Textures

So this is my progress so far. I've really started to dirty the place up and add a bit of my own imagination to it - which is a lot of fun! I've still got a lot of work to do on textures and unfortunately not a lot of time lately! This is down to getting some CG commissions - which is great, however it means this has to take a back seat. I'm hoping some time will free up soon though - and I can get back to it :) 

Lighting and beginning of textures

Modeled Sink Area

3D model of scene:

Sink Area

My second project is our own sink area. This project is going to mainly focus on textures and accurately copying the reference. It's not the most exciting project but definitely good practice.

Main reference:

I am adding a window to the left of the image and will be changing the lighting.

Final Image

The Writing Room

End of project comments:

I'm very pleased with how this has turned out as it was my first time making a full environment. The main problems with the image are the reflections in the curtain and window frame. It's all linked to a shader problem so shows I really need to practice this more. On the positive side, I'm very pleased with some of my assets, such as the type writer and locket.

In my next project I'd like to push my textures a bit further and add more little details like dirt and dust. Overall this has been a very fun project and I have learnt a great deal about CG. Bring on the next project!

Nearly finished :)

So I have nearly finished the image. Just need to composite it in Photoshop. I am so excited to finish and move onto another project but am trying not to rush it!

Here's another update. I've been doing lots of texturing tutorials. I'm working on this image slowly as I pick up new tips. Have been working with a lot of different shaders and looking at reflection.

Interesting fact: materials are more reflective towards the outside edges than the inside.

Update

So I've made quite a lot of changes. As I started texturing I decided to re-model some parts. I felt like the cabinet should be much bigger. Also, I made a new small table, after being told that in the 1920s they had circular tables that the phone would sit on... but I do like this one a lot better! I've also made the window and curtains longer. I've done quite a few textures, and am thinking of making a few more props.

Another discovery I've made is that Maya has several bugs. Once you know what these are, they are easy to avoid... but it's definitely not fun at first when it keeps crashing!

Textures

I've taken the colour out of the lighting for now while I texture the scene. I finished all the UV mapping (will give a break down of this in another post). I'm actually finding wood the hardest to texture! Have a lot in the scene so hopefully will get a lot of practice!

Render with lighting

For this I created a physical sun and sky in mental ray then added double windows to the front of the room and a door to the right (that lets in less light due to the idea of it being from another room).

Next I need to finish unwrapping all the uvs so I can make all the textures.

More items

I'm starting to fill up the room with more objects - cabinet, picture frames, curtains... I'm actually starting to feel like I'm playing Sims which is quite fun :). I've worked more on the model of my type writer, once it's done I'll do a close up. I'm starting to feel the 1920s a bit more now!

So I've started putting everything together and created the room. You'll notice a couple of objects I havn't shown before: the fireplace, type-writer and small desk. I'm not sure if I will add anything else apart from skirting boards and little details. I can't decide whether there should be a bookcase on the left hand side. What do you think?

I still need to makesure everything is to scale. I'll do a proper render once I've finished the lighting. I've just started reading Maya Essentials magazines. They're actually one of the better magazines for 3D Artists that I've come across. They've got some great lighting tips, so hopefully I'll be able to get the mood I want :)

Side note: I just realised I've been working on this project less than a month! Feels like a lot longer.

Locket texture

I've started to texture the locket. Have just got some old photos off mum!

 I'm also practicing lighting and rendering as I go. Am using three area quadratic lights. Am at the very early stages of learning lighting... but will hopefully improve by the time it comes to rendering the whole image.

Comment: My sister just pointed out it needs some glass. Will add this.

Current texture map:

Locket

So I've nearly finished the modeling for most the main items. The last being a typewriter which I'm currently in the progress of making. Definitely a challenge as there are so many parts to it; it's like seeing the inside of a machine!

Anyway this locket is going add to part of the story of the scene. I havn't decided what old photographs to have in it. If anyone has any old photos I'm open to suggestions :)

Reference:

Writing desk

I created one desk and it just didn't feel right. It was just very uninteresting and ordinary... it didn't really depict the time. So I scrapped it and started searching for desks that really fitted in with the image I have in mind. I think what I've learnt from this is to value each item.. even if it's just a desk, if it's boring then it really won't do much for your image! This is what I came up with...

I'm going to try normal mapping on some of the details.. I've not done hard surface normal mapping so we'll see what happens.

