Game Art Design and Animation Week 3:Modelling

Here is a full view of the model once the basic colours are onto the model to show the specific areas of th model such as the glove or boot and air containers.

I began to try different nodes in the hypershade to see is any other ones would be of benefit than the Lambert node that has been used throughout my usage of Maya and found the Blinn node which could help as it adds a sense of brightness and making it much shiny which could be used for the air containers. 

This image was taken to show the overall model before mirrored as it would look being smoothed but this was done to see if it would look much smoother to how i had sketched but unfortunately the model didn't seem like it was how i expected as the certain areas like the arm didn't show any muscle.

I finished off the model by adding the wires to the elbow, knee and boot and reverted back to the model before it was smoothed and i am now ready to mirror the model and add the textures that i need after doing the UV texture.

The next couple of images are of the realisation that my model of the head was not as i would of expected and wanted it to be as the shape was ok from the side view but when looking at it from the front view i saw that once mirrored there were parts of the side that were not as smooth and weren't shaped around much and because of the edges it wasn't going to be easy to redo the head as you can see i tried but when i tried to join the edges or vertexes back up it was difficult to do and have decided to redo the whole model.

Game Art Design and Animation Week 3:Modelling

I began modelling my character by importing the image planes to base my model from and i found that having to start modelling looking through all four views would help to get the overall model done. Having the image planes visible showed how much in length and width of areas of the character would need to be but as you can see from the side view my model would have a much longer head.

As you can see i had only modelled one half of my model and this would help in getting similar proportions once mirrored to the right and with only having used 1387 and 3000 polycount limitation this would seem more than enough once fully mdelled.

After getti the shape of the model completed i remembered that i would need to add the air containers to the model and from the image plane i saw that i would need a smooth, circular polygon for the air containers but because of knowing how many face i ahve left to work with i tried to limit the amount of face for each of the air containers.

Here is the full view of the air containers so far and trying to position them to correct placement to the image planes was difficult as these weren't the types of shapes i was wanting for the model but working around that problem i was able to get as close to the shape as possible.

After completing the placement of the air containers i began to have a dificult perspective from telling where the character is to the air containers so decided to get the basic colour onto the model and added the blue to the air containers to see a much clearer overall model. 

It was much difficult to get the colour onto the individual polygons of the boot and the glove, so i had to separte the glove from the overall model and the same to the boot and once that was done i put the colour on and combine them back up and once i've done that i will be able to tell where the boot leaves off to the character.

Game Art Design and Animation Week 3:Character Design

 Here are a couple of my designs that i have come up with for a basic design to model but as i have been coming up with design i have had to keep the basic design in mind as it limts me to what i would usually create and the amount of detail as i want to create something which would show off my skills in designs.





















As you can see i am looking more towards a human based design but something which could allow the designs on the shape to be used to the best as i can.

From this design i really like the first one but with the second one i could see alot of potential in the overall design and time of modelling.

After choosing to do the basic design on the human shaped character i wanted to add certain pieces to which i think makes my designs stand out and with this design i see making modelling easier than any other design alon with it looking like a design that i would do.

Here is the battle pose for my character along with the basic colours as i wanted something which you would see in space and have the base of grey whilst much more brighter colours show off the features of the character.

This is the concept of my character design i wanted it to show that this character is a soldier in space adn didnt want to overuse the amount of colour that i needed but believe this concept suits what i was going for in terms of a basic design for my character to be utilised.

Digital Film Production and VFX Week 9:Research

So i began to look at gorilla related videos which used a gorilla suited person in their videos and found these, the most stand out is the Phil Collins Gorilla drummer Cadbury advert but also there are some videos which show some of the ideas that are similar to what i was thinking of doing:

Digital Film Production and VFX Week 9 Music Video:Storyboard Ideas

Here is my range of ideas i ave come up with for myself and Marks music video project although there  is a continuation of the gorilla suited person theme, the reason for this is because i wanted a connection of the tile, Gorilla Foot and the actual music video and thought an actual gorilla suited person fit the role and so here it is my range of gorilla suited ideas:

Contextual and Theoretical Studies Level 5 Week 5:Start of a New Phase

This week's session was a catch up session as to getting the class to blog Contextual Studies and just to get more involved in the feedback and note taking of the sessions. and we also were able to talk about genre and style and how certain types of these 'rankings' are a type of genre. In regards to the catch up session what we were doing in the session was that we looked back at the lectures we had been receiving during the course of  the brief that had been running in situe with the lectures and that we had been lectured in areas which would help in understanding in the title sequence aspect of the brief..

