POLICE STATION (WIP)

Hello everybody! 

Sooner this year I was zapping through ArtStation, looking for new concept art to work on and to turn into a new 3D environment. I wanted to add something new and interesting. A project that could allow me to find my own style and work on some new skills and workflows. 

I don't remember how I ended up finding Nikolai Lockertsen, an amazing artist (as you will see if you check the Artstation profile), and one of the artworks stood out from the others, this one I'm placing below:  

(link: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/3oZJGD)

My idea is to turn this artwork into a 3D environment and to give it a twist when reaching the final steps (it will remain secret from now :D). 

I was eager to use Blender 3D as my modeling tool, the high poly-low poly baking workflow, Substance Suite, and Unreal 5 working with Lumen as my engine. 

An additional challenge was to use different techniques along the project, such as: 

- Trim sheets

- Vertex Paint

- RGB Masks

- Blueprints for modularity

- Decals

- Double UV using trims and masks

For now, these are the techniques that I intend to work on. In case a new one shows up, I will add it to this list and mention something about it in the progress parts. 

Given that I created this blog in a semi-advanced state of the project, I will make a small rewind entry of the progress that has been made and I will start posting regular updates from now on. 

(The most recent update will be always on top)

PROGRESS UPDATE #1  REWIND

Structure parts

Everything started with a blocking using Blender and setting it up in Unreal 5, along with some basing lighting and human references. 

The concept artwork is using a frontal view but I decided to use FSpy in order to set up my camera inside Blender, this way I would avoid some dimension errors. 

After that, I decided to start working on the structure modules, such as the main plaster walls, the wood planks panel, the floor tiles, and the ceiling tiles. 

As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to use Vertex paint and RGB Masks in order to speed up the customization and to have more control inside the engine. So, during this time I started working on my Vertex Paint + Masking material. 

I also heard about and investigated the Layered Material System inside Unreal. I started planning what layers I would use depending on the asset, and what kind of blending materials I would need to create. 

I created a trim sheet for the ground, ceiling, and wood. I textured a base inside Substance Painter, along with a mask for dirt, scratches, and different grunge maps. 

I would be using Vertex Paint to spread the masks and create variations. To do that, I created a shader that allowed me to control Base Color, Roughness, and opacity values together with the channel I wanted to paint on.

Main assets

I also worked with some of the assets that appear in the main room of the artwork. As I mentioned before, I'm trying to look for my style, I'm not looking for a super realistic look or a stylized cute approach. I'm trying to take what I like the most from both sides and mix it into my own results. 

Here's the current state of some of the assets: