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The Bi-Monthly Environment Art Challenge | March - April (89)

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Pinkfox sublime tool
Hey all! Want to welcome you all to the 89th edition of the Bi-Monthly Environment Art Challenge for the months of March and April!

This challenge is a way for real-time 3D artists to test their skills and create a piece of work based on concepts provided. It's open to those of all skill levels and we do our best to provide meaningful feedback along the way so everyone can come away from the challenge with actionable points on which they can improve their craft!

Anyone is welcome in this challenge no matter your skill level! It's a test of your own ability not a competition between members. We're all here to improve as artists and learn from each other.

- ENVIRONMENTS -

HARD SURFACE ENVIRONMENT:

Concept art works for a sci-fi movie project last year by Wang Jie


STYLIZED ENVIRONMENT:

《石屋部落》by G xy


- PROPS -

HARD SURFACE PROP:

CLA Box by Gin Z.


STYLIZED PROP:

PROPS #2 - HEIMR project by Geraud Soulie (2D) / Roger Trootman (3D)


- RULES -

Please read all the rules before starting:
  • Try to post at least one critique for every post that you make. This will make for a better learning environment and help us all grow as artists.
  • Try your best to finish as much as you can in the time frame provided, but remember even if you don't finish by the end of the challenge we encourage you to keep pushing and finish your piece!
  • Post what you are working on in this thread so that way it's a more centralized place for advice and critique. Please avoid creating a new thread as we don't want to spam out the forums.
  • It is recommended to use a game engine to present your work. Unreal Engine, Unity, and CryEngine are very common engines that can be used but feel free to use any alternatives that you want. (Marmoset Toolbag for example.)
  • Feel free to change up your chosen concept a bit if you want! Interpret these concepts to your liking, especially if your aim is to add storytelling elements.
  • If you finish your project and decide to post it to something like Artstation, make sure you give credit to the concept artist in the form of a link to their profile. Additionally, it is recommended to ask a concept artist for their permission to post a 3D piece based on their work before doing so.

- RECOMMENDATIONS -

  • When you are just starting out making a scene, it can seem complicated or imposing. Take your time planning and blocking out, it will set you up for success later on.
  • 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, don't be afraid to make it your own.
  • We 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.
The goal is to learn and grow both artistically and in your ability to both give and receive critique, but don't stress about it and remember to have fun!

Good luck everyone!

Replies

  • Fabi_G
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    Fabi_G insane polycounter
    Nice, a new challenge! Whenever I see a chest, I have to model :sweat_smile:
    Probably will try to keep it simple (as always), maybe just geometry and diffuse, roughness, metallic maps.

    Looking forward to see what people are making.

    Edit: Started painting a texture atlas. Previewed on Sketchfab.


    Edit2:
    Continued with the texture atlas and tweaked some geometry. Used Blender and Sketchfab to preview. 
    model
    The original texture atlas is 1k.


    Ended up hand painting some normal map, which makes for an interesting, exaggerated look imo. Maybe I'll experiment with that some more in the future.
    - Texture atlas could be refined/optimized. 
    - Unique AO on UV1 could be added.
  • Convergent31
    Working on the hard surface prop - the CLA box

    1st pass done. 
  • SimãoSilva
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    SimãoSilva polycounter lvl 8
    Gonna try my hand on the hard surface environment!

    Made a quick mock up in blender to get a feel for scale and lighting.

    Having a hard time getting the perspective and the camera positioning but ill worry about that in UE5.
    Now off to start working on the props!
  • Fabi_G
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    Fabi_G insane polycounter
    @SimãoSilva I think that's a solid blockout, looking forward to see it in Unreal. One comment I would make is that there is no proxy human visible in the in the render, for scale reference, thus making it hard to judge the dimensions.

    @Convergent31 Nice start. How are you planning to create the soft/fabric casing?

    Keep it up!

