Embedded Files
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Asset Creation/editing
Log/Log Cabin:
I created the log starting out with a cylinder and scaling it on the y/x axis. I used checker deselect to get an alternating selection of the edge loops and scaled them inwards to provide more depth. For the textures I used the shader editor to apply a bark texture I found of google and an image of the logs inside for the inside faces. I initially used displacement and bump to create even more depth but then it was struggling to run it so I switch back to just bump. Later on I used array modifiers to duplicate the model and changed the transforms to rotate and position the logs in the shape depicted by David's floor plan. After the general shape of the walls to the log cabin were made, I used a Boolean modifier to cut out where the two windows would be located. And slightly later into production I added a roof using the same models. And lastly I added snow using the blender addon "Real snow", I also used decimate modifiers as the number of vertices was to high to run.
Window:
The model and texturing were fairly simple, I added a cube, scaled it to the right proportions (thin but tall and long). After the window's glass model was made I used a Boolean modifier to add the cross frame using cubes again. I textured the glass by increasing the base transmission and decreasing the roughness. And I textured the cross frame by adding a metal rusty image texture I had found on google. After texturing I also Unwrapped and arranged the UV map so the metal texture looked right.
Window Sill:
The Window sill was modelled initially using a cube, then after adding loop cuts I extruded a face out to give it an over hang, after which I then bevelled the edges to make smoother. Two of the textures used were the textures used in the log plus a PBR wooden planks material I downloaded using the Blender Kit addon and also a custom made material for the side of the planks. The custom material used a brick texture (to have the gap in-between the planks) and a noise texture into a bump node. After the model was made I also added snow again using the blender addon. This model I did not shade smooth.
Skirting board plus door:
The cabin frame was created using a cube, extruding faces out, adding loop cuts to change the direction of the extrusion and then bevelling the top inside edge to create the curve seen in skirting boards. The log door was created by halving the log in half and using an array modifier to duplicate the mesh on the z axis. This model I did not shade smooth.
Door Step:
Simple model, I took a cube added a loop cut extruded one face out for the lower step and added some support loops for texturing using Inset faces. The textures were used in previous models. This model I did not shade smooth.
Floor and Ceiling along with Attic hatch:
The floor and ceiling were made by scaling cubes and using an array modifier to duplicated them and shaping them into the outline of the cabin. The texture used was a PBR wood material downloaded using the Blender Kit addon. The attic hatch was also created using these planks as well as a rim created using cubes. The handle which was created by creating a hexagon shape from extruding a face from a cube and scaling them inwards to make the hexagon shape, and then I created a hole by insetting the faces and deleting them, then I bridged the edge loops together. The metal material for the hatch was just a noise texture connected to a colour ramp and increased metallic level. Later for the animation I mead some broken versions of the floor. This model I shaded smooth.
Upstairs(Ladder) Window:
I used the same plank model and texture used in the floor then I created a Cylinder inset faces, deleted the faces and bridged the edge loops to create a hole for the window. The glass part I just created an edge loop in the middle of the hole and filled it in giving it the glass texture from before, I also duplicated and separated the cross frame from the other window model. This model I shaded smooth.
Ladder:
I created a cylinder (reducing the number of vertices to sixteen) then I duplicated the cylinder in edit mode and moved it on the x or y axis, I then scaled along the z axis and added twelve loop cuts to both cylinders, I then moved the loop cuts to have an even distribution up the cylinders. After this i deleted the two faces between each set of two loop cuts and bridged the edgeloops to create the steps for the ladded. The texture used is the same as the floor and I also shaded this model smooth.
Wall Clutter:
I created the walls mostly from the planks used in the floor and ceiling models as well as some pipe models and scrap metal models. The scrap metal models are cubes with loop cuts which were moved to create a crinkle cut shape. Other scrap metal includes the car door, car bonnet and car boot which were all modelled using reference images and cubes etc. The materials used for the bonnet was a grunge texture and colour ramp, the other parts were just red and increased metallic level.
I created this to give it the feeling like it had been rushed together as it would in a real apocalypse situation.
Canned Food, Can Opener, Water Bottles and Hershey chocolate bar:
Canned Food and Can Opener:
For the canned food I used a mixture of previously mentioned 3D modelling tools, i.e. inset faces, extrusions, loop cuts, changing the transform etc. I then found images of Heinz beans wrapper texture and Campbells tomato soup wrapper texture and applied them to the main faces of the cylinder, the other texture being just increased metallic level. The can opener was modelled from reference using similar techniques and also some Boolean modifiers to create the holes in the handle and metal part. I then added support loops for both meshes and shaded smooth.
