Any advice on how to speed my rock modeling workflow

#1

Hi, i just started working as a envoriment artist and i have been modeling some stylized rocks, landscapes and such, but it takes me a while to model them while having a nice topology for the uvs and make the texture artist happy.
im just wondering if you guys have any advice on how to speed up the process of modeling rocks and other organic objects.
im aware that sculpting it and then do a retopo, would be easier and faster, but im trying to improve my modeling skills, and the workflow in myworkplace doesnt include sculpting.
So what do you think?

#2

There’s scripts that exist to make rocks in a few seconds, decimate the hell out of them and unwrap, no one cares about rock topology.

EDIT: i thought you meant simple rocks scattered around landscape, not cliffs! :wink:

#3

Hey Jaguier,
I find the best way to get faster in the workflow of modeling is using custom hotkeys. It depends what program you are usign but for me in Maya mine are
*Ctrl+Shift+X for multicut tool
*Ctrl+Shift+Z for insert edge loop tool
*Ctrl+Shift+Q for slide edgeloop tool
*Ctrl+Shift+W for offset edgeloop tool
As well to speed things up you could use custom shelves full of other common tools you might use this may be specific to Maya but if it’s possible it will help.

#4

Hey jason21745,
Thanks for the tips. I use Modo for modeling, i find it more efficient and quicker than maya, at least for my way of working, and yeah i mostly use shortcuts which it help to speed the proccess a lot.
Im not sure what i was expecting from that question, i think i was looking for a magic way to create rocks quick and with good topology.

i have been working in the same place and i have a better wasp of how to create them and the type of forms
that make rocks look like rocks, but im still learning to simplify the forms so the rocks doesnt lok like crap,

i will leave a render of a rock formation i just made, any advice is appretiated.


Rock_01

#5

I think it depends if you are going for realistic or a more game/cartoonish look. It looks like it would fit perfectly in a western/outback stylized type of game. It really has that kind of stylized plateau look going for it kind of like these rocks
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/77/ea/a5/77eaa57e62af1d036a0bcece4b3e5353.png
The only areas for me that kind of looks out of place is highlighted in this image below.
http://i.imgur.com/vYpp6Fv.jpg
The first one (from the left) feels like it’s been artificially indented in rather than a natural kind of rock formation. The second I feel has too much of a curve to it especially compared to how straight the lines are for the other rocks.
I’m not a rock expert or anything lol but just a few points I thought of. Overall though it looks very good to me mate. Great work :slight_smile:

#6

yeah i agree that those parts look not quite right but i didnt do anything about it because they are covered by other rocks so they dont appear in camera.
They are going to be used in a cartony movie set in the dessert, so i think they fit, but i would like to have a little more micro detail but modelling that kind of detail and maintaining deadlines its kind of challenging.
it would be a lot easier to do that sculpting in zbrush or any other program but its been very challeging trying to model that.

Buy anyway, thank for the tips…