Personal blog 10

Week 10

Visual Design

So this is the last week before i break up for Christmas!!! It’s a stressful week as I need to hand, update and get marked for everything from start till the Christmas break up. I normally stress myself out during time like this but before the assessment i was handed with a project for visual design. This visual design was to portray myself. Not as usual but this time i was told to sketch a few thumbnails and create a final. Basically i was in the lecture and Chris mentions...okay i know you all been busy with your character design for Game production...soon after he said that i started to expect him saying to focus on 3d max and there is no project for this week well that is was we all assumed but it was the opposite!! He gives us another project as stated above. Reason for this is to develop your understanding of myself face features which might be helpful for the character design you doing for game production. So i finally got my final done but seriously it seemed to take forever as it’s my third attempt on Photoshop I expected to get faster but i started to become more picky with the colours, brush strokes etc. I think it’s a good thing!! Instead of just enjoying it I’m noticing my mistakes and fixing them. Seriously this final took 3 days as i had to focus on the 3d character model but i managed to put at least 4 hours a day so a total of 12hours...that’s how long i took on this final especially the eyes!!! I kept redoing it like at least 5 or 6 times but as always it was worth it.....

Progression!!





I was really happy with this final piece for the first time it actually looks like me!! The best positive feeling is that I’m seeing myself improving!! I found the background the easiest to paint but i struggled portraying myself! Finally at the end it was a success!! =D
What do you think??? How can improve??
Game Production
i was so stressed out for the character as it had to handed in before Christmas i was so stressed it was killing me!!! So i got everything done but not to my best standard as i had less time i know it’s unprofessional to say that but I’m still rusty with 3D Max!! Anyway with the time i had I got the high poly done and surprisingly i got my low poly done within few hours but it looked really bad but better than my last year character =D i then found out i got more time for the character and it didn’t need to be handed in!! To be honest i was angry or thought i could’ve took my time but it made me feel like i handled that very well due to the time i had!! But now i got more time to touch things up and tweak it to my best standard and texture it to my best standard!! Anyway before i get carried away babbling on!! Progressions are shown below!!!...

High poly character and low poly character is shown below!!!





I know I’m low poly isn’t in the best form but now that i got more time i will improve both of the models and get them rigged which will be updated on my next blog!! Progression will be shown as always....see you then!!

see over the holiday i had the chance to improve my high poly and low poly ad thought i would put it on this blog in that way it is easir for the viewers to see the difference!!

2 weeks later....



and here is the low poly..

Personal blog 08 and 09

Week 08 & 09

Visual Design

As usual i was handed with a project which was different compare to my previous projects. This project was to create a futuristic Tripod that should look convincing. However this project is on for 2 weeks. First week is to get sketches done and get a final concept done and for next week get the model done in clay...when i read about this project i was excited and couldn’t wait to start. Anyways as always my progression for the week 8th and 9th is down below....
For the first week i got sketches done!!



I then took few ideas from there to further development!!



I then chose my final sketch and then created it on 3D max...



Final concept





My Tripod model wasn’t too bad in fact i was satisfied with the end product it looked exactly like my sketch. =D

On the second week i had my designs, final concept and my model done on 3d max which wasn’t necessary. So i i felt ready with using the clay. The only thing i was dreading is.....i suck at clay!! =( anyway i started modelling my tripod...god it took forever! I kept redoing it...it was frustrating!! Finally...i thought the nightmare was over but 10mins later my model literally breaks in front of me!! So i re attached everything...again and again!!= (.it took forever to make but at the end i got it done!! What a relief =)! Images are shown below!! i didn’t take images throughout the process which i regret.

but the final clay model will be uploaded asap!!!

Game production
On the eighth and ninth week i focused on making the face model!! This is the main area where i struggle and get frustrated!!! Makes me feel like there’s no room of air....no matter how tough it is i need to face it and get my project done. What i have realised is when i did my character model last year the body took forever but this time it was done remarkable fast....well to me it was. So i thought positive before i started modelling my face model. As mentioned i starting modelling my face below are images of my progression!!







I struggled with this insanely but at the end it was all worth it...i thought my character slightly looked like me too bad not exactly but it was a tough project!! But what i need to focus on now is texturing my character!! =D i thought I’ll get that done on the last week!!

