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Skyline5gtr Journey to get a JOB !

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polycounter lvl 11
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skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
Hello all, i'm starting this thread to post projects for feedback regularly as i strive to get a new job.

I have a BA in game art, just got laid off from a job so i want to redo my entire portfolio and really try to push myself and spend quality time on smaller assets to get a better fundamental as oppose to doing bigger scenes and objects. I have a hard time with material definition so that is my primary concern

Entire site will be wiped as i do not like my layout as many have told me, too many clicks to get to art, i think i will keep ferengi maurader and the robot turret, i may revisit robot turret to upgrade it.

www.nickbarone3d.weebly.com

First project will be a Katana Samurai Sword and rack - I really want to concentrate on HP to LP workflow, material definition and presentation

katana-31.jpg

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  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    First picture of the base for the Katana, working on the grip now
    Progress1.jpg
  • Tobbo
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    Tobbo polycounter lvl 11
    You ought to use this time and try and incorporate your new work with a PBR workflow.
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    Im going to be using dDo to texture alone with nDo. Is there anything in wiki on PBR, i have heard the term in passing but not 100% on what it is. But dont i have to wait till they release the megascan stuff ?

    I found this for marmoset, which i will use to display my assets
    http://www.marmoset.co/toolbag/learn/pbr-practice
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    High poly is finished
    Progress1-2.jpg
    prog2-1.jpg
    prog3-2.jpg

    Wires
    wire1.jpg
    Wire2.jpg
  • AlexCatMasterSupreme
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    AlexCatMasterSupreme interpolator
    I would pick a subject people don't do as often tbh.
  • stevston89
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    stevston89 interpolator
    Can you show a standard shaded version and not a AO version. It;s really hard to tell what is going on. I think you have a lot of issues with edge sharpness and edge thickness. I can't really tell though because of your renders. Also post up some wires!
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    @ Alex - I will keep that in mind for sure once i finish this

    @ steve - you mean screen straight for viewport ?
  • reverendK
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    reverendK polycounter lvl 7
    I would pick a subject people don't do as often tbh.

    I would suggest that this is less important than just doing something WELL and then doing it AGAIN.

    If you use the same concept as 10 other people, sure, they've seen that before. but of the 10 people that made a katana, or a district 9 gun - is yours better than 8 or 9 of them?
  • stevston89
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    stevston89 interpolator
    @ steve - you mean screen straight for viewport ?

    Something gray with decent spec so you can see how light plays of the model.
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    I reupload the pics, is that a better way to present while WIP ? I always had an issue showing WIP
  • stevston89
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    stevston89 interpolator
    Yes. If you want feedback people need to be able to tell what is going on. If you can see how light is playing off of the surface you can't hide the imperfections. AO while it can look nice only tells you what the crevices of the model look like.
  • stevston89
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    stevston89 interpolator
    So some crits:

    The wraps on the handle need a lot more thickness. They are way to flat to give you depth from the bake. Also there is usually a detail piece under the wraps in the middle of the handle.

    The edges all over need to be more rounded. The problem with sharp edges in the high poly is there is very little information to bake so it doesn't show up that well in the bake. More on that here.

    I can't tell, but you want to be turbo smoothing your highpoly. If you aren't you need to. You want a decent amount of geometry to allow for smoothing. Done't collapse the turbosmooth though. You want a lower poly mesh to control the the turbo smoothing so that it's easier to make edits.

    Hope this helps.
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    It does, thanks. The model is turbosmoothed but maybe too tight, that article if fantastic
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
  • stevston89
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    stevston89 interpolator
    If you want to make a portfolio piece that will get you a job chances are that piece is going to take more than a few days to make. If you want to make a nice piece go back to the high poly and make it a lot better, also model the sheath as well.

