I was recently recruited as a surfacing and look dev artist for School of Visual Arts 3D animated thesis film Intrepid by Ausar Johnson. I was super excited to take on this project and texture a turtle shell boat for the Intrepid film. The visual design work for the film inspired me and I know I can do this project justice.
To start with, I was provided with original concept art for the asset, a reference board for the asset, as well as the complete pitch deck for the story and reference for the other characters and assets.
Original Concept Art
Provided References
Original Model
I really love the initial model. The stylization of the shapes is really appealing. After some discussion and brainstorming on the references and concept art I asked for permission to alter the layout of the turtle scutes (scale-like structure) on the shell so that I could pack them tighter to the shell and also have them more closely resemble the turtle references on the inspiration board.
UV Layout
Completing the UVs was quite relaxing and meditative. It didn't take terribly long and I enjoy doing UVs so it went by quickly. I like that doing UVs is like reverse origami - it's like a puzzle to solve.
Preliminary Surfacing Tests
I messed around in Substance Painter with the low poly model to get an initial idea of my goal for the textures. I try to make most everything I texture 60-80% procedurally and then the last 20-40% hand painted depending on the project and the aesthetic I'm going for. I'm not in love with the colors at the moment but seeing the model with color on it helped me envision the final product and how I can better make things pop with hand painting after the high poly version is baked in.
Beginning Sculpting Phases
Initially, I was unsure what route to go with the sculpt. I tried a couple different versions of patterns for the turtle scutes on the back of the shell. After showing them to Ausar and his group for feedback they picked the simpler spiral design. It looks cleaner overall and would be easier to achieve.
I found myself in a workflow switching back and forth between dragging on some surface imperfections with a stylized rock drag-alpha and then hitting the surfaces and edges the H-Polish brush and Trim Dynamic brush. This method helped me chop up some of the smooth CG edges to give them more of a chunky sculpted feeling. I think this will reflect the concept art nicely. I also used the Orb pack groove brush to carve detail into the wood and turtle shell.
Final Sculpt Details
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