Obelisk Model (Need Critiques)

Trevor

Over the last five months I have been trying, failing, and succeeding at 3d modeling and texturing. I finnaly have a model that I am proud of and want to share. Let me know what you all think.

DWalker

The diffuse feels a bit noisy - I wounder if you can't remove some of the high-frequency changes from the diffuse and rely upon the normal map to provide the details.

The weathering feels a bit generic. Try to show where dirt and grime would accumulate, and how streams of water would cause the dirt to leave streaks.

If you are modelling an obelisk, then you have gone a bit overboard with the geometry. Obelisks were generally carved from a single stone, occasionally placed upon an ornate plinth. They are very simple structures, but often with very intricate carvings. (The cross on the picture below was add some 1,500 years after the obelisk was moved, and several millenia after it was carved...)

Trevor

This is my original reference image from an Elder Scrolls Online screenshot.

I totally agree on letting the normal map get a little louder and taking noise off the diffuse.

I have tried a few ways of producing the weathered water drip effect but it always seems lackluster and unrealistic in the end. I take a custom linear dry brush and gently stroke downwards letting it fade at the end, then blend it on hard light or overlay. Do you know of some other good ways to get that effect?

Cheathem

Hey Trevor, I like your end result.Reminds me of gears of war style with it being all gritty and all.I actually think i like your version better than your reference,so thats definitely a good thing.Whats your texture size btw?

DWalker

I've used the wind filter in Photoshop with some success for dripping rust & dirt, but generally on much larger scale objects (warships). This http://www.phong.com/tutorials/slime/ is a nice, simple tutorial about the basic process. For larger streaks, I'd use a simple gradient in the alpha channel to gradually fade the streak as it progresses. I'm also a fan of applying a feather to the selected area to smooth the transition.

Trevor

Thanks DWalker ill try that out. Texture size is 1024/1024. I downsized for presentation purposes.