Evaluation

Today was our (year two)term one evaluation (queue imperial march music or maybe The Ecstasy of Gold)

I wasn't too surprised by the results, critical studies are on track and 3D had silly little , 2D went smooth as I can output a lot of work and is my comfort zone. I'll note the key points mentioned.


3D    (Good)

• Obvious use of reflected symmetry
• Use of incorrect map sizes (non-binary multiple)
• The building was higgledy-piggledy
• Was a gap in the level created in UDK
• No Collision meshes exported into UDK
• Didn't use normal and specular maps on every asset

In my mind I have rationalizations for most of the points… But rationalizations don't matter, the design document should more than cover these points. I think the root of the problem is trying too hard if that makes sense? I'm trying to throw in as much as I can learn, but miss the fundamentals. The grading for game production is very clinical and the actual artistic content is almost moot. The next project I am going to keep it relatively mundane but ensure that I get all the right boxes ticked and make a solid & clean asset.

Here I have started the optional 3D project, I'm concentrating on the fundamentals & applying recent teachings.  I'm keeping the concept simple - a basic cart and some nature, all of my efforts are to make a nice looking clean scene & maybe rendering in UDK for practice.

2D    (Very Good)

• Presentation needs improving
• Not always abiding to standard paint techniques – layering/building up colours
• Should post more personal work in 2D folder

Visual design went pretty smooth, no major concerns and quite a few positive comments, which is always re-assuring. I haven't been putting as much time into 2D as 3D but have more experience and confidence here. I think my fine-art and graphics experience, and age help me a lot here. I really should be aiming higher though, I'm finding out about new techniques and tricks and could be doing better at implementing them into my practice.

Here's a pic I did that Chris mentioned he liked, I focused on colour theory/harmony and translating how I personally saw the scene - The tree and foliage dominating my path... a natural gem among the concrete of Leicester, with it's surrounds being almost incidental.

Crits    (Very Good)

• More reflection & applying to self
• Comment on 2D & 3D work

Critical studies I was a little unsure of, I do pay attention at lectures and have a basic grasp on writing, but was uncertain of whether I was approaching the subject correctly. To be honest it's difficult trying to work out what not to write.

I'd be honest and say I wasn't sure how on track I was with the syllabus until this evaluation. I do put in a lot of work and time, but that doesn't always equate into good marks. I was only really surprised by the crits score being so high (cheers Mike). It occurred to me that I don't really promote my own abilities or experiences much, I've been drawing for nearly 30 years (on and off) and have to my own surprise retained a lot of knowledge along the way… But how the hell do you know that? I can write it, but that's like showing someone a cake – they can't taste my unique recipe, and barely get a sniff. So I think Critical Studies has helped loads… Not just for the information supplied, but by the encouragement to self-analyze and make larger artistic and personal decisions.  This has helped me be more confident in my own abilities and limitations.

Game Engines & Optimizing

I have been thinking quite a bit about analysing and optimisation of 3D assets for game engines. To state the obvious, the less information processed the better the performance in game. There is the standard in PC games of 60 FPS (frames per second), and 30FPS is more common on consoles. Anything over 60FPS is really hard to tell the difference, although the BBC have been experimenting with 300FPS for sport broadcasts. The performance of any game relies heavily on the game engine; I had the experience of a poor port from console to PC earlier this year. I paid for the game Dark Souls and actually had to download an un-official patch which fixes the frame rate and you can manage the settings. The From-Software actually said 60FPS was impossible due to engine restrictions, but this can be reached on a high-end PC with this fix.

Anyways, more importantly and relevantly is optimization for the UDK engine. There is the fundamental way of making a strong library of assets which share much information, for example using the same mesh and applying a different material (re-skin), and shared textures in areas (a little like Fallout but not abused so much). More importantly for a game artist I have been looking at analysing and fixing models in 3DS max, as well as efficient texture mapping and unwrapping.

