3D Design Practice - Alleyway

In this lesson, we started to model a fuel can. This is a part of the new project where we will be modeling an alleyway, and therefore we will need lots of different models to fill up the alleyway to complete it.

To start out, I first went on the web and searched for a fuel can image that I would use as my reference. This image is the one that I chose, however, once it's complete, I will probably add more details that I could get from other references, since this one seems very new and clean, whereas I could probably do with a rough, worn design since alleyways aren't usually clean places.

To start, I loaded up the walkthrough file that was supplied to us. To begin, we had to create a cube and give it the dimensions 39cm x 10.5cm x 51cm, since this is apparently the size of one that you could get in real life.

Next, I increased the amount of segments on the cube so it would be easier to model, and so I could split it in half to keep it symmetrical.

To cut it in half like this, I just had to increase the width segment to 2, which gave it a line across half of the shape. I then added the edit poly modifier and chose to use the face select. I selected half of the shape and deleted them, which left me with this.

I then selected the two middle columns of faces on the side of my shape, and partially moved them outwards to shape the form of the can a bit more than just being flat and straight.

I then added the symmetry modifier and checked the Flip check box next to the X-Axis button, which then gives the model symmetry along the x-axis. The little test tube icon below the modifiers box can be used to see what the model looks like overall, without having to select the specific modifier you want to see, which can be quite useful, especially with larger projects where you may have multiple modifiers.

Next, I went on to use the edit poly modifier a bit to get a better shape for the base of the fuel can. I started by altering some of the top by making the back piece elevated and lowering the front a bit. I then also rounded off the bottom of the fuel can a bit so it wouldn't look as flat.

Here, I used the Cut tool within the edit poly modifier to cut out a hole for where the pouring hole would be. I also made some more segments around the hole which I could possibly use to add a bit more detail like the welding which would connect the spout to the base of the can.

As you can see here, I extended the spout a bit more and changed the overall shape of the top of the can a bit more. The spout was quite easy, I just used the side select and selected the sides and moved them up. I moved them inwards a bit and then used the symmetry tool to help make sure the sides would meet.

I then went back to using the edit poly modifier to move around some of the edges and vertices to make the overall shape a bit nicer. I think once it's all complete, I can add a smoothing modifier of some kind to get a better shape overall or keep the low poly look, depending on what I want to do.

I did then go and add these holes for where I would make the handles for the fuel can, however, I later decided against this and filled them back in, and just used the extrude tool from the points to make the handles, since I don't know how I would go about making something that would fit into these holes properly, and doing it with the same model keeps the symmetry all nice and easy to work with.

I think this is now a great base shape for the fuel can. As you can see, I did use the extrude tool to make these shapes all from the cutout segments I made. To start, I just extruded a pipe from the base. I then extruded a face to get the middle part that had the middle handle on top. I used the extrude tool again to make a little handle shape, and then moved the front face to the other side, without worrying about disturbing other faces, since there weren't others around it. I then used the cut tool to make some segments around it and made the handle slightly curved. I basically just did the same thing with the outer handles, and this is most of the design complete.

To add a bit of extra detail, I quickly made a cylinder which I curved the edges of to make this model, resembling a cap for the spout. I think another time I could probably put a bit more effort into this and have made something like what is shown in the reference image, however, this is good enough for now. The only thing I could do to make this cap look better is add some ridges which are used to give you a better grip to turn it, which in this case, would make it look a bit more realistic.

Paint Can Modelling

In this lesson, we were tasked to create a paint bucket in 3DS Max, again with a walkthrough file. To start, I created a cylinder with the dimensions of 30 as the radius, and 75 as the height. I then made the height segments just 1 since I won't be editing any of that, changed the cap segments to 2 so I can edit the top slightly, and decreased the side segments to 12 since it isn't going to be the centre of attention, and therefore doesn't need to be high poly to look decent.

I then cut a hole in the top and bottom by adding an edit poly modifier to the cylinder and using the face tool to select the inner faces and delete them. I then selected the inner edges and used the scale tool to move the lines closer to the edges.

Next, I needed to add some segments to round off the top of the paint can. To do this I used the connect tool which is found within the edit poly modifier. I just had to click the little box next to the main button to open up a menu that allowed me to create segments. I made 2 and pinched them by 90 so they were both near the edges. I then rounded the edges by selecting the middle segment and scaling it down slightly, as well as moving it downwards a bit, to give the rim a rounded look.

I then had to connect one side to another to make a flat top on the paint can. I did this by using the bridge tool within the edit poly modifier. I just had to select all of the inner edges, except for the two across from each other. I then just clicked the bridge tool button and it filled in the area. I also did this for the bottom of the paint can.

I then used the extrude tool to make a dip in the can. I then used the inset tool to make some more segments with a small gap. I then extruded the inner faces upwards which leaves me with this little outline, which in real life is used to get the lid of the paint can off of the top.

This is then basically the end of modelling the main part of the can.

Next, I was going to model a handle for the paint can. I started by making a cylinder again and giving it a slightly larger radius compared to the paint can, but making it quite flat. I then rotated it and aligned it with the can. I made sure to have 2 cap segments again to allow me to cut out an inside.

I then cut out the middle part by selecting the faces and deleting them. I then used the scale tool to move the inner line closer to the edge and then cut off the bottom part of the cylinder since I didn't need the whole shape for the handle.

Annoyingly, this leaves gaps within the handle where I deleted the faces. To fix this, I just selected two sides and used the bridge tool to fill in the area. I then moved the handle down to be somewhat where it would be on a normal can and rotated it downwards to complete the simple paint can.

Next lesson, we should be working on this again, but unwrapping the model and probably dropping it into Substance Painter to texture.

Unwrapping the Paint Can

To start this lesson, I first loaded up the walkthrough file which we would use to unwrap a paint can. We used this so everyone would have a completed paint can, and so it would be the same steps that would be taken to complete it.

Once I opened the file, I first had to group the base of the paint can with the handle and lid that go with it so the UVW includes all of the models. I then added the modifier Unwrap UVW which I can use to create the unwrapped texture. The UV editor window initially looks like this when it loads up.

