We have this inside joke in our friends' group, one of many, about the street sign that resembles my nickname, and it has become our chat group picture. Throughout the years, I've always made some variations of it, mainly once every season to commemorate occasions, like the World Cup or something similar, to spice things up. So lately, I've been really into stylized game art, and I took that opportunity to create something for the group chat.

I wanted to create something relatively simple and quick to continue experimenting with Marmoset Toolbag before the trial ended. Its baking tool is really good, and I wanted to give it more testing.

After a quick block out, I began dynameshing all the parts and started sculpting the wood detailing. I employed some new techniques and combined them with ones I already knew. What intrigued me the most was crafting the bits that protrude from the wood, creating a deeper, layered appearance rather than a simple box shape. Overall, I focused on making the wood stand out from different areas.

For the retopology stage, I aimed to make it as low-resolution as possible. This was somewhat challenging; for instance, I attempted to handcraft all the parts protruding from the wood, which became quite tedious at times. Therefore, I combined some parts of the mesh from the decimation process with some manually retopologized sections. I believe it turned out decently in the end.

The next steps are less complex this time and more straightforward. In short, the baking stage was really fun in Marmoset, exporting the maps as PSD made it easy to fix baking errors in Photoshop. I also decided to add some foliage that grew on the floor, so I quickly made some leaves and flowers.

The texturing part was relatively simple since it's a stylized asset, so I didn't go overboard with detail. In summary, I made a lot of use of the bake maps to paint edges and used ambient occlusion to target mossy areas, etc.

this project allowed me to explore various techniques and tools, from sculpting and retopology to texturing and baking. Despite some challenges along the way, it was an enjoyable journey of creativity and learning. I'm pleased with the outcome and look forward to applying what I've learned to future projects.

There is something about the stylized look that keeps me wanting to explore new techniques and improve on existing ones.

I began by importing the reference into ZBrush and blocking out the towers and walls. I prefer to use ZBrush as much as possible and avoid switching between software too frequently. While many artists may primarily use a 3D package for the initial blockout before transferring to ZBrush, I personally enjoy utilizing ZBrush's ZModeler brush for its versatility and efficiency.

Because the asset is built from bricks, it’s important to cut the mesh and separate it into blocks. That way, when you dynamesh, you can easily isolate each block and sculpt on it.

An important thing I learned in the process of sculpting stylized pieces is to keep the details to a minimum. Stylized art is supposed to be minimalistic, not to go overboard with the details.

After sculpting is done, you're left with 20 mil or so polygons, and you're making a game asset, it's time to retopologize the mesh. I personally love the retopology stage; first, it gives you a break and a change in scenery, and also, I kind of like clean topology. It really helps with UVs later on and just the overall look of it, maybe it's the OCD in me.

I think the part I struggled with the most in this project is the UV mapping. I feel like I’m getting close to getting it right, but there’s still something missing for it to have a clean UV layout. It’s something I need to work on for sure.

One thing I like, and it's like an addiction or something, is to always try new software, you know, just to test it out, to see what tools are out there. One thing that drew me to try Marmoset was the baking tool, and it delivered. It's really fast and simple to use; I liked the option to set a different cage for every other object, something Painter doesn't do too well, I think. And it has easy-to-use settings to adjust the bake maps. From a presentation standpoint, Marmoset Toolbag is also a great tool and easy to use. Exporting and compositing render passes for Photoshop later is a breeze.

I tried sculpting a rock for the first time. It was interesting to learn—from gathering reference images and inspecting the small details in rocks that are essential to make your sculpture look believable—to learning new sculpting techniques to create rock-like shapes.

Knowing the fundamentals of rock sculpting is very helpful to become familiar with. It can assist in creating more unique and customized environments.
I start by roughly blocking out the scene for the project. It's important to set the scale correctly from the beginning, using a familiar object like a human model for proportion. I take a cube and use the move brush to shape it. After that, I begin with low-resolution dynamesh to minimize artifacts and make the mesh easier to manage. I increase the dynamesh resolution at each step when I feel the need for more details.

I mainly use the trim smooth border, a powerful brush, but it takes a learning curve to get used to. I combine this with changing the orientation picker—whether it's set once for a consistent orientation throughout each stroke, set to Continuous Orientation to move along the stroke, or manually adjusting the orientation to have full control.

Getting the small details was definitely the most challenging part of the process, and it's something I've marked for improvement in the future.

