OVERVIEW
This 3D diorama will consist of a select few western-themed assets that could be found on the floor of a saloon bar, perhaps after a drunken brawl or hunting event. Taking inspiration from Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2, all materials will follow the standard PBR Metal/Rough pipeline and will be made to look realistic. This scene may contain mature themes, including references to gambling, bad language, violence, gore, and/or alcohol; making this diorama unsuitable for young audiences.
For this to work, I’ll be using: 3DS Max to model whatever objects I choose for this diorama; Substance Designer to create the more complex procedural textures; Substance Painter to produce and apply smart materials that best fit each object, respectively; and Unreal Engine to render the scene in real time for my portfolio. I also hope to learn some common ZBrush techniques so that I’m able to sculpt some further detail into the original mesh.
Assets used for this diorama may include the following:
- rifle
- pistol
- shotgun
- knife
- tomahawk
- blood/gore
- broken glass
- bottle
- metal cup
- glass (drinking)
- cowboy hat
- lighter
- flask
- oil lamp/lantern
- sheriff’s badge
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Although the concept itself is simple, I’ll be making use of the relevant techniques I’ve learnt online for the last 2 years to produce a result that looks as professional as possible. Therefore, I must be considerate of the balance between performance and quality. A great example of a high quality finish while being conservative of a tri/poly budget would be the oil lamp embedded above, by NeoAnguiano on Sketchfab.
GENERAL
The partial board screenshot above represents a Pinterest board that won’t embed because it contains too many pins; the board can be accessed via the hyperlink in the caption. This collage is made up of every fitting item I could find that relates to both the theme and proposed idea, and ranges from large assets, such as barrels and roulette wheels, to small objects, such as bottle corks and ammunition; this includes items listed in the asset list during the proposal overview. A colour palette has been generated using the images above and has been inserted below, courtesy of Canva.com.
GUNS
Every good Western film or video-game is rife with old hardware and so it wouldn’t be an accurately themed diorama without any sort of weapon, melee or ranged. The board inserted above consists of a range of weaponry, including classic, well-known pistols and hunter’s rifles. According to mainstream media, every man roaming the western roads carries a gun, and so it wouldn’t be too uncommon for them to make an appearance during a heated drunken brawl.
FABRICS
As stated in the proposal’s original description, this diorama will contain objects that could end up on the floor of a saloon bar, perhaps after a fight or hunting event. Taking inspiration from the old “cowboy’s vs. Indians” craze back in the 19th century, it would be common for one stereotype to run into the other, resulting in high tensions and potential combat. From this scenario, the winning party is likely to take a token of their victory to show off at their local drinking hole, including Native American trinkets, clothing, and fabrics. The collage embedded above consists of a range of rug/blanket designs originating from Native American culture, including photos of older members of the community working to create one.
GAMBLING
It’s not too unusual for a fight to break out over money, especially when it’s lost to a cocky opponent through gambling. Although advertising casual poker nights can be amazing for business, it can also create a great mess, and so common item used in gambling games should be considered for this diorama. Within this pinned board is a small assortment of screenshots from Red Dead Redemption’s addictive mini-games, as well as some extra relevant photographs. Among the mess on the bar’s floor could be a sprawled collection of poker chips, playing cards, coins and other currency, and dominoes.
LAW & ORDER
Unlawful occurrences are almost always followed by the law itself; assault in whatever degree will most likely attract the attention of local authorities, and could end in jail time. I think it’s appropriate to assume that enforcers of the law were often drawn to their town bars to participate in large fights that couldn’t be resolved by the establishment’s owners, or even start them themselves, on occasion. Therefore this diorama could include items related to the law, including wanted posters, a sheriff’s badge or hat, a broken spur, handcuffs, or jail cell keys – all of which are depicted in the collage above.
SPILLED DRINKS & BROKEN GLASS
From my understanding, it’s quite difficult to create glass that is both budget-wary and realistic, and so I think it’s in my best interest to study broken glass and spillages before attempting to replicate the sad scene myself. With Sketchfab now supporting natural refraction through transparent materials, and Unreal Engine now making ray-tracing technology accessible to all, it’s a great time to learn how to properly render glass in any form. In addition, it only seems appropriate to add a spilled drink to the diorama. It should also be noted that natural-looking spillages are difficult to produce, and the direction, force, and thickness of the glass should be accounted for.
TEXTURES & MATERIALS
As stated in the original proposal overview, all procedural materials will be created using Substance Designer, and applied through Substance Painter when necessary. For example, I could use the tutorial inserted below to create a rusted metal or peeling painted metal and apply them to the correct parts of an object’s UVs, leaving minor adjustments such as wear and tear to the software’s generators and filters. This pipeline should be carefully planned before executed, and is likely to change depending on the set of props I choose to place within the scene.
Level 3 Year 2 