    Edit: Toolbag render of updated chest model:
  • Jammilburn
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    Jammilburn polycounter lvl 8
    I was inspired by the first concept so I thought I would give this a go, blockout done in blender and into UE and messing about with the lighting but I will come back to that. UE camera couldn't match my blender camera completely so I have compromised a bit:



  • SimãoSilva
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    SimãoSilva polycounter lvl 8
    Fabi_G said:
    @SimãoSilva I think that's a solid blockout, looking forward to see it in Unreal. One comment I would make is that there is no proxy human visible in the in the render, for scale reference, thus making it hard to judge the dimensions.

    @Convergent31 Nice start. How are you planning to create the soft/fabric casing?

    Keep it up!

    Edit: Toolbag render of updated chest model:

    Fabi_G totally forgot to do that changed some of the proportions and am now working on making the props and importing into UE5.



  • AD_3D
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    AD_3D polycounter lvl 4
    Fabi_G said:
    ...
    Edit: Toolbag render of updated chest model:
    This looks awesome, great work!

    If I had to think of something for critique, perhaps adding some subtle surface wear to the front handle to break up those highlights. Even just a subtle tweak in the roughness map, however that's just a nitpick as it is it looks great, and a good translation from the concept art.

    I'm looking forward to seeing how all of these turn out.
  • Fabi_G
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    Fabi_G insane polycounter
    @AD_3D thank you, appreciate your critique!

    Took a jab at the sci-fi crate too, being particularly interested in how to create the fabric part.
    model

    Initially I thought about adding folds by putting a floating strip along the edges with fold texture. Sort of a generic solution, that would make it easy to quickly create similar containers, reusing the same textures. But my results were not convincing, maybe I quit this approach too soon.

    In the end, I settled on doing a unique case, using Blenders cloth simulation for the highpoly meshes. To get them into shape, I ended up creating collision meshes for lid and body:


    Finding the settings that give ok results was trial and error and I still don't quite know what some parameters mean. I think using a higher resolution meshes would have yielded better results, but the time simulating would probably increase quite a bit. Using Marvelous Designer for this task would be more convenient.
  • Benny_Jam
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    Benny_Jam triangle
    Been a while since I've done some hard surface work . Thought I'd give the combat crate a try. Done the block out with some modifiers. 

    @Fabi_G  Looks good mate . Not sure how I'm gonna do the cloth part of the box myself. Might take the high into Zbrush and hand sculpt some of the folds 
      
  • Fabi_G
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    Fabi_G insane polycounter
    @Benny_Jam Sweet, happy to see another crate and looking forward to read about your experience creating the fabric cover :-B Blockout looks solid so far! I would remark that the rounded corners are maybe a bit too tight if compared to the original design. But maybe that's a stylistic choice you made or is going smooth out throughout the process. Keep it up!
  • creepyhooman
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    creepyhooman polycounter lvl 7
    For the cloth part of the crate you could use a little bigger mesh (or make it a bit stretchy)  as the basic crate is and then use vacuum effect as to suck the air out. I'm only brainstorming.

    As for my part, I've chosen the chest and the assets from that picture and did a little scene with those pieces.


  • SimãoSilva
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    SimãoSilva polycounter lvl 8
    Starting to pass things into UE5, and making materials with random textures i had lying on my hdd, haven't gotten the hang of lighting but getting there.

  • SimãoSilva
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    SimãoSilva polycounter lvl 8
    Another update, now working on the lighting and those volumetric light shafts, also feeling like the whole scene itself is to bright so i should work out with the post processing, but any one has any tips on how to get those light shafts ? volumetric isn't working as well as i though it would. Also using a volumetric fog to fake the dark end of the corridor.


  • Jammilburn
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    Jammilburn polycounter lvl 8
    Another update, now working on the lighting and those volumetric light shafts, also feeling like the whole scene itself is to bright so i should work out with the post processing, but any one has any tips on how to get those light shafts ? volumetric isn't working as well as i though it would. Also using a volumetric fog to fake the dark end of the corridor.


    Try cranking this this value in your directional light:
    I have been messing around with these values on the height fog too:


    Mainly the distance and falloff, fog density etc so I could get a nice few rays only close up, with the shadowy end of the corridor

    Looking good!
  • SimãoSilva
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    SimãoSilva polycounter lvl 8
    Well played around a bit more with lights, fog, and with some decals to add some more visual noise and variation.