After completing the high poly, I begin working on the low poly, which is a straightforward process. I decimated the mesh until ZBrush loses the volume of the high poly. Then, I used TopoGun to adjust some edge placements, ensuring that the low poly captures the high poly silhouette accurately. For unwrapping the models, I used Rizom UV, aiming to minimize seams while ensuring there are not too many areas with stretching.

In Substance, after completing the, for me, stressful part of baking the high to the low, I don't know why, but after finishing this stage with no baking errors, I do feel a sense of accomplishment that things are going according to plan. It's weird.

Texturing organic rock and making it look realistic is also a challenging step of its own. I start by creating a few color variations, each with a specific purpose, incorporating different roughness values and heights to enhance light interaction and create visual interest. I use a curvature map to capture edges and cavities, adding more normal details. Finally, I render the scene in Redshift and include ground texture for a better presentation.

This project was new, exciting, and challenging, with some parts being frustrating, but I guess it's part of the learning process. Overall, I'm happy with the results, and I can clearly see areas for improvement in the future.

In this small project, I followed a 'Level Up Digital' tutorial but added my own spin to mix things up, incorporating a reference concept from Moniek Schilder.

In the blocking stage, I imported the image into ZBrush and used Z Spheres to trace the model. This workflow was my first attempt, and overall, I believe it went well. There is a learning curve associated with it, but once mastered, it's liberating to be able to draw the geometry exactly as you want it.

In the sculpting stage, I utilized DynaMesh to create all the parts and ensure even distribution of faces. It's crucial to sculpt in this manner. At this point, I allowed myself to modify the model's silhouette, anticipating the need to re-apologize for a more game-ready asset.

In the retopology stage, the focus was on creating quad topology and introducing triangulation where it made sense, particularly on flat surfaces. For example, the metal sword part consisted mostly of triangles that converge at the center of the mesh where the mirror is located above it anyway.

In the realm of UV mapping, I employed a UDIM layout with two tiles to attain higher resolution textures in the render.

This small project significantly contributed to leveling up my skills. It encompassed various aspects such as sculpting stylized details, retopology, UV mapping, and texturing—tasks I've undertaken in the past. However, with each new asset created from scratch, this workflow continues to improve and refine.

In this project, I wanted to delve into testing the modeling tools that ZBrush has to offer, and the experience was truly amazing.

I followed the brilliant tutorial by Henry Chervenka, where he explains in detail how he created this model. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning hard surface modeling in ZBrush because it offers a unique learning experience.

I used ZModeler extensively in the making of this model. I find it much easier to model using a pen and tablet compared to other 3D software where a mouse is typically used.

Initially, ZModeler may seem a bit challenging, but once you grasp the concept, you'll be amazed at how fast you can achieve the desired results. It's like magic, and there's no other way to explain the QMesh tool.

Hard surface modeling in ZBrush also involves a lot of boolean operations and ZRemesher. Using this method can be a bit tricky and may require some trial and error, often leading to the need for mesh cleanup. However, using poly grouping proves to be extremely helpful and, in fact, essential for success.

Another easy-to-use and great tool is creasing. Dynamic subdivision helps to achieve clean shapes and sharp corners without the need for numerous supporting loops.

This was by far the most complicated model I've ever created. To tackle the challenge of UV unwrapping, I decided to try Rizom UV, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. It made the whole process fun compared to doing it in Blender, as I used to do before.

As usual, I took everything to Substance Painter for texturing, and the final rendering was done in Stager.

In this project, I modeled a game asset of a phone booth to improve my modeling skills and texture work.

I followed the brilliant FastTrack tutorials, which helped me immensely in acquiring new techniques and overcoming creative barriers to achieve awesome results.

I began by blocking out the scene, referencing images to ensure that all the shapes were correctly scaled for the environment. The best approach was to introduce a humanoid model into the scene to verify the correctness of elements such as the phone's size and angle of tilt.

One enjoyable practice I've adopted, and one I intend to continue, is conducting all the modeling within ZBrush. Despite the availability of 3D software like Blender or similar tools, I find the ZModeler brush increasingly compelling with each use. This project was an excellent opportunity for me to enhance my skills in this aspect. As a side note, I'm planning to incorporate C4D in future projects, primarily due to its compatibility with pen tablets, but I digress.

