Mole420 Art Thread

mole420

So iv decided to just create a thread as I plan to post a lot more of my work up on Polycount now. So instead of creating a different thread for each different project I will just chuck everything in here.

Anyway been working on some Tools and a toolbox the last few days, wanted some practice at some small hard surface stuff. Just high polys at the moment all modeled in Maya and quick renders from Zbrush









Got to work on the toolbox for all these now so hopefully should have some shots up a bit later on. Then if there's nothing people think need changing on these high polys I will move onto the lows.

Looking at them now I think im going to have to go and loosen up some edges as there looking a little tight.

Always looking for C+C to help improve my work

mole420

Quick shot of the toolbox from zbrush



And what toolbox would be complete with out duct tape?

Envart

Nice zbrush work! Will keep an eye on this thread. Looking forward to see what your workflow is from here on out.

ThaSlimShady

Some critique,

The wrench looks near to photo-realism while the other tools look cartoonish. The textures are kinda bland, I know they're simple assets for showcase but they could still have an unique feel to them, characterize them a bit, give them a story.

Other than that, these are looking really nice. And good luck with the rest of the assets!

mole420

Cheers guys

These assets are just the high polys at the moment none are textured yet they just have simple materials or colours applied in Zbrush. Once I get the Low polys made I will be adding a lot more detail to them to show signs of use and wear. Should be starting on the lows tonight but have done enough for one day and want to go play some Hitman so will make a start on them tomorrow and post some more updates.

mole420

Right got the low poly toolbox finished today didn't have as much time as planned today and this thing was a pain in the ass to bake kept getting annoying errors. But think im calling the low poly done for now, its exactly 1000 tris which is higher than planned but it just didnt look good when the clips where all baked down instead of being modeled. So I might go back and trim it down but for now I will leave it. This is not textured at all at the moment it just has the Vcols baked out from zbrush to help me later.

mole420

Been working on the low polys for the tools today, managed to get all of them done unwrapped and test bakes. Next step is to optimize them all as some might be a little high. Also with the drawer of wrenches im going to try baking that all down onto a single plane and see how it works. Currently the wrenches and screwdrivers all just have the hidden faces deleted. Nothing is textured yet still only using the Vcols from zbrush will hopefully get a start on some textures tomorrow. I will upload some nicer shots of the individual assets but for now it was easier just throwing everything in one scene.





Tri count is currently at 3850 for everything.



Also decided the top was looking a bit empty so im working on a few other things to throw in there created a maglight torch for now and will work on some more tomorrow. Anyone have any ideas of tools that should be added to this? Im thinking of adding a pot of screws and bolts something like this http://i01.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/821/934/297/297934821_840.JPG



Also im trying out a different background for the renders as I felt then grey was a bit plain and boring, any crits?

Snader

I preferred the gray, actually.

The duct tape could do with a few more sides. And you've got some weird .. 'spiderweb' artifact on the tape measure.

mole420

The 'spiderweb' artifacts are there because I went back and removed some edges after baking out the normals and have not got around to re-baking them yet. As for the tape I will go back and add some more sides cheers

mole420

Got the low polys for the tools sorted today, managed to pack all 9 of them onto 1 texture sheet and also brought the tri count down a little its now at 1476 total, although in these shots theres more than one of some assets this is just as I find it easier to have duplicates at different angles when working on textures as you can easily see how everything looks from different angles.

Started working on the textures a little just getting some base materials down.

The screenshot is pretty bad as there's just assets randomly everywhere, but just wanted to chuck a quick image up to show the progress.



Wires:

mole420

Update on the textures been working on them today still lots I need to do but thought id chuck them up online to see if anyone has any pointers before I keep going.
Also the screwdrivers need to be rotated as there all the exactly the same rotation at the moment and its really standing out now.







So anyone got any C+C for the textures so far? or anything else on this project?

Envart

I think your decals are a bit clean, the box is quite worn (even has rust), but the stickers look brand new. Most likely there would be smudges, gouges, scratches, peeling edges, or finger prints.

