Week Number & Date: Week 3 – 17/02/20
List of Tasks planned for this week:
. Do some sketches to start developing ideas for the project
. Attempt to do some photo bashing for developing ideas
Current Position –
To help me come up with some idea of what I intend to do for my project, I decided to do some rough sketches of manor houses – front facing, to make it easier – to get an idea of a building shape I can use. I started with some simple shape ideas, and then after a few with parts attached to the sides of the buildings. I am debating over the size of the building I intend to do, I don’t want the building to be too large with many features, as it can be time consuming, as well as more complicated and difficult to do when applying colour to the piece. But I don’t want the building to be really small, as it could be too easy, and not enough for my final project.
I decided to roughly sketch out the building shapes i have done again, only this time, add some effect to make it seem smokey or destroyed. I filled the areas representing the windows and doors in pencil, and then smudged it, to add a smokey effect. I also tried to make that effect above the roof, marking the roof shape in a dark colour, to hint the wooden beams being burnt. I am unsure about the smokey effect for my final project, because I don’t know how to add the burnt effect to the building when it comes to applying colour. I can look into this when I do colour ideas, and practice some smudgy, smokey effects on the colour ideas I have generated.
Planning for next week –
. I need to start doing the photo bashing ideas for my developing ideas
. Start doing some layouts using shapes on Photoshop
Week Number & Date: Week 4 – 24/02/20
List of Tasks planned for this week:
. I need to start the photo bashing for developing ideas
. Start creating layouts for my scene using shapes on Photoshop
Current Position –
As I was unable to do my photo bashing ideas last week, I decided to have a go at them at the beginning of the week, before beginning my test pieces for my project. I am not very keen on photo bashing, because I hate how some of them turn out, and I hate the progress for doing it on Photoshop.
Above are the two photo bash ideas I have created. I wasn’t sure what ideas to do for these pieces, as the idea itself is a simple concept, but I managed to come up with two ideas. I didn’t enjoy making these photo bashes, as I found it very difficult to combine the two different images together, and so, the resulting photo bashes may not look very effective compared to my other work.
The top idea shows a ruined manor in a field. I took an image of a clear field, and then trimmed the image of the manor house, to add it to the scene. Because the image of the manor house was already in black and white, I decided to give that effect to the field in the background, giving the image an almost vintage hint.
My second idea was a bit more tricky, as I didn’t want to repeat the same idea I had for the first image. I decided to find some images of fire, and use that to photo bash with another ruined manor image, to make it look like the building is still on fire. I decided to give the building a black and white effect, whilst leaving the fire in the colours it had, and I think it does give off an effective.
Once I finished my development of ideas, I’ve began to do some test pieces to prepare myself for my project. I began by doing some shape layouts on Photoshop, simply using different shapes to give a birds-eye view layout of what I intend to create. I created three different layout ideas for this part, using my research for reference of various manor house building shapes and layouts.
I even used some of my sketches to get a rough idea on how some of the building layouts could look. The first layout is large, but it’s simple. However, this could become troublesome if I have to add any extra details to the building.
The second idea is a lot more complex, and one of the closest associated with one of my sketches. The two sides that stick out are suppose to be balconies, but I’m not sure if that would make the sketch more difficult if I had to follow that as an idea.
The third idea is, as with the first idea, a simple idea, as well as much smaller than the previous two ideas. This could help me determine if I want to carry on with a smaller size, which can help me for details that I intend to add.
Now I have got some layout ideas done, I decided to have a go at some blockouts – using Maya – to help me get a perspective for when I start sketching. These blockouts are very helpful with the initial building for the first half of my project, however this could be a bit more difficult to pull off for my second half of my project, where the building is damaged.
The first idea was more done whilst I was practicing on Maya, as it had been a while since I last used the software. I think the look is quite a good idea, and is actually very simple. From there on, I tried to make some more ambitious designs, and intend to get them at different angles, so I can decide which perspective is best to draw my building.
I am not too keen on my second idea that I generated. I tried to stick more to one of the layouts that I constructed, however it doesn’t look good, looking more like an apartment building complex rather than a manor house. I also think I added too many windows for the reference.
The third idea is one of my favorites. I like how it has a simple shape, but has a few additional details – such as a porch, and chimneys. However, similar to that of the second idea, I think I added too many windows for the building. I could always mend this when I sketch it though, and leave some of them out. It is also a lot larger than I intended to make it, so if I could redo it, I would make it smaller.
Planning for next week –
. Start doing some sketches based off of the blockouts I have made on Photoshop
. Begin generating some colour ideas using a segment of my building.
Week Number & Date: Week 5 – 02/03/20
List of Tasks planned for this Week:
. Start doing some sketches based off of the blockouts I have made on Photoshop
. Begin generating some colour ideas using a segment of my building.
Current Position –
Above is the first Photoshop sketch I did of one of my blockouts. Normally, when I do a perspective sketch, I normally do it from an angle on the side. I decided to have a go at drawing from the front perspective. I also chose this particular blockout to start with, because it is quite large and complicated, which can help me decide on the size I want to do for my project.
I personally think the sketch came out very well, considering I’ve never done a scene from a front perspective before. I also decided to put simple squares and rectangles for the doors and windows in this sketch, as this isn’t going to be an official sketch, and it would put let pressure on me to get it precise. I do like some additional features I added, in particular, the porch and the chimneys, so these could be features I add to my final project design.
I then used the made-up blockout idea for the second Photoshop sketch. It was certainly more simpler than the previous design, and I also had a go at the way I normally designed buildings, from a side angle. I also did the windows and doors as they appeared in the blockout, rather than the squares and rectangles I did in the previous sketch.
