For this Project we have to make an high poly scene using 3DS Max and Mudbox, the reason we have to use 2 programs is that we want to make the scene low poly but with a high poly look. To do this we have to make all the geometry in 3DS Max so we can then import it into Mudbox, Once we put the mesh into Mudbox we can then add more polys using control D so it will give it a more smoother and refined look.

In Mudbox we are also going to texture and add extra detail to the mesh, once we finished texturing and adding extra detail we have to then export the textures and normal maps to make sure that they will work in 3DS Max when we import them into it.

For this project I had to research and gather a range of images on back alleys and I had to make a moodboard with them in Photoshop, so I could get a idea of how I want my scene to look like. This is what the moodboard which I made looked like when I finished it.

Once I gathered the images together I then picked the one image that I wanted to model, this is the image that I picked to model.

I then started to take texture references of which textures I might need to use, to do this I had to research and gather a range of texture for each of the main parts of the this image. This what texture I managed to gather which are similar to the image.

Next I made a plan by sketching out the outline of the main building and some of the scene on to an A4 piece of paper.

Once I sketched it out on to a piece of paper I then started to make the outline of the mesh in 3DS Max, the basic outline of the mesh which I made was just the floor with two walls. To create the basic mesh I had to create a plane and extruded it 2 time on the edge of it, once I did that I then started to make the mesh the right size to how I wanted it. I also added a wall in front of one of the extruded walls, for this I had to add an edit poly to the mesh so I could change and edit the mesh, I had to also make sure that all the face where the same so they would texture properly in Mudbox.

I extruded one of the faces so I could then add a door shape into the front of the mesh, I then added gave every face a smoothing group so it will work in Mudbox and won’t mess the mess up in anyway. Next I added a turbosmooth to with one iteration with the smoothing groups selected.

The final thing I had to do was to unwrap the mesh using the UV Unwrap modifier, finally I then imported it into Mudbox.

Originally I added a couple more objects to the mesh but Mudbox would work them probably so I had to make them a separate object.

In Mudbox I imported the mesh and it looked find until I added more subdivisions, the problem was that it started to bend in the corner of one of the faces of the mesh so I then had to make one of the face as a separate object.

Once I did that the mesh worked fine in Mudbox, This is what the mesh looked like before the face was gone and after the face was gone.

In Mudbox I started to increase the amount of subdivision levels to level 5, I did this so I could have a higher quality mesh. To start the mesh off in Mudbox I began to add an sculpted layer with the subdivisions to level 3  so I could then add some basic additional geometry to my mesh. This is what my mesh originally looked like at level 0 before adding any subdivisions and this is what the mesh looked like at level 5 with geometry.

To add the basic geometry I used an alpha that was built into Mudbox to use the alpha I had to go to the stencil section, This will then allow me to sculpt over the stencil so it will show up on the mesh, this is what I did to the mesh when adding the stencil on to it.

I then decided to add some more geometry to another level of subdivision, this time I added it to level 5 the highest level because I want it to stand out more when I put it back into 3DS Max.

I then added a paint layer for the specular so the mesh wouldn’t be shiny, to do this I had to use the paint tool with the colour black so it would make the specular disappear. Once I did that I then added a paint layer so I could add a background colour to the mesh. First I added a white colour for the wall, then I added a grey colour for the floor and wall.

Next I added a dark blue colour to where the doors and this is what it looked like when I did this.

Then I added some graffiti to the doors to do this I had to import my own images that I found myself and put them into the stencil section on Mudbox, the images had to also be PNG’s. To use the stencil I had to use the projection tool to be able to paint over it in the right place. With the projection tool you can also press S to be able to resize it and to rotate it. This is what the door looked like when I added some graffiti to the doors.

I then started to add some colour to the wall in the middle of the scene, first I added a layer of grey paint to give it a more realist effect, then I added some paint using an alpha that we where given to give it a more rubbed off paint effect. Next I added another alpha that allow me to added some paint splashes to the wall and I used the colour black and white for the paint splashes. Finally I added some worn off paint and the paint colour I used was red and blue. I used this so I could bend both of the colours in to each other. The final thing I added was some graffiti to just give it a more back ally effect. This what the wall looked like when I did these steps.