During this unwrapping process, I'm going to be using the tools shown below a lot. This is because they are what I can use to make the UV map 2D from a 3D cylindrical shape. The two main projection tools that I have used are the planar map (the flat square) and cylindrical map (the cylinder) tools. Once selecting the correct tool, I then click on the Best Align button (the arrows/gizmo) below within the align options to get it properly projected onto the UV editor. I do this with each separate group of faces since each lot of faces is different and needs to be unwrapped separately otherwise it will lead to poorly rendered textures, due to it being stretched for the various faces. To make sure textures aren't going to be stretched, I eventually remembered to enable the checkered pattern overlay for the paint can model, which is very helpful to see if the texture is going to be stretched.

When unwrapping the model, I made sure to use the face select tool, and you have to go around and select every face that either makes up a cylindrical shape or another shape. In this case, I select all of them for the main outer edges of the can. I then selected the cylindrical map tool and clicked Best Align to get it up on the UV editor.

The right image then shows the UV editor window once I have moved the aligned outside of the can to the top left area, and the remaining faces into the bottom left area. I've done this just to make it all a bit more organised, so I can see what I have and haven't completed. This also makes it easier to select specific faces that I have completed if I need to change them or just identify what faces are the specific ones from the UV editor.

After I'd done the outside of the can, I then did the bottom separately. This is mostly because the outside is a cylinder, but the bottom is a flat face, so the 2D unwrapped version is going to look different. So, I selected all of the faces on the bottom part, but this time used the planar map tool since this is just for a flat plane. I then clicked the Best Align tool to put it onto the UV editor.

This is my completed UV map for the paint can. I think in future, I could maybe do it in a few more faces since I may have included some faces with others that may not have needed it, but I think overall it went well. I will have to wait and see how it works in Substance Painter when I come to actually texture the model. Another time, I'd also probably do all of the faces, since this time I left out the inside faces, but I feel like I maybe should've included the inside faces, since with the lid lifted off slightly, you can see inside. However, for the alleyway project, this shouldn't matter that much since it's only going to be a background object.

Modelling a Barrel

In this lesson, we started off by once again loading up a walkthrough file that included the steps required to make a barrel which we would go onto use in our alleyway project.

We had the base design that was modelled for us to base it off of, but I also went and found this image shown below which is what I used as the reference image.

I first created a cylinder model that I sized to have a radius of 50 and a height of 150. I then set the segements for the hight and cap to 1, and changed the side segments to 18, which gave it a decent amount of roundness.

I'd then go on to add the edit poly modifier which would give me access to the tools I would then use to start making the model look like a barrel.

The first thing I was going to do was add the additional segments to the model which would allow me to create the rings that went around the outside of the barrel. I did this by selecting all of the vertical edge lines around the cylinder and using the connect tool to create two lines, equally spaced from each other, as well as the top and bottom. I did this again for the top, middle and bottom segments which added some lines around these points so it wouldn't affect all the sides of the model. As you can see, I'm then left with these line segments which I will now use to create some ridges on the model.

This is the result of adding ridges around the barrel. I think I could've made the surrounding lines a bit further away to make the change a bit larger, however, I think it looks quite good not being too noticeable. I just did this by selecting the middle line and using the scale tool to bring out the sides.

I then also did something similar with the top and bottom. I decided to add two more segments so I had four within the space. I then selected the middle two and again used the scale tool to bring out the model. This made the brought-out bits a bit thicker so they didn't look the same as the middle parts.

I then was going to start modelling the top of the barrel. To start, I deleted the top face and selected all of the surrounding edges, except two opposites, to be able to use the bridge tool.

I then made sure all of the new faces were selected and used the inset tool which I would be able to use to make a dipped top. I made the dip by lowering the inside faces with the move tool, and it gave me this smooth slope around it.

Next, I was going to add the spout for the barrel. To do this, I would first need to make some segments with the cut tool which would be used as support segments for the circular hole I would make. I did this by first adding a straight cut, connecting the vertices of the two bottom bridge segments. I then added another horizontal line a bit above it and made two vertical lines connecting the vertices of those to the edges. I then had a rectangle, but I would need to inset the faces to get more support segments. I deleted the line that cut the middle rectangular face in half and made sure I had 8 supporting segments - 4 on the corners, 4 on the sides.

Here, I had to make the rectangle a square since I wanted a circle shape for the spout, not an oval. Annoyingly, my gizmo was rotated so we had to rotate it by about 10 degrees so it would line up properly. I then used the scale tool to size it down a bit and then used the move tool to bring in each of the sides. I don't know if there was a way to get it to be a perfect square, so I just roughly eyeballed it.

To make the circular hole for the spout, I first had to delete the square face that I made. I then selected the outer edges of the square with the edge select tool. For some reason, the loop tools button was not already on my screen, so I had to go and enable the toolbar which is called Ribbon (image example attached).

I just had to enable this, and then I could click the loop button. This would bring up a menu in which I would click the Loop Tools button, which brings up this small window. With the sides selected. I then just clicked the Circle button which turned the square hole, into a circular hole. As you can see, the top supporting segment lines especially are a bit wonky, which is probably due to the square not quite being the correct size, but it doesn't really matter.

I then selected the edges and used the scale tool while holding shift to create more segments within this circle. I then selected the inside faces and brought them up with the extrude tool so it didn't affect any of the other faces.

Next, I wanted this little slope at the bottom, so I selected the sides around the base of the spout and moved them upwards with the move tool. The main spout is now complete. I have started on a few other details like the air hole on the other side.

Modelling a Dumpster

Here, we began to make a dumpster which is going to be one of the most important assets for the alleyway scene since it's such a large and recognisable model. For this, we once again had a walkthrough file which gave us the step-by-step instructions, however it wasn't that descriptive at points, which made it quite difficult to do.

I also started out by getting some reference images which I would use to base the model off of.

To start, I quickly made a cube which I gave the dimensions of 1.5m x 2.5m x 1.5m. I don't need any segments at the moment, so I left it plain.

