470 Sprint 4 Blog Post

        This sprint, I was tasked with texturing more props for our scene and the power-ups used in our first few levels. I didn't have much assigned to me this sprint, since we are focusing on improving our current levels before creating new ones. First, I began with the power-ups. Our lead wanted each of the power-ups to have an emissive layer, so they glow in our game, so the first step on each power-up was to add that channel to my substance painter projects. I did this as I went, and I began with the freeze power-up.

        Our freeze power-up is a snowflake, so my initial instinct was to find a snowy, white texture for it. Upon searching, I was able to find some, but when I applied them with an emissive layer, the texture just looked bright white. I changed tactics, and looked for an ice texture, since it is a "freeze" power-up. I was unsure if transparency would be a good idea, and decided to use a metal texture that had some scuff marks instead. I am satisfied with how it came out, because even with the emissive layer applied, the texture looks frozen.

Next was the jump power-up, which came in the form of a spring. The reference slides created by the designer stated that the spring was to be rusted, so my direction on this model was direct and simple. I applied a metal texture to the spring, added a fill layer colored brown, and added a rust mask to the fill layer. I played around with the settings, before settling on the texture you see in the image. I tried a few different rust masks, but I wanted to still be able to see the metal throughout the model, so I adjusted the grunge settings on a few until I found what I wanted.

Next I worked on the wall-breaker power-up. This model is a dumbbell, and in the original reference slides there was supposed to be a number stamped on the dumbbell to indicate the weight. However, upon testing some alpha stamps with the emissive layer active, I determined that there was a low chance of the player even seeing the detail, so I decided to just use a metal texture, with some slight modifications. Admittedly this texture was a bit simple, but I believe this is a result of the nature of power-ups. Time should not be wasted on details that will not contribute to the sales, popularity, and playtime of the game.

Next, I was working on the speed power-up, which came in the form of coffee. I was pleasantly challenged by this task, since I had rarely ever done a ceramic material in painter. I began researching and locating workable textures, then realized substance painter had However, I found a texture which worked, added a fill layer for the coffee itself, and added the emissive layer to finish off the texture.

 

The next two props I worked on were the ladder and the silo, which were to be placed next to each other. Unfortunately, the UVs on the ladder led to a repeating texture across the model. I was frustrated at first, then I found a smart material which applies metal with dirt/rust incorporated, and I was incredibly satisfied with the results. With the silo, the UVs were tiled for each level going up the silo, making the texturing process easier. I only had to texture one UV, and it applied to the whole silo.

Finally, I worked on the sunflower checkpoint. This was by far the most fun model to work on, since it had complicated geometry which worked well with different materials and masks. I began by using a plant stem texture for the stem, and then was stumped by the prospect of petals. I decided to use a cloth texture, since I noticed the texture was similar. After applying an emissive layer and masking it around the petals of the sunflower, I kept using fabric materials for other parts of the flower. I am very satisfied with the results.