Merry Christmas!
Friday, 16 December 2011
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Texturing One: Introduction to Shading Networks
Double Sided Shader
Facing Ratio Shader One
Facing Ratio Shader Two
(Altered Transparency)
Facing Ratio Shader Three
(Added Glow)
Monday, 12 December 2011
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Just a Little Blip: Stan Lee, Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld Create a Character in Twenty Minutes
Browsing io9.com this evening, I found these great videos of comic book legends Stan Lee (Spider-Man), Todd McFarlane (Spawn) and Rob Liefeld (X-Force) creating a totally original comic book character in about twenty minutes. McFarlane and Liefeld are in charge of designing the character, whilst Lee attempts to justify every minute detail and reinforce the back story.
They're pretty much just throwing the character together spontaneously, resulting in something pretty amazing for twenty minutes work. Goes to show that spontaneity can lead to great results!
(I think I'm having a little trouble posting on the group blog, as this post didn't work on there either. Probably something cookies related or whatever. Either way, there's always room for this stuff on my own blog anyways!)
Original post can be found here at io9.com
Friday, 9 December 2011
Photoshop Texture Exercises: Creating Textures from Photographs
This is the texture I created in todays Photoshop workshop. I attempted to create a backlit sign, like the menus found in restaurants and poster signs outside of the cinema.
The texture was created simply by creating basic shapes, manipulating them and applying photographs as overlays to make it appear more lifelike.
I started with a basic grey rectangle, then applied some smaller, light rectangles in the centre to emulate lightbulbs. I then applied an outer glow to these shapes, and a gaussian blur to soften the shape. A plain white overlay was applied on top of this, acting as the plastic/frosted glass, and the metal frame was constructed by using an inner stroke on the base rectangle, then adding bevels, inner and drop shadows to give it a little shape. Finally, the texture overlay was applied and the layer set to multiply to give it a worn appearance.
I aim to add some text to the texture when I can, just to make its purpose clear (it kind of looks like a grill thing at the moment)
The Texturing Construction Process
The Texture So Far
Testing the Texture as a Series
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Texturing One: Intro to Texturing- Part Eight
The texture, bump map and specular roll off have been added to the metal parts of the chest. Now all that needs to be added is the backdrop and I'm done!
Texture Only
Texture and Bump Map
Texture, Bump Map and Specular Roll Off
Texturing One: Intro to Texturing- Part Seven
The wooden texture has been added to the chest, along with the bump map and specular roll off, now for the metal bits!
Texture Only
Texture and Bump Map
Texture, Bump Map and Specular Roll Off
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Monday, 5 December 2011
Texturing One: Intro to Texturing- Part Six Complete
Final Barrel Render
Final Texture
Final Bump Map
Texturing One: Intro to Texturing- Part Six- Metal Bands Added
Texture Added
Texture and Bump Map Added
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Texturing One: Intro to Texturing- Part Six
The texture and bump map have now been added to the barrel.
Texture Only
Texture and Bump Map
Texturing One: Intro to Texturing- Parts Three, Four and Five
The goblet, map, gem stones and pearls have now been added to the scene.
Friday, 2 December 2011
Texturing One: Intro to Texturing- Part Two
I've added the texture and bump map to the coins, creating a custom bump map in place of the simple letters.
I figured I'd have a little fun with it.
Texturing One: Intro to Texturing- Part One
First part of the 'Pirates Cove' scene, showing the texturing and bump mapping of the sand.
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Life Drawing 29/11/11
This weeks life drawing was pretty successful in terms of loosening up. We were focusing on using areas of tone and value to create our drawings, so I forced myself to focus on these areas by keeping my glasses off for the entire session. It really works! Thanks to my naturally, insanely blurred vision, I couldn't help but see blobs of tone. As for loosening up, I just scribbled and scribbled and scribbled. I was way more relaxed than usual, and I didn't really care if it was misshapen or out of proportion because the creative mayhem was good fun. Hopefully this less uptight approach will find its way into my typical working process and I can get on the way to creating something genuinely interesting!
