Crates of the Third Dimension
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For our lates 3D assignment we’ve been tasked with modelling crates with different themes.
Post-Apocalyptic “Crate” What I find typical for the post-apocalyptic theme is the worn, torn, and overused look. Since there would be no manufacturing of new items, many objects a player would come across would be worn from being used many times before. And of course, everything would suffer from the elements, so steel and iron would be rusted from rain, painted objects would be bleached from sun.
Fallout is a typical post-apocalyptic game. Buildings and shelters are creatively built from whatever might be found laying around, and random junk is scattered around the world. Everything is worn and broken, seemingly decaying, giving the impression of an abandoned industrial world.
Enslaved is a great example of the elements taking over. ‘Enslaved’ stands out thanks to it’s very green and vibrant color palette. The makers of ‘Enslaved’ haven’t gone for the brown-grey decaying aesthetics that are usually found in post apocalyptic games. Instead they have designed a world were nature have taken back the urban world. Crate When I designed my crate, I went for a steel box to be able to give it bumps and dents, and later a nice rusted texture to make it look like it’s been used and discarded several times. I made it look a bit squeezed together, like someone maybe stomped on it to get the lid to fit. To finish it off, I wrapped some duc tape around it to make it to give it a more distinct look. Since the player will travel around a world that used to be be full of civilized life, I think it’s important that simple objects (such as a crate) have hints of back story that the player can contemplate.
I’m not really sure if this counts as a crate, it’s really more of a box. Apart from that, I am really happy with it. Sci-Fi “Crate” What we define as Sci-Fi is as the name suggests, a fictional future of technological advancement. To achieve this futuristic look, I’d give objects symmetric and smooth angles, very few organic shapes, making it look manufactured and seamless. Star Wars: The Old Republic is a good example of using flat and seamless surfaces, lacking the flaws of human hand craft. They also have machinery inspired details, to make it look like they have some sort of future technological function.
Planetside 2 goes for a more mechanical robotic look. It’s almost organic, but technologic. Unlike in Star Wars were the designers have put emphasis on the clean flawless surfaces, Planetside has it’s focus on the machinery. Crate I went for the clean and symmetric design. I added a really large socket on one side of the box to get the mechanical aspect, along with few tank on the other side.
I really don’t know what I was thinking when I made this one. The giant socket makes it look almost like a washing machine, resulting in a sort of comical look, which doesn’t fit at all. It’s not even a crate, it looks more like some kind of portable spaceship charger that would fit into something like Futurama. Medieval Crate What defines the medieval aesthetic is in contrast to sci-fi, it’s completely handmade. it’s important that nothing is completely symmetric and flaws are visible. It’s also important to keep in mind what materials were a available at that time, a medieval crate would most likely be made out of wood. Another thing to keep in mind is that the construction should be kept quite simple to make it look primitive. Even though the technology during medieval times might have been more advanced than most people believe, it would probably communicate medieval aesthetics better if the construction is as simple as people think.
Chivalry is a typical example of medieval setting. The designers focused on making it look simple and rough. Props usually only consist of a few planks assembled with iron reinforcing, or sometimes just with more planks. As seen in the picture, the designers have left space between the planks, using the negative space to make each and every plank stand out on it’s own. This transmits the feeling that this wagon wasn’t produced by a machine, but someone actually attached each and every plank with her own hands.
The Witcher 2 Is also a great example. The textures are what really speaks here. The door here has been textured to clarify that it’s made from raw materials. It’s also very easy to spot what few components the door consists of, which contributes to the primitive look that we relate to medieval. Crate I wanted the crate to be quite robust, with clear features. The crate was going to be made of planks held together by iron reinforcing. I made the planks stick out to the side, in order to make them more obvious. To make the reinforcing stand out, I gave it some volume and added rivets. To finish it off, I added some simple ornaments to the reinforcing, typical for medieval, and crooked the crate a bit, to discard the perfect symmetry.
I think I made a good job on this one. It’s really the only one that looks like a crate, and I think I managed to grasp what defines the medieval aesthetics. The one thing though, that I’m no so sure about, and that’s the rivets. There’s something wrong about them, but I can’t really figure out what. Conclusion I think making crates was really great way of learning the software. However, I think the themes we were assigned to discuss and use for our crates were a bit undefined, and I had a really hard time wrapping my head around it, and writing about it was even more difficult. Though maybe that’s a good thing, I’m not sure. All in all, I enjoyed this exercise, I never thought I could learn to use this software so quickly. |
