The Caribou Trail - 3D Assets
I had the opportunity to land a hand to the awesome game The Caribou Trail for a couple of months at the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025. I was in charge of making additional 3D models to help fulfill the environments. I made various assets from small and large props to animated assets. I mostly made hard surface lowpoly modeling, but a few assets required a bit of highpoly sculpting to add more details. I sometimes reused 3D models already made by the team to create new assets. For the textures, they are a mix of textures made by me and shaders and textures already made by the team. The environments, characters, shaders, rigging, animations and vfx were made by the team at Unreliable Narrators.
I learned a lot with this project, like applying vertex painting on models, adding stencils in blueprints, using a bit of RVT shaders and even simulating clothing in Blender.
While I was working on The Caribou Trail, I was under the supervision of two amazing Art Directors, Laurent Gaumer & Tara Miller!
https://www.artstation.com/lgaumer
https://www.artstation.com/taramiller
And I also worked in collaboration with the main 3D artist of the project, René-Pierre Audette!
https://www.artstation.com/rpaudette
A RVT shader was used to make the bottom of the tents blend with the floor.
I used clothing simulation in Blender to make the deconstructed version of the large tent. Then, I tweaked and adjusted the model manually.
I used clothing simulation inside of Blender to make these folded bedsheets.
I used the already made NPC uniform in the project and modified the geometry to make it look folded. The bent folded uniforms are used by some NPCs in the game, while the classic version is placed on beds in various tents.
Vertex painting was used on this asset to create the gradient between the lighter and darker wood in the shader.
I made many grave variations to give more options for the cemetery.
The dirt piles use a RVT shader in engine, so they blend seamlessly with the floor.
This asset is a combination of multiple 3D models that were already in the project, so it gives the impression that the soldiers used what they had on hand to block the path.
Stencils were used to add the writings. Both the stencilless and final version of the box have been used to decorate the levels.
The alcohol flask has two versions, one regular asset placed throughout the levels and one engraved collectible.
I used clothing simulation in Blender to make this cover sheet. Then, I tweaked and adjusted the model manually.
The ID Disks needed an attached and detached version for gameplay purposes.
Stencils were used in engine to add bullet holes.
For this asset, I took the liberty to add the Turkish helmet from the NPCs. I felt like, story-wise, this would've been something the soldiers would've done.
For these assets, I reused a lot of 3D models from the game, like the helmet I showed earlier, a boot from NPCs, the top of the can from the food cans and a random mug.
One of the most complex asset I worked on for that project. I made it as detailed as possible, while staying in the stylized art direction.