Personal project WIP

When I find the time (rare), I've been working on a 3D project of my own. The above is the completed low-poly mesh for a transforming bike design. It's been carefully 'engineered' with no 'cheating' e.g. parts that shrink or overlap each other when transformed. 

The scenario for the design involves a human pilot, who occupies roughly1/3 of the height of the robot internally - it's not a sentient, Optimus Prime-style robot. Again, the cockpit has been taken into account. In line with the 'real world' design, the transformation has also been kept as simple and robust as possible, avoiding the kind of complex, delicate transformations of typical high-end models. This is helped by it not having to turn into a perfect recreation of e.g. a Porsche 911. I'm more of a Macross fan than a Tranformers one, though both are cool.

The next step is to detail it up, possibly in Mudbox, texture it, and finally add a rig capable of handling the transformation. I then intend to render a short sequence that shows the moving vehicle transforming into robot form. So not much work there, then.

Unity 3

For extra brownie points I imported the Splash Damage 3D model into the Unity 3 game engine, and set it up with collision detection, physics and lighting.

The free version I'm using doesn't give you the real-time lights necessary for simultaneous shadow and normal mapping, so I've included shots of the model running in separate modes below.

Splash Damage 3D Environment Art Test

Been brushing up the old 3D skillz recently, to add another string to my bow. FPS favourites Splash Damage had an Environment Art Test posted on their site, so I thought I'd have a go. Modelling in Maya was straightforward enough, but I had to do a little reading up on UV-mapping, and creating normal maps.

Anyhow, once it was finished and lit nicely I was well pleased with it. Screenshots below.

Final quad painting

The illustration in it's finished form. I decided to put the vehicle in a open setting, to keep the emphasis on the design. Putting the rider outside gave a clear view into the vehicle and simplified the process of finding a good viewpoint.

My final door design keeps the silhouette unbroken, whilst providing a practical way to exit the vehicle from either side in a crash (necessary in something compact, narrow and enclosed). Although such practicalities aren't strictly necessary in a virtual design, I feel they help to sell its plausibility.

The second picture shows the Maya model set up for paintover; the last image demonstrates how the design leans into a bend.

Developing a beauty shot for the quad

Trying out a new technique here, making a simple 3D model then doing a paintover. Haven't done any 3D modelling for years, and since I've switched to a Mac since then, I'm unable to run 3DS Max. So I'm using Maya 2010, which is great, but I'm having to hit the tutorials to find where everything is. Unlike my previous 3D modelling for games, though, which required super-neat surface topology, here I can just group objects together and use as many or as few polygons as I like.

I've been through tons of variations to work out how the canopy opens, as I want the final shot to include a rider, which will be difficult if he is fully enclosed in the vehicle. The shell needs to split somehow to allow the rider in and out, and if possible to still allow this with the vehicle on it's roof or side following a crash. Trapping the rider would be a bit of a design flaw in a compact, enclosed machine. I want to find a way that doesn't totally destroy the silhouette when open though.

Enclosed trike design

The trike is my own design. Fully enclosed, the rider is prone over the engine. Front wheels rise and fall on opposite sides to allow the vehicle to lean in a stable way. 3DS Max, surface sub-division, HDRI lighting.

Girl's head 3D model

Old portfolio stuff. Surface subdivision, GI lighting. 3DS Max.

Nissan Skyline GTR 3D Model

Older portfolio piece. 3DS Max model of a Nissan Skyline GTR. Surface subdivision, GI rendering.

3DS Max

At the beginning of 2004, I moved from Xerox to online games company JailDog as a 3D Artist. I had taught myself the software in my spare time, and was itching to get into the games industry. The figures below are the two characters from snowboarding game Clearahill (still playable for free online).

The characters have 1000 polys each, and the track was modelled in NURBS, for ease of texturing. Check out the video of it running, too.

3D models

These were characters for a proposed parachuting game. Modelled / rigged  in 3D Max and rendered with a cell shader.