Beginning to Model

The first area I focused on modelling was the archways in the main patio area. This took me longer than expected as I encountered a number of problems.
I began by making a high poly version of each then took these into ZBrush to add all the extra details I could not recreate in Maya.

I encountered a problem early on. When I imported into ZBrush to add my alpha detail, the mesh was not subdividing correctly so the alpha was not displaying correctly. After some experimentation I found that adding the tris and quads in Maya before hand fixed these issues.

The next issue I came across was how to make the pattern the right size and repetition. I initially experimented with simply dragging the alpha over the area of the mesh but this made it hard to tile more and resize. I then experimented with the projection master.This allowed me to reposition, tile and generally have more control over where my alpha got placed. I also found that the alpha I had originally created had too much noise in it so the detail was not crisp enough. I then decided to use a more simple design.

Above: Drag rectangle and noisy alpha. Below: Projection master and simple alpha

My next stage will be to add all the details I want on the arches in ZBrush, create a low poly and bake the details down into a normal map that I can import into Unreal 4.