3D Shopkeeper Interface (Beginner Project)
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So a quick background: I've been working as a 2D UI Artist for the past few years and have recently had a strong feeling in my loins to learn some 3D skills. Didn't take long for me to find Polycount and y'all seem like a pretty rad community of creatives. After a few weekends picking up the basics in Blender, I've decided to jump into my first project, which I see as a first step to making some mistakes and maybe learning a thing or two.
Wanting to combine 3D with something I already know (user interfaces), the goal is to create a shopkeeper experience similar to the Legend of Zelda vendors. Here are some references:
I really like the LoZ shops and wanted the aesthetic to be similar to the tattered sci-fi markets of Star Wars and Destiny (masked hooded figures are also a forgiving subject for a beginner like myself). Janice Chu did the illustration on the bottom-right.
Not really knowing how to best approach anything, I just started goin' for it. Getting something done is better than trying to perfect something. Step one was a quick comp in Photoshop of what I was going for:
A shopkeeper in a thick marketplace selling 3 items. Pretty simple, having this comp helped me get started on the 3D modeling, step two:
I was honestly pretty excited how quickly I could get this simple scene together, 3D software is friggin amazing. The 3 cubes are placeholder items for whatever's going to be in stock (I probably should have that figured out already, don't tell anyone).
My first attempt at making a vendor... Yeah, I'm not so great at character modeling yet. I found a Destiny (hunter) model sheet to help me get a little bit more accurate.
Not amazing, but closer to what I had in mind. Happy enough to move on towards the next step, I started giving simple color materials to the scene:
Feeling good, but this seemed too bright for the marketplace I was envisioning. I changed up my lamps a bit:
Not quite right yet, but I don't want to get too invested in lighting yet, seems like that should come later?
Alright, cool.
I'm pretty happy with the models, as simple as they are. For my next update I'm planning on making some basic textures for the fabrics, pots and what-nots. Then I'll bring this image into PS and start drawing the 2D interface bits to get this scene looking like a video game.
I'm using this project as a chance to learn some shiz, so feel free to give any feedback. I look forward to the next update.
Wanting to combine 3D with something I already know (user interfaces), the goal is to create a shopkeeper experience similar to the Legend of Zelda vendors. Here are some references:
I really like the LoZ shops and wanted the aesthetic to be similar to the tattered sci-fi markets of Star Wars and Destiny (masked hooded figures are also a forgiving subject for a beginner like myself). Janice Chu did the illustration on the bottom-right.
Not really knowing how to best approach anything, I just started goin' for it. Getting something done is better than trying to perfect something. Step one was a quick comp in Photoshop of what I was going for:
A shopkeeper in a thick marketplace selling 3 items. Pretty simple, having this comp helped me get started on the 3D modeling, step two:
I was honestly pretty excited how quickly I could get this simple scene together, 3D software is friggin amazing. The 3 cubes are placeholder items for whatever's going to be in stock (I probably should have that figured out already, don't tell anyone).
My first attempt at making a vendor... Yeah, I'm not so great at character modeling yet. I found a Destiny (hunter) model sheet to help me get a little bit more accurate.
Not amazing, but closer to what I had in mind. Happy enough to move on towards the next step, I started giving simple color materials to the scene:
Feeling good, but this seemed too bright for the marketplace I was envisioning. I changed up my lamps a bit:
Not quite right yet, but I don't want to get too invested in lighting yet, seems like that should come later?
Alright, cool.
I'm pretty happy with the models, as simple as they are. For my next update I'm planning on making some basic textures for the fabrics, pots and what-nots. Then I'll bring this image into PS and start drawing the 2D interface bits to get this scene looking like a video game.
I'm using this project as a chance to learn some shiz, so feel free to give any feedback. I look forward to the next update.
Replies
Lucospade - Thanks for pointing that out, I didn't take player height into account when arranging the camera. Hopefully it's more realistic now.
Carabiner - Totally agree, I'd be stoked to get this into a game engine and have some interactive UI. Possibly an idle animation for the shopkeeper as well. I've been toying around with Unity and am hoping to eventually bring this project to life.
I got around to playing around with the UVs and textures a bit to give the scene some character. Next update I'll plan on adding some UI elements.
(Blender + Photoshop)
I've then spent a fair chunk of time figuring out how to get my content from Blender and PS into Unity so that I can turn this into a basic, interactive prototype. I noticed that the 2D interface lost a noticeable amount of image sharpness when I brought it over, if anyone knows how to avoid this I'd love to improve that.
(Unity 3D)
Still on the to-do list:
I definitely feel like the shop keeper should be posed in a way to show a little more personality, like leaning on an elbow, arms crossed, hands on hips, or something. As of now the shopkeeper just looks like a mannequin all dressed up, inject a little more personality in him. Is he bored, impatient, shady, friendly, etc?