Look, it looks like something....

So, after the first day or my liquid cleanse dieting, arranging all my crap to pack, getting sick, and working on my portfolio, I have to say I am at the least happy with where my level is going at the moment...although its not even 50% of what I think it can be, i did add some few things.

Holy effing trees Batman...look what I made. So i created two basic shapes of trees, a more wide based one, and a tall skinny one, both are about 2k Triangles, I know its a little high for what it should be, but I can poly reduce later when I feel like it. I also did the same method I used for the grass, which was model out and detail one branch and then translate into a low poly plan with a few divisions to give it depth (detail in photos). When I imported it into the engine all I did was duplicate the branch out on one of each of the trees and create a prefab and bam look forest population. I also created a different type of branch, for the weeping willows, which I love and wanted to throw in, so I did, so sue me. I think the trees besides the grass are the only things I am relatively happy with.





Also threw in some ground leaves using planes that I already had used for the pond scumb, just using the instance material node thing.

These are the major edits that I am going to go back and take care of. Mainly the god aweful roof that exists, and the problem with the bricks being more than they should be, they both need to be cleaned and changed.



Still some things to create, then from there its all re-working and fine tuning.
Cheers

Eyeballs Are Bleeding Rocks...

So, my next little bit to conuer was attacking rocks, which for the life of me I had no idea where to start with such an absolutely awfully simplistic object. What I found out is, they are actually kind of fun to make, here were the first three that I did, the long one need some editting with it being too bland on some of the long stretches and the dark patch at one end doesnt convey well when I translate it to lower poly.



The nice thing is I learned even more about fine tune sculpting, which I am now going to go back and redo some of my bricks and the layouts with them, and then actually try and create a full piece with them instead of having chunks of bricks that I imported. Thatll get explained in my next blog when I actually try it, apparently having a little more detail but individual objects is worse for shadowmaps, anyway.

I did some grass via a technique Paul taught me but a little different. I modeled out a reed and a blade of grass, zbrushed both with some polypaint and a little detail, and then reimported them after decimation master. I duplicated them around and basically made a patch of tall and short grass. I took a diffuse light set up and rendered out sets of side images, and then using a blank material and some lights I created a depth normal. So here was the result.



Anyway, heres the level so far, throw me an email if you want to critique or ask questions....not that I have any followers

Learning How to Conquer Zbrush

Well HELLOO there!

So, as my first blog (well atleast on here) Im going to run through whats going on in my world right now. I am working on three things right now, a studio project with artists all over, on a stylized educational game, and its been a blast and a ride all in one. The second i started awhile ago and just have added to when I had the chance, its a chill little space level, nothing really solid yet. The portal on it is dedicated to a wonderful little concept art by the team at Unknown Worlds.



These next little gems, is me trying to overcome my fear for ever touching the nightmare that is Zbrush, and you know what I found out, its pretty effing legit, did you know there is a tool in there that lets you basically find ANY image online and staright port it into there and texture the shit out of your object, its like, hey yo, i need a brick, oh damn theres a brick BAM 3D. Youll notice however the first attempt (the more noisy straight texutred brick on the right of the image) was super noisy, and not well translated, so i went back and learned some poly painting and hard edge definition, and it turned out alot better the second time around (thanks to some suggestions by my friend Paul). I made a door, then a piece of wood, and what the fish would these random objects make, well, look below fellow artists.



So, there has been a level I have been wanting to do, but never felt like I had the ability to, but now, im pushing the shit out of my art, and im going to make this level blow your socks off (for those non lazy traction needing followers of mine at home). So this is how it's going to start off, a really rough in engine look at the style of the level, there is plenty to come trust me, but I was liking how it was looking for a start off.

Anyway, that's whats going on, besides my wonderful hunt for work right now, which im praying to Thor and Zeus on this one that maybe Secret Identity pops a call back and I can join my buddy Javier over there and get crackin on some artwork in the industry, because quite honestly, I just miss art being the main focus of my life.

Cheers Mates