    I would spend a good 2 weeks making this the first week for a really high quality high poly/ low poly and the second for textures. You don't want to burn through this stuff it's not going to get you anything but a mediocre portfolio.
  • Der Hollander
    I wholly agree with stevtson89's response. Having unique pieces in your portfolio is nice, but it's really about how well you made said pieces.

    Right off the bat I can tell you your wrap for the hilt is wrong, and it's probably the biggest detractor from the asset overall. You need to really, REALLY pay attention to how things are constructed. Those wrappings are done in a very specific way, and most notably, the strap twists in the middle, giving it that bowtie shape. Granted, it's probably the most difficult part of the entire piece to model, but aside from the crossguard (I don't know the actual names so I'm using European sword terms) it's arguably the most important part to get right. Without the thickness, and most certainly without the proper anatomy as it were, it looks completely off.

    I would strongly recommend readdressing the hilt entirely, including actually holding one of those swords in your hands to really understand how it's built.

    Do a lot of reading research, or even better, go down to a store that sells replica swords and ask if you can take pictures, sketches, and detailed notes about any katanas, wakazashis, or even any tantos they have. Doing in-depth research into real construction will pay HUGE dividends in terms of the quality of your projects.
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    Thanks for the continuous feedback, I actually have a wakazabi was using. I guess I just cannot model the hilt handle fabric well. It was a good learning experience, I think I'm going to try the monthly noob asset so I can also see how others are doing it as well
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    I changed my mind, i do not want to give up so i spend more time today really paying attention to the cris-cross pattern of the hilt fabric and the weaving in and out.

    I also added a very slight shell modifier to give the cloth some depth like recommended
  • stevston89
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    stevston89 interpolator
    More thickness still. Make it 20% thicker than what you think is extreme. You want exaggeration of stuff so your details don't get lost after the bake.
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    Ok great, otherwise does the pattern look right this time ?
  • stevston89
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    stevston89 interpolator
    Yeah it looks good to me you might want to do some sculpting on top to add a bit of variation, but it looks good.
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    Awesome, thanks for the eyes and the push
  • skyline5gtr
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    cool, here are flats and wire. Ill make those changes - for my next project i cant decide on doing a Panzer Tiger 1 or something like this20130913_064509.jpg
  • Joshflighter
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    Joshflighter polycounter lvl 9
    That's a pretty neat concept. :)
  • AlexCatMasterSupreme
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    AlexCatMasterSupreme interpolator
    that would be fun to model I would try practicing adding detail to it and making it look a tad more functional.
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    Alex- you mentioned earlier that i should try modeling more uniqe stuff do you t hink this counts ?
  • skyline5gtr
  • Nosslak
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    Nosslak polycounter lvl 12
    I guess it's too late to change, but for the katana you should've straightened out the UV's for the blade and made the tiny square pattern (on the hilt) a lot bigger as it'll just look like noise otherwise due to aliasing.

    The new machine model looks somewhat interesting but right now the panels look off. It almost looks like you've just extruded the panels from a single model without separating them properly. Not to toot my own horn too much but I'd expect a lot more defined separation between the panels, like on this model that I posted in the Noob Challenge (it's not finished or perfect so don't hate too much).
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    Thanks for the reply but im not sure if i follow, to me it looks like 1 entire piece so i made it as such. It is separate in the middle between top and bottom but the edges i thought were 1 piece just angled ?
  • Nosslak
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    Nosslak polycounter lvl 12
    I guess the concept is kind of open to interpretation, but if you were to manufacture this yourself you'd probably make the panels separately and then fit them all together as opposed to mold it all as one piece. This would also make it easy and cheap to pick apart the machine and replace a single small panel as opposed to a bigger chunk of metal. Doing it like this would not only be more logical manufacturing-wise but it would also make the model look more interesting and open up some opportunities for more interesting texture details (eg. grime and leakage).
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    I see good call, thanks
  • joeriv
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    joeriv polycounter lvl 7
    I have a hard time with material definition so that is my primary concern

    The metal on your katana felt off so I had a look at the flats at your site.
    Unless I am overlooking something, you should really look at using a gloss map.
    Even when not using pbr, that's such a important map.
    And just diffuse+spec is getting outdated at this point if you want to do realistic assets.

    UV's for the katana:
    -The guard could have been overlaid, you will never see both sides at once
    -same with the blade, there isn't enough unique detail to have both sides seperate.
    -same with the grip (hard to see both sides + someone will hold it)and the circle behind the guard


    -Don't be afraid to push yourself, this is a really basic katana, you could have done a lot more with it as chillydog mentioned, so for the next asset, don't try to rush it to much :)

    Also pay more attention to the materials & construction.
    -On the hilt, the inner part is actually coated with (mantis?, some fish atleast) skin, wich has these bumps on it, yours seem to be some sort of ivory

    -The wrapping on the hilt, it almost looks like coloured teflon tape, not only because of material definition, but also because of how thin it was modelled in the highpoly.

    Minor thing: watch out with banding on your backgrounds.


    On the current one:
    Overall proportions look off
    Try to get some reference on seperate parts (for example instead of just extruding a line, have a look at how a built in monitor would or could look when it would be done more crudely/aimed towards a harsher environment.

    And on the "push things further" instead of doing the (relatively simple) prop on it's own, maybe expand that, make a part of a wall where it would be, with some stuff next to it, a sort of mini-mini diorama.



    And because of the current work in my portfolio I'm maybe not the best person to say this, but I'm gonna go ahead and say it anyway because of my own experience:

    "for my next project i cant decide on doing a Panzer Tiger 1"

    That is like doing a audi R8 or an AK (I'd even put the tiger a step higher), it's done so many times, you will have to blow people away with the first shot to even get them interested to look at it.
    +there is so much cool stuff to make if you start digging deeper in a certain subject.
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    appreciate the feedback as always guys
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    Where do you guys usually find interesting stuff, and what classifies as "interesting". I think i need to start over and pick an asset that I can "push Myself" but i always have a hard time finding something.,

    In my mind i think i need to start small, to really get details down.
  • gutty333
    This site can help if you want to work from a concept http://fengzhudesign.blogspot.com/

    Also for some hard-surface goodness you can always try. http://hardsurface.tumblr.com/
  • ZombieWells
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    ZombieWells polycounter lvl 12
    Right, so here is what I would suggest doing. I would stay away from designing your own stuff for now. You'll need a hole lot more art under your belt to figure out good design language etc. So make real world stuffs, (you can do sci-fi I wouldn't 100% suggest it at the moment) So pick a subject matter and do a series of at least three assets. It makes your portfolio clear, and show that you have an awareness of subject matter.( people like seeing series in art, so example, 3-4 cats 3-4 dogs, 3-4 arm chairs... it doesn't matter.) Look at good portfolios see how they break them down in subjects, learn.

    For example: Start off with something simple, and remember that there will be a theme here, military, mechanical stuffs, this way, whatever you make, no matter how simple can go right into your portfolio. remember SERIES. (this formula can be applied to anything or for anyone.)
    Remember to always get good ref. and block out your subject matter before stepping into hi-poly... for now, but always get good hi-res ref if you can; for as long as you live.

    Make this

    160mm_regimental_mortar_09_of_50.jpg

    Then make this.

    6g28_balkan_agl_06_of_48.jpg

    Then this

    155mm_long_tom_41_of_48.jpg

    Then this

    [IMG][/img]patriot_convoy_05_of_55.jpg

    Then this!

