3D Design
A LIFE EXTRUDED
Creating objects and scenes within the 3D space is something I have grown to love over time. I remember trying Blender once when I was younger and being totally overwhelmed by it. Now I see it as one of the most freeing creative spaces I know. It's one thing to fake 3D within a 2D realm, but to fully realize an idea in your head, sketch it out and then turn it into a completely realized 3D model is quite satisfying.
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Below are a lot of assets I have created over the last while, things I am proud of and that I feel stretched me creatively and technically. All below are assets, characters, enemies, props, and objects that can be used within both the Blender engine and within a game engine like Unity or Unreal. From inception to completion these were a joy to create.
Robotic Humanoid
This and many of the other models below are creations for an unannounced game I am working on with a few others. The setting is very sci-fi and a bit alien so the design is close to a humanoid but varying a bit. Inspiration came from the robot Chappie as well as various other "frames" from other sci-fi-inspired games.
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Humanoid figures are some of the more complex things to model, rig, and animate. But I felt this robot turned out great, unique from a lot of other robot styles out there, and even works well in programs like Mixamo for rigging.
SCOUrge - Robo Arachnid
Scourge was another design created for the game mentioned above. And though humans are something that I am used to seeing, a scorpion-like creature turned into a robotic form is not. This guy was a challenge to make but also a huge joy. Robotic creatures are a bit easier to rig as their body isn't so squishy but all about joints and sharp angles to animate.
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Scourge also has a set of animations attached to him to make him game-ready and each animation was a blast to make. I learned a while ago that the more minute control you can have over your animation the better so you can tweak little things here and there to add dimension to your subject. A rig like this one lets me move almost every piece individually giving great freedom to every animation.
Various Terrain Objects
These are a bunch of different types of terrain objects to be mixed and matched as rocks, grass, trees, rubble, building pieces, shields, chests, etc. The idea was that they were made digitally and so each is trying to mimic pieces of a natural world but is missing key information about those objects and fills in with more
machine-like data.
These were fun to design and create and think about the world in a different way, earthlike but so alien in its approach to common objects. It was also a challenge to come up with object styles that could be relatively low-poly in nature so that when they are scattered about a level as the terrain wouldn't slow down the program.
Antherium SMG
Weapons have always been a favorite to design but never a gun. I remember drawing countless swords as a kid but making a gun was a whole different experience. The Antherium SMG is quite a complex piece and it has variously changeable attachments to swap out such as sights, grips, barrels, and magazines.
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Making not one but essentially 3 different weapons in one was quite a challenge to show something that would reasonably look like a functioning gun with different possible attachments added at once. But in the end, this sic-fi looking guy ended up being something I am very proud of.
Space-Faring Landing Pod
One of the most complex objects I have made was this giant space pod used to carry people to and from a planet's surface. This was where my know-how of how spacecraft had to expand and wherein a simple 2D design I could pretend I knew how spacecraft flew and operated, not so in the 3D world. I had to put some understanding into thrusters, maneuvering, and otherwise and put those ideas to the test.
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The main design idea was to make a poid to carry 4 people down to the surface of a planet but was compact and small enough to be fast and reliable. The spaces inside are compact and small and have lots of small compartments that can store all of the various gear that the team may need.
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With more bones than I might have in my own body, all the moving parts on this pod were a challenge to make and put together. But what comes out is a fully functioning pod that could 'potentially' work in
real space.
Ziggurat - Pryamidal Enemy
This enemy was quite a detailed machine to make. It has thrusters on top that move in and out, arms with guns at the end that can collapse in, and its two halves clam-shell shut to defend its inner core when attached. The design ended up being something I really enjoy, especially the circuit detailing on its outer body.
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Through a little cartoony in its movements, it ended up being menacing in the end with all of its sharp angles and flames that thrust out of its back and bottom to propel itself. Goofy, but threatening nonetheless.
Resource Gathering Device
This device is a resource gathering device or an RGD. It is meant to come down in the Pod shown above and help gather resources on the surface. It's supposed to be a pretty rugged device to be used over and over again over many different journeys.
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Similar to the Pod shown above this is meant to be able to compact itself into a smaller form factor for travel and then expand when in use.
The Hex Wave
The idea behind this one was based on the same concept that the enemy robots and terrain were based on, the idea that robotics are trying to simulate Earth-like things but missing information.
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This idea is a hexagonal way of showing water like an ocean or a lake. A singular hex is treated like a partical and is then deformed by a layer acting as displacement.
Other 3D animations
Still just as radical
Here are a bunch of other different animations that I did to practice my 3D skills and the power that is needed in order to make sure that the skills I learned never went stale.