Reference:

1920s Clock texture

Ok so I've done a base for the texture. I plan to wear it down and tweak it some more. But here is what I have so far. It's looking like this will be the first fully finished 3D piece I show on my blog :)

A quick update on the clock texture, I'm trying to make it more unique and interesting and also neaten some bits up. I'm still experimenting with this :)

1920s Clock

1920s Telephone


This is my first time using sub-divisional modeling, this is quite high poly for me! I'm actually just starting a project. I'm recreating a room from the 1920s because I love all the old type-writers and telephones and the whole style of the time. I'm also going to create a bit of story around the scene. For now here is my first model. I'm quite enjoying making this!

Technical stuff: Sub-divisional modeling works well for hard surfaces if you make sure there are additional edge loops around your corners.

Wireframe:

Reference:

New home!

I have just moved to a new flat so have been quite unproductive as I've been busy working and building flat pack furniture. I'm happy to say the furniture is all built now and I've just set up the internet! I've not really done many texture practices lately as I've had no reference images.

However here are some quick models I've been making, just to practice hard surfacing modeling and assure I'm making everything in quads.

I've also tried to make a general light setup for my renders... I've got far too much black in the background but I'll have to figure that out some other time! Light is definitely something I need to practice. 

I'm actually planning on starting a full project soon. Although I want to first create a few objects with textures. I was thinking I might make a bathroom... will keep this updated :)

Rock

I was having trouble getting the white highlights for this. I think perhaps I need to use some different brushes. I'm not too happy with this but am going to leave it for now.

Update

I was quickly playing around with this texture and did a few changes... I'd like an opinion on whether this one is better:

Wood


I'm not sure why I decided to do wood again (seen as it's my weakness) but I had a sudden urge to make an old wooden school bench. I decided to just make a piece of wood as an initial test. To create the colour for wood, I added a colour burn layer over my grayscale image, then I added a colour overlay.

My texture:

Reference:

My texture applied to a 3D wood object I made:

Some feedback and thoughts. My sister has just pointed out that the end of the wood doesn't look right. I have also just been thinking that the edges would probably be sanded.

Cotton


For this I first worked out how the cotton had been weaved together, and just recreated the pattern in Photoshop. I then used some custom brushes to make it fluffy and add some variation.

smaller to give an example of how it'd look on a cotton shirt (the weaving would be so small it'd barely be noticeable).

Reference:

Mine is a little different from the reference because I wanted to add a bit more variation.

Metal


I re-created metal today. Using custom brushes and the threads filter, hand drawn scratches, layers of tones, and I threw a quick rust layer over at the end.

I don't have permission to add the reference, so I'll just link it http://www.davidtorno.com/MacTex_Uploads/Metal001.jpg  - thanks David Torno for some great texture photos.

I lost the internet for a few days, but am back (until it cuts again!) Here is a progress update. I re-did wood with custom brushes.

Wood

I wanted to make this version seem flatter and more like the original. I found this to be more difficult than brick, I don't think I've quite found the right custom brushes/ technique yet. Not entirely happy with it but I shall move on.

Brick 


So after experimenting with loads of custom brushes, I decided to make my brick texture again. I've used the same references, I think I can safely say that custom brushes help A LOT!

With a quick colour overlay:

I've mostly been experimenting with lots of custom brushes today. Did a quick metal texture using lots of overlays of black, white and grey tones. I also tested out some scratch brushes. 

In other news, I went to see the new X-Men film. I loved it! It's great to see more of the story.

Wood

My texture:

Reference:

I created wood using the render fibres filter. Then I used burn and dodge to create highlights and lowlights. I created the circles with the marquee and stroke tools. I painted over parts for extra detail.

Hand Painted Textures

Hi all,

So I'm not great at updating this Blog! As I have a new computer now, I should be able to do lots more work - and lots more uploads :)

I have just started to learn hand painted textures. I thought it best to record my findings and thoughts on different textures here. I'm starting with some basic material studies done in grey scale. Once I get the hang of it more I'll add colour and scratches, dirt etc (all those things that bring textures to life!)

Rock

My texture:

Reference:

Rock is made up of lots of different layered tones. To create my texture I used a round brush, with scatter, angle jitter and roundness. This was my first experiment with custom brushes. I think my texture for this feels too soft. I also feel it's looking a bit too painted.

Brick

My texture:

Reference:

For the brick I used a thick heavy brush to create texture. I think the brick still needs more tone variation and a stronger sense of texture. I'm not spending too long on each as I'm still just experimenting with brushes. The idea is to re do these textures once I have learnt how to create the best custom brushes for each texture.

Carpet

My texture:

Reference:

I think this is the closest I've come so far to copying a texture. I have used a custom brush with 80 percent roundness. I screened my brush strokes over a texture I created by rendering fibres and distorting them with the ocean ripple. I then used the eraser to create more dark areas in the texture.