It may be interesting to know that the triangle count and texture size is a small amount of the information used from assets. Each triangle can be broken down into verts, so the number of verts counts for a lot, and can store more than position data. Here I have been using a 3DS Max script, which calculates these variables and displays it as a figure. I was surprised to find out the UV unwrap seams counts for so much – it's almost a whole other assets worth of information. Knowing this I could imagine how cheap tiled textures could be... I've gotta thank Mike Pickton again for sharing this information.

To help understand UDK a little better I recently purchased Unreal Tournament 3 on Steam. Not only is UDK packaged with the game to encourage community created levels, but it also has levels made from the same packages available to play with inside UDK. I have noticed in recent years lots of games have the Unreal Engine; this is because it is flexible, pretty all-encompassing and has a cheap licence… This all adds up to industry standard in game engines. More recent and becoming more popular is the Cry Engine, this is apparently a lot simpler to use (with less customization), but very effective and reproduce outdoor scenes. Also from my own experience playing Crysis the physics and destructibility is a big feature.

Staying Fresh

There is a common problem with anyone when learning and producing work. On one hand we can get "artists block", when we struggle to be creative. On the other hand we could be spewing out lots of work which really doesn't help to demonstrate progression… I'll call this over compensation. There's a fine balance between being creative and burning yourself out. Looking at the link you can see the first point is fear – people get too precious about their work and feel that it's not good enough, or that they are not good enough and struggle to reach their ideal vision.

This of course is very different for each person, and is more a reflection on their temperament then their work. One thing I do love about this course is that we are left to our own devices somewhat – If I want to do abstract paintings for digital backgrounds I can, If I want to learn how to use a 3D application and learn a bit, I can. Everyone has different experiences and works better differently, and the more you can draw from your own experience the stronger and more informed your work will be.

Personally I don't really love one thing, and like to try a bit of everything to keep it fresh. For the tripod project I concentrated on coming up with unique designs instead of a thousand similar designs. I then pushed one a unique design a little further and developed it. On one hand I have lost out on peer-points as I steered away from what everyone expects to see – Pointy limbs, illogical mechanical detail, organic and menacing forms… I did something like that on day one to get it out of the way.

It's worth noting that my day one picture got more Facebook "likes" than my main work. This doesn't surprise me, in a way I'm being selfish with my work. But that's what it takes to stay fresh for myself. I used the opportunity to try low-poly modelling; I learned lots in a small time about texturing and unwrapping, and have a lot more confidence in making quick/minimalist models quickly. See, this skill can help further enhance my 2D by incorporating this models and painting over them, and also reminds me of the good ol' days.

So to cap, I don't think is healthy to do the same exercise over and over when you gain little from it. For example I was drawing a load of 30 second figure sketches as an exercise. At the start it was great to help me work without thinking and gain speed, now when I do them it can be a challenge still but I don't feel that panic or split second decision making I originally experienced. For me this means it's time to move on, it would be beneficial to do them when I'm out of practice, and I now know somewhere to get excellent reference. Instead I may spend that time reading a guide or following tutorials or new programs like UDK and Zbrush.

Documents... and a chimp

With the run up to our group project we have been looking at communication through documents. I never realised that there are so many different document steps in the game production process.

• The pitch
• Idea generation & refinement
• Visual guide (reference swatches, mood boards etc)
• Technical specifications & goals
• Plan of actions/break down, deadlines

Briefs/documentation really comes into play when working in groups and handing off work to others, when working alone we know our visual and goals, but with others this has to be conveyed as clearly as possible.
One comparative I can make is musicians – When playing music in a group you all have to understand each other, but not everyone understands what a bar is for example. The guitarist thinks a riff is a bar, instead of a pre-chorus it is a called a "little but before the next bit". I know fundamental musical terms, but the point I'm getting at is that not everyone uses the best language, so in a way briefs should be treated as if you were explaining to a chimp (or a punk guitarist), leave all uncertainties out, throw in a photo or a diagram to explain if the point warrants it.

