Digital Texturing
Micro Scene
Week 6
Poor time management aside, I found out too late the importance of utilizing ID maps. I made the decision to skip doing this as I was unsure whether models were going to be sharing the same textures. I realized my mistake as I did end up having repeated textures, but I was already halfway done with the process. I was incorrect in believing I had a grasp on the workflow in Painter, and this resulted in cumbersome work. However, in the end I made something I am proud of. As I was slowly progressing, I started to see my idea be visually apparent.
With texturing done, I moved on to Unity. I was much more comfortable working in Unity as I was setting up the HDRI, assembled assets, adjusted lighting, and messed with the fog effect. However, I was a little concerned with my color palette with having only earthy tones, so I took advantage of lighting and changed the color temperatures a bit. Contrasting my main light source with a cool tone to the firepit with a warm one worked out well. In the end, I believe I achieved telling a story through the scene's contents as well as the setting it is in.
There are many things I learned during this journey of making my micro scene, as well as what I would do differently moving forward. First, there is time management and planning. I went over many unnecessary hurdles due to poor planning: not having a clear idea how to fill my scene, not making use of ID maps, not considering my color palette earlier on, etc. These things contributed greatly toward more time spent on top of the little time there was to spare. I would also like to work on getting better with texturing, as I think this is a definite area for improvement for me. I am still a novice when it comes to Painter, and could have a better understanding in Designer as well. Regardless, for what I did accomplish I am very happy with the outcome.
Micro Scene
May 15, 2020
As I approached the final stretch, I was able to finish all there was left to finish. To start, after meeting my tri count and moving everything into Painter, I began my work in texturing everything. I realized what little time I gave myself for texturing, and still ended up not using that time to its fullest.
Poor time management aside, I found out too late the importance of utilizing ID maps. I made the decision to skip doing this as I was unsure whether models were going to be sharing the same textures. I realized my mistake as I did end up having repeated textures, but I was already halfway done with the process. I was incorrect in believing I had a grasp on the workflow in Painter, and this resulted in cumbersome work. However, in the end I made something I am proud of. As I was slowly progressing, I started to see my idea be visually apparent.With texturing done, I moved on to Unity. I was much more comfortable working in Unity as I was setting up the HDRI, assembled assets, adjusted lighting, and messed with the fog effect. However, I was a little concerned with my color palette with having only earthy tones, so I took advantage of lighting and changed the color temperatures a bit. Contrasting my main light source with a cool tone to the firepit with a warm one worked out well. In the end, I believe I achieved telling a story through the scene's contents as well as the setting it is in.
Final Render
There are many things I learned during this journey of making my micro scene, as well as what I would do differently moving forward. First, there is time management and planning. I went over many unnecessary hurdles due to poor planning: not having a clear idea how to fill my scene, not making use of ID maps, not considering my color palette earlier on, etc. These things contributed greatly toward more time spent on top of the little time there was to spare. I would also like to work on getting better with texturing, as I think this is a definite area for improvement for me. I am still a novice when it comes to Painter, and could have a better understanding in Designer as well. Regardless, for what I did accomplish I am very happy with the outcome.
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Week 5
Micro Scene
May 6, 2020
As was planned for this week, I did finish roughly everything there is to do in Maya. As for what is left, I still need to continue to fill my scene with duplicates of objects in order to meet the tri count minimum. Unfortunately, I never even got into Painter to begin my texturing.
My biggest problem for this week has been the sheer lack of time I had available to getting much done. Other projects and assignments had eaten up much of that time, and it just so happens the deadlines for those were coming sooner than later. For what I did have time for, again, was wrapping things up in Maya. With duplicates, I plan to emphasize on the haphazardness of this somewhat messy and run down blacksmith.
Looking forward, I have a clear understanding of my workflow when exporting things into Painter. Although there are only a few days left before final submission, the coming days will open up for me time wise. I still remain optimistic in having my vision for the scene be realized.
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Week 4
Other than more crashes in Maya, issues I faced include the process of completing my ground texture. It has been a while since I last used Alchemist and Designer, so I was a bit sluggish at first. I was also being very uncomplacent deciding on how much snow to add, or how little water there ought to be. But, for next week I hope to start strong and work fast. First, I'll wrap up all loose ends in Maya like the UV maps, or filling in my scene with duplicates. Then, I'll jump into Painter and start texturing. I will feel pretty good if I can get at least half the texturing done by then.
Micro Scene
April 29, 2020
At last I have finally finished UVing all assets, and I am half way through organizing them based on which ones will share the same UV map. I also worked a bit in Alchemist with my ground texture. I reused a mud and twigs texture from a previous assignment done in Designer, blended it with an image of rocky terrain, and threw in more detail like water and snow. As seen below, the terrain matches my original idea of a sort of mountainous, or snowy setting.
Other than more crashes in Maya, issues I faced include the process of completing my ground texture. It has been a while since I last used Alchemist and Designer, so I was a bit sluggish at first. I was also being very uncomplacent deciding on how much snow to add, or how little water there ought to be. But, for next week I hope to start strong and work fast. First, I'll wrap up all loose ends in Maya like the UV maps, or filling in my scene with duplicates. Then, I'll jump into Painter and start texturing. I will feel pretty good if I can get at least half the texturing done by then.___________________________________________________________________________________
Week 3
April 22, 2020
This week I did not get as much accomplished as I would have liked. I continued with the UVing, but I did not complete them all as planned. This might be partly due to the fact that I left some of the tougher to UV models for last. These ones, in particular, will also be having their UVs tiled, like the sharpening wheel seen below.
Tiling is still a bit foreign to me. I have yet to fully utilize this technique, so there was a lot of time consumption happening as I was working it out while UVing. It also doesn't help that Maya, once again, threw a couple more crashes my way. What remains to be UVed is the weapon rack, lantern, and the shack structure itself. I also have the ground, or pedestal for my scene to be placed on, to worry about. These tasks, along with getting the proper texel density and resolution for close-up and background objects, I aim to have done by next week.
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Micro Scene
Week 2
April 15, 2020
For this week, I just about achieved the goal I set for myself: reorganizing the outliner, separating any modular models for UVing, and to actually UV. Eleven of the sixteen models I originally started with have been UVed, each one individually matching in texel density (not relative to every other object). At this point I have been sticking with provided models only, and I think for the sake of time I will continue to do so. I will end up using an additional model, a lantern, as it is required to include an object that will be using a glass material.
There were no difficulties when working through this stage of the process, save for a couple crashes in Maya (setting me back only about an hour of work). Moving onward for next week, I plan to have all models UVed and texel density sized according to what objects will be closer to the viewer's eye versus ones further away. For example, the objects that are closer and more visible need higher texel density and resolution to allow for better quality textures: the log, barrel, anvil, smaller hammer, and the sharpening wheel. Likewise, objects further away, like the firepit, wagon wheel, and larger hammer, can afford to have lesser quality textures. This is, of course, in reference to my blocked out scene from last week as it also shows my imagining of the point of view.
There were no difficulties when working through this stage of the process, save for a couple crashes in Maya (setting me back only about an hour of work). Moving onward for next week, I plan to have all models UVed and texel density sized according to what objects will be closer to the viewer's eye versus ones further away. For example, the objects that are closer and more visible need higher texel density and resolution to allow for better quality textures: the log, barrel, anvil, smaller hammer, and the sharpening wheel. Likewise, objects further away, like the firepit, wagon wheel, and larger hammer, can afford to have lesser quality textures. This is, of course, in reference to my blocked out scene from last week as it also shows my imagining of the point of view.
Object List
- Two types of swords
- Two types of hammers
- Axe
- Weapon rack
- Firepit
- Anvil
- Sharpening wheel
- Wagon wheel
- Wooden shack
- Barrel
- Bucket
- Fence
- Stump
- Log
- Lantern
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Micro Scene
Week 1
April 7, 2020
Reference
For this project I am tasked in creating a micro scene of a smithy. To start things off, I took a look at some concept art to spark some inspiration. I really like the context, item arrangement, and high contrast in lighting of the art piece above. These elements, especially the lighting, will be my main source of reference when moving through the creation process of my blacksmith scene.
Blocked Out Scene
Going into Maya to block out my scene using the provided models, resizing them, setting up a backdrop, and pulling in some lighting gave me no issues whatsoever. It was a simple process. By messing with the position and rotation of everything, I think I found exactly how I want the layout of my scene to look. With my reference in mind, I am aiming for a worn down smithy that has seen better days. A blacksmith set in some harsh environment, like in the snow or mountains. That is my vision.
My plans moving forward is to work within Maya to reorganize my outliner, combine or separate objects for UV sufficiency, and also to begin UVing. Ideally, I will be done UV unwrapping everything, and arranging the UV shells appropriately by the end of next week. Ideally.
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Retopology & Texturing
March 20, 2020
For this assignment, I was tasked in retopologizing pre-modeled knives in Maya - meaning remodeling for the sake of a lower poly count. Retopology makes for a cleaner mesh, and a lower poly count helps models run smoothly in game engines such as Unity. After the retopology and UVing, I would take my new meshes into Substance Painter and begin texturing. Finally, the texture maps were to be exported for use in Unity, where I would render and showcase my end result.
When retopologizing, I was using the Quad Draw tool to essentially model over the original knife shape as I placed my vertices with intent to reach that goal of a lower poly count. That, and the UVing process, gave me no issues whatsoever. Moving on to Painter, I would bake the original high poly model on to my low poly one - meaning all that high detail I lost when retopologizing can be turned into a texture. Further texturing was done to convey the look for the bone handle, leather wrapping, obsidian, as well as wood for one of the knives. When that was finished and everything was moved into Unity, it took longer than I anticipated to familiarize myself with post-processing. By this point, I relied heavily on the tutorial that was provided along with this assignment. With following every step, I got the information I was looking for: setting up the environment and post-processing in the inspector. With the finished product viewable in-game, I think it all came out rather well.