Next, I needed to make a sloped top. I did this by adding the edit poly modifier and using the connect tool which is within the edge selection. I just selected the two vertical lines of the front face, used the connect tool a bit and it made the segments. I did the same to the back, but a bit higher up, and connected them with more edges. I am then left with this. What I did then was I removed all of the faces above my new segment lines and used the bridge tool to make a face in this area. It's not that noticeable in the second image, but the top is now slanted.

I then needed to bring out the sides to emphasise the top of the dumpster. I did this by selecting the four outside faces and using the extrude tool. As you can see from the image, it makes a nice ledge for the top part where the lid would be.

Next, it was time to cut the dumpster in half so I only had to work on one side, and then I would use the symmetry modifier to mirror it on the other side. To do this, I selected all the horizontal edges with the edge select tool. Once I had done this, I just used the connect tool to create a segment line that goes all the way around the model. I then selected all of the faces on one side and deleted them, leaving me with one-half.

As you can see from this image, I have one-half of the dumpster. I did remove the top centre face, and connected sides inside the dumpster to give it the inside walls it needed. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a better picture so you can only really see the back wall starting to go down. I did this by moving the top face downwards so the top of the dumpster would be open, but it gave me a good base for the bottom. I then just used the bridge tool to make the sides, adjusted it slightly, and it's done.

I was then going to start making some of the little details like the indents on the front. Originally, I did a similar thing to the start by using the connect tool and making two segment lines on the back and front faces, and connecting them. However, this made a slight angled line which is something I didn't want, so I chose to go with this instead, which was just making the segments on the front, which is all I needed anyway.

In the end, this is the result for the indents. All I did was add additional segments above and below the segments and used the move tool to make the indent.

I then was going to start doing the handle for the side of the dumpster. I wanted to do a very similar design to the handle that was shown in the walkthrough file since that was very similar to the dumpster in my reference images. To start, I created a new tube primitive and shaped it so it would be the same length as the dumpster. Later on, I realised that I probably should've done it smaller since it's quite large compared to the dumpster, but it doesn't matter too much.

I then needed to make the triangular shapes which would basically be what connects the handles to the base of the dumpster. I did this be creating two more segment lines on each side and using the chamfer tool on all of them. This then gives me some good lines I can use to build up the triangle shape.

I then used the extrude tool on the faces to make a base for it and then used the move tool on one of the edges and raised it up which gave me this triangular shape.

I replicated this on the bottom of the tube as well.

I then just moved the model onto the dumpster and also used some tools to create this little flap that reaches around to the front of the dumpster. I gave it some slanted edges and then it's complete.

I was then ready to get it mirrored on the opposite side, so I applied the symmetry modifier. It didn't quite work properly, however, but all I had to do was open up the drop-down menu and select the mirror part. I then used the move tool to bring it out to the side and lined it up roughly along the edge. The symmetry was then complete, and I could continue adding details.

Next, I was going to add the bar below the lid. I did this by using the cut tool to make a square and then used the inset tool to make supporting segments, and added a couple others with the cut tool again. I then used the polygon tool to create this circle.

I then just extruded the circle downwards, and made a few different parts so I could rotate them by 30° each, and it gave me a smooth, 90° turn. I then just moved the face down to the end so it would line up for the symmetry.

Next, I needed to create the wheels. This is going to be the basic reference image of just the wheel that I will be partly basing the model of it off of.

I started out my creating a basic cylinder primitive, including plenty of segments and curving the sides.

Here, I made a hole for it, making it look a bit like a doughnut, and also curved in the edges here. Next, I would be looking to model some kind of cylinder for the inside that would be holding the wheel together and make the connecting bit from that.

Modelling a Door

In this lesson, we were going to model a door for our alleyway project. Ideally, we needed to have unwrapped the model and try to get it into Substance Painter for texturing, however, I took quite a while on the modelling process since I wanted my own style, which ended up taking quite a bit of time that I could've used to do the UV unwrap.

Below are the reference images I got for this model. Although I didn't use much from the left image, I did like the outline which is only present on the bottom, so I thought I could add that, but all around the outside as a border.

To start, I created a basic box primitive and used the lengths of 150 x 5 x 300. This gave me a good shape for a door since I could somewhat split it in two, the bottom half would look like one thing, and the top a little different.

Next, I added some segments to the model. I didn't add any to the width of the door since there wasn't much of a model there anyway, so it would be very fine details that I wouldn't need. I made segments along the front of the model so I could easily make panel shapes, and I didn't make them exactly square faces since I wanted them to be a bit more rectangularly shaped.

Here, I used the connect tool to make some lines for a border around the edges of the door. It was relatively simple, however, I did have to make sure I included segment lines at each corner so there wouldn't be any segment lines required around the straight edges.

It was then time to start making the patterns on the front of the door. I began by selecting four faces on the bottom half of the door and using the scale tool to make them slightly smaller and bring them in closer to the model to make them more offset from the top part of the door that I'd be working on next. I made a very simple design by just insetting the faces and moving them inwards by an equal amount. Didn't take a lot of work, but it looks good.

Next was doing the window design. Ideally, I wanted to split it into four sections, a similar design for the window of my second reference image, but larger sections. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do this since I couldn't find a good way to get exact straight segment lines that crossed through the centre of the face. In the end, I just did a very similar design to the bottom panels by insetting the middle face and moving it. I then used the inset tool again, but this time extruded the face inwards to get a more defined edge for the window.

It was then time to add the outer edge to the door. I believe all I did was select all of the faces, inset them and move them out slightly to get that nice outline.

As you can see, there are quite a few segment lines that I could very easily do without, so I might have to consider getting rid of the ones I need to keep the poly count low, but it's not that much of a worry.

I then needed to start working on the handle for the door. I unfortunately didn't fully understand that we were meant to use the spline primitives to create it, however, I already knew that I wanted to create something with a little more depth than the one in the tutorial, so it was better for me. I used these reference images as an idea of what to do.

I started out with a cylinder that I would use the edit poly modifier to make the rest of the handle.

First off, I used the scale tool to edit the shape of the cylinder to be more rounded where it would be on the door. I then selected the middle faces of the cylinder and used the extrude tool. Something I probably should've mentioned before is that I quite commonly use the move tool and hold shift since this is a shortcut for the extrude tool which makes doing things like this a lot faster.

