Oliver Kay - Weta Digital Entry 2021

Hello World

Hello! My name is Oliver and I am a self-taught 3D artist since November of 2020. The last few months have been a blast, as I have finally found what it is I truly love and I'm excited to share what I have accomplished thus far.

The following are three projects I have worked on this year. Each project primarily focuses on one of these three major categories (of course with a lot of crossover between all): hard-surface/prop modeling, character, and environment. 

All of these project have been undertaken in the last few months, and are therefore the best representation of where I am at in my development as a 3D artist. 

The first project is a near-future/dystopian/cyberpunk sniper rifle. The third is a bust of Darth Vader. Finally, the third project is a work-in-progress of a Star Wars-inspired environment.

I hope you enjoy looking at my work.

Near-Future Anti-Material Rifle

This rifle model was inspired primarily by the weapon designs of the classic cyberpunk anime of the 80s and 90s, namely, Ghost in the Shell and Akira. Also mixed in was inspiration from Cyberpunk 2077.

What I like so much about the designs of the weapons in those worlds is they are recognisable and familiar, yet also otherworldly. On one hand, we know what it is, yet on the other hand, we see elements of interest and surprise that we haven't seen before.

That is what I tried to channel in this design. Inspired by the classic Barret 50. Cal anti-material, this model imagines what this type of weapon could look like in 15 to 20 years. 

The goal was to create a weapon that would fit in the hands of an assassin/vigilante on the street of Neo Tokyo etc.

This was modeled using a mixture of subdivision and boolean techniques. The materials and textures are all procedurally built with Blender's node system.

Modelled in Blender, with post-processing done with Photoshop.

Darth Vader Bust

This was my first attempt at modeling something character-related. So to keep things achievable I stuck to shoulders and mask, the most recognisable part of Vader's physical character. This is made entirely with subdivision techniques and is entirely made of quads.

Modeling was done with Blender, with post-processing done in Photoshop.

Vader's Throne Room.

This project also marks a first for me. That being my first environment design. This project was inspired by the tantalising glimpse of Vader's castle we got in Rogue One. It was a place I wanted to see more of, so, I have decided to take matters into my own hands.

My design is primarily influenced by three things. Number one, what we briefly saw of Vader's Castle in the aforementioned film. Number two, some of the unused concept art created for the film. And finally, the architecture of Mordor from Lord of the Rings. 

The goal of the design is to make something that blended the established aesthetic of the Empire, with what I imagined Vader's aesthetic to be. It is meant to have his fingerprints all over it; his hate, his rage, his need for isolation, and his intimidating presence.

At this current stage in the modeling process, I have nearly finished adding all secondary details and some of the tertiary. The last stage prior to texturing and lighting will be completing the tertiary detail pass, modeling the throne, and perhaps adding some banners. 

Hopefully, I will be showing off the completed work soon.

All work done in Blender.