The final thing that I decided to added to the mesh was a brick effect at the top left hand corner of the building so it would look like that the paint has come off the building. To add the brick effect I used a built in stencil and use the tile tool to duplicate the amount of tiles that I would show on the screen, once I did that I then went over the tiles using the project tool so it would show up in it original colour. I then added some more paint to the bricks so it would blend into the rest of the wall, the colour that I used was the same colour as the bricks and a grey colour. To get the same colour as the brick I had to use the colour picker tool. This is what it looked before I added the blend in colour and after I added the blend in colour.

Once That was done I then exported it from Mudbox into 3DS Max, to do this I had to export it using the export normal map tool at the top, also I had to export the paint layer as export as paint channel merge. I did this so it would merge all the colours together when I import it back into 3DS Max.

When I imported it back into 3DS Max there was a problem with the normal map when I was using the physical material, the problem I had was that the normal map wasn’t showing up on the mesh or the render out mesh. To fix the problem I had to use an Arnold render default material so I could get the normal working properly. This is what the mesh looked like with the normal attached in 3DS Max.

This is what it looked like with the texture also attached to the mesh, this is a render of what the mesh looked like so far.

Wall –

What I did next was to put the detached part of the wall into Mudbox on it’s own, once I put it in Mudbox I then added more subdivisions to level 5 the same as I did for the base mesh. Next I added a specular to the paint layer so the mesh wouldn’t be shiny. The final thing I added was a base colour of white so it will look the same as the base mesh. Finally I that I did was to export the paint layer by right clicking on one of the paint layers and then clicking on export channel merge.

Once I did import it back into 3DS Max I then attached the base colour which I exported from Mudbox to the mesh, but adding a physical material. This is what the mesh looked like when I attached the base colour to it.

This is what the mesh looked like when I rendered it.

Roof –

Next I decided to add a roof to the mesh, to do this I had to get a plane and extruded it up once and then inset it. Once I did that all I had to do then was to use the bevel tool to make it have a sharp but roof like curve on the top of the plane. Then I unwrapped the roof and put it in to Substance, I did this so that I could properly texture the mesh instead of it not working probably in Mudbox. The main reason I chose to texture it in Mudbox was because I wanted the roof to have a metal but warn texture effect to it.

To texture in Substance I had to bake all the texture maps so I could efficiently texture on to the mesh, next I added a smart material of metal so I could change it default settings to get it the look how I wanted it. The setting that I changed on the metal was the colour of the metal to red and the roughness of the metal to 100%.

Once I textured it in Substance I then exported the textures into to 3DS Max, this is what the mesh look like with the roof, and this is what the mesh looks like when I rendered it.

So of the textures in 3DS Max wouldn’t work when rendered.

Sign –

Next I started to make a sign for the side of the building, to do this I had to get a plane and extrude one of the side of it so I could make it look like it was attached to the building. Then I use the inset tool to inset one of the faces so I could then extrude it. Once I extruded it I then extruded it again and so I could then extrude the 4 faces to make it into the shape of a sign.

Finally I unwrapped the mesh and imported it into Substance, in Substance I had to bake all the texture maps again to the mesh. Once I did that I then added a basic metal texture to the base and a basic white colour to the main part of the sign using the face selection tool, I then exported the textures from Substance.

I then imported the base colour material into Photoshop the reason I did this was so I could add the Japanese symbols to the sign, to get the exact symbols from the original sign from the original image that I based my back alley scene off. To do this I had to import the original image into a separate Photoshop document so I could then use the crop tool to crop around the sign, once I did that I then used the magic wand tool to select only one of the Japanese symbols. Once I had one of the symbols selected all I had to then was to press control J so it would then make the symbol into a new layer, next I changed the colour of the symbol to red so it would stand out more. Then I had to export the symbol as a PNG so it would make the background of the image transparent. There was also a second symbol so I had to do this again.

Finally all I had to do was to import the two exported symbols to the base colour materiel so I could that put it the symbols in the right place so I would show up correctly on the sign, to make it show up on both sides of the sign I had to copy both of the symbols and paste them one to the other side. This is what the base colour material looked like with the symbols.

The final thing I had to do was to just save the base colour mesh and just import it into 3DS Max with all the other textures so it will so up on the mesh, this is what the sign looked like when it was finished.