Something I would do differently next time would be to make use of the flexibility this workflow offers. What I mean exactly is I could have very well gone back into Painter (after having viewed my end result in Unity) and adjusted a value for, say, reflections. I also did not use as much of the tools in my availability within Painter as I would have liked. However, the assignment did not insist for artistic creativity as using pre-made materials within Painter sufficed. That being said, I took the liberty in darkening the crevices for my wooden knife, as can be seen below, using the brush.
Tutorial Link
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Substance Painter Tutorials
March 16, 2020
For this assignment, I was to follow along with some tutorials in creating textures in Substance Painter for a lantern and guitar amp that were modeled in Maya. It covers Painter's UI, pre-built materials within its library, customizable materials that can be added to the library, tools, mesh baking, masking, etc. The tutorials were straightforward. Because of this, I feel I have a good understanding on the workflow for Painter.
For the lantern, there were no issues in regards to what the tutorial taught. In fact, it was easily retainable. I started to get into the routine of beginning with a base layer, adding more detailed textured layers to go on top, and grouping this into its own folder to be reused for all the modular parts. As you can see, the blue color would be the base layer, and the rust and dirt details are what lay on top.
The only problems I faced was time and technical issues. My original project file got corrupted, and later on I had a couple crashes. This set me back quite a bit, and so I had to find the time to compensate for a lot of lost work.
Despite those hiccups, I think my lantern came out pretty well. I opted to not change the opacity for the glass since we were not dealing with lighting and rendering for this assignment. Keeping it at full opacity allows those textures I worked on to really show for a screenshot image.
Much the same with the lantern, the amp tutorial was not too difficult. It was more so overview, and I was able to get through this one rather quickly. This tutorial was less about customizing materials, and more on covering various tools within Painter. I learned the many uses for the brush tool, the symmetry tool, and have more in-depth knowledge of navigating through Painter's library.
There were no problems I faced when creating the amp. For the most part, I simply followed along and completed every step as was presented. It was only a matter of getting it done, and I am happy how it turned out.
https://academy.substance3d.com/courses/getting-started-with-substance-painter-2018/youtube-IGGQl9kVB1M
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/substance-painter-2019-essential-training/introduction?u=57692737
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Alchemist & Designer
March 9, 2020
I was assigned in creating tileable textures within both the Substance Alchemist and Substance Designer softwares. These tiled textures, along with their small file size, make it ideal for use in games. At first I was simply following along, but then I slowly began to familiarize myself with the process. I learned both Alchemist and Designer's user interfaces, resources, working with channels and layers, settings, tools, all sorts of things.
Working in Alchemist was surprisingly easy, and was a lot of fun to jump in and get some quick results when creating this ground texture seen above. It is very user friendly in its clean and intuitive interface. The process with this assignment entailed bringing in a photo for detail (preferably a parallel shot of the ground) into Alchemist, then applying layers to add further detail (like moss or water). Having such a simple and easy way to add these details is great. However, Alchemist seems quite limited in its options. You can only go so far with what it has to offer.
I was assigned in creating tileable textures within both the Substance Alchemist and Substance Designer softwares. These tiled textures, along with their small file size, make it ideal for use in games. At first I was simply following along, but then I slowly began to familiarize myself with the process. I learned both Alchemist and Designer's user interfaces, resources, working with channels and layers, settings, tools, all sorts of things.
Working in Alchemist was surprisingly easy, and was a lot of fun to jump in and get some quick results when creating this ground texture seen above. It is very user friendly in its clean and intuitive interface. The process with this assignment entailed bringing in a photo for detail (preferably a parallel shot of the ground) into Alchemist, then applying layers to add further detail (like moss or water). Having such a simple and easy way to add these details is great. However, Alchemist seems quite limited in its options. You can only go so far with what it has to offer.
Designer, on the other hand, was very overwhelming for me. The assignment was to follow some tutorials for creating tileable textures: metal, brick, mud and twigs, and these wood planks here. Trying to retain all the information I learned on the way was difficult. In particular, the various nodes for masks, histograms, greyscale, grunges, and so on. I had no clue what all my options were, and when best to apply them, so I simply nodded in ignorant agreement at the tutorials. I started to understand more once all the pieces came together in the end. One can see that through the vast amount of options Designer offers much complexity and artistic freedom for creating amazing textures.Both Alchemist and Designer offer the artist the ability to customize and create seamless textures to be used for tiling. But again, they differ greatly in accessibility. As I mentioned, Alchemist is incredibly easy to get into and use, while Designer is complex and leans more toward professional levels of work.
Tutorial Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzKtubDsC9o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji45Nmc93Nk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98rn8MGIZjA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_q_JaCg7hk&list=PLB0wXHrWAmCwWfVVurGIQO_tMVWCFhnqE&index=1
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