Gentleman Character Sculpt

After creating the Bandit head I began sculpting the head for the Gentleman. I applied the same process but followed the reference imagery for this particular character. I had designed the Gentleman to have sharper features than the more rounded nature of the Bandit’s head, and that is reflected in the basic shape of the initial sculpt.

Continuing with the sculpt I concentrated on the underlying skull of the character. He has prominent cheek bones but a less pronounced brow. The ears were created by masking and extruding the geometry in the same way as the Bandit sculpt.

By creating the muscle structure that flows around the mouth and into the bottom lip (the depressor Angil Oris and the Depressor Labil Inferioris) it gives a more natural appearance. The lips are then pronounced by creasing the border and slightly inflating them. Modelling the inner ear structure required studying photographic reference and then translating the volumes to the 3D sculpt. Breaking down the forms I carved in an ‘S’ shape, deeper at the base than at the top, then the branching structure of the ‘Anti Helix’ was built back up with the clay brush.

To finish volume was built up from the cheeks onto the sides of the nose to form the Nasalis facial muscle, the Philtrum was indented, and the nostrils defined.

There is still some sculpting that could be done to take this model to the next level. Wrinkles, skin pores, and breaking up the symmetry will further enhance the realistic appearance of the model.

Bandit Character Sculpt

Zbrush is another essential piece of software in a 3D artist’s toolkit. It breaks away from the traditional modelling techniques of programs such as 3DS Max or Maya.It is often referred to as working with ‘digital clay’ and simulates the more organic process of sculpture. I had used it to create the fine details of my pistol models, but needed to become more familiar with the software in relation to character creation. This process also requires an understanding of anatomical structures that I have been studying to become a better artist, but practice is essential to achieve realistic results.

Starting with a simple sphere I extruded a neck and shaped the head using my reference and concept sketches for my characters. I began building up volumes such as the jaw, cheek bones, nose, and eye sockets with the clay brush. At this stage it is important to establish the underlying skull structure rather than focusing on the details. Constantly building and then smoothing the forms prevents the geometry from becoming too stretched.

Once all the major structures of the face are defined the geometry is then subdivided to work on finer details. A cavity was created for the mouth and the edges pinched together to form the lips. I also gave the character a prominent brow to give him a menacing, thuggish look.

The eyes were created from spheres appended to the head. A circle was masked off and indented to create the iris, then the mask shrunk and the selection extruded to create the pupil. To create the ears a ‘C’ shape was masked off for the base, then the geometry was extruded and moved to form a basic ear shape. One of the most difficult parts of the model was creating the puffy skin in which the eye lid tucks into. The eyelid was created first by masking and then moving the geometry over the eye. Then the area above the eye lid was masked and then pulled over the eyelid.

I experimented creating hair for this character using fibermesh. It was my first time using this tool so this isn't the final model, but I'm pleased with the progress so far.

Unreal hats!

I'm taking some time out of my game development to create some assets for the new Unreal Marketplace.

Player accessories are big business and more platforms/games are coming bundled with a store front to sell user created content. With my current skillset and experience with the Unreal Engine it was the perfect time to get in on the ground floor of a new market.

 To fit with the entry requirements and after a little research I opted to do a homage to the Jason character from the 'Friday the 13th' franchise. Using a default character for scale I created a basic mask in 3DS Max.

I took this into Zbrush to add fine details like cracks and scratches.

I then baked the texture maps from the high poly model to the low poly mesh in 3DS Max, for use in Quixel.

I'm pleased with the final mesh, and it's been submitted for approval on the Unreal Forums. I hope to make more assets to sell on the marketplace as it's only going to grow.

Finished textured model.

A wireframe render to show the low poly mesh.

Bandit Flintlock Pistol Renders

To finish my pistol model I created some renders that will be used as concept art for promoting my game, and to enhance my personal portfolio. Camera effects such as depth of field, lens flare, dust, and ISO grime,  give the image a sense of realism whilst softening the stark digital nature inherent in 3D imagery.

 

I'm really pleased with the final images, a lot of work went into this asset but it shows in the finished product. It also helped me to practice the high-low poly workflow I learnt last year, and whilst I may have taken slightly longer on this than the revolver I created, this model is much more detailed. I intend for all my future assets to meet the high standards established whilst making this one.

Texture creation in Quixel

After baking out all the required maps they were plugged into Quixel alongside the low poly version of my gun model. Quixel uses the colours on the Colour ID map as a mask to assign different materials to the texture map. I also set up Quixel to generate materials for use in UE4, the target platform for my game.

Testing the creation of the barrel texture in Quixel.

To enhance the basic materials I added weathering and dirt effects such as the tarnish on brass elements, edge wear, and even a blood splatter on the bayonette. These details are applied in Quixel using the normal and cavity maps which mask off cavities and edges.

 The maps plugged into Quixel on startup tell the program which areas to mask.

The fine details sculpted in Zbrush are really enhanced by adding dust and ingrained grime to them. This weathering also gives the final texture a realistic 'lived in' look.

Finishing the handle in Quixel. A weathered effect on the grip gives an aged/used appearance to the model.

I continued to work on the pistol making sure the level of detail on each element was consistent. The preview window in Photoshop gives great feedback on how the finished model will look in UE4.

Finalising the model in Quixel.

Once I was happy with the results the maps were baked out for use in UE4. Quixel saves a lot of time creating fine details that would have previously been done by hand. I'd used this workflow before to create a revolver but I wanted to perfect it through practice and repetition, and this project (as well as being a viable game idea) was designed to give me that opportunity.

The final texture maps exported from Quixel for use in UE4.

Baking texture maps in 3DS Max

Once all the pieces were sculpted in Zbrush I imported them back into 3DS max. Some elements needed to be completely retopologised, where others I used an optimised version from the low poly base mesh. The UV's of each mesh were then flattened, and I ran test bakes to make sure the projection cage would capture protruding details and how much the cage would need to be modified to do so.

A screenshot of the low poly 'hammer top' with a projection modifier to capture the details of the high poly mesh underneath.

When the low poly topology was done I separated each piece with its high poly counterpart along the animation timeline. This is to prevent shadow artifacts when baking out the ambient occlusion maps, as well as signifying which piece has been completed. Each element was also assigned a unique colour to represent the different materials of the final model. This will be used to bake a colour ID map for texturing in Quixel.

All the parts of the high poly mesh 'exploded' on the animation timeline, and assigned colours based on the materials of the finished design.

At the end all the pieces were combined as one mesh and a Normal, AO, and Colour ID map baked to texture. Finally I used the Normal map to generate a Cavity Map in nDo. These four maps as well as the low poly pistol will be used to create the textures in Quixel.

The final texture maps baked from 3DS Max for use in Quixel.

Sculpting fine details in Zbrush

Once I'd created the base mesh for my Flintlock pistol I exported each element into Zbrush to work on the details. Sculpting details such as the wood texture, and grip on the pistol handle should really enhance the finished model.

A screenshot of the pistol handle being worked on in Zbrush.

The metal elements such as the lock side plate required some filigree detailing created using custom alphas. Once each piece was finished I used Decimation Master to optimise the mesh for use in 3DS Max.

A screenshot showing the sculpted details of the side plate for my game asset.