DESIGN GALLERY

Personal Projects

Some of the projects I have worked on during my downtime to hone my skills

Amphibian Assassin

Realtime model of a defensive little frog. Sculpted in Nomad. Retopologized in CozyBlanket, textured in Substance Painter. lighting & rendering in Blender.

Details

The Swords say "Frog" in Kanji

The Cowboy

Realtime model of a rancher. Sculpted in Nomad, retopologized in Blender, textured in Substance Painter & photoshop. Lighting, rigging & rendering in Blender.

Process Breakdown

Retro Zombie Project

I decided to take inspiration from early 3D games to showcase my zombie animation in a retro style. This allowed me to produce stylised assets that fit the theme quickly and effectively.

Below to the left are the reference images I used as inspiration. My main references were Silent Hill (1999), Resident Evil 2 (1998) and Blood (1997).

Below right is my process for creating a low-poly zombie in the style of early 3D games. It was modeled and rigged in Blender and Textured in Procreate.

Modeling the Scene

Using blockouts and other simple modelling techniques, I was able to quickly create a graveyard scene that evoques a bleake and dusky atmosphere, the scenery was very much inspired by Silent Hill and Blood.

I was able to create low-resolution textures by taking images and reducing their size dramatically. This helps to solidify the retro aesthetic that I wanted to portray.

Rendered Animation

Here is the rendered + composited animation.

Mr J.

Realtime Portrait of the Clown Prince of Crime. Sculpted in Nomad. Retopologized in CozyBlanket, textured in Substance Painter. Groom, rigging, lighting & rendering in Blender.

Wireframe & AO Pass

Showreel

Here are some of the projects I have produced over my time at university as well as some personal projects.

My Showreel

Music Video

I served as art director along with the artist on a collaborative project to create a music video for his upcoming single. The visual style was influenced by cartoons so we decided to implement toon shading and NPR render techniques to achieve a stylised look. Here is the link to the video

Vehicles

Set in a world where robots are sentient, I made sure to create futuristic vehicles that reflect the world we wished to convey. My inspirations for the vehicles included: Neon Genesis Evangelion, WipEout, Back to the Future and Akira.

Alleyway Scene

A pivotal point in the story is when our protagonist enters an alleyway. I paid close attention to show that it was a neglected part of the city however still implemented the bright cartoon style. I modelled every asset in the scene down to the weeds and utilised textures from texturehaven along with Blender's shader editor.

The City

I created the backdrop to support the world in which the robots live. Huge inspirations that I drew from were: Blade Runner, Jet Set Radio and Ratchet and Clank.

Stylised Robot Characters

I created many robots for the video. I used NPR rendering styles and cartoon-inspired design when creating them. My approach drew inspiration from RyseUp's Roboquest and Pixar's WALL-E among other refrences.

"A Bone to Pick" Collaboration Project

I produced an in-game asset for an upcoming indie PC game "A Bone to Pick"

Initial Ideas

I was originally going to model a non-player character for the game but after consideration I decided to help make an RC car to be controlled in-game due to my prior experience modelling a car. I started by drawing insportation to use as a basis for the model. I was lead to more realistic Tamiya style 70s and 80s RC cars for inspiration. After not managing to create an accurate suspension system in my last car I took on the challenge and created a double wishbone suspension setup that should work properly once rigged.

Rough Bodywork and Wheels

I roughed out the plastic body fairings using primitive shapes before subdividing them for a smooth finish. After feedback from the client I re-modelled the wheels with a higher detail rim and tyre tread pattern.

Extras and Tweaks

I created a bucket racing-style seat to put in the car. Then I modelled a steering wheel and lights.

Texturing & Shading

I textured the car using Substance Painter and exported them as 4k channel packed maps ready for use in-game. Below is the final car ready to be rigged and driven.

