Rover Process
References:
These are the four references I used most in the creation process. I needed images that show Curiosity from orthographic views as well as its scale.
Modeling:
Curiosity's modeling process took place only in Maya seeing as no part of the rover needed to be sculpted. I started with the body then built basic shapes for the legs, wheels, MMRTG in the back, neck, and camera. Once the structure was scaled properly I refined the model. I simplified the topology from the top view by excluding the smaller pieces on the rover's body.
While I did not have a polygon limit, I wanted to keep the model as clean as possible.
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Metallic
Roughness
Base Color
Texturing:
The majority of the rover was textured in Substance Painter. In fact, this project was used to start off learning the software. I aimed for as many scratches, grit, and dirt as possible. Alpha patterns were utilized on the sides of the body to mimic the hatches and indents in the metal.
The smaller pieces that were less noticeable were textured using a standard surface texture. All colors were pushed to match the same color on the original rover, however many colored wires and small pieces were taken out of my final model.
Lighting:
The lighting in this clip has changed over time. Initially, I placed an HDRI light with enough additional lights to illuminate the model and environment. Revisions that I have added since then include red atmospheric volume to mimic the red dust on Mars. I added three area lights. One in which I broke the light link with the ground and another in which I broke the light link with the rover. This was to mimic the optimal lighting on the rover's metallic yet diffuse body and the dusty ground.