Finished Treasure Chest

Chest Update

Squooglee Tentacles

Started my first project for the academic year on thursday and I am happy with my progress so far. I have Finished my low poly and have got a good way through making my high poly. The project is to recreate a treasure chest concept that we have been given by Blitz. It will be finished by the end of this week God willing! :)

8338 tris
1024/1024 Diffuse, Spec and Normals
Reflection map




Just have to make the grills and it is complete! :)

Mini High Poly WIP

Will work on the wheels and small details tommorow and then I will move to optimising and unwrapping the low poly. I just hope it will bake ok in the end!... if not I may just make a diffuse and specular and forget the normals as most of the details are actually already contained in geometry.

Today, after looking at some more examples of vehicle models I have realised a few things that I would do differently next time. I would use booleon more often to get more precise sections of detail. This time I modelled it by pushing and pulling vertices and it was inefficient and inaccurate. However, so far I am pleased with the results so far.

Car base finished

Will now move on to creating a low and high poly from this. Considering this model is still below 10,000 tris it should be alright with only a few adjustments to make it slightly more efficient. I will make the interior also but may not spend too much time on it as I want to get this finished before the end of the week.

Main shape sorted... now for the details...

Progress

There is alot of geometry in there that can be removed later on but i want to keep it there for the time being. Going pretty well so far I think. Will definately try and finish modelling this base model by Saturday.

Mini Beginnings

2 days casual work so far. just hitting 3000 tris atm. This model will be used both to create the higher poly and it will be optimised to create the lower. This workflow seems to work quite well for me. For my low poly I am aiming to finish in under 10,000 tris just like Heather told us.

Garden Completed

Garden Progress

All that is left to do is to hide the background with some bushes and texture the trowel :) Will do that now

Portfolio stuff

Garden environment. A section of my Mum and Dad's back garden and a corner scene. Started this tonight and I will have finished the modelling stage by tommorow.

Back from South Africa... back to work!

Had two amazing weeks in South Africa and felt it really changed my outlook on life in so many ways (also had such an adventure). While I was out there I was working for a charity called Soul Action, a combined effort between Tearfund and Soul Survivor. More than anything I was so blessed by the people I met and their amazing ability to love one another. Although this sounds like your standard post-Africa conclusion I am being sincere, it genuinely has made me think differently since I have been back home and I think it will probably affect the rest of my life. I will write more about it when I feel I have actually taken in everything I did out there.

Now I'm back I am finishing up the Jack the Ripper so that I can do some portfolio work once it is finished. Im just rushing through this now but I intend for it to be done well enough.


Started to sculpt the body today, also finishing touches to the head (I am fairly happy with where it is now). I know I could do much better next time and I have learnt so much from doing this project but now I am realising that I really don't enjoy character modelling but that I would probably be more at home making everyday objects as assetts. This may change later but right now I am just not enjoying it that much.

Baked Head mmmmmmmmmmmmm

I baked out the normals and ambient occlusion for Jack the Ripper and thanks to all the practice I have been doing I got no noticeable seams!!! WOOO :D

I am really happy with this and it has given me a real boost in my confidence. I am actually on my way to making something the way that I want it to look rather than being hindered by technical difficulties.

I am quite happy with the mesh as well, I realise there may still be a few things that I could improve (suggestions welcome for future improvement).

Total of 1480 tris including the eyes using a 1024 texture for both the normals and ambient occlusion. Some space has been saved for the hands... this may change the overall resolution slightly later... but it will not be much work to do this and I don't think it will be drastic enough to change the quality of the model.

Simon is a happy modeller!

Hand Sculpt

Working on the hand sculpt for Jack the Ripper (and because it's fun). Only focused on major forms so that I didn't mess up too much today. I have done quite a lot of adjusting to the low poly also in order that the proportions look more like they are supposed to.

Head sculpt to develop character

I decided to sculpt the head today after tweaking and fixing for a long time. I realised that the head was finished so I thought i would sculpt it to help move me along and have a bit of fun. Low poly is nearly complete also, just trying to figure out a few bits here and there before moving on to UVing and texturing.

I will tweak this a bit more once i have done some more on the low poly. I dont want to get too carried away with details just yet.

The best powercut ever!!

A few nights ago I was happily sitting on my laptop as usual watching a few programs on BBCi and checking my facebook like I always do when suddenly everything electrical in the house died. It took me a few moments to realise that we had experienced a powercut. Slightly confused I went to chat to my parents who by this point were talking to the neighbours out of the window about the situation laughing and joking.

Now this wouldn't seem like such an unusual situation, this I can understand. However, it made me so aware of the amount of social ability we lose due to technology. I could have been spending time with my parents or even friends but I had chosen to sit on my computer for a couple of hours. What shocked me even more was that we don't talk to most of our neighbours and yet the entire street seemed united in friendly conversation which seemed to be so against the way things usually are.