Having a strong brief is like having strong outlines already there and we just fill out the space, if the brief is crap then the goal and process will be crap (if the brief is followed). I've had problems recently following my own briefs for personal projects, not (totally) because I'm lazy or stupid, but because of the reason, the purpose and the expected outcomes and timeframe. For example in my last post I started looking at making a character, I was stumped coming up with a design to fit my initial idea & brief. What I did was rethink the brief, instead of concentrating on my character must have "x" object and look like "y", I went back and filtered what I actually want to achieve

1. High poly character
2. Female form
3. Learn Strip Modelling, zbrush, and retopology/baking to medium poly
4. Render and look nice/export

(WIP)  So I immediately cut out specifics which weren't integral to these points. Within half an hour of this thinking I drew up an alternative idea/character which I felt was much stronger & appropriate. I converted the idea of having a massive weapon belt to accommodate many swords to the character having six arms. In a way this is a totally different project, but the fundamentals are all there and shining brighter. The reason I don't stipulate an exact result is so that I can explore as I'm going – I'm still learning, and there is a lot to learn, but would be neglecting by repeating the exact processes I already know.

Above I thought for a minute about adding chains and worked out a decent way to do it in 3DS. From this I learned that you can apply (and stack) modifiers to linked/grouped objects – This is amazingly useful to know and would not have known without the leeway to experiment.  I think that's what personal projects are all about - exploring & developing.

Paris, Hitler & Jazz

Last week we watched Win Wyman's Paris, Texas. We were shown it to help us understand and think about composition and visually communicating emotion and story-telling.
The cinematography and directing told the story for the first forty-minutes. I rented the film from the library to see its conclusion, but unfortunately I was visually distracted doodling so I don't think I reaped the Benefits of the visual awesomeness. The story was told backwards somewhat and led towards the reason why Travis was lost to the world and behaving odd. I got a little emotional at times, but the last scene made me ill, most of us have had tough breakups at points and it seemed a little "emo". I basically got the impression the writer never got over his girlfriend and cried into his script, so the end was a bit of a cringer, but uplifting too. The main actor Harry Dean Stanton, is the guy out of a film I used to like in my youth – Repo Man, it's similar in a way as it supports a dystopian ideology, and everyone seems to be cool and has strength in their own ways… It also has an alien in the car boot which burns up anyone who sees it. Harry's character is on a similar journey as in Paris Texas, but instead of returning to his family and love he follows a blind faith & an attunement with this alien. Is worth a watch. The feel to it also reminded me of Happiness and Little Miss sunshine – These are all kinda "mainstream" alternative cinema and use the same kind of subversive direction, palette and pacing... Seems common in foreign films

 
Colour seems a bit of a tough concept for some of us students. I have seen quite a lot of digital fails when attempting to colour, along with a lot of colour picking from reference. I actually did a little exercise to see how to "rip off" pallets from pictures, here I did a couple of ten minute thumbnails. I just took what I thought were the main colours (keeping a small palette, no more than 6 colours) and blocked out the image like a thumbnail.  The picture in the middle is a doodle with an extreme palette - looks a lot like eighties graphical art  .I have also been reading Colour & Light, which was surprisingly awesome, I actually prefer the artists studies over his Dinotopia stuff. I would recommend it to every art student; it's very thorough and informative. I've never really spent hours on end thinking of colour, light & shadow. I actually thought the thumbs looked pretty decent considering was only ten mins, it just goes to show that strong composition and colours make all the difference. It's a lot quicker and more natural using a limited palette, I favour mixing on the image and you can colour pick locally while using the flow and opacity, then undoing the mix. Anyways...

 
I've been doing a lot more 3D than 2D recently, there is simply more to learn and not a lot of time to learn it. UDK is a bit of a treat, it seems really flexible, yet a little ugly and takes time to navigate and learn. Zbrush on the other hand makes me laugh how easy and intuitive it seems to use its functions – seems like cheating after using 3DS Max. Anyways I was looking into UDK and watching the tutorials, I actually thought I was awesome how you can import a library of assets (along with the other libraries there) and make a scene, much like Lego. It got me thinking about how to make my own efficient sets. The trick is to make a lot of modular bits (walls, pillars, vents, trims, furniture, decorations and the like), this should be made to work together. For example instead of making a whole building in 3DS max we can import different floors and elements and then stick them together creatively in UDK.

