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Sunday, July 25, 2021

Saint Anatoles Cathedral (3D Art Week 02)

 So after taking an extended look at the cathedral and messing around in Maya, I've come up with a gameplan that will hopefully work out in the end. This week I don't have much to show, but I will walk you through my thought process and see how I've been making the cathedral modular. 

The nave walls are complete, and they're in game res as well. The pillars can be reduced further but that's something for later. I have yet to make the triforium (2nd floor) and fill out the vaulting in the clerestory (3rd floor), but those are a bit more complex and right now I just wanted to get the right dimensions and have everything looking good for the next step: the vaulting. 

The complex parts about Gothic cathedrals isn't their arches or their pillars, but the vaulted ceilings they employ to alleviate stress and weight from the top and spread it out to the piers (pillars) below. They have a weird pattern to them as they have to not only match the arching next to them, but fit seamlessly and have an apex point connecting the structure. Another consideration is that they have to tile seamlessly and match. It all sounds pretty complex but if you turn your brain off and use curves+revolve in Maya, it's not that hard. However, there are three types of vaults in this cathedral. I've been able to complete the first floor and get it to you in engine, but I'll be doing the other two and fill out the parts I mentioned earlier, the clerestory and triforium, as soon as I finish this post. Once those are done and in engine, it should be easy to then make the altar since it's just a bunch of boxes... in theory. 

The point is that most of the big shapes are there, and the architecture is pretty solid. Next week I'll finish up what little is left and then begin generating trim sheets. I decided that I would make two, one for masonry and wood, and the other for the altar and its intricate detail. The fourth week will be spent texturing the trim sheets, cleaning up the scene, and making the unique pieces like the confessional and the balcony both on the side. 

I'm not gonna lie, it's definitely not going to be finished by the time this semester ends; I chose a project that was very big and since I'm always slow to start, it took a little longer to get in the rhythm of things. I doubt it'll take an exaggerated amount of time to finish, perhaps a week and a half, but I do want to forewarn that it won't be at the level of my previous pieces (which are also unfinished in their own ways).





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Saint Anatoles Cathedral (3D Art Week 03)