I had to do a lot of catching up this week, but I finally have a full sculpt for this guy. I need to work some more on the game-res so that the body is a bit smoother. I had some issues baking the floor, but I am working with settings and it looks a lot better now than it did yesterday!
This sprint, I mainly worked on updating the player's right hand (the arm cannon model). Previously, it wasn't properly combined, there were gaps in the geometry, and it lacked a lot of detail on the top and bottom especially. It still needs a little modeling work before the final game-res is complete, and the texture needs to be made as well.
UE Forum post link: https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/fiea-vr-project-metroid-dread/505202
[I will be adding screenshots to this eventually.]
For my research project, I am working to replicate this sword model from ArtStation, with a focus on hand-painted textures and toon lines.
I am experimenting with settings on a a toon shader post-process material in UE 4.27. I haven't quite found the consistent look I'm going for, so I'm also trying out another method that involves inflating mesh normals in Maya, and then inverting the mesh and assigning a matte black material to it in UE so it becomes an 'outline' [tutorial link of the inflation method https://youtu.be/8U0TpNSkEX8 ]. This only outlines the outer edges, not inner details, so I will also be hand-painting some linework to the inner details of the hilt.
This week, I mostly worked on revising the model based on feedback and my own observations, and adding more detail. I especially focused on proportions and shapes in the orthographic views, which I was having trouble with since my reference only shows one angle. I was very busy with Capstone and didn't get the amount of work in that I wanted to, so I will catch up with the final sculpt over spring break.
I will be modeling a creature based on concept art from ArtStation. There are a couple of head and body variations from the artist, but the one I am following most closely is the full-body design, with a serpent-like skull. The artist envisioned these creatures as being made of obsidian or another darker crystallized material. I will play around with textures, but will probably settle for something a bit more fluid than the original, with exposed bones and dripping black goo. For colors, I'll have the light bones, dark fluid, and one other color that I have yet to determine for a glow and highlights.
This week, I made the proxy model, imported it to ZBrush, and started the very basics of the sculpt.
We only had a few days since the last turn-in to perfect this project, but I've definitely made some changes. I wasn't happy with h...
