[WIP] Ninja Sai

rsavoie356

Hello, fellow 3D Artists!

I've recently graduated and earned my AAS in Game Art, and am now continuing down the road to artistic growth. Since I don't have as much access to my teachers anymore for critiques, I was pointed in the direction of PolyCount. I've already taken a look at some of the artists' work on here, and I have to say, what a talented bunch!

Here is a link to my ArtStation if anyone feels so inclined to take a look: https://rsavoie356.artstation.com/

Also, here is my latest WIP:

High Poly:


Low Poly:


Substance Painter:




After this point, I've been contemplating rendering it in a small scene in Unreal (I would do Marmoset, but I can't afford it at this time). Feedback appreciated, but in any case, happy to meet y'all and looking forward to participating in this community! :-)

rsavoie356

Also, this is the reference I used:

JamesBrisnehan

Pretty good so far. I feel like the hilt could use a little more wear and aging. In the reference, the most exposed surfaces are worn and polished through years of handling, letting the metals shine. The least exposed areas have aged and stained, becoming darker and more matte. Your textures look like pretty uniform except for a couple of grunge maps added in. I would recommend swapping the grunge mask for your grime layer for an ambient occlusion or curvature based mask.

Also, just curious, are you going to make the sheath as well?

rsavoie356

Thanks for the feedback! That does make sense about the hilt and the metals. I actually do plan to make the sheath. I also intend to make a nifty display stand, a la:

rsavoie356

Current progress: Made the sheath, and added more wear to the metal. Curvature maps needed a little boost, so I painted some extra edge wear on by hand. Not sure if I like the wooden material for the sheath, but I may just need to keep working with it. It's difficult to tell what the sheath is made of from the reference, so I went with wood because traditional saya used with katana swords are wooden.

Also working on the stand as well as a small platform to put it all on.

Taylor Brown

hi there,

so a few points that popped into my head:
1) If this is a game art asset, you need to take into consideration your poly budget. even if this is a hero asset, there is quite a bit that your normal bake could capture effectively. The pommel for example has a crazy amount of geo without really effecting the silhouette in a meaningful way.
2) It looks like you are relying on stock smart masks and materials. What gives it away immediately is the fact that nearly every edge has the same amount of wear on it. You need to spend some time thinking about the wear and tear an item like this would go through and the stories you can tell through subtle height, roughness and albedo variation. Have a peek at these assets to get an idea of what I'm saying - 
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ybP0RQ 
https://www.artstation.com/revel
https://www.artstation.com/macebo
3) I'd recommend working in neutral lighting (Tomoco Studio) and using this LUT within Painter as it's about as color accurate as you can get to Marmoset (turn ACES on) or Unreal if you plan on upping your rendering and presentation game. This could also be why your albedo is reading so flat in the last few screenshots.

Have a read through this, I'm sure there is stuff that can benefit you - https://drive.google.com/file/d/10Lbh4UStQkHGGxJjJiiHLG1KOBvm3bO5/view

And if you haven't already, join a discord community or two to help push your work with like-minded folks. Dinusty and No More Grid are the ones to check out.

Also, did Colin Blankenship happen to teach you to model? ACC was my first brush with 3D art. Blew my mind.

Ashervisalis

Yeah your handle poly count is crazy for a low poly. Also you've got 24 edges all converging into one pole which is pretty crazy. For your texturing, make the edge making not so obvious.

I'd also suggest joining a chat room like Polycount's Slack or Discord, as you'll get real time feedback.

rsavoie356

Hah, I had a teacher who sent out this article before. I'll keep checking back to it as a checklist. :-)

The materials were actually from Substance Share, but I definitely see what you mean about the uniformed edge wear. 

Also, did Colin Blankenship happen to teach you to model? ACC was my first brush with 3D art. Blew my mind.

I never had Colin as a teacher, but I saw and talked with him a lot. And he always offered me a TON of helpful hints when he'd look over my shoulder at my work when I was in the lab. He's awesome. :-)

Really appreciate the feedback. Back to work!

rsavoie356

Ashervisalis said:

Yeah your handle poly count is crazy for a low poly. Also you've got 24 edges all converging into one pole which is pretty crazy. For your texturing, make the edge making not so obvious.

I'd also suggest joining a chat room like Polycount's Slack or Discord, as you'll get real time feedback.

Noted, and great idea! Thank you. :-)

Taylor Brown

doh, totally forgot to link the ACES LUT i referenced - https://www.artstation.com/artwork/mrqd8

Keep on grinding! 

rsavoie356

Fixed the low. Y'all were right. It didn't need that much, haha!



Added a teeny bit of height to the details on the blade and tines, and some more wear onto the handle. Also, that LUT is a game changer!

rsavoie356

Rendering in Marmoset. I'll add the sheath in a different shot, this'll be the portfolio thumbnail/top image. I think it's...mostly there?