Sunday, 13 May 2012
Final post
The project is nearing an end. I unfortunately didn't have time to do character sheets or face studies because I chose to focus on a well rendered final character paintings. My characters took me a while to fully complete. I managed to get a character painted in an environment but only one, due to time. I could have worked quicker but It would have been detrimental to the quality. Nonetheless, I feel i have a reasonable amount of work and all three characters where completed.
Saturday, 12 May 2012
Boss Lineart and Painting
Not sure what I would call him. He's like Hydra but that's a bit too typical.
The linart is quite rough, and in terms of what makes sense with the pieces and details, it's a bit all over the place. I don't have time to make things make sense, and I feel I have strayed a bit too far away from that steampunk style. Then again, they are the pro-tech robots which would looks more advanced and intense.
The linart is quite rough, and in terms of what makes sense with the pieces and details, it's a bit all over the place. I don't have time to make things make sense, and I feel I have strayed a bit too far away from that steampunk style. Then again, they are the pro-tech robots which would looks more advanced and intense.
Friday, 11 May 2012
Boss update
When I got feedback on my boss ideas the Hyrda like boss seemed to be popular. I started to draw it out really for painting and got told his feet needed to look more vicious. they looked a little tame.
I changed the whole leg and made it taller. It looks so much better. I can't believe I didn't see how bad it looked with short stumpy legs. It doesn't look intimidating with small legs. Looked like an egg. But now it looks Boss!
It was a wise idea to have each head serve a different purpose. I thought about what the character would be. What purpose would it serve? I decided that each head could be a different construction object. For example, drills, cranes and shovels. It would make sense that with the long neck it could reach down and unearth the primitive life in the ground - destroying it. It would aslo work in terms of a boss battle.
Lineart will be posted soon.
I changed the whole leg and made it taller. It looks so much better. I can't believe I didn't see how bad it looked with short stumpy legs. It doesn't look intimidating with small legs. Looked like an egg. But now it looks Boss!
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| Less Egg like look and spring like form. Ready to pounce! |
It was a wise idea to have each head serve a different purpose. I thought about what the character would be. What purpose would it serve? I decided that each head could be a different construction object. For example, drills, cranes and shovels. It would make sense that with the long neck it could reach down and unearth the primitive life in the ground - destroying it. It would aslo work in terms of a boss battle.
Lineart will be posted soon.
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Monday, 7 May 2012
Boss Initial Concepts
Creating the boss is tough. He needs to have a similar but more advanced style to the regular robots and also needs to be less humanoid, since they are against life. One thumbnail was chosen for it's scorpion like tail. I really didn't know what i was going to do with it, but as it turns out it has adapted into a more vicious version. On to the next three variations of a different thumbnail, then I will work the boss in more detail.
Sunday, 6 May 2012
Final Design Robot Update
It is virtually done now. I have been toying with idea for a different mouth. Really not sure what to do or to just keep it pretty much the same. I've added variations below to see what people think of it before I commit.
I'm leaning towards nose with speaker holes. Just adds a bit more to it. The teeth on the second remind me of a character from an animated film or something. That's going to annoy me.
.jpg) |
| Buck Teeth |
2.jpg) |
| Teeth (reminds me of somthing) |
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| Normal + Gold Trim |
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| Nose |
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| Nose + speaker holes |
I'm leaning towards nose with speaker holes. Just adds a bit more to it. The teeth on the second remind me of a character from an animated film or something. That's going to annoy me.
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Ray Painting w.i.p
This first stage of Ray. He looks ok at the minute. I feel like I've failed myself somewhat in regard to it looking steampunk esque but I think the rust look works better anyway. It's kind of hard to add all these details when he's so small as well.
Friday, 4 May 2012
Pro-life Robot (Ray) Linart
This is the linart at the current stage for the character which will be called Ray. Me and a friend bounced back ideas about the character and he proposed the character wear clothes from the wreckage but wear them wrong, because he doesn't understand completely. A humerus idea, and it helps to give backstory about the character, he's like a little kid who's a wanna be action hero. It would add some light comedy to the role whilst other characters may take on a more serious tone.
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| He's called Ray, because he has a ray gun! |
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Further Ideas for the Robots.
Whilst discussing my idea with a friend we where bouncing back and forth ideas of the culture and things the pro-life robots would do. Comedy is always a great aspect to have within gaming, it helps you become more attached to the characters. The game would of course have a serious undertone, but me and my friend where talking about the fact the robots would speak in a similar way to 50's films.
The quick talking gangsters for example. It would be interesting if some of the robots took on famous roles from the films they have seen e.g detectives/gangsters. What made us both laugh was the idea of them using popular sayings or quotes from the time but used in the wrong context. It would be humerous after a boss battle for robot to give the final line before they defeat him, only for it to be completely out of context causing the main character to be confused. We were also discussing my robot design suggesting that he could be wearing bits of clothing from the wreckage, but wearing it wrong because he doesn't know how works. For example pants on his head.
The best thing about this is that these moments of comedy would show these small robots to be fun, and almost child like imitating what we have done. It would break up the serious tone of the game for some light hearted relief. In a sense the character could be one of the group you go on the journey with, adding humor to keep things fun.
The quick talking gangsters for example. It would be interesting if some of the robots took on famous roles from the films they have seen e.g detectives/gangsters. What made us both laugh was the idea of them using popular sayings or quotes from the time but used in the wrong context. It would be humerous after a boss battle for robot to give the final line before they defeat him, only for it to be completely out of context causing the main character to be confused. We were also discussing my robot design suggesting that he could be wearing bits of clothing from the wreckage, but wearing it wrong because he doesn't know how works. For example pants on his head.
The best thing about this is that these moments of comedy would show these small robots to be fun, and almost child like imitating what we have done. It would break up the serious tone of the game for some light hearted relief. In a sense the character could be one of the group you go on the journey with, adding humor to keep things fun.
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Pro-Life Robot Initial Concepts
Just initial concepts for the pro-life robots. I chose two quite quirky designs, they would both be quite small which helps to show they are the underdog. I've tried to give them fairly humanistic qualities as well since they have been influenced by our race.
Final Human Character Design + w.i.p's
Still no name, I have a few to choose from which have different meanings. As I said I wanted something that related to environment or nature/life. These are a few that I am interested in:
Ash - Ash Tree
Rowan - Rowan Tree
Hudson - River
Reed
I don't want something too farfetched, but is also somewhat known. Rowan doesn't seem too bad - or Hudson - it sounds very spacey.
On to my finished piece. It took me longer than expected and I wish I could have done more. To explain the piece and what I am trying to convey through it:
He's a somewhat lonely man. Often escaping as a child to get away from life and it's problems in which he was trapped. He was raised around a lake and was therefore quite in touch with nature. The ultimate escapism was when he became an astronaut.
-I gave the character down turned goggles and head to signify his sadness.
-The use of an earthy palette of colours to highlight that fact he is in touch with nature/fighting for the pro-life robots.
- Cool background to compliment the earthy colours
- I made him slightly hunched to show he's no brash hero who thinks he can take on this challenge. This is also the reason the gun arm was pointing down. He doesn't want conflict if he can avoid it, thus his arm is pointing down rather than up.
The steampunk style didn't go as well as I wanted it too. I knew it wasn't going to be full steampunk but I am reasonably happy with what turned out. If I have it my way I would probably have done more colour tests before painting the character. But the rusty look on the metal helps to show the the materials are more natural and haphazard.
Edit: I got criticized on a number of aspects regarding the characters appearance. I was asked to think about whether why he has clothes when the robots only have low level life and therefore clothes don't make sense. The leather and green overalls could have come from the crashed ship. I responded by saying they could be under overalls for a suit. The game is set slightly in the future and what he wears in his ship is unknown to some degree.
I also got asked whether his skin/ breathing would be a problem since the planet is different. My answer to that is that it isn't much different. Hence why life is beginning to form. I could have went with design two in which he has a full helmet or breathing apparatus, but that would be detrimental to characterization.
Another aspect criticized was what each part of his armor would actually do. A lot of the Steampunk/industrial style is such that you don't really know when you look at it. As long as it looks to have a purpose that's fine. This having been said, His boots have a punp gas container on the back to help walk, since they quite big, but also to add for gameplay purposes e.g jumping higher (double jump). The arm cannon is fairly self explanatory a dial for pressure and a wheel to turn to shoot the device. It is connected through a pipe to his shoulder piece that in turn connects to his backpack powering it. The shoulder piece acts as armor to some extent. The cog device could be a way of gaing energy through wind power, with the device being spun to sustain power.
These are criticisms that can be rectified by the story, rather than them being things I will need to completely overhaul. Nonetheless they where good to consider.
Ash - Ash Tree
Rowan - Rowan Tree
Hudson - River
Reed
I don't want something too farfetched, but is also somewhat known. Rowan doesn't seem too bad - or Hudson - it sounds very spacey.
On to my finished piece. It took me longer than expected and I wish I could have done more. To explain the piece and what I am trying to convey through it:
He's a somewhat lonely man. Often escaping as a child to get away from life and it's problems in which he was trapped. He was raised around a lake and was therefore quite in touch with nature. The ultimate escapism was when he became an astronaut.
-I gave the character down turned goggles and head to signify his sadness.
-The use of an earthy palette of colours to highlight that fact he is in touch with nature/fighting for the pro-life robots.
- Cool background to compliment the earthy colours
- I made him slightly hunched to show he's no brash hero who thinks he can take on this challenge. This is also the reason the gun arm was pointing down. He doesn't want conflict if he can avoid it, thus his arm is pointing down rather than up.
The steampunk style didn't go as well as I wanted it too. I knew it wasn't going to be full steampunk but I am reasonably happy with what turned out. If I have it my way I would probably have done more colour tests before painting the character. But the rusty look on the metal helps to show the the materials are more natural and haphazard.
Edit: I got criticized on a number of aspects regarding the characters appearance. I was asked to think about whether why he has clothes when the robots only have low level life and therefore clothes don't make sense. The leather and green overalls could have come from the crashed ship. I responded by saying they could be under overalls for a suit. The game is set slightly in the future and what he wears in his ship is unknown to some degree.
I also got asked whether his skin/ breathing would be a problem since the planet is different. My answer to that is that it isn't much different. Hence why life is beginning to form. I could have went with design two in which he has a full helmet or breathing apparatus, but that would be detrimental to characterization.
Another aspect criticized was what each part of his armor would actually do. A lot of the Steampunk/industrial style is such that you don't really know when you look at it. As long as it looks to have a purpose that's fine. This having been said, His boots have a punp gas container on the back to help walk, since they quite big, but also to add for gameplay purposes e.g jumping higher (double jump). The arm cannon is fairly self explanatory a dial for pressure and a wheel to turn to shoot the device. It is connected through a pipe to his shoulder piece that in turn connects to his backpack powering it. The shoulder piece acts as armor to some extent. The cog device could be a way of gaing energy through wind power, with the device being spun to sustain power.
These are criticisms that can be rectified by the story, rather than them being things I will need to completely overhaul. Nonetheless they where good to consider.
Monday, 30 April 2012
Final Character Sketch
This is the final Character Sketch of the Human. I'm not to sure about it. It's been quite difficult to get right, perspective issues aplenty. I now need to create better lineart and paint it. I need to have it done by tonight because I really need to get on to the next characters.
As far the pose goes, I liked the idea of him looking down, slightly hunched over as if he is reserved. It gives the impression he has often escaped from the harsh realities of out world and has kept himself to himself do to speak. I also liked the idea of his gun being lowered. He isn't supposed to be the person that the robots perceive humans to be from the footage they have seen. He is no extraordinary person, yet during the course of the game he will rise up to the challenge.
Edit: A friend told me that his right arm was too stiff and need to be a bit bent, his shoulder also needed lowering. I completely agree and now, hopefully it looks less stiff like and like he is raising his arm.
As far the pose goes, I liked the idea of him looking down, slightly hunched over as if he is reserved. It gives the impression he has often escaped from the harsh realities of out world and has kept himself to himself do to speak. I also liked the idea of his gun being lowered. He isn't supposed to be the person that the robots perceive humans to be from the footage they have seen. He is no extraordinary person, yet during the course of the game he will rise up to the challenge.