Personal blog 07

Week 07

Visual Design

So we finally come back to environment. For this task I had to go out to Leicester and draw an interesting building not an urban environment but a unique building that’s been there for ages. I instantly chose classical buildings don’t know why but it stood out to me and always managed to catch my eyes. So I chose a couple of classical buildings so I could warm up my hand by doing 12 thumbnail sketches before I did my final. Soon after the sketches were done I did my final. I drew the final in a different composition just to make it look more interesting and not boring if you know what I mean. See like sometimes I think the composition of the sketch makes it more unique. Anyway before I get carried away here is my sketch for the final….



When my final was done I was really happy with my final outcome but comparing to my other finals this looked less detailed than the others but the simplicity stood out to me. I was happy with the final outcome the only thing that put me down again was the perspective I think it was slightly off… =( but I won’t give up until its perfect =D.

Game Production
Wow is the seventh week…times flying! So now I handed two projects which were the treasure chest and the trash. Now I was handed with a project which was to create a self portrait in the style of Mortal Engines. For our reference I had to purchase a book of Mortal engines written by Phillip Reeves. I had to read the book and choose an interesting character and start modeling myself in the style of the book. After reading the book I have chosen my character and it is no one but the main character Tom Natsworthy…a 15year old kid who is always rushing to places!
In occasion like this I normally get confused but I chose my character straight away without any confusion which was a stress relief and it was beneficial as I saved time =D…
Straight to work….i started to sketch few ideas for my character and started on 3d max staright away!!

This is what I got done in the first week to be honest I was quite impressed.





I was a bit scared of the third project due to last year gladiator project.
I struggled on my character and the end result looked terrible it was shit I tell you. Anyway I uploaded my character from the first year so I could make the improvements clearer enough to see but I was still dreading on making the face.

Here’s the character from last year….



It’s bad isn’t it!!…when I looked back at this and looked at my present one it made me laugh and realize how much I improved…=D looking forward to next week for my character design…

Personal blog 06

Week 06

Visual Design
For this week our brief was to create a futuristic vehicle design and it should look acceptable. What I mean is the vehicle I design must look creatable, designable and acceptable for the future terms. I normally struggle with projects like this it normally leads me to confusion due to many ideas jammed in my head. To loosen up my mind I went to the library and picked a few book of car design and few books of insect’s features as I decided to make a combination of the two books to design my vehicle design. Soon after I got few sketch I mean loads of sketches which even led me to more confusion!! I didn’t know what to do or which design to choose but I eventually did. I decided to create it on 3d max first and print screen my model and develop from there and then paint it on Photoshop for my final design.
Below shows the model I created on 3d max and progression from there…..







these are some quick sketches i did!! i finally chose my vehicle design and designed it on 3d max!! my first attempt was in red!! didnt look right to me so i changed t to black!!! and went over with paint on photoshop!! more progressions shown below!!







still needs to be finished!! will upload asap!! =D

Game Production
Well this is the handing week for the trash project. See I never thought I would struggle with this project as I finished last week but I got insane with texturing the model. I got carried away and misled myself to pressure. As always I handed it in on time but to be honest I wasn’t satisfied with my final outcome. Once it was handed in I was unhappy with the texturing. I thought I brightened some objects a bit too much. So from there I decided most of my models will be re textured in Christmas if not Christmas then definitely in my own spare time. I need to be fully satisfied in that way it won’t bug me anymore thinking that I could do better. =D
Here’s my render page for my second project (trash)…



So what you think??...

Personal blog 05

Week 05

Visual Design

This task is to look at various landscapes and learn the understanding of how its broke down in three groups which is sky, background and foreground. So I had a long trip to brad gate which is 4 miles away. So me and my class mates got a taxi and got there within 10-15mins. See for me brad gate was a bad experience last year. We got there within twenty minutes and took forever to get back was in the cold for like 2 to 3 hours….not good. So I was dreading that but this time it didn’t happen to me so I was glad. Anyway trip to brad gate wasn’t too bad the weather was mixture of warm and cold. When it started to hit evening time it was cold and I couldn’t feel my hand = (but I managed to get 8 sketches done. I decided to involve rocks in my final as most of my sketches where based on rocks. So I quickly took pictures and decided to revisit it another time. When I revisited I took more pictures and luckily the day was sunny which was surprising. On my revisit I got all my sketches done so all I had to do is focus my final.

When all my sketches were done I got my final done which is shown below….



I was really proud of this final but it took forever especially the rocks but It was worth it…=D
anyways what do you think???
As I finished my final within 10 hours and I had nothing to do so I thought I’ll give Photoshop another try. This time my approach was more comfortable. =D

So I did another final on Photoshop for the second time…here is my progression.



