@killnpc that's a cool idea! Rigging/animation is something I bang my head against every now and then, just to get tangeled up in all those contstraints and animation curves. But one day :P
A quick update with the recently "completed" Bi-Monthly-Environment-Challenge to document my process.
Used tiling surfaces and a trimsheet for texturing.
Base geometry for the roof consists of single sided lowpoly, using the following modifier stack:
Subdiv
Displace
Decimate
Solidify (for the roof, to add thickness, assign new vertices to vertex group)
Data Transfer (vertex normals from non-displaced instance limited to inverted vertex group)
Boolean (to rough up edges)
Some array objects like wood boards or ladder rungs use following modifiers:
Array with UV offset along U to add surface variation.
Displace to break up shape (limited by vertex groups to borders/certain areas)
Transfer Attributes to transfer vertex colour masks from helper mesh
I think the boards don't hold up close up. An alternative to explore would be to randomly choose detailed meshes from a list. How to distribute the transforms? Particles? Geometry nodes? What proxy geometry to use? Probably similar approach when making the roof from singe slates. Or one can see how far detailing the current geometry goes. Or monkey work.
Adopted the habit of using instanced collections for repeating elements like windows, doors or barrels, since I feel it it helps to keep the scenes slim.
For presentation I used UE5.11. Set up cinematic cameras for different shots. Added a video sequencer for the short turn around clip rendered with movie sequence renderer:
Overall making videos in Unreal is something I find very fund and interesting (loops!?) and something will explore more.
Maybe I will have the time and motivation to continue on it at later time with fresh eyes.
Used a bevel modifier on simple geo for the highpoly, combined with floaters. To reduce skewing when baking, support loops were added to the lowpoly using a bevel modifier with 2 segments and profile of 1. Due to identical shading, normal map was applied to unmodified lowpoly.
Other ways I could have done the asset would be to bake down bevel shader for the base body, or create a midpoly with fwn. Then add details using mesh decals?
Tried to keep it simple, so just did some low-poly modelling. Painting the texture atlases was fun. Used boolean modifiers to rough up the models. Particularly the chest turned out too simple.
A project I sort slipped into, which exploded a bit in scope, against my better knowledge :P This resulted in spreading myself too thin and giving the individual assets too little time. First time I touched Niagara to create some fire particle systems.
Some of the different material types created:
Fur - UV0: Tiling fur textures. UV1: tiling border trim alpha. Alpha cutoff parameter to thin outer shells. Vertex color is used to vary the base colour.
Cloth - UV0: Tiling fabric textures. Macro noise to add varition. UV1: individual pattern and borders. Simple grass wind to add some movement.
Coal - Two layers of emissive based on the packed height mask. Varied by a panning noise. Pixel depth offset to blend with other meshes.
Large objects - Combine low/medium resolution textures with tiling detail textures. Modulate values based on packed object masks.
Simulated some simple pieces of cloth in blender to add some variation. The majority of the assets is simply modeled, using tiling textures. A shield BP projects a decal to the outer side of the shield mesh. Setting the index, one can flip through different painting variations. Project on AS contains a short video clip showing the hall in movement.
Once again recognized that one flaw of mine is that I spread myself too thin, not giving individual assets sufficient polish. What's next? Idk, probably should finish some things I started :P
loop experiments with animations, modules and instances:
Started carving a pretzel/ knot-like shape from some spare piece of wood while visiting family. Maybe I will continue working on it during my next visit.
Also went to a village named Mürren over the weekend to do some hiking, nature was incredibly beautiful.
Update Time! Random sketches - maybe I could turn some into simple characters for loops or a game
Recently got around to look through things I worked on during my last employment and put things on my portfolio. Loved working on spider creatures.
Other than that, I started with the magic hall environment for the bi-monthly environment challenge (awesome concepts). Combing trim sheet with tiling surfaces. Why am I still playing Spelunky 2?! Got to continue System Shock at one point!
Still didn't continue with System Shock, still playing Spelunky 2.
Random sketches:
Inspired by the current artstation challenge Neo Tokio, I was thinking of a character. It would be someone living/surviving in the lower levels of the mega city, between pipes and cables.
Short monster side project in progress. It's for a friend to use in his prototype. It has some sort of hands/claw like mandibles. Looking at the current state, it reminds me of a Bloodsucker found in Stalker. Probably do another pass on the highpoly and textures should be much more detailed and horrible of course. But I exported a version to Unreal at this time to check out how it looks, transferring the mannequin skin weights. Going off to visit family for two weeks, working on the laptop.
