Room Project Part 2 – Table Items & Potions

After I finished creating the weapons and the walls were looking more busy and detailed I began to create some smaller objects that could go onto the tables and other surfaces to try and make the room look more detailed, rather than just having loads of large items smaller ones could be used to fill the gaps. The first things I created today were the plate, the cup and the wooden plate. The wooden plate was made to look like a table center piece that perhaps some food such as apples could be left on. For the plate and cup I chose to texture them sourcing a tin material. This is because tin seemed to be a realistic texture that plates may have been made from in my theme. I would have used silver however I thought it make clash with my weapons and take detail away from them. To add detail into the plate I also added in a tree outline and then recolored this so that it would fit onto it. For the cup I did some research online and a lot of images were either wooden cups or metal chalices. I decided to go with the chalice look as I thought it was pretty cool and I could make it look partnered with the plate.

Next I began to create some bottles and potions using some more inspiration from skyrim and various other games similar to this. I created a few different shaped bottles using my own ideas and then UV unwrapped and textured all of these differently. I made the glass textures different colours so that they would all look unique. I made the shaders around 20% transparent so that they looked more like a glass bottle rather than a solid object.

This is what my room looks like so far including these new models that I have just created.

Once I had finished these I also created a bow to fill in the gap on my weapon rack, it is not my most detailed model however it’s primary use is to just make the weapon rack look a bit more busy and it looks pretty good in the render.

Room Project Part 2 – Weapons

One thing that my room was lacking from its theme was weapons, so using knowledge from previous models I began to develop some weapons that could help fill my room. First I needed a weapon rack which I simple made by creating a few different pole shapes, I then textured the poles using a light wood texture then placed this onto the wall of my room. This was really easy to create so I will not bother going into detail.

Next up was a weapon that I could place onto this rack and the first thing that sprung to mind was an iron mace. This model consisted of two cylinders, one for the hilt and another for the pole. To separate these I inserted three torus shapes. One placed at the bottom of the hilt, one at the top and another separating the pole from the top of the weapon. I tried to put a lot of detail into this model so I used numerous textures. For the top of the model I created another cylinder and extruded every other face to create the old style mace. So that the top did not look flat I also added a spike. This model took me about an hour and a half to create and texture.

Here is an image of the mace on the weapon rack in the room.

Next up I decided to create an iron sword and shield, however half way through the creation of the shield I decided that it would be better if I place the sword and shield on the wall rather than the rack to help add detail into the walls. The shield was very easy to create and I had no trouble as it was a flat cylinder that had some extra detail through the use of the extrusion of faces. I made the shields middle wood and the inner and outer edges iron. I took inspiration from the Guards city shields from Skyrim. Even though I created the shield first the primary goal of this would be to compliment the iron sword that I would later create however they ended up complimenting each other.

After the shield was done I began work on the iron sword, this did not take too long to model however UV unwrapping and texturing took a while as i experimented with numerous silver textures until I found one that I thought suited the sword. For the hilt I used the same texture as the one on the mace however I recolored it blue as I thought it suited the silver blade. The sword was built up in 4 parts, the blade, the cross guard, the hilt and the bottom of the hilt. However the bottom of the hilt looked rather plane so I chose to create a small gem shape and place that into the bottom of the sword.

Once I had finished the sword and shield I placed them into the room and I was extremely happy with the result.

 

Room Project Part 2 – Table and Bookshelf

Following from the work I had done in the previous days I began to create some more objects to fill my room that would still fit to the theme that I was trying to maintain. The first thing that sprung to mind was a table as this could be the center piece of the room that is in the middle that could have different items on it such as plates and jugs.  The first part of the table I created was the top, due to its simple nature this was just a rectangle, but for its texture I conjoined three textures together; The under, the edges and the center of the table. Overall I was pretty happy with how the table turned out. I tried to make the legs look like they were simply tree trunks whereas the table top was supposed to look more man made.

UVs –

Textures –

Object with texture – 

The next object I created for my room was a book shelf, I created this in numerous steps. Firstly I created a simple rectangle shape with a beveled edge which would be the book. I then UV unwrapped this book and created numerous textures using the same object. The books ended up looking alright as they were just a small piece to compliment a bigger object they did not need to be too detailed. I then created a larger rectangle shape which I placed a texture on that was an image of a collection of books. This was to make one of the shelves look full whereas the bottom shelf would look a bit empty allowing me o rotate the books and make it look more realistic. For the shelf I created three different objects. The shelves themselves, the back board and the sides. For the sides I used a detailed wooden texture as this was the part of the shelf which is most seen, for the shelves I used a wooden plank texture and for the back I used a rough looking wood. This allowed me to add more depth to the object by making it look like all three parts were made in different ways rather than having the whole thing be one texture. Overall I am pretty happy with how this turned out.