I like how the final result of the sketch came out. Simple but effective. Again, the size and features to the building can help me to come up with ideas for the building for the final project.
I knew I wanted to do two parts to my piece, a before and after, but I realized I have only done blockouts for the building on the before side. I decided to have a go at a blockout based on a building after a possible fire. Looking from research I have done looking at manor fires, the building itself remains mostly in tact, with the most damage being smokey markings around any doors and windows shown. The most damage seen in the images is the roof, which is mostly completely gone, only leaving the original wooden beams that supported the roof, although some of these could be burnt through.
Above is the blockout I finished constructing, once having a look at the way roof beams are arranged. I created a simple building for this sort of blockout, rather than something complicated such as a manor house design. Although it may not be 100% accurate, and possibly a lot larger than they should, I do think it turned out quite well.
Above is the finished sketch I did of the above blockout, using Photoshop. It was quite a complicated design due to the placement of the beams, but I found it quite fun to do, and I loved how it turned out. It looks quite effective, and I even liked that there was part of the inside to draw too, because the doors and windows are open. It does add though if I need to possibly come up with a design for the inside of my manor house. I don’t intend to add anything, but it is always a possibility when it comes to the main project.
The next part I had to do after doing some sketches was to practice some colour ideas. I would fuse this with some of my art style practice. I made another quick blockout and sketch, much smaller and less detailed, and looked back at my research to choose the sort of colour schemes I would use for this practice. From asking of opinions from my peers, colour idea 1 seems to be the more favoured colour scheme.
I decided to do more colour ideas, only this time for the wooden beams for the roof. I looked up some wooden colours for the first two colours – a pale yellow colour, and then a auburn colour – whilst for the third idea, I tried to focus on a charcoal black colour for when the project starts, as the wooden beams will be burnt through.
Planning for next week –
. I need to work on attempting the art style effect that I intend to use.
Week Number & Date: Week 6 – 09/03/20
List of Tasks planned for this Week:
. I need to work on attempting the art style effect that I intend to use.
Before starting my art style effect ideas, I decided to have a go at adding a burnt effect to the wooden planks I would use on my burnt building scene. I used one of my original colour ideas for the roof beams, but instead of adding that colour palette, I made one up for the burnt effect – as I put it under ‘charcoal palette’. I looked up burnt wood colours, mostly shades of black, and took four examples, matching similar shades to that of the colours I used for the colour ideas. I then used control on each layer to colour in the block, without going over. Above is the finished result for the burnt roof beams I did. I personally find it quite effective for my piece, and I like how it blends with the original colours of the roof beams I did.
The last part of ideas generation I needed to work on was practicing the artistic effect that I am aiming for. The colouring part of my art style is easy, but trying to find an effective way to add the screen print texture was a difficult part, I wasn’t even sure if I could pull it off for the final project, or if it may be necessary.
Using one of the tutorials I found online, I had a go using its similar technique, finding an effect online, and adding it to my piece – I used the simple building I used in colour ideas for a test. I followed the tutorial, adding a frame around certain parts of the effect, added a mask to the folder with the image parts, and out came the above result! I thought it looked quite good for my first effect, although I don’t think there is enough effect. This could be a matter in terms of the size of my work and the size of the piece of texture I found, but I am overall proud of how the first test piece came out!
Above is my second attempt at using the texture effect. I found a different texture to practice with for this piece, however, it blotched a lot of the image when I originally tried it – due to accidentally inverting which segment is suppose to be highlighted. I tried again, but this time, duplicated the texture effect and left it at various areas on my image. I then merged the texture layers, and repeated the procedure for the effect. I found it quite effective, however it looks really off, but at least I have an understanding of how to pull off adding such texture to my work.
Above is the third test I have done, again using a different texture from the two I have already done. This texture was more dotty and pixelated, so I think in terms of the final result, it looks perfect for the style I am aiming for! I may need to work on the quality of the texture itself, such as if I need to merge multiple texture layers together to pull off the effect on a larger piece. I should also have a go at practicing with a full mock-up piece, to see the overall effect on the whole project.
Above is a mockup of a diorama scene – similar but simplified to what I intend to do – and had a go at both my colour ideas and the artistic effect I have just practiced. For this mockup, I used the blockout of the same building I used for my colour ideas and artistic effect, for reference. I also used the same texture I used on my last effect piece. For this though, I had to stretch the texture, and duplicate it to make it fit the whole screen.
I am very proud of how this mockup turned out, it gives off a very vintage feel to the image, which was the main reason I started using this technique at the beginning of the year. I mostly attempted this to try and sort out the screen print effect I wanted to add, because although I’m not sure if I should go ahead with it in the final project, I thought I would try it anyway, to at least understand how to do it, if I wish to do it in the future.
Above are a few examples of some previous sketches I have done before, only this time, I decided to have a go at doing them at different angles. This helps me to come up with what perspective I should use for my project. In previous projects, most angles of perspective I have used have been the same, looking down to the right of the scene. I want to try and do something different for this project, and attempt a different angle. Another alternative if to do is to one of the pieces – either the ‘order’ or ‘chaos’ piece – in a second angle.
Planning for Next Week:
. Attempt close up part of the building
. Begin creation of product
Week Number & Date: Week 7 – 16/03/20
List of Tasks planned for this Week:
. Attempt a close up part of the building
. Begin creating my product
Above is another example of a prototype of designing part of my product. I intend to create three pieces, and I thought I’d do the third segment based on a close up segment of the burnt building. I am very impressed with how it turned out, although I do believe the screen print effect I gave was a bit too much. I may look for a better quality version of a texture to use for my official product.
Continue on to Task 4.
Sophie Level 3 Games Dev 2nd Year 