Some updates

I've been so incredibly busy lately so I haven't had a chance to update my blog in awhile.  I'm still crankin away though, so here's some recent screenshots.  This is from Polycount's October Monthly Noob challenge, which is to create a scene based on a concept from the Deus Ex game.  I'm almost done, but there are a few things to wrap up and fix.  Additional screenshots can be viewed on my portfolio http://www.don-pham.com/#!personal/c1ztr

New portfolio site is live!

Things have been busy but my new site is live at http://www.don-pham.com!

Freestyle sculpt practice

Just practicing some sculpting for the night.  Not supposed to be anything in particular, just wanted some cool patterns.

Ornate style sculpts

Trying to get fancy with ornate style pieces using zBrush.  I've also been very busy redesigning my website, which should be up soon :)

Rocky Cliff zBrush sculpt

Here's the zBrush scupt I did for the rocky cliff piece.

Rocky Cliff

Some rocky cliff I did in zBrush.

Sci-Fi Crate completed

Software used:

• 3ds Max
• Photoshop
• nDO2
• Marmoset

Wanted to try creating metal textures that's hand painted from scratch, without using photo source overlays and such.  

Sci-Fi Crate

I feel like my portfolio should have some props in it.. so I started with this sci-fi metal crate, using mainly nDO2 for creating all the normal map details first, as well as my AO map.  Diffuse texturing is next on the list..

Brick Wall

This brick wall was created using one sculpted brick in zBrush, rotated differently, and then baked to a plane.  

First tree attempt

I've never modeled a tree before, so I wanted to do one as quick practice :)

Retexture Work

Some retexturing work I did for an art test.  Original version on top.  Models were basic and I wasn't allowed to modify them, so I worked mostly off of photo references for texturing.

Software used: 

• 3ds Max
• nDO2
• Photoshop
• cryEngine3 

Sci-Fi Hallway Completed

I finally got around to finishing this one after putting it on hold for awhile to do an art test that I most likely failed lol. I created this simple hallway scene to get familiar with a software called nDO2, which is amazing for normal map creation. Software used: 3ds Max, Photoshop, nDO2, cryEngine3, and lots of caffeine.

Sci-Fi Hallway WIP 2

First diffuse and lighting pass. Still need to fix some issues with the ceiling.  Additional supporting props need to be built as well to make this scene less boring.  Not sure if I like the ceiling too much but things are still in experimentation stage.

I also need to read more about gloss maps and understand how to properly do them to give my materials a more convincing look, mainly the metal.

Tools used:
3ds Max
nDo2
Photoshop
cryEngine3

Sci-Fi Hallway WIP 01

Here's an early work in progress of a sci-fi themed hallway I'm working on.  For this project I'm trying out a new tool called nDo2, where I'm hand creating the normal maps first and then texturing later.  I'm really impressed with this tool and wish I learned how to use it earlier on.

Screenshot taken from cryEngine3.

Ruins Scene Completed

Finally finished the ruins scene.  I was able to finish it sooner than I thought.  Normally I don't take this long to finish things, but I've been spending a few hours a day and slowly pacing myself so I don't burn myself out.  In the future, I would love be able to create my own trees and bushes. 

I'll edit this post later on to include my zBrush sculpts and other breakdown stuff.

Ruins WIP #2

Almost done.  Just a few more details I wanted to add, and then it's terrain changes as well as more stone/wall placements.  Been slowing down a bit to take some time off and try to relax.  I'm hoping to finish this by next week.

Ruins WIP

Just some work in progress of some ruins.  Still much to be built and modeled, like the base/foundation geometry that these walls will sit on.