Damn,
why have I never thought about this... A
sketchbook, but instead of 2D sketches alone, I can also do sketches in 3D.... I feel so stupid. I
have always been so obsessed with finishing everything, when working
in 3D.
Maybe that is why my
progress is, and always have been so slow, I do not experiement enough.
You posting and shareing of this, has really been an eye opener, thank you so much.
Camera path too hectic, straight path? simulate physics/damage? Dust particles. Adventurerer details? Rope, tunik, ... Current process uses Rigify. Faster using mixamo? Use a unified skeleton - reduce time spent by using stock animations?
Dear diary... :P Sometimes I don't update, because I feel something is not finished or relevant enough :')
I'm thankful I got the opportunity to take part in a small group exhibition with some loops, assembled into a video. Cool to share it in that format and get some real life reactions. My mother also participated in this exhibition with paintings, which was a cool experience I did a rough sketch to accompany the screen with something "real". While nothing special, it was nice to use some real brush again and have a no-ctrl+z-experience
(the paintings seen on the right are by Stefano Gentile)
Started doing a loop sequence using a series of paintings of doors/windows by my mum. Reduced quality and colors to get a small enough gif
Got more paintings to experiment with and generally plenty ideas in on my backlog.
Then I dug my teeth into the current bi-monthly challenge. First I translated the medieval stylized chest, based on the great concept by Geraud Soulie, into 3d. model Maybe I want to do more hand painting in the future, to get better at it. Feels refreshing to break out of the - self-imposed - highpoly to lowpoly prison and just model and paint away.
Also I took on the Sci-fi themed crate, based on the cool concept by Gin Z. Mainly I wanted to do that fabric cover :-B model Ended up cloth-simulating it in Blender using collision meshes. It was quite slow trial and error process. If doing fabric more often, I would consider Marvelous Designer for sure, although the subscription model is a bit of a turn-off. Edit: Edited the text some
Currently touching up a tree-house environment, done for a past old bi-monthly entry. Brought it over to Unreal. Working on increasing overall fidelity. Fleshed out the back side of the house/island some more. Updated the Artstation project with a short turnaround video: Tree House.
I want to break out and polish those texture sets: - wood trims - rope - rock - overgrowth - bark - plaster/rough surface
More ideas: Add a floating vessel/boat (fixed at the ring on the back side), refine rock island - more organic, unique texture for the antler, add some flowers and personality items, make a night version - the hanging pearl objects could be lanterns, additional tree modules - for distant islands?.
Did something for LD, the theme being "Summoning". Didn't go very smooth as always , the result being far from anything like a game. I used Game Maker and forgot a lot of the functions, therefore had to compromise a lot on my ideas (and I didn't have good discipline).
Initial game idea was pretty vage to begin with - and ambitious for my skills: Camera zoomed out. The player is weak and can walk around. When at an object the player can summon a companion whos stats is depended on its origin and will follow and fight. With multiple companions the player can best stronger foes, and from their remains, summon stronger companions.
Questions: Goal, win condition? How to communicate entity stats? Authored map/situation vs random? Controls?
Another rough idea was to make more like a text adventure style prototype following a summoner seeking on the quest for power. One ending going bad because the summoned get out of control.
Dusted off my PS3 and played Metal Gear Solid for the first time and fixed my bicycle :-B
Wanted to make the model downloadable for free under CC non-commercial license as is the original, but then realized this wasn't possible using the NoAI-tag. "Starting today, you will no longer be able to apply the NoAI tag to new uploads of CC-licensed content due to the uncertainty around the tag’s enforceability outside of Sketchfab." stated a post from Nov 2023. Noticed the sketchfab forum is gone. Then read that the platform will dissolve into "Fab", same as Quixel Megascans and Artstation Marketplace - wondering how that's going to go. All this certainly makes me re-think my use of such platforms, considering their existence and rules are so fragile. Maybe going forward, I should stick to Toolbag viewer.
Again, some time passed since last update. The longer I wait with updates, the more likely it is I miss stuff or don't post at all because then it's too much work scraping together the images I shall try to post more often, less mixed content maybe - will make it more structured too.
Anyways, what has happened since last post?
