Week Summary - BA1b Week 2

UV Mapping

This week was learning the basics of UV mapping and how to project maps onto meshes. We started with some basic cubes and other shapes to get an idea of how the process works. (I used some random images from google here.) I found this process easy enough to get the hang of although I don't fully understand it yet and could do with more practise. On these basic shapes mapping seems easy enough, but I can see how as the models get more complicated mapping them will be much more difficult.

After the session, I tried modelling and texturing a small cactus for practise, using some basic gradient and brick textures. There were some slight issues with projection that I couldn't figure out the cause of, this is something I'm hoping to fix once I know a little more about the process and what could be happening.

Life Drawing

Life drawing had a focus on portraiture and faces this week, starting with short expression studies of a few minutes and ending with a longer portrait piece. I found it difficult to get a convincing likeness of the model in the initial short periods, but they're good for quick improvement and as a warmup. The longer piece was one I was quite proud of, until I looked at it again after a few hours, one of the reasons I usually take a break between sketching and further rendering. Neither one of the eyes is badly positioned, I don't think, but they don't sit correctly together, the ear is too far back and the mouth a little small (although this was partially down to the model), and it could use a little more rendering, but other than that I think it turned out an effective (if unfinished) piece.

Studies

I've decided to start doing photo studies as practise and in order to get a better understanding of lighting and colour. I started with a facial study, but I want to try some landscape, material and object studies in future as I haven't really focused on those areas prior to now.

(Image source)

This particular piece could do with further rendering and is slightly off in terms of anatomy, but as a colour and lighting study I think it did its job for the most part. It helped me see a lot of what I was doing wrong with regards to colour, and doing a study with a white light source was an interesting one.

Week Summary - BA1b Week 1

Starting BA1b and looking forward to the new material. Hearing more of the theory behind 3D work (what 3D is based on, different maps which are used for texturing, etc.) is very interesting and very helpful in understanding how these programmes function.

Maya

This is the first lamp, made in the initial Maya session from a reference image. Although I had done some 3D work before in Blender, Maya was completely new to me. Initially I found the interface very confusing in comparison, but found I picked it up quite quickly once I figured out which tools were similar. Learning to use the extrude tool properly has been a major help, also. I'm glad, though, for a little more formal teaching in modelling, as my previous experience was mainly trial-and-error self teaching. I'm especially looking forward to starting UV mapping, etc. because before this I had only coloured models in solid tones.

For the second lamp I tried something a little more complex shape-wise, including a wire with a switch as well. I find building forms in 3D a nice challenge, trying to figure out the best and most efficient way to build more complex shapes. I also tried out some different lighting options just to see what I could do with them. I found one option that looked quite nice for the metallic sections, but I want to try these out a bit more to get some added realism in the model.

Digital painting

This week's digital painting workshop focused on texturing and creating custom brushes. I feel that having a resource like textures.com is going to be really helpful in the future, and I'm looking forward to putting these new techniques to use in my work. Although I usually use premade textured brushes, being able to customise them will enable me to hone them further for more specialised uses.

These are some experiments using custom texture brushes and overlaid textures - I tried out rust and fish scale textures here. The results look a lot better than anything that I can currently hand-paint, and are much more quickly produced. Eventually I want to get to a level where I could paint these myself but in terms of efficiency these methods are going to be incredibly useful in creating quick, effective concept pieces.

Other

I've also taken out two books from the library to look more at games theory - Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman's "The Rules of Play" and Scott Rogers' "Level Up!" looked very interesting; I want to look more into the thought that goes into games design and how I can use it, so I can start on my own personal projects, for now.

Final evaluation - BA1a

This term has been full of new experiences and I've tried my hardest to push myself out of my comfort zones and experiment as much as possible. I'm still trying to develop an effective workflow for myself which allows me to design more quickly and more easily; I think this will come with time and practise but for now I will continue to try new methods as I discover them.

