The brief
‘In support of your portfolio / showreel, choose a 3D / 2D / VFX / Animation related discipline to continue your personal practice & development. ‘
Previous work
In previous projects, I enjoyed producing 3D models more than I enjoyed doing animation work such as character animation or camera set-up. I preferred making static models rather than anything that needed to move in the animation. However, where my marks fell down before was due to improvements that could have been made on the models or by basic texturing that didn’t quite suit the model or scene.
In terms of what I want to work towards, I’d like to push towards the gaming industry and produce game-ready models or possibly environment design. I like a lot of different gaming genres but prefer open-world games that have an aged style to them, such as western or medieval. So I’d like to concentrate this project more towards making assets seen in some of my favourite games and texture them accordingly.
Skyrim
Skyrim is the fifth instalment of The Elder Scrolls series, developed and published by Bethesda. It can be played first or third person and is a game following the main character called the Dragonborn, and players navigate a nordic style environment in a free roam style completing quests or exploring dungeons, caves etc. Although Skyrim is now a bit outdated graphically, it is still one of the best examples of an open-world game done well, and I’ve replayed the game a few times. However not a lot of information can be found on Skyrim’s 3D modellers, and most Bethesda employees work on multiple projects, but there seems to be a large amount of environment artists.
Some of the Skyrim Artists;
Nate Purkeypile was a Lead Artist/World Artist for Bethesda from 2007-2021 and worked on Skyrim and a few of the Fallout series. Although I want work more on models, Nathan’s work was mainly location-based but is still great examples of the more rustic, medieval style, shown below. Nathan highlights that the key to creating locations (and can be extended to assets) is to use good reference imagery, and would often take a huge amount of photos while location scouting.
Word Artist for Bethesda – Largely location design and built a large amount of the scenery of Windhelm.
Work for Bethesda on multiple projects between Skyrim and the Fallout series. Created some of the most recognisable props and buildings between the franchises, but mostly created plants for Skyrim.
Gabrielle worked for Bethesda on Skyrim creating popular assets shown below using 3DS Max and Zbrush.
The Witcher 3
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, is the third installment of the Witcher franchise, developed and published by CD Projekt Red. Similarly to Skyrim, it is an open-world game, with a medieval style and is mulit-regional. Players follow the story of Geralt, and can follow quests, or free roam the area.
Asset creation for The Witcher 3 using Zbrush and Maya.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Read Dead Redemption 2 is the prequel to Red Dead Redemption, both developed and published by Rockstar Games. It is an open-world western themed game, but is a bit more dependant on the narrative of the game rather than letting players completely free roam. Players follow the story of Arthur, an outlaw trying to survive the west.
Chand is a lighting artist that worked on Red Dead Redemption 2, but his shots shown below highlight the era and some of the assets I want to recreate.
