. Have to focus on the outside a little more as well and make it all pretty as I plan to have a presentation shot of that as well.

I love when 3ds Max Crashes

Gonna try and update more regularly again, it does help me keep track on what to do. So I've been working on some of the mechanical things for the behind the glass details. So this stuff will be moving and giving the illusion of awesome stuff happening.

Went back to the vertex painting again and added a plaster texture to the walls to help break up areas.

Also made some quick trees for the outside area and a pathway for the character to walk down. Also made a quick lamp post as well for the outside to help light up the area.

here are some of the mechanical parts in max, so there's like a steamer, pelt press, moving arm transporter...just the weirdest assortment of stuff but it will look cool when it's done. Although might need to turn the opacity down on the glass a little bit so you can see a little bit more of the assets.

Deer City & Level Progression

It's been a while since I uploaded a blog, mostly because of Easter break and productivity being a bit all over the place so time for major update on what I've been doing. I have a ton to do still and its time to knuckle down and really bring the whole project together.

 These are the modulated antler horns for the generic deer heads on the wall. This is something I've wanted to do because I have so many unique stuff that I can't spam them around the level because it would be too obvious so I needed something to help me break up wall spaces.

I'm also about halfway done with the Pim Palsgraaf sculpt, it's taking a while because I'm basically modelling a city on the back of this deer and so this is where things can start eating into time. But when it's done it will look awesomesauce so I can't complain.

I was feeling stuck over the easter and with not much work being done I decided to do a paintover to try give myself a better idea of where the level is going and to make it feel less empty which i was getting annoyed at.

 I won't have time to fully do the factory but i can give the illusion it is working with things like gears, rolling machines and the assembly line working away behind the closed doors. You will be able to see behind the glass a little bit and hopefully it will look really awesome and be kismeted and be cool.

You think I would have done enough fur but i want to do more, i want a big fur coat at the front entrance and a pelt to break up the repetition, it just helps make it feel more like home. I also want particle FX in teh light shafts to make them more realistic

As you can see I have a long way to go but with a better idea of what i'm doing again I will pick up the slack and get it finished to a high standard. I love this project and I will really work on the lighting to give it an awesome atmosphere, hopefully very reminiscent of Bioshock infinite.

Also here are some of my sculpts, just trying out rendering and stuff for portfolio, I'll keep experimenting and learning about this whole presentation business.

Bioshock Infinite Reference

So for my birthday I bought Bioshock Infinite and it was worth it, the environments are so stunning and with a lot more inspiration than I expected to get with a lot of factory stuff and even a small taxidermy scene. The colour palette in this game is just awesome and I love their use of fog. Here are some screenshots of the game;

Assessment Time Again

I don't update as much as I use to which is annoying. Need to speed up a bit...well a lot, find myself getting distracted so need to knuckle down.

Transparency I love you when you work, it just takes effort is all.

Factory needs to look like a factory and I'm slowly piecing together, looking at it and coming back adding more things and i'll keep doing this. But I am getting cautious about the time so this is why I should blog post more often. 

 

Inside panels diffuse done, as stated make them lighter and stuff and I feel like there's gonna be a problem making the factory stuff fit with the taxidermy stuff. I think i'll have to add in some pelts here and there and more mechanical parts in the taxidermy showcase area.

Awesome taxidermy stuff but I need to reel these out, more and more animals and it will be cool.

More has to be outside so need to keep adding more elements to make it all come together.

So blog, how are you, I know I know, I need to work more I get it. But I'm gonna crit myself better than just  "I need to do more". So Texturing needs more work, need to get the vertex paining on the building started, the building inside need a floor and that will help make it instantly better. Also if I can produce and animal every 3 or 4 days with building stuff as well (pipes, vents, trees...etc.) You can get through a lot then and hopefully the building will get done quickly so you can do more animals.

Right so assessment tomorrow and I know what to do I just need to do it :D

Presentation update

Update, what is update? So I've not updated in a while and I kinda feel guilty, I like to keep an eye on my own progress with updates but I have been lacking in both doing the work and doing the blogs. But anywho I'm updating now and I'll get a lot done next week with half term and not being in the country wasn't great but I'll deal with it.

I started work on the Zbrush sculpt and refined the shape a bit better than the max scene. Still a bit to do on it but its getting there. For all my animals I am normal mapping the eyes and such. Big focus on the silhouette  everything else can be textured on. This is an awesome sculpt because I wont need to plaster it in fur, hopefully i can make it really glossy and awesome. 

More stuff modelled unwrapped, at the minute I think I have 60 + assets...and yeah before you say it. I know I'm going to texture them, that will be next week, to capture up on my texturing that I love so much.

I tried out a few designs for a large tank for the shark but I'm not really liking it. I dunno I feel its a little...shit so I think I want to hang it on the walkway which will be more interesting. If this is the case then I will make the shark more limb, hung from a chain...some shark bling.

I'll go into this with the glass jars below but with UDK it hate transparancy and so I need to export all things that are transparent as a different asset. It means I have to then build it all in UDK which is a pain but I get better results and ultimately less hassle. So this is structure of the inside, so you can see the factory part from the showroom floor, creating a nice juxtaposition.

Modular pieces for the walkway, took a bit of tweaking and reimporting but I was able to adjust it into place.

Finally started to texture the pipes, so as I stated that will be next week, catching up on all that.

Okay so you see with the glass jars, the way they have to be made is really weird, for such a small area of my inside it still is 22 assets because the water needs a separate shader, the glass needs a shader and the animals have to fit inside all these jars. So I've started texturing the animals as well, I need to make a choice of keeping them only in the jars or if I'm going to reuse them somewhere else. This will affect the specular and texture size for these small assets.

Still lots to do but it's coming along nicely, gotta pick up the pace, focus on an area and finish it :)

Taxidermy or Taxi-no-worky?

Slow week due to being a moron but here's an update on what I've been doing. Updated the texture on the buffalo, looks better now and less dark which is always a good thing. Need to fix those seems though. Been doing a few tests with the sheep chair, the annoying thing is my Zbrush sculpt is now too stylized, so I'm going to do a detail normal map and maybe try and use that as my base and use my sculpt to overlay slighty to see if that works better.

Been Zbrushing my little deer, I love deer they are just too cute. And again being super emotive with my sculpts this one looks sad. I will make you feel for these poor animals.

This bluryness of mess is an update on the modular parts, new parts have been added as I make the scene in UDK. I find it's easier for me to trial and error things and learn from my mistakes. 

Started work on the inside as well, I think I'm going to work on the taxidermy showroom and outside building and make them polished and if I have time do the factory part. I really want to so I'm going have to beast myself. But I think its good to try and finish off these areas to a good standard and work my way down the level.

And finally contemplating night time because I'm a sucker for cool lighting :D

So yeah it doesn't seem too bad when I put it all in a blog post but I know myself I have been lazy this week, so I'm getting back on the bandwagon of work this week ready for presentation on friday :D