For UV unwrapping, I once again utilized RIZOMUV. It's both easy and enjoyable to work with this software. However, this time I acknowledge that my packing wasn't optimal. I recognize the need to focus more on texel density in future endeavors. When it came to texturing the model, some areas didn't yield the best results in my opinion. Nevertheless, there's always room for improvement in the next project, right?

Before diving into texturing, it was necessary to introduce dents and imperfections in ZBrush. This step was vital to enhance the visual appeal of the model, ensuring it conveyed a story beyond sharp angles. The objective was to include subtle dents here and there, creating a high-poly version for baking that would preserve smooth corners in the low-poly version, thus preventing pixelation.

When it came to Substance Painter, this project presented my largest file to date, given the multitude of layers I incorporated to achieve effects like rust peeling, color variation, saturation changes, and roughness imperfections on both the metal and glass. This endeavor taught me numerous new techniques within Painter. Layer by layer, the model gradually transformed into an aged look that, for some reason, is visually captivating.

In summary, the journey of creating a realistic vintage phone booth game asset highlighted the significance of embracing new techniques and tools in 3D design. This project underscored the value of continuous learning, experimentation, and the transformative impact of attention to detail in modeling and texturing.

This is a simple, small project aimed at dipping my toes into Cinema 4D and the Redshift render engine to experiment with various methods and develop my knowledge of the tools in my arsenal.

I have this guitar pedal sitting in my room, unused, and I thought it could be a nice subject to model and render.

So, I modeled it in ZBrush, resulting in a fairly high polygon count to ensure the best possible render quality, and then textured it in Substance Painter.

In the few days I've spent working with Redshift, I've found it to be very fast compared to other render engines, such as Cycles in Blender. However, over the past few months, I've actually been using Substance Stager to render my models. I haven't decided yet which one I like better, this will take more time to play around with and decide. But if you're interested in doing some product animation, Redshift in Cinema 4D is the way to go. I've experimented a bit with animation just for fun, nothing too complicated, but I definitely plan to explore more animation in the future.

In this small project, I created an armor suit from the ground up using ZBrush and performed retopology in TopoGun, optimizing it for gaming purposes. This endeavor represents another step in my journey to grasp the modeling workflow. I followed a fantastic tutorial by Trigon and gained valuable insights from his expertise.

I began by importing a default male model into ZBrush, allowing me to extract the clothing and armor plates.

In brief, I masked the desired area, extracted it, refined it, and employed ZRemesher to achieve clean topology with the lowest possible polycount. I then used the Dynamic feature to add thickness, ensuring I could work on it without causing damage and make easy modifications as required.

I followed a similar process to extract the armor plates from the clothing. Afterward, I used DynaMesh to prepare for sculpting the desired shapes.

This stage was incredibly inspiring because I didn't have to concern myself with polygon count and technical details; I could solely concentrate on the design. My primary tools for sculpting were the Dam Standard, H Polish, and Trim Dynamics brushes. It's remarkable how much you can achieve in ZBrush with just a handful of brushes.

Once I was satisfied with the design, I proceeded to extract the armor in separate pieces to ensure more reliable results when using ZRemesher and obtaining clean topology.

One aspect that was entirely new to me and required some time to grasp, and still does, is sculpting the folds of the gambeson beneath the armor. However, over time, I managed to comprehend the anatomy behind it, including the direction of fold flow in different areas of the body.

The retopology step is still something I don't feel entirely comfortable with, so I decided to give TopoGun a shot (hehe). This small software is truly incredible; it makes the retopology stage enjoyable and much more straightforward.In the TopoGun phase, I meticulously retopologized the gambeson section, tracing the shape of the folds and directing the topology flow with triangles to ensure a precise representation.

After completing all the technical tasks, such as ensuring the mesh has proper retopology, UV mapping, and ensuring the baking process goes smoothly without errors, it's always a pleasure to transition to Substance Painter for a new project. When all these elements align perfectly, working in Substance Painter becomes a joy. Watching your model come to life with each new layer added is a gratifying experience.

I render the model using Redshift, aiming to achieve a look reminiscent of museum exhibits. I want it to appear as if it's an ancient suit of armor that has been preserved for centuries.

I thoroughly enjoyed this unexpected project. Initially, I doubted whether I could handle it due to its complexity, but I'm glad I persevered. If anything, it taught me that all you need is to take that first small step and enjoy the journey.