Page 1 of a 2-page spread for a breakdown of the “Golemiri Waterwheel” production process. Displays concept art and ideation. This project was a semester’s long deal for a 3D Game Production course I took at CCAD. We were tasked with making three separate models, and then implementing them in-engine within a grey-boxed environment. Naturally, we started with thumbnails and sketches, breaking out into initial model block-outs afterwards, which we then used as the basis for finalizing our concept art. I also had the personal goal of making all of my models’ texture by hand, as I personally have a slight (Read: Major) disillusionment with photo-realism, and for the texturing process, we were encouraged to edit the default Smart Materials in Substance Painter. What I wanted to achieve out this laborious process was to give my models a unique character that would stand the test of time, especially regarding graphical advancement. The “Heroic” model, of which I spent the most time making, was conceptualized as a Waterwheel made using “Golemiri” technology. (A word I made up to describe the aesthetics of Golem-powered industrialization, much like “Steam-” or “Diesel-punk”)

Page 2 of a 2-page spread for a breakdown of the “Golemiri Waterwheel” production process. Displays modeling and texturing information, as well as a final render of the full model. The modeling process took some time to get used to, as I knew it was radially symmetrical, so I had to model it out using a small chunk of it, and then using the “MASH” feature in Autodesk Maya to see how it held up. The UV-Unwrapping for the model took, if I’m remembering correctly, nearly a month to complete. I had to apply the best principles of UV layout for Game Production as I went along. The challenge I had was figuring out which areas of the model can share the same texture space, while also figuring out how to lay them out in a way that uses at least 95% of the UV. However, such a challenge was fairly rewarding! It was cathartic for me to figure out such a problem and it never felt like a chore that I wanted to be through with, but rather an intricate puzzle to solve.

(2/2) Production breakdowns for the "Golemiri Waterwheel", the first model show in this series.

ALT text goes into further context about project requirements.

Screen cap from a Turntable Render for the “Golemiri Waterwheel”. This was one of the best models I have made to date and was what had finally gotten me into my campus’s end-of-year showcase: CHROMA, as well as featured on the front page of the Game Art Department’s end of CCAD’s website! Production context found in the breakdown images for this model. Model link: https://skfb.ly/oFUOy

The next model in this series that isn’t as strong as the Waterwheel was the “Fossilized Wand”. I also made hand-painted textures for this model, but modeled it with ZBrush instead of Maya, which I used for all other modeling within this series. What I was going for with this model was having a wand made from the index finger of a skeleton that’s fossilizing into pure mana crystals. So, I looked at references of fossilized ivory, the skeletal structure of hands, and finally the art of crystalizing bone. Originally, the wand was just going to be one long finger. However, I also wanted it to have a natural counterweight “carved” into it, so I extended the amount of bone represented down into the wrist. When it came time for mid-way critiques, none of what I had wanted to communicate with the model came through to those observing it, them saying it look like coral instead of crystal. So, I had to completely remodel and re-texture it to get it closer to have I had wanted to achieve. That still never ended up happening, though, as I had no idea how to model a micro-crystalline surface that would be efficient enough for a real-time game environment, nor had I any idea on how to texture crystal on a flat 2D space. So, while I could get the model across, the texturing need for it just never got met. Model link: https://skfb.ly/oGTTQ

The model which fell flat the most was definitely the “Interface” model. Due to how far behind I fell in schedule from hand-painting all those textures for the Waterwheel, I only had about 2 months left in the project to get something done. So, for the final leg of the project, I had to rush out two more models as quickly as I was able to. Thankfully, I already had the major pallet of what the environment these models were set in due to the work I had already done beforehand for the Waterwheel, so the texturing process for this model was far easier than texturing for the Waterwheel. What I was trying to communicate with this model was a runic interface to interact with Golem technology. Since having some kind of LCD touchscreen for this purpose would never have matched the style I was trying to go for with this project, I had to be creative. In the end, I decided to go with having the screen be a Mosaic, where the glass shards are backlit to communicate visual information. I also wanted the Interface to have a kind of Conductor’s Stand-like quality to it, in order to engage with the wand I was also making for this series, where it’s used to control the Golem-powered environment from the Interface like a conductor would control an orchestra. However, with how little time I had to get the whole thing done, I couldn’t give this model the attention it needed to stand up to par against the Waterwheel. Model link: https://skfb.ly/oGUo8

(1/2) Happy Sunday, everyone!

