See final asset folder here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-1Gyd5XXX_82rPTHlx0reMF7EiRu3sH-?usp=share_link
Given that a large selection of our assets were highly organic (such as the rocks/cave walls, etc), there were three potential ways we could go for texturing:
- Simple Retopology using Quad Draw
- ZBrush Decimation
- ZRemesher and ZUVMaster
Initially, we began our workflows using Quad Draw, and cutting/sewing from there, however, it was notable when bringing our assets into UE that this dramatically reduced the organic nature of our assets, making the edges more ‘hard surface’ and therefore reducing quality and hindering our goal to create a stylised photo-real art style. Baking the high poly made the texture itself seem detailed enough, but it was the silhouette that was the problem.
Hence, we tried decimation on ZBrush. Again, this created a sharpness within the detailed/more organic areas and whilst this may be better optimised for gaming, it didn’t quite fit the style guide we were working towards. Knowing we were able to render this shot-by-shot, we attempted another option;
This came to be ZRemesher on ZBrush. ZRemesher gave us the opportunity to divide each quad by 5, resulting in a much lower poly, yet still high fidelity, model. We then UVed this in ZBrush and brought our assets into Substance Painter, baking the high poly and resulting in a much better optimised outcome. Unreal Engine ran significantly faster after we did this.
See results below.
The Cave Entrance
This was inspired by this image, which had inspired this concept initially. I sculpted it using Blender. I split it into 3 parts to optimise and allow better control.
The Cave
Made with Blender.
The Floors
I created a series of floor assets that we could use as group. I made sure the texture worked so that it could be duplicated and set on top of one another.
The ‘Triscal Stage’
This was mainly for the ending shot idea of the triscal being revealed as design/architecture in nature. I created one stage and scaled/rotated accordingly. I made sure to use a Generator that brought out the highlights in the edges of the stage so the circular shape was as clear as possible from above.
Additionally,
Grass/Foliage
This was a scaled down plane with most of its faces deleted. I went in and adjusted the vertices to look like grass. I then duplicated, rotated, scaled and adjusted vertices, resulting in a small patch of grass that I could use as foliage in Unreal (alongside a green texture).
Celtic asset library
Alongside the assets for the large environment itself, we each modelled, UVed and textured (on Substance Painter) a series of assets inspired by Celtic mythology. I used a combination of Maya, Blender and ZBrush and varied from hard-surface modelling to sculpting. My assets consisted of the following:
- Stone Pillars
I modelled a Stone Pillar with Celtic markings. I did this in Blender and I retopologised this using quad draw, so I could then bake mesh maps of the high poly and texture with rock and moss.
2. Celtic Armour
I made this in Zbrush by creating groups by mask and extruding. I then brought it into Blender and sculpted details. I added Decals and increased the height to provide Celtic markings/details.
3. Celtic Shield
I made this in Maya then Zbrush for sculpting. I wanted it to match the armour and feel part of that ‘set’.
4. Celtic Gauntlets
I created a small 3D triscal then duplicated this many times, bending it 360°. I then layered this with rings to create a
5. Bodhran
My bodhron was made using duplicate special for the spheres, and then modified hard surface cylinders for the top and bottom.
The texture was an alpha of this image:
6. Chest
A Simple Celtic chest to allude to the greater mysteries within the temple… Created using Hard-Surface and simple UV cutting on Maya.
7. Ancient Celtic Texts (Book)
NB I made this Triskele on PS using 4 stock Triskelion images and simple black/white spheres. I wanted the spheres to reflect the positions of the pillars in our temple.
8. Candles (and Firefly(s))
These were fun to make. I sculpted in Blender and created the flame in Niagara in UE, this was difficult but a great learning experience. See the Niagara details below!
9. Terracotta Pots/Cups
I modelled some simple terracotta cups as well, you can see them in the background of my armour shot. The Substance File is also on the Drive.
10. The Green Goddess
This was all on ZBrush. I used the Female Head as a basis and projected this image to sculpt on.
I then UVd it in Blender. I also needed to invert the normals. I was super happy with the end result.
I was inspired by the Goddess Temple Quixel video which Henry had showed me in a feedback session (this also inspired me for a lot of things, namely Quixel Mixer, the idea of ‘blocking’ using planes as light shafts and covers, as well as the linear storytelling approach).
www.youtube.com. (2019). Goddess Temple in UE4: Iterating on an idea. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PVAa-BjBOY [Accessed 20 Dec. 2022].
11. Tree Lookout (unused)
I had modelled the Fairy Glen-style outlook, but we did end up changing out idea and our new concept did not include this. Spent a while on it though and was please with the design! (which is based on my concepts)
References
www.youtube.com. (2019). Goddess Temple in UE4: Iterating on an idea. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PVAa-BjBOY [Accessed 20 Dec. 2022].
Meehan, A. (1991). Celtic design. A beginner’s manual. New York, N.Y.: Thames And Hudson.
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Creating a flickering light in Unreal Engine. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2AbkJzUXPg&t=28s [Accessed 18 Dec. 2022]
Joe AI, www.youtube.com. (2019). Autodesk Maya, Zbrush, Substance – book. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rudeFE_Y-Nk&t=46s [Accessed 17 Dec. 2022].
All is Play. 2022. www.youtube.com. (n.d.). UE5 : Materials for beginners in Unreal Engine5- 15 Subsurface scattering, Skin and Wax material. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1IBNLKlpUo [Accessed 19 Dec. 2022].
Figure, www.youtube.com. (2019). Maya Tutorial – Duplicate Special | Duplicate objects radially. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewav7c_t6yQ [Accessed 19 Dec. 2022].
Ionut Lucian Achiricioaei, www.youtube.com. (2022). Terracotta Vase Tut Series – YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQTjNyq6rUBpgiV_EeayKTEbKSvRsEAbu [Accessed 23 Dec. 2022].
www.youtube.com. (2020). Maya 2020, Zbrush 2020, Substance Painter – Pillar. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVDOg4XbYls&t=511s [Accessed 09 Dec. 2022].