Modeling Medieval Town in 3D

I began creating low poly sets for a Spanish cartoon series called Yoko. My  next project was something more realistic, that’s why my style is in the middle, neither too low poly nor too realistic. I think that’s what makes it peculiar and fun.

Production

90% of the scene is modeled in 3Ds max including the fabrics and plants. I usually model the stones in ZBrush and render in Vray or Keyshot, both are great. 

The Keys

In my opinion, these are the 4 most important keys to creating these models: 1) make sure there aren’t too many straight lines. For example: Give a very small degree of inclination to a vertical wall. That will help to make a more beautiful and less mathematical final result. 2) Take care of the thickness of each element. Make everything a little thicker than it really is. That will give it a cartoonish appearance. 3) It’s important to leave space between objets. That way the contrast between light and environmental occlusion can be better appreciated 4) Lighting and rendering: good lighting and a good render is almost as important or even more than modeling. Also, it is recommendable to use a soft and warm light.

These sets are not intended to work in video games, for example, a house can have between 1 and 5 million polygons. However you could always make a dynamesh in ZBrush and optimize it.

Advice

The first thing is to find or make a good and nice design that motivates you. Don’t leave empty spaces and to fill everything with brick tiles, etc. When we are lighting and rendering we should leave open spaces on the edges of the object so the scene is not too baroque.

Hota Aisa, 3D Artist

Interview conducted by Kirill Tokarev. 

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