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Environment: Research- David Hockney
Hockney isn't a tableau vivant style artist as such, but his photomontages present a scene in a very unique way. When looking at them, it is clear that each photograph makes up a portion of a whole image, but the arrangement tends to force your focus on a specific area. The noticeable clipping of some of the photographs could be considered both accidental or intentional. Did Hockney simply make a mistake, or is he deliberately masking portions of the whole picture to keep something from being seen?
Here are a few examples of Hockney's photomontages.
Here are a few examples of Hockney's photomontages.
Environment: Example Model for Texturing Practice
In preparation for friday's Photoshop and Maya workshops, I've created a quick, basic model of a bar of sorts, simply so that I have something of my own that I can apply textures to during the sessions.
Its a very basic shape, but I'm not looking to push the boundaries just yet, just to get develop a familiarity with the whole texturing process.
Environment: The Inspiration Behind 'Ico's Iconic Cover Art
I tried posting this on the group blog, but it was being funny, so I've thrown it up here instead.
Luke Plunkett of Kotaku.com has written an article around the work of Giorgio de Chirico and how it inspired the Japanese and European cover artwork for the videogame Ico (we really do get better cover art than North American game releases, just look at the cover artwork for the EU and NA versions of Resident Evil 4.)
"Forget the woeful American cover for a minute, and instead let's focus on the Japanese and European box art for PS2 classic Ico. It's as memorable for many as the game itself, with its bold art style and rich colours.
So I thought for today's Total Recall we'd look back at the artist, and one of his paintings in particular, which inspired not only the cover, but the game itself.
The Japanese/European art, which was thankfully also used for the recent American re-release, was directly inspired by a painting called The Nostalgia of the Infinite by Giorgio de Chirico, one of the great artists of the early 20th century.
De Chirico, considered the founder of the Metaphysical art movement, was born in Greece in 1888. A surrealist, his early works inspired the likes of Dali and Max Ernst, and while he would continue painting into his nineties, his efforts around the time of the First World War are considered his strongest.
Completed sometime between 1911 and 1914, The Nostalgia of the Infinite (left) features two small, dark and lonely figures dwarfed by an enormous tower. It's a theme that runs through many of De Chirico's other works as well, like The Anguish of Departure and The Red Tower, which also show large structures looming over small, lonely people.
De Chirico wasn't just the starting point for the cover art, either (which, as you can see, has a lot in common with Nostalgia). Ico creator Fumito Ueda has cited his entire body of work as a big inspiration in the development of the game (alongside Eric Chahi's Another World), as that loneliness they capture so well, that feeling of being almost trapped by an overpowering building, carries through into Ico and is present from the moment you start playing until almost the very end.
De Chirico passed away in Rome on 20 November, 1978, at the age of 90. You can see more works similar to The Nostalgia of the Infinite at his WikiPaintings page." (Plunkett, 2011)
The original article can be found here at Kotaku.com
Luke Plunkett of Kotaku.com has written an article around the work of Giorgio de Chirico and how it inspired the Japanese and European cover artwork for the videogame Ico (we really do get better cover art than North American game releases, just look at the cover artwork for the EU and NA versions of Resident Evil 4.)
The painting that inspired the artwork, de Chirico's The Nostalgia of the Infinite
"Forget the woeful American cover for a minute, and instead let's focus on the Japanese and European box art for PS2 classic Ico. It's as memorable for many as the game itself, with its bold art style and rich colours.
So I thought for today's Total Recall we'd look back at the artist, and one of his paintings in particular, which inspired not only the cover, but the game itself.
The Japanese/European art, which was thankfully also used for the recent American re-release, was directly inspired by a painting called The Nostalgia of the Infinite by Giorgio de Chirico, one of the great artists of the early 20th century.
De Chirico, considered the founder of the Metaphysical art movement, was born in Greece in 1888. A surrealist, his early works inspired the likes of Dali and Max Ernst, and while he would continue painting into his nineties, his efforts around the time of the First World War are considered his strongest.