The water bottles I modelled by Creating a cylinder filling the bottom face with grid fill and displacing the vertices to give the bottom of the bottle its usual look. I then modelled the rest of the bottle using previously mentioned tools and added a bottle cap I modelled to the top and hanging slightly down. I then moved duplicated the bottles inside and scaled it inwards to act as the water. After I created some basic materials, the wate is blue and slightly emissive, the plastic is decrease transmission and the roughness was kept the same, the bottle cap is a Gray/blue colour. For the crate of bottles I used an array modifier to duplicate the capped model and I created the wrapper by using a loop of planes surrounding the bottles with increased geometry and I used a shrink wrap modifier to have it stick to the outline of the bottles. I then shaded the mesh smooth.
Hershey's Chocolate bar:
The chocolate is a simple cube shaped into a cuboid with the two parallel faces extruded and scaled out to make the wrapper edges, I then gave it a Hershey's image texture and some Filler Materials (materials used to fill anything that is not filled by the image. The eaten chocolate bar was modelled by deleting the faces of the wrapper on one side and extruding the edge loops back in on itself, then the chocolate was created by adding loop cuts to a new cuboid and insetting the top faces multiple times to create the square shapes and then extruding the faces and bevelling the edges to make it smoother. I used a text converted into a mesh and a Boolean modifier to cut out the text Hershey, just like in the real chocolate bar. I then added support loops and shade smooth.
Tub Of Canned Food:
I created the tub using a cube, insetting faces, extruding faces and adding support loops for shading smooth. I added the canned food to the tub by using an array modifier on each can and then joining the meshes together. The texture used for the tub is a grunge texture plugged into a colour ramp.
Shotgun:
I modelled the shot gun from reference, using a mirror modifier to make sure the sides are the same, I used a variety of all previously mentioned techniques/tools. I then added the polished wood and metal textures by using the addon Blender Kit. The black texture is just a noise texture linked to a colour ramp.
Later on I duplicated and separated the barrel end of the Shotgun and rotated it to make it seem like it was open, I also cut out two holes using a Boolean modifier and the Shotgun shell model made by my teammate, after which I added the supporting loops by insetting faces so the textures didn't mess up. This is then used in the animation.
Clock:
I modelled this from a cylinder, inset the face extruded inwards and shaded smooth. The rim is just a black material and the clock face is just a clock image texture I found on google. I then also added some clock hands which are just planes with red and black materials. I changed the origin points of these clock hands to the centre of the clock for easier animation.
US Flag:
This was a last minute addition, I figured that since the day before is based in the US and US citizens tend to hang their flag a lot I would add it to the scene.
For the animation I gave the flag more geometry and enabled cloth physics to let it deform as if it had fallen from the wall.
Edited Models:
Log edit:
The logs initially had three loop cuts in order to have displacement which were now unnecessary as the displacement was scrapped, so to save on performance I deleted the loop cuts.
Candle models remade:
Initially this was my teamates job however at the time he seemed new to modelling as he simply added basic geometric shapes together to create his version of the candle. As we're going for a semi realistic look I decided to scrap the model and build a new one, I remodelled the candle using the same methods used in previous models, extruding faces, insetting faces, and changed the geometry to better shape the candle. I also added some new features for example a triple candle set which is much wider then the singular candles along with some new materials, one being a wax like material.
Fire place:
Again this was an earlier model made by my teammate when he didn't understand too much modelling. The fire place was made of cubes and cylinders for the log, but they weren't joined together. So again I scrapped the model and build a new one using the same methods. I also added a video of fire as an image as planes to allow animated video of fire. For this model I actually reference what I remember from my grandparents house.
Barricade:
This model was also modelled by using basic geometric shapes and placing them in the order. So I selected the cubes and used a boolean modifier to join them all to the same mesh. Scaled it out to fit the space created in the log cabin walls and added the same wood texture used for the floor.
Boots:
I extruded the heel up and scaled it out to better represent the reference image, fixed some geometry problems with faces not connected to the mesh, duplicated the laces, and then shaded smooth. I also removed the displacement part of the laces material as it was hurting performance.
Coat Hanger:
The coat hanger simply had two unnecessary edge loops that I deleted and a few faces covered by the cloth.
Table:
The same process was used, the meshes were not joined together and there were some unnecessary loop cuts added. So I joined the meshes together by merging vertices and deleted most of the edge loops apart from two (used to create broken plank section). I also added some new details mainly deleting half a leg and replacing it with a new card board box model I created, I though this added more depth the model as it was now run down and being held up by a cardboard box. The materials I kept the same just adding a hue/saturation/value node and changing the value to a lower amount as we'd used the same type of wood throughout the scene a lot.