I then used extrude a few more times to make some more segments that I could use to make the ball-like bit that is on the handle.

I then just selected two of the faces on this part I modelled and used the move tool to start making the handle. As you can see, it brings the other faces away as well, which gives the handle a really smooth look, especially out of the vertices mode. I then just extruded the faces some more in one direction and then used the connect tool to create additional segment lines around this. I then just moved the edges up and down a bit to get a nice curved handle.

I then thought I'd get the handle onto the door model and see how it looks before adding extra detail. I thought it looked nice in this position, and on the left side since this was the way I modelled the handle.

I then wanted to include the keyhole. I thought it would probably look better in the handle, especially after looking at some of the reference images I got. It would also take quite some time to make an area that would be good enough for the keyhole on the door, so it just made more sense to do it on the handle.

I did this by first selecting the inner faces of the cylinder and moving them towards the edge. I then used the inset tool and moved the inner face inwards. I then made another inset and this time extruded back outwards. With this inner face, I then insetted the face again, but this time moved the segments of the circle and sized it down. This is what you see the top part of the keyhole to be. I then selected some of the edges of this circle and used the chamfer tool. This then gave me some good lines that I extruded and brought to the other side of the cylinder face. I then used the extrude tool and moved the front faces of the keyhole far inside so there was a clear keyhole.

And finally, this is the final design of the door model. I think it'll definitely look better when it's textured, especially since in the alleyway scene, it's going to need to look very dirty since a nice-looking door isn't exactly something you'd expect to see in an alleyway.

Could I have thought a little more about the design and not have made it look quite like this and more like a basic, outside door? Yes. However, I wanted to see if I could put a decent amount of detail into it, and then I could just make it look more fitting in the scene with textures.

Overall I'm quite happy with this model. I now need to focus on getting it unwrapped and getting it into Substance Painter to texture. It's very nearly complete, and I'm very happy with how it turned out.

I could also just delete the back face and use the symmetry modifier if I want to make the back face have something on it, however, I don't think I'll make it visible so I'll probably leave it out to keep the amount of polys reduced.

Finishing off some Models

In this lesson, we were told that we had done all the walk-through files for the alley way project. It was now up to us to get all the models into an alley way scene and add some other models that we make ourselves to pack it out a bit more. I went and finished the models that I still had to make some finishing touches on. I needed to at least get the models complete, and then I could quickly take them into Substance Painter to texture.

For the door, all I had to finish in 3DS Max was the unwrap. However, although the handle looked great, it had a lot of strange shapes that would've taken ages to unwrap properly. So, I just remodelled it to make it a bit simpler. Since you aren't going to see a lot of the details, they don't need to be too crazy looking.

Once I had remodelled the handle and unwrapped it, I took the models into Substance Painter and textured them. Because I did the UV maps separately, I had to bring them into Substance as separate files. Even with the paint can, we had the separate models and maps in Substance, but I forgot how to export it for this to work.

(Writing this, I remember that I had to make materials and assign them to the models, but I had forgotten this crucial step)

Nevertheless, I still like how these textures came out, and I think they'll fit right in with the alley way

I was worried I had put too much detail into the door, and it wouldn't fit in as well, but with the texture it looks nice and dirty, which is what I need it to look like. I didn't add a window in the end since it would've taken more time, and I would've had nothing on the inside I would've tried to hide it anyway. So it didn't make sense to go through the trouble of texturing it differently.

Next up was finishing the dumpster. I need to quickly make some wheels and decided to scrap my last model since the unwrapping would've taken ages. I just made a simple cylinder and added two cubes that I shaped to make a decent looking attachment part. I'm hoping the texture will make it look better, and they shouldn't be too noticeable anyway.

After the wheels, it was time to make the lid. This was relatively simple, but I think I made it harder than it had to be. I first made a cube and made it an appropriate size. I then added some segments and moved the segment lines to make some varying differences of size, however, I didn't do it by much which makes it hardly noticeable, so once again something I could've done without. I then just insetted the faces slightly and used the bevel tool and I get a nice lid for the dumpster.

I then grouped all the models together and used the symmetry modifier to get the completed dumpster model. However, since doing this I have realised that I should've at least unwrapped one wheel first because I would assume the unwrap would carry across, saving me from unwrapped each wheel. I also think it might have been good to try to unwrap the whole model before using the symmetry modifier, since I assume everything that is made symmetrical will also be unwrapped (unsure if this actually works though). Also, when trying to unwrap the grouped models, I found that the handles just didn't have anything to use in the unwrap. So, I don't know what I did wrong, but clearly I should do something similar to the door where I just unwrap each model separately and texture them separately.

After I had enough of the dumpster, I moved back onto the barrel. For this, I had basically finished the model, and just had to make this little thing on the back part of the top. I just used the hole I had made last time, used the scale tool to make an inner face, and extruded it upwards. I then bridged across the gap and I have this. I think it's meant to be an air hole, however, I once again do not want to be putting unnecessary detail into things like this.

I unwrapped the barrel, which seemed quite easy, and I have it ready to texture when I'm next at college and can use Substance Painter.

Finalising Old Models

It is time to begin finishing the old models that I did. This would be finishing any of the models and getting them unwrapped and textured so they're ready for the alleyway.

To begin, I took the crate into Substance Painter and gave it a texture. I originally was going to go with some cork wood for the flat, inner faces and some rough wood texture for everything else. However, I was unable to change the colour of the wood texture, so I went into the smart materials where I found this texture which I think is the one I used for the door. I applied the texture to everything, however, I applied a texture rotated 90° on the bits of the crate that go across each face diagonally. Although I did already have a crate textured, I think this one fits the alleyway theme better.

Here, I quickly textured the barrel. It isn't perfectly textured since I think I quickly mapped it, but most of it has an alright texture. I wanted to still go with a similar design to the reference image I originally had, which is why I went with blue. I then painted the whole thing in this dirty blue paint, apart from the top which I made just metal. I probably should've made it dirty as well, but I thought this was good enough.

