Lighting Workshop P.3

For this project, I practiced 3-point lighting and outdoor scenery lighting in Unreal. I used a creature model that I created for another class, and placed it in an environment to match it. 

Here are my renders:

Simple Creature P.3

  For this project, I am focusing on character modeling. I am modeling a creature created by CreatureBox. 

Here is the concept I am working from:

First, I made a low-poly proxy model in Maya, smoothed it, and then I imported it into ZBrush. Here is a ZBrush render of the non-smoothed proxy:

After that, I subdivided my model and lined it up with the reference image with the spotlight tool. I extracted the extra spikes using masks and the move tool. 

Here is the reference set up in ZBrush:

Here is the render of the final blockout:

For my next steps, I sculpted in the wrinkles and adjusted the eyelids.

Then, I brought my slug into Maya to be retopologized.

Here are my UVs

I moved my model into Substance Painter to create the textures and bake my high resolution sculpt onto my game-ready model. 

Here are my final renders:

Simple Creature P.2

 For this project, I am focusing on character modeling. I am modeling a creature created by CreatureBox. 

Here is the concept I am working from:

First, I made a low-poly proxy model in Maya, smoothed it, and then I imported it into ZBrush. Here is a ZBrush render of the non-smoothed proxy:

After that, I subdivided my model and lined it up with the reference image with the spotlight tool. I extracted the extra spikes using masks and the move tool. 

Here is the reference set up in ZBrush:

Here is the render of the final blockout:

For my next steps, I sculpted in the wrinkles and adjusted the eyelids.

Then, I brought my slug into Maya to be retopologized.

,

Here are my UVs

Lighting Workshop P.2

 For this project, I practiced setting up a scene using depth of field and meshes provided by Quixel Bridge. I also used an HDRI cubemap while lighting the scene.

Here are my renders:

Artist Roadmap

Artist Roadmap

Projecting Out Past Graduation

Questions:

1. If you could project out past graduation, what is your overall career goal? 

• AAA first, then moving on to an indie team once I've developed more of my skills and learned what its like to work in the big industry.
• I prefer a midsize or small team so I can be closer to my coworkers, but I am not opposed to a large team.
• I am interested in simulation as an option if the first doesn't work out, specifically with in the healthcare or education area. 
• The theme park industry isn't my first choice, but I think it would make for a fun job too.

2. If you could project out into starting your career, what sounds the most appealing to you? 

• Primarily I would like to be a character artist, with environment art as a backup plan or starting path. Starting with environment, I really like nature and would be interested in natural environments. With characters, I like to make stylized models of humans and creatures.

3. What are some of the top companies that you are interested in working for? 

• Iron Galaxy, located in Orlando where I live, is a very inclusive studio with a great environment. I have some friends working at this studio, and I have chatted with some of the employees at an event. I really like their vibes!
• Bungie, located in Seattle, WA, is a large company responsible for making the game Destiny 2. I would enjoy working on space-fantasy models in their style.
• Nintendo, located in Washington and Texas, have the cartoon style I would love to work in. I also grew up playing their games.

Inspiring Reference 

• I created an ArtStation account, located here.
• I have another post including my top 10 artists that inspire me, located here. 

10 Artists that Inspire Me

I made some reference boards for 10 Artists that inspire me. Here they are:

1. Rinotuna

2. Orb

3. Marco Di Lucca

4. Jessada Sutthi

5. Max Hay

6. Dong Cheng

7. Mickael Lelièvre

8. YCFCG

9. Lemon Art

10. Marina Markova

Lighting Workshop P.1

For this project, I am learning the basic concepts for lighting in Unreal. This assignment specifically focused on the 3-point lighting system: Including a main light, a bounce light, and a rim light in your scene. 

I created four different shots of two different models, each one showing a render in white light and a render in RGB light. The RGB light identifies the three points of light. Red is the main light, green is the bounce light, and blue is the rim light. 

The models I used are provided by ThreeDScans. The model of the woman can be found at this link, and the model of the crab can be found at this link.

Here are my renders:

Simple Creature P.1

For this project, I am focusing on character modeling. I am modeling a creature created by CreatureBox. 

