Week 19 - Reflective Journal

 For this module - GART704: Crafting and Refining - we are encouraged to use a game engine such as Unreal to experiment with lighting techniques that can be applied to a 2D or 3D render. For our submission, we have to show a scene (or two scenes) with two different lighting conditions. These conditions can convey different times of day (morning, evening) or different moods (warm, cold).

Fig. 1: Dros. 2017. Same Location Different Seasons.

Some key things to consider during this module are: 

• CONTRAST: the most important aspect of an image.

• COLOUR: to show warmth, coldness, and mood. 

• DIRECTION: direct the gaze, or show a player where to go, highlighting areas/items of interest.

• A RHYTHM/BEAT : a beat from light to dark helps achieve depth.

Fig. 2: Recktenwald, 2016. Uncharted 4 Environment Art.

After avoiding 3D work in the last module, as I focused on a 2D character concept, I want to work on a 3D render for this module. Using Unreal Engine 5.1, I will be able to access free assets to add to a scene, but would also like to create some simple assets of my own. My primary idea is to work on a fantasy graveyard scene, inspired by "hag stones" - a stone with a naturally occurring hole through it, believed to have magical properties and ward off witches. 

Figure 3: Spence, 2023. PureRef Board

I want my two lighting conditions to be at different times of day, but also convey different moods. I looked into how animators at Pixar approach lighting:

"Artists create blueprints called color scripts, which are hand-painted frames that depict scenes throughout a storyline...much like a storyboard only more detailed in terms of tone. When these frames are viewed consecutively, the director and production designer can determine the emotional story arc." (Bell, 2020)

Fig. 4: Unknown maker. Finding Nemo Colour Script

I may produce a rough block-out of my scene, and paint over it to produce some colour scripts to work out what kind of lighting I want.

I started making some basic stone shapes in Maya, that I can refine and add detail to in ZBrush. I want to make the stones appear naturally formed by the sea, something that is challenging to create in Maya.

Fig. 5: Spence, 2023. Maya Stone Block-Outs

In ZBrush I can hollow out areas with more ease, add holes and crevices from water damage, etc. Being able to increase the geometry greatly improves the detail I can add. This will also mean I get to practice retopology and making textures.

Fig. 6: Spence, 2023. ZBrush Refining

I like using a tablet for better pressure control whilst modeling, and results feel much quicker, though blocking out in Maya is still very useful for me.

References:

BELL, Jasmyne. 2020. 'How Do You Light an Animated Film?' [online] No Film School. Available at: https://nofilmschool.com/how-do-you-light-animated-film [Accessed on 27/01/2023]

Images:

Figure 1. DROS, Albert. 2017. Same Location Different Seasons. PetaPixel [online]. Available at: https://petapixel.com/2017/12/06/shot-7-photos-location-different-seasons/ [Accessed on: 27/01/2023]

Figure 2. RECKTENWALD, Brian. 2016. Uncharted 4 Environment Art. ArtStation [online]. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/GzlPB [Accessed on: 27/01/2023]

Figure 3. SPENCE, Nel. 2023. PureRef Board. Private Collection: Nel Spence

Figure 4. Unknown maker. Finding Nemo Colour Script. Escape Studios Animation [online]. Available at: https://escapestudiosanimation.blogspot.com/2020/04/why-animators-need-colour-scripts.html [Accessed on: 27/01/2023]

Figure 5. SPENCE, Nel. 2023. Maya Stone Block-Outs. Private Collection: Nel Spence

Figure 6. SPENCE, Nel. 2023. ZBrush Refining. Private Collection: Nel Spence

Week 17 + 18 - Reflective Journal - FINAL SUBMISSION

Wandering Witch of the West

The Banjo - Byleth

The Witch - Development

The Poncho - Development

Clothing - Development

The Banjo - Development

Overall, I like a lot about my final submission. I know I definitelt rushed parts of it, and the layout of the first page isn't ideally how I'd want it, but plotting out where to put clothing of different shapes and sizes, whilst keep their individual details clear, is something I will get more practice with over my course. I will say, I did begin to fall out of love with this character part way through development, but began to find it again as I put these pages together. I think this is a successful character design, and I look forward to doing more.

