Plasma Mine Module (RTS-fidelity Mine)
high dynamic range
Hi guys!
Okay, so I'm doing a real rough and tumble foray into environment art again. You know how, at least before at some point, you feel like "I know my Maya, but I'm not entirely confident about doing something complicated/something I haven't done before?" That'd be happening.
Now I personally have a vague idea about how to decimate from a ZBrush sculpt to a game asset model, but environment art? NO clue.
So right now in my head, and as presented:
1. Rough concept art.
2. Begin modeling (no high res, only low-res, do some "assisted" normal map painting with nDo)
3. Animate and learn new ways on how to simplify animations like "rattling" and nested animations.
This is all also being snowballed with a Intro to 3D Animation class that I'm overachieving for.
Plasma Mine Concept Art:
Getting some I believe normals issues (according to Marmoset), but I reversed those faces in Maya, and after the reversal, Maya said I was wrong.
View the Model in p3D
I also have a question, if you can see that heat sink tower part in the concept art, I was wondering if anyone knew how to efficiently and quickly create a small slice of that tower, and then repeat that over and over? I'm thinking array, but I ave no clue if that's the solution.
ALSO, is there a tool that, at least at a conceptual level, lets me model with abandon, make insane organic shapes hitting against geometric shapes, and not have to worry about UV hell later (by deftly handling the UV of an environment art piece?)
Okay, so I'm doing a real rough and tumble foray into environment art again. You know how, at least before at some point, you feel like "I know my Maya, but I'm not entirely confident about doing something complicated/something I haven't done before?" That'd be happening.
Now I personally have a vague idea about how to decimate from a ZBrush sculpt to a game asset model, but environment art? NO clue.
So right now in my head, and as presented:
1. Rough concept art.
2. Begin modeling (no high res, only low-res, do some "assisted" normal map painting with nDo)
3. Animate and learn new ways on how to simplify animations like "rattling" and nested animations.
This is all also being snowballed with a Intro to 3D Animation class that I'm overachieving for.
Plasma Mine Concept Art:
Getting some I believe normals issues (according to Marmoset), but I reversed those faces in Maya, and after the reversal, Maya said I was wrong.
View the Model in p3D
I also have a question, if you can see that heat sink tower part in the concept art, I was wondering if anyone knew how to efficiently and quickly create a small slice of that tower, and then repeat that over and over? I'm thinking array, but I ave no clue if that's the solution.
ALSO, is there a tool that, at least at a conceptual level, lets me model with abandon, make insane organic shapes hitting against geometric shapes, and not have to worry about UV hell later (by deftly handling the UV of an environment art piece?)
Replies
If it's going to be mostly viewed from above you might be able to get away with a stack of alpha test planes.
Viewed from the side you'll want some thickness to it so you'll have to model a section and array it.
...unless you never get close enough to the heatsink that you can get away with normal mapping to a near cylinder.
Redid the cylinders in the piece and didn't get lazy. Less poly cylinders with averaged normals.
p3D.in viewer here: http://p3d.in/dE0M6
Next plan is to make a proper rail/frame for this module, imagining this as a placeable installation that is vertical.
Just to make sure the model doesn't end up as a strictly 2.5D space, I'm gonna add some more polys to make sure it looks good all-around, if no one minds. :P
As always, hit me with your critques.
I'm personally trying to avoid doing a Normal Map, and pull off a League of Legends standard for texturing models.
Probably definitely need help with the Specular Map.
Once again, the purpose of this asset is to be an idly animating environment asset in the context of a top-down game in an abandoned asteroid mining field, and a benchmark to see how many polys we can push in the UDK game I'm working on.
View the 3D model