Nexstat
patreon
BTS - Creating Environments!
🕑 Added 2025-04-24 07:05:55 +0000 UTCHey all!
As a reminder, there won't be a new comic drop tomorrow where Got ya Girl usually was as I use that time to prepare for the NEW comic coming out.
This update is just to show and explain some 'behind the scenes' stuff of what I work on, so you only need to read on if you're interested in that kind of thing 😊
__________________________
What do I DO in that time between comics?
Most of it is taken up by writing/editing the script of the new comic, as well as creating the character models to be used and making the environments that'll be used throughout.
The issue with writing comics and using a program like DAZ studio is that GOOD environments are pretty rare, especially when you need something specific to your story... this is why you might notice a lot of us comic creators who use DAZ use the same environments as each other, cos the options (that are good quality) are super limited!
Want a police station? There's only two I've ever seen that are worth using.
Want a private jet? I think I've only seen one good quality version of that too.
Want a hotel? Well there's PARTS of hotels around, but the way environments work is that people only make SECTIONS of buildings, so you sort of have to 'string them together'.
What I mean is if you want to set a comic in a hotel, well there's environments for a SINGULAR hotel room, or maybe a singular hotel hallway, or maybe a hotel pool, but NONE of them are from the same creator and would vary WILDLY in quality and style.
Not only that, it's only the INSIDE of the hotel that they've made... meaning there's NO model for the building itself so an EXTERIOR shot is basically impossible!
This happens a lot for houses too. There's are lots of COMPONENTS for houses (bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, etc...) but very little fully complete houses with exteriors and gardens and connected doors.
So then it's my job in this week to try and edit the textures to make all these things look like they are in the same building, and I do something called 'kit-bashing' to try and make the different rooms feel cohesive.
What is kit-bashing?
Basically that means I take elements of different 'kit' sets and 'bash' the different elements together to make something entirely new! 😊
A perfect example is the two renders from Splintered Cells I uploaded with this post.
The first render is from Splintered Cells 1, and the second render is from Splintered Cells 3.
These two shots are almost identical to each other in terms of camera placement in the same environment, but one if from my EARLY days of making comics (Splintered Cells 1) when I just used environments as-is even if they are lower quality, and the second render is now almost 4 years later to when I've learned how to make environments look GOOD and spend a lot of time creating the right vibe!
I think in between these two shots, there are about 7-8 different kits that I've used parts of to create the new set 😊
Why use the same hallway?
Well it might be weird to hear, but the ONE thing that I find SUPER rare in DAZ assets is hallways! Everyone makes rooms in buildings, but people rarely make hallway assets which means I gotta use the same ones over and over with new "coats of paint" when someone opens a door in a story 😅
Luckily though, using the same set fits THIS story! Because both the military base from SC1 and this underground section from SC3 are both run by the 'Collective' clan, so they'd have similar layouts anyway.
How does it look so different?... What did you do?
-Firstly I gave all the wall textures a custom paint texture to be 'clean' compared to the military base, as well as higher resolution as the original assets are very low resolution and so look shit and muddy if you look too closely. Same thing with the flooring.
-Secondly I removed the end of the hallway and kit-bashed in the elevator INSIDES that Helena had entered from the previous scene.
-Thirdly the WALL of the elevator is from a completely different set, so I added that geometry and edited the textures to fit the rest of the hallway.
-I knew there was a story point of Linda sliming through the vents coming up, so I kit-bashed in the silver ventilation pipe from a different kit.
-I added the red rebar to the roof which IS from the original hallway kit, but just in a different location because I really liked the red and white aesthetic I was bringing for this set.
-I removed a lot of the stuff from the walls like AC units and junction boxes, and just kept things that fit the aesthetic like the fire hose reel that was red and white.
-I removed all the lighting and placed in new units to better light each section in that stark-white 'laboratory' feel.
-Lastly I kit-bashed in some glowing pillars from a previous kit I used in SC2 to create the University's modern blue-glowing aesthetic, but changed all the colouring to red instead.
But... why?... There's nothing left!
A valid question! Ultimately it comes down to because I needed the base geometry to work off.
Doing this to the old set means it still has the FUNCTIONALITY of the original set, like working doors and hard geometry like floors and ceilings and the like, but I just made it LOOK different.
As to why BOTHER doing all this?... For fun, and for pride!
Aside from certain aspects being needed for the story like this such as the air vent being added for Linda, I coulda just copied over the old set, added the vent and called it a day... but I wouldn't be proud of that.
In this job it's SUPER easy to get complacent, to just 'phone things in' cos of time crunch or mental energy or burnout or whatever and I will admit there ARE times that I do think about doing that (especially when my mental health is bad)... but then I wouldn't be proud of the comics and worlds I create.
Plus... it's fun! Kit-bashing is one of my favourite things to do, and that includes Characters too!
You can pretty easily download an entire outfit for a character and apply it, or download a character and just use the same hairstyle they used in the promo imagery and call it done, and while I have done that too in the past, that's not where the fun is for me and I like to kit-bash different clothing options and styles and body types and hairstyle to make something unique.
Even Nexy's typical ponytail hairstyle is made up of two completely separate hair models and a custom hair shader to blend them!
I'm able to continue doing this... because of YOU!
The ONLY reason I can put this much time, energy and love into the comics is because of all YOU guys that support me here on Patreon.
This is my full-time job! If I had to do another job on TOP of making comics, there's NO way I could keep up with this kind of thing and I'd be WAY more likely to just use premade characters and assets.
Along with that, you guys being so supportive when I take a week off every few months or when I get sick is HUGE for me, as that's how I avoid burnout... cos if I burnout then these sorts of things fall to the wayside and the quality of the comics drop which I don't want to happen.
So again, it's because you guys continue to support me even when I take time off like that that I can keep my energy levels primed for continue the love of making quality comics 💜
_______________________
Lastly I want to be VERY clear, I'm NOT saying I'm 'any better' than other creators who DO use prefabs in their comics, I'm VERY aware that I'm one of the rare lucky people to be able to do this full time.
MOST other creators out there making TG/TF comics have a whole other job to do during the week to support themselves, even if they are making good money through Patreon or wherever.
Other creators also prefer to provide value by simply producing more content than I do, and that's totally valid as well! And when you're uploading insane amounts of comics to fans, you physically can't pay this much attention to detail to every set and character 😅
And again, the quality vs quantity argument of "what's better" is irrelevant here, I'd say neither are better or worse as long as the artist is happy with the result and the audience thinks it's worth enough to pay for. That's all that ACTUALLY matters 😊
_______________________
Well, that come out a LOT longer than I originally planned, but I hope it was at least interesting to those who read it!
Is this kind of BTS interesting for you guys? Let me know, and if enough people like it then I might do some more updates and comparisons like this, maybe next time around character creation philosophies and processes or something 🤔
But for now... see you soon!
Much love,
Nexy xx
Comments
Nexstat
Haha! Every little bit helps!
SwishStream
Lovely lil read 💜 make DAZ your bitch!
TROUBLETRO
Great idea to show everyone what's behind it all! Nice work — I'll just tweak the lamp a bit, it's a little too bright :)