Personal Blender Lighting Tests

I practiced creating volumetric lighting effects and using displacement maps for terrain in Blender's Eevee renderer

Quick Blender Project

I decided to practice creating environments quickly in blender so that I am more familiar with it in order to produce faster and better results. I started with a photoscan from Texture Haven of mossy rocks using a displacement modifier. The texture comes with a height map that I plugged into the displacement modifier using subdivision to produce uneven ground. I also added an alpha map so that the edges of the texture would fade out helping it to blend into the background better. Then I added an HDRI of a forest from Polyhaven along with a diffuse volume cube and some spotlights to create some interesting light shafts. Because I am using Eevee which is more like a game engine than a renderer and there are not many reflections on the stones, the HDRI is not doing much in the way of lighting, I am simply using it as a background

Modeling Objects

I modelled a simple Olmec style statue to texture and decide on layout. I began texturing in substance to try and create a weathered look. I Modelled some rocks and textured them in substance to add a few more background objects to the scene

Final Render

Here is what I came up with. I am quite happy with it for a quick Eevee render.

3D Retro Devices Project

We were asked to recreate a modern device using old technology. I decided to make an electric roadster for the 1930s

Initial Concept

I started by using the Austin 7 British Roadster for reference and produced a guide using schematics.

Initial Blockout

I started by creating simple shapes to match the guide to work out the sizes of varois parts. Then I tested materials and
lighting as this was during my first couple of weeks using Autodesk Maya

Subdivision and Sculpting

I slowly worked in improved detail into the moddel until it started to look like a car. One thing I should have improved
in hindsight is the suspension system detail.

Final Render

Here is a video of the complete car. You can see some rendered thumbnails below.

Robot Sculpting Project

I joined an extracurricular sculpting toolkit where I was introduced to making 3D mechs and robots...

Initial Concept

I created a concept for my robot

Blocking Out and Modelling the Robot

I modelled the robot inside blender using the mirror and subdivision tools to create a smooth, high polygon robot model
inspired by my concept. As we were looking at rigging the robots to make them move, I simplified my design.

Texturing and Materials

I textured the model using substance painter and exported the textures as packed maps for use in unreal engine.
This was my first time doing this.

Rendered Robot

I rendered the final image in cycles renderer for more realistic ray-traced lighting.

Moebius Case Study

"40 Days Dans Le Desert" Artist Impression

I produced a recreation of one of Moebius' designs for his book "40 Days Dans Le Desert".
I decided to colour the picture as the original is in black and white.

"Willow" Inspired Concept Art

Moebius created the concept art for the 1988 film "Willow". I decided to create a design inspired by his concept art.
I also experimented with painting using ink.

"Venice Celeste" Recreation

I produced a recreation of one of Moebius' designs for his book "Venise Celeste".
A book based on the locations he was living in the 80s. I produced a simplified version and coloured it digitally.

Scarabaeidae In Moebius' Style

I drew a scarab beetle, inked and coloured it digitally in the style of Moebius.

Mark Riddick Case Study

Glitching Human Skull

I drew a human skull then inked it and digitally manipulated and animated it to make it look more interesting.

Cat Skull In Mark Riddick's Style

I drew a cat skull then inked it, scanned it and used a white pen over the print-out to draw
web-like tendrils similar to how Mark Riddick produces his art.

Human Skull In Mark Riddick's Style

I drew a human skull then inked it, scanned it and used a white pen over the print-out to draw
web-like tendrils similar to how Mark Riddick produces his art. I also attempted colouring it digitally.

Bear Skull In Mark Riddick's Style

I drew a Bear skull then inked it and used a white pen over the top in the same style.
I tried to make it look more like drool from its jaws.

Frank Miller Case Study

"Sin City's" John Hartigan

I recreated a simplified version of Frank Miller's panel using illustrator and a drawing tablet

"Sin City" Comic panel experimentation

I recreated panels from the sin city comic much smaller using fine point pens

Sin City Style Design using "Blade Runner 2049"

I used a still from Blade Runner 2049 because I thought that the dramatic lighting suited a Frank Miller
style design. It didn't turn out very good as I made a lot of mistakes with the drawing.

Drawing Batman "Dark Knight Returns" Style

Frank Miller illustrated, the Dark Knight Returns. I had a go at drawing Batman in a similar style.
It was all from memory and freehand so it doesn't look very good but the basics are there.

Stephen Smith (NCC Studio) Case Study

Here is a design based off of Stephen Smiths artwork.

...