This unit introduced me to a lot of new ideas - silhouetting, iterating, etc. These methods forced me to think about my designs a lot more deeply, whereas before I would just pick a design without ever really developing it. I feel like this really showed through in some much more original designs than anything I had done previously. I also began to use some more diverse photoshop brushes to make my work more distinctive - along with putting much more thought into planning my pieces this has lead to some work this term that I'm really proud of.

Getting back into life drawing is going to be very helpful going forward I think, it's been a long time since I've been to any sessions and I could see the difference in my work. I'm also trying to use more references instead of just trying to work from memory all the time and sometimes struggling for longer that I need to when I could learn from references.

In future, I want to focus more on realistic rendering, as in the past I've focused mostly on stylised styles and semi-realism, and I want to broaden my skill set. In addition, I feel like some of my designs can be a little clichéd in places, so I want to work on pushing my ideas farther to come up with more rounded and original designs.

Time management-wise I think I could have done better - although I was mainly on top of everything there were a few points where I felt a little overwhelmed, and I feel I could provide myself with a better structure to work off of in the future. Part of this is getting used to the pace of the course, but I know that I also need to be stricter with myself.

Overall I'm very satisfied with the work I've produced in this unit and look forward to bettering it in the next one. Looking at the project brief I feel that I have met most of the expected outcomes, although I want to practise much more in Zbrush to make sure I have at least a sound basic understanding of it. Also, I want to devote much more time to studies and research going forward, to give my work some depth and realism, and to allow me to focus more on developing my designs than on making sure I am rendering them properly.

Week summary - 7

The final week for this project, I have also included some work from earlier in the unit that I had not posted yet.

Zbrush Work

Some screenshots of experiments made in Zbrush during workshop sessions. I'm still trying to get to grips with the programme, having only used Blender and Maya in the past, but I can already see how useful it could potentially be once I know my way around it.

Here I tried my hand at modelling my bug character from the first project.

Life Drawings

These drawings are from the two life drawing sessions we had during this unit. I've missed sessions like these immensely and I think I'm a little rusty, but slowly building myself back up. Life drawing is incredibly helpful to me in terms of understanding human anatomy and developing techniques, so I want to take advantage of these sessions as much as possible.

 First session:

Second session:

Tinderbox Project

The final parts of putting together the witch character for the tinderbox project. I finished up my iteration process with some sleeve designs, and then moved on to the model sheet.

Because the character's design is distinctly asymmetrical, I made sure to include multiple face views. As well as this I put a lot of effort into making the fabric look stressed, tattered and dirty, which I think ended up being very effective and really showed off what I was aiming for with this character.

Next came the thumbnails for the concept piece. I think it is much easier to make the character sheet before this because I then have something to reference. When sketching these thumbnails I tried to emphasise her vulnerability and sadness, and I wanted to make sure to include the komainu figure to firmly place the scene in Edo Japan, and decided to have it dominate the image, pushing the witch into the corner even though she is still the focus. Lighting, or lack of it, became a major consideration, and I used surrounding darkness in the final composition to show her loneliness and isolation.

Here is a process gif of the final painting. I started off in black and white to ensure a good range of values before painting over in colour. Initially, I only included one light source, but added a secondary one to pick out the detail on the far side of the statue. I made a few further changes after a tutorial, where it was pointed out that the overall tone of the image was very grey. In light of this, I coloured the light sources (firelight in this case) to bring in some warm tones. I think it really helped to bring the elements into a cohesive whole and soften the image.

This painting also brought home to me the importance of perspective grids, as in some areas I felt that the elements were not quite aligned with each other, as shown below. I like to make a lot of notes on my images as I work on them to remind me of things I need to change and improve, and this has worked very well for me so far. The red boxes in this case show where I felt the perspective was out of alignment; the face was much more square to the 'camera' than the rest of the body.

Below is the final painting, I'm very happy with overall the atmosphere and feel of it.

Finally, the character sheet. I pictured this character as being very reserved and aloof around people, but capable of a lot of anger. Inwardly, she is a very lonely character, and spends a lot of her time in sad contemplation. I tried to convey this through her body language, keeping it very defensive and introverted.

Overall I'm very happy with the work I've produced for this project and I'm starting to see improvement in my designs. I do think I could have gone into a lot more detail in places, such as accessories or fabric design, so this is something I can work towards in the next project.

Research: The Seven Basic Plots

Using Christopher Booker's theory that there are only seven possible stories upon which to build, here I have chosen one game that I feel is a good example for each type of plot, although many games here could come under two or even three of these categories.

Overcoming Evil/the Monster - Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age: Origins' darkspawn are the perfect enemy force for the player to fight against in droves and eventually overcome, providing that sense of achievement that so many of us look for in our video games. This game could also come under the 'Quest' story, as with many fantasy RPGs, although the main goal of this game is to overcome a single enemy force, with several bosses to overcome along the way, the overlap springing from the ability to easily see "overcoming the enemy" as the quest the hero must complete. Many horror games also fall under this category due to their focus on the monsters, titles such as Amnesia: The Dark Descent, or Alien: Isolation.

Rags to Riches - Dragon Quest IX

Most MMOs and many fantasy RPGs follow this formula - the player is dropped into an unfamiliar world with no money, weapons or equipment and has to make their way through the world to work their way to higher levels, better gear, and hero status. This is usually a variation on the classic version, as an instant 'Cinderella'-style social movement would be unrewarding for the player - they wouldn't have had to work for the status and would probably be disappointed that it was so easy to achieve.

The Quest - The Legend of Zelda franchise

The Legend of Zelda series follows the quest archetype very closely as part of its formula - Link has to take on the role of the hero and go on a game-long quest to save Hyrule and overcome the evil threatening it. As the Quest genre is often constructed of a series of challenges (see epics like the Odyssey or Hercules' trials), many games fit this category very well, particularly RPGs like The Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect or Dragon Age series.

Comedy - Octodad: Dadliest Catch

Octodad is a game created to be ridiculous and hilarious, and it is a spectacular comedy. This is, however, looking at these categories very loosely, as very few (if any) video games follow the traditional comedy formula seen in stories like Shakespeare's Twelfth Night or Much Ado About Nothing. This probably comes from the agency that needs to be present in order to make the game compelling - the story has to be changeable to a point for the player to feel like they are making a difference and acting on the world.

In addition, the traditional comedy is born from the interactions and misunderstandings of a whole cast of characters, whereas the average video game usually focuses on just one - the player character. If a video game constantly cut away to other scenes and characters in the style of a traditional comedy, the player would likely become somewhat frustrated and be unable to relate to any one of the characters on the same level. This isn't to say this couldn't be done, only that very few titles have pulled off a multiple-protagonist system effectively.

Voyage and Return - Pokemon series

The formula of each Pokemon game follows the 'voyage and return' format very closely - the ten-year-old protagonist leaves home with a single pokemon on a journey to become the Champion, beating gym leaders and evil organisations along the way, before (presumably) returning home. 

Tragedy - Telltale's The Walking Dead

Telltale's games are a little unique in this context in that they are in some ways more of an interactive narrative than a conventional 'video game.' The nature of the story's setting means that characters often die left and right, and the endings of both Walking Dead are marked by Clementine being left (mostly) all on her own in a very bleak world, very similarly to the endings of Shakespeare plays such as Hamlet or Macbeth, in which most of the cast do not see the resolution.
Rebirth - Bioshock Infinite

Bioshock Infinite's convoluted plotline, with its infinite alternate universes, allows for endless iterations of every character featured - but the focus here is on the protagonist. Booker Dewitt begins the game as a mysterious but undoubtedly guilt-ridden character, and the game follows his journey to some form of redemption. There are instances of 'rebirth' seen in Booker's post-baptism persona Zachary Comstock (and according to one theory, Bioshock's Andrew Ryan), as well as Elizabeth's loss of innocence (seen particularly in the Burial At Sea DLC), but in the end the true rebirth Booker finds is when he allows himself to be killed in order to prevent Comstock's ever being 'born.' In this way he redeems himself to his daughter and atones for the crimes he so desperately wanted to erase, and becomes a true hero in the eyes of the player and in his own eyes.

Week summary - 6

This week was all about refining my designs and then deteriorating them to give them a creepy and somewhat sad air. I want the witch character to be a clear outcast; her clothes and general appearance are unpleasant to look at but we can see how she was once a high-ranking member of society in what remains. Much of her design focuses on her position as an outcast from the Edo era's highly stratified society.

Red was a forbidden colour for the lower classes, so I used it liberally here, as well as choosing a blood red for its obvious connotations. The large obi knots at the back reminded me of butterflies' wings, so I made them much bigger and cut one side shorter, as if one wing had been torn off. Asymmetry became very important to me in this design because it allowed me to contrast the deteriorated and undeteriorated sides of the character easily, and it promotes the idea of instability in the character.

Experimenting with hairstyles. I chose a short cut because of the implications this would have in the time frame - in Japan and some other Asian countries, cutting the hair short symbolised banishment from the family. In addition, I feel it improves the silhouette, leaving the neck much more visible and vulnerable and allowing the flowing clothing to stand by itself without being obscured.

Face designs which take inspiration particularly from Oiwa in Yotsuya Kaidan. Inkeeping with the rest of the character, one side of the face is much more deteriorated than the other. The rightmost design is the one I will be using, with some slight adjustments. I may mirror the deteriorated side, as I want the viewer to see that side second, and western audiences tend to read images left to right. The idea is that the witch may look respectable or 'normal' from a distance or at first, but the illusion fades quickly and we see what she has become. However, I don't want her to be seen as an ugly or evil character, but instead an unfortunate and lonely one, and I hope the design will put that across.

Week summary - 5

Character design: 'The Tinderbox'

When I started this project I had already looked at my time period - Edo Japan - before I read 'The Tinderbox.' This meant that when I was reading it I saw the story in that setting without really thinking about it, and I'm still not sure whether this was helpful of harmful to my creativity.

Initial ideas

Initially, I looked at the soldier character very briefly, because I saw how easily he could be reimagined as a member of the samurai class and how appropriate his forbidden desire to marry the princess would be considering the lack of social mobility in that era. I moved on very quickly, however, as I felt this route was too easy and as a result very unoriginal. I wanted to really push myself on this project and I had too many preconceived ideas for the soldier, so I moved on to a character (the witch) that I had not put as much thought into to force myself to think of fresh ideas.

I also did some more research at this stage into Japanese folklore to find some sources of inspiration to draw from. In particular, three stories caught my attention as being potentially relevant: the yuki-onna (snow-woman), fuchisake-onna (slit-mouthed woman), and the character of Oiwa from the story of Yotsuya Kaidan. The two former stories I had heard of previously, but the latter was unfamiliar to me and I found the idea of disfigurement very interesting in the context of the Tinderbox story.

First round of silhouettes

This time, I tried to be much, much looser with my silhouettes and work smaller to stop myself becoming too precious with them, This method of working is still a strange one for me but I'm starting to see how I can use it to my advantage.

Second round of silhouettes

As with previous projects, I chose the best of each sheet (marked in red) to transfer to the next. This helps me to see what design elements are effective and keep those in mind for the next batch. I also tried out a new method here; instead of working with a solid black shape and sometimes cutting into it, I used a set of spatter brushes mostly at random, and worked over the top with a small white brush. I found this to be a much looser way of working and produced some much more interesting designs than previous methods.

Final silhouette choices

Here I did some further research into the clothing of the era to help give the designs some realism. I spent some time looking at the history of fashion and how it changed during that period, and put together a mood board of images for me to reference (below).

