Reworked...

After some pretty harsh critiques from some much more talented and knowledgeable artists than myself, I started this project over. I guess my old one didn't come off as being a legit totem pole since I just threw it all together without much thought. One again, I need to work on my pre-production and planning. It could have saved me a weeks' worth of work.

Not too sure what else to add yet. I don't want to stray too far from my reference but I still feel like it needs some more spice. Maybe I can start carving into the back a little bit. I couldn't find any photos from the back so I guess I have free reign on it as long as I can keep with the aesthetic. 

Totem Pole

As promised this post will contain details for my next project. Right now all I have is a sculpt but I'm happy with the progress so far. This time I decided to keep things pretty simple. My main goal is to get an accurate render specifically with physically based textures. Instead of using the age old diffuse, specular, and gloss I want to use the next gen texturing methods. There are actually two main workflows to use for this new generation of graphics. I have decided to go with the metallic workflow. I will go more into this when the time comes but suffice to say that I will be reading a lot this upcoming week.

Anyway below is a few quick renders I got out of ZBrush of a totem pole. I don't have a specific reference because I came up with the design myself. I did take parts of totem poles I found online but the conglomeration of animals you see is what I came up specifically. There was no reason for the ones I chose; I just thought they looked kind of cool. I did a fair amount of research on the Pacific Northwestern Indian tribes that liked to make these and it seems that most of the time they were used to tell a story of some kind. There aren't many original ones left though. It seems that since the air is so moist along the coast (where they were primarily made) that they tend to decay after a while.

Postmortem

I would like to take some time and write down the things I felt I did well and the things I did not on this most recent project. So the first week involved a lot of planning but the only real thing I got done was the blockout. Even that changed as I worked on it. My planning from now on needs to include not only what I want to make but what programs and what workflows I need to finish it. If I had a clear idea on what needed to be done then I could have been more efficient learning the tools and workflows I needed to. I should also have been more realistic with my timing and how much of it could get done in the four week time period I set for myself. Much of this probably couldn't be known beforehand and must be learned but I would like to think that I have grown as an artist because of it.

From weeks 2-4 I feel like I worked my ass off to try and get finished with both the sculpting and the retopo. My sculpting ability I feel is my strongest work in this whole project. I took a long time reworking all of the sculpts but I should be more confident in what I can do. I shouldn't be intimidated by the size and detail I envisioned for my model. I think what took the most time (2 weeks with 6+ hours a day) was getting all my organic meshes retopologized. I'm glad I learned 3D-Coat and I feel like I've gotten a whole lot faster though. Next time I might want to try Topogun to see if I like it any better. I made the mistake originally to try and use the quad draw tool in Maya. It didn't take long to realize that it really isn't for me. At least not for doing all of it. Good for some quick touch ups but that's it. Using the mouse in Maya all day is also sure fire way to get a sore wrist.

There was a week in there that was pretty much a waste. I was busy doing homework and getting ready for a trip and I didn't really do much work at all. Some of that was kind of my own fault and maybe I got lazy. I was getting down that I wasn't even close to finishing and was debating just quitting then and there.

After I got back from said trip I was determined to get as much done as I could in 2 more weeks. I didn't want to extend the project any longer so that I could start working on something new. It needed to get textured and I really haven't finished texturing anything before without following a tutorial of some sort. This time I feel like I finished a lot. I spend a big chuck learning how to use dDo, nDo, and Bitmap2Material but that's three more programs that are now a part of my arsenal. I shouldn't have attempted to learn how to use PBR materials when I've never really done much texturing the last gen way (diffuse/spec/gloss/normal). More time was wasted trying to take the textures I made and switching back to something more easily understood.

Last but not least I had intended on using UE4 for my final renders. I want to be able to use the engine to show off my work. I need to take more time to learn the ins and outs of it, especially with materials. I was able to get everything set up and inside the engine but I feel like I don't know what I'm doing with it yet. My creative options are limited by my knowledge of the program. Maybe I'll have to take a couple weeks focus strictly on the engine to improve. It can only help in the long run.

I ended up running out of time after creating the vegetation and moss as extra details to add around my assets. I actually kind of like what I made but never really got a chance to place them around in my scene. I also never got around to creating a nice backdrop and atmosphere that would have really helped with beauty shots. Lastly I never even started working on that nasty purple wall I have in there. It's basically a plane that I wanted to add a little glow and grunge to the walls. As it stands right now it clearly looks out of place.

I won't reveal my next project I'm working on but I will have screenshots posted next week of my progress. I've already decided what to do and I feel like I'm much better off this time around. I'll give more of a breakdown next time.

6th Week for Conch building

Below this is a few screen grabs of the progress I've made over the last couple weeks. Once again I've fallen short of my goal to get the whole thing completed by now. I am kind of close but it seems the more I learn the more I realize how much more work needs to get done to make it look nice. As of this moment I am not happy with this piece. Looking at the sculpture I made after the first two weeks I was so proud and pleased with the modeling to begin with which kind of fueled me through the boring parts. But now that my texturing is mostly done I'm rather let down.

That being said I do recognize the progress I've made in the last six weeks (the 5th week was kind of a wash with a family trip and busy schoolwork) and it is significant. I must say that I've learned more from this project that I have from anything I've made thus far. And to that extent I would call this a success. What I am actually saying is that I'm done with it, not for forever but for now I need to move on. I feel like my weakest link is my texturing and lighting. I need to get back to fundamentals and take some time to learn.

For this reason I have decided to start a new project in the hopes that I will learn some more about this subject (texturing/lighting) and maybe create something portfolio worthy in the process. I have a few ideas but I will wait for tomorrow to make a decision. I do know that it will be something somewhat small and I will be using a PBR texturing workflow.

I will make a new post about this tomorrow along with a kind-of post-mortem on this project. I will breakdown each week into what I did well and what I failed at. At any rate here are the screenshots I took. Note that the green blobs on the shell roof is a moss texture I added in today but never got the alpha working in UE4 (still have some more learning in that program too) I did make some mossy vines to hang from the roof as well; you can see one of them but I never got a chance to place the rest.