Week Number: 5 – 17/012/19
List of Tasks Planned for the Week:
. Complete 3D blockout on Maya
. Draw out a sketch of the blockout on Photoshop
. Begin to use the screenprinting technique to start adding colour.
Before I can start my piece, I had to come up with a blockout on Maya, in order to understand what I am adding, and where they’d be placed. This also helps me to understand the perspective of the piece.
Once I completed my blockout, I sketched it out. This part was very difficult and tedious compared to the practice sketches I did. This was mostly because of the amount of detail I added, and the amount of assets I placed in the scene. As a sketch, however, I like how it turned out. Now that I have finished the sketch, I can finally start adding colour using the screenprinting technique that I have been practicing.
The first part I wanted to add colour to was the main stage of the diorama, which also acts as the main flooring. I intend for the floor to be lighter than the rest of the building in the scene, so I went with a dull turquoise colour for it. I also added a large square shape that would initially make up a tunnel of sorts, from where the train is coming out of. Now that I have finished adding colour to the piece, I can also get rid of the sketch outlines.
I was looking over the colour that I added to the piece beforehand, but thought it was too bright, so I decided to go over it all again, and change the colour to a slightly darker shade of turquoise. I think it looks better for the scene.
I decided to try and start on something simpler to add colour to first. I decided to go for the screens, as they would be easier shapes and require less colour. For the screens themselves, I gave them bright neon colours, and then turned down the opacity to 70%, to give them a transparent effect.
After the screens, I decided to start on the gates on the platform, as those are a main asset, being in front of many of the assets on the platform. I used my standard screenprinting technique on the gate barriers, and once I did the gates, I turned down the opacity to 50%, and when I added a line to show where the gates open (using a lighter shade of yellow), I also turned that down to 50% opacity.
Now that I have got the big asset out of the way, I decided to work on some of the smaller assets I added into the background. In particular, a sign, a bin, and some litter I scattered around. I wanted to get more of a feel for the environment in this scene.
I was looking over the colour that I added to the piece beforehand, but thought it was too bright, so I decided to go over it all again, and change the colour to a darker shade of turquoise. I think it looks better for the scene, and brings out where the rails are. The colour is still brighter than what I intend to use for the building, but still has a dark effect.
Once I changed the floor, I then decided to move onto the platform. I decided to go with a navy blue theme for the station building. I wanted it to be brighter for the platform, so I can give the walls and surrounding building a dark navy appearance.
Above shows the finishing result using the navy theme for the building. I quite like how it came out, and I even added a more brighter blue for the interior building that can be seen above the staircase. Now the building colours have been added, I can now work on the few final assets.
I was troubled when I tried to do the staircase, mostly because I wasn’t sure what colour to do. I didn’t know if making it navy, like the building, would make it too dark and unable to see. I decided to have a go at making it a pale blue, in juxtaposition to the building colour, and I think the colour sticks out very well.
The final asset, apart from the train, that I had left to colour in was the benches. Although they looked simple, they were a struggle to colour because of how small they really were, and the shapes I gave their legs.
I decided to start working on the lights next, so I can have a place for them to make the scene look complete. I quite like how they came out, but the scene still doesn’t have the cyberpunk feel to it. I may ask for help to see how I can possibly add the cyberpunk feel to the scene.
The next part was another tedious part, and this was to add colour to the train, which is the main asset for my scene. I decided to make it a bright turquoise colour, in contrast to the floor of the scene. I wanted it to be bright, and tried to add a few details to it, such as stripes, lights, and brightly coloured doors and windows. I am very pleased with out the train came out, but I wish I could’ve spent a bit more time making it more bullet shaped.
The final thing I added for the piece was a gradient background. Initially, I had it as a neon blue colour, but I decided to make it a two tone gradient background, using a neon purple as the other colour, and I think it came out quite effectively, and really suits the neon theme that surrounds the cyberpunk idea.
After asking for advice on how to add a cyberpunk theme to my scene, I managed to find a way on getting my lights to have a glowing effect. I made a duplicate folder of all the layers I used to make my lights, and used a Gaussian blur tool and set it to 25%, to give the lights a radiant glow. I loved this effect, and decided to try it out on my screens too, and I think they came out very effectively.
I decided to try out the glowing effect on the rails, as I thought it would be a cool idea since the setting is cyberpunk and almost futuristic, that maybe rails could glow. I like the effect that it gives off, and I may keep this in my piece.
What Tasks Didn’t I Complete This Week?:
N/A
Planning for Next Week:
. Focus on sketching out my asset piece
. Try to focus on shading in my piece
Week Number: 6 – 06/01/20
List of Tasks Planned for the Week:
. Focus on sketching out my asset piece
. Try to focus on shading my piece
Whilst drawing my asset, I decided to draw it at multiple angles – with help from screenshots of my blockout – and I also decided to do the small segment of the train that is visible in the scene. I am quite impressed with the turnout for the additional drawings of the trains.
I carried on to begin colouring the train, and added a couple of markings to try and show off the curves and bends on the body of the train. I also added in the windows, doors and even the lights and parts of the livery that I used. I always intended for the locomotive to be quite bright, with brighter stripes for livery, to link back to the Cyberpunk theme. I also added in the glow effect to the lights, adding the blur on a duplicate layer, although it doesn’t seem to show through as well in this piece.
Above is the front of the train. Although I had the blockout for assistance, my issue for this piece was to try and make the nose of the locomotive show out. I added minor lines to try and show where the nose would be.
The side of the train took the longest to do for my asset reference. It was also much different to do, as it appears more 2D, as it wasn’t shown in a perspective. I originally intended to do the whole length of the train, but I decided to stick to making it smaller, showing off only what is shown in the diorama.
Above is the final display for my asset piece, showing off the three forms of perspective I focused on. To finish it off, I added a gradient background, using the same colours for the one in my diorama piece. I am quite impressed with how this came out, since I’ve never focused on a large asset before for a final piece.
Sophie Level 3 Games Dev 2nd Year 