Fire Hydrant (yes, another one!) :shifty:

Zarakun

Hi polycounters!
Few days ago while watching stuff on 3d motive, I realized how great it would be for me to be more fluent with zbrush (especially for hard surface modeling) and to move away from my usual claytube/trim dynamic/orb crack workflow...

So I decided to start as an exercise the modeling of a small and common hard surface prop, from scratch only within zbrush. I'll keep maya closed until the retopo step.

However, what started as a small exercise turned out to be very interesting and fun to me so I decided to take some time to experiment new things and technics, to optimize and create a clean and detailed prop that will probably be added to my portfolio (and an urban scene).

As mentioned in the title the victim of my experiments will be a poor fire hydrant. I watched one and took pictures of it while coming back from work few weeks ago and it seemed to be well suited for that kind of training (simple hard surface with several potential interesting details to add and really simple geometry blockout).

Here is an evolution of what I've done util now.



Then I faced my first problem, I want to add some chains to it but I've never baked that kind of stuff before so after few search and several lectures on the topic, I started to experiment different tests on low poly geometry.



First chain of my entire life lol...it's pretty high compared to dual perpendicular plans or a really simplified cube but since it will be for close up beauty shots rather than production it should be correct for now (I'll probably reduce the tris count at the end if I realize that this geometry is overkill compared to the visual benefits)

Here are some texture test I did for the hydrant chains based on the zbrush sculpt.



This first one seemed a bit too noisy and not easily readable from the distance so I tried another style with more specularity to "break" the rusty parts (or the opposite)



Now, after several reprojections and the add of extra details here is where I am.



Once again, I experiment with tools I didn't use before like the morph target which is really great to blend different kind of noise...I discover so many things (I was such an ignorant )

Well, I'll keep on posting here as the model goes on. If you have critics comments or better advice, feel free to post, it will help me a lot!

Sorry for that huge novel, if you've read until here, CONGRATULATION!
Next updates will be shorter.

Nosslak

If you're going to bake this you'll need a lot bigger bevels on most of the shapes as they otherwise won't show up at all on the LP. For the chain I'd go with a bunch of alpha mapped planes as otherwise they'll eat a huge amount of triangles.

Good start though!

NegevPro

Great start, I need to make a fire hydrant of my own haha.

ToffeeApple

This is a great idea to really get to know Zbrush. I should probably do this too. I agree with Nosslak - you're going to have to smooth all those edges. I can see this looking really good though. Regarding the chains - there were some links given in my old thread that you may wish to check out for some ideas -

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=117620

I decided to go with two planes crossing over per three/four links. I look forward to seeing the end result!

Zarakun

Thank you for the feedback!

Nosslak: Yes it's actually too sharp, I'm going to smooth most of these high poly edges and beat up some of these hard corner in stressed areas. I didn't do that much of hard modeling stuff but I had a previous experience with that for another work and I needed to smooth my high poly edges to get a good low poly corner with nice specularity rolling on the edges. I'll do some quick baking tests to get the best compromise between realism and aestheticism. Thank you for mentioning that

ToffeeApple: Thanks, hehe when I mentioned my previous lectures, your topic and the chain modeling threads were actually part of these lectures I appreciated your work, simple yet realistic and efficient. Your thread and the links inside have been of great help.

Before starting the detail sculpt and subsequent texturing work, I did something I'm not use to (it's time to get good workflow habits), I did some kind of quick texture mockup to clarify the vision of the hydrant in my head.

I realized that the hundred of references pictures waiting in my bridge library could be confusing in the end (at least it is for me :S) so I needed to crystallize a vision.

I tried to carefully study different elements I'd like to see on my final prop and figured out how to render these effects later.



Then I did that mockup trying to be balanced in the details (it's far from being perfect and accurate but it's a beginning)



The problem is the lack of specularity and glossiness variation (which should play a critical role in the final model)

But I think this step should help me for the texturing process...

If you have other workflow habits that would help me to be more consistent or efficient, don't hesitate to let me know!

Zarakun

Here is a first bake test. Don't pay attention to the texture since it's just a placeholder with a quick AO pass.

Mainly I wanted to check my low poly retopology and the normal map correct behavior.

ToffeeApple

Looking good! I can't wait to see more

Zarakun

Thank you!

The low poly normal/AO bake is over.




It's time to work hard on the texture now.

silkroadgame

Good start.
You can do more details for it.

Rhoutermans

looks hot

Zarakun

I know it may seems counter-productive but I wanted to try something for a long time. Instead of texturing the rust on the hydrant directly from photo sources, I decided to completely model/polypaint an entirely rusted version of the hydrant and to bake these map on the actual UVs. This way, I think it could give me much more flexibility and control on the look and location of the rusted spots in the final texture. I don't know if this is a common workflow since it's a little longer but I wanted to give it a try.

Plus, if it works for this piece I think it could work for every kind of layered material effects later...

Here are some screens of the rusted details (ignore the screws and bolts as they were not initially included in the rusted high poly model)





Next step will be to work on the paint details (scratches/ brush strokes/ dust and peeling)

ToffeeApple

Interesting idea - what brushes did you use to sculpt the rust or is it alphas? Also, what is your poly count on the low?

