Kilan Larsen
Blacksmith Micro Scene
Post 6: Final Details & Marmoset
For the last few days of working on my Blacksmith Micro Scene I focused on adding content to help complete the look of the scene, and overall polishing the look of each and every texture. The first big change I wanted to make was to remove the flat rectangular ground plane and replace it with a circular platform with which I could easily rotate around to show the scene in a 360 degree view. However, the backside of the scene was lacking in assets and did not have much intrigue, so I used my second allotted x512 texture map to add a grindstone, which I quickly UV'd and brought into Substance Painter for texturing.
I also decided that the log pile near the shed and the logs sitting in the forge needed a better wood texture, something closer to tree bark. So I went back into Substance Designer and set up a 4th texture to accomplish just that:
With all this done, plus some fixes on prior work (such as baking the ambient occlusion and normals for the workstation), the scene was ready to upload into Marmoset. It was here that I learned that each material attached to objects in Maya (and thus my FBX exported models) showed up in Marmoset and I would need to apply my textures to each of these materials. So I went back into Maya one last time and removed all the existing materials and applied a single new material for each object, and named them accordingly so that I could distinguish them in Marmoset. With that out of the way I quickly learned how to apply my exported texture maps to each material in Marmoset and then added a turntable animation and adjusted the lighting of the scene to get dynamic shadows as the micro scene spins around. All in all, I can say that I am quite happy with the result!
Post 5: Material Creation and Texturing
After creating a rough draft of the textures I want to use, I determined that I need 4 new textures that are not provided in Substance Painter: Roof Tiles, Grass, Cobblestone, and Tree Bark. The cobblestone material can be used for both the forge and the house chimney, while the tree bark material will be used for the logs in the forge as well as the log pile next to the shed. Shown below are the finished roof, cobblestone, and grass materials in Substance Designer.
I then applied these materials to my exported low-poly models in Substance Painter, as well as a few other smart materials (of which I edited the color, rotation, and wear amount). Once I had the textures looking about right, I then used the particle brush "small veins" to paint a green foliage creeping up the wood and stone of each structure. Finally, I exported these texture maps as PNG files which I can apply quickly in Marmoset later.
Post 4: UVs Complete, Substance begins
After UV mapping every object in my blacksmith scene, I then proceeded to group objects and layout their UVs onto a single tile, preparing them for export as an FBX file for substance painter. In addition, I made sure that there were no flipped or overlapping UVs, and determined the texture size that each group would receive. Large groups such as the three structures will receive 2k textures, while the ground and workshop area will each receive a 1k texture.
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After this, I began the texturing process by creating a roof tile material in Substance Designer which will be applied to each of the three structures in the scene. I also created a quick "first draft" view of the textured forge using the roof tile and some other pre-made materials to get an idea of potential changes that need to be made.
Post 3: UV'ing
After another week of work, I have finished UV'ing most of the objects in my scene, including 2/3 structures which have more complex and difficult geometry. To UV these well, I needed to break down the geometry into more simplified pieces which I could UV map individually and then re-combine the meshes. Shown below is an exploded view of the central structure and its UV map.
After completing the central structure, I was able to use the separated pieces to build out the house as well, with a few changes such as added planes for walls, an extended rooftop, posts, and a chimney on the backside.
I then UV mapped the smaller assets in the scene, and grouped them together and laid out their UV shells on the same 1k tile. For assets with many broken up pieces (such as the chain holding the bellows) I exported all the parts of the model as an OBJ file and then re-imported it as a single mesh.
Post 2: Preparing the Scene
After coming up with the basic concept for my blacksmith scene, I imported all of the assets I could find into a scene in Maya. Once I'd laid out everything available to me, I began selecting some favorites and picked out all of the assets I plan to UV and texture throughout the project. From there, I re-arranged the assets to look more or less how the final scene should look after being fully textured. All in all there are 3 structures and 19 unique smaller assets. If I find myself behind schedule I will cut out the workshop (building on the left) and a few other small items.
With so much to do, I figured I should start the UV'ing process with the centerpiece of the scene: the forge. The geometry of this asset is relatively uniform, so I decided to slice the UV shells so that I could unfold and grid-ify the cylindrical part of it and then map the inner circles separately. The result is shown below:
Over the next week I will continue the UV'ing process, starting with the most important assets and working out towards the less necessary stuff.
Post 1: Planning / Concepts
For my Blacksmith Micro Scene I am planning to utilize the free assets from the "Blacksmith's Forge" asset pack in the Unity Asset Store. From this pack I will be custom texturing the grindstone, bellows, and shields in Substance Painter. Because a forge could get quite hot, it makes sense to have an 'open air' design, with a simple stone or wood structure providing a roof for the blacksmith's work area. I will be creating a tiled stone material in Substance Designer for the floor of the workshop area, as well as potentially the furnace of the forge.
This house design on the right fits the medieval style that I would like to go for, but I will be using more stone than wood. Reducing the risk of fires only seems realistic!