Bookshelf UVs –

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Bookshelf Texture –

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Book UV & Textures –

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

Room Project Part 2 – Dummy Detail

I created a few different assets earlier on in the day however I was in a very creative mood and had some free time so I decided to begin modelling some more items to help fill the room. I had noticed that the training dummy looks rather bare so I wanted to add some items to him. The main thing that sprung to my mind was a wooden sword and a shield for the dummy to be holding. I began to create these in a different scene. I used the same wooden texture on both items as they are supposed to look like they belong to the same set. The cross on the sword is a slightly darker shade of the same texture to add some variation into the object. Once I had placed the sword and shield onto the dummy I did not like how it looked like they were just floating or stuck to the wood with glue, to add a bit of realism I created a strap that I could attach to the back of the shield and the front of the sword.

Once the weapons were added I still thought it looked a bit plain, because of this I chose to create an arrow that could be put into the target on the dummy, to make it look like the training dummy had been used before. The arrow was pretty simple to make, for the head and feathers  I used the same technique as the sword which was the grab the vertices and pull them out to create the basic shape. For the head of the arrow I chose to make them more rounded so they looked low quality for the immersion of the scene. The texturing was pretty simple however for the feathers I chose to leave the alpha channel in the background and when putting the texture on the shader it would have a transparency node. this allowed me to create feathers for the back of the arrow.

This is what the training dummy looks like now.

Room Project Part 2 – Introduction

A couple of months ago I completed a project called “Thinking Inside the Box”. Upon the completion of this task I was given feedback on my modelling, texturing and rendering. I have been trying to use this feedback on created models to try and better my skills within Maya and also Photoshop. One of the primary things I have been doing is trying to round my objects a bit more with a bevel as most objects in real life don’t have perfectly strait edges. I have also been UV unwrapping all of my models so that I can create better looking textures. Once in Photoshop I have also been trying to layer some of my textures and I have also been using the blending and recolouring functions to make the textures look better than the source images. Rather than improving my old room I have decided to create a new room that will have a theme. The reasoning behind this is that I had a lot of fun creating my old room however I got a bit bored of what I had chosen to do. I also think that I could compare my old room to my new room to show how my skills may have developed.  For this new room that I have began to create I have chosen to go with a medieval theme as I have a pretty good idea on what I can model and how I can model it. Texturing will also be quite fun, however I will have to make sure everything fits with the design and colour scheme so the models in the environment will flow well together.

The first major change I have made from my original room is that I have removed two walls, of course in a full room they would be there however for the purpose of this I have chose to leave them out as I think it will allow me to create a much nicer render when I have my finished product. For the corners of the room I have chosen to make wooden beams with engravings that have been textured onto it, I have also beveled them to add a roundness to the beams. Next I created a plane with a stone wall texture on it, this was placed behind the beams and would be the main part of the wall. The stone and wood mix also goes with the theme. So that the wall did not just look flat like my previous room I chose to add in a cube and then resize and texture this into wooden planks that would differentiate from the colours of the beams to add an extra layer of detail. The fact that the walls of the room are not flat makes them look far better in my opinion. The floor was very simple to create as this was just a plane with a stone floor texture stuck on it, however the original texture was very bright so I changed this in Photoshop to be darker to fit with the tone. Finally for the rooms walls I inserted a cylinder that I removed three quarters of. I then UV unwrapped and textured this to look like a dark log. This looked like the same colour as the beams however looked more rugged as it did not have the engravings in them. Overall I did not have many problems with the creation of the walls and floor of my room, however it did take some time as I want it to look detailed.

I built the shell of the room yesterday however today I began to create some objects to try and fill the room, the first thing I chose to create was a banner to go on the wall. When creating the banner I took inspiration from the house banners in game of thrones. The banner was split into three separate objects, the banner flag, the pole and the rope. The flags texture was pretty easy to create as it consisted of a nice blue cloth texture that I had found online. I then inserted the dragon and removed the background. I then blended this in and added a texture to that layer so that the logo did not just look like a black dragon had been printed onto it but rather sewed into it. This also adds to the realism of the theme I chose. The rope and pole simply just had images sourced and placed onto the texture files. I also added an nCloth to the flag so that it looks more realistic as it has physics.

