Thesis Project: 3D Environment Art
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My name is Gabriel Guerrero, I am a graduate from the Academy of Art University in SF.
My thesis is focused mainly on environment art, but my focus is more on how creative an artist can get with procedural systems. I am still very new to coding and programming theory but I can dabble just enough to be able to make my way through the technical aspects of Programs like Designer and Unreal's Blueprints.
This log is to help me keep a timeline of the progress I've had, but also to share it with anyone else curious about anything I am working on. So feel free to ask questions, leave a comment or just say Hi! Welcome to the last few steps of my graduate journey and thank you for taking your time to have a look.
The Idea behind the Thesis Project is simple... match the concept and do it in an art style similar to Overwatch.
For more on the project keep scrolling down!
Progress Update:
-Finished fixing all the models that got moved of grid and everything is in proportion now.
-Dabbled a bit with some texture stuff and set up my trimsheet template
Current update:
Were in UE4 finally! Things got hectic, couldn't update because everything broke... but were golden now and on fire!
A little black magic!
My thesis is focused mainly on environment art, but my focus is more on how creative an artist can get with procedural systems. I am still very new to coding and programming theory but I can dabble just enough to be able to make my way through the technical aspects of Programs like Designer and Unreal's Blueprints.
This log is to help me keep a timeline of the progress I've had, but also to share it with anyone else curious about anything I am working on. So feel free to ask questions, leave a comment or just say Hi! Welcome to the last few steps of my graduate journey and thank you for taking your time to have a look.
The Idea behind the Thesis Project is simple... match the concept and do it in an art style similar to Overwatch.
For more on the project keep scrolling down!
Progress Update:
-Finished fixing all the models that got moved of grid and everything is in proportion now.
-Dabbled a bit with some texture stuff and set up my trimsheet template
Current update:
Were in UE4 finally! Things got hectic, couldn't update because everything broke... but were golden now and on fire!
A little black magic!
Replies
Thesis Goals:
- Maintain a cohesive style and match the concept reference
- Establish a clear narrative that is easy to read
- Highlight the use of PBR materials throughout the process
Thesis Breakdown:
1. Pre-production:
- Environment concept
- Reference gathering
2. Textures and Trim Texture Layout:
- Sculpt necessary assets for texture creation
- Create Trim Texture Layout
3. Scene Block-out
4. Content Creation
- reference gather
- Textures
- 3d meshes
- UV sets
5. UE4 Master Scene set-up:
- Master Material
- Lighting + Fog
- Post-processing
Additional steps will be added as I push through the process...
Environment Concept:
-This is the concept that the scene will be referenced to for layout and composition, but for some areas are going to be changed to fit the Overwatch style and for personal preference as I try to develop this environment.
Another round of cuts and this time its they are official. The Full scene is going to be due. Parts that are going to be removed are the Antenna and its building and the area around it. I have to focus on the interior and the building in the second floor. The Vehicle is optional and additional stuff like rocks and foliage are on a as needed basis.
Before I made the decision to cut back some other things got worked on for the environment concept to get a better Idea of how this environment would function. D3 is going to be reverted back to the original concept layout for simplicity's sake, but the building is going to be more modular and It will allow for expansion later if desired.
Because of the cuts I am going to go back to using some of the geo made for the scene when I first presented it. Although it dint get finished and was scrapped, the geo for the original scene was very modular and clean which is going to be very useful. Also scale was fixed for old geo.
Diorama 1 "The Entryway"
Initial blockout
Very rough th
Wrote down the feedback i recieved in the scene to ensure areas of concern are worked on.
Diorama 2 "The Underpass"
Initial Blockout:
After some alterations to the narrative I decided to show some progression with the growth of the plants in this scene to aid in the narrative.
Diorama 3 "The Approach"
Initial Layout and blockout
Scene was reverted to the Initial Layout and composition and changed some components in the scene to match the Overwatch style a bit closer. The sketch is very rough, but the main concept already gives me enough information on how to dress the setting. What I was looking for was more towards changing the building and matching the look to the more sci-fi Overwatch style.
I had a talk with my director and a whole bunch of cuts happened to the idea I was working on. Had to refocus and reorganize, but halfway through I messed up the grid scaling on my models.
Fast forward to now:
-Models fixed
-Got about 97% of the models ready to start the texturing process
-And I'm almost at my deadline
Good news is while fixing the models I worked on optimizing some things and did some minor detail passes so the next steps are going to happen a bit more fluidly.
-Some screen grabs from the Unreal Editor of the current scene and some tests I started for the tiling textures along with the modular pieces I'm using:
I made a Substance to compile the sculpted brick and block mesh-data, and a substance to put them in an atlas and select the one I want as an output.