The Art of SketchUp - part 1: Fantasy

Viztecture

great stuff ken, i really like the last one, is the scenery rendered in vue?

ken28875

INCREDIBLE!

@ Coen: Thank you, glad you like it.

MOSKIS! OUCH!

All right, you are working on Avatar 2, arent you?

@ Roberto: Yes, that was my secret project...James Cameron told me not to tell everyone...lol...I wish. Well, my goal is to work for the movie industry someday. Right now I am enjoying being a concept artist for the game industry.

@viztecture said:

great stuff ken, i really like the last one, is the scenery rendered in vue?

@ Adam: Wow, the great Vray master...Congratulations on winning the Vray contest. I checked out your website. Really nice stuff. Are these all modeled in Sketchup and rendered with Vray?
Yes, the scenery was done in Vue.

After I saw some of the renders from masters Teo, Adam McPartland and others in the Vray contest, I told myself I need to learn more about Vray and improve my rendering skills. So besides the Auto Show, I have been quite busy working on a few other projects at the same time and will post them as soon as they are finished.

Here's this one called "Karoline, clean up your room!". Karoline is my little princess who will turn 2 years old this December.

Hope you like it. C&C are welcome.

Have a nice day!

_KN

michaliszissiou

The great ken.
Beautiful

boofredlay

Very nice work.

delineator

hi ken, these renders are very fantastic, most especially the temple and the one with the cars!!

ken28875

@ Michalis, Eric/Boofredlay and delineator: Thank for your kind words. I am glad you like it.

Just dug out an old visual development from that game I worked on. I will post some more later.

The ship and boat wreckage are a mixture of Sketchup and Maya models. Environment done in Vue. Postwork in Photoshop as usual.

Have a great week!

_KN

michaliszissiou

More a scene from odyssey, could be. Except the palm trees, but could be. Pine trees are more appropriate. LOL
Beautiful work.

artysmedia

@ken28875 said:

@ Michalis, Eric/Boofredlay and delineator: Thank for your kind words. I am glad you like it.

Just dug out an old visual development from that game I worked on. I will post some more later.

The ship and boat wreckage are a mixture of Sketchup and Maya models. Environment done in Vue. Postwork in Photoshop as usual.

Have a great week!

_KN

Great models Ken, as ever forever!
The only think that i dont like is the composition. The warriors on the left and right keep all the attention and in the middle is "nothing" relevant (only a far far ship). Sorry for the crit

ken28875

@michaliszissiou said:

More a scene from odyssey, could be. Except the palm trees, but could be. Pine trees are more appropriate. LOL
Beautiful work.

@ Michalis: Thank you. Yes, maybe I'll try a version with the pines in the future.

@artysmedia said:

Great models Ken, as ever forever!
The only think that i dont like is the composition. The warriors on the left and right keep all the attention and in the middle is "nothing" relevant (only a far far ship). Sorry for the crit

@ Roberto: Thanks, glad you like the models. No problem, you don't have to apologize for the crit. I am all ears to hear what people like or don't like.
I guess I should have blended the skeleton warriors more into the vegetation as they seem to distract you. But at least my goal was to put the focus on the big ship and I believe it worked.

Usually I tried to compose the scene so your eyes will get directed to the main object.

Same here. On this one, I also use the Rule of Thirds .

Here are some atmospheric studies for the Tyrian Wash concept.

Have a great week!

_KN

ken28875

Hey guys,

I forgot to mention that I had an online interview with Sketchupartists.org last week. I would like to thank Mr. James Hannigan for the article.

SketchUp Art: in the online game industry :: SketchUp 3D Rendering Tutorials by SketchUpArtists

Ken Nguyen is a professional designer and conceptual artist who is now currently working in the online game industry. Ken has built 3D models w

(www.sketchupartists.org)

Have a wonderful day!

_KN

artysmedia

Thanks for the explanation, ken28875

Very interesting interview

ken28875

The tents and banners are Sketchup/Maya models. Environment with Vue.

Thanks for viewing.

_KN

igacici

I wanted to say something about your work here, but... I'm amazed,.. I can't say a word, except this: BRAVO!

ken28875

@igacici said:

I wanted to say something about your work here, but... I'm amazed,.. I can't say a word, except this: BRAVO!

