Body Structure Influence Map

This influence map is compiled of images that aren't necessarily relevant to my creature or the theme of the task, but the design of the subjects is inspiration for the overall structure of my hybrid. It does seem entirely random, and well, thats because it pretty much is. But hey, everyone draws influence from different things, and apparently mine is from fictional space aliens and androids. 

Images within this influence map are Robocop (specifically the exposed jaw design of the helmet), Cthulu (for the tentacles), an example of radiation poisoning (for the diseased, encrusted surface of the hybrid), 'Maria' from 'Metropolis' (for the metal panels and angular structure, as well as the idea of an outer shell), an Ood from 'Doctor Who' (for the tentacles and head structure), a Facehugger from 'Alien' (for the wrap-around look of the tentacles and the general idea of a lifeform 'latching on' to something else, much like the gene structure of one lifeform to another), a Splicer from the video game, 'Bioshock' (for the diseased appearance, ragged clothing and inspiration concerning the transformative process) and finally, the squid from 'Watchmen' (simply because it seemed to lend itself so well to the design of my hybrid).

La Belle et la Bete (1946) Film Review

La Belle et la Bete (1946) Film Review

Hand Studies (No.'s 1, 2 and 3)

These are the first couple of hand studies I've carried out. I didn't realise until I'd began to upload the images that my first and second sketches were almost exactly the same. It didn't seem worth just uploading one or the other, so I'll add a sixth additional sketch in an alternative position, just to be on the safe side.

A Small Collection of Thumbnail Sketches (Incomplete)

Intro to Maya (well, sort of, but not really)

These are the first renders I've produced whilst on the course, although I kind of feel like I'm cheating a little, seeing as I've loosely (very, very loosely) used Maya in the past. So what? Sue me. 

I kind of made a building of sorts by just extruding bits here and there and lighting the scene with a basic spot light. 

The Fly (1986) Film Review

The Fly (1986) Film Review

Primary Research at the London Aquarium

On wednesday I took a trip to the London Aquarium in search of inspiration for my human/animal hybrid. Although the Nautilus was not a specimen that they had on display there, I still took a collection of photographs consisting of various different underwater plantlife, anemone's and other marine life.
I compiled an influence map of snippets of these photographs, all whilst listening to 'Rock Lobster' and eating fish fingers.

Of course, my final creation will be directly influenced by the Nautilus, but I will incorporate other underwater elements in order to develop a more unique creature. After all, I imagine if the Nautilus managed to get into my disintegrator/integrator, it was probably in a tank of some sort. Who's to say these weren't in there as well?

Life Drawing 20/9/2011

 This is the first life drawing I have ever done, and although they're all a bit askew in their own ways, I am generally quite pleased for a first go at it.

My first drawing was of Simon modelling for us. I started off by establishing a rough idea of the proportions and finding the approximate centre of the model. Once I had given myself something to work with, I began to flesh out the basic shape. At first, the torso was too wide and the legs too short, but luckily I noticed this early on and was able to rectify it. I struggled with the legs at first, as I found it difficult to gauge the size of the calves in comparison to the boots and shorts. I am pleased with the pose in general, even if the proportions are somewhat warped (note the 'bobblehead' appearance). Just to clarify, I tend to leave the hands, feet and head/face until I've corrected the proportions, simply because these features take more time for me to incorporate into the drawing. I always make a point to include the basic shape as soon as possible, though, so that I have a point of reference when it comes to tidying them up later.

The next drawing is of the nude model. I established a rough structure by plotting a curve from the top of the head, down the spine and through the legs. Once this curve was relative to the model's pose, I had something somewhat correctly proportioned to work with. I started with the arch of the back and the curves of the legs, making sure to accentuate curves in the correct places. I worked upwards towards the shoulders, shifting lines and shading to keep the proportions as normal as possible. The arm on display could do with being larger in comparison to the rest of the torso and the legs are marginally too long, although I am happy with the legs in general. You can tell I spent too much time trying to perfect them.

