3D World

This month we dive into the colourful world of Heart Machine’s upcoming Hyper Light Breaker, with not only a behind-the-scenes feature but our stunning cover and accompanying tips from artist John DeRiggi, so you can level up your own toon-shaded video game characters. Elsewhere we teach you how you can team up to make gorgeous fan art, create super-realistic AAA game assets, and plenty more. We also put the latest tools through their paces, from docking stations to 3D printers, and build a truly powerhouse workstation. Enjoy the issue! rob.redman@futurenet.com…

As much as you're tempted to go detailed with your sculpt, it's always better to start with the blockout and work in iterations to optimise your results! ARTIST Claudio Abraham SOFTWARE ZBrush, Marmoset Toolbag 4 "As a lifelong Super Mario fan and collector, creating this fan art diorama was a real dream come true! Modelled in ZBrush and rendered in Marmoset Toolbag 4, this project captures the playful essence of the Mario universe with its vibrant action and iconic characters. Crafting this piece was a two-month labour of joy, aiming to portray Mario's confidence and the dynamism of the games. It allowed me to combine my passion for the characters with my love for digital sculpting, resulting in a piece that celebrates creativity and nostalgia. For me, this diorama is…

The Gallery CG art to inspire "This environment piece was created in Unreal Engine 5 and is fan art for the popular video game franchise Halo, which has been one of my favourite franchises going back to when I was younger. I created all the assets from scratch myself aside from the character models, which I found on 3D asset websites. I made the hard surface assets in Blender using various plugins such as BoxCutter and anything organic was done in ZBrush and SpeedTree. When creating any environment art, spend lots of time on the blockout and lighting stages, it’s the difference between your art turning out great or falling flat." artstation.com/jnaughton98 ARTIST James Naughton SOFTWARE Unreal Engine, Blender, ZBrush, SpeedTree, Substance 3D Painter, Substance 3D Designer, Photoshop…

BASED ON A CONCEPT BY VICTOR TITOV (bit.ly/3yMkCGs) ARTIST Antoine Zavagno SOFTWARE ZBrush, Marmoset Toolbag, Photoshop "This artwork is based on one of Victor Titov's great sketches. I used only ZBrush for the sculpting and texturing, and Marmoset Toolbag for the rendering. By limiting myself to just these two software, I was able to create this portrait much faster than I usually do. What attracted me to this piece was the sketchy and imperfect side of the drawing. It's also the part I had the most fun with; not questioning every brushstroke and keeping some of my mistakes in was very relaxing. What I learned during this project is to leave room for mistakes and imperfections. An imperfect image doesn't necessarily mean a bad image." artstation.com/zavagno…

The Gallery CG art to inspire BASED ON THE CONCEPT BY YINTION J – JIANG GEPING (artstation.com/yintion) "I've always created characters for medieval fantasy concepts, so this character, which combines modern military clothing and technology, was quite a challenge for me. For the mechanical parts, I first sketched in ZBrush using DynaMesh, referring to Keos Masons' hard surface techniques. I then separated each part, retopologised them, and refined the details. The modern military-style clothing needed realistic folds, so it was created using Marvelous Designer. The most enjoyable part of this project was the texturing. I had fun working on it because there were many objects with various decals engraved. As an additional Easter egg, I also wrote the names of my favourite singers and songs on the wings. Lastly, I'd…

The Gallery CG art to inspire "STUDYING HOW TO IMPROVE ITS DETAILS WAS THE MOST ENGAGING PART" BASED ON A CONCEPT BY MAREK KAPLITA (bit.ly/46RxNCE) "I was inspired to create this work after playing Dying Light 2 Stay Human and seeing a post by Marek Kaplita on ArtStation, which led me to make my own version of a crossbow. Studying the crossbow and understanding how it works and how to improve its details was the most engaging part. The main challenge was to maintain the original design while adding something new. After making the model in Blender, I moved on to the equally fascinating process of creating high-poly details and sculpting. The Dying Light setting implies an apocalypse, so depicting material wear and detail interaction was crucial. Working on this…