Hello Everyone! My name is Tancredi Cavallari and I’m here to present my next project as an Environment Artist.
BURNER is a 3D Showcase setted between 1975 and 1984.
A murder has been committed in the small town of Reno, Nevada, right before the arrival of the police. A Chevrolet Malibu from 1971 has been left unattended in a small parking lot. The vehicle is opened and covered in blood.
The project proposes a modern setting visually inspired by movies, TV shows and games such as:
- Breaking Bad
- Better Call Saul
- Alan Wake 2
- L.A. Noire
- True Detective
- El Camino
The first step was to create the initial blocking for the scene, with elements such as the main asset (Malibu 1971), dumsters, trash, buildings and ventilation systems.
For the references, I created a PureRef document with all the elements and the general view of the scene.
 texturing path.
I plan to finish the external part next week so I can start modeling the interns!
The car paint is not definitive so I will probably come back to it.
Along with the main asset, I fixed a couple of elements in the main scene, most of all the implementation of a new building that will close the scene without leaving it open to the skybox. I also replaced a bookmark with a top down view of the parking lot and imported the new updated model to the scene.
Week 03
New updates for the project!
I finished the external modeling for the Chevrolet Malibu and implemented it in the scene.
The color is still not definitive but so far I’m not complaining about it.
I Also managed to complete a few props such as trash cans, pizza boxes and wood crates. The scene is slowly taking shape after a couple of weeks and I’m happy with the vision!
Finally, I’ve updated the lighting of the scene with a first general step and started the modeling process for the car’s interns.
Here are a bunch of bookmarks for the scene.
Week 04
Here are the updates of the last week!
I finally managed to fix the textures of the Chevrolet: I basically adjusted the general roughness and created a more realistic dirtness all around the main body of the vehicle.
I used the asphalt and the sand as the main references, since the scene is setted in the middle of Nevada.
I also started and finished the modeling process for the car interns, so for the next week I will finally be able to texture it and close (at least for a bunch of weeks) the focus on the car.
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Week 05
New week new updates!
I finished the texturing process over the externals of the car, with new dirt and dust textures on the wheels, glasses and the main body.
I started a first texturing path for the interns in order to add as mush details as possible. I’m planning on finishing it by next week.
I also managed to implement the inters in the scene and create a couple of new bookmarks for them.
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Hi there @UgandaVince !
Out of curiosity, how did you do the weathered detailing on the car? The aged look is so realistic I’m quite curious how you got yours to look so cool.
Thank you! I made the details using different generators on 3D Painter such as curvature, ambient occlusion and light. Then I used some of the noise maps already present in the main library of the software. At the end is always a trial & error process!
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Week 06
New Updates!
On this week I managed to complete a second path over the textures for the Chevrolet Interns, but I’m going to put that asset in pause in order to focus more on the Environment and the other assets.
That’s why I started by creating a couple of new elements: a Metal Gate for the small alley and the back wall of the dumpster’s section.
I then created a first showcase sequence heavily inspired by Vince Gilligan’s direction in the Breaking Bad TV Series. The shots are not definitive so I’m surely going to change it multiple times in the next months.
Finally, here’s the updated collection of Bookmarks.
Week 07
Big updates this week!
I decided to speed up a little bit with the environment so I created a bunch of assets: dumpsters, ventilation units, grounds and decals.
Then I started and completed the first building of the environment: I created a modular kit for the main structure, then I added windows and pipes, along with a couple of textures adjustments to make it more full of details as possible.
I decided to come back on the car cause I wanted to finish the first general path over the interior’s textures. I will come back later on to complete the final touches.
Finally, Here are the Bookmarks of the scene, with all the new updates and fixes. Now It’s finally starting to get along with the initial idea!
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Hi there @UgandaVince,
Hope you’re well and having a wonderful week so far 
All the detail on the building and debris is making this environment come to life. It’s the ruggedness of the car itself, however, that captures my attention immediately. Lots of talent displayed here.
