Habsburg Castle

Plastered castle wall created with Photoshop and Substance Alchemist

Plastered castle wall created with Photoshop and Substance Alchemist

Plastered castle wall texture set

Plastered castle wall texture set

Low-poly quoins for the corners of buildings. The height map was created in ZBrush, then taken into Substance Designer for texturing.

Low-poly quoins for the corners of buildings. The height map was created in ZBrush, then taken into Substance Designer for texturing.

The low-poly geo for the quoins. It's nothing more than an L-shaped sheet with a bevel and a few horizontal slices to assist the tessellation algorithm; the shader's displacement does all the heavy lifting.

The low-poly geo for the quoins. It's nothing more than an L-shaped sheet with a bevel and a few horizontal slices to assist the tessellation algorithm; the shader's displacement does all the heavy lifting.

Quoins texture set

Quoins texture set

Trim sheet for stone walls and certain other features, like the chapel windows. The blocks were sculpted in ZBrush, then the height map was taken to Substance Designer to make the other maps.

Trim sheet for stone walls and certain other features, like the chapel windows. The blocks were sculpted in ZBrush, then the height map was taken to Substance Designer to make the other maps.

Wooden roof shingles that were painted orange. Created entirely in Substance Designer.

Wooden roof shingles that were painted orange. Created entirely in Substance Designer.

Wood shingles procedural texture set

Wood shingles procedural texture set

Alternate shingles height map to go with a weathered version of the material

Alternate shingles height map to go with a weathered version of the material

Wider shingles for the hips of the roofs. Like with the quoins, these are mapped to flat polygons and displaced.

Wider shingles for the hips of the roofs. Like with the quoins, these are mapped to flat polygons and displaced.

One of the primary wall materials. The albedo is intentionally left somewhat bland and uniform so that I can multiply grunge over it in the Unreal material editor. Heightmap generated in Zbrush.

One of the primary wall materials. The albedo is intentionally left somewhat bland and uniform so that I can multiply grunge over it in the Unreal material editor. Heightmap generated in Zbrush.

"Disco ball" version of that last material.

"Disco ball" version of that last material.

Another wall material, this time of stones of mixed sizes. Shown here is an alternative version of the albedo, which has more color to it than the primary version. Using masks, I mix between the two versions in-engine for medium-scale variation.

Another wall material, this time of stones of mixed sizes. Shown here is an alternative version of the albedo, which has more color to it than the primary version. Using masks, I mix between the two versions in-engine for medium-scale variation.

A wood plank texture used on walkways around the castle's curtain walls. Quickly created using B2M and Photoshop.

A wood plank texture used on walkways around the castle's curtain walls. Quickly created using B2M and Photoshop.

Wood planks texture set

Wood planks texture set

A basic plaster material created rapidly in Photoshop and Knald.

A basic plaster material created rapidly in Photoshop and Knald.

Basic plaster texture set

Basic plaster texture set

Work in progress shot of the scene in Unreal Engine. I'll be adding some banners, then moving on to terrain and foliage.

Work in progress shot of the scene in Unreal Engine. I'll be adding some banners, then moving on to terrain and foliage.

Top view of the castle, sans colors

Top view of the castle, sans colors

Wireframe over shaded model, captured in the Modo viewport. All of the extra, "unnecessary" edges are for vertex coloring and slight warping.

Wireframe over shaded model, captured in the Modo viewport. All of the extra, "unnecessary" edges are for vertex coloring and slight warping.

I was tasked by Vertical Ventures with the digital restoration of a mostly ruined Swiss castle owned by the Habsburg family. The castle itself is complete, but I'm still working on the terrain and foliage around it, so I'm not putting up any final renders yet. In the meantime, here's a look at some of the individual assets used in the project.

Date
April 25, 2019