Holy Artifacts | Prop creation by Noor Vullinghs

Hi there!

My name is Noor, and I'm a Junior 3D Artist, focussing mostly on props. I graduated a couple months ago from CG Spectrum and am still in the honeymoon phase of modeling/texuring as we speak :)

Have a look at my demo reel below. If you see anything you like, please scroll down to see the full breakdown. My potato computer has worked very hard to get all the renders ready for this entry!

Holy Artifacts | Composition

The scene revolves around three holy artifacts; a holy water potion (which the 2D version you may recognize from Baldur's Gate 3), a pair of scissors (or weapon hehe), and The Vine Ring. All of them needed to be in a similar style, made from brass with visible wear and tear, to fit into this scene.

Below you can see a snippet of my chaotic brain on paper. Thinking of the placement of my props, using placeholders to figure out where to put everything and how to set up the lights so that it would hit the piece of cloth on the right angle.

*Everything in this entry was modeled and textured by me in the last couple of months, except for the table and the backdrop, those are just added for pazazz. 

The Vine Ring

An old brass ring, fit for a king, queen, or anyone with stealthy ambitions. Wanted to create a ring that catches your eye, but wouldn't be too obnoxious. I can totally see this piece in a cinematic intro, or on a war table.

I started off in Maya by creating several geometric shapes to see what would fit my idea best. After the main shape was done I took it into Zbrush for detailing. Added vines with an IMM brush, handpainted leaves and swirls on the side, and hopefully did a good job not overdoing it. I used mostly ClayBuildup and DamStandard brushes  and subdivd it into oblivion to get a crisp highpoly to bake onto my lowpoly.

Holy Water Potion

I fell in love with the 2D concept of this potion and got permission from the 2D artist (Ana Popescu) that created it for Baldur's Gate 3, to recreate it in 3D. 

I did the lowpoly in Maya, highpoly in Zbrush, and the fun part (texturing) was done in SPP (4K PBR). Below you will also see a breakdown of the texturing. Had a hard time creating this pearl type of glass (lots of marble and cloud procedurals) but it turned out pretty decent in the end. I also included the 2D concept for you to see. This piece later on was the start of this trilogy of artifacts.

Renaissance Scissors

Okay so this piece is kinda weird, as it's a pair of cheap Amazon scissors haha! I was looking for daggers from like the 15th/16th century and I came across this fun gadget. I felt like this would be the perfect opportunity to turn a plastic party prop into an interesting piece that would fit right into that era.

Lowpoly was done in Maya, Highpoly in Zbrush, textured in SSP (4K PBR) and set up in Marmoset. I handpainted the details, forgot to turn on symmetry in the process, so I did get some great practice out of it ;)

Embroidery Pattern

So I had a job interview back in January where they asked me whether I could do embroidery patterns in Substance Designer. Me of course, being the fool that I am, said sure I can do that! 

Flash forward to me googling Substance Designer 101 for a whole weekend. Luckily I learned a lot from Pauline Boiteux videos and was able to deliver some samples. 

After that, I got really interest in Substance Designer for a while and wanted to create my own pattern that just had to scream royalty, and that's how I ended up making this pattern. You can see the maps and some pattern nodes below. The cloth I then simulated in Marvelous Designer to drape over a random table. Cannot stress enough how much fun Marvelous Designer actually is, god that program is such a beast! My created pattern from Substance Designer was then taken into Substance Painter to do some final tweaks on the metallic threads and doubling up on the normal maps. 

Extras | Skulls

Just some background props to make the scene feel more like a still life. I made my first skull for a Rookie Weekly Drill, as the assignment was to make something out of one sphere. I later made the version without jaw. Done in Zbrush, textured in SSP (4K PBR) and set up in Marmoset.

Extras | Treehopper Coins

I was desperate to find a way to include my favorite piece to date, The Treehopper, into my scene. I tried turning it into a statue first, then using it as a pattern for my cloth, and even painting it on a scroll, but in the end I decided to create an alpha out of my Treehopper maps and turn them into coins. I mean if Dogecoin can do it, right? Coins were done in Maya, highpoly done in Zbrush, textured in SSP (4K PBR).

The Treehopper I also made for a weekly drill, and is still very dear to my heart. That's why I really wanted to include it in this scene and add it to my demo deel :) Included below are the maps and a bit of compositing. Lowpoly done in Maya, Highpoly in Zbrush, Texturing in SPP (4K PBR).

Thank you!

If you read the whole thing, kudos to you! 

I opened up Maya for the first time just over a year ago and discovered this whole world of 3D that has just been so amazing to me! I would like to thank CG Spectrum for its awesome mentors and community, and for always encouraging me to give my all. I am excited for this year man!