This is the final drawing, with Sammy modelling. From the word 'go' I screwed up the proportion, I mean, it didn't even fit on the page. When I felt myself struggling early on, I decided to forget about what was wrong with it and work on what was looking good. In this case, I like the messy approach to applying depth and tone to the image, so I ran with that. Not much more to say about this drawing, really, other than I think the way the hand rests on the leg looks pretty good, whilst the leg looks... so, so bad. Well, better luck next time!

The Fly (1958) Film Review

The Fly (1958) Film Review

Anatomy- Discovering my Animal

During our brief today, I randomly selected the animal 'Nautilus Pompilius'. On the bus home I made an attempt to decipher the Latin title. The only minor eureka moment I had after half an hour of solid thinking was "oh my god! 'Nautilus' is sort of like 'Nautical'!"This led me to believe that my animal was some form of sea creature. Eventually, I turned to the powerful super-being known as Google and discovered that it was, in fact, some form of sea creature!

Nautilus Pompilius

Nautilus Pompilius is also known as the Chambered Pompilius and is the largest, most well known species of Nautilus. It is a Cephalopod, similar to an Octopus or Squid, housed within a shell of logarithmic design (the design is somewhat similar to the Fibonacci sequence). 

The shell is an extension of the bone structure within Nautilus and is used to protect the Cephalopod physically and through deception by helping it blend in with its surroundings.

When drafting up designs, iconic aspects of the creature that will likely draw my focus include the colourful pattern on the shell, the spiral within the shell and the tentacles.

Revised Building Design

This is the roughly refined design for my revised building. The curved base is taken from the profile of scissor handles, with the larger building being inspired by the electric razor. The curved building was developed from a profile of a high heel shoe. The rest of the smaller touches can be found in most of the items, such as the circles being in almost everything and the striped pattern being taken from the concertina-like tubing.
I like this design as it reminds me of 1950's Googie-style architecture and the French tourist attraction, Futuroscope. The minimalist design plays to the outstanding characteristics of the items well, and I feel that the choice of shapes form a convincing structure.

In this final refined design of the building, I have added minor features to the rear of the building to make the building feel as if it is fit for a purpose. The external elevators and consistent rows of windows lend the design to that of an expensive hotel or convention centre. 

Revised Machine Design

This is a roughly refined version of my machine design. It resembles a futuristic motorcycle, similar to those used in 'Return of the Jedi'.
It started of from the loose silhouette of a pair of scissors. I built upon this shape using the various items provided. The panels on the centre were developed from the head of the electric razor, which was misshapen slightly to fit the silhouette better. The connecting piece in the centre was taken from the simplified shape of a high heel shoe. The exhausts at the back are from, what I believe, is landing gear for an aeroplane.

This is a final turnaround of the design, created in Adobe Illustrator. The final design is more sleek and minimal than the previous draft, but this is down to it be greatly refined. There are no gradients in this current design due to time constraints, but I feel the illustration still projects my idea efficiently.

Developmental Sketches 1-50

Revised Lifeform Sketches Part One

I began redrafting my designs this evening, making sure to only take inspiration from the items provided. I experimented mainly with the rotation and reflection of familiar shapes, and simplifying so that they would fit well with the images within my head.

I began with experimenting with reflecting a simplified versions of familiar shapes in the items, most notably, the high heels. As I experimented further with the technique of symmetry, I noticed my sketches were developing into somewhat insect-like creations. I pursued this idea, and tried to keep away from a predictable, bipedal creation.

My next design began as a design for another, beetle-like creature, which ultimately bled into some misshapen, deformed humanoid. Even though I was attempting to keep away from designs of this style, I found the quirky, somewhat menacing tone of the image incredibly charming, and I had to continue to build upon this.

