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Decided to create a separate thread to not disturb Art Thread viewers with irrelevant and/or too long posts. There I will post screenshots of my (work in progress) assets, sketches and other relevant things. :)

Older work you might have seen in the Art Thread.
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You really have a unique style bac! i really enjoy the screens! Is this just random coming out of you head, or are you busy on a project? Looks really astounding!

I don't know yet, most of these came out of experiments with different styles and techniques and aren't related to each other. But I'm considering to make some kind of a project in that sci-fi/psychedelic style.

Hmm you use Additive sketching right? looks like it.. That's a neat style you have there indeed. Whats your overall plan? Are you wanting a job in the industry eventually? or are you just pursuing a hobby.

I'm not sure what do you mean under "additive sketching", but thanks! :)


It's just a hobby at the moment. And I don't have any certain plans about e.g. some project that will utilize all these assets, - just random ideas and experiments. Maybe they will lead me to some polished art style and set of ideas for gameplay, I don't know yet, it's an ongoing experimentation :)

I'm a student, just finished second year in my university, on graphic design course. So, well, I'd like to work in the design area in future. I like game development too, it's uniquely challenging and interesting experience. With years ahead free for irresponsible hobbies, I have enough time to experiment with games. :)

Apart from my different university specialization, basically, the main reason why I'm not considering workin in the game development industry is that I don't think I'm skillful enough (or will be in the foreseeable future).

My screenshots can be impressive, but all the work I've made so far, to be honest, can't be considered professional. For example, yes, I'm able to create 3D models, - but only because I've found about Google SketchUp at some point. It's the only 3D package I was able to master, no other software I've seen is even close to level of usability and simplicity offered by SketchUp.

I've tried to learn Autodesk Maya & 3ds Max for several years (with books and documentation), but for me it's literally a torture to work with them. All these constant crashes, irreversible obscure actions you accidentally make; user interface of gargantuan proportions with hundreds of menu layers, ineffective slow workflows with all these primitives and perspective viewports... D'oh, even the camera controls are horribly overly complicated and literally inhuman (who would design 4 types of camera control layouts each consisting of a dozen equally inconvenient options?). It's like every window there is wrapped in barbwire. I've never succeeded to create anything worthy in this environment. :(

I'm not blaming Autodesk or other developers, the look of their software is a result of an evolution that lasted for a decade and can be called somewhat traditional. The professionals just deal with it, and no matter how inconvenient or overly complicated the software is, they eventually master it just because it is considered an industrial standard.

You can't apply for a 3D modeler position with only SketchUp knowledge up your sleeve, it's not suitable for a serious job for hundreds of reasons. Basically, what I'm trying to say there is that a gap between a hobby and a job in a game development area can be enormously huge. It's like being a fan of fancy sport cars and/or making paper models of them (modding/SketchUp modelling) in compare with being some guy who is literally working as car engineer and knows everything about how each and every part works (e.g. professional 3ds Max modeler).

It's not a matter of a simple choice, like "Oh well, why not to work in the industry tomorrow!". Working in the industry is rather a matter of strong dedication and will to endure all the horrors of professional software and workflows. I don't have these, sorry. :)

So, while I don't have any enthusiasm and will to master some decent software, it's pointless to think about work. :)

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Though it's better with 2D art - fortunately, I've learned Photoshop and some other related programs easily and they are behaving great for me (it's so awesome that not any professional software is as complicated as 3ds Max). :D

And my university specialization certainly helped me in that area with all the great knowledge about colors, composition, techniques and so on. But here comes the fact that I tend to like the area of work graphic design offers to me more than the one game development industry provides. Why work as e.g. concept artist, if you can apply for an illustrator position in some awesome design studio, or work for some magazine, or for advertising? These areas are a so much more variative and interesting for me! I'm not considering myself professional in this area yet, but at least I can see a path and a great perspective with really interesting work.

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Another factor is that the game development industry in Russia is not in a particularly healthy state. Almost no commercially successful projects, almost no console developers, horrible piracy, etc., I can count developers and publishers that are doing even relatively well with fingers of one hand. It's just not really a safe idea to stake on making a living by working in this industry.

Of course there are lots of other options, working in game industry is not necessarily about creating dull assets for some next cloned MMO produced by local publishers. I should consider outsourcing, maybe even for foreign developers, or working on indie projects, but well, still.

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So, basically:

• I like working with 3D and level design, but I don't have enough skills to do that on a commercial basis.
• I like working with 2D and have somewhat nice skills and perspective there, but game development (in that area of requirements) is not a better option then working as a designer, both because it's more interesting and in terms of safety.

So I have fun with my hobby and oh, whatever.
Sorry for the post of kilometer length. :D

Hmm Okay, well thats a good explanation.. Its sad to hear that your max crashes. I personally have had only 2 Crashes in 4 years that were the programs fault and not me doing something stupid.

yeah sketchup is waaaay to simple for me to use, i tried but its not powerful enough. regardless nice work with it so far.

This is the best art!



No.

