I tried to finish the overall city model this week to get it ready to start with the UV maps and texturing.
General city buildings modelling
I decided to make the general buildings of the city using some tools like ‘transform’ and ‘extrude’ to quickly generate random building shapes. I used the following tutorial as an example:
City Modelling tutorial (SYIA Studios, 2019)I created a disc and reduced the subdivisions to have a irregular gridI extruded the subdivisions to create the roads of the cityI extruded the subdivisions again but this time upwards to give some elevation to the terrainI created some more subdivisions inside the current faces of the discI extruded the smaller subdivisions to give some separation between themI used the ‘transform’ tool to give some randomness to the faces selectedI extruded the faces and, because I randomise them, these will elevate differently to create the effect of the buildings of a cityTop view of the buildings
Rocky base buildings remodelling
After modelling the city buildings, I noticed that the buildings in the rocky base were a bit off scale so I decided to remodel them and create a more cohesive design. I used the same technique that I used for the top city buildings, by randomising the faces of a cylinder and extruding them out. Then I picked a few faces I moved them inwards so it seems like entrances to the buildings or even garages for the flying cars.
Subdivisions createdSubdivisions reducedAddition of more subdivisions within the previous uneven subdivisionsI deleted some random subdivisions to create more variety of shapesFaces extruded slightly to give some separation between themTransform tool to create randomnessFaces extrudedRandom faces selected and moved inwardsRendered view with rocky parts
For the bottom building, I tried to keep it simpler, and just extruded in the subdivisions (giving some separation between faces) and then extruded out some balconies. the bottom part has big doors as if they were entrances for big flying trucks.
Bottom buildings of rocky baseRendered view with rocky parts
Skyscrapers and bridges modelling
To give some interest and variety to the city, I also modelled some skyscrapers that will be placed in the middle section of the city. I also added some bridges linking the lower buildings of the city.
Skyscrapers modelsSkyscrapers modelsCity render view with skyscrapers and bridges addedMain view of the city to check balance of the design
City connections/pathways, entrances, & city barrier
Using the same technique I used for the rock of the city base, I created rocky connections between cities, with two main roads and a train track in the middle.
Stalactites made with ‘stamp’ toolRocky texture made with ‘stamp’ toolSmoothed out the rocky texture and the stalactites length to create some variety in shapesRender view of the city and the connections addedRender top view of the city and the connections addedRender view of the city base and the connections addedCity entrances and barrierThree connections created and attached to the cityTop view of connections and city
City details
Lastly, I added the city details like lamp posts, transit capsules, flying cars, cables, antennas, billboards, and cranes, to make the city more realistic and alive. I used MASH to help with the lamp posts repetition and with the flying cars positioning and animation around the city. I did not make many billboards as most of the advertising and signage is going to be holographic. Additionally, I remodelled the roof tops of the buildings with different shapes to give some variety to the overall look.
Big lamp posts for the city connections and small lamp post for the top cityLamp posts added with MASH to quickly create a repetition of the object with equal distances from each otherClose view of lamp posts in placeModelling of transit capsules to transport people between citiesFlying car bottom viewFlying car top viewCar simulation with MASH taking a torus as a base shape‘Signal’ tool to create some variation in the cars movement Flying cars simulation with MASHI used curves to make the cables shapesCables between buildingsI also added some antennas and remodelled the roof tops of the buildingsLamp posts added to the outside area of the cityAddition of billboardsCrane modelCranes look on top of skyscraperOverall look of the city details
References
SYIA Studios (2019). Maya Model a Simple City Quickly Tutorial (online). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2315V1g8fNw&list=PLAlv9GvsMvnMCUwPx_gcXaCj_yHYdIPqD&index=118&t=287s [Accessed 12 October 2023]