Next up was the dumpster. I got the model finished which wasn't too difficult in the end. I still used the quick map option, but this time I attached every model since that was why they didn't work properly last time. As you can see, I gave the lid a nice plastic texture, the base a nice paint over and the wheels some appropriate textures. I then added some stickers that you would find on a dumpster, as well as a little secret graffiti piece on the back. Adding masks over the top of layers allows me to give the dumpster dirty textures which will look better in the alley way.

I then had to quickly finish the jerry can textures as well as getting the pallet recreated since I lost the original model that I first made. I forgot to get images for the jerry can textures as well as the pallet textures, but I did get some for the steps that I took when creating the pallet. I didn't want to take too long completing them since I had other things to be getting on with, but I wanted it to at least be accurate. Due to this, I researched the lengths of actual pallets and made one that was the right size. I saw that they are 120cm x 100cm and are usually made from three planks on the bottom. This left me with 3 planks that I could resize until I was happy with the shape. I eventually settled with the main planks being 120cm x 10cm x 2cm. I created blocks that I made 9cm x 9cm x 9cm big, and put them on top. After completing the model, I realised that I made the pallet incorrectly since you can see that the next layer of planks go the same way as the bottom ones, but it's meant to be the top lot that go the same way. Isn't a massive deal, but it's annoying that I made that little mistake. I then attached all of the models and unwrapped them. I knew that I was going to make the whole thing one texture, so it wasn't a massive worry. Another thing I could've done better was adding some variety to the placement. I made sure the planks were all lined up perfectly, but in the real world they might be slightly wonky, and in a dirty alley way, they certainly wouldn't be looking perfect, but it isn't the end of the world. Both the jerry can and pallet textures don't look quite as dirty as the other textures since I couldn't find out how to add a dirty mask to the textures, but they can just be some of the less seen things that are in the background.

But, that is now all of the models and textures complete for the original models.

Creating Additional Assets

Walkthrough Asset List:

Crate : 1
Paint Can : 1
Barrel : 1
Dumpster : 1
Jerry Can : 1
Door : 1
Pallet : 1

Additional Asset List:

Water Bottle : 1
Street Lights : 1
Coins : 1
Drains : 1
Cardboard/boxes : 0
(Monster, Redbull) Cans : 1
Signs : 1
Buildings : 1

To start making additional assets for the alley way, I first got a list together of models that I think would be good (seen above). The first model I'd want to do is going to be the water bottle. I first got these reference images that I could use and I got to modelling.

The first stage, as always, is getting the initial primitive set-up to start modelling. I got a cylinder and gave it some average water bottle dimensions that I thought would be good. I then also started putting some segment lines on the circumference of the cylinder which I would use to start getting a more bottle resembling model.

Here, you can see the indents in the bottom half of the bottle that I made. Since I already made the segments, I just had to push them inwards and it gave me a nice looking shape. I then also did the part that I would be putting a bottle sticker over when I got to texturing the bottle. This part was quite simple since it included just moving faces inwards to give this effect.

I then also slanted the top slightly and I have a nice looking bottle base to work with. Although the main part is done, I then needed to add the lid holder. This was as simple as extruding the top faces, upwards, making some segments for the little lip, and that was it done. On the inside, I dragged the inner edges down to the bottom originally, but later moved these back up, more in line with the start of the lid part, since otherwise you could see it when I added the transparent texture.

So far though with this model, I'm pleased with how it's going. This is the main bottle bit complete, and all that's left to do is the lid. I could've added some ridges to the top, but it's a little detail that won't really be noticable.

For the lid, I decided to make a quarter of it and then use the mirror modifier to complete it. Later, I would find out this wasn't the best idea, and you'll see why. For now, I just made a cylinder primitive, cut three-quarters off like a pizza, and started chamfering the edges. I then selected them all and extruded them inwards which didn't give me quite the result I wanted, but I had no idea what else to do, so I went with it. I also slightly lifted the top so it wasn't completely flat.

Here, I just mirrored it once to get half the lid and mirrored that half to get the full lid—pretty simple. Although at this point it doesn't look too bad, you can quite obviously see the quarter lines of the lid when unselected. The top is also too pointy, and I probably could've just left it flat, and it would've looked better.

To complete the overall model of the bottle, I wanted to add a bit of shape to the bottom. I very simply chamfered some of the edges and moved them a bit to get a more defined look. Ideally, I should've selected the other edges on the bottom because the ones I did don't add that much to the model, but it's good enough.

To complete this asset, I quickly unwrapped the model and brought it into Substance Painter. I got some textures that I liked and changed the opacity to make it more transparent. I also added a little sticker decal. Ideally, I wanted a sticker that would wrap around it, but because I quickly unwrapped the bottle, it didn't have everything lined up, so I settled with this small one.

I think so far, this is probably one of my favourite models that I've done. It is one of the first that I've done on my own, and I think it looks like a straightforward, but well-done model. I later went on to texture the base and lid of the bottle separately, since I might have some lying around without lids on.

Getting Ideas for the Alleyway

Before I started doing other little models, I mainly wanted to get the buildings done. However, this would require me to make models for the buildings that fit into the scene at a good scale. What I decided to do was go into 3DS Max and begin making the structure of the alleyway.

To begin, I first went online and found some reference images that I thought would be good to base the alleyway on.

As you can see here, I brought in the dumpster models as a reference for the size of the walls. Since this was one of the larger models I've made so far, and the reference images have these in them, I thought it was a good way to get a size determined. I also experimented with how wide I wanted it to be and thought this was a good amount. I put this little area in the wall since this would be where I'd put the door model.

So far, this is all I have for the alleyway scene since I realised this would take a while, so I might as well prioritise the other models first because I could do a really basic lot of buildings if I needed to.

Next, I decided to model a street light. This is a very important model that I could probably quite easily make, but I'm sure I'll somehow find a way to make it take ages. I first got some ideas by searching for reference images online. I thought from these three, I could take specific parts and merge them into one for a cool-looking light. From the first image, I really liked the shape of the light, so I'll take that. I'll then have it hang like in the second image, but rotate it 180° so the small part is on the top. I'll then use the last image as a reference for the base of the pole that I'll have the light be placed on.