Human hand and zombie blood:
These models were created specifically for the animation, I copy pasted one of the zombie hands. Then extruded the bottom edge loops where the wrist would be and extruded again scaling as it went along. The blood is just a sphere deformed into the shape of a droplet and small puddle. The texture for the skin is actually a noise texture with a red-pink colour and a tan colour. The blood texture is another noise texture this time with dark red and light red along with a little bit of emission.
My Models again:
Bullet Buckets:
I modelled some simple buckets by using previously mentioned methods. Then I separated the top faces inside the bucket and added a hair particle system, selecting the rendered object as the shot gun shell and rifle bullets my teammate made and the increasing the scale, changing the rotation and amount to fit the bucket. Texture used is the same as the bucket of canned food with green instead of blue.
Wood Buckets plus prong:
The wood buckets are just the same bucket model as the bullet buckets with a brown texture instead. The logs were from inside the fire place and the planks were separated and scaled down from the floor.
The prong I modelled from reference and It just made sense to add it when we have buckets of wood and my teammate made matches etc.
Papers:
The ground seemed rather clean or an apocalypse and they had no form of bed, so I thought if its an apocalypse they probably sleep on the floor and so the papers are the "mattress" and later on I modelled a Backpack for the "Pillow". The papers images were from google, and I combined it in a mix colour node with a noise texture to give it a damp look. The papers were also separated late for animation purposes.
Table extras:
I thought that the table looked a bit barren, it had candles and some canned food and some water bottles and chocolate but they were on the table, the people living in the cabin needed a seat. So I duplicated the card board box support, and had it positioned as one of the make shift seats and I took papers and Canned food tub(deleting the cans as they aren't visible) and made the second makeshift seat. I also realised there weren't any items of entertainment, so I modelled some books and textured the book covers with some "eastereggs", one is NexGen's logo another is the walking dead book cover and the final one was the cover for the game we chose "the day before".
Backpack:
This is the model of the backpack, mentioned earlier, this is in story terms used as a pillow to sleep on. I used the various methods used so far to model the different parts of the back pack. The back pack itself has three textured, the button/clip texture which is a grunge scratch image texture with increase metallic levels. The main leather texture which I got from google and the outline material which is just a green-brown material used for the outlines of different sections of the backpack. I used a reference image for this model. I also duplicated the water bottle and scaled it to fit in the pocket.
Candle and Fire smoke:
I used the same method as creating the fire video, downloading smoke videos with black backgrounds from a site called Vecteezy. Then I imported the videos as image as planes, then plug the image in shading editor into a mix shader and add a transparent shader to the mix shader along with a colour ramp to change how extreme the effect is. The last step was to change the number of frames so it actually lasted the animation.
Outside Environment:
Log Decorations:
I duplicated some of the logs and arranged them in a pile, selecting the top visible faces and added snow to them using the Real snow addon.
The stump is a cylinder with the top face inset, then I moved a random number of the outer vertices on the z axis to give a jagged/spiked look, then I gave it the same textures as the other logs and also scaled the bottom out to better represent a tree. The axe I modelled using simple blender methods, starting from a cylinder, adding edge loops and moving them up or down to add depth. Then the blade was also extruded from the cylinder and scaled inwards to give it the sharp edge. The textures I used for the axe were the bark texture of the log and a metallic material.
Trees:
I used the sapling tree gen to generate small pine trees and played around with the leaf rotation, branch rings etc. to get what I have. The branches/trunk are the same bark texture as the log, however the leaves are a noise texture with green and white to represent some form of snow, as real snow addon adds to much geometry to cover the entire tree in it.
I then used a particle hair system to generate multiple trees without costing as heavy of a performance as real objects. After the particle system I also noticed that some sky is visible beyond the trees so instead I added image as planes with a picture of snowy pine trees to cover up the sky.
Barbed Wire Fence:
I wanted to add something that would make sense for a zombie apocalypse base. And most movies and games etc. show barbed wire fencing, so I looked up different ways to make barbed wire fences. However, most methods I came across either had too much geometry or were locked behind a paywall. So I took the barbed spike bits from the geometrically expensive tutorial and added base cylinders as the wire instead. The spikes themselves were actually created using a curve from an addon called extra curves, this added many different new curves one being spiral curves which was used to create the spikey parts. I also created some basic posts using a basic cube and basic methods (extruding etc.) I then used an array modifier to add multiple spikey parts to the wire. I then duplicated the wire and moved them into how a barbed wire fence looks like. I also knocked over some posts for the animation of zombies invading to make sense.
Fog/Sky/Snow Particles:
I originally just added a principled volume for fog but remembered an easy way to animate fog is by making the colour a noise texture. The snow particle system is just an emitter particle system with the rendered object set to a basic plane, I then also scaled it and added rotation randomness and bake the animation so it worked properly when rendering. The sky texture is a HDRI I got from poly haven added as an environment texture to the world material shader.
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