Sketchbook: BioFrost

biofrost

Hello all and welcome to my sketchbook. This will be filled with mostly 3d work with a huge focus on getting my texturing up to industry standard. Although there may be the occasional drawing and sketch in here just for fun! So please crit away tear everything apart, it will only make me stronger*evil laugh*....yeah..on to the art then!

First up is a door based on this concept

HighPoly


LowPoly

biofrost

Have the bake for the low poly done, now on to the texturing!(about 9 hours of work so far)

biofrost

Got some paint on the door now, this is just the base coat testing what color I want to go with.

AsherOS

Looking good! I would add some colors on to the main part of the door to complement that blue frame you have.

Wesley

It's not in the concept, but I think the middle cylindrical part should have some colour on it. And like AsherOS said, some colour around the main door would be good.

biofrost

Thanks for the input guys! Just a small update, im not sure if I want to keep it clean or grunge it up a bit.

Eoq

o_o i love the cell rendering on the concept! *falling inlove*

biofrost

First time doing hand painted textures, it is no where near done but thats what a sketchbook is for right?

biofrost

Some work on modular walls and floor for the nghs contest, not quite sure how I feel about the floor though.

biofrost

A modular floor design for the nghs sci-fi contest. Floor is siting at 78 tri's right now.

biofrost

Little update, the corner floor piece im having trouble getting the spec to look the same as the straight one.

biofrost

Testing out a different color scheme, wanted to give Enhance Mart a more hospital sterile look.

biofrost

Getting close to the end of the NGHS contest. The scene is nowhere near what I had envisioned, not quite sure I was ready to tackle a entire scene with where I am at skill wise but I really know my weaknesses now.

Daven

Holy primary colors batman! Well, all of your pieces seem like they fit well, but your color scheme is blinding. If you're going with a default greyscale base, choose 1-3 colors that complement each other and work with that. Don't try and do too much with your space. Keep it simple.

biofrost

I did end up changing the color scheme but not too long ago I had a hard drive crash. Now with a new external to back things up I had started over with a new idea. I have worked on this version for about a week and need to finish it up by next week for the end of the NGHS contest. It is going to be rushed because I lost my old work but to be honest my new scene is much better I think.

Zeldrak

new idea is looking much better than the previous iteration, really like the dark atmosphere, maybe when you get the light at the end of the hall from those monitors running it'll look even better

Oranghe

this reads so much better then your last scene great job. Lighting is much nicer with less neon's makes it more realistic

SimonT

really like your painted wood texture!

allmighty_thunder

i would love to see you take on a more open environment, your corridors are looking nice now i want to see them lead me somewhere

Jessica Dinh

Oooo, hehe, I like your wood texture too! It's really fun

biofrost

Thank you all for the comments!
Jessica that means a lot coming from you, your hand painted textures look awesome!

I took a look at my work and saw I really lacked a good high to low poly bake. So after awhile I decided a storage crate was a good way to go.(we all gotta make one sometime right?) Still not done, I forgot to unwrap the top sides but I think it came out pretty good.

biofrost

Got some work on the texture done since I can't sleep.

biofrost

Got the spec map in!

biofrost

Small update on trying to make a storage container more interesting!

Oranghe

i think you could tone down the color a little and add more weathering but i like your direction

http://www.thecontainerman.co.uk/images/20ft_Used_Storage_Container.jpg

biofrost

Thank you! Another thing that picture showed that I somehow overlooked was logos and stickers(for regulation I assume). Not quite sure how overlooked such a large part of it.

biofrost

Slight update, should be able to finish it up by monday!(was busy with school) Just need some more weathering and logos and you can't forget the bars that are normally their for the doors.

biofrost

Not quite finished but it's getting there, just need to diry up the logos and get some bars in for the doors!

Joseph Silverman

This pretty cool man. What's going on with the spec though? It looks not really present at all.

Afaik the paint/finish on those things is reflective enough to pretty much totally knock out the diffuse color under bright light.

biofrost

I had no idea that light washed out the color that much, ill have to brighten it up.

biofrost

Any additional crits before I put a fork in this baby? I know its not the most exciting prop but I need the texturing and high to low poly practice.
1612 Tri's
1024x maps

Oranghe

It's looking allot better! and a good prop to do

The tape at the bottom and top i don't think would be that untouched but as a whole you did a really good job

biofrost

Next up is a project that I am very excite to work on! Shenmue is one of the main reasons I wanted to get into the game industry. I want to just start making different props and buildings from the game and hopefully it will turn into a full blown re-imaging of Yokosuka.

My only issue is the amount of photosourceing I had to do for this prop. Of course it is edited and not just slapped on without a care but I am not quite sure if a high poly wood plank and concrete block is worth it for such a small prop in a huge scene.

First off is the reference


Then mine so far

biofrost

Just trying to get the base look of concrete before i go into the extra detailing, as always any and all crits are more than welcome. Tear this apart!

Jessica Dinh

I think the lettering on the sign should be brighter, it's very hard to see. The prop also looks rather short, I would either make the base smaller or make the wood plank longer. Maybe to make it more interesting you can also add some nails on the sign as if it were nailed onto the wood plank behind it. Maybe add some sort of concrete or wood connection piece, like a trim sorta, where the plank connects to the concrete base.

