Building modular environment from perspective concept art

Doxturtle

Hey guys.

I am looking into making a modular environment based on this image:



I know about some of the basics of perspective match and using the grid system. I am not sure how I would go about modelling a modular grid based environment whilst still matching the perspective of the concept.

My attempts at trying to model environments without having something as reference in max have never seemed to be properly proportioned or scaled, so I would like to be able to model over this concept.

Does anyone have any tutorials or information about the best process for modelling something like this using the perspective match?

Eric Chadwick

I do similar kind of work a lot. I never use perspective match, it's just not worth the effort.

One way to handle this is to make a rough framework first, and scale/tweak it to roughly match the proportions. This is a throwaway model, used as a reference when making the actual modular pieces.

One thing going for you, it looks like this concept is a 3d scene with paintovers. So it won't be super-difficult to match the proportions. It really sucks when you're given a concept made by an artist without a 3D blockout, and there are perspective errors which can't really be replicated in 3D. Makes the job a bit more difficult, especially if you have a client (or art director) who doesn't understand why you're not matching their concept.  

musashidan

This is a good example of using your artistic eye coupled with a basic grasp of real-world dimensions. You shouldn't need to match the perspective. Decide on a scale: floor to the beam is 4m high, the floor space is 15mx30m....etc... and take it from there. You already know the width of an average dining table so maybe start there.

As Eric mentioned, it's a great idea to build a rough proxy(the same as some people do using BSP brushes in-engine) That way you can very quickly try out ideas, iterate,  get an idea of scale, visualise the entire space, without wasting too much time.

Doxturtle

Thanks guys, I might try blocking it out in hammer (UE4 runs badly on my pc atm) and then exporting that into max. 

Eric Chadwick

You can also try Sketchup. Max can import SKP files easily.