Weekly Creativity Project

So I´m not that experienced when it comes to certain workflows and i don´t know how to achieve some artistic effects or work around certain issues, so I started this thread to get and ask for critiques and learn a thing or two from you guys :slight_smile:

I planned on working on a certain project every week, starting Monday and finishing Sunday. In this week I got a main goal on what I want to learn / achieve, working every day for just 1 - 2 hours.
I don´t know if this concept will work out for a longer period or if I have to spread the time scale / minimize the project range, but I will try it anyways.

Edit: Spread the timescale to two weeks, so i got more time for bigger projects due to the small amount of time i can do stuff everyday.

So the first Project I started today 24.07 is about creating details and proper texturing / lighting. I want to create a detailed armour with a breast plate and scales, and a coat.

This is todays progress, I´m a bit stuck with the scales, what are your ways to let them follow the proportions of the body mesh?


HI. Good idea. I would use new principled shader and a pbr texture for realistic metal. You can find some pretty good textures on https://www.textures.com/. Same for scales, I would paint them on.


Updated and Textured with PBR :slight_smile: I first tried the method of drawing the Scales on the mesh, but it looked to flat even with high bump mapping. Found a new method by duplicating the Bezier circle that controls the scales and arrange them onto the mesh. So i got the flexibility to twist and scale the curve and so twisting and scaling the scales to follow the proportions :wink:


Got a few extra minutes today :slight_smile: so quick added a coat and reduced the reflection of the cloth. Also twisted the upper Scales a bit so they don´t stand out anymore.


Reworked the scale texturing and added some details to the shoulderplates. Added an environment map for more realisitc lighting (It´s “Lenong2” from HDRI haven).
Any suggestions what can be improved? :slight_smile: I think i Miscalculated the time i would need for this :smiley: There are 4 Days left to sunday, maybe adding some new meshes, like greaves or try to get the facecount as low as possible with still a decent level of detail?


Added trousers and greaves to the mesh. Got not that much time today, so it´s still rather unfinished yet.


Added knee scales and a normal map to the trousers and the shirt.

So today´s Sunday. I would call this model finsihed so far. Learned a lot about details and creating convincing textures. The lighting was mostly the environment map, so it´s not a big learn effect for lighting this time.
I will post the last render into the finished projects thread.
Tomorrow starts the new project.

Next project starting today 31.07 is about character creation and composing a scene with it. So i will concentrate for this project mainly on creating a character and rig it, creating an environment and get an artistic approach to different render compositions.


Todays progress. The rough body sculpt and the rough equipment.


Sculpted the face and started retopologizing. Also added some details to the mesh.


Started modeling the environment. Also retextured the model. Further retopology.

Yesterday was a bit stressfull, so i didn´t made much progress. But reworked the boots and the sculpt a bit. Didn´t make a render but will make an update this evening.

Attachments



Updated Version. Rigged the Character and set him into the final pose. Added a bit of grass to the ground, but for the final image i will use a lot more. Also tried to give the image a bit of “deep in the forest” feeling.


Today i managed to upload sundays result :smiley: It´s a bit complicated managing working on my goals in my holidays, but anyways i will update it (even if it´s a bit later than planned).

So, added more grass, tweaked the spell a bit and composited the image. I will call this finished, learned a lot from it, character creation and environment creation improved a bit i think :slight_smile:

For this week i will concentrate on a smaller project, so i can manage my work with my holiday a bit better. I think the main goal of this week will be on uv unwrapping and more detail texturing. The last projects concentrated on detail modeling so i will work now more with the textures :wink:


Todays Update:
Back from Holidays and right into modeling this :smiley: Focused mainly on the textures, and proper UV mapping.
Until Sunday, i will tweak the whole image a bit.


Todays Update. Added more Sand to the scene and stones, although they´re very hard to see. Changed the mood of the scene to night, so the glowing runes get more in focus.
What i have to improve here is: More microdetailing. The sand for example is too stationary, the whole floor should have a bit of dustyness to it…
But today is the last day, so this will be the final result. Learned nevertheless a lot from it. Improved a bit in UV unwrapping, and in texturing.


Today is starting a new project. This is the first rough blocking of a new character i plan to use in some kind of short film series. So it´s focusing mainly on character creation and creating a rig, for the body and face to animate the character.


Todays Progress: Refined all a bit. Started to add the Textures to see if the Colors work together, also to be able to separate the rendered parts :wink: