The Maintenance Access Tunnel [Part 02: High-Poly Modeling]

 

RENDER 01

RENDER 02

RENDER 03

I added all the details, including the bevels, to my assets this week. Quite a lot of the details will be pushed in via Substance Painter when I finally start texturing, but until then, this will do. I have also added Emission Materials based on their locations in the reference and added extra lights to illuminate the scene and bring it closer to the concept art.

I'm still not thrilled with the positioning of certain assets such as the orb, and I'm not altogether certain whether I should continue with the 16:9 aspect ratio for my render camera in Unreal, or change it to the resolution of the concept art. 

As requested, I've also camera-matched the detailed pass with the reference.

CAMERA-MATCHED

The Airlock: Sprint #1

 

Proxy

Camera Matching in Maya

Scale Human Model

Render

First Pass Lighting

PUREREF BOARD

PRIMARY REFERENCE

REFERENCE

As per my schedule, I created the proxy versions of the Airlock environment. I also took them to Unreal for assembly and first pass lighting. I also managed to take it a step further and created what would be technically the game ready versions as well. There's a lot of stuff necessary still, of course, like bevels and optimizations, etc. 

But for the most part, I'm very pleased with the progress.

The Maintenance Access Tunnel [Part 01: Proxy]

 

PROXY RENDER

As per my schedule, I have created a proxy version of the 'The Maintenance Access Tunnel' scene, with VERY basic lights (I basically just threw in rectangular lights for some illumination) in Unreal. I took it a bit further with detailing, but not as much as I had to hoped to finish by this week. No matter. I'm still ahead of schedule for the most part.

I had to guess at a few areas, as the rear or the front of this tunnel is not present in the reference at all. So for those panels, I will be improvising. I do believe I need to thicken the cables a little bit, and change the angle of the camera to capture the scene as accurately to the reference as I possibly can. By next week, I also need to have finished the beveling of the 'greebles, and indeed, polish this scene further. 

The Airlock: Documentation

For the Common Art Specialization module that lasts throughout the third semester, I have decided to recreate in 3D a concept titled 'The Airlock', by the environment artist William Hewitt. 

PRIMARY REFERENCE

I realize that I'm keeping up a theme of hard surface environments. This is only because I need strong portfolio pieces by the end of this semester, and I have proven that I can pull it off with the Sci-Fi Corridor. Perhaps it makes my portfolio a little bland and predictable, but for now, I prefer to stick to my strengths. The time for experimentation will come later.

Due to the very nature of this module, I will have three whole months to work on this project. As such, I plan on making sure this stands out as my best work in my portfolio.

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ASSET BREAKDOWN

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1. Wall Panel
2. Floor Panel
3. Ceiling Panel
4. Airlock
5. Airlock Frame
6. Airlock Stairs
7. Handrails
8. Wall Columns
9. Floor Strip Partition
10. Earth
11. Airlock Computer (Optional)

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MATERIALS

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1. Sand-Colored Metal
2. Orange Metal
3. Brown Metal
4. Reddish-Orange Metal
5. Blue Metal
6. Light Orange Metal
7. Yellow Metal
8. Grey Metal
9. Airlock Glass
10. Blue Emission
11. Yellow Emission 
12. Dark Grey Markings

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SCHEDULE

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1. Week 01 (May 14 - May 22): Sprint #1
1. Pureref Board (16X9) Ratio for Individual Assets
2. Schedule for each Sprint
3. Match Camera Perspective in Maya
4. Initial Proxy with Correct Scale
5. Powerpoint Presentation 01 for Delivery (Expected Deliverables, Finished (Or Unfinished) Deliverables, Next Time Deliverables) - May 22
6. Final Proxy (Optional)
2. Week 02 (May 23 - May 29):
1. Final Proxy
2. Unreal Assembly and Camera Perspective
3. First Pass Lighting
4. Individual Asset Proxy Renders
5. Detailing on Hero Asset (Airlock Computer) (Optional)
3. Week 03 (May 30 - June 5): Sprint #2
1. Start Detailing
2. Unreal Assembly with Detailed Assets
3. Powerpoint Presentation 02 for Delivery (Expected Deliverables, Finished (Or Unfinished) Deliverables, Next Time Deliverables) - June 5
4. Finish Detailing (Optional)
4. Week 04 (June 6 - June 12):
1. Finish Detailing
2. Unreal Assembly with Final Detailed Assets
3. Individual Asset Detail Renders
4. Start UV of Hero Asset (Airlock Computer) (Optional)
5. Week 05 (June 13 - June 19): Sprint #3
1. Start UV and Layout of Assets
2. Second Pass Lighting
3. Powerpoint Presentation 03 for Delivery (Expected Deliverables, Finished (Or Unfinished) Deliverables, Next Time Deliverables) - June 19
4. Clay Renders and Ambient Occlusion Bakes
6. Week 06 (June 20 - June 26): 
1. Finish UV and Layout of Assets
2. Start Value Pass of Environment
3. Unreal Assembly with Value Pass Environment
4. Finish Value Pass of Environment (Optional)
7. Week 07 (June 27 - July 1): Sprint #4
1. Finish Value Pass of Environment
2. Unreal Assembly with Final Value Pass Environment
3. Third Pass Lighting
4. Powerpoint Presentation 04 for Delivery (Expected Deliverables, Finished (Or Unfinished) Deliverables, Next Time Deliverables) - June 27
5. Start Texturing of Assets (Optional) 
8. Week 08 (July 2 - July 10):
1. Start Texturing of Assets
2. Unreal Assembly with Textured Assets
3. Fourth Pass Lighting
4. Finish Texturing of Assets (Optional)
9. Week 09 (July 11 - July 17): Sprint #5
1. Finish Texturing of Assets
2. Unreal Assembly with Textured Assets
3. Materials and Rendering
4. Powerpoint Presentation 05 for Delivery (Expected Deliverables, Finished (Or Unfinished) Deliverables, Next Time Deliverables) - July 17
10. Week 10 (July 18 - July 25):
1. Critique Improvements
2. Final Renders
3. Improvements on Materials, Texturing, Rendering
11. Week 11 (July 26 - July 29): Final Delivery
1. Powerpoint Presentation 05 for Delivery (Expected Deliverables, Finished (Or Unfinished) Deliverables, Next Time Deliverables) - July 29

The Maintenance Access Tunnel: Documentation

For the third semester, I have three potential portfolio pieces lined up, for the months of May, June and July. Each one, ideally, should be split into four weeks each, but I'll only have three for the last one, unfortunately. So I'm going to have to descope for the July portfolio.

But, for the May piece, I will be working on creating a 3D environment of a concept art by Brian Taylor, titled 'Sci-Fi Corridor'. Since I already have a portfolio piece of the same name, a friend suggested 'The Empty Line' as a placeholder until I can get a better title for it. 

 The primary reference for the piece is provided below:

PRIMARY REFERENCE

I like the clean, simple shapes provided by the painter, as, conversely, it highlights the complexity of the environment. I also am attracted to the emission of the lights, which is something I'd like to work on in UE5. Lighting will also be a huge plus in this piece, if I can pull it off.

I'm gonna use some of the concept artist's WIP shots as references for my own renders, especially during my own WIP shots, in order to see things more clearly. 

PUREREF