Freelance Year Viking Shield and new Substance techniques

For my next piece of personal work I decided to instead work off of YouTube tutorial in order to learn the techniques to create a realistic prop as I feel as though I have only been exploring more cartoony and low poly styles so I should try to add more variety to my portfolio with different styles.

The overall modelling of the shield was simple to understand as the tutorial used using tools and techniques that I already use quite regularly, however when it came to the shaping of the model the I learned how to use new tool in the deform option menu in order to bend the shield into shape distinctly the wave tool which can create either add one large curve to the model similar to the bend tool or add multiple bumps to the model making it like more bumpy or wave like.

Next the tutorial then used a different method of UV unwrapping models by automatically unwrapping the model then sewing it back together and using the 3D cut and sew UV tool to separate the faces. While I still prefer my way of Unwrapping this tutorial gave me a better understanding of how to more effectively unwrap my models without causing distortion which makes the textures look muddled and how to unwarp more awkwardly shaped geometry.

When I brought the model into substance painter I wanted to use tools like alphas and the paint tool to add smaller more memorable details to the shield like a bloody handprint to give the impression that it was smashed into an opponent. While following the tutorial I did mange to learn how to use alphas better but I also learned how to use generator to create further details like paint that being chipped away and dirt filling the cracks of the wood.

After I brought the shield back into Maya to render it I tried to use the same lighting set as on the previous model the headphones however the fill light kept on reflecting off the wood and drowned out the colour and other lights. I did try to just turn down the light's intensity but that didn't fix the reflection, so I started reading into some Maya forums and found out how to instead alter the visibility of the light source in the scene which finally resolved the issue.

Overall I achieved what I set out to do and learned many of the techniques necessary to create high poly and realistic models as well as learning how to use new tools in Maya that I know I can use to enhance my future models. I also learned how to properly troubleshoot the lighting in Arnold which is invaluable for any problems that arise in the future. Finally I learned how to use generators and properly apply alphas so that they could almost tell a story of the prop which is the aspect of prop design that I like the most due to how much potential there is in a single props link to the world it is in.

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/vDqeZY