Week 15 + 16 - Reflective Journal

This week I wanted to narrow down the character's face and hair. I tried out various colours and ideas of how magic might affect her appearance, as well as a "spooky" undead look that may reveal something about the character as a supernatural being. I eventually settled on her looking like a living human, with eyes that glow when she uses magic.

I also began working on a consistent background design for my submission, trying to incorporate the moon phase pattern from the poncho into the design.

I wanted the character to be older, appearing wise and experienced. I gave her greying hair, and plan to give her some wrinkle definition in the final design.

After finalising the poncho design, I painted a neater layout of the patterns, as well as breaking down colours and the shapes seen on the fabric. Doing a rough drawing of the poncho being worn also helped with plans on how I would draw my final design, as I played with the warp tool to make the design flow correctly with the drawing.

In preparation of my peer review I started finalising how my pages would look, and laying out my work in a way that was easy to read and detailed.

Poncho Page

Clothing Concepts Page

Full Character and Clothing Details Page

I plan to ask for feedback on my page layouts so far, as well as colours used and general thoughts on the coherency of my work.

Peer Review Post

Week 13 + 14 - Reflective Journal

 For these two weeks I've focused on the design for the poncho and shirt, working out patterns and colours that suit the character and setting.

Shirt and Poncho References on Pureref Board

I gathered several references, including old photographs and screenshots/character sheets from the Red Dead Redemption series. 

Ponchos originate as an all-weather garment from South America (P, 2019) though are now associated with indigenous peoples of both North and South America, and considered a typical American garment. They are usually a single piece of fabric with a hole in the middle for the wearer's head, though the one i've designed is more similar in shape to the ruana, native to the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, which is similar to a poncho but with a split down the middle.

I liked the idea of incorporating some death themed imagery, as well as moon phases and common patterns found on ponchos.

Ultimately, ponchos follow a woven pattern, meaning the design had to work as though made up of a series of straight lines. I took designs that both myself and my peers liked and made flat versions that would follow straight woven lines.

I took aspects of the combined designs to create a final draft, working out exactly what shapes I wanted to use. I also reworked the shape of the skull, as I found it too "cartoon-ish". Simplifying it and removing teeth and lower jaw details helped make the final version stronger.

Final Poncho Design

I next worked on colour concepts. Whilst I knew the character would be in majority dark clothing, I wanted some colour to break up the design a little. I took inspiration from my mood board, specifically the landscapes I'd chosen and the colour schemes within them.

Mood Board Draft

The orange represented desert sands, and purple the transition from day to night. These colours had a strong contrast, and were used in some of my initial ideas. I also liked the image of the dusk sky, that had both orange and purple, and inspired the idea of the witch appearing between high noon and the witching hour.

Very early on I settled on the dark purple as a base colour, but experimented with different colours to the orange, such as blue and green. I wanted to try the green primarily as it's a colour used a lot in association with witches, and is commonly seen with purple and orange for halloween.

The blue often felt too bright, but after some experimentation I found the dark green/teal was my favourite. 

Next I started working on shirt designs. Western shirts often have decorative yokes (shoulder area) on the front and back, which meant I could incorporate more symbols and motifs associated with witchcraft, whilst keeping the style of a traditional western shirt.

I looked at lots of different designs, noting common use of flowers and piping. In a few designs I drew cactus flowers to represent the desert, in others I used basic floral patterns, moon phases, and skulls.

Final Shirt Design

The final shirt design uses a floral pattern and skeletal hands reaching for each other. For colours I wanted to use similar tones from the poncho, with a dark base and solid colours embroidered on. Ultimately I think i'll use the black base with the purple hands and green florals.

References:

P, CJ. 2019. 'The Surprising Origin of Ponchos'. [online]. Red Ledge. Available at: https://www.redledge.com/blogs/news/the-surprising-origin-of-ponchos [Accessed on: 26/12/2022]