Edit: A friend told me that his right arm was too stiff and need to be a bit bent, his shoulder also needed lowering. I completely agree and now, hopefully it looks less stiff like and like he is raising his arm.
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Human Orthographic's (Final Design) + Plan Update
I still have no name for my character. I have few ideas but not a name set in stone. I want a name which relates to my message, or story somehow. Not entirely sure.
These are the Orthographic's for my Character. They took me much longer than expected, because I decided to go quite in detail with them. I didn't take into consideration that all the detail in the design would take me a long time to complete. In this respect I have realised that to do this process for another two character and also complete a character painting will be virtually impossible in the given time frame. Because of this I am going to have to cut them out. I have managed to do them for one character, and he is the main character so it's not as bad.
Lesson learned, maybe I should have just focused on one sole character for this project...
These are the Orthographic's for my Character. They took me much longer than expected, because I decided to go quite in detail with them. I didn't take into consideration that all the detail in the design would take me a long time to complete. In this respect I have realised that to do this process for another two character and also complete a character painting will be virtually impossible in the given time frame. Because of this I am going to have to cut them out. I have managed to do them for one character, and he is the main character so it's not as bad.
Lesson learned, maybe I should have just focused on one sole character for this project...
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| So much detail, so little time. |
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Final Sketch Update
I realised, after looking back at the design that he looked very SWAT like and didn't particularly look like his clothes/armor was haphazard. I changed it back to the original idea of him having goggles and only goggles. It looks better, and he looks more like a scientist which helps. I may still change a few things but i need to work fast, time is running out quickly.
Near Final Design - Human
This is the last thumbnail for the final design before i commit to orthographic views and a 3/4 view/ posed painting of the character.
I think it is getting there. I'm not too sure on all the armor and whether it is overkill. A part of me just wants to keep adding parts, but it will make it quite complex. The goggles look less swim like as well, which is what my chosen thumbnail was criticised for.
I am still unsure what goggles to have, but he is coming along nicely.I may still change a few things yet. Doing the orthographic's will be fun...
I think it is getting there. I'm not too sure on all the armor and whether it is overkill. A part of me just wants to keep adding parts, but it will make it quite complex. The goggles look less swim like as well, which is what my chosen thumbnail was criticised for.
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| At this stage The character didn't have much to make it stand out. |
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| After adding a bigger shoulder pad and backpack, he started to take a stronger form. |
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| I experimented with the head piece, giving him round goggles inside to show more emotion. |
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| Originally I wanted square goggles, The round ones make him look more sad. |
I am still unsure what goggles to have, but he is coming along nicely.I may still change a few things yet. Doing the orthographic's will be fun...
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Thumbnail Concepts - Human Mixed
I just decided to mix some of the head designs to see how they looked on other variations. Some don't look that bad,. I'm looking to focus more on the bottom left version mixed with elements of others.
Human Initial Concepts - Thumbnail 7 Progression
These are basically the three further thumbnails from thumbnail 7. I tried to keep within the silhouette, having completed them I feel that the original first three from thumbnail 15 work better. I think the inclusion of a whole helmet at the first stage is a bit too overpowering and takes a lot of ability for emotive responses, adding depth to his character.
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Story Overview and Message - (Near) Final Draft
As you may know from previous posts, my story and message I am trying to convey with this project has been somewhat confusing. In a recent critique with other students I was able to fully explain the idea whilst at the same time, clarifying to myself my message and how it was being conveyed through story and aesthetics. The following is the story and my message along with how I plan to support this and show it through my imagery.
Story
A lone Human is on a one man space craft.Where he is heading is unknown but he is in peril. The fuel tanks in his ship are drastically draining due to a malfunction. He is advised by colleagues through the crafts radio to land on the nearest planet and wait for a team to pick him up. It could take days but he has resources on the craft to survive.
As he enters the planets atmosphere his craft gets further damaged causing his ejector seat to malfunction and as a result, he crash lands on the surface of the Planet. He wakes up fully healed, somewhere very industrial and steampunk with cogs and steam showing the inner workings of the area. A robot race resides on the planet and after the shock he soon realises they are very excited he his there.