Found a new freelance project after a drought period which made me question myself. I'm currently in my second year working as a freelancer. Compared to when I was employed, I feel more pressure. When I have a project, it's often quite intense, when I don't, I'm worried that I won't find the next one Diversity of tasks/challenges is great :-B I suppose when it gets too much of a struggle, I'll have to look for employment again.
Some side quests I made some progress on:
Started collaborating with AlexJ on assets, see his 3d action game development thread. Working that way feels fun and refreshing. I like tweaking existing models.
Hoplite an early test I did a recent version
Satyrs Modified base mesh created by Alex
Lamassu
Anzu - picked up mesh from Alex
Character for a Squad mod. This is maybe the third iteration I'm doing. Get it together!
Revisited "Got Mail?" project, an old environment challenge entry. Tweaked assets some more, imported into Unreal, build a small scene, did renders and a short clip.
Further improvements: - Add more breakup/detail to large shapes (decals?) - fill empty space (back, right), maybe a bicycle leaned against the back, a small shed, ... - move ivy closer to wall - improve trim sheet - particles in air? Visualization of wind. - character for scale? Simplified shapes.
Blocked out a market stand for the current bi-monthly. Will I continue it?
Put some models I did for a past challenge into Unity and baked light. I think my latest job, which entailed light baking, inspired me to do so. Somehow I find light baking satisfying :-B Maybe I will continue with this scene? Currently I'm using the default baker but I'm thinking about getting Bakery.
Did an iteration on a Persian hero provided by Alex_J (3d action game development) Roughly rigged and posed with rigify
A quick Update on the market stand for bi-monthly: Rendered in toolbag using a cell shader by almighty_gir. Used the same approach as for the 3d action game development.
Update: "Finished" the Market Stand: Created an Artstation project, containing a turntable clip: Some Vegetable?
A first iteration of an opponent created for Alex' 3d action game. Rendered in Toolbag using Almighty_gir's cell shader, the shading in game will be different. And a turntable gif:
Currently less time for personal projects, but happy to have freelance work. Going to move to another region of Germany in the next two month, have to clear my flat and fix it up.
Continued some with the roundtable room. Added in an old knight model. Updated the web build hosted on itch. Some screenshots:
I decided to get the Bakery addon for myself too. Possibly there's a need for people with knowledge of light baking, for low spec applications, like web or VR. And it's fun, so I will explore that direction further.
Vage gameplay ideas: There are several rooms (worlds?), different thematically, visually and gameplay wise. Each room has an entrance and exit. Items can be found and are persistent across rooms and therefore be used to unblock obstacles across worlds. It would be nice to have a mechanic to switch between rooms. There I was thinking about a input device where one can enter a code associated with a world. The codes could be found in the environments.
Other side quests:
create a low-spec character for a prototype
check out the new bi-monthly challenge
play Noita :-B
... things I forgot ...
Edit: Added some more moss and updated shader (layered shells), more vertex blended mossy walls, added candle prefab, finally beveled corners of pillars Created this generic orc guy (WIP), for a different project:
Oof, even though I could probably continue on this scene forever, I feel like I have to give it rest for now and do something fresh. Finally created an Artstation project, which I think needs more breakdown images. Also updated web build.
Changes I did:
Introduced some normal maps and baked lighting with Directional mode set to "Normal Map Direction". Unfortunately the Normal Map strength gets ignored by default, I'd have to look through the example Bakery shaders, but sort of works for now.
Added some more bevels and detail edges to make the room less blocky looking.
Based on feedback reduced the polycount from ~3,700 tris to ~1k. Made head bigger, more of a piggy nose. Same rig, but more hunched over pose.
Got Quake Live in the current steam sale and looked into adding custom characters. Importing parts of the existing character models into Blender, it's continuous strip with vertex animations. Probably able to bake down a skeletal animation. Maybe that's a future side quest, if I find a good tutorial/writeup
Oh hi Polycount-Sketchbook, long time no see Since my last post did some contract work, spent some time with friends, moved places. Sometimes it felt quite hectic, particularly moving, but in the end everything worked out somehow.
"New" place
Moved from Hamburg back to a smaller city Lörrach, where I grew up. Having left around 2010, it seems I can only now, with some distance, appreciate the beautiful nature of this area. Also a few child-memories here. I hope to take more time do more creative and experimental stuff going forward and go out more hiking and cycling.