Completed sometime between 1911 and 1914, The Nostalgia of the Infinite (left) features two small, dark and lonely figures dwarfed by an enormous tower. It's a theme that runs through many of De Chirico's other works as well, like The Anguish of Departure and The Red Tower, which also show large structures looming over small, lonely people.
De Chirico wasn't just the starting point for the cover art, either (which, as you can see, has a lot in common with Nostalgia). Ico creator Fumito Ueda has cited his entire body of work as a big inspiration in the development of the game (alongside Eric Chahi's Another World), as that loneliness they capture so well, that feeling of being almost trapped by an overpowering building, carries through into Ico and is present from the moment you start playing until almost the very end.
De Chirico passed away in Rome on 20 November, 1978, at the age of 90. You can see more works similar to The Nostalgia of the Infinite at his WikiPaintings page." (Plunkett, 2011)
The original article can be found here at Kotaku.com
Monday, 28 November 2011
Environment: Initial Ideas
1950's Diner Idea
The idea to construct a 1950's style diner is one that has been rolling around in my mind for the last couple of weeks or so, so for an early idea, I've put a fair amount of thought into it.
Iconic, Archetypical Features of 1950's Style Diners
-Chequered flooring
-The use of linoleum and vinyl in furnishings
-The use of chrome and stainless steel in fittings and furnishings
-Flat, often neon lighting
-Massive amounts of advertising and endorsement through posters and illuminated signs (notably, Coca Cola and Pepsi)
-Shiny, wipe-clean booth seating
-Two-tone colour schemes (blue and red, black and white etc)
Advantages
-Moderately simple geometry makes for quick modelling
-A plethora of visual reference from the internet, film, television and video games (See Pulp Fiction, Back to the Future, Happy Days, Fallout 3 and Grease, not to mention Nighthawks by Edward Hopper (sure, it was painted in 1942, but the composition aspect is relevant))
-Many opportunities for creative lighting (lights from neon signs reflected across the glossy floor tiles and reflective chrome detailing)
Disadvantages
-Highly detailed textures (posters, signs etc) may be particularly time consuming (although the possibility of getting to design some delightfully kitsch poster art is incredibly enticing!)
Presenting the Scene
"Closed for Business"
This idea revolves around the theme of a distressed environment. The clean and bright diner decor is just asking to be destroyed. The linoleum on the floor has started to peel away, the tiles on the walls have cracked, with posters strewn across the floor and the remnants of a once loved jukebox lit dimly at the back of the room. Light pours through the boarded up windows, bouncing off of the now empty bottles behind the bar. The vinyl has been torn away from the seating, revealing the spongey material beneath, now wretched with the stains of a hundred spilled beverages.
I really like the idea of this, as underdeveloped as it may be, although I need to establish a way of integrating more ambiguity in the scene. Although the viewer doesn't know why the diner is so run down, I need to be careful not to imply something so obvious later down the line, otherwise the storytelling aspect could potentially be ruined.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Victorian Sweet Shop Idea
Another potential idea was a traditional Victorian sweet shop. This idea seemed quite charming and quirky when I first thought of it and I may possibly pursue it if I develop the idea further.
Iconic, Archetypical Features of Victorian Sweet Shops
-Colourful jars lining the walls of the shop
-Classic, British branding (with wonderfully misleading poster artwork)
-The brass weighing scales at the counter, next to the hefty till
-Dark wooden decor and furnishings
-Large, thin framed windows at the front of the shop
Advantages
-Moderately simple geometry
-A wide scope to be creative with the general aesthetic of the store (unlike the '50's diner, the general aesthetic isn't so specific)
Disadvantages
-Unless executed intelligently, the scene has the potential to be more dull than intriguing (for example, unless the dark brown wooden elements are lit effectively, it'll just be a mess of brown blocks with no narrative impact).
Presenting the Scene
The door is pushed open, followed by the welcoming ring of the bell above. The walls are lined, floor to ceiling with tall jars filled with colourful sweets of every variety. The dark, thick woodwork is reminiscent of the chocolate stocked behind the counter, along with the tobacco and other products for those who aren't paying with pocket money. Mouths water as the sugary delights are poured little by little into the brass scales on the counter, with a familiar ring resonating throughout the shop as each sweet hits the bottom, one by one. The deal is sealed with the clickity-clank of the till. With pocket money exchanged and a final ring of the bell above the door, the banquet of sugar begins.