Here is the concept I am working from:

First, I made a low-poly proxy model in Maya, smoothed it, and then I imported it into ZBrush. Here is a ZBrush render of the non-smoothed proxy:

After that, I subdivided my model and lined it up with the reference image with the spotlight tool. I extracted the extra spikes using masks and the move tool. 

Here is the reference set up in ZBrush:

Here is the render of the final blockout:

For my next steps, I will be sculpting in the wrinkles and any extra bumps.

Studies/Exercises

 Male Anatomy Study

• Torso
• Face
• Eyes
• Nose
• Mouth
• Ears
• Overall
• Arms and hands
• Legs and feet

Male Anatomy Sculpting Study

For my personal project, I aim to practice sculpting the male figure to improve my understanding of anatomy. To begin, I am going to focus on a torso with a muscular build to get a feel for where the muscle structure lies under the skin. 

Here is my reference board:

Research Project

Research Project - Marvelous Designer Basics

During my few semesters here at FIEA, I have been familiarizing myself with many different game art software. One in particular is Marvelous Designer, a cloth simulation program used within the game design industry. Since I am a character artist, this is a program I want to become more comfortable in before I move into the career world. Here, I explore some of the tools I've become familiar with during my learning process

My third project in Marvelous, based off a Banshee concept made by Allods Online.

Setup

Scale

Having the correct setup within Marvelous Designer is an underrated first step. In order to get the cloth to simulate the way you want it to, it is important to consider the scale of your model. You can choose the scale of your scene when you first open the program, and you can choose the scale of the model you wish to import. 

When working on my second project within Marvelous, I mistakenly set the scene in millimeters, when my character was scaled in meters. This ended up making the model far too large for the project. Any cloth I added had so many polygons within it that the program would run at a snails pace, and send the cloth flying into space.

On the other side of the coin, for my third project in Marvelous, my model imported in far too small a scale. This made any pattern I drew very tiny with few polygons, so the fabric would not fall correctly without glitching out. 

Once I went back and fixed the scaling issues, the program ran efficiently and the fabrics finally cooperated! Always consider the scale of the model you are importing, as the units you select during import may not always match each other. You may have to play around with the metrics to get that Goldilocks "just right" scale. 

Camera Controls

Working between multiple programs can be quite confusing, since they often come with different camera control hotkeys. If you're like me and try to stick with the same muscle-memory controls to work more efficiently, you can go to the top toolbar, click Settings/Preferences > Preferences > View Controls, and then switch up the movement controls (along with other settings) to your liking! I like to match my controls to Maya's defaults. 

Tools

There are countless tools you can use in Marvelous' toolbox. Here are some of the tools I used the most:

THE 2D TOOLBAR

The 2D workspace, on the righthand side of the default layout, is where you will draw your sewing patterns (2D shapes, similar to UVs) of the clothes you want to make!

Draw Polygon

Pretty straightforward in its name. This set of tools allow you to create the shapes of your clothes, similar to drawing sewing patterns. You can draw free-hand, or pick a type of shape to create. 

Transform Pattern

This tool moves whatever patterns you create as whole pieces. It does not change any shapes and simply transports them around the 2D space.

Edit Pattern

Each shape is made with vertices and lines that you can alter to your liking. The edit pattern tools include:

- Basic Edit Pattern: Use this to alter individual vertices or lines instead of the whole shape.

- Edit Curvature/Edit Curvature/Smooth Curve: Use these to round out the edges of your patterns, as well as edit the curves to your liking.

- Add point/Split Line: Adds vertices to your pattern and split a line into segments.

- Slash and Spread: Cuts a line into your pattern and rotates a portion of it to your desired angle.

- Trace: Traces a pattern while creating a new shape.

Here are some 2D patterns I made for a coat and some pants! This was for the antagonist of a game called Starboard, made as a capstone project during my graduate schooling at the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy.

Internal Polygon/Line

This tool allows you to draw shapes inside a pattern.

Sewing

Sewing patterns connects them together within the simulation. The different tools in this set include:

- Edit sewing: Move or delete sewing that you have made.

- Segment sewing: Sews the edges/lines of a shape together 

- M:N Segment sewing: Sews multiple segments at once.

- Free sewing: Sews vertices together.

