Week 30 - Toyota Hilux Zombie Version Model, Texturing & Life Drawing

Final Toyota Hilux Pickup Model -Zombie Version

So far the model was turning out the way I wanted (It sticks to the concept). Certain areas like the back needed more concepting, as I wasn't yet sure what could be palced there along with the mounted gun. For now, I was thinking about placing ammo crates there, but if possible there could be some junk laying around too, such as clothes or tools. Any food boxes or equipment that didn't fit inside could have been placed in the back too.

I started everything by gathering reference to model the initial Toyota Hilux Pickup. Then I began additional research on vehicle modifications, weapons, tools, textures and any other useful resources. I organised everything into my mood board and briefly annotated them to gain a better understanding of this project. It helped me realise the problems of making a modified vehicle and how I could solve the numerous problems involved in designing one that is fairly convincing and believable. Next I modelled the Toyota Pickup in 3DS Max, then unwrapped and textured it. Later I made a few renders and started painting my ideas on top of the silhouettes of my model.

When I had enough ideas, I've spent some time deciding on the best few and merged the best aspects of each into one final idea. I moved onto drawing prep sketches and planning of how I was going to model some of the parts. After I got through the modelling process again, it was time for unwrapping in 3DS Max and extracting details from photographs to make my own textures for my modified model. These were made in Photoshop CC just like the previous ones.  

I added rust and mud marks to the base model's texture. This was partly to adapt it to the new modifications and changes I was making.

It was my first time modelling a vehicle, so it was normal for me to not know how some parts of it looked like or how to model them. I overcome this by carefully analysing my reference before making any moves in modelling. Modelling took me a really long time, but mainly due to this project's high triangle budget. Unwrapping was tricky, as the high triangle budget allowed me to make a lot of details which in turn were not easy to unwrap correctly. Texturing turned out to be the easiest aspect of this project to me. I enjoyed it the most and also had a lot of practice during it, as I tried to change certain areas of my texture a few times.

One area I'd like to improve in is modelling, as although I can get quite far in that myself, I still lack the experience to be quick. I will need to keep practicing until I improve my speed of work. Unwrapping gets tougher and tougher as my models become more complex. I will also need to focus on this area more, as my textures are just as important as the models I make. Both of these heavily rely on each other to produce a successful outcome. The way I pack my UVW's is not so great to me, I am still practicing new ways in which I could arrange everything to prevent losing too much space for my texture. Lastly, my Photoshop skills are still lacking, I feel managed well with making of my texture, but it took me quite a long time. I could improve in this area through practicing, but also with the help of online tutorials.

I was really satisfied with my outcome, the renders really turned out incredibly good and my detailed model clearly shown how far I have gone in my first year of Game Art Design. I hope more projects like this are coming too.

Life Drawing

During this week's session I've done just one tonal drawing, but I got to spend roughly 45 minutes on it. It was a still life composition arranged by my life drawing teacher. It's square shaped, but drawn on an A3 size, mid-tone paper. I mixed 2 mediums on this piece, charcoal and white chalk.

From looking at it, I think it some areas still needed more work. I missed a section of the curtain in the top-right corner, the left side of the curtain is not of the correct tone what flattens the drawing, the curtain should be pushed back more. The floor should have been slightly darker on the left too.

Aside from all this, the rest appears to look fine to me. The fabric layed on the pillow has a clear and visible shape, as I can see how its mass spreads across the surface beneath it. The hanging fabrics also looks fairly convincing, their shadow seems to be dark enough and is pushing them away from the background.