I didn't know what to do once the electricity was off... that is what freaked me out the most. I had no idea how to entertain myself without electricity beyond playing a bit of guitar. I found myself sitting in the garden listening to the trees blowing in the wind, something I had never really sat and appreciated before. It was so quiet! How often in life do we let absolute silence happen? It has made me realise how important it is for us. I felt rested and like I had done something that my body really needed to relax rather than just sitting in front of a series of images hoping for the odd laugh.

Not only that but I went to bed early because my body actually could tell what time it was, bed time! Will somebody remind me why we rely on technology so much? Try not turning on anything electrical one night and doing something else, it changes everything. Whether or not you enjoy the experience, it will definately make you think.

Im gonna finish this one!

Having practiced several things for months, I have not actually reached the end of a project (boo). So after chatting to several people I have realised that I have to actually get something completed rather than learning random skills from all over the place. Thanks for the push guys :)

So I am going to finish my Jack the Ripper like I said I would ages ago. I feel I have really let myself down recently. I have learnt so much about the Unreal Editor, Zbrush and baking textures but I havent channelled this into a project.

I will at least complete this character and then I will move on to the environment if I feel I can complete it with the time given.

Shin Pads

Second asset has been completed to a satisfactory standard. I am actually pretty happy with these. I am learning alot from simply practicing making real life objects. They are 287 Tris each with 512/512 Normal, Colour and Specular.

When I made the straps I simply made the high poly in max. I found it was less fiddly for the type of object that it is and looked less "gooey". I am trying to fight the fact that I keep making bakes that look slightly dodgy around the edges, maybe modelling some things in max will help. Or it may just be a matter of being more careful with my zbrush models.

I had a couple of problems with this model.. I have found that if I render it the straps seem to glow. Any ideas? I was thinking it may be because they are flat planes. These pictures are from viewport.

I learnt alot from watching Scott Eaton sculpting. He uses a very low intensity and its very careful. I have always been one of these people that makes something basically and quickly and then develops it. I am now learning that in order to make a model more effectively I may have to be more careful along the way without worrying too much about the details. Turning down the intensity of my brush should help me do this.

Update

Apparently my normals were inverted. Heres the update.

Ive made a start to my Final Major in the most fun way I could think possible. I decided to make some of the boxing gloves that are going to be dotted around the gym. It is a basic start and it has taken me maybe 2 days to complete to this level.

There are a couple of seams that i am not too happy with but they aren't very noticable. I will improve these at a later date if I get the chance and I think it is necessary Individually each glove is 610 Tris and I have used a 512/512 colour, specular and normal.

When I do place them around the level I intend to change the texture a couple of times to add variation. When it comes to making a character to go in the environment I can also use this model as an extra prop with different textures.

Now the next thing I am going to make is some boxing pads or some shin guards. I am actually loving this! :D

Getting a real headache...

Well, I'll be honest. I'm pretty much struggling in everyway in my life atm... I'm finding it difficult to get work done, I am lacking in motivation. I am still feeling the aftermath of being so ill both emotionally and physically and it is affecting alot of the ways in which I am reacting to people, my faith, my work and my ability to relax properly.

I decided to drop the ruins summer project that I was doing mostly because I didn't have the necessery reference in order to complete it well. I have decided to change the project to the Jack the Ripper environment and character. This seemed to make alot more sense because of all the victorian buildings around leicester that I can simply replicate.



Surprisingly I have learnt alot these last few weeks but I really don't feel productive. I have learnt how to retopologise models in zbrush, how to extract areas of mesh and a great deal about work flow but yet I still feel realy down about where I am going with the projects. If I'm honest I find all of this technical computer stuff really difficult, especially when it comes to baking normal maps etc. I really don't feel I have the understanding for it and no matter how many times I try to get it right it just doesn't seem to get anywhere! Often I will look around and see my course mates making some amazing stuff and I just seem to be hitting brick walls on every turn. Although I know I shouldn't measure myself next to them but at the moment I just want to be able to keep up.

I have been trying to get better at small things at a time. My learning has been a bit all over the place but it reassures me being able to do new things.

I made this head from a simple base mesh that I made in max. I then learnt how to retopologise it and did it the best way I knew how. Del pointed me in the right direction of some more info so I'm very grateful.







I am going to try and get at least 3 buildings completely textured by the end of this coming week to give me an objective. I really want to get some portfolio work together soon so that I can feel positive about my work again.

On the up side, I have decided what I am going to do for my final major project and I have put it past the teachers to see what they think and they have given me the go ahead. That is what I really want to start more than anything... maybe there is a way for me to start that project. Many thanks to Debbie for helping me to come up with the idea.

Im back baby!

Right... now that I am nicely relaxed after easter and I feel like I am on the mend (stupid mumps... and tonsilitus.. and flu...) I can actually get down to some serious work.

My easter was amazing, I went to Paris and got to see some great art. I went to the Rodin museum which really excited me. I was really impressed by his loose yet anatomically correct style. Many of the study sculptures were very useful for developing my understanding of the human anatomy aswell as my skill in zbrush as a digital sculptor.

