Chiara Marconcini - Generalist Reel

New York Bakery

This is my first personal project made with Maya during the masterclass at Skyup Academy. It represent an old school bakery and the original reference is a Diorama made by Yasuhiro Okugawa. I modeled in Maya, textured in Substance Painter and rendered with Vray in Maya.

This was the reference of the project.

After thoroughly analyzing my initial reference, I began searching for additional references to aid both the modeling and texturing processes.

Next, I began the modeling process. I started with a very basic blocking, which helped me achieve proper camera matching. From there, I progressively added more and more details to bring the model to life.

Creating the UV map was quite challenging due to the numerous small objects involved, but after a lot of hard work, I finally succeeded.

For texturing, I began by blocking in the colors before dedicating considerable effort to refining the roughness and introducing variations in color.

For the lighting, I began with the HDRI and then added one light at a time until I reached the final result.

Here is the final render.

Here are all the objects I've modeled.

Motorcycle

After completing my masterclass at Skyup Academy, I embarked on my first personal project. Fueled by my lifelong passion for motorcycles, I decided to bring one to life through modeling. To capture the essence of adventure, I dove into researching motorbikes designed for long journeys and carefully selected the perfect reference to guide my creation.

It all began with this photo I came across. Eager to dive into a new project, I decided to use it as my inspiration and starting reference.

After gathering numerous photos of similar motorcycles, I began modeling the hero asset. For the bags and fabric, I used Marvelous Designer.

This was the initial test of the environment. However, I decided to give more prominence to the motorcycle by removing the building and leaving only the gas pump.

With the modeling all wrapped up, it was UV mapping time! I dove in, determined to keep that resolution top-notch. Just when I felt like I was swimming in an endless sea of UVs, I finally made it to the shore of success!

Below, you will find detailed renders that showcase the modeling and wireframe more clearly.

Now it's time to texture it! This project provided ample opportunity for experimentation with various materials. Achieving the right balance of roughness was crucial to obtaining a realistic result.
I opted to concentrate on crafting innovative smart materials and procedural brushes, as my aim was not just painting, but leveraging the procedural aspects of texturing.

Ecto-1

During the masterclass at Skyup Academy, I participated in a group project where we recreated a scene from the film Ghostbusters: Afterlife. I served as the modeling lead for this project.

Our reference was the scene where the Ecto-1 drives out of the garage.

This is the result we obtained after a lot of work together.

After an extensive search for references and careful task delegation, I dove into modeling the legendary Ecto-1. 

Once the pieces were assembled and the UVs were finished, it was ready to move on to the texturing department!

Shark Chimera

This was my very first project at Skyup Academy. It involved creating a creature using ZBrush for sculpting, based on a reference chosen by our instructors. The process was incredibly enjoyable for me, as I have a passion for animals and have always loved drawing imaginative chimeras in my free time.

After reviewing my reference, I delved into researching animal anatomy, honing in on sharks and tigers for the body, and drawing inspiration from amphibians for the eyes.

After sketching out the initial shapes, I delved into my first sculpting experience in ZBrush. Only after completing the primary anatomy did I break symmetry, posing the character and adding final details.

The lighting process was incredibly enjoyable; witnessing my first digital project come to life felt truly magical. I scoured for aquatic references, aiming to capture a whimsical underwater ambiance. Then, I began experimenting with the lights until I achieved the perfect, satisfying result.

Swipe to turn on the lights!

And here we are at the end! Thanks for sticking around till the end—I hope you had as much fun watching my progress as I did making it!