Peas Fairy

 

This piece is done for the main game UI of the video slot game 'Peas Fairy'. The main direction is to go after a macro photography feel, capturing the translucency of the plants in the soft lighting. The key elements rendered in Keyshot in passes and composited in Photoshop. i have done my personal tweaks to this version in order to showcase it as a still image. It is slightly different from the in-game version. 

Restaurant Craze

This piece is done for the loading screen for the video slot game 'Restaurant Craze'. It showcases the entrance of a quaint restaurant which has become an internet sensation overnight.

I created the scene in 3DS Max and rendered it with Keyshot. All the elements are rendered at one pass without compositing. Additional atmospheric effects and flares, as well as color and levels adjustments, are done in Photoshop. Keyshot is great for showcasing individual models but for a scene render, it requires more patience and effort to make things work right. It probably helps that my scene is not any more complex than this.

I am glad to pull off the warm evening light in the render and capture the posh feel of the restaurant entrance in the concept artwork by Debbie Yeo.

Naruto

A low poly character model Naruto with 1 x diffuse map only. This is done for the mobile platform.

Model and UV in 3DS Max & ZBrush and texture painted in ZBrush. Basic CAT rig done for posing purposes only in 3DS Max. 1,694 tris.

Click more to view the unlit version, anime outlined version, texture map and more ...

The Star Glazer

I am definitely not the first to create artwork with the old Singaporean playground elements. But it has been something i wanted to do for a while. I also took the chance to try out real time rendering for a change from all the V-Ray.

modeled in 3DS max and Zbrush, texture painted in Zbrush, rendered in Marmoset Toolbag 3.

more after jump break.

Kutsuki Puzzle Piko Area 12 (The Red Wedding)

This is the last area done for the game. It is my favorite but it did not make it to the game before it got shutdown. It has a Chinese food theme which stands out from the rest of the areas. The popular Singaporean dish Chicken Rice is also featured.

Technically, the translucent and oily quality of the sauce is a challenge. The translucency is mainly a time consuming process of test rendering. As for the layer of oil, it is achieved by compositing different passes of a tileable oil image applied to a few different channels.

Another challenging task would be the cloth. The cloth sim in 3DS Max provided a decent base model for me to work on in ZBrush. The cloth sim for the biggest piece on the main platform took me quite some time before getting it right. 

concept credit: Ian Ho/Jose Cua 

Below are the close up test renders and ZBrush original model renders.

More Zbrush screen captures and grey captures after jump break.

Kutsuki Puzzle Piko Characters Work

Kraken is the last piece of work i did in Dreamrocket. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Rank 2 and 3 will get worked on.

concept credit: Ian Ho

Polypaint ZBrush ScreenCap

Grey ZBrush ScreenCap

view more characters after jump break

Kutsuki Puzzle Piko Area 6

This is by far my favorite, out of all the areas i have done in Kutsuki Puzzle Piko. Probably for no other reason than I am a sushi/sashimi lover!

Unlike the previous bright and colorful areas,  Area 6 has a quiet and peaceful zen-like atmosphere. I love the concept the moment i saw it. The biggest challenge here is the Miso Soup Sea. The clusters of residues is very tricky to get it look right, and the layers of transparency took a longer than usual rendering time. i am just glad all the effort pays off.

All the buildings in Area 6 are modeled and painted in 3DS Max and Zbrush. Concept art by Ian Ho.

Below are the close up test renders and ZBrush original model renders.

 
More higher resolution images of renders and ZBrush BPR after the jump break.

Star Wars: First Assault Art High Bar Blockade Runner

This is an art high bar done prior to production for the ill-fated First Assault game in 2012. I have worked on the Blockade Runner, based on a high poly asset. i have also done the ground elevators and platforms.

Screen captures from Unreal Engine 3.

There are probably other engineers and artists who have worked on other elements on this scene. By far, i remember fellow artist Zeng Yao Feng who worked on the rest of the Star Destroyer Hangar and Nigel Ang who is responsible for all the lighting and shaders.

3 more images after the jump break.

Kutsuki Puzzle Piko Area 5

Area 5 is different from the rest of the areas as it is floating in the air. It is the last of the vibrant and colorful areas and a bridge to the latter ones with a slightly more muted color scheme. The main challenge for me was actually the absurd idea that the waterfalls are falling into the sky. On top of that, the waterfalls on both sides are supposed to match seamlessly to the areas before and after it.

concept credit: Ma Qiyin

Below are the close up test renders.

grey render of Area 5 after the jump break.

Kutsuki Puzzle PIKO Area 4

Here is an update on Area 4 for the mobile game Kutsuki Puzzle PIKO. 

Area 4 has a high tea theme. Somehow dessert time has extended into sunset. As this area has undergone the most iterations due to design changes, I have much bittersweet memories of it.

The top image is a VRay render in 3DS Max. The individual buildings needs to be animated in Unity so they are exported separately. There are also other interactive elements which are added on to the stage in game.

All the buildings in Area 4 are modeled and painted in 3DS Max and Zbrush. Concept art by Ma Qi Yin. 

Below are the close up test renders and ZBrush original model renders.

 
More higher resolution images of renders and ZBrush BPR after the jump break.

Kutsuki Puzzle PIKO Area 2

This is another update on the environments i created for the mobile game Kutsuki Puzzle PIKO. Although it is Area 2, it is actually the first environment of the game i started production on. So i was basically figuring out things as i went about working on it.

Area 2 has a picnic theme set on a bright beautiful day. The large object count for the sandwich contents inside the glass container was quite a challenge at first. i remember spending much effort setting up them as V-Ray proxies for more efficient rendering.

