New Splash Damage Art Test -BW

BradleyWascher

Figured I would take a stab at splash damages new art test. Here is a link http://www.splashdamage.com/images/content/arttest_concept03.jpg

Last couple of nights Ive been chipping away at this bad boy, Currently This is the HP model and I'm looking for any kind of feedback I can get before I move onto the LP model. Thanks -BW



UPDATE: (compare lower on page)

pior

The only thing jumping at me atm is that the triangle indents (on the white surfaces) don't have the tension the have on the original concept. Yours look like guitar picks with their inflated edges, but the sides on the original ones are totally straight, and then the corners are rounded/chamfered. I could make a diagram but I am sure you see what I mean!

BradleyWascher

Yeah those triangles have been a pain, I think might just turn them into floating Geo so I can get back some of the control I need to make the corners more rounded and crisp. Thanks for the feedback.

IchII3D

I could only assume that this art team is testing your ability to represent over scaled objects. Because you have retained such an element of accuracy you have looked passed any identifiable areas that help you understand what it actually is. Don't get me wrong, your high poly model is nice. But do you currently know what it is? Its also very similar to the old test they used to have, with more of a cartoon concept leaving you to represent its true scale yourself, but you still have a clear understanding it was a dock. This on the other hand looks very unidentified and I can only assume they are looking for people to represent its purpose in their own way.

Unless I'm completely wrong and they just want a nice high to low polygon bake based on accuracy. But that seems a bit flat and not really testing your creativity, understanding of scaling and been able to reference and create an object with purpose from nothing.

I can only assume Another test they are also trying to achieve is how well you use your texture space, as generally an object of this scale would not be uniquely unwrapped.

Its a really testing challenge if you look past its very primitive detailed surface and more about its scale and how you would fit it into a console budget.

sketch81

Looking awesome! One thing that's standing out apart from the vents is the silver panel I've circled in the image. In the concept it looks like the top of the panel is "hugging" the bottom section. I might be wrong or it's the angle of the render, but I thought I'd point it out anyways..

Skamberin

If anything the object itself looks either like some kind of modern take on a storage silo, that or some kind of water purifying container of sorts. The holes might be access ports for tubes for emptying and filling the tanks, the ventilation like features might be for a cooling system.

It looks very Brink-ish, so I'm guessing they'd want some saturated colours on it too :P

As for the mesh itself, everything except the triangles (already discussed) and the middle section look spot on. In the concept the middle section (where the two "barrels" meet) seems to have a steeper incline towards the middle and the edge where the incline starts is a bit softer in the concept. Looking forward to your bake man, liking this a lot so far

BradleyWascher

Hey thanks guys for the feedback.

IchII3d - I guess I see both sides of the coin, the only reason I guess I'm taking the side of 1 for 1 is that the concept art piece seems to have a large amount of smaller details as appose to the old splash damage art test that was very loose and not detailed. Now I going to be adding in some higher frequency detail nrms in tandem with the texture which should help give a better sense of scale.

sketch81- I think its just the darkness of the render but I also see what your talking about, I think im going to lift up that pannel alittle also, seems to be sitting a little low

Skamberin - I see what you mean about the incline, Ill have to soften that up a little thanks for the feedback.

R3D

The angled section at the top looks like it shouldn't be as hard of a drop. The coloumns on the side don't bevel inwards at the top, they stay straight. The upper setion looks like its floating, when in the concept it seems to nearly right on it (that might be a perspective issuse though). You also seem to be missing that disk shaped object that is under the second silo.

Overall I think its nearly spot on! I took a look at your work and its all looking fantastic! I can't wait to see how this looks as a game asset!

EarthQuake

the way the "crates" intersect the cylinder is messy

popngear

I know someone already kind of mentioned this, but the triangle detail at the bottom of the model not lining up with the diagonal crease right beside it is killing me. Otherwise, from a glance I'd say it's pretty spot on for the most part.

BradleyWascher

Ok fellas,

Here is just a quick update, I made a comparison pic to show some of the things I changed
1. New floater triangle to get better shape and better edge control
2.Fix the spacing on the bottom container (sits a little higher now)
3. Added in more edge detail in the front panel to make it more accurate and less sloppy
4. Adjusted the top silhouette of the pillar to be a little more straight
5. New hard edge rounded floating triangle
6. adjusted angle of inside slope slightly
--And of course just a few other mirror adjustments

All critiques and feedback are welcome and encouraged . Thanks guys for all the feedback the first time.

Firebert

very nice improvements! totally kicking ass man.
just a few minor things i would add in/change/adjust.
love it dude! looking forward to seeing more!

EarthQuake

Nooo to angled corners/yellow paintover. No no no, not in the concept, also = boring.

The two "shelf" type shapes, the one sticking out on the bottom and the one on top, are still a little off proportionally, you can paste the render over the concept in photoshop to see.

BradleyWascher

Ok thanks guys for the feedback, EarthQuake I'm going to look into that spacing on the bottom and adjusted it a little, So next update from me should be a start on the LP. WISH ME LUCK! haha

BradleyWascher

Update on the LP. Tri - 7282. Just got the first pass of the bake done. Any crits and comments are welcome.

BradleyWascher

Just a Small update: after posting these up last night I did notice the slight wavy-ness in the top of the normal map, hopefully tonight I can get clean up this bake a little more and move on to AO

Tom Ellis

I know it's too late now you've done the bakes, but I'd have probably approached this in an entirely different way. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Splash Damage have used this concept to see if people can/will use modular model/texture workflow.

We've seen a lot of it lately since PhilipK and 3DMotive did their awesome tuts on it, but the first thing I thought of when I looked at the concept was this:

http://www.brameulaers.com/cyber.html

What you've got is fantastic, and a great representation of the concept, but in terms of demonstrating your ability, I'd have said going with a modular workflow might show of your ability to tackle this kind of thing in a more versatile way.

What I mean by that is if you make this asset the way you have, then you've got one asset, textured in one way. Whereas if you did it in a way like in the link I just posted, you could have almost limitless possibilities in how you could construct your buildings/crates/whatever they are, and from a in-house, deadlines, maximum work minimum effort point of view for an environment artist, I'd have thought that was an appealing trait.

Looks great though, and sorry for going off on a tangent!