3D modelling isnt my strength but for this project I wanted to improve my skills with the help of my team members who are more experienced with 3D modelling.
I picked a small asset: a sandcastle. It could be as complex or simple as I want it to be, however keeping the detail to a minimal level will fit the style of the game.
We are creating low poly assets and using the ‘smooth shading’ feature to get the correct look. This means I have to be careful with lighting on my model and ensure all edges are bevelled.
I started by looking for simple inspiration images with the hope of creating a turret that could be placed 4 times with a wall in between.
Much like these two reference images I wanted the turrets to be rounded. This prooved a lot harder than I thought simply because creating a “low poly” rounded effect with smooth shading creates some weird corners on the model that make the lighting seem incorrect.
On the right is a simple version of the sandcastle with bevelled edges, however it lacks detail and also some of the edges were not bevelled at all so the lighting ended up being rather harsh.
On the left is the more detailed initial version which again had edges that were not bevelled and the lighting did not work correctly because of the smooth shading clashing with the polys. I also managed to accidentally create some N-gons on this model which were effecting the lighting too.
Moving on from those attempts, I started working on something much more simple. This time I got advice from my team members on how to correctly bevel edges and apply the smooth shading.
With this one I made sure to bevel the edges and sharp corners on the model. I also used a tool that allowed the sharper edges to be more prominant so you can still see the shape of the sandcastle.
I then UV unwrapped the model ready for Benedict to apply the sand texture to the model.
I’m happy with the overall castle, for some extra detail I could add a little flag detail or sand piles around it, however that would be an extension goal if we have extra time at the end of the project.
SketchbookMegan 