For that concrete building piece you have there, I think the mold/algae you have there is kindof random, I would think it makes more sense for it to be found in more crevice areas, or dripping from the top. Also, what is that off-white side piece on the block? Is that supposed to be a corner piece? If so, it is not wrapping around the side. But anyway, I might be wrong about that, maybe that's how that building is really supposed to look haha.

As far as doing lots of photo-sourcing, I wouldn't worry so much because now your library is bigger for future props and projects xD Good luck with this project, I don't think it will be too hard to blow the ref away - the textures there are baaaaad xD

biofrost

Thanks for the input Jessica!

There will be changes to the shenmue props soon but for now im taking a break and doing something really fun. I'm taking this concept from Jessica and doing not only a realistic version of it but a handpainted one too! This is going to be fun.
(working on the bottom right one)


Right now I am trying to get the material detention just right before moving onto the small details. The wood has a nice varnish to it to make it shine(just realized I need to change the wood to be more smooth and less bumpy) and the gold...well I need it to look like gold which has been hard and its not quite there yet but I think im getting it close.

biofrost

Slight update, detailing the gold and I think it looks more like gold.

allmighty_thunder

those corners seem kinda jagged

biofrost

Took a quick brake from the door(see TheForibiddenDoor thread for more progress on it) and started working on a sci fi metal floor.

Done before, yes but It is good practice and I really feel I am getting down texturing metal.

HAWK12HT

Good progress on your stuff, I wish i had this much time on my hands to pump work out .
ok enough with nice coments time to tear things apart for you.

I dont know why u want to hand paint on a curved floor pannel, if ur 3d artist made it up that way than i understand. But usually what i have learned so far is to plan ahead your mesh pieces and work on Modularity. So that in mind I would just model a floor than Unwrap it than make a copy of it add few lines for curves (depends how detailed i want) apply bend modifier (3DS max) and im done basically. I would just texture the flat piece and apply the same tex to both pieces.
However ur approach has enlgihten me on the point "What if 3d artist screwed up the piece" and u actually have to texture in a curve. Im pretty sure in new Photoshop there are tools to curve bend wrap layers far better than before . I hope u get the idea.

Second I found your container and sci fi door intersting to look at, however on container the scratch marks are placed in a wrong way, u can have it scratched all over and make something out of it. But the thing u need to keep in mind is usability of objects. So you will have scratches where the two doors meet, as human hands or machines will use that but alot, than servicing of door hinges etc will leave scratches on the areas where doors have axes for opening (pivot point).

HAWK12HT

Also check this out in case u havent

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=373024

HAWK12HT

As for the door I would suggest you study modularity too to get the idea how game assets work. Overall door is ok but on top left and right it bumps out a lilttle bit due to its nature of design. that in later terms can cause issue when it will need to be fit into a wall.
You can do two things either match the sides of ur door from bottom to top like this
l l << this is front view or add a flat area directly below ur design details on top so it again become like l l. Hope u get the picture

biofrost

Thanks for the tips! I have seen that tutorial before and actually used it as a reference when working on the floor. AS far as the door go's this is what I did a few days ago.(will be changing the rocks, I hate how they turned out.)

biofrost

Crits or suggestions?

Essynim

what are you using for reference on this?

biofrost

I saw this floor and went with my own interpretation of it.For example the grid like things on both sides are rubber on my floor and not metal.



Better lighting...I think I may get rid of the circle's too...

Essynim

Try to pull a bit more from real life reference. If you tend to stick more to other conceptual pieces, you'll generally be grounded by the same drawbacks that fall upon them. Go for less decoration and more for form with function. If there's insets, think about why they are there. Paneling/raised platform/utility junction/ exhaust vent/etc. think about how they are fastened in and what kind of construction goes behind making things connect. For lighting, think about how this would work in an environment, do you normally see lights on the ground, or are they usually set high for better cast and out of the way of traffic. these are all things that will help design out a better environment piece, and they'll tend to look better because we can tell that they make sense

for example
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zbFgOJL4VTQ/TFfeA5mw1eI/AAAAAAAAAbg/1hFgCkhoNro/s1600/SamBrown-163-env12.jpg

you can see function in these floor panels. they are left smooth and not too busy so as to keep traffic easy moving, but you can still see that they are manufactured to create easy modular spacestation construction.

usually when designing scifi panels, I tend to look at less games for reference and more at scifi movies, as the sets are made not only for actors to freely move through, but also machines as well. Theres a ton of great design to pull from film and bring into game

biofrost

Thank you for the advice, seems like it might be best to just scrap the floor I have now and restart from scratch.

biofrost

Deus ex UDK!! I think the title of it speaks for it self what its about. It is based on a pretty well know piece of concept art(think I saw a few other people here tackle this one) Crits?
Concept

WIP(there is reflections on the floor but they are just hard to see in the image)

allmighty_thunder

some really nice looking modular corridors, but seriously i like it, needs some crates though

biofrost

Trust me as soon as I get the rest of the scene in there I'm going to town on props for this! Only thing I'm not sure of is if I should keep this in UDK or just render in Marmaset. UDK does offer reflections(the older picture is using a RTT) but Marmaset I feel I get much cleaner results with less hassle. What do you guys think?