Rodrigo Garcia | 3D Environment Art

                                                                                   Zis-101

This is my vehicle project that I completed at Animum Creativity Advanced School. I used Maya for modeling, Substance Painter for texturing, and Arnold for rendering. Throughout the process, I received valuable guidance and supervision from Angel Ariza, who assisted me greatly.

To ensure accuracy, I utilized blueprints and adjusted the model to match the real scale of the vehicle. Starting with a box modeling technique, I established the general shape and then focused on building the car's body. Beforehand, I planned the desired topology and used Photoshop to paint on top of the blueprint, providing a visual reference for constructing the vehicle.

Next, I worked on the interior, followed by external details such as knobs, wheels, and lights... After completing the 3D model, I organized the UVs, which were already partially prepared while working on weekly assignments, eliminating the need for additional cutting. I exported both the high-poly and low-poly versions, baked them in Substance Painter, and began the texturing process.

In addition to my references, I was fortunate to visit the Riga Motor Museum during Christmas, where I obtained reference photos of this exact car. This was a great visual help to be able to see it in front of my eyes and being able to evaluate its composition better. With the newly textured model imported, I proceeded to set up the lighting in Maya and rendered the final result using optimal settings, thanks to the knowledge acquired from Animum.

                                                                                Wireframe

                                                                              Concrete and Rust

This is my environment project. I utilized Maya for modeling, Substance Painter for texturing, and Arnold for rendering. The concept art for this project was graciously provided by Animum and masterfully crafted by Sylvain Sarrailh. Due to the structured weekly plan provided by the school, the car on the left side was not included in the project. However, I took it upon myself to address this omission by creatively filling that space with other elements. My intention was to create a visually engaging composition that harmoniously complements the rest of the artwork, enhancing the overall richness and balance of the final piece.

To begin the process, I created a blocking of the scene, receiving valuable feedback from my supervisor, Jorge Trueba, regarding asset dimensions and orientation. Starting with the main asset, the hangar, I dedicated the following week to crafting secondary assets such as adjacent buildings, electric towers and the brick wall. Subsequently, I focused on creating detailed assets such as barrels, crates, excavator, tires...

To enrich the environment, I sourced vegetation from Quixel. Initially, I created vine roots and utilized MASH to scatter leaves, achieving an organic look by incorporating random values. Incorporating MASH further, I utilized its capabilities to generate the grass, leveraging the visibility node to create natural patches of vegetation. To enhance the realism, I manually added additional grass in certain areas. Additionally, I employed MASH to scatter the sculpted rocks, enriching the terrain with a more diverse and captivating landscape.

After organizing the UVs, I proceeded to texture the environment with the goal of achieving a stylized look. Additionally, I created a matte painting for the project based on the original concept, which I retouched myself in Photoshop to adapt it accordingly.

During the shading phase, I adjusted the overall appearance of the plants and fine-tuned specular values that were overly prominent on the front sheet metal. For lighting, I utilized a directional light, an HDRI dome, and a specular light. I also incorporated several additional lights to create contrasts between warm and cool tones, as well as fill lights to balance the overall illumination.

                                                                              Wireframe & Clay

                                                                                  References

                                                                                     Textures

                                                                       Stylized Medieval House

This was my first project for the course Fundamentals of 3D Production, where I learned the basic knowledge of the general workflow involved in creating a 3D environment. For this project, I chose a concept by artist Alexey Mazur. We started by creating a blocking stage and focusing on the overall dimensions. After receiving necessary feedback from my tutor, Javier Fernández, I set out to make the required adaptations to achieve a more faithful representation of the dimensions.

I began by constructing the main structure of the house. In the second week, we worked on the roofs, utilizing the MASH tool to create an organic look for the roof tiles. To complete the modeling, I added all the scene details such as the cart, clothing (simulated using ncloth), boxes, and rocks (I sculpted in Maya).

I organized the UVs, which I had already prepared by cutting them progressively each week. During the subsequent week, I textured the scene with the aim of achieving a stylized look. I put in extra effort to capture the varied colors depicted in the concept art and paid special attention to the wood grain, which played a significant role in my project. As the majority of the concept revolved around wood, it was crucial to dedicate ample time and attention to ensure the best possible outcome.

For shading and lighting, I aimed to closely resemble the reference concept and placed all the shadows where they should be. Finally, I created a composition in Photoshop by combining various color passes and a Z-depth pass to add depth to the final result.

                                                                                Wireframe

                                                                                   Reference

                                                                                   Textures