I am seriously impressed by the art style you've shown here. And It's only an hobby for you?
You say you don't like messing with the technical side of things (Max, Maya) but those are only tools. With an eye for design like that you could very well end up as an art director or something similar.

I like your Tsutomu Nihei Blame! look alike stuff. Would be cool to see a mod or game in that universe and style.

You're the first one who noticed!

Oh, I'm a huge fan of his works, Nihei has a great combination of architectural education, art talent, and incredible imagination. All that improbable and bizarre architecture he's drawing, unique dark style and great settings he's creating... yeah, it influenced me a lot. I'm not into the gothic stuff or classical overly exploited cyberpunk, but his approach to dark and depressing design is different. And all these subtle clues to the Middle Ages are great too.

Some of my models are based on Blame symbolics.

I'd really like to work on some kind of a tribute project, but his setting is uniquely challenging for game development. You can literally spend a month modeling a single room, the destructibility needed for the story is insane for any modern engine (some weapons carve a shaft in 60 kilometers of steel on their lowest settings), and I can't think of any conventional gameplay that can fit there, because that world is literally a place where you meet someone else once in a hundred years and it can take several month to climb a single ladder. Not to mention a character design that is so inconvenient and complex that no one from character modelers/animators I'm acquainted with ever agreed to try them.

For the past 4 years I've worked in the STALKER modding community. It was quite interesting, and X-Ray engine isn't really a hard environment to work in, but it was still light years ago from modern WYSIWYG engines and toolsets, so interest in this has waned over time.

Here are my earlier works for the project I developed on that engine. Setting is similar to STALKER, however I've decided not to use the Chernobyl Zone area at all, - to be free in terms of level design and not to be obliged with modeling CNPP, Pripyat and other areas once again. Some screens were taken in game, some from SketchUp or, rarely, 3ds Max.


▲ Assets (SketchUp)


▲ Indoors (X-Ray)


▲ Outdoors (X-Ray)

Surprisingly, SketchUp handled even vegetation and vehicle modeling quite well. :)

I'm thinking about porting the content to CE3 so that it won't go to waste. Maybe some adventure/horror-themed level. What do you think?

WHAT DO I THINK???

Man release it please!!! Can you please release it? Its my dream (as you may know) and i always wanted to port over the stuff from STALKER (SHoC to CoP) in crysis. i thought, with the right feeling, you can not only recreate, but improve on what GSC did. I really think that with the knowledge and effort i can put in a project with those assets i can make "my dream" come true it may sound a bit overhyped now, but i am really looking forward to you releasing this bac! i always looked up to you and the rest of the veterans, like barin and dez. So, my answer is a straight YES!

*cooling off here for a sec

Well, reading trough the rest of your post, i really admire your style, like i stated before, you have the most unique style i've seen up to date. at least, it really gets my attention, mostly the sci-fi designs are really eye-catching for me. i just want to explore and analyse what you did to create these breathtaking environments. Even as a hobby, i think you can get far more out of this "little" project then just a mod. If you were ever thinking of using all your work, i would advise you to go indie yes, if you have the time ofc. (though a part time job/full time can get in the way of production, but when you are really putting all your time and effort in this i know you will succeed.

And i really think that with the effort and quality you produced these assest with, you can get fairly know around these forums, maybe it will even expand. who knows? In a year or 2 we will have the first game series of you? on Ce3/Ce4(?) hehe, i wont see Ce4 this fast, i think. Can only hope for it

If you ever need something, just feel free to ask away ^^ im always available and, cromm said you did much for the community, and for the site gsc, so why not do a thing in return?

Nice work

I would really like a directed approach to developing tihs even if it was "just" an art level for exploration. But my first thought would be to incorporate puizzles in it.

I very much endorce your thorough and sound way of dealing with the career choices.



My initial thoughts were the same(adapting from SketchUp to Softimage), but as time passed and as i learned more and more and had more complex ideas to bring to life all of the things start to make SO much sense. You need the amount of flexibility (you might not need all of the fancy stuff(think of the stuff used in feature films, think of Houdini and its procedural node based work flow, and all of the custom plugns and stuff that is built on top of it all) to prepare game assets, but who knows what future brings) that these seemingly daunting interfaces provide, if you are dealing with new problems to solve or looking to make your pipeline as efficient as possible things start to fall into place. Especially looking beyond modeling, as these packages are designed toward full animation production with everything that is needed for the process. Though by no means am I saying that there aren't better interface/interaction designs out there, to be built.


On a slightly different subject: my package of choice(initially chance as XSI mod tool was free) is Softimage, initially the interface seemed very complex, but I soon realised how well organised and easily accessible things really are, every systems uses the same structural logic and in most cases input as well. And it now seems so very hard to go back(of course there are cases where i would prefer SU over Sofitmage, for example modern architecture). If you have time you might want to check it out. Modo is also supposed to have a very good and easy to get into modeling tools. I am not trying ot persuade you or something, just something to think about.

A few questions.

What is X-Ray?
Where are you getting your references for the buildings?
Did you make some of the buildings in Stalker?
Can you release them?