The top image is a VRay render in 3DS Max. The individual buildings needs to be animated in Unity so they are exported separately. There are also other interactive elements which are added on to the stage in game.

All the buildings in Area 2 are modeled and painted in Zbrush, with the exception of the Milk Jug (secret nickname Cleopatra Milk Bathhouse). Then lower resolution models are exported to 3DS Max for VRay rendering. Concept art by Ma Qi Yin. 

Below are the close up test renders and ZBrush original model renders.

Area 2 In-game Screen Capture in Unity Engine

 
More higher resolution images of renders and ZBrush BPR after the jump break.

Kutsuki Puzzle PIKO Area 1

Area 1 V-Ray Render

I have been working mainly on the environments for the mobile game Kutsuki Puzzle PIKO. The first 3 Areas of the game (android version) has been released for BETA in Philippines. Thus i am able to post them finally.

This is a food-themed puzzle game which takes place in the World of Fooditopia. Players tap on the food building to play the game. For Area 1, the buildings are inspired by healthy vegetables and fruits, set in the gentle morning light. 

The top image is a VRay render in 3DS Max. The individual buildings needs to be animated in Unity so they are exported separately. There are also other interactive elements which are added on to the stage in game.

All the buildings in Area 1 are done in Zbrush, and lower resolution models are exported to 3DS Max and rendered with VRay. Concept art by Ma Qi Yin. 

Area 1 In-game Screen Capture in Unity Engine

More higher resolution images of renders and ZBrush BPR after the jump break. 

N.O.A Shimonada-Eki, Iyo

This is a statue of the deity O-Gu-O, who has an enormous appetite and need to eat a galaxy in a single meal. According to ancient legend, he becomes so full after a meal that he cannot move and has to remain dormant until he digests for 3 billion years. Then he will wake up and swallow another galaxy. It is said that during his dormant state, no force in the universe can move him. In modern days, he is very popular, especially to the ladies, who pray to him for healthy digestions and great figure.

15 years after the 2012 flood, the water level has subsided to almost normal level at Iyo, Ehime Prefecture. This particular O-Gu-O statue in Shimonada Shrine remains standing at its original position, even though the entire shrine has been swept away.

Artwork for Cancelled Mobile Game

I guess most developers have experienced shelved projects in their career. I have my fair share of those ill-fated projects. The following are environment artworks done for a cancelled mobile game. Initially the buildings are intended to be 3D rendered sprites but it was changed to real time 3D models which can be viewed 360 degrees in game. Each real time building have a polygon budget below 1000 each and its upgrade variants have to shared the same 512x512 texture (which may be downsized to 256 in game). If you are familiar with Clash of Clans, you probably can tell from the art assets that it would be a similar game.
 

Town Hall (Rendered Sprite)

Market (Rendered Sprite)

Catapult ( (Rendered Sprite)

Trees (Rendered Sprites)

Market (Real Time Models)

Catapult (Real Time Models)

Catapult Level 1-3

Archer Tower (Real Time Models)

Archer Tower Level 1-3

Training Shed (Real Time Models)

Training Shed Level 1-3

Siege Machine (Real Time Models)

Siege Machine Level 1-4

More wire frames and texture layout after the jump break

Star Wars: First Assault Bespin Map

Here is another update of my work on Star Wars: First Assault. Although i worked on Tatooine Maps, my main work is on Bespin Map 3, together with the awesome Joshua Balcaceres. The images below are the areas which are done by me. There are, of course, some shared textures and props here and there, for efficiency and optimization.

more in game capture after the jump break.

Star Wars: First Assault Tatooine Map -- Spawn Point Bravo

An environment from an unreleased game Star Wars First Assault which i have worked on. Real time capture in Unreal Engine 3.

Lord of the Guardians

This is a small update of some bread and butter work i have done for the mobile game Lord of the Guardians. All concept designs by Ma Qiyin. I did the models and renders with some design improvisations for some in-between levels. Artwork are copyrights of Dreamrocket.

 

Elite Training Sheds

Army Bunkers

Eye of Asha

Ice Dragon Throne

N.O.A

It is always good to have some artwork to show for a new year! Here is an UDK run time update on my personal project N.O.A. Scrolled down now to the video if you want to skip the wordy post!

The concept is that N.O.A is a parallel world of ours which was destroyed by a great flood in 2012. We would discover it in 2020 and manage to capture and record light from this parallel dimension. The above video shows the aftermath of the flood in Pu Dong, Shanghai, in the alternate world N.O.A. In this scene, some wealthy people managed to get hold of a decommissioned World War II submarine and hoped to survive the flood. There are also others who used flood rescue pods. None of their fates seems optimistic.

NOA Teaser

A teaser for my WIP UDK real time scene. these assets are not prominent in the UDK shot so i am showcasing their higher res version in the teaser render. will update a UDK capture of a similar angle for the fun of comparison soon.

NOA - Rescue Pod

This Rescue Pod is actually designed by a Chinese in preparation for the 2012 Mayan end-of-the-world predictions. NOA is along this theme as well. there are many similar pods designed in real life for tsunami but i like this one because of the big text over its yellow painted body. The spelling mistakes in the english text are there in the original reference but i added a little more to it. i thought this is interesting because i have seen many other non-Chinese artist used Chinese words on their mecha art incorrectly so i will do a reverse.

ZBrush Screen Cap

UDK Scene Cap 01

UDK Scene Cap 02

UDK Scene Cap 03