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Monthly Environment Art Challenge - September & October 2017 (50)

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  • Lokthar
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    Lokthar polycounter lvl 7
    HP's for the challenge, LP next!

  • jewski-bot
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    jewski-bot polycounter lvl 4
    @Lokthar, Excellent job on modeling the high polygon models!  I can't think of any major criticisms off hand.  I am curious to see your models from other perspectives, particularly from angles not shown in the concept illustration.  

    @Mahelix, don't worry about not having been able to work on the props for a week.  I've been barely getting anything done in terms of finishing the high polygon models since my mind is fried at the end of a work day, and is somewhat dubious on the weekends.  I think that whenever you hit a wall, it's best to allow for a simpler task to take precedence, like retopology for the low res model and UV unwraps, along with the test baking of normal and AO maps.  It might not be the heavy lifting of solving form discrepancies, perspective issues, and troubleshooting smoothing errors, but it still keeps you advancing forward.  I think that you have a good handle on the two pieces you posted and would consider those perhaps to be the most challenging.  I think that once everything gets to the Substance Painter stage, you'll really start to see things come together and get your second wind, as it were.

    @Dreyzie, I have to hand it to you, that environment, despite some of the issues with the floor / ground scaling, is looking very well constructed.  This was a tough category, but you're handling it very well.
  • Namic
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    Namic polycounter lvl 3
    I got pretty been pretty wrapped up and forgot to post progress but here is what I have at the moment. It's diffuse only at the moment, not sure if I'll try PBR on this. 

    @Toyoka Thanks! Looking forward to seeing your progress
    @Beccenstein Really enjoyed seeing how you broke down the scene, I was way too intimidated to even look at the concept

  • Lokthar
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    Lokthar polycounter lvl 7
    @Namic for a second i tought it was the concept! :D I really like your version of the challenge

    but, If you want to stick reeeeaallly to the concept, this is what i see different:
    -Maybe you can round a bit more the tube on bottom right,
    -you forgot to model the three stripes holes close to the middle cylinder on both sides
    -the attachment of the tube under the right cylinder should be smaller
    -the three long stripes details should stick out and not in

    @jewski-bot I'll try to give a different angle for all the props asap! Thanks :blush:
  • Nathair23
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    Nathair23 polycounter lvl 2
    Any updates from someone doing the environment handpainted challenge? I'm curious about what others are coming up with :)
  • manuelfuentes13
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    manuelfuentes13 polycounter lvl 6
    @Nathair23 I just started today :smiley: here is some progress with my low poly block out. I love the design of the concept.
     
  • Nathair23
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    Nathair23 polycounter lvl 2
    @manuelfuentes13 woah, that looks awesome! It already looks better than mine and you only started today ;)
  • Hyperion Terror
    Oh boy am I behind!! I've had some stuff blocking me from continuing for a while. Hopefully now I can start up again. This building is kicking my butt!
  • Beccenstein
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    Beccenstein polycounter lvl 8
    @manuelfuentes13 This is looking amazing. I should have started out even more simple and concentrated on larger shapes and overall composition instead of getting bogged own on details so early.

    I'm so far behind haha. I'll probably move onto blocking out the wider scene now. I still hate my main roof piece... after some trial and error I ended up with what looks like a banana.


    I started by trying to extrude the gold details but quickly decided against it, but kept some of the extruded parts and added them to the underlying geo for painting on later.





  • Nathair23
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    Nathair23 polycounter lvl 2
    @Beccenstein yours looks amazing as well, mine is the worst so far,  lol :/
  • manuelfuentes13
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    manuelfuentes13 polycounter lvl 6
    @Beccenstein Ok now this is scene is officially called the banana house hahaha I definitely tried to stay as low poly as possible to get the right proportions, also it helps to set a camera similar to the concept to get a better feel of the proportions. 