I look forward to seeing your next update!
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Week 08
New Updates for the week!
I added new modular kits to the environment and created two more buildings on the left side of the scene.
I worked on the Showcase sequence and now the shots are way more focused on the environment itself. It’s not completed yet, but now it’s showing more details of the scene.
I also worked on the 3rd Person Sequence. The frame rate is stuck between 30 and 40 fps, so it will definetely need a lot of optimization.
For now the foundation should help understand the take I want to give to it, heavingly inspired by games like Alan Wake 2 and The Last of Us.
I also managed to fix a bunch of the Bookmarks and updated a little bit the lighting system, that is still rough and really basic anyway.
I’m planning on working on that as soon as I’ve finished the buildings, since I want to have a clear view over the general result.
Here are the updated shots.
Week 09
This week I decided to focus entirely on the environment’s illumination.
I took a bunch of references as main inspiration, most of all the Bright Falls Environment from the recent Alan Wake 2:
In order to achieve this kind of tones and lightning system, I used multiple spots and rectangles trying to blend lumens and RTX systems. The actual result is just a first path, but for now I’m pretty satisfied with the result, especially on the car.
I also managed to add more decals and water puddles to the scene, in order to fill the main parking lot ground.
Here are the final results and bookmarks.
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Week 10
Big Updates for this week!
I finally started on the optimization path. Last week I had so much detail that I couldn’t even render my sequences properly, so I had to downgrade most of the textures from 4K to 2K and also 1K in some occasions.
Thanks to that I managed to render the sequence with addition for lights, reflections, puddles and updates over the environment.
Here’s the updated sequence:
I finished the final buildings for the environment. Now I just need to complete the phone booth and maybe adding more external assets such as hydrants, lights and dirt all around the scene.
Finally, I worked a lot over the lighting path and post processing side, adding a LUT to the scene and starting a first path on the camera focus and depth of field.
The optimization still remains the bigger problem, mostly related to raytracing as I found out on the GPU Profiler.
For now here are the updated bookmarks:
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Week 11
New Updates!
This week I finally worked on the optimization side of my project and I fixed the main issue that was giving me low performances: Reflections. I switched from RTX to Lumen and now the scene works at a stable 60 fps per second!
I also replaced the mannequin with my character and recorded a new gameplay preview. The camera is not final and it will probably need another path with adjustments. My main inspiration would be Alan Wake 2 's 3rd person camera.
Talking about the environment, I updated the scene with 3 new additions, the phone booth, the parking sign and the glock pistol. The gun was not modeled by me, I bought the mesh via sketchfab but I redid the UVs and texturized it by scratch. pretty happy with the result!
I finally completed the texturing path over the Chevrolet Malibu. I fixed the interior’s textures and managed to add the last detals such as alphas, elements and blood stains, since the original concept was a murder scene.
Finally, the updated bookmarks for the scene, with the addition of a few character’s meshes to give more narrative to the environment.
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Week 12
For this week I completed the final assets for the scene and created two simple roof signs to dispose on the buildings.
I then fixed the blood textures for the Chevy Malibu, giving them more consistency to the story and the environment. I think now it looks more believable!
The main adjustments for this week were made on the lighting front.
Last week my scene was way too over exposed so I needed to brick the general intensity down. Now the scene looks more realistic and the lighting is more natural!
Also, I used the sketelon mesh of my character to create different poses to fill the shots, creating a more dinamic environment and story-driven setting. My main inspirations for the poses were once again the Remedy games.
Finally, here are the updated bookmarks.
Closed to the end of the project!
Week 13
This week is the final update post! I finally finished the main environment. Now is all about presentation!
I started working over the props shots and the Chevy Malibu.
I finally finished my renders for the gameplay sequence and the showcase. The gameplay sequence is a little bit pixely due to the low bitrate, but I think it works.
And here are the final bookmarks for the scene!
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