I also got to go to the Musee d'Orsay which was really exciting. My favourite paintings were the impressionists, they were so incredible with colour and putting real emotion into their paintings! In particular I was glad to see Monet's studies of light in different times of day.

At the moment my work is a bit all over the place but I am learning rapidly. I am currently trying out the ruins project for Uni aswell as learning a bit of Unreal. Within this project I have learnt alot about making believable plants and also about workflow. I intend to finish it soon, if only at a basic level.

As a part of the ruins project I am creating a character. At this stage I am simply trying to make a completely quaded mesh that I can use in zbrush. I had one previous attempt at this but it wasn't as successful as I had hoped. This new one is currently completely quaded and I have great hopes for it. I may even enter Dominance War for the last week and see what I can make in that time.

Queens building project

We have now come to the end of our Queens building project and we are very happy with the results that we achieved considering that it was our fist time making a level. Our team has been well organised and friendly throughout which we are all extremely grateful for. Obviously there are many things that we could improve on next time and with the current composition but we are very pleased with the outcome none-the-less.

Using the shapes found in the mood board I had created, I have begun to design a boat. I decided to make it a modern design and have tried to make it a believable and practical shape.

I am currently making a basic 3D model of it using 3dsmax so that I can understand the shape in 3D much better.

Saving Private Ryan

The film this week was Saving Private Ryan. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film was highly influenced by the photography of Robert Capa, a war time photojournalist.

Robert Capa was a extremely daring photographer whos pictures of the D'Day landings are incredibly atmospheric.




Saving Private Ryan was a film that tried to capture the same feel of the D'Day landings: The gritty air and the movement in particular echoed Robert Capa's photography with the entire first scene being filmed with hand-held cameras. Sections of the film were also put through a monochromatic bleaching process which made it feel much colder and "other worldly".

The sound really adds to the feeling of depth within the film. While I was watching it I noticed that the camera would show you something visually such as rain falling in a puddle followed by a soldier marching through it: at the same time the sound would be very clear and distinctive and it really helped you feel all the other senses that a film can not usually give you such as the feel of the mud and the temperature of the air.

The way in which the captain has his hearing affected by the explosions around him opens him up to truely assess the situation and what horrible things are going on around him. By removing the sound, the visual horrors that are in front of him are exaggerated.

There were many close ups of seemingly unimportant things but it really helped you to get dragged into the world that the film presented you with. It is a technique I have noticed in many films but I feel that it was expertly done in Saving Private Ryan.

This technique was greatly improved by the ways in which shots were given a more 3D feel. I noticed that the air always seems to be filled with either smoke, or soil, or debris from explosions. This gave your eyes a clear indication of how far objects were away.

I have found that this is also evident in some games. When used effectively it produces a similar effect to the one I mentioned earlier, you get a greater feel for how the environment smells, tastes, and feels. A good example of this is Assasins Creed.





There was another picture that stood out to me in particular from the whole film. Sillouetted figures walk through the night in front of what appears to be like a storm but is in fact distant explosions.



Sillouettes can be very powerful things, I have seen that they are often used to symbolise people that you should be afraid of. Sometimes they can be used to represent a group of people whos character can be determined without seeing their faces. It is clear in the above shot that these people are soldiers simply by the formation that they walk in.

Indirectly I dislike the bleached out effect that the visual directors of this film decided to adopt. Mostly because it has influenced many games to look drab and has encouraged them to use way too many tersiary colours.



I was surprised at how emotional Saving Private Ryan was because I had not seen it in such a long time. This was heightened by the way in which you learn more about each of the soldiers inbetween battles. Each and every one of them tells the others very personal things about themselves, reinforcing the bonds of brotherhood at war ( a central theme to the film).

I was very impressed that the characters are not made out to be invincible macho men, but that they are shown as quite the opposite. As grown men who cry out to their Mamas when they are wounded and cry when they are scared. Their fragility greatly improves their attractiveness as human beings rather than mythical creations. The tendency with film is to glorify violence and revenge rather than show how ugly it truely is. The alpha male of the film is Tom Hanks' character who despite being a leader has his weaknesses. He is simply a school teacher who has become a soldier. He is shown to have a shakey hand which could represent a greater weakness.

I don't think that games could take the same approach successfully. I realised this when playing COD World at War recently. The horrific gore just becomes entertaining in a sick way and doesnt discourage you from glorifying it but instead desensitizes you to it. I think that it is a real shame that people don't even bat an eyelid when somebody is shot in a film anymore. Death should never be taken as a casual thing, or even as a form of entertainment, staged or real.

This has ended up being a very long blog. Mostly because I really love this film. There is so much more I could say along the themes of religion in this film and religious symbolism, or further artistic choices that were made. Such as the sea running red, or the reference to living life well. I won't go any further however... I feel i may be time for bed. I must be getting old...