    @Nathair23 yours looks fine :)  I'm sure once you finish blocking out the rest of the scene it will be a lot easier to make adjustments to match the concept, again it is easier to get it right if you keep it simple until you are happy with the balance of shapes and then go into details. keep up the good work ;)

    @Namic that prop looks like it is straight out of borderlands, nice work!
  • apocalypse
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    apocalypse polycounter lvl 18

    Hey all, I thought I would have a go at the shelf prop. It was a good excuse to work on my MAX to Zbrush pipeline and learn a bit more zbrush stuff while I'm at it. I've really enjoyed it so far. I decided to push the shapes and distort things for a more cartoony feel.

    I was hoping to take this into Substance Painter but I didn't realise this was a hand painted challenge so I might see if I can get a hand painted look in Painter if that's allowed.

    Congrats to everyone attempting the "banana house" Those shapes don't look easy. I'm liking what everyone is doing so far.
  • Beccenstein
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    Beccenstein polycounter lvl 8
    @Nathair23 Don't say that! This enviroment feels very meh for the first wee while, especially when you have to mess around with the placement of those roof pieces for ages. Keep going.

    Thought I'd start experimenting with the textures and colours, at the moment I'm figuring out what to do with the roof pattern. I'm going to try having it as triangle roof tiles. This should keep me occupied for a while.

  • Poinball
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    Poinball polycounter lvl 6
    @Nathair23 Don't say that! This enviroment feels very meh for the first wee while, especially when you have to mess around with the placement of those roof pieces for ages. Keep going.

    Thought I'd start experimenting with the textures and colours, at the moment I'm figuring out what to do with the roof pattern. I'm going to try having it as triangle roof tiles. This should keep me occupied for a while.

    Very cool Stuff here !! Wanna see more

  • manuelfuentes13
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    manuelfuentes13 polycounter lvl 6

    Almost done adding high poly details before I get it into zbrush for some sculpting, I don't have experience with hand painted textures so I plan on using the baked sculpted details to help me out when creating the textures :).

    @Beccenstein that roof texture looks great! 
  • Mahelix
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    Mahelix polycounter lvl 6
    The last prop is finally modeled and baked, I can now start texturing !


    @manuelfuentes13 This looks so awesome !

    @Namic I love the Borderlands look you gave to it :love:

  • gameofscones
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    gameofscones polycounter lvl 5
    Started this challenge a little late, but here's where I'm at.

  • Mahelix
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    Mahelix polycounter lvl 6
    My progress on the texturing so far, I'm still trying to find a good looking metal for the main material that will be common to all the props (in the concept art the props seem to be made from the same metal ?). "Iron Galvanised" for the locks might give a good contrast in my opinion.

    I also modeled and baked the "handle" part as a separate normal map to re-use it as a stamp in SP2, and I'm quite satisfied with the result :V



  • kernersvillan
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    kernersvillan polycounter lvl 9
    A few of those assets on that hard surface concept art look very familiar...
  • Dreyzie
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    Dreyzie polycounter lvl 3
    I'm currently working on the floor and wall materials in painter. I created a smart material as a base and tweaked it for each piece. I'm trying to go for a grungy "brush stroke" look on the metal, kinda like what you see in the concept. I would love some suggestions on how to improve it.



    Everyone's work on the hand painted category is really impressive. I hope to tackle a large project like that eventually.

    @gameofscones Looking great so far. My only suggestion is maybe push the building to the left back a bit. It's looking a little cramped and that would help open it up more. :smile:
  • Mahelix
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    Mahelix polycounter lvl 6
    Made some more progress on the texturing.
    Including the renders in Marmoset, I think I might have finished before the end of the week (I wished I could have had it all wrapped up before the end of september but whatever).


    (yeah I know, I decided to get a lil' bit crazy with that last one; it looks like a canister to me, so I thought some black stuff oozing might be a good supplement)

    @Dreyzie Substance Painter has Generators that can quickly add some extra details. For the props I made above, I generally use "MG Grease", "MG Dirt", "MG Mask Builder", "MG Edge Damages" and "MG Metal Edge Wear". Play, combine some together and experiment with them, you might come up with some unexpected results !