    mi-24d_02_of_28.jpg

    Someone might hand you a job before the Hind, but for sure after the Hind. These things can also be made as the hero pieces and then you can build a hanger or some environment around them. So now you can have a Hind in a hanger surrounded by some cool military equipment and a convoy behind it... in some sort of winter setting?... that would be crazy awesome... I should have kept this to myself. Still you get the point, if you build around a theme there's a lot more you can do with it, even if it's 2-4 pieces. Also if you are making real world stuff, people can dig up ref. for you, make it easy to give crits and what not. Downside is that people will nitpick, but just get 85-90% there, if you feel like 100% go for it, but it will take you double the time to hit the 100% modeling in that bell curve. Last thing. you don't have to go super hard at first, build up, it's just a map. Hope that helps out.
  • oxblood
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    oxblood polycounter lvl 9
    I agree with everything Zombie wells said but judging from your last attempt, I think thoes assets in particular may be a little too much for you (if you feel your capable, go for it). But I think that you should be choosing interesting objects with different surface materials, try something like a golf bag with clubs in them. This way you get some interesting shapes, nice surface details, and a range of materials to nail all in one piece (plastic, metal, rubber). Even a bit off sculpting for creases in the bag. Id start with a couple clubs and see how that goes then the bag.. but you can really take your time and come up with something nice. If you don't to do the golf thing try to think along those lines.
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    Awesome stuff guys,so much help thanks all. I was looking at something small like one of these sci fi grenades, i particularly like the one with the hole is sides causes it a very hard shape. Altho @ oxblood golf clubs does sound great and i love golf lol. I really think i need to step my game down to perfect my technique as oppose to always jumping to complicated objects cause i like them to get my game down
  • ZombieWells
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    ZombieWells polycounter lvl 12
    I would still say real world stuff, just so you have an understanding of how things actual work, (helps out big time) but if your running with sci-fi do that grenade, then a gun, then a harder gun, some vehicles, and some mechs. Same formula still applies.
    http://www.eliottlillyart.com/
    he has some cool guns and mechs on his site, just ask permission before making anything. This go for any concept art your modeling form; contact the artist and ask.
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    I just wanted to hear what you thought, i will probably take your idea and run with the stuff you provided. Maybe slightly different but real world stuff. I do usually have difficulty interpreting concept art especially if its only from 1 angle.

    I think to start i may do the golf bag/clubs, especially since i can just model what i physically have and be able to look at them. Then maybe move onto the more difficult military stuff, does that sound like a good plan ?
  • ZombieWells
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    ZombieWells polycounter lvl 12
    sounds good man. Nothing wrong with leveling up a bit before heading into deeper waters. The formula is sound. All you have to do is follow the basic idea, put in the work, grow learn, have fun! Its really straight forward, the only problem is that folks cringe when think of the work it takes, or give up half way through. Follow through is key, and you'll get all the help in the world posting on PC. No fail situation; so its on you.
  • oxblood
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    oxblood polycounter lvl 9
    Ahh I just finished some sci fi grenades last week.
    Wish I saw those before. They look fun.
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    Started on the 160mm mortar
  • ZombieWells
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    ZombieWells polycounter lvl 12
    sorry lost track of this.... did you go out an find other ref for that? You always should, but here is the site for it in any case! http://www.primeportal.net/armory/krzysztof_okrajek/160mm_regimental_mortar/
  • ZombieWells
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    ZombieWells polycounter lvl 12
    also insert your image, right now I am getting a tiny thumb of what your doing. I would like to see the whole image right off the bat.
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    Yea i googled the picture itself and found the massive database of picture which helped incredibly. Not too much to see i barly started on the base yesterday putting some time in it now. Really trying to take my time and get the shapes right

    What does everyone use to insert images ?
  • BradMyers82
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    BradMyers82 interpolator
    "URL here"
    This without the quotes... is that what you are asking?

    Nice progress so far man, You're in good hands with ZombieWells!
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 11
    "URL here"
    This without the quotes... is that what you are asking?

    Nice progress so far man, You're in good hands with ZombieWells!

    i mean where does everyone usually host the pics , i usually used photobucket but they are small. Or can i just host it on polycount the img tag it
  • BradMyers82
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    BradMyers82 interpolator
    I use dropbox... I believe when you sign up you get some free space too.
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