Old sketches
While moving my stuff, excavated a moving-box filled with old sketchbooks in the cellar :-B I hope to digitalize some now and then. When I looked through some books, it got flashbacks of the old times (some embarrassing) and what I wanted to do then (make concept art?!). While some sketches feel naive and ignorant to me today, at the same time they feel maybe more confident and determined. I guess time and work made me more smooth and willing to compromise :P Perhaps I'll revisit some ideas.
Ludum Dare 56 - Tiny creatures
Totally missed the start of this one. When I realized Saturday evening it had begun, almost a day had passed. Thought I give it a try regardless, for fun.
Initial vague ideas were: A - Have creatures run over the screen, doing stuff, screensaver-like. Interact by clicking on them. B - Interact with generated dummies in the desert. C - Travers large structures/sculptures while feeling tiny.
The idea I settled with in the end, was just navigating some small guy through a dark world, a goal being to become familiar with Unity's nav-mesh components. I'll update the current state of the web-build on itch (nothing exciting though). As always, didn't finish :'-) Still, learned some new things and remembered some old things. Maybe I will continue with it in the future, or it will get merged into another project.
Initial vague ideas
sketches/ideas
tiny guy model
screenshot of experiment
Inktober 2024?
I hope to create a few simple models based on the prompts and apply hand-drawn textures. For the hatching/shading, I want to blend in tiling textures based on a mask (vertex color, geometry input). Did some quick sketches:
Shall post more frequently again - the longer I put it off, the more often I delete my drafts T_T
Backpack created for inktober. At first I attempted some procedural shading. This quickly felt too technical and non-committal, so I decided to jump and just paint the damn texture
Gate-Scene iteration
Did some further iterations on this Unity scene created for a past bi-monthly environment challenge. and applied my newly acquired cinemachine learnings to create shots and sequences. I think overall asset quality can be improved significantly, currently feels very much blockout/ non-committal when looking closer.
For the theme sun, I first thought of a person enjoying the sun, then it became Solaire, which subsequently inspired the prison cell environment. I went through a few iterations and can't quite tell yet which one I prefer.
V01 - still like the cleanliness and readability
V02 - cell environment
V03 - wanted to emphasize the sun more and Solaires' longing
Model on Sketchfab: model Looks like I swapped prompts 8 and 9, whoops!
Backpack created for inktober. At first I attempted some procedural shading. This quickly felt too technical and non-committal, so I decided to jump and just paint the damn texture
Gate-Scene iteration
Did some further iterations on this Unity scene created for a past bi-monthly environment challenge. and applied my newly acquired cinemachine learnings to create shots and sequences. I think overall asset quality can be improved significantly, currently feels very much blockout/ non-committal when looking closer.
Congrats with finished Gate scene, really nice atmospheric and angle of shot. Watched your artstation with more shots, impressed. Maybe i steal couple of idea for presentation, haha
@Djyver Ha, thanks. I think it was your update in the bi-monthly thread that made me want to tweak some things. Really digging the movement along the growth you implemented (might try that too ) and looking forward to see your results.
Here is a loop inspired by the theme "Hike", although I think it fits more to "Trek" and or "Cliff". I think at this point, I might just use the themes as a starting point. Lot's of the outcomes are accidental anyways :-B
Replies
These are a lot of fun!
@Bolovorix Certainly lot of fun to make, thanks for having a look 🍻
Wow, can't believe the sketchbook made it to page two 🤩 Thanks for frontpage, much appreciated 🙇
Another day, another experiment 🐺
screenshot from viewport
👹+🚗
more loops
screenshots
loops
greentooth loop 🍻
capsule art in progress 😌
The cherries' run cycle would be a lot of fun, that's great.
@killnpc that's a cool idea! Rigging/animation is something I bang my head against every now and then, just to get tangeled up in all those contstraints and animation curves. But one day :P
A quick update with the recently "completed" Bi-Monthly-Environment-Challenge to document my process.
Used tiling surfaces and a trimsheet for texturing.
Base geometry for the roof consists of single sided lowpoly, using the following modifier stack:
Some array objects like wood boards or ladder rungs use following modifiers:
I think the boards don't hold up close up. An alternative to explore would be to randomly choose detailed meshes from a list. How to distribute the transforms? Particles? Geometry nodes? What proxy geometry to use? Probably similar approach when making the roof from singe slates. Or one can see how far detailing the current geometry goes. Or monkey work.
Adopted the habit of using instanced collections for repeating elements like windows, doors or barrels, since I feel it it helps to keep the scenes slim.