Now that I had a good idea of how I wanted the model to look, I got some dimensions online where I found an average-looking street light that was for sale with these details. I thought the material could be useful when texturing, and the other things could be useful when making it a light source. I know I'll probably just do whatever looks best, but it's good to have an average few settings to base it on.

To begin, I made a cone primitive and gave it these specific parameters for the base of the lamp. I used the dimensions that I found as a rough estimate for how big the base needed to be, so I made it a little less than the length and width.

This is what the main pole looks like. As you can see, I took quite a bit of inspiration from the third reference image, and then just made it a straight pole up to the top. I then could start making the hanging bit off of this, but first I wanted to start the main lamp bit and position it where I wanted it so I knew where to model the hanging pole part.

Of course, I started with a cube primitive and gave it some very simple dimensions, with no additional segments.

Next, I selected the vertices of the top face and resized them so it made the specific shape of the lamp which I was going for. From this, I then wanted to make it look like the lamp was in some sort of holder, so I knew I could just chamfer the sides and get a good-looking part.

That was exactly what I did. I chamfered all the sides which gave the model this nice and smooth outline, as well as the centre faces which I could use to make it look like it was inside this holder. However, I made another model of this since if I left it as one, I believe there were some issues with it not looking right, so I just made another one of these shapes and put it inside. I then resized it to what it needed to be and that was it. This may also make it easier when I add a light source to it since I might be able to select the specific model, but that probably requires me to not attach everything, which is so far what I've done, so I'll have to test it out first to get what I want.

For the hanging pole that connects to the lamp part, I started making a cylinder that I extruded and rotated a bit to get a smooth look. I then needed a 90° turn that would go down to connect the lamp. I did this by extruding the face 6 times since I was going to rotate it by 15° each time. I started by selecting all the edges and rotating them, as well as moving them to make them look good. I then selected one loop of the edges and rotated and moved the ones I still had selected. I kept doing this until I had a nice curve that I was happy with. I brought it down to the right level and moved the edges back to align it with the centre of the lamp top, and I was finished.

The left image now shows the completed, but untextured model of this street lamp. One thing I should've done is apply the smooth modifier which would give me a better looking model as some parts are a lot more blocky than others. Although this would've certainly made a big difference, it is clear that it isn't quite as obvious when I put textures over the top.

I think the textured version looks really good, even though the majority of the model is only one texture. The lamp part doesn't look great right now since it isn't emitting light, but this is something that I'll do once I import everything into the alleyway scene. The dirt overlay that I applied also contributed greatly to the outcome since it really made it blend into the alleyway atmosphere better.

Making a Drain Cover

For the drain cover, I needed to first get some reference images, where I eventually settled on these. I thought the first one would be the main baseplate for my design, but the second one could also be good since I like the texture detail that is found on the top of the cover.

To begin the modelling process, I started out with cube that I gave these specific dimensions that were ones I got from online. I also put quite a few segment lines on which would be helpful to me when making the drain cover since I would need quite a few holes.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures for the rest of the process, but I'll talk through roughly how I did this. I first started by chamfering the edge segments that I would be using for the holes. Next, I believe I chamfered the vertices of these holes which make them look less blocky. I then extruded these downwards to make a hole. I would later realise that this would not look great since it wasn't an actual hole, however, I was able to make it look good enough with texturing. For the edges, I did a very similar thing, I simply used the connect tool to get a straight line across and chamfered the vertices of that. I made sure this time to also do it to the bottom face. I removed the faces, used the bridge tool to connect everything and boom, it's done. The only thing I did differently to the left and right sides with the middle was I made the connect line closer to the middle of the model so the gap would be bigger. This was also another time where applying the smoothing modifier could've made it look better, but the model is good enough.

To finish the drain cover, I quick UV unwrapped the model in 3DS Max, brought it into Substance and got to texturing. This was also where I found out the importance of baking the textures. The first time I brought this in, I made sure I baked it, but when I realised the mistake I had of not making the holes, actual holes, I tried to fix it. Once I made a new file with the new model which basically changed nothing, I found that the texture I was using before looked really plain. I then remembered to bake it, and it looked much better. Not entirely sure why, but it looks good, which is the main thing. I added this rusty metal texture over most of the model, and then just applied this one black one to the holes that I couldn't really fix. I suppose I could've removed the entire bottom face since you probably wouldn't see the bottom anyway, but this works for now.

Making a Sign

For my next additional asset for the alleyway, I wanted a street sign that I would put somewhere. After researching signs in alleyways, it seemed that no parking signs were the most common, so I made one like this. If I wanted to, I could always make a no smoking one to put on a wall if I have time after completing these, but I'm quite short for time right now, so this will probably be good enough.

Upon getting some reference images, I started to get an idea for what sort of sign I wanted to make. I liked the idea of a design like the first one, especially having some screws holding the sign onto the post. However, I wanted the no parking sign, not just text. I thought I'd probably have a very small amount of text. Because a lot, if not all, of these designs didn't have a transparent background, I settled for making my own design in Photoshop once I had a rough baseplate size for me to make it for.

To begin the model, I got a simple cylinder that had an accurate height to signs that you'd commonly see in real life. I then got a cube primitive and sized it accordingly to look like a similar shape to that of the reference images that I got. I also went and imported the screw model that I made for my Pokeball since this was a really cool model that I would certainly need for this one.

Next, I rounded off the corners by selecting the edge of each corner and chamfering it. I didn't do too much and kept the amount of additional segments low to keep a somewhat low poly look. I then also put two screws inside the sign to complete the model.

The next part for me was to go into Photoshop and make the decal that I would use on the sign. This was as simple as just getting some shapes together and changing the colours of the outline and the main colours until I ended up with something that I was happy with. I found out something cool while doing this which was that I could round the edges of a rectangle shape, but I could then edit each edge individually. this is how I made the red shape inside which had the text over it. The no parking sign was just two circles and a line, and it was complete. I probably didn't have to make two shapes for some of these, since I could've had one shape with a border colour and a main shape colour, but either way, it looks good.

