Modeling 1 Recap

The main project for Modeling 1 was a corner scene with a polygon limit of 3000 and a max pixel size of 2048x2048 for all textures, combined. I decided to create a warehouse scene. The concept story was that a thief had broken into this old warehouse in search of valuable artifacts. He was frightened by what he found and left behind some of the tools of his trade in the process.

I began with the corner of the warehouse, some storage racks, a crate, and a wood pallet. The flashlight is just a placeholder at this point. I was playing around with some overhead lighting and shadows with this version.

Warehouse Render - Version 01 - 14 August 2010

I then added the steel frame of the building and began creating the textures. I realized early on that the crate with the main artifact would need to be much closer to the camera if it was going to be an effective focal point. I intentionally kept the lighting dark, in an effort to hold a strong focus but the overall scene is almost unreadable this way.

Warehouse Render - Version 04 - 28 August 2010

I brightened up the scene a bit in this version. I also added a pallet jack, a crow bar, and a mask. It took quite a while to decide on the mask as an artifact but it ended up being an effective choice, in my opinion. I used a segmented box and edited the vertices to match a photograph of a mask I found online. A mirrored instance allowed me to keep the mask symmetrical throughout the process. I think it turned out well for one of the first complex, semi-humanoid forms I've modeled.

Warehouse Render - Version 07 - 11 September 2010

The distance of the crate and mask still needed major adjustment in order to bring out the appropriate level of detail. It became a much more interesting composition with the mask and crate just off center. Illumination and volume fog from an emergency light was used to help balance the composition.

Warehouse Render - Version 11 - 01 October 2010

The rest of the textures were finished and applied. Lighting adjustments were made, both in 3D Studio and in Photoshop (for the sake of printing), to make the image more easy to read. The result is an early morning shot of the warehouse after the failed late-night burglary.

Warehouse Render - Final - 03 October 2010

I'm pretty happy with the results of this project. The final poly count was 2320 and the final tris were 4214. I don't actually remember the final texture size but I know I had room to spare. Opacity, Specular, and Bump maps were not counted in addition to the matching diffuse maps involved.

There are a few things I might have changed or done differently, now that I'm more experienced, but I'm happy with it for what it was. For screen viewing, rather than printing purposes, I'd actually prefer a blend between the Final Render and version 11, as far as the brightness of the lighting.

I'll end with a dough-boy render of the final with wireframes:

Warehouse Render - Final Dough-boy - 03 October 2010

hello, world

Everything must start somewhere. This blog starts here, without any particular temporal significance and no grander reason than the idea that it will have to happen eventually.

My name is Michael Derry. I'm just another unique mind among billions of others looking to make a positive impact on the world during my short journey through it. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be an Architect. In High School I took some architecture & drafting classes and a few 3D modeling classes. I did pretty well in the Technology Fair for 3D animation but I went on to study Architecture as planned.

I did pretty well through most of it, struggling only through the heavy calculations of statics/structures, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. Designing buildings, public spaces, and human interactions with the built environment were all interesting and enjoyable experiences but eventually I had to step into the real world. I loved design studios and the ideal of what an Architect is supposed to be but the realities of what an Architect really is began to wear on me before I even graduated.

To make a long story slightly shorter, with a degree in hand I still had five years and tens of thousands of dollars between myself and a license. Since the true nature of the job was nothing like the brochures, my passion quickly faded and I began to prepare myself for a long an boring career ahead. I never lost my interest in creating and designing but realized that I had been tricked into a field with few opportunities for true creative expression. In a declining economy, it also had few opportunities for employment.

As I trudged along at my job in an 'Architecture office' that specializes in adding antennas to cell towers, I bounced around to different creative projects in my free time. I spent several months immersed in the idea of Seasteading and came up with a complex structural design for a single family home on the open ocean. I then started creating mods for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It was a great experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. I thought of it as nothing more than a fun hobby until I realized that Game Design is a real job and people can do this for a living.

Several months after this realization set in, I started to take the idea seriously. I researched what the job(s) involves, local schools, and the skill sets required. Art, design, and technical computer knowledge are some of the important skills that I just happen to be strong in. Instead of creating office buildings, I could create worlds. Instead of drawing equipment layout plans, I could draw concept art and build 3D models. Even if I'm the lowest ranking grunt in the office and I make dozens of repetitive clutter objects a day, I'd still be creating useful works of art and have a chance to sit in on the occasional development meeting and support the team with my great ideas.

I'm not naive enough to believe the hype in the ads for all the for-profit game design schools. I know you don't make games using XBox 360 controllers and it's not some easy, glamorous job that any slacker could do. Maybe my vision of being able to have input in the development process isn't realistic. Only time will tell. However, I have pretty strong hope that I've found a much better career fit for myself in Video Game Design.

This blog will mostly be a place where I talk about the process of getting through school and eventually looking for a job. I'll talk about the projects I'm working on and the process I go through to create and refine them. My only goal is to update consistently. For now, I'm aiming for once a week. Let's see if I can do it.