As I’m starting to run low on old projects to showcase, one of my best projects: Three models I made for a 3D Game Production course, made using hand-painted textures!
Model Collection: skfb.ly/psF7P
Video Portfolio: youtu.be/1DDbd9rj6cM

Check ALT text for context!

As said before, this illustration was made with the direction of making a Mini Capstone for our major. This means, we were to make some type of Digital Illustration that would be the groundwork for something we could be doing for our Senior-Year final project, "Capstone". My interaction with this project was tricky to figure out, as all my other classmates had sensible, traditional majors ( Fashion, Animation, but most being Illustration). I was the only one taking the course in our Game Art Department, and so, I had no clear way of engaging in the project as my capstone involved making a playable video game demo. Since there would have been no way of doing such a thing for a Digital Illustration course, I decided to instead take inspiration from another course I was taking at the same time: Character and Environment Designs. Our final there was to make a “Story Moment” scene, where we depict a Key Moment within our Narrative’s story in the form of a single illustration. The scene I took from was from one of my personal projects, depicting the “Grand Reveal” of the most important location found within. The program we were tasked with making this project was, obviously, Photoshop. After making multiple projects in the program, I had begun to become rather sick of using it, especially with how I was never able to use brushes which better matched the qualities of traditional media, without those same brushes being absurdly monetized, or for Procreate. This project had begun my transition towards seeking alternative, free programs that I could use instead of Photoshop. In retrospect, what I should have done with the project was make it far more conceptual, and create a final sheet of Concept Art for a piece of environment within the same narrative, as it would have given me something that I would use to expedite the process of development for my Senior Capstone, instead of just making something that superficially engages with the philosophies of the project.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Here's an illustration I made as the Final to one of my digital media courses, where we were to make a Mini Capstone based around our majors.
It never ended up being part of my real Capstone, but it did help visual a personal project!

Check ALT text for further context!

There was originally going to be three “stages” to this visualizer, with the character taking on a different form for the song’s breakdown.

The form that ended up being shown would have been used for “Nightmare King”, which would also have also appeared in the video, but it was cut in the end.

All assets were made using Krita, my drawing program of choice, and then composed, rigged, and animated in After Effects using “Duik Ángela”.

Without this plugin, I could never have hoped to get the project finished.

During its conceptualization, I knew that I had wanted to an audio visualizer, as I have only the most rudimentary ability in frame-by-frame animation.

The form of the video was informed by the song being visualized, and this was the most technically complicated to achieve.

Despite its rather simplistic end-result, this project was one of my biggest yet. To even make it a possibility, I had to get an agreement between two of my professors to allow me to do the same thing for different courses.

Thankfully, it was wasn't hard as both classes were practically the same.

[OC Audio Visualizer] The Grimm Troupe - Christopher Larkin YouTube video by TJ Smith

Happy Saturday, everyone!

This week, I’ll be showing another digital motion project: An audio visualizer for “The Grimm Troupe” by Christopher Larkin and inspired by the pre- “Little Runmo” works of @gooseworx.bsky.social.
youtu.be/rfviWO4Kbs0

Check comments for further context!

A screen cap of the turntable render for the model. The process for making the donut was the result of me messing around with ZBrush’s attributes for their primitive tool, decimating the number of vertical subdivisions for a torus until it became triangular instead of circular. From there, I followed the steps for making a donut about 1:1, giving the result more of a unique character due to the base it was built atop of. The next step is to, obviously, make the “doughnut, but it’s a triangle” a reality.

An "In scene" render of the triangular donut, framed atop a napkin with a box holding two more behind it.

A comparison between the Start and the End of the modeling process.

Happy Wednesday and an early Thanksgiving, everyone!

To celebrate, here’s a food-themed 3D modeling project I did a year ago. It’s based off the classic Blender Donut, but it’s now a triangle!

Sketchfab Link: skfb.ly/oNxRy

Don't forget to check the ALT text for further context!

I was able to have better success with this take on that project due to already having the animation for the background produced and rendered, so all that was needed next was the “Company Logos”, the UI, and a credits sequence and then everything was finished.