    @Jammilburn I tried! messed around with the values and just gave up, made a quick gradient texture and using some polygons just made some fake light shafts! honestly I don't dislike the end result.

    I'm not in love with the end result but I'm also not hating it, and happy about the results for the amount of work i put in.
    I'm now gonna throw my hand at an attempt at making the crate cause I've been brewing some ideas on how to use clo/marvelous designer to do it and im excited about it "

  • CarlosGPagan
    Hello there! i will try this nice CLA box. Scale and first dimensional block out done! feedback is welcome.
  • CarlosGPagan
    Block Out done using bevel,subdivide and solidify. Ready to HP and LP!
  • SimãoSilva
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    SimãoSilva polycounter lvl 8
    Well took today to make a high poly of the crate, made the hard surface details in fusion 360 and the cloth using CLO! I'll explain my workflow with pictures.

    So this is the model in Fusion360, i made a rough cage of the shape of the cloth, to use it as a guide in CLO.

    The clo files, i mostly just made basic shapes to cover all the angles then merged all the ones i could into their own pieces, connected them and simulated it!


    And now the end result.

    I really like how the cloth turned out, i could have made the particle density higher and get a much high detail mesh but the time it would take would be to long, il just use zbrush or sculpt in blender to smooth and maybe define the wrinkles a bit more.
    I should decide now how low poly i want to make it, part of me wants to make it as low poly as i can but i also really want to capture as much of the detail i can.
    I hope you found the workflow interesting! I'm loving using weirder or more niche software for this kind of stuff.
  • Jammilburn
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    Jammilburn polycounter lvl 8
    Where i'm at with this one:

  • v13r1
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    v13r1 triangle
    I've been working on the crate, but trying to make an interior for it, still a working process but for the exterior, this is what i have so far, will do a proper render when i get the interior items and rig done :D
    The model altogether is around 6k tris, most of the details are baked from the Zbrush high poly


  • Fabi_G
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    Fabi_G insane polycounter
    @v13r1 Hi! Congrats on finishing the crate.

    Some aspects I think can be improved:

    - It looks to me like there are some hard edges breaking up the shading in some places (prominently along the wide beveled corners and the look mechanism). I'd keep in mind that while UVs need splitting along hard edges, edges at split UVs can be shaded smooth.

    - The shape of the metal/hard surface parts gets too irregular in some places (lock mechanism). I would make sure that hard-surface/ rigid elements are clean and even. This will also make them contrast nicely against soft/organic elements. I would not hold back with geometry on curved surfaces, to make sure the silhouette holds up and doesn't look too lowpoly. 

    - The materials currently don't hit quite the mark imo. To help with that, you could use scanned materials or presets either as a base to build on top and/or to take notes on the PBR values. To get a fitting amount and width of edge wear, I would look for reference images.
    Keep it up! 

    @SimãoSilva Very cool, thanks for sharing the process. I'd agree, exaggerating/ detailing some folds to be more distinct/ memorable, would probably help selling the material. Looking forward to see it textured!

    @creepyhooman That's a nice selection of props and a cool looking shot. Hope you're were/are able to continue on this.
  • Pinkfox
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    Pinkfox sublime tool
    Hey everyone! :)

    Some awesome work all around and I love seeing the kind words and feedback coming from many different people over the course of the challenge. You all did fantastic and I hope that those still working on their pieces will keep pushing to reach the finish line with them.

    As the month of May has kicked off so too comes a new challenge! Hope to see everyone over there! <3
  • CarlosGPagan
    Hello everyone!
    There's the result of the BOX, please if someone can give me some feed-back to reach the best result before I post it on Artsation.
    I will be eternally gratefull :)



  • Jammilburn
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    Jammilburn polycounter lvl 8
    Hello everyone!
    There's the result of the BOX, please if someone can give me some feed-back to reach the best result before I post it on Artsation.
    I will be eternally gratefull :)



    Looking good, some critique:
    I would try and make the fabric look more like its going underneath the mechanism/solid parts and try and get the pinching effect, adding more creases etc, then you'd get the look of the fabric being looser but pulled tight at the seams. It perhaps looks a little too flat right now, though I see you have some creasing.

