Mage Table [WIP]

Shanck

Hi everyone...
I decided to start working on a new project. A mage table...
I have no concept, so it's gonna be a lot of experimenting.
The general idea is a stylized table with some books, vials, candles, etc
I don't know exactly what to pick as a style so that will become clear as I move on.

One of the main goals of this project is to collect as much feedback as possible... Try Everything... and then find what works best
So please, during this whole project feel free to give suggestions on everything...

Shanck

Ok, so I decided to start with making the table...
Just a simple wooden table with a bit of metal.
This is because even if it's covered by a lot of different props, it will still be a big part of the final render.
I also wanted to make this first because it's an easier part so I can keep testing out styles with this.
The table will be considered mostly finished when I managed to find an artstyle for the whole scene that I'm happy with.

I started with a base model in blender...
Quite a simple model, focused on shapes and just making the shape a bit more interesting.
Putting some bends in everything and put some bevels on the edges in the hope that it will turn out a bit better.


Next up I took the table into Zbrush.
I could probably make the whole table with just some textures... But personally I really like the feel a sculpted prop gives you.
I'm a big fan of the style in the Darksiders series, so I might go for that in the end.
However for now... I just wanted to make a quick sculpt so I could use it to test the textures.
Once I found the right artstyle I'll probably change the sculpt a bit more to give a nicer result.



After this I take everything to substance painter.
I made a very quick (not very good) unwrap of the base model, since it's probably just temporary.
Baked all my maps and tried some old smart materials I made a while back.
 
Just a really quick smartmaterial to check how a very simple texture would work


And this one was made with a smart material I made for a forest environment I made a few months ago.

Right now I'm trying out some more styles...
Any feedback or suggestions would be amazing.

Thanks for going through my chaotic project with me

Shanck

Just finished another texture
I personally really like this one

Any feedback?

Shanck

Tweaked the texture a bit more and tried a very quick and simple setup in Unreal Engine

Shanck

Made a really quick blockout. I Expect it to change a lot during this project.
I will work prop by prop and keep changing the layout 

Shanck

Shanck

Went on vacation, first day back and slowly got myself to work a bit on this project.
Tried to find some interesting lighting and tried to make a liquid and glass shader.

I think this looks a bit mysterious and interesting. I should look nice if the open book at the front has some bright runes as well.

Ashervisalis

Throw a skull in there! Looking cool so far. I think you could have gone a bit deeper with your wood grain, but you're a little far down the road for any corrections. I did an alchemy table a long time ago. One thing I regret is not putting enough creativity into the potion bottles. They are definitely a focus.

Shanck

Ashervisalis said:

Throw a skull in there! Looking cool so far. I think you could have gone a bit deeper with your wood grain, but you're a little far down the road for any corrections. I did an alchemy table a long time ago. One thing I regret is not putting enough creativity into the potion bottles. They are definitely a focus.

Oh yeah... A skull would be great, thanks .
the first potion bottles were made really quick and simple, also making some more conical ones, and the pots on the left should have some herbs in them. Would that be enough? Or do you mean more like special looking liquid and some labels?

Ashervisalis

Check these out, I did a little google search for ya. They're more difficult to make than simple cylinders and cone shapes, but they're more likely to draw people's attention and impress them. So far nothing on your table really draws the attention. If you have colourful potions, they're going to attract the eyes, and they will become the focal piece. So, make sure when your viewer looks at them, they have something interesting to look at for a few seconds, and not just a few simple colourful cylinders.

I'm looking forward to seeing the end result!

Shanck

I'm going to keep this in mind. The idea was to keep the open book on the table as focus point.
Still have to model it but I was thinking of something like this... with some glowing runes so that it will draw attention.

Ashervisalis

A book like that would be really cool

Shanck

Just worked a bit on the book, which I hope will work as a focus for the scene.
Instead of having the runes floating over the book, I thought it might be better here to have some of the writing light up.

What do you guys think?

Ashervisalis

Looks wicked!

Shanck

IIt's finished... finally
I have a slight breakdown of a few props here: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Dx1eOe

Ashervisalis

Looks cool, good job!

Brain_Slave

Hey! I know this project is finished, but I still would like to give you some C&C for the future.

I think that the candle lights might be way too strong on bottoms, I can barely see the flame itself.

Glass shader is probably too dark. Some lighter tint might improve it.

By the way, I like your wood sculpting on table. Still, I think some bolts on the iron piece would be nice.

Will be waiting for more of your work, good luck!

Shanck

Brain_Slave said:

Hey! I know this project is finished, but I still would like to give you some C&C for the future.

I think that the candle lights might be way too strong on bottoms, I can barely see the flame itself.

Glass shader is probably too dark. Some lighter tint might improve it.

By the way, I like your wood sculpting on table. Still, I think some bolts on the iron piece would be nice.

Will be waiting for more of your work, good luck!

Thanks for the feedback, you're right.
I always feel bad for not applying feedback like this on a finished project.
But I will take it into account for my next one!!