    Some of them are already included by default in SP2, but for the others, you might need to check out the Substance Share website (they were old generators from SP1, but were later removed when SP2 was released, though the devs still put them on Substance Share just in case)
  • Beccenstein
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    Beccenstein polycounter lvl 8
    Life has been getting in the way a little but I  have just been adding a few small details every now and again. I'm looking forward to getting more details on there via hand painted textures. My confidence with Max has improved so much since starting this, I think I'll be using it over Maya from now on :)



    @manuelfuentes13 Just wow, the lighting and details are beautiful. Looking forward to seeing more.
  • Nathair23
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    Nathair23 polycounter lvl 2
    @manuelfuentes13 and @Beccenstein they both look great, looking forward to see what you come up with!
    Here's what I have so far:

    Now I have to block out the surroundings, and then the hardest parts will come: making the smaller details and texturing :)
  • aclund3
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    aclund3 polycounter lvl 6
    No critiques to add, just wanted to pop in and say everyone's work has been really interesting to see progress, and I love the positive and helpful way you all are going about this. I may need to enter one of these challenges some day ;) Keep at it all!
  • Mahelix
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    Mahelix polycounter lvl 6
    I think I'm done with the texturing of the remaining props (and the texturing part in general).




    I also decided to remake the circular prop with the bend technique, adding more sides and making more separate parts on the highpoly model to minimize the pinched areas.


    Next step will be the Marmoset renders



  • manuelfuentes13
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    manuelfuentes13 polycounter lvl 6
    Is it just me or did this seem easier before starting? :S  great progress so far @Nathair23 @Beccenstein!
    Spent the weekend doing some detail sculpting on the building, hopefully I can start baking soon and working on those handpainted textures. Not sure how long that is going to take me but I'll try to finish that before doing the environment. 

  • jewski-bot
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    jewski-bot polycounter lvl 4
    @Mahelix, looking good on the hard surface props!  Are you using one UV sheet per object or trying to texture them all through a single sheet with shared UVs?
  • antonyj
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    antonyj polycounter lvl 7
    Some super work here everyone! 

    Looks like I'm super late, and I' not sure when the next challenge is going up but I'm going to take at least one of the hard surface props and get that done before the weekend. Hopefully I can get more than one done in lunch breaks/after work.

    A thanks in advance to everyone in this thread...this has definitely given me some much needed OOMPH.
  • antonyj
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    antonyj polycounter lvl 7

    Got started on the quick and dirty blockout before work this morning, not done with it yet. Will revisit this after work tonight and see if I can get the low poly prepped for high poly surgery in one sitting.

    @manuelfuentes13
    Nice work there. Have you considered using alpha selections/overlays to speed the detailing up at all? The wood grain feels like it needs a little more depth to it to, especially to push it in the maps once they're baked.

    @Mahelix
    Like what you've accomplished in this a lot, congrats :smile:

    @Nathair23 Can't wait to see your surroundings blocked out, but the building itself is looking awesome!
  • Mahelix
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    Mahelix polycounter lvl 6
    @jewski-bot Every prop has its own texture file. I don't consider myself skilled enough to make them share the same sheet without making it go unnoticed (that and I like to make each prop unique) :p

    @antonyj Thanks :3

    EDIT : Just finished making the Marmoset Viewer files, I think I can say I'm finally done with the challenge ! (Weeew I never thought it would take me that long :p )
    Since the Marmoset files are not postable here, I'll put the ArtStation link : https://www.artstation.com/artwork/9a8Qv

  • Gibby1995
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    Gibby1995 polycounter lvl 4

    These are just my high polys at the moment, I am about to move into creating the Low and then add some extra detail in Substance.

    @Mahelix Liking your props, the oil slick affect is pretty nice, gives a used industrial vibe to the set. Although It would be cool to see a clean version for like a more sterilised environment. Good Job! 
  • manuelfuentes13
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    manuelfuentes13 polycounter lvl 6
    I've started getting my meshes into unreal with some preliminary textures so that I can review them when I start adding color and painting extra details.

