I'd practicing a workflow with more modifiers and generators. To that end, this cascade of scrolls was created using parametric modeling, with deformers, generators, nulls, etc  So far, the physics of Cinema 4d are easier to use than those of Maya as are selection sets that remain visible next to the model in the outliner. 

Textures were applied in Substance Painter, lighting, and screen capture done in Unreal Engine 5.2. Thank you Mippi for the invaluable guidance on the lighting. The pile was achieved by cloning and randomizing 15 different scrolls that I made with a custom generator. I lifted them up, turned them at a slight angle, and dropped them to the ground. I modeled the furniture in the back, but a few exceptions are cleaned museum scan data and some placeholder Sicka Mansion UE marketplace assets. 

Hi Neihc!

My latest work is the Intrepid Library scene. I've posted just an in progress corner slice first, something I'm focusing on to update my portfolio. I also show the in-progress library and the groundwork below. Modeling/UVs/trimsheet/concept by me. Some textures from Megascans. Thank you to Mippithedork, Unreal Slackers Discord, and Clinton Crumpler for your continuous support of my latest environment.

This is the library as it stands. The large shapes are in, so I moved on to blocking out the small to medium props and furniture in Maya.

The blockouts are 'detailed' and built on top of an export of the Unreal Engine 5.1 scene. I'm adding props to show the intrepid, growth-focused,  nature of the family that owns it. Props are also used to flex, with some of the manor's expensive dishware and scientific instruments displayed.

I've got my asset gym set up in Maya with combined/working meshes near each other where necessary. Modular set with a grid unit of 20cm.

Original block out created using Unreal Engine's modeling tools.

Grid paper designs planning for modularity along with sketches that present some of the concepts for the Intrepid Library.

I adjusted the lighting, created a blueprint to generate the hanging lamps/hooks/chains that hold them, changed model placement, refined gray box models, and established a more consistent system for taking work-in-progress shots of my scene—lovely, needed, updates. 

All the screen captures were taken in Unreal Engine 5.

This is based on a gorgeous concept by Lok Du which is shared towards the bottom of the post.

Divination Moon Shop by Lok Du

Facets aren't like onions. I smoothed these ones out using soften edges in Maya. The FBX were importing into Unreal with hard edges, which while fine for the block out is nice to have gone now. 

I'm going to put a bit more tender loving care into the standing lanterns next. First though, I'm having issues exporting my scene, which, is deliciously scary. So I'm going to resolve that first, I think I need to download...Neihc help me out here :D I think I need to download a set of scripts for Windows. 

My latest updates are below!

This is beautiful and the pieces fit together, yet I confess I'm not sure how this works. I'll leave it to the seers.

I modeled this based on yesterday's exploratory drawings, which I'll include here for convenience. The original sphere was extremely basic, not even quite a block out yet, so this is a huge improvement. I dreamed up cute rabbit feet for the stand, but I may skip them because upon looking at the asset in the scene the base is almost never visible. Modeled in Maya and inserted into my Unreal Engine scene as an FBX.

I'm excited to be posting my update. I'm modeling in Maya, refining the block out of the main table. I installed a plug-in that has sped up my workflow, it's saving me a lot of time otherwise spent on keeping the Outliner organized. https://youtu.be/_Ou9WC6gjxY Less time deleting orphan nodes and freezing transforms, more time modeling. 

I don't believe I've posted the candles on the table yet, those were sculpted in ZBrush.

Another sweet update is the lighting improvements. Mippithedork on Unreal Slackers Discord helped me to really make the hanging lights shine! Thank you for helping me Mippi, this looks a lot nicer.

Tomorrow I'm going to model that Horary/Astronomical clock in the background, the big challenge there is that the concept doesn't show it in detail. I sketched out how I expect the pieces to fit together in 3D. There was one circular piece that I'm not sure about but the rest makes sense in my head. 

Latest below!

Updates on the colors. Texturing in Substance Painter. Lit and rendered in Marmoset Toolbag.

To improve my skills, I went back and retopo'd, optimized the UVs, and started retexturing this train car mesh. This is the work in progress render now that I'm starting to texture again. 

Rendered in Marmoset, modeled in Blender, baked high to low in Marmoset, texturing in Substance Painter.

Setting up vertex colors on the modified train car. I'm going to do the same workflow on the safety lap bar (not shown here.) When it comes to Substance I'll have one texture set for each, and color IDs based on the vertex colors for each texture set. Happy New Year!

Since my last post I've blocked in the entire table with basic cylinders and rectangles, and then moved on the adding more details as shown in the image below. I also made substantial progress on UVs and texturing of the net, which is working very well. I'll show that in another update.