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New Year, New Storage

Happy New Year! To start off 2022, I’ve started adding some storage items to the longhouse model. To begin with, I’m just using some colourful primitives as stand-in geometry. Eventually this will be replaced by models of storage items–like dried plants–that other artists have created. First I added a couple of overhead storage poles inContinue reading “New Year, New Storage”

Longhouse Details

Now that the longhouse model is getting incorporated into the game environment, it’s time to start adding a few more details. I started with a supply of small logs under the bunks. I haven’t checked the reference material, but I assume this is firewood storage: Next, I added the flat interior walls that separate theContinue reading “Longhouse Details”

Level Design / Populating the Environment

Building on Kris Howald’s work creating an accurate terrain / landscape appropriate for the time period we looked to the final Jean Baptiste Laine report as our basis for the layout of the city itself. Using the late phase floorplan, placeholder longhouse models were positioned in approximate locations relative to each other, the palisade, andContinue reading “Level Design / Populating the Environment”

Environment

Initially, the landscape was described to be more of an approximation. However, as the project progressed it became clear that the accuracy needed to be there. Finding topological maps of the area of Stowe Ville was somewhat of a challenge, to begin with I thought I could try to use historical aerial maps, but thoseContinue reading “Environment”

Vegitation

I’m a bit behind on my posts due to the start of my school year. So prepare for a massive release of posts from the past month and a half. This first post highlights some experimentation I was doing with cards to populate the forests. Because they’re only 2D, they are to be used fromContinue reading “Vegitation”

Bark Skin Redux

After a hiatus to get the fall term started, I finally had a chance to revisit the longhouse asset. I wasn’t happy with the previous approach to the bark skin. The sheets were placed too haphazardly, due to random point placement in the digital asset. Looking at photos of reconstructions, it seemed to me thatContinue reading “Bark Skin Redux”

Pipe Update

I ended up creating a variety of pipes based off of the four main shapes that I initially modeled. The different decorations were all inspired by the images from Guided by Smoke: A Comparative Analysis of Early Late Woodland Guided by Smoke: A Comparative Analysis of Early Late Woodland Smoking Pipes from the Arkona ClusterContinue reading “Pipe Update”

Club

I created the base club and three variations in Maya and Zbrush using references provided by the research team. Retopologizing makes a simpler version of the club geometry. The last step I completed was texturing the clubs in Substance Painter using a provided smart material and painting in some details by hand. I added someContinue reading “Club”

The Three Sisters and mounds

The three sisters! I loved learning about the three sisters – squash, corn and beans, the core of First nation farming. I was aware of the practice of rotating certain crops to replenish soil nutrition (nitrogen fixing bacteria in legume plants) but this was the first time I learnt of companion planting and how theyContinue reading “The Three Sisters and mounds”

Bow Cover and Quiver

The bow and quiver was also fun to do but maybe a bit trickier than the others. This is because the reference image provided below has the bow cover and the quiver attached. They were blocked out in Maya and transferred to Zbrush for detailing. Since all extrusion of surfaces and hollowing out were doneContinue reading “Bow Cover and Quiver”