For presentation I used UE5.11. Set up cinematic cameras for different shots. Added a video sequencer for the short turn around clip rendered with movie sequence renderer:
Overall making videos in Unreal is something I find very fund and interesting (loops!?) and something will explore more.
Maybe I will have the time and motivation to continue on it at later time with fresh eyes.
I saw the current challenge on Artstation, maybe I will do something for that? So far this is my favorite concept from the first stage: https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/061/358/254/large/d-2.jpg?1680610696
But first I have to do some work :D
Projector from Prey, based on the concept by Dmitry Sorokin
model
Used a bevel modifier on simple geo for the highpoly, combined with floaters. To reduce skewing when baking, support loops were added to the lowpoly using a bevel modifier with 2 segments and profile of 1. Due to identical shading, normal map was applied to unmodified lowpoly.
Other ways I could have done the asset would be to bake down bevel shader for the base body, or create a midpoly with fwn. Then add details using mesh decals?
Armchair and props, based on the concept by María Gómez
model
Tried to keep it simple, so just did some low-poly modelling. Painting the texture atlases was fun. Used boolean modifiers to rough up the models. Particularly the chest turned out too simple.
Viking Palace, based on a concept by Anna Kulakovskaia
A project I sort slipped into, which exploded a bit in scope, against my better knowledge :P This resulted in spreading myself too thin and giving the individual assets too little time. First time I touched Niagara to create some fire particle systems.
Some of the different material types created:
- Fur - UV0: Tiling fur textures. UV1: tiling border trim alpha. Alpha cutoff parameter to thin outer shells. Vertex color is used to vary the base colour.
- Cloth - UV0: Tiling fabric textures. Macro noise to add varition. UV1: individual pattern and borders. Simple grass wind to add some movement.
- Coal - Two layers of emissive based on the packed height mask. Varied by a panning noise. Pixel depth offset to blend with other meshes.
- Large objects - Combine low/medium resolution textures with tiling detail textures. Modulate values based on packed object masks.
Simulated some simple pieces of cloth in blender to add some variation. The majority of the assets is simply modeled, using tiling textures. A shield BP projects a decal to the outer side of the shield mesh. Setting the index, one can flip through different painting variations. Project on AS contains a short video clip showing the hall in movement.Once again recognized that one flaw of mine is that I spread myself too thin, not giving individual assets sufficient polish. What's next? Idk, probably should finish some things I started :P
Started carving a pretzel/ knot-like shape from some spare piece of wood while visiting family. Maybe I will continue working on it during my next visit.
Also went to a village named Mürren over the weekend to do some hiking, nature was incredibly beautiful.
Random sketches - maybe I could turn some into simple characters for loops or a game
Recently got around to look through things I worked on during my last employment and put things on my portfolio. Loved working on spider creatures.
Other than that, I started with the magic hall environment for the bi-monthly environment challenge (awesome concepts). Combing trim sheet with tiling surfaces.
Why am I still playing Spelunky 2?! Got to continue System Shock at one point!
Random sketches:
Inspired by the current artstation challenge Neo Tokio, I was thinking of a character. It would be someone living/surviving in the lower levels of the mega city, between pipes and cables.
creating an oven based on the cool concept by seru.
Model on Sketchfab:
model
Rendered in Toolbag:
UVs/Textures:
model
Damn, why have I never thought about this...
A sketchbook, but instead of 2D sketches alone, I can also do sketches in 3D.... I feel so stupid.
I have always been so obsessed with finishing everything, when working in 3D.
Maybe that is why my progress is, and always have been so slow, I do not experiement enough.
You posting and shareing of this, has really been an eye opener, thank you so much.
sketch (ugh)
Simple scene with pulsating overgrowth?
Camera path too hectic, straight path? simulate physics/damage? Dust particles. Adventurerer details? Rope, tunik, ... Current process uses Rigify. Faster using mixamo? Use a unified skeleton - reduce time spent by using stock animations?
rowdy weather
sea beast
Toolbag4 render:
Sketchfab:
model
Texture atlas 256x512 (diffuse, roughness, metallic, emissive):
Sometimes I don't update, because I feel something is not finished or relevant enough :')
I'm thankful I got the opportunity to take part in a small group exhibition with some loops, assembled into a video. Cool to share it in that format and get some real life reactions. My mother also participated in this exhibition with paintings, which was a cool experience
Started doing a loop sequence using a series of paintings of doors/windows by my mum.
