Environment prop - Obelisk Prop - WIP

Beard3D Bandit

Hey guys! Up until xmas I have decided to do 2 props, trying to get as much as i can from both, yet taking away different lessons from each. Check my sketchbook (progression thread) in my signature for the previous prop.

So, here is the next prop I want to create. I created the previous prop by creating HP>Baked to LP>Substance painter. For this one I wanted to learn how to create effective alphas and sculpt my object in ZBrush. So I chose this concept: 

It's perfect for a couple of reasons:

1. I can see this benefiting from ZBrush (sculpting and chipping away). I wanted to create a more ancient feel compared to this concept, so I kept that in mind.

2. I eventually want to create buildings/props using a modular approach, so I intend to prioritize pieces that I can sculpt, then piece it together and then create the LP for it to be baked out in Substance Painter. For this project, I want to make use of keeping all my models named correctly, so substance can explode this for me. 

3. My previous prop, I almost gave up because it didn't feel RIGHT. So after getting some advice from another artist, I gave my paper texture an opacity mask. It sounds easy, but I hadn't done it before. For this project, I can see me experimenting with an Emissive map for the lettering. Some things will look different in the initial sculpts, it's just the direction I see the prop leading.

4. It looks fun!

Here's some initial sculpts, I started with some of the main pieces that require a decent amount of detail, and draw the eye. Next I'll be sculpting the bricks:
 

Peace, Beardy

Opilo

Looking good. Great start.

JAXMP

pretty good start indeed, the only problem imo is that the bottom right piece looks a little cluttered -- it looks narrower than in the concept piece and the details within it are kind of fighting for attention, maybe you should make the circles a bit smaller and the runes bigger, but i'm not sure which part of that piece you want to emphasize

Beard3D Bandit

Thanks Jaxmp!


So the direction I wanted to take this piece may differ slightly from the prop, for the important reason being how far I can take a concept, add to it and perhaps add a personal touch.

With this one, I wanted to emphasize that it is an ancient shrine, I thought that center piece 'C', not only didn't define the material clearly, but also looked quite dull (in my own opinion). So rather than just having a plain rock/stone material, the horizontal lines in C and B are wooden  pieces, rotting away. These could provide an insight to how the people build things (as I would love to indicate and hint cultural traits that the prop was built for) The circles could also serve as structural posts which will also be wooden. The image A, roughly shows the kind of wooden material im looking for, which would be the circles and the horizontal pieces.

I wanted the etchings in 'B' to show the difference in it's material that it's etched into, compared to the etchings in the solid stone (the square tablets and pyramid shape), possibly showing that the stone in B is a softer rock, that has worn away more as a result of the environment.

With that piece, I will be baking it onto a panel polygon and then duplicating to fit the brick framework.

I will play with the size and see how it goes, thanks!

Peace,
Beardy

Beard3D Bandit

Got some baking done tonight, not felt too well, so will keep it going during the week, enjoy your weekends!

Peace,
Beardy

Beard3D Bandit

So I am pretty much done for tonight, had some playing around with making different masks to create my emission map, so when the prop is in it's 2nd stage, it is lit from the etchings and some of the major cracks. Had a lot of fun, here's what I got so far.


some parts of the prop are WAY too noisy with the emission map, so I intend to create 2 layers and 2 masks:

1. primary layer - this will be the etchings as they are what initially draw the eye once lit
2. secondary - these will be seen through most of the damaged areas and cracks. it will have less intensity than the etchings, but should bring more life to the object.

Peace,
Beardy

Beard3D Bandit

small update this morning:

I wanted to capture the deep oranges and reds seen mostly in sedimentary rock formations and desert rocks. I love the chaulky surfaces with the white scratched highlights. I used a few smart masks and created two layers for emissive maps (etchings are more powerful + cracks are more subtle)

Peace,
Beardy

JAXMP

hi it's me again! the colors are looking pretty good, it looks nice and old and dusty, but if you want to sell the sedimentary look i think it'd help to lay down some bands. note how there's really noticeable banding here and there, most noticeable in the front columns, and behind the spire

Beard3D Bandit

Hay Jax! lovely to see ya again haha. Yes! I love this, I want to try and implement this somehow, perhaps just grabbing some sedimentary rock textures and making masks from them, and just keep the colors flowing. Perhaps the larger pieces that glow could be made from this, and have the smaller bricks more like the sculpt I have above

Enjoying making the most of what I can with this project. Substance Painter is perfect for it too! Thanks for the feedback, appreciate it alot. It's good to get some acknowledgment that I'm heading into the right direction haha

peace,
beardy 

Beard3D Bandit

So tried some masking and using actual textures of sedimentary rock to mask out where I could apply some horizontal layers. I am 50/50 on it, though, perhaps once I sculpt and bake the bricks, and piece all of this together, will I get a better understanding of what it will look like.



Let me know what you think!

peace,
beardy

Beard3D Bandit

update on texturing:

created a mask for the wood, I saturated the wood because it wouldn't have as much vibrant life in it, if the environment is ancient and in a desert.

peace

Klawd

It's looking great already

Beard3D Bandit

Thanks Klawd!

Beard3D Bandit

So, I forgot to upload my general plan for the prop/scene. I would love to have the prop in two modes, if I have time, then have it slowely animate between these two modes. 

the modes are 'normal mode' (during day time) and 'levitate/light mode' (during night), during the levitate mode, the pyramid will also seperate vertically, and levitate. I also would love to create a base for the prop, as it would connect nicely to the ground. It also gives me the opportunity to use the high poly brick sculpts, and reuse them to create a circular, or square brick platform, that would also glow. During the levitate mode, I want to add small pieces of brick and dirt levitating off the ground to emphasize the power of it's levitation.



Here's my initial brick sculpts I started tonight: 

peace
beardy

Beard3D Bandit

(below) Oh! I loved this angle for some reason, so thought I'd share it 

I've been working on the main brick pieces and piecing it all together for final baking. here is the end result. I have learned a LOT from this prop.

1. what my computer is capable of (without burning into a box of fire) perhaps having each of the bricks above have it's own LP and then just piecing together the low poly bricks (which would already have their own UVs, would have put less strain on my computer. I wanted to test the method of piecing together the HP bricks, and then exporting into zbrush (decimate + export LP)

2. substance painter wasn't having any of it when I attempted to bake the normals and AO. so I used xnormal for those bakes.

Because I am going away very soon, I am going to call this prop done. I didn't like the sedimentary patterns on the detailing pieces, as it didn't sit right once the whole prop was constructed. I wanted to go for a Divinity: originial sin level of detail, which is probably called 'semi-realistic'.  Ultra-realism is something I have moved away from over the course of my learning, perhaps I have enjoyed games that don't rely on that 'ultra realistic' setting.

Anyway, I'm sure I will see things that can be improved or added, which I could still add (flora/base etc) but I will be enjoying the holidays, as should you all!

May the season bring warm memories to you all,

peace 
-Beardy

Beard3D Bandit

I had some feedback from another artist, and didn't want to leave the problems without fixing them:

1. the bricks on the rim were not realistically placed (fixed hp, rebaked)
2. most of the model wasn't optimized (retopologised, reduced vert count by 50-70%)

here is the end result. I can imagine having small props to dress this up a bit (candles and offerings around the obelisk) but this was a project to take me to xmas and I am happy with the end result.

https://cdna2.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/004/282/994/large/glenn-donnelly-artstation.jpg?1482012971