Winter break has finally begun, so this is a good checkpoint for an update.
Over the last month I worked with 4 other peers to create three unique environments in 3D for Games class. The goal was to create a "fantasy" environment; a place you couldn't book a flight to. This definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me to develop my conceptual side.
We planned to split our environment project into 3 bite-sized chunks from different parts of our conceptualized universe in order to show more variety. I started the task of conceptualizing our "hi-tech interior" environment by doing a paintover of a previous greybox from another team member:
This was the first pass I came up with:
The team liked it, but I gave it to another teammate (Shaun Ellis) for another pass and he changed it to look like this:
All in all, the production process for this space went very smoothly, and because of the strong direction of the concept art we were able to finish most major assets within several days. The final space stayed very true to the concept:
In this level I modeled the radial modular walls, walkways, and the "curvy arm pillars" that rise up in-between the walkways. I also played a role in lighting.
The next space I helped develop was an alien jungle. This is the map that I spent the most time in, and I did most of the set dressing and lighting myself. I also modeled and textured the large ferns, small moss sheets and mossy rocks, as well as hand-texture the large platform plants with the orange glowing tops.
(My texture and material setup for the platform plant)
This is the type of environment where it is extremely difficult to unify the scene and lead the eye without overcluttering. Bioluminescent plants look cool, but when they're placed without care they destroy the coherency of the scene. This was happening a lot in the early stages of set dressing before I took it into my own hands. For comparison, here is a side by side of what the lighting and set dressing looked like before and after I took over:
Before:
After:
More pictures and information coming soon...