I roughly sketched a head out and began to loosely flesh out a body, taking inspiration from shapes within shapes, for example, the arch formed beneath the high heel. I structured the thighs around the handles of the scissors, the neck from the concertina tubing and top half of the torso from two high heels, touching sole-to-sole. I will build upon this idea tomorrow, and hopefully finalise my turnaround of this lifeform too.

First Day!

After panicking insanely the last couple of nights, I am relieved to find how nice and friendly university is! Not trying to kiss up here (really, really!), but everybody seems to be so chilled out and approachable and it has really put my mind at ease. Any queries I had were answered within the first hour of being there!

Also, now that I know the turnarounds are due in for friday at the end of this week, I am going to attempt to revise my previous attempts at creating an interesting lifeform, building and machine, except this time I'm going to do the crazy thing and do what I've been asked to do, instead of going off on some obscure tangent. Although, I will be leaving my previous work up on here, as at the end of the day, screwed up work is work none the less!

I hope everyone else found the first day as helpful as I did, and I hope to get to know everyone soon!

Summer Project

These are the final turnaround's of my designs for a lifeform, building and machine for my 2011 summer project. The main inspiration I took from the items provided was the basic shapes that their silhouette's projected and the mechanical aspects behind many of them.

Lifeform

My lifeform was inspired by a variety of science fiction related themes, most notably, the idea of using a mechanical host to sustain a life. The 'lifeform' itself is housed within the mechanical body (much like a Dalek or Darth Vader) and the internal organs are kept operational.

The design of the lifeform was always pretty robotic from the start. I tried to incorporate the shape and structure of items on the sheet in the early designs, such as acting as the basis for the main body. The majority of the influence is subtle, but present. The objects acted as a very loose substrate on which I could build upon with, well, whatever I thought looked good, really.

I experimented with a more organic structure, but it seemed too 'I-Robot', and even though the inspiration was more blatant in this rough design, it didn't have the charm I was looking for. I also experimented loosely with the idea of creating some form of animal related creature, with this strange ostrich-like lifeform.

I loved the little mechanism that appeared to be some form of pneumatic pump, so I attempted to incorporate a similar structure in the design of the lifeform's legs.

I sharp edged construction and somewhat steampunk tone was inspired by the items provided, as well as other mechanisms and devices I had discovered whilst working in a silversmithing workshop over the summer. 

Building

My building took inspiration from various themes and objects. I attempted to display a sharp, crisp utopia from the front of the building, whilst leaving the back decrepit and unkempt. This idea was inspired by films such as Blade Runner, indicating an idea of a bright future, with the reality being quite the opposite. 

I started off simply scribbling down what I saw to resemble the components of a building, take inspiration from the items mainly. As always, I would then add anything that was aesthetically appealing, aiming to stick close to original items.

I really liked the feel of the final sketch I created, as it had a somewhat circus-like feel surrounding it. The arched beams at the front shaped the building and made it appear to be a large tent of sorts.

Once again, the shapes and artefacts that make up the building were inspired by the items provided and other familiar things that I simply thought of when drawing (for example, the basic door shape and size were inspired by the entrance to Pizza Planet in Toy Story, whilst the sharp roofed building in the back was inspired by the German Huf Haus).

Machine

My machine was a cobbled-together accumulation of a thousand different objects. I took a steampunk approach once again on this design, randomly piecing together bits of whatever I happened to see on a daily basis. The machine consists of an old CRT television set, a respirator, piano keys and pedals, organ pipes, a fire extinguisher and other miscellaneous junk. I love the idea of making something from nothing and I feel this design plays to this idea quite nicely.

In retrospect, I completely missed the point on this one. I like the design, but it was about as far away from the original inspiration sheet as I could be. Unfortunately, by the time I realised this, it was too late. Although, if I was to justify this, it does play on the mechanical themes of the items and even though the centrepieces are completely different to what was provided, it does still comprise of the shapes and styles of the items on the sheet.