FLORIAN OKWU
July 21th 2025
Today I discovered some 3D modeling techniques on Nomad (iPad) which mirror my wood carving processes. Brought the model into Blender to mess around with materials and lighting, (edited the final result a tad in Photoshop). I’m really happy with the doors this opens up. I’ve always felt limited in the digital space so this is seriously a game changer for experimenting with form, composition, etc...
July 20th 2025
I’ve been on the move and haven’t had as much sitting time with the computer. I wanted to jump back in with something relaxing: Modeled a small shape in Nomad (for iPad) & exported to Blender where I was able to create a material and small animation. Currently happy with quick projects, learning > high-quality renders.
July 10th 2025
Last month I sold a pet from the new collection to a someone who was sweet enough to let me make some casts. Wasn’t sure if I wanted to create a physical or a digital reproduction. Ended up spending some time today photographing the piece from 200 different angles. I imported those into a photogrammetry software (Agisoft Metashape) to create a digital 3D textured model, really impressed with how it turned out considering the scale of the original object (6 or so inches). Curious to begin mixing some of these new skills.
July 7th 2025
Today I figured out how to use the biomes feature in WC. Ended up creating one large base (surrounding brown cliffs) which I terraced, and a large canyon valley interior. Inside, I eroded a few large sections with some filters to create the valley floor and after some noise deformation experiments on a small scale biome, created a semi-artificial structure (seen in white. Kind of interesting to consider it as its own unique biome). This structure sits in a small simulated crevice. Although the in-software rendering is quite atmospheric, its capped at 1920 x 1080p, which is no good for bigger work. Will look at Blender moving forward.
July 6th 2025
I had a lot of fun today after discovering how to manually sculpt landscapes in WC (main reason for the switch from Gaea). Went off my intuition to create a cliff like landscape and also managed to work out some slightly more complex texturing. Had some fun with the pre-rendering system and water option; Still just screenshots for now. Curious about a mixed Gaea -> WC workflow, looking to scale up out of the 1k square and start introducing multiple environments.
July 5th 2025
Its been difficult determining a workflow that makes sense for me. Since I’m not fixed on one outcome I feel a little overwhelmed with how many possibilities there are. With so many softwares to choose from and so many new things to experiment with, I’m reminding myself that I am learning a system. I need to move slowly, with small bites. One thing I know is that I eventually want complete control over my texturing, no presets. UE5 might be better for me when I am ready to sit down and learn how to create my own procedural textures. For now I’ll be working with Blender. I didn‘t have much time to explore any complex terrain generation in WC but I wanted to port something over anyway. Mainly testing the quality of the landscape and doing some beginning tests to interact that landscape with a structure I made a couple years ago in Rhino.
July 4th 2025 (Day 2)
I think Gaea has a lot to offer but artistically it seems a bit limiting to my workflow (lacks any sort of intuitive landscape sculpting tool). I spent some time this evening introducing myself to World Creator instead which has been a lot more friendly. Ended up playing around in the viewport and composed a small experimental animation + tested some material texturing to create some alien landscapes. (No renders yet, just screenshots)... Very excited!
July 3rd 2025 (Day 1)
I spent a couple hours this evening watching a tutorial on lush landscape generation in Gaea. Halfway through after some frustration I realized it was outdated from the newest version of the software. I ended up exploring height/slope masks + landscape blending instead. Modified some satmap color data in an attempt to create a lush mountain range bisecting a desert. Super shabby texturing, but opening my eyes to how much Gaea has to offer.