Using 3D-Coat

I didn’t necessarily use any smart materials found in 3D-Coat as it was all hand-painted but I did establish myself as the light source and I found it both fun and empowering. In other words, I placed my camera view from where light would originate and I believe it created some positive results. It was crucial to be mindful of what kind of surface material I was trying to describe though. As an example, while painting metal, I needed to push the bright highlights further than anything else and pay close attention to the shape of the model to determine a believable rate that the light would fall-off. The wood and stone were somewhat easier to paint though as they did not require as much of a reflective quality but the principles remained the same. I’m also interested to begin learning how to texture within Substance Painter too in an attempt to both become more familiar with an industry standard and save myself more time. I already have plans in place to use it for my next project which happens to be a large robot.

Source of Fel by kyoung720 on Sketchfab

Setting up in Sketchfab

Setting up the light within Sketchfab was actually really quick and easy. It didn’t take any longer than 20 minutes to just use the standard presets Sketchfab provides and tweak a few settings. Correctly applying the alpha channels to give the grass textures their transparency was another small step to take but nothing of extreme difficulty. I feel that Sketchfab has made the process as easy as possible to display models wonderfully. I have certainly thought to add animation to my model and it’s possible I still will. I would like to see the wheel crank go back and forth to raise and lower a bucket into and out of the source of fel. When it comes time for the animation, I’ll have texture space available for the bucket that currently ceases to exist. I also imagine to repurpose my zombie-esque hand and bone to place on the wheel crank itself, as if it’s responsible for raising and lowering the bucket into and out of the well.

Overall, I’m extremely pleased with the outcome of my project and I’m excited to continue pushing myself as an artist. I’m also super excited to begin my career path in 3D. I haven’t been working in 3D for a very long time and I am thrilled to think that I can only grow from here. I owe a lot of my newly found skill and knowledge to my teachers and I hope they can see how much I appreciate them and their help. It may be cliche to say, but really, I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. Thank you so much for this opportunity, it was really fun to be able to share my work! The 3D community is really great at helping one another and I’m glad to now be a part of something so amazing.

Kevin Young, 3D Environment Artist

Interview conducted by Kirill Tokarev.