Reduced quality and colors to get a small enough gif
Got more paintings to experiment with and generally plenty ideas in on my backlog.
Then I dug my teeth into the current bi-monthly challenge. First I translated the medieval stylized chest, based on the great concept by Geraud Soulie, into 3d.
model
Maybe I want to do more hand painting in the future, to get better at it. Feels refreshing to break out of the - self-imposed - highpoly to lowpoly prison and just model and paint away.
Also I took on the Sci-fi themed crate, based on the cool concept by Gin Z. Mainly I wanted to do that fabric cover :-B
model
Ended up cloth-simulating it in Blender using collision meshes. It was quite slow trial and error process. If doing fabric more often, I would consider Marvelous Designer for sure, although the subscription model is a bit of a turn-off.
Edit: Edited the text some
I want to break out and polish those texture sets:
- wood trims
- rope
- rock
- overgrowth
- bark
- plaster/rough surface
More ideas: Add a floating vessel/boat (fixed at the ring on the back side), refine rock island - more organic, unique texture for the antler, add some flowers and personality items, make a night version - the hanging pearl objects could be lanterns, additional tree modules - for distant islands?.
Who lives at this place?
Simplified CAD models
Simplified some existing CAD models for real-time rendering. A relaxing activity.Adjustable wrench, original CAD model by Semere Maschalu
model
Wheelchair, original CAD model by Tom Saey
model
Ludum Dare 55 Struggles
Did something for LD, the theme being "Summoning".Didn't go very smooth as always
Initial game idea was pretty vage to begin with - and ambitious for my skills: Camera zoomed out. The player is weak and can walk around. When at an object the player can summon a companion whos stats is depended on its origin and will follow and fight. With multiple companions the player can best stronger foes, and from their remains, summon stronger companions.
Questions: Goal, win condition? How to communicate entity stats? Authored map/situation vs random? Controls?
Another rough idea was to make more like a text adventure style prototype following a summoner seeking on the quest for power. One ending going bad because the summoned get out of control.
Dusted off my PS3 and played Metal Gear Solid for the first time and fixed my bicycle :-B
model
Wanted to make the model downloadable for free under CC non-commercial license as is the original, but then realized this wasn't possible using the NoAI-tag. "Starting today, you will no longer be able to apply the NoAI tag to new uploads of CC-licensed content due to the uncertainty around the tag’s enforceability outside of Sketchfab." stated a post from Nov 2023. Noticed the sketchfab forum is gone. Then read that the platform will dissolve into "Fab", same as Quixel Megascans and Artstation Marketplace - wondering how that's going to go. All this certainly makes me re-think my use of such platforms, considering their existence and rules are so fragile. Maybe going forward, I should stick to Toolbag viewer.
Anyways, what has happened since last post?
Found a new freelance project after a drought period which made me question myself. I'm currently in my second year working as a freelancer. Compared to when I was employed, I feel more pressure. When I have a project, it's often quite intense, when I don't, I'm worried that I won't find the next one
Some side quests I made some progress on:
Started collaborating with AlexJ on assets, see his 3d action game development thread. Working that way feels fun and refreshing. I like tweaking existing models.
Hoplite
an early test I did
a recent version
Satyrs
Modified base mesh created by Alex
Lamassu
Anzu - picked up mesh from Alex
Character for a Squad mod. This is maybe the third iteration I'm doing. Get it together!
Revisited "Got Mail?" project, an old environment challenge entry. Tweaked assets some more, imported into Unreal, build a small scene, did renders and a short clip.
Further improvements:
- Add more breakup/detail to large shapes (decals?)
- fill empty space (back, right), maybe a bicycle leaned against the back, a small shed, ...
- move ivy closer to wall
- improve trim sheet
- particles in air? Visualization of wind.
- character for scale? Simplified shapes.
Blocked out a market stand for the current bi-monthly. Will I continue it?
Random sketches
Somehow I find light baking satisfying :-B Maybe I will continue with this scene? Currently I'm using the default baker but I'm thinking about getting Bakery.
Did an iteration on a Persian hero provided by Alex_J (3d action game development)
Roughly rigged and posed with rigify
Edit: updated with improved renders
Rendered in toolbag using a cell shader by almighty_gir. Used the same approach as for the 3d action game development.
Update: "Finished" the Market Stand:
Created an Artstation project, containing a turntable clip: Some Vegetable?