I feel that the lectures that have ran parallel to the course briefs such as the title sequence were well received in widening the mindset of the briefs specifically the cinema as a door as this lecture had helped understanding that certain things could help to introduce the viewer's into the film they are about to see, as sound is a major example of cinema as a door as the concept is that using sounds or music can benefit in allowing the viewers to go through the the story of the film due to the introduction into the film by the music used.

Other forms of introduction into a film such as narration are used to get the viewers' mindset into the film they are about to watch, setting the scene and overlaying the groundwork of how the film will be viewed and these options of types of  introduction into a film had helped in coming up with ideas to get the overall setting of the film it is trying promote and with the ideas of usage of sound and narration we were able to use that in mind when coming up with a mindset for our title sequence for example in my title sequence for my book of Lord Loss i had tried to make the mindset of the viewers be introduced into the film by having the chess setting be set in the mind of the viewers as it is a big part of the storyline and using that as a silent introduction to the film the viewers were able to see that the chess title sequence is symbolic for the strategic understanding of the film.

As well as the visual setting i tried to use the sound as another form of setting for the film as i had gone for a dark, mystic sound for the tile sequence to encompass or allow a transition of the mood that the films storyline sets for the viewers and i used the sound of mystic and dark music which with the chess title sequence visually the two forms of 'cinema as a door' maneuvers allowed me to create a setting for the film through the title sequence and i had done this by having the chess setting be the connection between the title sequence and the films storyline and as well with the sound because the sounds that were chosen were to set the mood of uncertainty and dark mood which will be used to transition into the main film.

Game Art Design and Animation Week 2:Character Background

Game Art Design and Animation Week 2:Research into Concept Art 3

After finally deciding to go with the design in terms of basic with the design having less than needed of excess equipment or armour and during the time i had been watching the Anime of Casshern which is a character who is covered in a suit which prevents his body muscle from expanding and eventually killing him. From the design it is exactly as it seem as a strong basic suit.

The next group of images were found from the website of the DC Universe Online game which has concept art, sketches and 3D models of the characters from the game and i had chosen most of these images which shows the basic designs that i am going for and found many of these images of these characters that were chosen as some of the basic ones that i would want to in some way have a similarity with.

Game Art Design and Animation Week 2:Research into Concept Art 4

After playing Batman Arkham Asylum i had found that there is a part of the game which allows gamers to view a 3D model allowing the gamer to zoom in and around the characters from the game from Batman to The Joker and i found that it is a great addition to the research for game art.

Green Lantern Sneak Peak

Digital Film Production and VFX Week 8 Music Video:Choice of Music Tracks

After being briefed on our next project, music video working in a group and due to previous work done with Mark i had asked if i could work with him again which he accepted and because he is similar to me as to being on this course for the games aspect and not seeing how music videos would help in that department would be a good project to not restrict ourselves. Working together we approached this project simliar to approaching projects in the past, with individual ideas to later become joint and so here are snapshots of the tracks i thought could work for our group as we wanted something that wouldnt be over complicated, comedic and would be a good outcome for a group of people who dont see music video as there future ambition.

The track that we have chosen is 'Gorilla Foot' which is by 'The Itchy Creeps':

Digital Film Production and VFX Week 7:Music

I had been looking through  youtube for dark and eerie music and from the many i had listened to these were the main three that had fitted with the mood i was looking for:



However it was this final videos music that stood out from the other two as it captured the dark mood i was looking for, through it's slow tempo and minor base hitting your ears as it slowly progresses through the video and along with this music for the background i will add the fade in and out to and from a black screen:

Contextual and Theoretical Studies Level 5 Week 4:Embodied Mind and Theories

Today we had been discussing the embodied mind and how it affects the perception of the world around us. This perception had come across from the stand point that the mind begins to understand the world  through the limbs of our body by which i mean that when we use certain objects persistantly we become to get use to the functions of that object whether it be a console controller or a mobile phone and because we use the certain object constantly and its physically connected to an area of our body we see the object as a extra length or limb.

