D_Rogue Game Art Project

H appy  6th Blogiversary! Six years ago today, this project began! Over two thousand days later  (Gulp) , I'm still proud of the consistency I've maintained. I often think back to University, which instilled in me the habit of posting regularly on Blogger. Looking back, it's incredible to see how much has changed, and yet how much the core of this project remains the same.  It's not always easy, but this blog has become a vital part of my creative process and personal growth. Developing D_ROGUE has been a long journey with many challenges and lessons learned along the way. Seeing the progress over the years fuels my motivation, especially that initial drive to document my work and build a portfolio. There's still a looooooong way to go, but I'm more determined than ever. Remembering my original intent...to document my journey, share my learnings, and build a portfolio, is key. Seeing my skills grow through previous posts has been both invaluable and ...

P reviously, in the blog post before last, I showcased a selection of equipment and items I modelled for the Wheelhouse interior. Now that most of these assets are completely modelled, the next step is optimization and UV unwrapping! "Ugh, UVs?" I hear you groan. "That sounds tedious!" you might be thinking. And you wouldn't be wrong! However, UV unwrapping is a necessary evil. One I've come to appreciate, and even enjoy from time to time. I like to think I've improved in speed and efficiency when assigning UV coordinates to vertices. In fact, I can proudly say I've been UV unwrapping for over ten years (check out this post   here   from my first weeks of Uni; featuring not-so-optimized UVs of tools…of all things)!! Over the years, I've developed a mental workflow that helps me tackle UV unwrapping. Here are five tips I've found particularly helpful: Pre-visualization:  Before you even  start  unwrapping, think about how ...

M oving into 2025, the F/V  Scully's   interior is starting to take shape! Over the past weeks, I've shifted focus towards modelling the cabin deck, aiming to create a believable and lived-in space the player will be able to explore. My aim is to create an authentic environment onboard the F/V Scully . This means going beyond simple walls and floors, and meticulously modelling the tools and equipment that define a hard-working life at sea. While machinery and navigation equipment depict the workplace, it's the personal effects of the crew that are crucial to capturing the lived-in authenticity of the space; grounding the reality through human connection. These details aren't just visual clutter; they are storytelling elements that hint at the lives and personalities of the crew.  As the game unfolds, players will examine these objects to unravel the mystery through clues and fill in the gaps of the larger picture. Therefore, the cabin rooms are key to helping players...

O ver the course of 2024, the F/V  Scully's  interior has steadily gained depth and detail through not only the fishing boats structure, but also its individual assets. Below you can see a selection of various pieces of equipment I've been focusing on that would have been crucial to the vessel's operation in the 70's. For example, the handheld walkie-talkie. I paid particular attention to finding a model that not only looks like it means business but also reflects the period it was originally made in. Similarly, another model, the tape drive, is so distinct with its mechanical buttons, knobs and details, its sole presence serves as an essential visual cue to the era the game is set in. As mentioned in my last post, I feel this attention to small details is essential to create a rich and believable environment, ensuring each element, no matter how seemingly minor, contributes to the overall immersive experience. As the asset collection grows, I've increasingly fo...

O ne of the most enjoyable interior spaces of the  F/V  Scully  to model so far has been the galley. This is the heart of the fishing vessel, serving as both the kitchen and the crew's lounge area. My primary inspiration was the galley of the  F/V  Saga, as seen  on the  TV show Deadliest Catch.   While I do replicate pre-existing elements, drawing heavily from real-world references, a significant part of the interior design process involves reverse-engineering features to accurately reflect the late 70s setting. For instance, the kitchen appliances underwent a deep dive, from the specific oven models to the design of the taps (faucets for any Americans reading).  I've ensured that (almost) everything looks like it belongs from the 70s, rather than from a modern boat. This approach  to even the smallest of details is central to  creating an authentic experience. Additionally, the challenge with this space was not simply to model a k...

B ack at the start of 2024, I dove into modelling the interior of the  F/V  Scully . To be honest, I was slightly intimidated at first. Excited, but apprehensive. I knew I was embarking on a long arduous journey. The time I would spend on the interior would likely be more than tripled compared to the exterior (not including UV unwrapping and texturing). While creating the interior seemed fun, I also recognised it would be a daunting task. However, I soon realized that I have been tackling similar challenges throughout the project  for years ! Over the next ten months in my free time, I constructed the interior of the  F/V  Scully. I began by blocking out the general spaces, using the exterior model as a guide, and my deck designs (see here  and  here ) as reference. Next, I connected all the decks together with stairs, doorways and hatches. Then finally, added all the detailing room by room. The first of these rooms I worked on was the wheelhouse....

A hoy! It's been a while (and then some) since my last blog post. In the fifteen-month gap, a lot has happened in my personal life and behind the scenes with the development of  D_ROGUE. In that time, amongst many things, I've been overhauling several models I worked on in 2019 that I wasn't quite satisfied with or appeared rushed. Below is one such example of the  F/V  Scully's w heelhouse windows I reworked. I placed the before and after screenshots side by side to highlight the striking difference that improved geometry can make. I believe one of the reasons I rushed the original model was that I was preparing an orthographic plan of the  F/V  Scully  towards my portfolio review at the video game expo EGX. In creating the  orthographic renders, a clean  geometry wasn't priority. Having spent several years working on various assets and improving my skills thereafter, returning to the boat's exterior made me realise just how messy the mesh was. C...

B elow are renders of the rope coiler for the deck of the  F/V  Scully fully textured and complete . This was another one of those builds that lacked any  close-up reference of the mechanical parts. These coilers are commonly  seen in the TV show Deadliest Catch, as they are situated right where all the action happens on the main deck. Luckily, I discovered a PDF plan of one online, which helped for all the complex geometry; such as the motor and pivoting arm. I really enjoyed weathering this piece. As it is close to the starboard side near all the spray of the ocean, I created lots of  rusty patches,  dinks from wear and tear, as well as, muddy grime from the rope brought up from the sea floor. One of the main parts I focused on optimising, was the tyre. I knew m odelling all the geometry for the treads of the tyre would be both time consuming and unnecessarily heavy on performance in the game. Instead, I simply replicated the  treads by creating a he...

I t has been over eight hundred and thirty five days since I began modelling the hydraulic crane (amongst many other things in my spare time) and I can finally say I have completed texturing it! This was without a doubt one of the hardest pieces of machinery to construct so far for D_ROGUE. Not only due to the number of parts involved (over one hundred individual pieces) but also the lack of any decent close-up reference. Almost every photo taken of a hydraulic crane, on board the boats seen in the TV show Deadliest Catch and elsewhere online, are either too far away or out of focus. I chose the F/V Saga crane as this was the most 'well-documented'. Eventually, it came down to just hours of staring at blurry images, learning all the major components, as well as a bit of creative licence! Here we have the final renders of the model below. I quite enjoyed weathering parts such as the hatch and lifting hook; adding a story with all the scratches, dinks and rust. I was careful not...