Can you do anything with the lid interior? Like an imperial / metric conversion chart, or something similar? Assuming the lid interior UV is unique. Perhaps a little more detailing on the smaller models? The spanners look proper oily and appear more detailed than the other tools. Another fill light in your render would be good, as you have quite a strong shadow in latest renders, which are looking the best yet imo. Can we see the texture sheets?

Nice work. Three thumbs up!

mole420

Should have stated in my post that the stickers are not done yet as they are really out of place at the moment. I need to add some grime and scratch/peel them abit. Nice idea about the details on the inner lid as it is really plain at the moment. Had someone else comment about my lighting on Game-Artist aswell so really need to work on that for the next renders. Im not on my computer at the moment but will post my textures sheets with my next update.

mole420

Another update on the textures unless anyone has any crits I think im nearly there with them. Still need to work on the render as im not happy with it yet but thought id just show where im at with the textures.

Di$array

Lovely piece of work you have there. Nice amount of grudge but the top tray where you find the touch, hammer, etc could be scratched to pieces, since I don't gently place my tools back in my toolbox. I tend to throw them in.

Also you could add a few dints and bangs to the outside to add a bit more character to the overall toolbox.

Good job though.

mole420

Right think im calling this done, still think the render could be improved but im running out of ideas now. Was a fun little project and quite happy with the results. Final tri count for the toolbox containing everything is 3538







Thanks Di$array, and thats a nice idea with giving the toolbox some dents as the do get beat up a fair bit during use, I might have to go back and give that a try.

mole420

Have not updated this thread lately as I have been working on some freelance stuff. But started on a little side project to got some practice at modeling so higher detail more complex stuff in Maya. Only high polys so far, all modeling done in Maya just thrown into Zbrush for a quick and easy render.

DWalker

You might want to start a new thread when changing course there.

The segments for the columns seem a bit short. Also, columns like that have tended to taper to counter the apparent curvature caused by perspective (entasis).


The curved outer corner of the final model (angle bracket?) seems out-of-place; I'd expect a sharp corner where the ceiling and wall meet.

mole420

Cheers for the advice DWalker, I should have mentioned I am working from a concept and really should have thrown it up in this post but it was late and I got lazy. Heres the concept im working from http://www.johnliberto.com/pix/big7.jpg

In this concept the columns do not seem to taper though I will have to give it a go and see if it looks better.

mole420

Been a few days since iv updated this, Once i finish working I want to grab a quick bit of Bioshock before sleeping haha. But anyway worked on the griffin to go onto the support also finished the main parts of most of it now. got some shots of things together to help get an idea of the whole piece. Not completely sure about the tiles on the floor so will see how I feel in the morning about those. Next step is to take things into zbrush and add some details to try and really push this piece. Always looking for some crits

DWalker

Your griffons' wings seem smaller than those in the reference. The head and shoulders appear to be feathered rather than a mane, which is typical for traditional griffons. The reference ones also appear to be wearing crowns. Of course, the details are small and hard to see; maybe force the concept artist to do some close-up sketches? :P

I think you might be exaggerating the separation between parts of the column - aside from the one to the left of the center one, the columns appear quite smooth.

The stairs should line up directly with the outer arches, with the columns lining up with the ramps flanking the stairs. Since there are 6 inner arches and 12 outer arches, they alternate, with one inner arch behind an outer arch, then a wall between inner arches is behind the next outer arch; this isn't exact, since the inner arch is slightly wider and the wall slightly narrower, but it is consistent - the center of an inner arch is always directly behind the center of an outer arch.

mole420

Cheers for the feedback DWalker.
The stairs where just quickly placed in zbrush in front of the pillar for the screenshot.
Your right about the gaps in the pillars I will tone those down before detailing them cheers.
I decided to stray away from the concept a little with the griffin as the concept is quite small so used some reference from online.

mole420

Did some low polys and some quick test bakes to see how everything's coming together so thought id chuck some shots up on here. Just normal and AO maps at the moment to test the bakes.