With the body realizing the certain objects as another limb that are joint to the body it seems as though the mind also see's the body as expanded from the use of certain objects that are in some form joint to the body because it becomes an easy transition to join the limbs of the body to objects that have been aacustomed to you and which makes the unwanted elements that aren't used become a waste and forgotten.

We also looked at the specific types of theories that could help or improve areas in our newly acquired briefs and with two different briefs running parallel we had to think of thdirection we were heading towards certain theories and found that with the music video theories smoe of the group weren't much of the film makers but found that the discord theory was fitting enough as it looks at how the music extract certain emotions of the viewer through melodies or moods of the sound which can help in the suspense of a thriller or build up an ending of scene. With the character design brief there were many theories that are available and found some stuck out more than others such as the seven basic storylines which  is basically that all stories throughout history have involved some sort of connection to the seven stories that have been used constantly throughout history even though they seem different the sic structure of the story is simple and similar.

Digital Film Production and VFX Week 6:Texture Upgraded and Finalised

After completing the animation and background i had started to tweak the final stages of my process and the obvious thing that needed tweaking was the texturing and from help of my friends i was able to figure out the process to smooth the texture over the chess pieces.

Before tweaking

This image shows the chess piece as it was before tweaking, the problem was the texture being too repetitive and not coming across as stone.

After tweaking

This shows that tweaking the texture made a significant difference as you can tell there is no repetition as well as the texture coming across as stone.








These next two images show the change in texture once it was smoothened out and textured to come across as stone.

Another view of which you can see both sets of chess pieces as a much better visualisation of stone chess pieces.








The final stage that needed to be done was adding the lighting and i had gone for an ambient light as it would cover the focal point in light so it is a direct view for the audience rather than looking all around the chess set and board.

Digital Film Production and VFX Week 6:Clip of New Font

I had finally completed the animation, background texture and the new font placement and here is the play blast tester.

From what i have done so far i can see only a few tweaks that could be done but from the video that you can see, the texture could be fixed up and more of a fluid movement.

Digital Film Production and VFX Week 6:Font Replaced

Here is a snapshot of my text with chess piece and from the feedback i have received many people have told me that the text is not readable as i thought.

Again this shows the text not being able to be readable, the common feedback i have gotten is that the text is clustered with so much extra bits that it's not being clear of the text and also that the letter 's' has bits cut out of its lettering which doesn't help with reading the text.







This is the new font style that i have used instead of the Tfu Tfu font and again this text is readable and has that dark feel about the way the text is written as if it has been carved or scratched in.





From the image on the left you can see that i had started with a flat 2d polygon and then made it into 3d allowing a depth into how far in the text has been scratched or carved in.







The image on the right shows the combination of both the text and the chess piece and i know realise that this is a good choice as it shows the text clearly and is readable, along with it being dark and scary this combination has come out great.

Game Art Design and Animation Week 1:Research into Concept Art 2

Thinking of perhaps doing a robotic type character which could be easier in terms of modelling as it wouldn't need much detail as i was told not to go into detail to which wouldn't be easy to accomplish as i am still an amateur.

With that in mind looking at the design of Ironman which is detailed in showing the human featues through the shape of the metal suit such as the muscles, fingers and the facial design which makes it easy link with a metal human from the design.

This design got me interested as its a human design  covered in cloth to give out the detail of the human through the creases and something as basic as human shape covered in something which distinguishes its features is a possibility as it wouldnt seem difficult to model.

The Assasins Creed concept was a great design from the character being well liked with him being covered adn mysterious and i found that detail is one of the key elements of showing the characters design.

After looking at the basic design of the Assasins Creed concept art i wanted to carry on the theme and looked at the basic design of Captain America and found that with the basic design you can add extra features to make the character more in Captain America's case military with the pouches and military boots. Along with the extra features of pouches and others you get a great understanding of the character as him being a 'good guy' with the involvement of bright colours and involving the American colours which would come across as a hero.

Looking at Dead Space's character design was to see how they got the characters armour suit to not manifest over the characters body which allows it to be variation of armour and clothing which can show off features of the character through clothing whilst the armour can be something which makes the character have that certain aspect to distinguish him and the enemy or other people.

When you look at the many basic character designs, superheroes such as Captain America and Thor are ones which spring to mind as they are characters which are covered in their costume which distinguishes them from other superheroes antheir designs which are either utilised through their features or colours that are used and the the weapons they weild make them stand out. But i look at Thor as one of those characters which because of his armour type suit makes him that strong hero character and with the use of things like a cape and chest guard makes detail shown such as muscles or the shape of the character when covered with the cape.

The next couple of images that i researched and found were one which had that whole armoured character design in mind but also allowing certain arreas to get the  shape of the characters body across or even showing off the characters tech based equipment through the colours.

 With each of these design you get the main character design with the colour at the front but in the back of the images you see the different turns or views of the character which allows you to get an understanding of the characters design.

 With each of these characters what distinguishes them from other characters is all of them have dark base of colour which with the individual colour wether it be green, blue or violet that helps to show the character is not of the same design to the others.

These concepts were also chosen as they are basic in both the shape and colour and because of that it seems like this could be one of the main aspects when designing my character by utilising the colours i can limit the amount of colours and modelling i would need.

Game Art Design and Animation Week 1:Research into Concept Art 1

So beginning of this project as you would always is by researching some of the concept art and character designs and i have found one of my favourite games Prince of Persia's concept art that stood out and from the visual perspective with the use of colours and contrast makes the concept art a piece of beauty because of the colours used to create a beautiful bit of concept, and how the colours are bright and lightly painted on creating a smooth and relaxing bit of concept art.

Each of these Prince of Persia concept arts carry on through their colour balance into the game which makes it stand out, making it simplistic and adding the shading through its layers of colouring through the range of contrasts and i like this piece of concept art from the way the image is coming across to the viewers as basic shades of colours and because of it being shades of colours the detail of the character is shown through the colours contrast.

Again another cooncept art from the Prince of Persia games series which was chosen due to the use of colour used for the concept as it depicts the muscle tone through the detail of the colour shading adn because of the pose that is shown is one of the poses that i have used throughout many of my chracter designs, throughout my courses.

This piece of concept that i researched into was in the time that i had been waiting to see Tron Legacy and throughout all of the trailers that i've seen, you could see the use of lights on the costumes which look amazing because of the limit of colour throughout the film makes the lights stand out that much more. From this piece of concept that i had found, i had thought it would be good to involve this because its is so basic and one which i could use as having a human shaped body with a costume that stood out through the use of colour.

This Concept from another game in Bioshock which i was looking at gave me the idea of maybe using a robot character design and in this concept you can see how basic the design of the robot is and how it wouldn't be difficult in modelling this type of character in Maya to a character design which would maybe be advanced in terms of modelling.

The various types of chracter design that i could do made me look at more variations of characters and most of my designs in the past have been with detail and attachments certain pieces of the concept which make the character stand out and looking at this concept art i see similar designs which could be created.

This concept shows a great design in keeping the character hidden in the personal features of the character but because you have the character covered with his assets of guns, pouches and clothes.

Another piece of concept art that i have looked at is the rough design of a medieval type warrior and from that i get ideas of doing a warrior which is shown up by the use of weapons and armour and just pieces of art that create a difference of outcome from looking at this chracter design and someone like a Captain America design as the Captain America design is more of a hero with the bright colours and having a basic design but comparing the character to the design of this concept character you get the idea that he is evil, someone who will kill anything to get what he wants and because of the design of him being built and with weapons and armour that notion is shown.

Looking at the varous designs of characters i came across this design of Medusa from Clash of the Titans which is one that is great through the level of detail from the characters scales and body markings but because of this concept being not a normal type of character in the normal human based shape, i saw it as an opportunity of maybe going out of the boundry and making my character being excluded from other designs because of its detail and extra features.