Thanks, Igacici.

Here are some quick atmosphere studies of that visual development.

Take care,

_KN

My interview with Sketchupartists.org:
http://www.sketchupartists.org/spotlight/artists/sketchup-art-in-the-online-game-industry/
Sketchup for Fantasy Art:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=27028
Sketchup for Sci-Fi Art:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=27030

ken28875

Shipwrecks were made in Sketchup/Maya; environments in Vue; Postwork in Photoshop.

Atmospheric studies:

Thanks for viewing and have a terrific day!

_KN

My interview with Sketchupartists.org:
http://www.sketchupartists.org/spotlight/artists/sketchup-art-in-the-online-game-industry/
Sketchup for Fantasy Art:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=27028
Sketchup for Sci-Fi Art:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=27030

jarynzlesa

hi,
I don't play games but I think that your work is terrific , moreover this work it's your hobby and job and I think that is guarantee of success .
Keep posting.

ken28875

@jarynzlesa said:

hi,
I don't play games but I think that your work is terrific , moreover this work it's your hobby and job and I think that is guarantee of success .
Keep posting.

@ Jarynzlesa: Thank you for your kind words. Yes, I am quite lucky to have job that is also doing the same thing as my hobby. It's a dream career. Actually, since I love what I do at the office, it's not really "working".

Here's another render. The fortress is a Sketchup model and the environment was done in Vue.

A bunch of atmosphere studies:

Have a wonderful week,

_KN

My interview with Sketchupartists.org:
http://www.sketchupartists.org/spotlight/artists/sketchup-art-in-the-online-game-industry/
Sketchup for Fantasy Art:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=27028
Sketchup for Sci-Fi Art:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=27030

ken28875

Hi there,

So I mentioned in my other thread that ASGVIS/V-Ray just had a Featured Artist article about me a couple of days ago.

You can see it here.
http://software.asgvis.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=886&Itemid=466&utm_source=Publicaster&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Winning%20Subject&utm_term=Read%20more%20about%20Ken%20Nguyen

There are 2 new renders that have been done mainly for the interview and have not been posted anywhere else. I have others WIP that I will post later when I will finish them.

I also fixed/finished some older renders of the Temple (renamed "The Curse" based on my video game concept - added the colored characters) and the Interior Hallway (fixed some of the lighting and added sun rays).

I am still not quite satisfied with the Interior Hallway. I need to add stuff on the back wall. I will work on it some more when I have time.

Thanks for stopping by.

_KN

My interview with Sketchupartists.org:
http://www.sketchupartists.org/spotlight/artists/sketchup-art-in-the-online-game-industry/
Sketchup for Fantasy Art:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=27028
Sketchup for Sci-Fi Art:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=27030

michaliszissiou

Great modeling Ken. I never asked though. Where these figures (statues) comming from? Your models? Using what app? Not SU of course.

ken28875

@michaliszissiou said:

Great modeling Ken. I never asked though. Where these figures (statues) comming from? Your models? Using what app? Not SU of course.

Hi Michalis,

The statues were modeled in Maya and exported into Sketchup.

Same thing for my characters of the Temple (The Curse). These characters are old though. I did them back in 2005 for my game degree's final thesis.

I modeled, textured, rigged and animated using Maya and Photoshop. The fortress in the back was modeled in Sketchup and exported into Maya.

Here's one of my latest models and renders done for ASGVIS/V-Ray interview. Egyptian Museum. For this project, I used the new Spot lights to illuminate the Egyptian artifacts. Beware at night, when the museum doors close, the mummy comes to life!

Have a wonderful week!

_KN

My interview with ASGVIS/V-Ray:
http://software.asgvis.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=886&Itemid=466&utm_source=Publicaster&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Winning%20Subject&utm_term=Read%20more%20about%20Ken%20Nguyen
My interview with Sketchupartists.org:
http://www.sketchupartists.org/spotlight/artists/sketchup-art-in-the-online-game-industry/
Sketchup for Fantasy Art:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=27028
Sketchup for Sci-Fi Art:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=27030