Early in the term I was doing small personal projects regularly, I have to structure this better… To learn and apply 3D it can take days of slogging to do the whole process, along with a lot of trial and error. So I have set a couple of longer projects.

Character:
I have been drawing up ideas for a character, I want to do a female as I need the practice. I want a lady with a lot of different swords.
I want it to look good, so will need to bake with Zbrush, I have also been looking around and see you can bake down further in 3DS to make a really low poly version too – I want to learn this also.  I have to get a balance as I want to create an unrealistic character, but make her believable, starting anime and going realistic.

[ABOVE]  I have decided to try and pin down the general details - I know I want feminine features, but have to refine it a lot more.  The main feature is to be her weapons and her holster, something to contrast against her female bits, thinking about weapon belt/holster shapes here

Environment:
I've started a simple tower in a scene, and am using it as a learning tool. How to modulate and share map space, making efficient maps for this and making asset sets for UDK.
Also an opportunity to fill gaps in my 3DS learning, and to try out new scripts to improve workflow.
So far I have actually been going back to the drawing board a lot and trying to visualise and rationalise the assets. This is also great for practicing concept art – I will try and get it to a standard where others can read it too! :D

I have realised that to learn everything properly to do them well it takes a while and re-iterations, and while I can throw out some crap every day or two I wouldn't be learning or progressing myself as much. I have set deadlines for Christmas, and realise the outcomes won't be perfect, but is good practice and helps me not to "faff" between uni projects. From these projects I have also been building up my vision and reference library and adding more and more links and books to my collection.

Drawing n Stuff

Being relatively new to using digital tablets and more at home with traditional medial I have noticed lots of my skills are lost or don’t translate so well digitally.  One of my strengths is having quick expressive lines, which let’s be honest is way too loose to create the quality images needed.

I quite liked this 5 minute sketch I did at the pose workshop arranged by Shay (sketch starring Kit).  The loose lines aren’t appropriate for concept art.  Think I’m possibly influenced by Quentin Blake; I need to think how I can apply that in a concept manner.  I drew this in class the other day which got me thinking

When I draw naturally I scribble in and imply detail, it’s quite easy to blag bits and with appropriate reference could be more authentic.  I also watched a DVD tutorial I got with Imagine FX magazine (can't locate it now to say name or link to online vid if there is one), it was interesting to see his line of thought and work process.  Some interesting points were that to look cool sometimes you have to push the reality a bit, even if a part of a vehicle for example isn't needed it doesn’t matter soo much.  I have wings on my thing (reminds me of the Thundertank… Maybe it helps create lift for faster ground speed?  It sure as hell can’t fly… And what are the paws about?  

See, it doesn’t really matter until it has to be implemented in the universe (which I make up for this vehicle project).  He also stated that he would draw semi-detailed images just to get a feel for the subject matter and try out ideas early on in his design process (day 1).   Also he mentioned perspective, he makes a few guide lines after drawing the initial shapes – I found this a lot more useful, also perspective comes second to coolness (getting pleasant balance can be hard).  On my pic the placement and perspective is odd, but it displays what I wanted to show ok and has given a little organic twist to the design in its asymmetry.

Anyhow I’ve been doing a little more “penning” digitally.  I have already scanned traditional media marks in photoshop and made some of my own “traditional brushes”.  I have since making them learned quite a bit to help make them more loyal to their traditional counterparts.  Much mark making in Photoshop is done through clever textured brushes, along with using the lasso to make a sharp selection edge, filtering and blending back (among many other ways).  I’m currently looking into making manual marks quicker.  This somehow all combines as you learn, and making brushes for your vision becomes more fluid and appropriate.

Above is an example of bad brush use, here I spent about 1 minute drawing a simple leaf and scattered it randomly.   In my eyes it looks naff, but luckily lead towards the death of the diabolical image.
e is an example of bad brush use, here I spent about 1 minute making a simple leaf and scattered it randomly.   In my eyes it looks naff, but luckily lead towards the death of the diabolical image.
Here is some better use of custom brushes.  Spending a little time experimenting and analysing other brushes is possibly essential to getting decent at digi-painting.  Here I just used random foliage photos I took as a textured background.  Using silhouettes from nature also seems to work well.

Above are a couple of examples – The square brush emulates chalk in a way, using the negative of branches against the sky, using big brushes and photos allows for more virtual detail and can hide a possible seam if the texture repeats.  You can also zoom in the texture loads to make it less noisy and soften the texture somewhat.  Here I’ve used a close-up of a tombstone and some ivy.

One trick good digital artists pull off is hiding the photo elements and making you believe it is all one… Is it cheating?  Don’t think there are any rules.

Composition

I’m re-writing this one as my last draft is a little old now.  Lots of the discussion we had about composition was meant as a follow on from Mitch’s class.  Unfortunately I missed that class (think I was ill on the Tuesday it was communicated).

There are many accepted precepts to composition, these have developed over all of existence and I like to think applies to all living things.  There is a primal appeal visually to anything we see – for example symmetrical faces are typically beautiful, we like forms and values we can easily interpret subconsciously.  If there is a large imposing object we may feel threatened, if there are curvy aerodynamic lines it puts you at ease (and the eye enjoys following them), if there is a lot of “noise” or contrasting detail it will get our attention (for better or worse).

Composition is a quite a personal thing, and is a matter of taste.  Below is one of the drawings I had feedback on concerning composition (1st year).  Meg suggested that I should consider putting detail on the left bank. In my eyes I wanted that space sparse so the viewer is drawn towards the detail of the trees on the right (using the rule of thirds here too).  I like the idea that the eye knows where to look, but is also invited to follow the stream, balancing the image.  For me it’s a tranquil composition – very light and soft in places, but also with a contrast and a little interest.  Here also I used the foreground as a frame, omitting detail and contrast and using hard lines to suggest detail and form.  It was by no means a masterpiece, but I find it interesting knowing what others think.  Feedback is nice, but I think people are scared of hurting other’s feelings , also lots just stick to “Use the rule of thirds” “Have the foreground become gradually darker “ – I much prefer personal opinion and questions.

The trick to a successful composition is using these precepts to not only create an accurate image (perspective, light and shadow values etc), but to also invoke an emotion and create an attachment to the subject visually.  I personally think the best way of exploring this is through examining nature, for example a dark image would remind people of night time or shadow, in the past before CCTV and home insurance this would be a time of danger.  In the animal kingdom colours are utterly important, plants naturally tint their fruits to attract animals to aid procreation, animals use colours to attract a mate, warn off predators, or to conceal their presence.

That’s all good, but how does it apply to game art?  Game art is slightly different, I did a graphics course and the presentation is very similar, especially for 3D work.  Not only do we want pleasing compositions but we also need to present a certain level of detail in the work also and make sure the viewer can see the workings.

Above here is my trash project.  As you can see arrangement wise it is a little drab, but I would say it is a successful presentation.  I used the variety of primitives to create contrasting shapes among the items here.  You can see everything I modelled, along with the wire-frame and three maps all in one shot.  I actually spent quite a bit of time arranging the objects so they can be all be seen at once, I previously had the crap scattered around the bin as I was experimenting with a turntable, which was quite different.  When It was rotating on the turntable I in reality had many different compositions (from the rotating view) and had to arrange the items so the eye had time to move from one object to the next and always have something interesting to see as the scene rotated.  But alas we are posting photos and not turntable videos, so I went back to a single “glamour” shot.

Here I went back after receiving some feedback, I toned down the shine and rounded off the pumpkin & bottle... I think the composition isn't as good, but it should help to improve the assets and grade.

I have seen quite a few “bad” 3D compositions posted on Facebook, where not only is it unpleasing to look at.  This may be via bad bordering, clashing backgrounds, and generally erratic compositions, also where it’s actually a challenge to see exactly what’s there.  (note: above box is hidden by magazine = bad)

Wizadora & Wizzbit.. Some old school references, along with Razzle