Skip to main content

Sorting Table Renders

T

he next asset I've got around to texturing is the sorting table, and the renders are now ready to share!

Like the pot launcher before, I discovered a few topology issues that bothered me, specifically the wheels and latches (see here). So, I tidied them all up in Maya, drastically reducing the poly count. Booyah.

In Substance 3D Painter, I was conscious to keep an eye on scale when texturing. The crab sorting table has quite large surface areas, so I had to constantly be aware of texture scaling to make the object look as convincingly accurate and readable in size as possible.

After messing about with basic lighting and renders in Iray, I had a fun idea. I opened the sorting table and my king crab model into a scene in Maya. Using the node-based procedural effects tool MASH, I created a bunch of king crabs, scattered them using a random node and placed them above the table using a transform node. Next, I distributed the duplicates so no geometry was intersecting, then added a dynamics node. Finally, I tweaked and fine-tuned the collision settings half a dozen times until I got a result I was happy with.

The end result?

Crabs strewn on the table!

Unifying the pot launcher and crab pot was enjoyable but populating the table with crabs and rendering the shots in Marmoset was VERY fulfilling after all these years. I will definitely look up more tutorials on the many features of the MASH tool in Maya. Like the dynamic simulation tools in Cinema 4D, it is going to be a massive time saver. Enjoy the shots below!



Jason Bartlett ©

Jason Bartlett ©

Jason Bartlett ©

Jason Bartlett ©

Jason Bartlett ©

Jason Bartlett ©

Jason Bartlett ©

Jason Bartlett ©


In the next post, completing the coiling block!


Thanks for reading :)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

6 Yr Blog Anniversary

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 ...

Arnold Render Tests

A fter months and months of modelling, UV unwrapping and exporting assets, it has been very refreshing to now open up Maya 2026 and experiment with all the new features. The first thing I just had to do was to try out the latest version of the  built-in ray tracing renderer, Arnold 7.4. Excitedly, I opened up the wheelhouse interior scene, dropped in a HDRI map on a skydome light, and experimented with all the settings. I increased the brightness of the lights in the attribute editor (as it is an interior space it will be inherently darker), and played around with the number of samples to improve the overall image quality (more iterations for rays to bounce and do their thing). I'm incredibly pleased with how these greyscale renders of the wheelhouse below turned out. They not only bring the space to life visually, but also motivate me to get back into the creative flow. Jason Bartlett © Jason Bartlett © Jason Bartlett © Jason Bartlett © Next time, I'll show some development of...

Forepeak Progress

F ollowing on from the progress made modelling the bulwarks of the  F/V  Scully's  main  deck, I continued along towards the bow. Below we have the forepeak. This is the very most forward section of a boat, typically used in crab fishing vessels for frozen bait, general storage and essential machinery. The process of bringing the forepeak to life involved not just creating its fundamental shape, but also considering the practicalities of its function for authenticity; much like the rest of the boat. Given how vital this area on the boat is, I made sure to pay careful attention to the steel plating and seamless transition from the sides upwards .  The forepeak, in particular, has to look integrated with the rest of the deck and feel like it is capable of withstanding the constant battle with the elements; visually reflecting both its inherent strength and industrial purposes. Jason Bartlett © Next time, I concentrate very hard on getting the bow just right (that'...