Port town "Modular Environment Project" for HE Course.

NESFlint

For one of the final college course units I've been tasked with creating a 3D environment, my limitations for this scene will be:

No more than 30,000 tris
Maximum of 4x 2048x2048px Texture sheets (can be broken down into several 1024s, 512s, etc)

The model must be either of a real-life structure/place or at the very least a fictitious but easily possible place, based on real sources. (I don't know why I'm noting this it doesn't really mean much. Basically I have nearly free reign on what I can model.)

I've chosen to create a "Port town," essentially a long strip of buildings overlooking the sea, separated by gangplanks and boats. Inspired a bit by places such as Lyme Regis (albeit without the beach) and Whitby.






I'm still a bit short of ideas since my visual library isn't too good for towns near the sea in England, it mostly consists of breezeblock buildings and repurposed fortresses.

At the minute I'm planning to use photo-realistic textures, but I'm also considering that all the textures could then be desaturated in photoshop to give off an old B-movie effect, giving the town a Nosferatu feel to it perhaps, or on a completely different mood spectrum, make them all that shade of green to simulate the Gameboy.

Cannibal Aardvark

Not 100% sure if this is what you're after, but if you want some good English sea-side towns/cities...

There's this little town, Seaview, near where I live. I can't find many good photo's, but there's a Google street view thing if that helps.

There's also places like Blackpool - there's plenty of photos of the coastline there; though most of them focus on the tower. :P

You've also got Portsmouth if you want more of an actual port - again with the towers. >.<

NESFlint

Since that last post a few weeks ago I've modeled some of the pieces I'm intending to use to make up the buildings. I've yet to get textures or make the floor blocks and boats.

[sketchfab]da69c5683fa84679a862a13e9c41896a[/sketchfab]
House Example by William Rodriguez on Sketchfab

I've also done a quick concept that focuses more on the dock in-between the shore and the boats

NESFlint

I've been working on the texture atlas today- photomanipulation isn't something I've done much of so it's taken me a lot longer than I'd have liked to make this, (and I'ts not exactly finished.


Most of the photos used here were from CG textures, though a few are photos I have taken on my phone's camera.



CG textures didn't have a generic sign so I experimented making one with an overlay.

NESFlint

Texturing test (without alpha maps)
[sketchfab]c9067559137e4209adf42a6ec41c4bd8[/sketchfab]
House Example Textured by William Rodriguez on Sketchfab

NESFlint

[sketchfab]a2ec6f8d2bab4758b7d2c65a5b7d5cb9[/sketchfab]
Modelling Progress Stage 1 by William Rodriguez on Sketchfab

Started assembling stuff with floor pieces I've made to see what I need to make next- I know that I need organic materials and some details like tables with those little umbrellas and bins.

edit_ changes/additions to make:

Close off location and make into small island.

Fix slope texturing and change texture for the steps because they look a bit crap.

Add Barrels, crates. rope, usual port town junk, baskets of fish perhaps?

Dirt masks for the base of the buildings.

NESFlint

Sort-of concept art for my intentions



Little fort on the northeast edges, small beach for the western side.

NESFlint

Progress with Geometry, deadline for finishing this is tomorrow.

[sketchfab]9936670839764ef0baa410b540e6a91e[/sketchfab]
Port Town Island Progress by William Rodriguez on Sketchfab

I've only got 1 1024x1024 Texture map remaining, or 4 512x512 maps if I can be that sly (and a bit of space on another texture sheet for adding junk)

Water, Sand, Rocks and Grass are four textures that may need to be tileable, and there fore appear as 4 respective 512x512 maps.

NESFlint

The scene was finished last Friday, here's what the model looks like when it was submited to my tutor for examination.

[sketchfab]14be08b7817d4ca590ef25cd1a12ed72[/sketchfab]
Port Town Island by William Rodriguez on Sketchfab

This model's used every single 30K tri of the maximum limit- though I feel that some of my modelling methods has cost me some valuable details: For example there is a lack of streetlights, and not enough boats or details to define the location as a port town.

I also think that I did not place as many dirt masks as I should have, the island still looks too new. Just now I've noticed some horrible texturing on the grass mounds which I think could have easily been resolved in a quick unwrap prior to importing as an FBX.

I'd also lament a lack of normals to give many of the textures extra depth where it otherwise has none- the rockwalls and waters for example are straight planes and could have benefited the most from normal bumping.

Though I was limited in texture maps for the submission of this project (4X 2048x2048s, which I split as some 1024s and 512s) I am thinking that I may return to this model by adding some normals and extra details where the brief did not allow, such as adding more streetlamps and boats.

If anyone else has any suggestions of what I could add as further detail that'd be most appreciated! Thanks for looking.

riddlaz

Is it a requirement for you to consolidate several textures into one sheet? The issue that is that this way you have to cut the geometry in order to tile the textures. Which results in you having to add more triangles even when the surface is flat. I would suggest keeping textures that you intend to tile separate. Thus using the triangles to add modeling detail and curvature.