- M:N Free sewing: Sews multiple vertices at once.

- Check sewing length: Checks the length of the segments that are sewn together. Useful for making patterns clean without any pinching at the seams.

Steam

Steaming allows the user to shrink or expand sections of a pattern as they like. It is great for adjusting the fit of the pattern to your model if you don't want to change the shape itself.

It works like a brush, drawing in blue or red to shrink or expand your cloth. The results show in the 3D space. 

THE 3D TOOLBAR

The 3D workspace, on the left hand side of the screen in the default layout, is where you will work with and simulate your cloth patterns in real-time around your model.

Simulate 

This tool toggles cloth simulation on and off. You can choose different processing powers for your simulation. The more fitting the simulation, the slower it will be, and vise versa. You can push and pull the cloth around during the simulation as well!

A simple cloth simulation in progress, showing the difference between pattern pieces, as well as the ability to move the cloth in real-time. (I am using my mouse to hold the cloth in the air.)

Select/Move

This tool allows you to move pieces of your pattern in the 3D space. It's important to line your pieces up around your model, so that when simulated, the cloth will fall on it properly. 

Select Mesh and Pinning

- Select Mesh Brush/Box/Lasso: Allows you to select a portion of the pattern mesh in the 3D space. Helpful for visualizing between the 3D and 2D patterns. 

- Pin Box/Lasso: This tool is GREAT for keeping part of your clothing simulation in specific places. You select any vertex on your pattern to suspend it in the 3D space at its current location.

Reset Arrangement

If you want to return to the non-simulated arrangement of your pattern, you can use this tool!

Sewing (In 3D)

Same as the 2D sewing, except you can connect points and segments within the 3D workspace. This is great for visualizing which edges of the pattern should connect!

THE LIBRARY

The library in Marvelous is full of wonderful presents for fabrics, patterns, and more! It's a great help for getting started and taking a peek into how others make patterns in the program.

THE PROPERTY EDITOR

This is where you edit the properties of the fabrics you use and the shapes you create. 3D Megaverse has a great video on YouTube exploring some of the parameters within this editor, including this chart that he made to sum up fabric properties:

Here is a link to the video mentioned, it focuses on fabric properties specifically: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OebYtXCGbgs&t=1s 

These aren't all the tools that Marvelous Designer has, but they are the basic of the basics to get anyone new started with the program!

Tips for Success 

Referencing

Real life is the best resource for simulations. Looking up sewing patterns for different types of clothes will help guide you in creating the shapes you want!

A simple sewing pattern drawing for pants made by ShapesOfFabric

Real-life sewing pieces.

Websites like MoodFabrics that have tutorials for real-life sewing can be great for planning 3D patterns as well! (The image above is from this site.)

When in doubt, you can always take a peek at your own clothes, observing where the seams lay and how the fabric moves. 

Lots of artists post the process and screenshots of their work within Marvelous. There are so many resources to choose from, and these references will be a huge help in the long run! (Just make sure to give credit where credit is due!)

Researching

Researching the type of clothes you want to make, including your references you find, is key to getting the right fabric properties as well. 

If you are looking to create a garment from a particular time period, consider the fabric it was made of back then. How thick is the fabric? How did the models wear it? Where would the seams lie on the body?

There are many wonderful tutorials to help you get started within the program, so don't be afraid to Google something if you get stuck. There are plenty of artists out there to learn from!

In Conclusion

Marvelous can be a difficult program to learn, but as you get to know it, it becomes a fun way to develop your characters and fashion. I aim to continue practicing this program and exploring new ways of working within it as I continue on my character art journey!

A simple pair of pants I made for my second Marvelous project, shown in both Marvelous and completed in Unreal Engine.

If you're getting started with this program, I highly recommend:

- Start with simple clothing patterns and simple human models! Starting small helps to avoid overwhelming yourself with the different tools and any glitches with the models or fabric you may come across.

- Trial and error is okay. If something doesn't work right away, don't be afraid to redraw any shapes and try new patterns!

- Be patient with yourself. New programs take time to learn, especially ones as complex as Marvelous. Don't let yourself get discouraged if your first project doesn't work out the way you want it to- you will get better with practice!

Thank you for reading, and happy sewing!