Vinyl Record Player
I originally started this project as a modelling exercise, but eventually decided to polish it for my portfolio.
As reference for the record player I used an actual one from Amazon (as it provided images from multiple angles).
I have updated the model to have a lower poly-count whilst simultaniously tweeking the topology. I tried to maximize the surface area of triangles in some areas and minimize the usage of pointy triangles in others to overall reduce quad overdraw.
The final modal has around 2.2k vertices (as opposed to 2.7k in the version prior) and uses 2k textures.
Unfortunately the resolution turned out to be a problem for the disk part of the normal map. I plan on further updating the model by removing the disk and adding animations.
Link to the model on Sketchfab (currently unable to embed into this website)
During this project I wanted to experiment with topology. The record player turned out to be a good challenge because of it's parts in the middle, which needed a higher poly count than the outer case to appear round. To reduce the overall poly count, I redirected the edge flow between the two areas (also visible in other images on the turning plate of the player):
The vertices in the corner caused some shading issues, so I reworked these areas:
I also tried to maintain the overall edge flow around the model, with a few exceptions on the outer rounded edges. Thus, the player can easily be subdivided:
However, since this is a model that doesn't deform, I have now updated it to a lower poly-count by reducing quads to tris where it made sense (and left the rest for the engine to automatically split). I also tried to implement certain topology methods like maximizing the surface area of triangles to reduce quad overdraw:
When I started the texturing process, the first step was to bake the normal from a high poly, more detailed version of the model:
Since my Adobe license ran out, I used Blender's Ucupaint Addon to texture the model instead of Substance Painter. That meant I had to learn working with a new interface and some other changes and limitations, but the overall workflow was very similar.