Zarakun

For the rust, I experimented a little with the morph target and morph brush.
First, I recorded a layer that I filled with noise (I played with a custom noise curve and the noise strength/scale until satisfied). Then, I stored that full uniform noise as a morph target. After turning the layer off and creating a new one, I was able to gently modulate the strength and the distribution of the rust around the asset with the morph brush (in spray mode and with a low intensity).

Once done, I started again with another pass of bigger rust noise also stored as morph target (but combined with the first rust pass). This time I added these deep rust cracks preferentially on the edges or potentially over-exposed surfaces. After some tweaks between the layers intensity, it was polypainted until I reached the desired look.

I know it may not be really clear (sorry for my poor english ). I realized that the morph brush in combination with the use of layers is really amazing and allow for very nice effects.

For the tris count, I'm around 7k tris (for the hydrant, the base and the chains). I know it is completely overkill for a game actually, especially for an asset like this one. But right from the beginning I decided that I would like to be able to make close up shots of this hydrant inside a bigger setup I have in mind. I think I could remove maybe 500 tris with few corrections, as I'll just have to rebake only the normal I think I'll do this at the end. For now, I really focused myself on having a fluid silhouette.

ToffeeApple

Thanks for the explanation! I'd really love to try this myself - although at the moment I have two projects going so it will have to be at a later date. I do think your materials are looking great though, very realistic. It does seem that you have a lot of control working with noise whilst sculpting rather than creating this in Photoshop.

Zarakun

Small update, I think I'm done with zbrush for this project, the texture take form slowly. I experiment with photoshop, I tried a hue variation which I think added a little more credibility to the asset. I'll still have to work on adding dirt on shapes facing upward and some mud on the lower part. I should tweak mainly the specular and gloss map for these effects.

Then I'll finish the chain and base and I'll probably add a floor with small elements for the presentation.

ToffeeApple

I love the chipped paint! Looking good - I'm working on some chipped paint myself today

Zarakun

Thank you I'm not entirely satisfied with the result since it's not exactly what I planned at the beginning

I wanted to add some paint cracks, an effect when the paint dry and detach from the object to roll back on itself. The diffuse looked good but it did not render well in the normal map for close looks If you plan to do it in your project or if you have a trick to do it let me know

ToffeeApple

I havn't tried adding that effect myself - I guess I would try running a photo through ndo2 and when that doesn't work sculpt a small tile-able section in zbrush and goZ to get the normal map then add in Photoshop. Just a few ideas though! I don't know if they'd actually work.

Zarakun

I tried to create a custom alpha from ndo height map generation but the results was too messy even after several trials and setting.

I think this may be an effect not really suited to close up views since it is in the end only faked by the normal map...

Zarakun

I didn't have that much time to work on it lately but I think it should be almost over. After few tweaks on specular map to add variation I think I'll leave it like this and move to another piece before being completely bored by this fire hydrant. Maybe I'll come back later on it with a fresh new sight.

jeremiah_bigley

Nice man! Needs more overall grunge. You have rusted spots, but overall still feels clean. Don't be afraid to get nasty.

Sexy chains btw. lol

Zarakun

Thank you. Yes I completely agree, it's way too clean for a prop that stands outdoor. I'll add global grunge pass and dirt on the stone.

ToffeeApple

It's looking great! I love all the textures Nice touch on the nail we can partially see coming out of the concrete.

Zarakun

Thank you for the compliments

Okay, now I'm done with this asset. I know I could spend 3 month more on it to tweak everything but I need to stop and do something new.

For this last iteration I finished the screws and added last paint chips on them. I also added dirt on some exposed cervices and finally, I modified the specular/gloss maps to add some water leak (which are barely visible on these screens). I didn't want to go completely crazy on dirt and scratches everywhere, trying to stay as subtle as possible and coherent. I've seen so many hydrant references this last month that I could describe every shapes and every type of weather alteration...this is quite close from what I expected but anyway nothing will never be perfect.

I tried to focus on the main characteristics that first jumped to my eyes on several references I saw, like the paint brush strokes that cover the whole object and I tried to reproduce the shapes and direction of these strokes. And thanks to zbrush and the layer brush I tried to physically add different paint layers.

Well it was long but I think I've experimented a lot while doing this work, especially with zbrush. However, afterwards some steps were probably unnecessary and too long considering the final result.

I'll clean the texture sheets, prepare some beauty shots and probably a turntable to add this to my portfolio and then I'll finally start a new project .

Zarakun

Here is a link to a short HD turntable video I did to highlight specular effects.

http://vimeo.com/77982738

Make sure to watch this in HD.

Zarakun

I was not completely satisfied by the overall final look of the asset since my main goal was to do something realistic. So before including this piece in my portfolio I worked a little more on lighting. A realistic and classic 3 point lighting seems to be appropriate to sell realism. Then I was kind of ashamed by the look of the upper screws in which the normal map didn't work properly and did not add enough depth on top of them. So I added just a little extra geometry in the low poly to fix that. The result is way better now and I can finally take great screenshots from above.

AlanSMitchell

at the very end where the fire hydrant stopped spinning I thought the video froze

Zarakun

Yes I need to redo the video with a new lighting, in this first video the rotation was too fast, the music too loud, the information are not enough visible and as you said the end looks like it froze. Thank you for the feedback I'll change that.

ivanzu

Great looking hydrant!I'm sure my dog would be all over it too!

Zarakun

lol
That's what it's made for i think.