Corinthian Column Study

A while ago I created an intricate model of a Corinthian capital. I have always been interested in replicating ornate details in 3D. Creating a Corinthian column proved to be a very challenging experience. I broke down the capital into individual elements and then created those elements as individual models in 3D. At the time this seemed a very logical approach and I was happy with the final result.

It wasn’t until starting my degree this year that I became interested in seeing if I could reuse this asset in one of my game projects. I opened up the scene and was shocked when I found the asset was a little over 500,000 polygons. Obviously this is a completely unacceptable size for a single game asset.  I am interested in seeing whether I can utilise hard surface transer and apply the detail of this model onto a low poly equivalant. You can see the high poly model below:



As far as I have seen, there is no decently made game-ready asset of a Corinthian capital. I assume this is because the model itself is so complex that it is difficult to find the right balance between keeping the details but having the model be efficient. My asset was comprised of about a hundred smaller models with things like the leaves and spirals being an individual model.

Some of the elements that make up the completed model.

I had put a lot of work into creating this and didn’t want to see it go to waste, so I began experimenting with different methods in which I could turn it into a game-ready asset. It was created entirely in 3DS Max as opposed to a sculpting tool like Z-Brush so I was without the luxury of jumping between subdivision levels.

My first plan was to take the models individual components and make a low poly counterpart for them. That way I would still be able to retain the shape of the column that I had worked so hard on. With this method I was able to shave the model down to 40,000 polies but this was still far too high for a single asset.

I was getting rather frustrated by this and didn’t want to reduce the detail of the model any further. It was then that I had the idea of creating a low poly shell of the model that I could project the various details on. For the most part this worked but the texture still requires tweaking. 

I created a shell that has taken the model down to 3693 polies. Still a little high but I don't want to lose anymore details when I surface transfer the model. You can see the low poly shell below:

Here is the simplified models wireframe:

UV map:

Please see below the low poly model with projected details in Substance Painter:

I edited the texture in Unreal Engine and you can see the results below:

Overall I'm still not too happy with the final look. And will keep working on this as I think it will serve as a lovely asset to use for my major project.