Here is my progression for my second final for brad gate. This time I really enjoyed Photoshop but I still need a lot more practice to improve on Photoshop and I need to start making brush tools for myself.



My intention for this final was to make it look like acrylic final…

Game Production
here is the second week for the trash project time seems to be flying by =( not good….anyway all I needed to do is keep up to date and keep producing which I kept doing. On this week I was focusing on unwrapping my model and get the texture done so I could save more time for my character… progressions are shown below….





I textured everything but nothing seemed right to me don’t know why!!! It was killing me I was confused….apparently I couldn’t save time for my self portrait project because I decided to focus on re-texturing the model…this carries on my next blog….will be updated ASAP…=D

Personal blog 04

Week 04

Visual Design
This week was different I was handed with a project where I had to create 12 thumbnail sketches and one final but I had to create a model…basically anything with paper.
This is what I created for my first sculpting with paper…

The hand sculpting will be uploaded asap!! =D

To be honest I wasn’t happy with the final outcome as I knew that I could’ve done better but the first attempt wasn’t too bad so the next time I start on sculpting I should have a positive mind. This is the sculpting I did of my hand wasn’t proud of it what so ever especially with the time I put on to it. Anyway as always I thought I would have another attempt on sculpting with paper. Just to improve and expand my knowledge on building objects with paper.

Game production
I was looking forward to my fourth week for game production as I knew I was going to have a new project handed to me. This project was to create a scene of trash. People don’t acknowledge the fact of trash being in game gives it a realistic theme. If you know what I mean…. do you? If not ask =D
So I started straight away on modeling the trash… it was simple to create as it was a mini project.. got the model done on the first week …. Images are down below as usual….



Soon after the model was done I put more time in visual design and got my sculpting done. So to me this week was a stress relief and less pressure… so for the first time I had this feeling and I’ll tell you it felt really good. But I knew this feeling wasn’t going to last …

Personal blog 03

Week 3

Visual Design
For the third week I was handed with a project which was to explore the urban environment in Leicester. As always the brief stated to create 12 thumbnail sketches and one final but this time the brief mentioned to create a final similar to an artist’s work. So as always when I was handed with a project I started to get all my thumbnails done. The weather was really cold as British weather is inevitable =D which is so true. Anyway back to my progression….
First im going to show the (…..) artists work so I could show you my intention through the artists work...



This is one of Gorden Cullen’s work and my intention was to show my comparison between my work to the artists.

So I finally created my final in the artist style which is shown down below…



This is the final I created to be honest I was really satisfied or happy with my final outcome but I thought it was a decent attempt on capturing the resemblance between my work and the artist.

Could you see my intentions?? Could you see the comparison??

Game Production
the third week was the texturing week as I planned and mentioned in my previous blogs. So I started to texture my model. It was a bit stressful as it was the handing week. So I started to texture the model…when it was done it looked like this…



This is how it looked…to be honest I thought my final looked really good and I was happy the only thing that bugged me was the alpha channels, spec and normal map didn’t seem to work. I asked for help and guidance but nothing seemed to help. I was gutted and upset but I thought I will give it another ago on texturing after Christmas as I had no time. This doesn’t put me down but makes me stronger and extends my knowledge so I could prevent it from happening in the future…
Here’s my treasure chest and the reference is below…what do you think??? I’m not expecting compliments but how to improve it and how I could get better… thanks.

Personal blog 02

Visual Design – week 2

Second week went really bad for me = (… I went to visit this place for the visual design it’s in Loughborough. Its 4 miles with a car so could you imagine walking. So I took the bus and the guy told me that I arrived and it was middle of nowhere. I couldn’t see anything just two long roads and just one path way. I asked for direction but the people where really rude there and literally ignored me and walked passed. I was like what the f*** seriously!! Anyway I was there looking for the place for almost 2 hours I then see a small town and a shop(SPAR) I was like thank god. Got some snack and drink was so hungry and thirsty. I then approached another guy and he gave me the direction. At least not everyone’s the same I then see some of my people from a distance which were Nicole, Damien and Aaron =D. I went in to take photographs but sadly the place was closing. So I missed my opportunity and fell behind on my visual design. So I revisited on Wednesday and got some reference and got some sketches done. Finally mission accomplished =D…sorry about my story got carried away but it had to be told!! It was a bad day but things started to turn around I got my thumbnails done and my final for the train. It’s uploaded just down below…by the way for this year I’m planning to do at least 2 to 3 final for each project. Anyways back to the drawing...



