Wonderland
A team-based project to create a 3D boss level scene over the span of 2 weeks. In a four man team comprising of myself, team members Lye Guan Yu, Adam Zhun, and Low Wei Fann, we began and completed this project from its early concept art development to the creation of its 3D final design.
Programs used:
- Clip Studio Paint (concept art, texturing)
- Photoshop (concept art, texturing)
- Maya 2022 (3D modelling)
- Sketchfab (final compilation)
Download the slides to our project below for your own viewing, or scroll further to learn more about the work we did.
The Team
Yeoh Hao Wen
Roles:
- Team Leader
- Art Director
- 2D/3D Character Artist
- 3D Texture Artist
Low Wei Fann
Roles:
- Concept Artist (Character)
- 2D/3D Character Artist
- Level Designer
- UI Artist
Adam Zhun
Roles:
- Concept Artist (Environment)
- 3D Environment Artist
- 3D Texture Artist
Lye Guan Yu
Roles:
- Concept Artist (Character & Environment)
- 3D Environment Artist
- 3D Texture Artist
Ideation
We debated between two well known fairy tales for the theme of our project: Little Red Riding Hood, and Alice in Wonderland
Little Red Riding Hood:
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Little Red vs the Wolf
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Easily recognizable aesthetic
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Guard a carriage from the wolf on a road in the forest lit by lanterns and the moon (adapted to project)
Alice in Wonderland:
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Alice vs the Red Queen
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More room for creative liberty
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Alice vs a gatekeeper on the way to the red queen's castle (darksouls-ish vibe, adapted to project)
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Ultimately, we decided on Wonderland as a more preferable theme, and further defined the setting of this project.
Concept art courtesy of Guan Yu
Moodboard and Research
As a starting point, we began to compile moodboards for the respective areas we were in charge of: Alice (myself), the Red Queen (Wei Fann), the Chariot and Airship (Adam), and the environment (Guan Yu). We compiled these images for a cohesive idea of the 'look' of our project, and also to serve as references and inspiration down the line.
Development: Alice
For character development, I followed the workflow of starting with silhouette ideas. I explored the different ways I could interpret Alice's design, keeping familiar 'recognizable' elements of the classic Alice fairytale design, while also experimenting with how I could fit her to the darker theme we've chosen.
After consulting the team's opinion, I elected to further develop and break down the third silhouette.
Additional color testing was also done by my teammate, Wei Fann, of which I built up on and finalized the color scheme for reference in texturing later.
Development:
The Red Queen
For the red Queen, Wei Fann used the same developmental process for the design of the Red Queen, the main antagonist and 'Boss' that Alice will be facing in our boss level.
As the Art Director, I gave her some ideas and pointers when consulted on any adjustments she should make to the design - of the three color tests, we ultimately agreed on the 3rd color scheme (from the left) as the final design.
Overall, her work was very well done and fit our vision of the Red Queen perfectly.
3D Modelling and Texturing: Characters
With the final concept art done for both characters, Wei Fann and I proceeded onto the 3D modelling and texturing aspect for the Red Queen and Alice respectively. The modelling itself is done in Maya 2022, with both characters created in the A-pose position.
For the texturing, the color map, Normal Map, roughness map, and alpha map were created for each character. Wei Fann completed the color map for the Red Queen, and I took over with touch-ups and creating the other maps due to an unforeseen circumstance which resulted in Wei Fann unable to do strenuous work.
While I was not originally in charge of the Red Queen for this assignment, I was able to complete Alice's texturing quickly - and so was able to quickly cover for my teammate while she was not feeling well.
Final textured character models by Wei Fann and myself
Concept Art: Environment
While Wei Fann and I were working on the characters, Adam and Guan Yu were in charge of developing the chariot and airship designs, as well as for the environmental set itself respectively.
Adam did concept art for the vehicles, while Guan Yu, with a talent for environmental design, focused on developing the setpiece for this boss level itself.
3D Modelling and Texturing: Environment
Guan Yu was able to complete modelling the entire environment set-piece on his own, as did Adam with both the airship and the chariot. At this point, both characters were already complete thanks to the work of Wei Fann and myself, so I focused my efforts on supporting the other two members on their parts.
We ultimately decided to tackle the environment first - though imposing in scope, Guan Yu had been diligent in making sure everything was neat and things were tillable where possible. As a result, the three of us were able to finish the environment's texturing with relative speed, with myself helping to take on the texturing of the lake area and the rocks.
Soon, the only thing we were left with was to complete the vehicles. While the modelling had been completed by Adam, unwrapping and texturing still had to be done. Being able to finish up my part of the environment textures meant that I was able to quickly transition into assisting Adam and picking up the chariot.
I did my part of unwrapping and texturing the chariot while Adam completed his on the airship, and with that both vehicles were done and completed in time.
Final textured environment, Airship, and Chariot by Guan Yu, Adam, and myself
Final Touches: Rigging and Posing
To really complete the presentation of our 3D boss level, I did some simple rigging for both characters, just enough to get them posed in the environment. While not perfect, it got the set-up down and implemented into the environment that was already completed.
Final Presentation and Sketchfab
Our final level, presented after integration into Sketchfab. Scan the QR code or click on it itself if you wish to view this setpiece for yourself, and view the finer details and its scale in the Sketchfab viewport.
In the end, all four of us had to do a little bit of everything. The original plan was for myself to be in charge of Alice, Wei fann the red queen, Adam with both vehicles and Guan Yu with the environment.
However, we soon realized that eventually, we had to cover for each other and take up extra work in order to make it towards the finish line as a whole. This was especially true when certain things were able to be completed faster, such as the two characters being done early, so that Wei Fann and myself were able to help the other two and finish up whatever else needed to be done.
When things didn't go to plan, we just had to adapt and be flexible with our tasks for the sake of being able to see the project to its finish. In the end, this flexibility was what allowed us to be able to complete everything with a relatively smooth journey.