Celestial bodies is a long-term 3D modelling project which aims to bring to life the celestial bodies of the universe. My first set of downloadable celestial bodies was released in 2015, and received a big update in 2022. Regular updates to the pack now take place, with improvements to textures and features included.
Modelling
A major improvement I am implementing is the poly count of the sphere. The original sphere only had 480 faces, which looked very blocky when the accessory's size was increased drastically. As this asset was most often used at an incredible size which did not feature the whole accessory, the poly count therefore severely affected the quality of the artwork it was included in.
The new sphere is now a model, rather than an accessory. This allows for more scope and quality of shadows than was previously possible. The new sphere is slightly smaller than the original on loading, and now has 2520 faces. The model has increase and decrease size morphs, decreasing to nothing and increasing by 2000%. The model now also casts a ground shadow for stylised pieces, which can be turned off without turning off the general ground shadow. It also has self-shading.
Textures
The collection comes with 2 model choices with two different textures. One has the model texture rendered at 2k and one rendered at 8k. This is so that artists with low PC power can still use the models.
Shading
The models now have updated toons, which allows for surface darkening morphs and deep shadow morphs. These morphs can also be reversed to show no shading at all.
The new sphere makes full use of 2-SIDE, G-MAP, S-MAP and S-SHADE to increase the realistic shadows of each planet.
The Earth and its Moon models have improved the most visually in the 2.0 pack. The pack now features several different sliders to add or remove clouds, atmospheres, shadows, night lighting and a mix of night and day. Similarly, Luna now has additional textures to show off craters without the need of lighting or normalmaps.
What's Coming in the Next Update
Examples of Celestial Bodies in Artwork
 Us |  North Sea by Moonlight |
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