Masters: The End Is Nigh part 2 of 3

This is now the last last week of term and we have finished the 3D projects, so all that Is left to cover in this blog for the academic year is the masters project and the final exam. Seeing as it's nearly the end I got a lot of time to put towards this project. I still had to sort out my scans throughout the year and prepare for the exam but I still had fun doing this project. I choose to use the cintiqs because I'm still not 100% on the graphics tablets which was my problem with the finals on the Chicago project I thought it would be good to not let that get in the way.

And here they are. Both are Rembrandt studies of his portraits. I rushed the second one a little on the face but the coat he is wearing came out brilliantly. The helmet on the first study was tricky at first and I was nervous about the colours when trying to make it chrome like.

20's Chicago: The End Is Nigh part 1 of 3

While I was doing the 3D Project I was also starting and completing the last 2 Visual Design Sections of the course. The first of which is the 1920's Chicago project where you could concept anything you like from Chicago in that time period. Being the silly person I am decided to design an indoor environment which was going to eventually end up as  speak-easy/bar/vaudeville theatre.

I started doing the basic sketches and building it up from there. I also looked into all the types of bar or theatre and the kind of acts, props and characters it would contain. I really enjoyed exploring the options and went for a classy underground bar that would have everything the upper-class would need to survive the prohibition days with plenty of booze and music to enjoy but still have a dangerous feel.

After concepting themes I started doing layout pages to plan in orthographic and the floors so I knew where things would actually go. I then built the actual area in 3DS max and rendered some images that I could use for my finals.

In the end I wasn't happy with my finals because I struggled with them on Photoshop which I seem to be very hit or miss with and need to get it so I'm consistently good. I did enjoy the concepting stage and did a fair amount of work planning the awesome environment which was why it was a shame the finals didn't turn out to my liking. It's a problem that can only be solved through hard work and persistence in the face of failure.

Texturing Project

We recently got set an intense 3D project for one week for us noobs. To unwrap, texture and rig 2 models supplied to us by the Uni. This was a project focusing on the texturing mainly which happened to be something I struggled with in my other projects focusing more on things like modelling and rigging and in a recent assessment the texturing was what really let me down so I wanted to commit to this project, give 120% effort and create some awesome textures. I would still go for it on the rig as well because I enjoy that but the main test for me was to make good textures and enjoy it.

I decided because these were quite stylised models that I was going to paint the textures myself which completely paid off. I had a blast learning new tools in Photoshop and new techniques to enhance the textures. On of the most useful was how to make cloth textures and then pattern overlay them onto my texture sheet to create the illusion of jeans and patterns on the jackets. I also had loads of fun using different types of layers (mainly overlays and soft light) to create folds and creases in the clothes which made an amazing effect when the bumpmaps and speculars were applied.

My characters were inspired by the game Deus Ex: Human Revolution game with small augments on their bodies and arms where I looked at how muscles looked in real arms to create nice organic structures in the augments.

Here are videos of the models doing fairy dances which test the rigs really well but because each model is 1500 tris it still has some major deformation.                                                                                                            

Here are the models in the sketchfab 3D viewer which I have finally found out how to embed.

Low poly dude by Max_Bostock on Sketchfab

Easter Part 2: Finishing up the holiday

It's now the end of the Easter Holiday and while I have had a chance to work lots I've also had the time to relax a bit and do some more things just for me. It's always good as an artist to see some new things and expand their general knowledge. So I've took the time to see some of the sites a bit more which is quite hard because I've already seen all the galleries and museums in the area but this doesn't mean new things don't spring up.

So I've taken more time to have some walks around the nearby town of Evesham and my village 4 miles away (sometime it does suck to not have a car); and even though I've walked these tracks before it's always nice to see how some things and changed but also to see it in a new way since the way I try to see things has changed during my time on this course. I'm now trying to see the world in 3D, how the light hits surfaces and what the colours of made up of. It's also cool because it's spring and I live in the country so there are lots of flowers in the fields and lot's of life as the farms have so lovely new life with the chicks, goslings and lambs all running around causing trouble.

