Incorporating seasonal flowers and shrubs into your garden can significantly enhance its beauty and allure. With diligent planning and research you can swiftly transform your outdoor area into a stunning haven of natural splendor. Therefore, when contemplating which plants are best suited for each season, keep in mind that knowledge is instrumental in creating a breathtaking garden. Armed with this information, you can create an extraordinary outdoor space that will captivate everyone who visits it – elevating it from being just another ordinary garden to something truly exceptional!
Mastering Foliage Creation in ZBrush, Marmoset & Substance Painter
Jeffrey Garcia talks about how the juicy foliage piece was created in 3D, explains why it is crucial to find reliable, high-quality references for environment art, and discusses the importance of constantly learning something new and expanding your skills as an artist.
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Introduction
My name is Jeffrey Garcia and I am an Environment Artist from Los Angeles, CA. I graduated from the Art Institute of California – Hollywood. My past work experience has been as a 3D artist for a range of projects from interactive applications to forensics animations to now as a freelance artist working on marketplace assets. I am always looking for new and challenging opportunities to help me expand my skills.
At the beginning of the year, I had set a goal for myself to try and gain a better understanding of creating foliage for games. Especially after seeing a video from Dan Sonley explaining the process in a video for Stylized Station. My aim was to sign up for the CGMA class on Vegetation for Games, but I, unfortunately, was not able to do so. Fortunately, Gnomon had released a new course with Peyton Varney going over the pipeline for creating game-ready foliage. This course was an excellent way for me to understand some of the basic concepts and it was a terrific way to get started.
As I began the project I chose to stick to a similar plant as Peyton had as I wanted to stick as close as possible to the tutorial itself. So, I created a PureRef file and gathered not only reference images for the plant itself but also gathered some foliage from some games that stood out to me and set that as my benchmark and goal of what I hoped to achieve.
Sculpting the Plants
Once I had my blockout ready, I took the base mesh into ZBrush and began sculpting the main shapes of the plants. Mostly using Inflate, Move Elastic, and Clay Tube brushes. With it being my first time sculpting foliage in ZBrush it was a challenge to get the large shapes to read correctly. Also, a good reminder to always turn on backface masking when sculpting. Overall, the sculpting for the foliage only took me 5 hours to create in total, I spent the most time on the fan palm as that was the one I chose to do that was not part of the tutorial as a challenge to myself to implement what I had learned thus far.
I baked all the maps within Marmoset Toolbag 4. I tend to do all my baking inside of Toolbag as it is so easy to see the results and its features make it so intuitive. For texturing, I did some experimenting with polypainting within ZBrush, but in the end, chose to go with Substance Painter. I laid down some base colors and added color variation to closely match the reference I had. Then I used generators to mask out the edges and give them more dead areas in some parts of the foliage. I did not want to overdo it since the goal was to make them look as alive and vibrant as possible.
Planting for Spring – A Burst of Color
There’s no denying that spring is a highly anticipated season for gardening enthusiasts. After braving the chilly winter months, it’s truly remarkable how nature presents us with a dazzling display of colors as a reward. During this vibrant season, tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths emerge as the stars of the show, illuminating gardens with their radiant hues far more than anyone could have imagined.
What catches many off guard is that these charming flowers not only serve to beautify our surroundings but are also instrumental in attracting essential pollinators like bees and butterflies. These invaluable creatures play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of our ecosystems by aiding in the pollination process.
The arrival of spring signals new beginnings, and its floral offerings symbolize hope and renewal. Gardeners eagerly await this season to witness firsthand how their hard work pays off through stunning blossoms that breathe life back into their outdoor spaces after winter’s dormancy.
In addition to tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths, other spring-blooming plants like crocuses, primroses, and cherry blossoms further contribute to creating an enchanting atmosphere sure to lift spirits. It’s no wonder that so many individuals find solace in tending to their gardens during this magical time of year – it serves as both a reminder of nature’s resilience and an opportunity for people to reconnect with the earth.
Caring for Summer Shrubs – Transform Your Garden
As you can imagine, summer is another crucial period for any gardener. It’s often overlooked that shrubs play a significant role in maintaining a vibrant garden during these warm months. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, horticulturist Monty Don states that “shrubs form the backbone of any beautiful summer garden.” Just think about how hydrangeas and rose bushes can completely transform your outdoor space with some planning involved.
Autumn Blooms – Unexpected Beauty
When most people think about autumn gardening, they envision trees shedding their leaves – but there’s more to this season than meets the eye. What you may not know is that certain flowers like chrysanthemums and asters thrive during this time! Mind-boggling as it may seem, these plants provide an unexpected splash of color amidst falling leaves.