    I would also make the the currently black parts lighter in colour, more metallic and less roughness to get the smoother/glossier look, maybe better lighting or a hdri for reflections also, which would help your roughness variation too. The render overall seems a bit dark

  • SimãoSilva
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    SimãoSilva polycounter lvl 8
    Quite a late update but here is my finished prop! Maybe I should have exaggerated the fabric folds more in my high poly but i am somewhat happy with how it turned out, going to put everything i learned in this project to make the new challenge!

    Also used substance painter for the first time, was taken aback with how seamless baking in it is since i was so used to using xnormals.

    Here are some UE5 low poly to high poly comparison shots. (grey high poly, textured low poly)


  • v13r1
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    v13r1 triangle
    It's quite late, but I kept working on the crate, along with making the interior for it, finished it today, hope you guys like it! more renders and video on the artstation link > https://www.artstation.com/artwork/2BlEdY



  • Fabi_G
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    Fabi_G insane polycounter
    Hey @v13r1, congrats on finishing!

    My critique would be that the roughness/glossiness seems out of hand, particularly on the exterior. To me this makes it look like everything has a coating. I would recommend looking at real world reference image and potentially use scanned materials, either as a base or reference when texturing. Another critique I have, is that some props have a bit of a lowpoly look to them, due to sharp edges (handgun) and facetted rounded elements (radio).

    Keep it up :+1:
  • v13r1
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    v13r1 triangle
    Fabi_G said:
    Hey @v13r1, congrats on finishing!

    My critique would be that the roughness/glossiness seems out of hand, particularly on the exterior. To me this makes it look like everything has a coating. I would recommend looking at real world reference image and potentially use scanned materials, either as a base or reference when texturing. Another critique I have, is that some props have a bit of a lowpoly look to them, due to sharp edges (handgun) and facetted rounded elements (radio).

    Keep it up :+1:

    yeah i think it got a bit stylized from me, should have start from scanned textures, but i just put the baked maps and tried to built the rest on them, like the crate outside i felt from the reference its like leather that's on top of metal, but overall half the time i was searching and learning new stuff, will try to keep that in mind for next project
  • Jammilburn
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    Jammilburn polycounter lvl 8
    Been working on this one still, feel like i'm almost there. If anyone has any feedback+critique, I would greatly appreciate it =)

  • Pinkfox
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    Pinkfox sublime tool
    @Jammilburn That's looks incredible! You've captured the scene so well.

    These are a few suggestions I feel would help elevate it even more, but definitely feel free to make your own artistic choice on it:
    1. Adding a little more variation in some of the repeated elements that are easy to see repeated like the pipes coming from the back of the consoles or the vents on the wall.
    2. I would try to deepen the black level of your shadows. This may require you brighten the material on the consoles and statues a bit so they don't end up too dark, but it will help focus the eye more and allow some of those more subtle shapes to be revealed by the deeper shadows.
    3. The light at the top might be a bit too bright, specifically the one farther back on the ceiling. Ideally it should imply the scale of the room without trying to draw the eye upward too quickly.

  • Jammilburn
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    Jammilburn polycounter lvl 8
    Pinkfox said:
    @Jammilburn That's looks incredible! You've captured the scene so well.

    These are a few suggestions I feel would help elevate it even more, but definitely feel free to make your own artistic choice on it:
    1. Adding a little more variation in some of the repeated elements that are easy to see repeated like the pipes coming from the back of the consoles or the vents on the wall.
    2. I would try to deepen the black level of your shadows. This may require you brighten the material on the consoles and statues a bit so they don't end up too dark, but it will help focus the eye more and allow some of those more subtle shapes to be revealed by the deeper shadows.
    3. The light at the top might be a bit too bright, specifically the one farther back on the ceiling. Ideally it should imply the scale of the room without trying to draw the eye upward too quickly.
    Thank you very much for the feedback! Much appreciated. Here is where I'm at the moment, I've reduced the top light and darkened shadows where I could, moved lighting slightly almost sillhouting the figures which I'm liking
    Some other angles:


    Feeling about done, just making changes at the moment that don't elevate it much. But appreciate any other feedback :)

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