Obscura

Ooh! Nice work man, keep it up! Can I ask, how you made the ornaments? From planes? Or with "retopology"? Or inside Zbrush?

mole420

Cheeers Obscura, all everything was modeled inside Maya wanted to get some practice at making small clean detailed meshes.

walklikethis

that's some really nice detail there. keep it up, very nice.

mole420

Thanks Walklikethis

Another small update, modeled the rest of the low polys and ran some test bakes. Got some bits that need cleaning up but pretty happy with how things are looking so far. The Griffin still needs the tail but ran out of steam for tonight so will pick it back up in the morning. Got to sort the high poly steps next and add some zbrush details to assets.

OddEyes

awesome stuff. love that attention to detail!

Rob Macko

Very nice work, sub'd to watch progress

mole420

Cheers people glad you like it
Right now that im fairly happy with the low bakes im starting to detail objects in zbrush. I cant go adding too much unique details as these are modular pieces. Although Im going to use some vertex painting to break things up a bit. Also started throwing things into UDK to see how they look.


High Poly Zbrush


Low Poly UDK

mole420

Not as sure about the stairs might revisit these later, but might see how they look textured first any ideas? Still just normal and AO still on these with some lights slapped in


Zbrush


Udk

mole420

Another high and low sorted out just AO and Normals again looking forward to getting started on some textures soon!


Zbrush


Marmoset

mole420

Another finished sculpt and bake


zbrush


Marmoset

mole420

Some more progress on the highs and lows, only a few more left to detail and bake out then can start texturing.

mole420

Got all the zbrush details done and baked down, started blocking out some colours and putting things together in UDK. Also decided to re model the roof as it felt really empty and simple compared to the rest of the model before. No lightmaps or anything and just thrown in a basic scene

Progg

Looks nice, but I'm not really digging the top of the dome. Looks like a smoothing group mistake rather than intentional. Maybe add some kind of relief or trimming to make it look like intentional tiles?

mole420

Cheers Progg, now you mention it its standing out a lot. I will add some trim tomorrow to try and improve it.

mole420

Had a quick go now to see how it looks, and looks much better. will play about tomorrow with trying it a bit thinner see how it looks.

mole420

Starting working on the diffuse, also sorted the light maps. Just a quick modified diffuse used for the spec for now so excuse that. Always looking for some crits so feel free

Mr Smo

nice work dude, I attempted the same scene a few years ago but never got to finsih it, yours is looking alot nicer!

its here if you are interested: http://www.mrsmo3d.com/pav.html might help.

look forward to the rest of it!!

mole420

Thanks Mr Smo, Cheers for posting your scene its always great to see how other people tackle the same scene. Looking at yours I think I need to tweak the scale a little.

[Deleted User]

May I ask, how did you place the ornaments on the curved wall? Did you use some kind of shrink-wrap, use math, or just eyeballed it?

mole420

Paololazatin, I use Maya for modeling so some tools might be slightly different to other software but mainly used Bend Modifiers and then the lattice tool for any small tweaks

[Deleted User]

@mole420
I also use maya and know its lattice tool, but I'm afraid my inexperience betrays me as I'm not that familiar with this Bend Modifier. Is it this one?

http://vimeo.com/28386726

mole420

Paololazatin, Yeah that's the tool sorry got the names mixed up the bend deformer does most the work but sometimes if the mesh is a more complex shape you need to clean a few parts up. you could fix the few bits by hand but I find it much quicker to use a lattice.

[Deleted User]

Ah, I see. Thanks!

mole420

Have not updated in a few days, had to tweak the scale a little, and was then trying to get something finished for the contest. So I have started to block out the surrounding area and work on the tileable textures to go around the main piece. Both textures have a variation to be used with vertex painting in UDK.

Some shots from Marmoset



Starting to play about with vertex painting in UDK

nufftalon

damn dude amazing love it all

mole420

Cheers nufftalon

Worked on the texture for the walls around the scene and then starting adding to the vertex shader mostly just experimenting at the moment to see what i can do.


Marmoset renders (no specular yet)


No vertex painting

Example of pretty heavy vertex painting.
Textures like the moss are still pretty rough just trying to set the shader up before i can making final textures

ivanzu

Show me some flats so that my eyes can rest! :poly108:

Mr Smo

looking good man!