This project was also a kind of redux of an old one that I had failed spectacularly, due to making the perspective manually. My efforts were then thrown off balance towards making this piece instead of going through the production process of an animation, which was the entire point of the project.

While the references we were given came from movies like the original Pink Panther films, It’s a Mad, Mad World, and Catch Me If You Can, my references took a lot of from the animated title screens from VALVe games, like Half-Life 2 and Portal 2, and the moving title art from Outer Wilds.

[NOT REAL] - Video Game Title Sequence Mockup - TJ Smith YouTube video by TJ Smith

Happy Saturday, everyone! Missed last week, but back in the swing of things!

This week, I’ll be going over a digital motion project where we were tasked with making a mock-up for an animated title sequence, my taking the form of the opening sequences for a game’s title screen.
youtu.be/Jbh1S5aSuAg

A late reminder:
Be sure to check the ALT text for further context!

Forgot to mention this when I first posted this:
Be sure to check the ALT text for further context!

As we’re going to have to deal with things getting rougher a whole hell of a lot faster than they would have, I think it might be best to do what I can to lift our spirits.

So, here’s a video I recorded with help from engelhardtart.bsky.social for a failed animation.

WARNING: EAR RINGING NOISE.

Interior: Gloomy Manor Foyer. The first mansion of this project, conceptualized as being a mixture of Area 1 from the first game of the series and Gloomy Manor from the second. Each Mansion within this project is meant to take direct reference from a specific era in architectural history, going further back in time with each Mansion Luigi goes through, starting in the Victorian era and Second-Empire architectural style, and going all the way back to the Late-Gothic. The composition of the piece took direct reference to the Space World 2000 trailer for the first game, while the architecture was taken from Victoria Mansion in Portland, Maine. The final piece we had to deliver only needed to be full-rendered grayscale, but I’ve been adding color to it as I’ve been developing my professional website.

Exterior: Evershade Cemetery. An original location meant to serve as a major hub and that Luigi returns to after clearing each Mansion, which reveals the final mansion upon all others being cleared. The composition takes reference from a photo of the Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The glowing embers was a mistake that appeared during the process of colorizing the grayscale phase of the piece, that I kept as it added a missing element that I would have no idea how to fill otherwise.

Prop Design- Left to Right: Poltergust Back, Normal Key, Poltergust Nozzle. The Poltergust was designed to showcase the steampunk-elements for Professor E. Gadd's futuristic technology.

Character Lineup meant to showcase the relationship between a Protagonist, an Antagonist, and a creature. Left to Right: "Mr. Luigi", Polterpup, "The Lord of the Night". For our Protagonist, Luigi's design was made to clash against the dying opulence and glamor of the Mansion he goes though. So, I made his clothing ragged and patchy to convey that he’s kind of down on his luck. I also wanted his design to convey that he’s starting to move away from his brother and the family's plumbing business, so he’s in a more every-day dress for the project's “Modern Era”. For our Creature, Polterpup’s design was made to showcase the type of decaying horror the ghosts of this project will be depicted as going through the longer in the afterlife they remain. He takes inspiration from Zero and Scraps from Tim Burton’s stop motion features as well as combing both with the idea of a Hell Hound. His design also takes notes from a mummified wolf pup found within permafrost in Yukon. For our Antagonist, I used it as an opportunity to make a completely original villain for the project who has no ties to old King Boo. “The Lord of the Night” is conceptualized as the once-ruler of the Evershade Valley, a man obsessed with preserving his youth, becoming immortal, and eternalizing his reign. His overall design was used as an experiment in visualizing what a vampire would look like within the Mario universe, with no prior knowledge. His outfit is taken from a painting of the 9th Duke of Medinaceli (1660-1711), a Spanish noble who lived during the Baroque Period, and altered to better match the Halloween iconography of skulls, thorns, and cobwebs of this project. The Character Design for this project is definitely its weakest link, as its something that's yet to come naturally to me and it was my first time doing anything so intensive, and head to learn it as I went along.

Happy Halloween, everyone!
For my first couple of posts here on Bluesky, I’ll be retrospecting some of the projects I made during my term at CCAD.
To start with, here's a project re-conceptualizing the Luigi's Mansion series into its own self-contained piece: "Luigi's Mansion: Paranormal Chaos!"