Edit: Converted clip into gif
A first iteration of an opponent created for Alex' 3d action game. Rendered in Toolbag using Almighty_gir's cell shader, the shading in game will be different.
Uploaded the current web build on itch with the intend of updating it.
Continued some with the roundtable room. Added in an old knight model. Updated the web build hosted on itch. Some screenshots:
I decided to get the Bakery addon for myself too. Possibly there's a need for people with knowledge of light baking, for low spec applications, like web or VR. And it's fun, so I will explore that direction further.
Vage gameplay ideas:
There are several rooms (worlds?), different thematically, visually and gameplay wise. Each room has an entrance and exit. Items can be found and are persistent across rooms and therefore be used to unblock obstacles across worlds. It would be nice to have a mechanic to switch between rooms. There I was thinking about a input device where one can enter a code associated with a world. The codes could be found in the environments.
Other side quests:
Edit: Added some more moss and updated shader (layered shells), more vertex blended mossy walls, added candle prefab, finally beveled corners of pillars
Created this generic orc guy (WIP), for a different project:
Roundtable finished?!
Oof, even though I could probably continue on this scene forever, I feel like I have to give it rest for now and do something fresh. Finally created an Artstation project, which I think needs more breakdown images. Also updated web build.Changes I did:
touched up the project thumbnail in Photoshop
Orc Guy
Based on feedback reduced the polycount from ~3,700 tris to ~1k. Made head bigger, more of a piggy nose. Same rig, but more hunched over pose.Got Quake Live in the current steam sale and looked into adding custom characters. Importing parts of the existing character models into Blender, it's continuous strip with vertex animations. Probably able to bake down a skeletal animation. Maybe that's a future side quest, if I find a good tutorial/writeup
Orcs
Had some time to further explore orc designs."New" place
Moved from Hamburg back to a smaller city Lörrach, where I grew up. Having left around 2010, it seems I can only now, with some distance, appreciate the beautiful nature of this area. Also a few child-memories here. I hope to take more time do more creative and experimental stuff going forward and go out more hiking and cycling.Old sketches
Ludum Dare 56 - Tiny creatures
Totally missed the start of this one. When I realized Saturday evening it had begun, almost a day had passed. Thought I give it a try regardless, for fun.Initial vague ideas were:
A - Have creatures run over the screen, doing stuff, screensaver-like. Interact by clicking on them.
B - Interact with generated dummies in the desert.
C - Travers large structures/sculptures while feeling tiny.
The idea I settled with in the end, was just navigating some small guy through a dark world, a goal being to become familiar with Unity's nav-mesh components. I'll update the current state of the web-build on itch (nothing exciting though). As always, didn't finish :'-) Still, learned some new things and remembered some old things. Maybe I will continue with it in the future, or it will get merged into another project.
Initial vague ideas
sketches/ideas
tiny guy model
screenshot of experiment
Inktober 2024?
I hope to create a few simple models based on the prompts and apply hand-drawn textures. For the hatching/shading, I want to blend in tiling textures based on a mask (vertex color, geometry input). Did some quick sketches:Backpack
model
Backpack created for inktober. At first I attempted some procedural shading. This quickly felt too technical and non-committal, so I decided to jump and just paint the damn texture
Gate-Scene iteration
Did some further iterations on this Unity scene created for a past bi-monthly environment challenge. and applied my newly acquired cinemachine learnings to create shots and sequences. I think overall asset quality can be improved significantly, currently feels very much blockout/ non-committal when looking closer.
Discover
model
Boots
model
04 - Exotic
05 - Binoculars
Models on Sketchfab:
model
model
06 - Trek
07 - Passport
For the theme sun, I first thought of a person enjoying the sun, then it became Solaire, which subsequently inspired the prison cell environment. I went through a few iterations and can't quite tell yet which one I prefer.
V01 - still like the cleanliness and readability
V02 - cell environment
V03 - wanted to emphasize the sun more and Solaires' longing
Model on Sketchfab:
model
Looks like I swapped prompts 8 and 9, whoops!
@Djyver Ha, thanks. I think it was your update in the bi-monthly thread that made me want to tweak some things. Really digging the movement along the growth you implemented (might try that too
Here is a loop inspired by the theme "Hike", although I think it fits more to "Trek" and or "Cliff". I think at this point, I might just use the themes as a starting point. Lot's of the outcomes are accidental anyways :-B
V01
V02 - reduce color palette, noisy
V03 - Inverted fog