UVs –

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Textures –

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Next I created a barrel. I had a moderate problem with the creation of this as it took me a while to get the UVs laid out well enough to be able to export and texture them. This was easy to make as I  inserted an image of a barrel onto the plane and simply traced it. Rather than texturing at all separately I created two different textures. One with the metal and one with the wood. I then simply created two shaders and selected the specif faces on the model that would be that texture. For the barrel it’s texture was wooden planks with metal hoops around it.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The most recent thing that I have created for the scene is a straw training dummy that knights and similar characters would have used to train before battle. This seemed like a very good object to model for my room as it is fitting. The object is split into three parts, the arms the body and the stand. The body is the part of the object that looks like straw I also painted a target onto it to make it look more authentic. I also created a straight cylinder which would act like the arms. this had a log texture around the edges and the inside was like the inside of a tree. Finally I created the stand which had a metal base and a log pole inside of it. This is what the body is propped onto.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This is the scene so far.

Unity – Further Exam Practise

Today we continued the work on our game that we are creating to give us an idea of what the exam will involve and what sort of scripts we may need. As the game was already basically done we added a 3rd level to the game that would be an end game screen, this would prompt the player to click escape allowing them to exit the game as it had been completed. Once this was done the majority of groups in our class built the game then put it on the X drive. This allowed me to have a small look on what other people had created, I was pretty happy with how my game turned out as the script used was very serious but as it was just practice the images I used within the game were not too serious. Of course when it comes to the actual exam I will either be creating serious images that stick to a theme or be using geometric shapes.

Low Poly World – Further Development

Today the world began to take shape as everyone’s models were being combined into the main Maya file. My main goal today was to layout everyone’s models into the terrain, which I have been enjoying. I also created some of my own models today, these were to add the extra layer of detail. I created a very simple ruby diamond and emerald to be placed into the lowest layer of the world. I also created the road which I then added red and white lines to the side to make it look more like a race track so it would fit the wacky racers scenario a bit more. Finally I created a tunnel into the mountain that the road goes through.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Other than the what I had done the rest of my group had produced some pretty cool models today. The slideshow below is a collection of models that they have created.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My job was the bring all of the models together as I am the group leader. I am pretty happy with how the world is looking as it is beginning to look rather busy which makes it interesting. The models all fit together which is pretty cool. A problem I have encountered however is how shiny some of the textures are which makes them look unnatural, because of this next week I will be turning down the eccentricity on all of the shaders.

 

 

Maya – Assets – Barrel/Crate

It took me a while to decide what I could model today but then I noticed that I could create some assets that may come in handy in future projects. The first thing that sprung to mind was a barrel, I am pretty confident in my basic modelling skills however not so much with my texturing so the focus on these models was the texture. I started with a cylinder and added 10 edge loops in. I used an image for reference and created the barrel shape through the use of enlarging the edges. I then UV unwrapped my model and created numerous textures in Photoshop to add a bit of variety to the designs.

Once this was complete I  began to try and create a wooden crate that looks like it is property of either the military or mercenaries. To do this I created a basic 3D rectangle which I then textured with wooden planks in Photoshop. I then inserted another cube which I extruded around part of the crate to give it more depth. Finally I followed a tutorial on how to create a rope, I believe that this piece of knowledge will come in handy in the future.

Low Poly World

Once we had completed our animations within Maya the class was given a new task, this was to get into groups and create an area of a race track using low polys, once we were put into groups everyone was tasked with creating different components that would make up the area. My main model would be the terrain. I created this using a cube and extruding it into shape, I then laid out the UVs and textured it in Photoshop. I did shading from top to bottom however still used solid colours; this is because solid colours compliment the low poly style. I did this last week however I had not blogged about it. Today I began to create different assets that could go into the area. I created, A mountain, winter trees, pipes, water, ice, a walkway, a wind turbine and a fence. I have had a very productive day with this project, low poly is quite an interesting concept as models are simple to make however they end up looking really cool. The only asset i struggled to create was the mountain as it had a layer of snow on top that took me a couple of attempts to get right.

Water & Ice –

Walkway –

Fence –

Winter Trees –

Mountain –

Pipes (Inspired by Mario) –

Wind Turbine (I chose to animate it) –

Area so far (Rendered in TURTLE) –

 

 

 

Dystopian Vehicle – Development Process

Initial Designs – 

Chosen Design –

Larger Design ((Rough Sketch) –

Reference Image –

Vehicle Not Rendered –

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Rendered Vehicle –

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Render with Photoshop Backdrop –

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Unity Render –

This slideshow requires JavaScript.