The next thing I've been doing is watching some movies at the cinema. Normally this may sound like not that view expanding but I love films and seen an unbelievable amount of them and learnt to think about many things differently (anyway I still read books). My local cinema is also a small independent one called The Regal and the best part about it is that because it's an old Victorian playhouse even though it's been renovated it is still amazing visually. It's been updated a bit but has this Art Deco theme to it which it pulls off. Lovely engraved ceilings and awesome patterns in the metalwork of the awnings keep the old vibe of the buildings origins. The red and gold of the interior with small candle lit tables on the ground floor which give this lovely cosy, calm feeling when you sit at them.

One of the films I watched this holiday was the Lego Movie this holiday and I've got to say it was absolutely fantastic. It has a lots of laughs with a nice story that has a thoughtful meaning which makes you think about the role it played in your childhood. The thing that I though was the best about it was how the 3D artists, animators and concept artists really made this amazing world of Lego come to life. Now you would think that to make the 3D models on a Lego movie would be easy and maybe for the artists they did find it easy but the interesting thing is that they really made each figure look like a little plastic man with little bits of trim or marks in the paint which does appear on Lego figures. They made the light hit it like how it does on real Lego and even though the general shape of the Lego figures and blocks is easy to get down its these little bits that suspend your disbelief and think about these characters and their plight. The animators also did and amazing job making wonderful use of how to make these figures move especially when you realise that there are very few degrees of movement and to create believable animations that associate with certain movements and gestures can be quite hard but they pulled it off which is another amazing thing. These parts and more worked together to craft an awesome experience which really made me see how the little things do make a big impact in media and this aspect could make or break a game as much as the big things.

How to do you animate something that can hardly move?

I also went to see a play recently at the RSC Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon which is nearby to my house and coincidentally it was on the 450th birthday of William Shakespeare. The play was The Roaring Girl by Thomas Dekker and Thomas Middleton first published in 1611. The play itself is all about this woman called Moll Cutpurse who is a cross-dressing roaring girl who can manipulate anybody. Written in Shakespearean prose it was a funny comedy that was light hearted. The plays theme was on strong female characters and the designers at the RSC decided to mix up the Shakespearean dialogue with the aesthetics of Victorian London with the stage being a cobblestone street constantly steaming and lanterns being lit around the theatre in some scenes. I really enjoyed the experience an thought it was an enjoyable play.

I also had the time to get to grips with poses and animation more this last week. I drew some walk cycles and read more books to increase my knowledge of how this basic motion works. This was a fun exercise and I also learnt that Photoshop can make basic animations as well, check it out!

Next ones will be better that's the way the world works.

I also did a painting that I was proud of where I took more time to do the details.

I've still got along way to go but I'm improving slowly. I think the real thing is that this Easter I managed to keep doing some work everyday and I enjoyed it. I do however need to increase the amount I do everyday as sometimes it might only be a couple of A4 pages. I need to get lost more in my work instead of constantly say "I need to do this and this and this...".

References:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g186422-d2534653-i61403332-The_Regal_Cinema-Evesham_Worcestershire_England.html
Photo of the regal cinema  published on Trip advisor provided by the management at the cinema

http://www.triciasmith.co/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/stalls-banner.jpg
Photo of the regal cinema taken by Tricia Smith 18/02.2012

http://postgamer.net/film-review-the-lego-movie/
Still from the Lego Movie published by Baaz 19/02/2014

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/still/00006454/the-lego-movie-image04.html
Still image form the movie

http://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/the-roaring-girl/production-photos.aspx
All the photos of "The Roaring Girl" taken by Helen Maybanks

Easter Part 1: Kicking back and doing some work

The Easter Holidays have arrived and to have three weeks off is quite fun especially when the weather has been so very nice. I didn't get my shop job this holiday which means I've had a lot more time to kick, back relax and do some work. I'm quite happy because I have been taking advantage of this time to have a go at redoing some work from earlier this year, with new digital finals for many of the projects.