Mood board

 The kimono structure is one thing that I found a little confusing, and even after researching it I am still not entirely sure how the sleeves are constructed. I did however learn a lot of useful information about social conventions to do with clothing and some general rules to follow. I also looked at the costume design in the 2011 film '13 Assassins,' to see how the clothing works in motion.

First round of iterations

Keeping my silhouettes visible, I started work on iterations, borrowing elements from a few designs at a time and combining them. Some designs I dismissed as looking too supernatural or ghostly; I want to keep that element of the character subtle.

I experimented with a few different ways of covering the face - hair, a mask, a travel hat - I like the effect that the hat gives, but will probably do some research into Kabuki and Noh masks to explore the possibilites. I want to make it obvious to the viewer that the clothing, like the witch herself, has seen better days, and make it as creepy as possible without being too extreme.

Week summary - 4

This week covers the rest of the timepiece project.

After choosing one design from the previous sheet which I thought was the most aesthetically balanced I tried to make as many variations of it as I could, sometimes combining two previous designs or taking elements from one design to add to a new one. 

I found choosing a final design from this many versions very difficult, so I shortlisted six of my favourites to help me narrow down my choices, and finally picked one from that list. I chose design number four (see below) as I felt it was not too complex or too simple; it retained much more of the original silhouette than some of the later designs did, while being more visually interesting than the earlier ones.

I made a few final tweaks, and then started on a polished version of the object to use for the model sheet. I noticed that my iterations were a little off-centre and not symmetrical, so I constructed the final design with reference to them rather than painting over one. This process was a little time-consuming in Photoshop using the selection tool and the basic round brush and eraser, and I wonder now if it may have been faster using another programme such as InDesign or even Alchemy.

I made sure to include a scale indicator in my final sheet, as in a lot of the feedback I received people were unsure of the size of the device. In general, I see these timepieces as being variable in size and form, but in this case the piece is fairly large, though still portable.

Final model sheet

When painting my final concept, I wanted to show the kind of people who would be using these devices - scholars and scientists, working in their environment - but keep the timepiece as the focus. I initially had my two scientists on opposite sides of a desk or table, but dropped the idea because I felt having them on the same side felt more collaborative as well as less stale compositionally. Having both characters looking at the object directs the viewer's attention there also, and in my final composition I tried to use the hands to frame the device as well as the characters' faces.

Once I had a layout I was satisfied with I tweaked it a little to make it slightly more in line with the rule of thirds, and painted some values underneath the sketch. I wanted to keep the figures in relative shade compared to the timepiece, which would stand out against them in higher values, and balanced this out with the light source on the left - although the main source is coming from the top right, out of frame. I then overlaid some rough colours. 

Given that the featured piece is gold, I used a complementary purple to set it against in order to make it stand out more. In addition, these colours together, (along with the red I was using in the process shot below) are associated with nobility and royalty, showing the high regard this society has for learning and science. For the final painting, I copied the sketch and used it as a base for me to paint over in a larger document.

Process shot

As I was running out of time, I copied over the piece I made for my model sheet and adjusted the values a little, rather than painting it again in perspective. I would have liked to paint over it, but I felt that I was thinking too much about the details of the piece instead of the overall mood and tone, which is what is important in these pieces.

Final concept piece

Though I may have made some changes in hindsight (for example, populating the background may have made the image feel a little busier), I feel that the final painting showcases the piece really well, although I would like to present it in a group critique to see if my peers and tutors can offer any further advice to improve it. 

References:

https://alladdinmohsin.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/alla057.jpg

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/arabia-window-islamic-architecture-11224795.jpg

http://www.islamiclife.com/userfiles/images/2013/2955_jewellery2.jpg

http://www.zahras.com/ZahrasJewelry/Islamic/ISLM001_L.jpg

https://awalimofstormhold.wordpress.com/tag/jewelry/