Week 9: Madvillian-Understanding Xnormals and Zbrush

When you start to understand a new software on game art .........

This week I feel as if there weren’t as many formal functions on the course as per usual. In Game production we had our usual presentation to check up on our progress and receive feedback for our sentry Gun. As a new weekly addition to the course this presentation format has so far been as useful as it has allowed me to sharpen my skills publically selling an idea as well as to make sure that I am aware of how far or behind I am with my work.

Areas I need to work on for my turret include:

• Tightening the colour palette

• Thickening the Legs of the model itself

• Looking more into conveying the front sign as both signage and an Ammo Box

In addition I was recommended points of reference to research into, these included:

• Studying the Malleus Maleficarum for an insight into witches and witchcraft culture which could help develop more of the outlook of my design

• The Overwatch character art to gain a better sense of how to create a strong pallete for my asset.

So far I have developed the legs from the feedback given bulking them up more and making them more reminiscent of goat’s legs albeit stylised in nature to help with the silhouette.

Low Poly WIP -If any spare tris left will round off the nozzle

On reflection with this new change in the style of legs I have not iced in order for the turret not to clip I need to adjust the space between the tail and legs. Hopefully this shall not damage the silhouette too much.

Moreover, while we are on the subject of feedback whilst looking at the Overwatch colour palette things that can be learnt from the character arts colour palette in these games is how colour is used on a relational basis as in hues which compliment or contrast each other or hues within a certain analogous spectrum. Colour is always balanced out by establishing limits and using certain colours more than once. In my orthographic this needed to be worked on as there were hues such as oranges which were randomly introduced. I would like to think this has been rectified in my work in progress of my low poly so far as I have made subtle adjustments such as changing the colour of the tie now to a similar yellow hue to the barrel.

Additionally in Game production we were treated to another lesson in Xnormals. As the gif above illustrates I’m finally starting to grasp how to use it and how to bake but I’ve still got a long way to go. Using what I had learnt from said lesson in visual design this week I started working on the high poly version of the goats head in Z brush to bake down using Xnormals.

High Poly - Zbrush

Working in Z brush from taking such a break admittedly felt awkward at first but after reviewing some notes I had taken prior from some of my friends it started to feel much easier but I definitely need to find time to sharpen my craft with this software because that character project is ever creeping in the shadows. Anyway back to the subject my bake wasn’t what you would call successful.

Although not as bad as my first attempt it appears that my normal are making the eye sockets of the skull look convex instead of concave. In addition the angular properties of the low poly are fighting with the smoother areas of the high poly. At the time of writing I am still unclear of what I can do other than to add more loops to the low poly but I do plan on seeking aid in students more experienced in this area so that I may be able to successfully move on with this project.

Admittedly I am quite worried about making the deadline as a result of personally feeling like I didn’t work to my fullest during the second week. Last week I felt burnt out due to the work and worried about not creating the perfect design. As a result of this I feel like have given myself less time to work with. Hopefully this won’t be the case and next week’s blog post will open on a cheerful gif rather than a sad one. Anyway this has been my week for next week I really need to get the baking and my understanding of baking stronger so I can give myself a good amount of time for the texturing process.