I kicked off the holiday by having a standard party but as the day carried on I decided much to start painting while my friends were all talking, so I did another Bradgate park paint. I had some trouble with the colour layer on this paint but it was an OK painting that took me two hours. The thing that I am happy with is that this proved I could keep doing work during the holiday.

Throughout the last two weeks I have redone the single point project, 2-point project, the self-portrait project and the guildhall project all with digital and traditional finals. I have also been doing more digital paintings that are mostly redo's of other projects finals. The car project, vehicle project, interesting character project and the reef character project. I also did a self-portrait sculpt to try and increase my understanding of the shape of a head in 3D space.

I have also been doing some pose studies using the people around me but also making use of the fantastic website posemaniacs. These drawings are in a new sketchbook which will be focusing on poses, figure studies, walk cycles and general understanding of shape and form. I am also trying to improve my line work in this sketchbook as well. I will try to get this book filled up before the end of the holiday in my last week. The best part though is that I'm happy that I'm drawing everyday of my own accord when I don't have to which is a good habit to be into and I know that if I keep it up my skills will continue to improve.

Posemaniacs :
http://www.posemaniacs.com/randompose

Bradgate Revisit (Another "How Far Have I Come?")

I know I have already done a post about how I've improved both over time in the space centre post and digitally in the blade runner digi paint post but I wanted to make one which ties it all together in a neat little packet and sets up the scene for my future over Easter, the Game Art course and my career in general.

Bradgate park is one seriously cool place just outside of Leicester and it is a place universally known for its amazing views and nature throughout the Game Art course here at DMU. It is ritual for first and second years to take trips there for their visual design work, to see the sights and do some epic art. I've always enjoyed this place and taken many trips there outside of lessons to explore the awesome landscape and draw some drawings. I've seen some pretty awesome views there that will stay with me for a long time.

In October our year visited the park and did the standard project some which consisted of thumbnails and a final. Here are some of the pictures that I came out with.

 After that I redid the project over the Christmas holidays. At that time I couldn't use Bradgate because I was back home but I am lucky enough to live in the heart of the Cotswolds and I have an epic view outside my window. Over this period I used some carbon pencils as well which have a slightly different effect but I know my rendering was improved and I captured this dark, tortured, cloudy sky. Here is a selection of what I produced.

My bedroom looks over the Vale of Evesham. Waking up to this view is a privileged.

This brings us up to present where we had another visit to Bradgate on a much sunnier warmer day. It was a shame the leaves weren't on the trees yet but spirits were high and we had a fun time looking forward to the future and having a laugh. There were some antics as one of our troupe (Denzil) fell into the stream flowing through the park which was hilarious.

Watch the video of the fail here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=766084423403782

After that Denzil being the professional badass he is dusted himself off and got to work like the rest of us; and we produced some awesome images.

Now here Is where it ties in to the digital stuff like I mentioned earlier. I then did an extra final digitally in about 2 hours work time. I am really proud of this and has widened my eyes as to what I'm capable of digitally and really inspired me to what I can do.

started of as a grey scale wip

with colour overlay then a normal layer on top for some corrections and fine detail.

Now when I was creating this and when I finished this I definitely got this feeling in my stomach I was doing the right thing. Over the last few weeks things have really accelerated in both my personal work ethics and in my studies at the uni. Things are all clicking into place and I've got this urge to do more and more and more and push myself, become skilled, to sculpt, to write, to think and use critical thought. To evaluate what I do and what others do and go the extra mile to achieve what I can. This course has taken a leap and now I know that this is undeniably the course for me because it has allowed me to grow as a person in 1000's of ways. I am not the same man I was when I joined the course and if all the changes are for the better is debatable and often depends on perspective but I am getting more excited to be in this environment every day now.

quick landscape I knocked out in 15 mins. I need to become quicker.

It will be interesting to see if I keep this up over Easter and where before I was unsure now I'm certain I am going to maintain or maybe even increase my productivity. If I am successful in this endeavour it will effect my mentality forever and I hope there is an awesome future ahead of me.

Guildhall final 2 hours