This idea needs a lot more work to become an interesting scene, although the potential is there. I need to revise the idea to amplify key areas of interest and make the idea 'pop', otherwise it may not deliver the compelling ambiguity required of the scene.
The idea to construct a 1950's style diner is one that has been rolling around in my mind for the last couple of weeks or so, so for an early idea, I've put a fair amount of thought into it.
Iconic, Archetypical Features of 1950's Style Diners
-Chequered flooring
-The use of linoleum and vinyl in furnishings
-The use of chrome and stainless steel in fittings and furnishings
-Flat, often neon lighting
-Massive amounts of advertising and endorsement through posters and illuminated signs (notably, Coca Cola and Pepsi)
-Shiny, wipe-clean booth seating
-Two-tone colour schemes (blue and red, black and white etc)
Advantages
-Moderately simple geometry makes for quick modelling
-A plethora of visual reference from the internet, film, television and video games (See Pulp Fiction, Back to the Future, Happy Days, Fallout 3 and Grease, not to mention Nighthawks by Edward Hopper (sure, it was painted in 1942, but the composition aspect is relevant))
-Many opportunities for creative lighting (lights from neon signs reflected across the glossy floor tiles and reflective chrome detailing)
Disadvantages
-Highly detailed textures (posters, signs etc) may be particularly time consuming (although the possibility of getting to design some delightfully kitsch poster art is incredibly enticing!)
Presenting the Scene
"Closed for Business"
This idea revolves around the theme of a distressed environment. The clean and bright diner decor is just asking to be destroyed. The linoleum on the floor has started to peel away, the tiles on the walls have cracked, with posters strewn across the floor and the remnants of a once loved jukebox lit dimly at the back of the room. Light pours through the boarded up windows, bouncing off of the now empty bottles behind the bar. The vinyl has been torn away from the seating, revealing the spongey material beneath, now wretched with the stains of a hundred spilled beverages.
I really like the idea of this, as underdeveloped as it may be, although I need to establish a way of integrating more ambiguity in the scene. Although the viewer doesn't know why the diner is so run down, I need to be careful not to imply something so obvious later down the line, otherwise the storytelling aspect could potentially be ruined.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Victorian Sweet Shop Idea
Another potential idea was a traditional Victorian sweet shop. This idea seemed quite charming and quirky when I first thought of it and I may possibly pursue it if I develop the idea further.
Iconic, Archetypical Features of Victorian Sweet Shops
-Colourful jars lining the walls of the shop
-Classic, British branding (with wonderfully misleading poster artwork)
-The brass weighing scales at the counter, next to the hefty till
-Dark wooden decor and furnishings
-Large, thin framed windows at the front of the shop
Advantages
-Moderately simple geometry
-A wide scope to be creative with the general aesthetic of the store (unlike the '50's diner, the general aesthetic isn't so specific)
Disadvantages
-Unless executed intelligently, the scene has the potential to be more dull than intriguing (for example, unless the dark brown wooden elements are lit effectively, it'll just be a mess of brown blocks with no narrative impact).
Presenting the Scene
The door is pushed open, followed by the welcoming ring of the bell above. The walls are lined, floor to ceiling with tall jars filled with colourful sweets of every variety. The dark, thick woodwork is reminiscent of the chocolate stocked behind the counter, along with the tobacco and other products for those who aren't paying with pocket money. Mouths water as the sugary delights are poured little by little into the brass scales on the counter, with a familiar ring resonating throughout the shop as each sweet hits the bottom, one by one. The deal is sealed with the clickity-clank of the till. With pocket money exchanged and a final ring of the bell above the door, the banquet of sugar begins.
This idea needs a lot more work to become an interesting scene, although the potential is there. I need to revise the idea to amplify key areas of interest and make the idea 'pop', otherwise it may not deliver the compelling ambiguity required of the scene.
Sunday, 27 November 2011
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