  • Nathair23
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    Nathair23 polycounter lvl 2
    @antonyj thanks!
    @manuelfuentes13 this is wonderful, I love it! Just a question, did you keep the sculpted parts for the scene or did you bake their normals on a low poly version of them?Hopefully I will start textures as well in a few days...
  • antonyj
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    antonyj polycounter lvl 7
    Haven't had much time to work on things before the weekend unfortunately, so will have to smash it this weekend.

    @manuelfuentes13 That is looking great dude! Doing anything special for the doors? 
  • manuelfuentes13
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    manuelfuentes13 polycounter lvl 6
    @Nathair23 I baked the normals to the low poly model and used the green channel ,the ao and cavity maps to create the base textures. 
    @antonyj No idea, I'll figure it out this weekend while I start adding some color and painted details to the textures. :) 
  • antonyj
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    antonyj polycounter lvl 7

    Jeez. This took me longer than I would have liked it to, as I wanted to have a go at using OpenSubDiv in Max which I've never used before.

    Turns out getting the right edges to not deform everything else on straight and curved detailing on an angled, circular face is a pain. Because of that, I've had to leave out some details on this particular high poly model as I wanted to get more than one done. Will put the rest of the details on through either ZBrush or SP.

    Not sure whether to tackle another asset and bake them out at the same time, or just roll with this one. Thoughts anyone?

  • jewski-bot
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    jewski-bot polycounter lvl 4

    @antonyj, I think that your prop looks good.  If this is your first time and you're pressed, don't feel like you need to do every piece in the concept art.  I think that it would be a lot better for you to make one really good prop model than 10 really bad ones.  What you can do is use this prop as a texturing testbed and make sure to save out your custom smart materials that can be reused for your other assets (should you get around them) with just a few tweaks.  That's what I would do.

    @Mahelix, thanks for your response and also posting the Marmoset viewers!  Seeing how you tackled some of the props from angles not clear in the concept art has helped immensely in getting a better idea of what these should look like!

    It's been rather difficult to finish this challenge, so I'm going to try and finish up.  I'm fixing the two low poly hatches rather than use the poly plane I did for the decal test.  I had wanted to experiment with using trim sheets and decals / reusable UVs, but honestly, I'm a bit  pressed for  time and will probably just take what I have and plop it into Substance Painter with one UV set per object.  Also, I started this in Modo 902, but upgraded to Modo 11 two weeks ago and also purchased the Pushing Points' MOP Booleans kit over at Pixel Fondue, so there's a little added incentive.  Lastly, I have OTHER projects that I either need to finish up or revisit and with the Holiday Cluster--, erm...."Season" right around the corner, I'm probably not even going to be able to do the November / December challenge.  Such is life.

    @manuelfuentes13, that's some hardcore work right there!  I don't have much in the ways of critiques that I can offer, but I'm really digging it!  Here's hoping that it'll be ready by the 31st!
  • antonyj
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    antonyj polycounter lvl 7
    @jewski-bot Thanks! Yeah this is my first PC challenge so definitely don't want to produce rubbish. I'll probably just utilise some SP stamping for the smaller details rather than worrying about modeling it all in. Makes sense with limited time. Good call on using sub smart materials as well, that was exactly the workflow I was going to use.



    I got the smaller square shaped prop with the circular center yesterday just be re-using the circular bit I did for the first one. Also started on the canister's high poly this morning but I might just get the other 2 baked and textured before I finish this one off. There's a few areas already here that I could improve on, I might consider extruding that edge that follows the contour of the central horizontal line and just use OpenSubDiv on that too. 

  • antonyj
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    antonyj polycounter lvl 7
    Sorry to spam the hell out the thread guys, just thought I'd show some progress. First time I've properly used Substance Painter for the whole process from baking right through to painting and I've still got to add the orange paint, but this is where I'm up to so far.


    Looks like an industrial SEGA MegaDrive/Genesis xD. Hopefully I can spend some time over the week getting more props done.

