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Project work: 3D Assets

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The aim of this module project was to create 3D models and textures from scratch using modelling and sculpting techniques.  A minimum of 2 models with one being a hard surface/inorganic model and the other being a character/organic model was required.  The software used were Maya, ZBrush and Substance Painter which were all covered in this module. Starting with the hard surface model, I decided to do a simple helicopter model in Maya. Given below are the reference images collected through PureRef: In Maya, I started off with a polygon sphere for the body then attached a cylinder for the tail and propellor base, following which I extruded the remaining parts.  After grouping all the parts together, I created the UV map by slicing uneven projections and unwrapping the UV shell. I used Arnold aiStandardSurface shader to obtain metallic texture with colour and specular. Then I created a Turntable animation and rendered for 5 seconds (1-120 frames) with the Arnold shaders and ...
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Weeks 7&8: Arnold Shaders and Texturing in Substance Painter

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Week 7 In this week, we went through different shaders in Arnold for rendering in Maya. Initially, the PBR material setup was done. The most commonly used shader is the aiStandardSurface. Some other shaders are   aiAmbientOcclusion,  aiWireframe,  aiShadowMatte.  I tried out various shaders and experimented with lighting and rendering it.   To create added texture, lighting and effects, Physically Based Render maps are used.  Albedo - Base colour, no shadows are visible   Roughness - Will determine how rough or smooth a surface is - Also will affect the sharpness / blurriness of reflections and highlights on the surface Height - This map allows us to create the illusion of height and depth within a texture   Normal - Gives the object the illusion of more detail, without the extra polygons  Ambient Occlusion - This is a grayscale map which contains lighting data  Week 8 This week's lecture started with the use of Subst...
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Weeks 5&6: Sculpting and Retopology

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Week 5 In this week, we continued exploring sculpting in ZBrush and were assigned the task of sculpting lips. I started off with a Dynamesh Polysphere, then used the “Clay Brush” to create the primary shape of the lips. Then I subdivided the model to add details such as the parting of the lips, smile lines and creases near the corners of the mouth. This was overall a fairly difficult process for me, but I watched this tutorial below to help me improve. Week 6 In this week, we were introduced to the concept of retopology. It's a step after sculpting where a model's polygonal mesh is recreated to obtain a cleaner layout for the purpose of UV mapping and texturing.  In Maya, the model is set to 'Live object' first, then the 'QuadDraw' tool is used to click points as vertices and shift+click to create polygon face.  Holding down ctrl+click inserts an edge loop in between the polygon faces. Self-critique While trying to create a smooth topology for the whole face, I ...
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Weeks 3&4: UV Mapping and Intro to ZBrush

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Week 3   What is UV mapping? UV mapping is the 3D modeling process of projecting a 2D image onto the surface of a 3D model to create texture mapping. The 3D object is unwrapped and the 2D texture is applied to it. UVs are vital because they provide the link between a surface mesh and how an image texture gets applied onto that surface. This week we got to know about the importance of UV mapping and were asked to practice UV mapping a wooden pallet. In Maya, using the UV editor, edges can be selected and used to place seems using the cut UV seems tool. The checkboard projection is used to see if there's any stretching of the UVs on the model or not. The aim is to achieve even looking squares throughout the model's surface. I also watched some external tutorials to understand the concept better. Given below is a tutorial by 'InspirationTuts' which I found helpful.   Week 4 In this week, we were focusing on character creation in ZBrush. Our lecturer started off with explai...
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Weeks 1&2: Modelling techniques in Maya

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Week 1 A new module has started after a long break. This module is all about modelling techniques for creating 3D assets for film and games.  We started off this week's class with fun quiz on modeling. Then the lecturer started explaining about the importance of reference and using them to create models or any aspect of art creation for that matter. We also had a fun exercise where we were made to draw a fish on a piece of paper without looking at any images and quite frankly my drawing turned down not so satisfactory as it was quite basic while lacking a lot of details which could have been better if there was a reference image to look at and draw. For this purpose, our lecture recommended an app called PureRef which was wheelable to download online for free and with quite helpful and collecting images by simply just clicking and dragging and dropping them onto the screen of the app. What are N-Gons, Tris and Quads? N-gons or faces with more than four edges or vertices. They can...
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