Monthly Environment Art Challenge - November & December 2018 (57)
greentooth
Welcome, all! Time to round out 2018 with our final Monthly Environment & Prop Challenge for the year!
Thanks to all the great suggestions for this Challenge - this is one of my favorite collections yet
Remember if you don't finish in the time allotted, just keep plugging away and post when your work is finished. There's always some good progress that falls off the radar - we want to see your work! So keep going and finish those pieces!
Without further ado, here are our options for Challenge 57:
artist:https://www.artstation.com/artwork/XmXqa
HAND PAINTED CATEGORY:
artist:https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OW5Bw
artist: https://www.deviantart.com/noahw/art/Meat-hook-710808893
HARD SURFACE CATEGORY:
artist: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/E5wA4
If you want to change up either concept a bit, as some people wanted, then feel free. Interpret these concepts to your liking.
Please read all the rules before starting.
When you are just starting out making a scene, it can seem complicated or imposing, so take the time to break it down.
Think about how you can re-use assets, re-use textures, break it down as simple as possible and plan it out. A lot of people will break it down in their own way when they start out their challenge. Gather some reference images as well for different parts of the scene, maybe gather some refs and make it your own.
Take your time planning and blocking out, it will set you up for success later on.
Here are some specifics.
Thanks to all the great suggestions for this Challenge - this is one of my favorite collections yet
Remember if you don't finish in the time allotted, just keep plugging away and post when your work is finished. There's always some good progress that falls off the radar - we want to see your work! So keep going and finish those pieces!
Without further ado, here are our options for Challenge 57:
- ENVIRONMENTS -
HARD SURFACE CATEGORY:artist:https://www.artstation.com/artwork/XmXqa
HAND PAINTED CATEGORY:
artist:https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OW5Bw
- PROPS -
HAND PAINTED CATEGORY:artist: https://www.deviantart.com/noahw/art/Meat-hook-710808893
HARD SURFACE CATEGORY:
artist: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/E5wA4
If you want to change up either concept a bit, as some people wanted, then feel free. Interpret these concepts to your liking.
Please read all the rules before starting.
When you are just starting out making a scene, it can seem complicated or imposing, so take the time to break it down.
Think about how you can re-use assets, re-use textures, break it down as simple as possible and plan it out. A lot of people will break it down in their own way when they start out their challenge. Gather some reference images as well for different parts of the scene, maybe gather some refs and make it your own.
Take your time planning and blocking out, it will set you up for success later on.
Here are some specifics.
- Try to post one critique for every post that you make. This will make for a better learning environment and help us all grow as artists.
- You must use a game engine to present your work. Unreal Engine and CryEngine are very common engines that can be used but feel free to use any alternatives that you want. (Marmoset Toolbag is allowed as well)
- You must try your best and finish as much as you can in the time frame provided.
- Post what you are working on in this thread so that way it's a more centralized place for advice and critique. We don't need to have 1000 disjointed threads littering the forums.
- I would strongly encourage you to go and look at other games and see how they make their assets as well as get concept art to give it your own feel, but it must stay very close to the concept, if not super close.
- Well, that's about it. If you think that any rules should be changed, or there should be new additions to the rules, please let me know. As always, please feel free to provide feedback / suggestions in this thread or by messaging me directly.
Replies
I'm going to use this as a chance to wipe dust off my rust. Hoping to get better at modeling and texture work. I picked the hard surface prop. But need help along the way.
To start with, may I ask how should I approach this?
Low poly to High poly
or HP to LP ?
I see people doing it different ways, but I'm wondering why that is and which way I should go as a somewhat newbie.
Thanks in advance.
I might pick up the industrial robot arm myself as I need to redeem my cred from last challenge. I completely blew it out of my rear end and didn't realize it until after stepping back to look it over.
Keep your model simple. If you have modo or Zbrush, use Mesh Op Booleans / Live Booleans so you can work and test out shapes and proportions on the fly. Don't worry too much about the details when blocking out and if you can, save support edge loops for last after you're sure that everything is good to go.
IDCrisis0, Same here. Want to make game res stuff.
So if I get it right,
1. Create LP or blockout
2. Create HP
3. Duplicate and take out support loops to end up with LP
4. UV
5. Bake
Is that the correct workflow?
Also, don't be afraid to reduce flat areas by merging verts....
Below is an example of the low res model next to the high res with geometry frozen (prior to being sent to ZBrush for detailing).
Here we go for the Marmoset.
I threw this blockout for the pier scene tonight. Starter content water for now. Trying to figure out the water placement.
Very basic lighting bake that didn't play kindly. But I'm just working on placement.
Is my first time in Monthly environment Art Challenge!
Also the scythe looks very nice. Wondering it it'll look better with a metallic map. The concept has a steel feel to it.
So if I get it right,
1. Create LP or blockout
2. Create HP
3. Duplicate and take out support loops to end up with LP
4. UV
5. Bake
Is that the correct workflow?
@Maximum-Dev - This is a perfectly reasonable workflow. Some people have slightly different versions of this, but for the most part this is the process I follow.
Still playing with the lighting. I will need to work on that water plane since it's just a starter content piece.
Might have jumped the shark and started going TOO detailed on the handle.
@Maximum-Dev, as far as having a metallic map applied, I do have it, but I toned it down a bit in the earlier renders.
Good going to @Zerogun and @cerverus94 on starting your entries! I hope to be able to multi-project this challenge and hopefully can tackle one of the environments!
*EDIT* Upon further review, I might be redoing this after looking at other examples of stylized art. There are things that don't seem to work quite right, especially with the cracks and materials. Everything looks a bit too off. */EDIT*
Also would be incredibly helpful if people record their screen while modeling. Would help people like me a lot to get started quicker.
The layout is looking great. I love the idea of connecting it to a little beach.
Remember to check back on the concept art from time to time.
@Maximum-Dev, I might try to screenflow some of what I'm doing. Probably not until tomorrow though since today I'm spending a bit more time learning Unreal Engine, and Modo / Z-Brush / Substance / Unreal workflows.
I went back and downsized the house, dock pieces and support beams. I still think the main dock is a little too wide, but I'm not sure how I could fit the house on it if I make it any smaller.
One thing you can do to have the scale proportions right when creating from a concept, is to add the concept as a background image in 3ds max/maya etc, and move the perspective camera to match some basic shapes as closely as possible. After that, create a camera in that position, try to adjust the focal lens a bit. It might take a while but you can achieve the exact same proportions of everything in the picture. I do this every time, saves ALOT of tweaking and adjusting
I tried to hit the perspective and would be glad about some critics
And the blockouts i see here are really well done!
https://youtu.be/hmxYPe9xtLw
The ground-floor level pieces were lowered. You can see the balcony walls were raised too high still. That will be my next step, but I don't want to get too pulled into one piece of my scene.
I also followed up with a tileable ground piece for the sand and sand ridge where my plants will populate. I will be going back to adjust these later. But now I don't have to finagle the damn landscape stuff.
Thanks so much for these guides. They're a big help!
I'm going to be recording more modeling tonight, but I might consider making time-lapses. On the other hand, there are a few corrections that I need to make after having consulted real world items for reference, so it might be worth it to audio-narrate again.
As for my own blockout, I haven't really made it too far... only under the 90 minute mark.
Here's the BSP blockout so far, using UE4's mannequin to get the right proportions got really useful
With that done, I'm starting to create some props for the exterior
WIP with the rest of the blockout hidden. Water needs work or maybe a new map all together.
Edit - Reviewed the concept and noticed I misused the red on the deck so I have attached another image regarding that, I need to also add more detail to the house such as gaps and holes.
As I already mentionned in the past, I'm much more of a props dude than a full environment artist and this might be my second (succesful) attempt at doing this, so this might not be top notch quality to the eyes of the more professionals, though I am glad of the result 👌
Second post in a row, I'm sorry but I had an urge to post it.
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/mq88OY
THIS IS FIRST LEVEL ON WORK BASE MESH ON MAYA AND NEXT LEVEL GOING TO ZBRUSH ADD DETILES
Soft used: 3ds max, Zbrush, Substance Painter, Marmoset.
Beauty shot:
Rotated a bit:
And a turntable:
If you look at this tutorial by Fanny Vergne, for example, she uses the normal and AO maps to add lighting information to her textures (I believe by overlaying them in photoshop).
<img src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5j46dwq0ln4/UjFL4VWIo6I/AAAAAAAAAMc/FUH7i9EwS60/s1600/prez_coal.jpg" alt="" title="Image: https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5j46dwq0ln4/UjFL4VWIo6I/AAAAAAAAAMc/FUH7i9EwS60/s1600/prez_coal.jpg">(In fact I think World of Warcraft also do use Specular maps for metals armor, although I might be miss-remembering that.)
I can only speak for myself, but I would struggle to interpret a lot of the shadows and highlights without those maps baked from a high poly model, particularly on textures that aren't flat. It also lends a lot of depth to the model if you use it as an overlay (using the RGB channels of the normal map can be particularly useful for getting directional light correct) And if in the end your normal map works, I would keep it on the model. Unless you're going for a more "painterly" style, I think it adds a nice level of "umph" to the model, but that's just personal taste, and there are plenty of artists on here who produce work far better than mine without any additional maps, so it's about finding a workflow you find satisfying.
Also my WIP: I've decided to have a go at the Witch's Fortress of Love. I went for a more detail-oriented approach, which means I am placing every tile and stone by hand. Even using a curve modifier it's taking forever.
I break up the monotony by painting a few assets in Substance Painter. I'm using a procedural material to grab the highlights from the curvature map and a Light mask generator to give directional light, which means I only need to go back and repaint a few small details. If I get time, I'd like to go back and repaint it all by hand, but I can already sense I've set myself an impossible task....
https://polycount.com/discussion/207093/monthly-environment-art-challenge-concept-thread-january-and-february-2019/p1?new=1
Swing on by and vote or post concepts for next month!
kade
Here's where I am so far:
I know what I'm about to ask seem like a stupid question but I really don't understand modular pieces when it comes to buildings that have both interior and exterior part and none of the tutorials I've stumbled upon explain this.
Should I use the same piece with 2 different textures and thickness for the interior and exterior or should I use separate pieces? All the tutorials I've seen show either one sided modular walls or pre-textures 2-sided walls so I don't know how to build my pieces. I've left so many things unfinished just because I don't understand this simple thing. Here's an example: https://i.imgur.com/4daBAIc.png Help would be very much appreciated and sorry if this isnt the right place to ask.
As for your scene, It's looking good so far. I'm really liking the wood material on the docks.