  • Nathair23
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    Nathair23 polycounter lvl 2
    @antonyj Looks very good! :)
    I'm struggling a lot with sculpted details, maybe because I am still a true beginner in sculpting... Does someone have any tips on this? Maybe I could use the painted textures as surface details, not sure if that's considered cheating...
  • antonyj
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    antonyj polycounter lvl 7
    @Nathair23 Honestly I don't think there is any such thing as cheating, at least in production art. If you're looking to further your skills though, honestly just jump into it with both feet. I could have quite comfortably produced the same result in my previous post in about 15 minutes in Quixel, but decided to spend the time learning how Painter works just so I could use it in the future...more importantly to a better standard and faster.

    With regards to the ZBrush tips, what kinds of things are you wanting help with? Is it basic sculpting or how to prepare meshes for sculpting, or something totally different? If it's just the absolute basics you're after there are some really awesome tutorials on 3DMotive to get you started that are specific to game art.
  • Nathair23
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    Nathair23 polycounter lvl 2
    @antonyj thanks a lot for your answer! Actually I think i just underestimated the sculpted details of the environment challenge, but the point is that I started sculpting something like a month ago, so I still lack experience in that field. I'll check up some tutorial! And I agree with you, if I don't step out of my comfort zone I'll never improve, I guess. 
  • manuelfuentes13
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    manuelfuentes13 polycounter lvl 6
    Finally added some color to the textures. Next step might be to start working on the environment elements.

  • antonyj
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    antonyj polycounter lvl 7
    @manuelfuentes13 That is looking GREAT dude! Honestly the only crit I can give is that the arched windows are a bit lost in the current colour pass, they kind of blend in with the rest of the roof. 

    I got to work on the small circular plate thing yesterday, I've named it the 'Devil plate' because it was a pain in the *** trying out different approaches to keeping it all one mesh in both high and low poly form whilst keeping the details, as well as having what looks like 2 horns and a tail :p. I'm straying a bit from the concept art in terms of colour scheme I know.



  • manuelfuentes13
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    manuelfuentes13 polycounter lvl 6
    Updated the lighting to get a better feel of the textures, hopefully I can finish the scene before the month is over :S. 

    @antonyj Good job on those props! I think you should try to make the textures on your props match a little bit more so they seem like they belong in the same scene, on the first one you have some airbrushed black dirt or paint while on the one with the horns you have an even coat of light grey dirt or paint, if they match a little bit more you will get a much better result at the end.

    @Nathair23 I would say if you have the time give sculpting a try, the point of this challenges is to try new things (I've never done a stylized scene like this before :blush: ) , but some people do paint all the details on top of the low poly and don't use normal maps at all. 
  • Nathair23
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    Nathair23 polycounter lvl 2
    @antonyj That looks great and realistic, love it!
    @manuelfuentes13 Your scene looks amazing, I love all those details and the colors! By the way you're totally right, actually I sculpted some props for this challenge, but not as much as you did, I'm completely new to sculpting, so I have to go a  bit step by step. But I'll probably go on sculpting because I enjoy it very much!
  • jewski-bot
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    jewski-bot polycounter lvl 4

    Sorry for the lack of updates, but it's been a busy two months.

    Here are some of the initial normal maps baked out of Modo, I still have some things that could use some fixing, and I plan on stamping the rest of the height related details in Substance Painter.  I also need to get Props 3 and 10 corrected for proper bake out.  I'll be much happier once I'm in the actual texture stage.
  • manuelfuentes13
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    manuelfuentes13 polycounter lvl 6
    An update on the scene, added a bunch of environment assets Next I'll start working on a handpainted texture for the main ground and the assets in the background..
  • FuzzyOwl
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    FuzzyOwl polycounter lvl 3
    Hello guys, I know I'm super late to this challenge but better late than never ey? Anyway, I decided on the hard surface prop challenge and whipped this up to challenge myself (I've got minimal hard surface experience). I'm loving the assets made so far, some incredible work going on in this group.

  • Wargo522
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    Wargo522 polycounter lvl 3
    yo i'm loving this scene. the colors and shapes are right in my wheel house of interest. the scope of this project is well out of comfort zone unfortunately. cant wait to see the finished scene though.

    manuelfuentes13 said:
    An update on the scene, added a bunch of environment assets Next I'll start working on a handpainted texture for the main ground and the assets in the background..

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