Goldanniyatech

Overview

As I’m developing my game Goldanniyatech alone and entirely from scratch (without generative AI for content creation), I wanted to share a breakdown of a few 3D models to give some insight into my workflow and creative process 😁.

These models were created under open-world, time-budget constraints. Besides, they also take advantage of the Nanite technology, both for Static Meshes (models without deformation through bone-based animation or Shape Keys, though I never use the latter) and Skeletal Meshes (animated models with bones that deform the mesh).

I also wanted to highlight that my models are showcased using different rendering engines, depending on which best presents the asset. I alternate between Blender Cycles, Substance Painter IRay, and Unreal Engine’s renderer (in isolated scenes that more closely reflect in-game graphics).

As a result, there may be slight differences in how the models appear compared to their in-game versions 😉, since I adapt the lighting and environment specifically for portfolio-style presentation rather than gameplay.

I wanted to show a lot of architectural assets I’ve made alone, completely from scratch, for my game Goldanniyatech.

What’s interesting is that I created many of these assets without Lumen or Nanite in mind (way before Unreal Engine 5 😅), so they feature less detail than what I am potentially able to do.

Benchmark Demo on Epic

Jaded Bench

Jaded Bench asset created in 2021 from scratch using Blender for modeling and Substance Painter for texturing. It was made for some royal avenues in my open-world game.

Definitely not made with Nanite in mind, so it was fairly low-poly at first 😅. That explains why I didn’t sculpt the wood 😉.

Futura Door

I created this Futura Door from scratch in 2021, modeling it in Blender and texturing it in Substance Painter.

Sullen Door

I created the Sullen Door from scratch, modeling it in Blender and texturing it in Substance Painter.

Yield Sign

I created this Yield Sign from scratch, modeling it in Blender and texturing it in Substance Painter.

Fantasia Gamepad

The Fantasia Gamepad was created from scratch in 2021. I modeled it in Blender and textured it in Substance Painter. It’s both a collectible and a decorative asset in my game.

I also thought about making an animated version with joysticks, buttons, and arrows moving, but it’d be too costly from a performance standpoint. Making it a Skeletal Mesh in Unreal Engine (meaning adding an armature in Blender) would have a higher performance cost than a static mesh. And if I had to export each button separately, it would be around 15 meshes for a single gamepad, or maybe 10 if I could optimize performance by grouping two or three buttons into the same static mesh. This was definitely too much 😅.

Metallik Shelf

I’ve made the Metallik Shelf from scratch in 2021, modeling it in Blender and texturing it in Substance Painter.

My goal was to create a stylized metallic shelf for a garage in my game. It was originally meant to be interactive, otherwise, I would’ve added stuff on it 😅.

Now it’s just a prop, optimized for performance 😉.

Giga Padlock

This Giga Padlock was made from scratch in 2021. I modeled and animated it in Blender, then textured it in Substance Painter. Like many of my models from that era, it wasn’t designed with Nanite in mind 😅.

To open and close the shackle, I’ve added an armature (custom rig of course) to make 2 bone-based animations: opening and closing shackle. Although I could’ve simply exported the shackle and rotated its Transform in Unreal Engine, I really wanted a more articulated animation to better match the stylized graphics of my game 😁.