I then unwrapped the model, exported it to Substance Painter, and began applying textures. I used the same texture that I used for the screws in the Pokeball I made, especially since that looked really good. I then used a good metal texture for the pole and a very plain and simple texture which slightly changed the look of the main sign part. I then imported the sign decal I made and resized it to fit the sign. I thought this looked great, and just needed to apply some dirt texture to complete the model. I think the dirt was needed since it makes it blend into the alleyway a bit more, a lot like the street lamp.

Modelling a Can of Beans

For the next asset, I was going to do a can of drink such as Monster of Redbull. However, someone gave me the idea to instead do a can of beans. I think this fits into the alleyway scene better, and it is something that will challenge me a bit more since I thought doing an open can would be a great idea. I thought having an empty can was the best idea, especially since having to model beans would be a pain, making a 2D texture wouldn't look good, and who just leaves a can of beans unfinished - no one!

To start out, I got a simple cylinder primitive and gave it accurate dimensions to a real can of beans. Luckily, they don't come in many different sizes, so it was easy to find the dimensions of one that would be good. I didn't need any cap or height segments, and I made the side segments quite low since I'm not going for a very high poly model.

I thought the first thing that I'd do with this model was to make it hollow inside the can. I insetted the top face and extruded it downwards. I first did this by extruding it all the way down, but realised that there was a little lip on the top, so only extruded it slightly at first, before insetting slightly again and extruding down. When I then got to the bottom, I had to move it up slightly since the bottom face is raised slightly too. You can also kind of see where I extruded the bottom edge of the can, which I also did to the top. This was as simple as just adding some segment lines with the connect tool and extruding the faces outwards.

For the lid, I need to model it and make it look peeled back and open, just like it would usually. This consisted of me making a very flat and wide cylinder shape and connecting opposite vertices together. This gave me these lines that I could use to bend it into the desired shape. All I then had to do was something very similar to the pipe on the lamp. I selected them all, moved them a bit, rotated them, and then unselected one and kept going. I tried to get the most realistic-looking curve from opening a can that I could.

The next part of the lid required me to make this little part that helps you to peel open the can. Immediately, I thought I could just use two cylinder primitives and connect them to get the shape of it. So, I got two cylinders, one slightly bigger and positioned them next to each other like this. I then used the inset tool on the faces (top and bottom) and removed it. I used the bridge tool to connect the edges and so far, it was going well.

Connecting them wasn't as easy as I'd hoped, since I thought I might be able to use the target weld tool, but the parts were too far away so it stretched it and made it look bad. Instead, I took the edge of the smaller circle and extruded it downwards towards the larger one. Once it was quite close, I then used the target weld tool to connect the edges together. Also, I did remember to delete the faces that I would be covering over with additional faces.

When not showing the edges, this looks really good. However, the edge segments overlap a little bit, which isn't ideal for texturing, but it's so small it won't be noticeable, so I thought I wouldn't spend time trying to fix it. Overall though, this is a really cool-looking model for the can lid handle.

Here is the UV unwrapped for the can. I usually just do it really quickly, but since I wanted an image to wrap around the can, I did this part manually, although the rest I did quickly.

As you can see, the final textured model in Substance Painter looks quite good. I did also apply the smoothing modifier to each of the models which may have made it look slightly better, however, it was quite a simple model anyway, so not much would've changed. I applied an aluminium texture to the whole can, before basically hiding the whole thing with the beans sticker image, and a lot of other filters. Ideally, I wanted there to be bean juice inside the can and some around the edge, but when I tried to apply this with a black mask, it just made it a solid colour, so I had to deal with some on the top. If I had more time, I could've manually applied the masks by drawing them on, but this is a small model and, again, I didn't have lots of time, so this was good enough.

Putting the Alleyway Scene Together

To begin, I first relocated to the 3DS Max project file that I began to put together with the alleyway shape I wanted. I started dragging in the models that I had already made, importing them into the scene. This was all going well until I tried to import the drain cover. When I imported this, it moved one of the alleyway walls and made it visible again, since this was one that I hid so I could see into the scene a bit easier. I didn't realise until I had tried to import the drain cover multiple times and saw this wall in a strange place. I reset it, tried to import the drain cover again, but the same thing happened. Because of this, I reset it and ignored the drain cover for now. After importing a few more models, I got to the street lamp. This also moved the wall, as well as the street sign, which I tried just after. Due to this, I tried deleting the wall, and then I could import one asset. So let's say I imported the street lamp, if I tried to import the street sign, it would resize the lamp, move it, and not import the sign. If I deleted the lamp, I could import the sign without problem, but the same thing would happen, but this time to the sign, if I tried to import the lamp. After realising I may have to compose the scene in Unity, I wanted to try importing everything into a plain 3DS Max file. So, I reloaded 3DS Max to just have an empty workspace. I began importing models and thought it was fixed when the drain cover didn't cause any issues. However, upon attempting to import the street lamp, it would move and resize the drain cover, so I had no choice other than to move into Unity.

Before composing everything in Unity, though, I was going to have to make the actual alleyway so I could have the baseplate that I would be placing all the models inside. So, I quickly modelled some very simple stairs for the door that I'd be adding. I didn't want anything that crazy, since nothing in an alleyway would usually be good-looking, especially in this alleyway. So I just got this simple, blocky staircase. I then unwrapped the large alleyway model. Because I needed the bricks to the correct way on each wall, I did this manually on the main inside the alleyway since I didn't want some bricks to laid one way, and others facing upwards.

Here, I brought the unwrapped file into Substance Painter and put a few textures onto it. Because I didn't spend lots of time on the models, I didn't care for what they looked like that much, and the textures were going to come out quite bad anyway because of how large the model is. I got a brick texture from the Adobe Substance asset store for free and put it onto each wall. I changed the tiling, and it didn't come out too bad. Likewise, I then applied a concrete texture that I got from inside Substance Painter and applied it to the floor. It didn't look great, but this is as good as I could get it with the tweaking that I did. I did apply a stone tiles texture to the stairs, but this isn't very noticeable and looks more like a darker concrete. This model isn't meant to be the main attraction in this scene, so I wasn't going to be too fussy. Furthermore, due to the massive size difference in the UV map, smaller models in this alleyway were always going to look worse because they would be so much smaller than the other models.

