Otherworldly Lantern

Otherworldly Lantern

I made this personal project based on the lantern in concept art 'Cormorant-Fisherman CDC' by shiroho

https://www.artstation.com/shiroho?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3pOEUbr8dBjpznYEG-4dBY403albuCLveyMHpSOK6v-h0_hHtsWMpudcw_aem_AbwByrH30LKjdkmb1-5ICAA1OtaG5Ks7d1NvYYfpvPPJVRUR9bM3s1sjRXwtwo8t3dInKZLEhR7c76ZCEoo3_bwa

Modelling

I created the model based on the concept art. I started with modelling the base shape and tried to create the same stylized shape as in the concept art. I added a small bevel to create a sharper looking edge, this would help me later on in the LookDev stage. The tentacles were modelled around the lantern with the spline tools and the curve warp tool native to Maya.

LookDev

After some iterations I proceeded to the next stage where I wanted to push my skills of creating the stylized shader for this project fully procedural in Arnold for Maya. I made the different shaders for every different type of material that I saw in the concept. 

I created different types of bump by combining several Arnold NoiseTextures and plugging it in the bump. Afterwards I setup my AiToonShaders to use the difference in height to drive the thickness of the edge outline, this combined with some randomness given by a noise, I was able to create a nice looking outline that was interesting to look at. I used those same noise outputs and combined them together with the base diffuse maps and roughness of every material this way, I was able to create some colour variation that was supported by the variating outlines. 

As a last step I made use of the lighting options within the AiToonShader by linking lights to create the highlights visible on the tentacles. The only addition that was made in photoshop is the symbol on the base of the lantern.

Lighting

For the lighting I wanted to give the lantern some mysterious dark mood. I started with a basic three point light setup and added a purple rim light on the tentacles as an addition to set the mood. Next I added a rune on the base of the lantern which is the only part created outside of Arnold for Maya. The rune was then used in the bump/normal map to create depth and used in the emission as a light source of the lantern.

Process

I added a small clip showing the process that I went through in creating the asset.

Thank you for taking your time to read about the process that I went through. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did while working on this project.