Telegraph Pole –

Next I started to make the telegraph pole all I had to do was to create a cylinder and put the amount of edges to 30. Once I did that I then added some detail at the top of I could put some wires coming off the pole, to do this all I had to do was to select the edges and put 6 lines using the connect tool next to each other so I could then use the extruded tool to extruded the face out. Once I did that I then detached the extruded faces that I just made so it would make it more easy to unwrap. Next I started to unwrap the pole and once I unwrapped the pole I then put it into Substance. In Substance I had to bake all the texture maps again and all I did in Substance was to create use two of the smart materials for would, one of the smart materials where of a lighter wood and one of then where of a darker would.

Finally all I had to do then was to change some of the setting of the smart material so they would blend in with each other, the reason I used two smart materials because one of then you could see the seem line going down the middle so I then used another smart material and blended it in using the opacity and I put the opacity to . Finally I exported the mesh from Substance to 3DS Max again and this is what it looked like when I put it back into 3DS Max.

Telegraph Pole Wires –

To make the wires for the telegraph pole I had to use splines so I could get the shape of my choice, once I got the shape of how I want it to be. I then added an edit poly so I could refine the shape correctly. Once I did that I then chose to put a basic colour on the mesh using the physical material and the colour I used was black, the reason I chose to use the physical material colour instead of unwrapping and texturing the mesh was because the wires was only going to be a standard black colour so I didn’t really need to have to unwrap it and put it into Substance so I just chose to use a basic colour.

Lights –

Next I started to make some lights for the scene which would hang off a so wires on the telegraph pole, to make the lights I had to get a standard box and to that box I had to add a turbo smooth to make it rounded. Once I added the turbo smooth I then add some control loops using the swift loops tool to the mesh so I could then control how rounded I wanted it to be, I put two swift loops at the top of the light and two at the bottom so I could then make the top more bigger than the bottom to give it a lantern effect. I also had to put the turbo smooth iterations to 3 so it would change the geometry of the shape to be a more smoother and more rounded shape.

Finally all I had to do then was to unwrap the mesh and to export it into Substance, once I exported it into Substance I then had to bake the textures set so I could then start to edit the mesh. Then I added a basic fill could of red to the mesh for this I had to use the poly section tool so I could only select the amount of polys that I wanted. For the basic red colour I selected every face but missed out every face in between so I could use a different colour. Next I added another colour in the spaces that I missed out and the colour I used was white, the reason I used white was to give it a lantern effect like it was on the original image that I based my scene off.

The final thing I had to do then was to export the textures form Substance and put then into 3DS Max. This is what the mesh looked like once I put it back into 3DS Max.

Air Conditioning Unit –

For this I had to create a box and then I used the connect tool so I could separate one of the faces so I could then use the extrude tool so I could then extrude both of the faces back at the same time. Next I added a grid like pattern to one of the side faces so I would give the effect of it having vents.

I had to do something similar for the front face because at the front it has a grid like pattern as well, but to do this I cut the corners off the existing face and so it would make then triangle like so I could then separate that face and add some lines using the connect tool. The amount of lines I used using the connect tool was 20 down and 20 across, I did this so I could then get rid of some of the faces in the grid pattern. I did this every one face with a gap in between so you can see throw the grid but you can’t see the whole inside of the air conditioning unit.

Next I started to unwrap the main mesh for the air conditioning unit, once I unwrapped the main mesh I then put it into Substance and put a basic fill colour of white on it so I could then add some scratches and rust so it would look used.

This is what the final render of my high poly back alley scene looks like when I have finish creating and changing additional assets, in this render some of the assets which I mentioned before have change a bit because I decided to make them better and sort out anything wrong with them.

If I had a bit more time to edit this high poly back alley scene again I would add a bit more textures using Mudbox and I would try to lower the amount of polys that the mesh has by trying to use different methods of bake a high poly mesh on to a low poly mesh. I would also sort out the neon lights because they look like they are floating in the air, to fix this I would try to make a wire attached to both of the neon lights so it would look like they are being power rather than them randomly being turn on in fin air. Another thing that I would fix is the telecom pole because at the bottom there was supposed to be some graffiti where the grey cylinder is and if I had more time the graffiti was supposed to be done in Mudbox or Photoshop to get it accurate painted on to the cylinder mesh.

This is the final render of the the high poly back alley scene, this is when I changed some of textured and lighting so that they would look better and not placed there randomly like they did: