Long time no post. I’ve been super busy working on my final major project for my degree. It’s a film called ‘The Strand’, which is set in the near future where a global disaster sees the world covered in sand. For the last week or so the team have been working on this shot:

Still a work in progress but we’re happy with how it’s turning out. :)

A lot of shots to go, and alot of work to be done!

Until then, see you!

I’ve had to sidetrack away from the Sci-Fi scene for a while, since my energies are needed elsewhere with my final year project. Today i’ve been working on a background building for the film, just a simple london-style building that is modular and very cheap. Just the high poly done so far, it’ll be partly buried under sand so that explains why the bottom window frames stop suddenly. Still very much work in progress though, plan on going a bit more detailed in some areas.

Just low polying and unwrapping some areas now, then i’ll go back to the high poly and add more details over the course of tomorrow. 

Until then, see you!

Well i’ve signed off my wall pieces now, and today I made a modular vent pipe that will run along the top of the wall pieces. I made sure i included a small bracket that attaches to the wall pieces so that it’s not just floating in mid air, even though people will probably never see it. I quickly duplicated the walls across and over like a ceiling to get a feel for how it will look as a corridor. 

I’m super happy with the way the material’s are reading so far, and my next task is to make a proper ceiling, maybe have some cables dropping down with sparks coming out and what not. And some smoke coming out of the vents. For my first major project in UDK so far, im really happy. Best get onto designing the ceiling then! 

Until then, see you!

I’ve finished my first draft of texturing the modular wall piece and it’s all in UDK. Here are my textures so far:

Diffuse:

Specular:

And normal:

Finally, here it is so far in UDK:

I’m happy with how it’s going so far. In case anyone is wondering, the circular holes on the walls are power sockets/outlets that can be used. I’m going to make some props littered around the floor that link up to them. My next step is to make some vent shafts that run along the top near the ceiling. 

Until then, see you!

I’ve been making small improvements to the wall piece over the course of today, fixing some baking issues and adding little details. I’ve started texturing now. Here’s the piece repeated in Max’s viewport:

Just laying down some basic texture at the moment, then i’ll go in and add some subtle dirt and wear, as well as some very subtle hue changes. And i’ll make some decals to be added in UDK later. 

I’ve also been doing some extra learning in UDK, i learnt about cube maps and image based reflections today, so i’ll give that a go soon. I’m happy with the way its turning out so far, and each piece is only 45 polys. Back to my texturing now!

Until next time, see you!

I’ve started progress on the modular wall piece for my hallway. I’ve been using all the latest information i’ve learnt on baking better normal maps and making good use of my lightmaps inside UDK to get a clean mesh. I watched the 3D Motive Sci-Fi floor tutorial and picked up loads of tips from there. It’s untextured at the moment, i had a little practice in getting my emmsive mask working. I’m pretty happy with the result so far. I drew the piece out on paper first, making little annotations as to what parts of the mesh actually function. The basic wall panels provide protection and easy access to what’s underneath in case maintenance is needed. There is a little dial near the bottom left of the piece which analyses the air pressure in the hallway, and so on and so forth. I think it’s better to model Sci-Fi stuff with the real world in mind, rather than just making it up as you go along. I’m still going to go back to my high poly and add more bits and bobs.

Until then, see you!

Finally, after almost 5 years using a Windows XP laptop, today’s the day i finally upgrade to a Windows 7 one. I’ve been using this laptop since Year 11 GCSE, and it’s taken me through Sixth Form and University. Most of my projects have been started on this laptop and completed on my desktop. But a few days ago i felt the time was right to finally get a stronger laptop. And today is the day it’s going to be delivered!

When it does come, and i’ve finished setting it up and installing all the rellevant software, my plan is to start a new project for my portfolio. I’m planning to remake a project i started over the summer which never got finished. The plan is to use all the information i’ve learnt since then (which is loads!) and remake it inside UDK. Till then, i’ll post of images of what it was that i made over the summer:

It’s a Sci-Fi style hallway scene. These images were rendered in Max but the plan was to get it into UDK, but i didn’t know enough about UDK to get it working right back then. After doing some studying in UDK over the last few weeks, i’ve decided to remake the whole thing (since i’ve also learnt tons about normal mapping since then too) and present it in UDK with some nice lighting. I’m really itching to start remaking the modular hallway pieces, but i’ve also got a final year project and a dissertation to juggle in the meantime. I’ll post some info on those too. My third year project is really exciting!

Until then, see you!

Hello everyone. My name is Terry Buchan, and I am an aspiring 3D Environment Artist with the goal to one day break into the games industry and become a professional. This is where I shall be posting regular updates of my personal work and findings, with the goal of sharing to the community my journey through the 3D world.

Until my first post, see you!