So what you think?? And here’s my second final..



What I did this for this final is I painted it with coffee it coffee and then went over with dark brown paint and a bit of white paint I then burnt the edges. My intention for this was to give the viewers a thought about being a 1960 painting as it mentioned on the brief. Overall I was pleased with this final piece. Due to the unique composition and right perspective anyway feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. =D

Game production – week2
Okay back to my game production…
So where was I…oh yeah I basically completed modeling the treasure chest and what I planned for this week was to get the UVWrap done and that is exactly what I did. Below are some images of the progression for my treasure chest.



This took me a whole week until I got everything separate. Once that was done it looked like this…



Now I was ready to texture… this was literally a pain in the ass. I was tweaking this for like 5 days morning till night. It gave me migraines but it had to be dealt with. But I got it done eventually and I was ready to texture it next week. I always look forward on texturing. I personally think texturing the model is the fun side to 3d max.

Personal blog 01

Well here I am…just had the first week of year2. First week was not bad at all well it I am definitely more confident and organized compared to my first year. I could say this with full confidence because now I know what to expect and how much needs to be done. Back to talking about my first week basically as usual I have three separate models which are Visual design, Game production and Critical study.
Visual Design

For my first week I had to visit Abbey Park and get 12 thumbnails and one final. I actually enjoyed abbey park well enjoyed browsing around but didn’t feel like drawing due to the cold weather but managed to get 8 thumbnails. The only reason why I didn’t want to draw was because of the weather it was bare cold literally freezing. At the end of the day I couldn’t feel my hand!! =(…

At the bottom I have uploaded my final for the first week…



Here is the first final I was kind of proud of the final outcome but I kept thinking to myself how it would look with using digital painting on top. Baring in mind that I never used digital painting but hey there’s always a start. Overall I was kind of pleased with my final but back of my head I knew that I could improve it. So I then edited it with my and it gave me a better final than the original so I was well proud. I only thought it was good because It was my first attempt on Photoshop and it didn’t come out bad what so ever. So I’m sure I’m going start positively the next time I approach it.

This is my progression before I got my final done just to give myself and the viewers the understanding of how it developed from start to end.



Here is the progression. =D now I’m thinking to do another version in white/black version… was thinking to do it over Christmas right now I need to get busy with my game production!!

Game production
Back to square one I guess…well I went on the Tuesday class and got handed with a project which was to create a treasure chest model. It didn’t seem that hard to model well I had that thought for the first time for 3d max but I knew that the legs was going to be challenging. Anyways for the first week my plan was to get the model which was accomplished… this made me feel better in using 3d max.



This is the wireframe for the model I created. Well I planned to unwrap it next week. But I definitely thought it was a good week and I didn’t stress out well so far. =) but I did face a few problems but it was solved due to constant tweaking which seemed to take forever. Well this is my first week and it gave me a positive start so it made me look forward to next week.

Task 15: Elements of game design, part six: Visual Composition

Visual composition – spatial awareness, 3d etc. , techniques, sketches,
Visual composition is mainly based upon the conception of the human eye, including its understanding and connection between the images and the story they convey. Ones visual conception of an image may include ones visual perception, including; specific parts of an image appealing to the viewer and questioning them why they had caught their eye. The way in which an image is perceived by a viewer may also depend on the artists’ professional skills and their ability to use a range of techniques. If the artist is unable to use a variety of professional artistic skills, (e.g. ) the individual may not be able to perceive the correct image that is directed.
In the process of visual design my understanding of developing art has widely expanded, as now I am able to show my “artistic” visual perception for others to see and understand. My judgemental views on my work can also be seen through other viewer’s naked eye as well as their thoughts.
From my experience of using 3 dimensional art , i have found it to be alot more difficult to use in comparison to “2D art, this is because 3d art not only involves one perception of an image, it includes a a variety of angles and positions of a particular image or object. Also, 2D art only shows one view of the image fo a human eye, whereas 3D art is able to define the image at different perspectives , therefore betraying the images beyond the human eye, for example, if a triangle was viewed at from, only one angle would be possible. The 4th dimensional aspect may be developed into interactive games (e.g. ps3 game seats where water may be released according to the game design, remote controls)
Concept art gets the viewer interested in the work and enables them to have an understanding of how the composition could be and how the work may have developed to its final stage. Additionally, concept art allows the artist to show a range of different sketches or views of their thoughts and development, allowing them to expand their ideas, providing them with an overview perspective.