Before I began importing everything, I first needed to do another model to complete the 6 additional model target. Although I technically made the alleyway, this was very basic, and I didn't do much with it. I thought, making some coins would meet the criteria better, and I this gives me some more assets to implement into the scene. Therefore, I started out by making a small cylinder for a 1 pence coin, with quite accurate dimensions. I would later need to size this up to be more noticeable, but I kept them quite small, for more of something to try to find.

I then made it an editable poly, inset the top face, and extruded the outer edge. I then created a cube primitive, and also made this an editable poly. I could now extrude faces by holding shift and dragging them, which was how I got the 1P. Not only that, but I then connected it all together and unwrapped it. Since it was going to be so small, I really wasn't bothered by the UV being poor, since the size would make it so hard to see in the first place.

I then brought this model into Substance and gave it a nice texture. I think I'm actually quite happy with how it turned out. Is it a crazy detailed model with lots of detail? No. But this simplicity should make it easier to understand what it is when you see it in the main picture. (Future me — it did not)

Next, I wanted to make a 50P coin. I started out similarly by making a cylinder, but this time I only made it have 7 sides. Luckily, this made the perfect shape of a 50P coin, so I was quite happy with this.

Same as the coin, I made it an editable poly, inset the face to extrude the outer lines, and made cube primitives to write the text. I then unwrapped it and brought it into Substance. I gave it the same texture as the 1P coin, but just changed the colour. Also, I did also add a dirty mask over the top.

Just as I was bringing every asset into the Unity project, I realised that I didn't have any textures for the bean can. Due to this, I had to quickly hop back into Substance and change the texture. However, this actually turned out to be a good thing, since the texture mask I gave it this time allowed me to have the bean juice exactly where I wanted it. I instead applied a torn mask to the sticker and a bit of a dirt overlay to complete the texture.

This is a little preview of all of my assets inside the Unity project before I had got to moving them into their places and adjusting lighting, camera angle etc. All 13 models are here, the coins at this time are just a little small and difficult to see.

And finally, after so long, I have the alleyway scene complete. This took a long time to put the scene together, especially because each bottle that I moved had to have some kind of unique position and rotation so it didn't look like a blatant copy-paste scene. I suppose it technically isn't considering I moved every model individually to some extent. I think everything looks pretty cool, though. I have a few drains around that you can spot, as well as a lot of bottles and beans cans dropped around. Furthermore, I really tried to make it seem as if some people had been here and put things around. For some examples, the crates are placed mostly well, but one is slipping down, with a bottle lying inside the insetted part. I also made the pallets look like they are slipping down each other. In the back behind one of the fuel barrels, I have made a stack of water bottles, which I thought looked kinda cool. Another thing that is a bit of a secret is the coins. Without reading this text, you may not be able to find them since they are so small, and the image quality doesn't help you with that either. They are stacked on top of each other a bit — located under the dumpster with a fuel barrel leaning over the top. The 50Ps are a bit easier to notice since it's a larger grey dot, and then you have some 1Ps next to them. I then also added the lighting coming off the street lamps. Annoyingly, though, they still look really dull, so it doesn't make it very believable. The lighting also looks a bit odd around the corner of the wall. Lastly, I did also add some smoke particles at the end of the alleyway to hide the emptiness. I did copy and paste the alleyway base model though in case you could slightly see through at some points.

Project Evaluation

In this project, I think quite a few things went well. For starters, I eventually got all of my models into one scene with textures working as they should've, which was the end goal, so I think on that alone the project went well. Another thing that went well was the fact that the models were mostly the correct size, and I didn't have to change them much. Using realistic measurements that I found online helped a lot because I didn't have to spend lots of time in 3DS Max and Unity resizing models to make them look right. One of the things that I really thought was great about this was the quality of most, if not all, the textures. Obviously I like the models that I made, but the textures really help sell a scene, and I think I got them pretty spot on for the majority of the models. I also made sure to talk in depth about pretty much everything I did during this project, explaining in detail on how I modelled everything and put it all together. This is useful not only so anyone can tell how I did what I did, but so I or someone else can use my experiences to model similar objects the same, or better. Throughout this whole time that I've spent creating models for the final display, I've learnt so much about not just 3D modelling, but texturing too, which is really going to help me in my future in game design.

During this time, however, some things didn't quite go to plan. The most obvious situation to me is the fact that I was unable to produce the final composition inside 3DS Max. Even now, I'm not sure what issue was preventing me from bringing certain models into the scene, but it's something I'll at least remember if it happens again. Furthermore, I did have to redo some older models that I lost. Although this isn't such a big deal as it just gave me a bit more experience making these again, it would still have been more ideal and saved more time if I still had the pallet, for example. Speaking of time, that's one thing that I, of most people, found to be a big problem for this project. Although I was able to complete and submit it on time, I was unsure at one point if I would have everything complete in time. Since 3D is something I've never done for more than a few hours in total before college, it is a new skill that has taken a while to pick up. Especially since every program has slightly different controls that I have to remember and get used to. But, I believe this has been something which has helped me adapt massively.

If I was to do this again, or something similar, I'd definitely think looking at the brief and deciphering what was required sooner is something that would help me greatly. Obviously, it's difficult learning 3D when I don't have many lessons on it in a week. If I realised sooner that I needed at least an additional 6 assets to all be put into an alleyway, I probably would've begun preparing it sooner, getting more ideas of models that I might want to include down the line. I could then add as many as I could with the remaining time.

If I was to publish this piece of work as either to be used inside a game as an asset or to have a background or something using images of it. I would certainly spend more time on unwrapping the UV maps. The quick unwrap tool is incredibly helpful, especially when you require models to be quickly complete, however, it is incredibly useless if you need an image to wrap around a cylinder, or just good quality textures in general. I also did take a few images from online, examples include the water bottle sticker or dumpster. These could be copyright free, however, to be on the safe side, I could just make something similar or completely different inside of Photoshop.

In conclusion, I'm pleased with the outcome of the project. I would've preferred a more cluttered alleyway, with better lighting, but considering we weren't told of ways to set this up, I'm relatively happy with how it came out.

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