Art Test Preparation! Call for advice

LorasTyrell

Hello everyone

I have been considered for an entry level job in a game studio, and will have to do an art test for it. I'm ready to go all in on this, but I am in university still and have never done anything like this before. That is why I am showing it here, in hopes of getting some valuable feedback. Be as mean as you want, because I need it. 

Disclaimer: I do not know what kind of art test this is going to be. The position is for 3D art, and Google has not given me any concrete examples for this company. What I have done here is create an asset based on a piece of concept art. 

Edit: The mesh has 1134 faces. When triangulated it has 2110.


I am using the middle plant pot as a reference. This is part of a drawing by David Bolton as concept for Guild Wars 2. 


IRay render from Substance Painter 


Marmoset render


Marmoset turntable

The model was created in Maya and textured in Substance Painter (Which I have barely used so this was good practice). I will model the plant as well when I have time. 

Thank you all
Ole Midthun

Jakob Gavelli

That pot is actually a pretty good prop to have as an Art Test. ^^
If I was giving someone that concept as an art test I would assume they would model and texture the plant aswell, as they're both part of the prop.
Other than that I would suggest you try to get as close as possible to the concept with your model. Right now you haven't really nailed the silhuette or proportions. And the main reason to give someone an art test is to see if they can nail the style, which I don't think you have done here I'm afraid.

Great idea, keep doing these and try really pushing yourself!

PixelMasher

yea, go back and re-work the proportions. the concept is tapered and looks a lot more sturdy/weighty. it has more character thanks to the different angled shapes and thicknesses.

the center portion of the pot that is inset should have more details and it adds to the form in the concept.

the overall level of detailing needs to be improved, in the concept there are tons of little knicks and dings that are begging for a nice chunky zbrush sculpt. 

finally, your materials and textures need some work. the spikes in the concept look like they are made from iron, the wood is worn and looks a bit rough and the gold is dinged up. right now everything looks really perfect and like some basic substance materials applied and called done.

my biggest piece of advice would be to constantly have that reference image up on your screen, and compare your work to it over and over. are the proportions the same, is the overall feel and vibe of the prop matching to the concept. Hope this helps, good luck on the art test

Bedrock

Also what the others said about taper, etc.

Also you don't need all the meshes to be connected. The spikes can just stick through the surface fine, you don't need to merge them like you did.

LorasTyrell

You guys are amazing!! Thank you so much for this. 
Jacob, I definitely see what you mean. I wasn't too happy about the silhouette already, I will try and mend that. 
PixelMasher, You do have a point. I suspect doing a ZBrush sculpt would also help the texture process. I need the practice with ZBrush as well so it works out. I will also try to keep a closer look on the reference  
Bedrock, this is so specific and useful, I will go over those points closely. Good point about the spikes, I didn't realise they turned out so small... That should definitely help out the silhouette. Even for game art, the spikes don't need to be connected? That makes it simpler I suppose I just try to keep it to one mesh with a low polycount

Thank you again, this is super super useful!

LorasTyrell

Update on the reviewed model. I have redone the mesh, using a different approach for the base. I think this look way better. I have also kept the silhouette in mind, and exaggerated the spikes a bit for this reason. The shape should also be more like the concept. 



Now I suppose the next step is ZBrush  

Jakro

@LorasTyrell That's looking much better. Good job! I have a few suggestions though. The upper most edge looks like it's rounded off too much. In the concept that edge looks much tighter. I would also thicken the bars as they are looking a little thin. I would also suggest thickening some of the shapes. It will help you maintain the overall forms when you start to sculpt in some bevels and damage. Be sure to use the radial symmetry tool in zbrush when doing generic damage, it will help you get a consistent look across the mesh. Then turn it off and break up any repetition and add some unique detailing. Here's paint over that may help illustrate my suggestions.


Keep at it! It's getting better and better!

LorasTyrell

Thank you so much for your feedback @Jakro, this kind of detailed feedback must mean I have got something right I will update here once I have a highpoly version to show!