Tutorial - Nautilus Shell Planter - Part 1

Hi Artstation Friends, I want to share a demo I did for my texture painting class at Laguna College of Art and Design. The goal is to concept, model, and texture a small set of rocks and plants from start to finish.
This is part 1/2 of the demo, which is focusing on the 2D concept. The 3D part is on the way~ :)

Final

Step 1: Ideation.

The students picked option B, so we decided to take that sketch and push it further.

The main problem we have identified with the original sketch is the top part and the base being too similar in size, which makes them "fight" each other.

By merging the base and the shell into one large mass, we create a classic "312" rhythm, which generates better visual flow. (From bottom to top: Big vs. Small vs. Med).

Step 3. A Grayscale Pass To Determine The Local Values.

Step 4 . Rough Color Pass

To better pop the blue succulent shape that comes out of the shell, we have decided to darken the background and change the flowers color to red, ensuring the viewers' eyes will go to the main focal point in the center, the blue dragon fruit thing.

Step 5. Initial Rendering Pass. The goal is to get rid of the line art by painting on top of the lines and bring in some light and shadows.

Step 6. AO and Highlight Pass. The goal is to make the forms read better in 3D by adding AOs and cast shadows to push certain areas backward and pull some other areas forward by applying highlights.

Step 7. Refining Detail Pass. Please note that the goal is not to render everything. We need to intentionally leave a good amount of resting space for the visual interests to pop.

Step 8. Final polish Pass. Clean up the lines and make sure there is a good amount of hard vs. soft edges

Reference Board

Here is a WIP version of the 3D asset. I will do a process breakdown once it's done :)