There are many processes which lead to the development of a final piece,

www.hippasus.com/resources/viscomp/index.html

Task 14: Elements of game design, part five: Planning and Concepting

Okay second blog is about how your brain corporate with what you visualize. Brain is not limited it expands and expands and never gets filled basically it never has enough. This task should be easily answered as it’s been experienced occasionally for the course I am doing.
Okay let’s just say you was handed with a project which was to produce anything that is futuristic and acceptable. Your brain will instantly switch on. This is because of what we all observed through our life time. I’m sure you watched or did everything that is specified below…
TV, games, movies, or even read books and a lot more. There are no limitations on observing ideas. So we should thank the software’s for expanding ideas but mostly we should all thank our eyes and brain.
Lets come back to me…shall we…
What happened to me when I was given a project which was to create a tripod…what happened?
Yes it is true! I didn’t come up with random ideas with flashing lights!! It all comes with what I’ve experienced or visualized. Like for example, I wasn’t like what the heck am i suppose to do or had no ideas what’s so ever... but i was just confused due to all the ideas I had jammed in my head which led me to confusion... it was crazy i tell you.
Well eventually i looked at tripods from movies, books from library, checked on the net etc. because everything comes with research. I then put all my research together and combined the lot which definitely led me to a great concept. I strongly believe planning strategy works like this…you first research and then combine ideas and then you create concepts and then show it to everyone and get feedback and carry on what majority of the people got attracted by and then develop further from there and then model the thing..=D
The best process of planning isn’t what you create at the end but it’s the research behind it. It’s the progression that makes the work quality. For example I could look at a final and say “wow! That’s nice but if they show more of the planning and progression from start to end. I personally will think that it draws more attention and gives the viewer the understanding how much effort he or she put on to the final”. Hope you know what I mean and that’s my way of thinking =)
Anyway....at the bottom I’m going to show you the task that i mentioned earlier on...the example will show the process from start to end. Here goes the example...hope it makes sense...



Firstly as I mentioned earlier I did some research on the net and checked some movies that could be related. Soon after I got some images and Ideas I developed from there. I instantly sketched a few ideas…




I quickly got some designs on to the paper from I chose a few basic shapes and developed from there.
I now had the basic shape and from there I developed further.






My idea grew from these ideas. I then finally chose one which is going to be modeled very soon. It will be uploaded =) anyway that’s my way of planning. Like mike said all your sketches should be the product of evolving, iterative process. See you in my next log =D

task 13 - Managing your studies, academic offences, bad academic practice, time management

Well, where can I start...What would you like to be in the near future? What career would you like to pursue? Well...these questions were directed to me on numerous occasions most commonly during the past two years! These questions occurred to confuse my mind but I was glad they were brought to my consideration! I was very eager to discover what I really wanted to do with my career after completing this course. So I’m going to begin my research and in depth reading to see what jigsaw will fit into my missing puzzle. I must admit that Mike advice was really helpful;
“Search on the net...find jobs that relates to the course that I’m currently doing and then read about the job and highlight the skills/experience that is needed and if there is anything missing I should fill the missing gaps throughout the 2years of university”.
Back to the task!
I have just read the thought about a student, Del walker! His comments on a being a game designer is very direct. His thought was straight to the point and eye opening. I wouldn’t say that I’m the best 2D drawer or the best 3D modeller but nothing stops me from practising. All it needs is time, practise and most of all passion that could lead us to achieve the best of my talent. Well I really liked the sentence that Del had in his thought which was...
“Nobody cares how much passion you “claim” to have for games. Your passion should shine through your work”.


The verse from the article particularly attracted my attention.
I am not going to lie but after reading Del Walker and Ben Mathis thoughts has really put me on the spot. I felt really bad but I won’t let it affect me. What they are saying is harsh but it is the truth. No one likes hearing the truth when it’s bitter. It made me realise that i need to work even more and enjoy it twice as much. Now it starts to make me think in the holidays i did not once touch my sketch book but if i had i would have improved a lot more. Reading their thoughts has literally opened my eyes. Now all I need to do is work my ass off and put more hours in to my work. Oops...sorry I’m getting carried away. I need to get back to answering the task....