The robot race have lived on the planet for a years, they populate the size of a city, if not less. It is clear from their culture, design and environment that they have clearly been influenced by Humans, but how? How do they know of us? We have been sending signals into space for years, even broadcasts from television out into space in the hope that maybe something will receive it. This race of robots received a signal, broadcasting television stations and shows. However, because of the distance and time the broadcast is actually around 1950's era. The robots saw this and where amazed of our technological accomplishments and the life we had on our planet, it wasn't long before they began to create creatures and various things through the zeitgeist of the time. Films often show humans in peril overcoming monsters and various villains. The robots saw this and believed the humans to be amazing creatures that can overcome seemingly impossible feats - they where fascinated by it. But they where even more fascinated by the life on our planet.
There was basic life that had been discovered by the robots not long ago on their planet, in the sense of trees or grass. Life that is very much living but not like animals. The robot community want to nurture this life and let is flourish on their planet. They feel it is what completes them as a race. However, their race is very much split. A large sector are against the idea of there being life on their planet. They want to eradicate it.
Because of this, the two sides of the Robot race conflict, but not necessarily because they hate each other, but because their views conflict one another. The robots against the idea believe it is more important for them to grow as a technological race, becoming the best they can be by moving further with technology. In turn it's damaging the environment because of the advanced resources they are using, and going against the other sides beliefs.
There is a deeper meaning why the tech robots want to eradicate life on the planet before it's even advanced. They are scared. They have seen what life is capable of, the films that have portrayed creatures, monsters or real life animals causing trouble...and they have seen what we are capable of. They think it will only bring them problems, thus they want to destroy it before it begins.
There is only one section where life resides, as the rest has been destroyed. Guarded by the pro life robots, it has seen many an attempt to be destroyed by the other side. It is their last beacon of hope and their numbers are wearing thin...
With a human now on the planet, the pro life robots are hoping they can make peace with the other side - that the sight of an advanced organic creature may change their minds about the beauty life can bring. However, this proves to be a complicated affair, to some extent having a reverse effect as the tech robots try to destroy the human, seeing him as a threat from what they have learned from the broadcast footage they have seen.
With a failed attempt by the Human and his pro life robot friends to make peace with the other side, they must now protect themselves and last of the life that remains. Whether peace can be made between the split race is unsure, but time is running out.
The idea is rich for expansion and endings could be different depending on the players actions. An example of a bleak ending would be the pro-tech robots destroying all life, leaving the pro-life robots with no hope. They turn to the human and ask whether there is any way the life from earth can be replicated on their planet with human technology...but Earth is no longer a planet, destroyed long ago. Leaving the robots no hope for life....
That is the story for the most part. I believe it conveys the message that we need to look after our world, that technology is overriding nature and the beauty of our planet.
Aesthetically, The pro-life robots would have features that are more akin to human and animal, because they are influenced by us and want to embrace life. On the contrary, the pro-tech robots would be much more industrial and surreal with their design. They would be more emotionless because they are against the idea of life.
The steampunk, haphazard style used for the pro-life robots is similar in a sense to recycled items/junk, to be environment friendly. This style I think is important for both the human and the pro-life robots in reflecting their beliefs and the message I am trying to convey. My next post will focus on the human character, delving into his personality and character to understand why he wants to help them and also understand why he will look the way he does aesthetically.
Story
A lone Human is on a one man space craft.Where he is heading is unknown but he is in peril. The fuel tanks in his ship are drastically draining due to a malfunction. He is advised by colleagues through the crafts radio to land on the nearest planet and wait for a team to pick him up. It could take days but he has resources on the craft to survive.
As he enters the planets atmosphere his craft gets further damaged causing his ejector seat to malfunction and as a result, he crash lands on the surface of the Planet. He wakes up fully healed, somewhere very industrial and steampunk with cogs and steam showing the inner workings of the area. A robot race resides on the planet and after the shock he soon realises they are very excited he his there.
The robot race have lived on the planet for a years, they populate the size of a city, if not less. It is clear from their culture, design and environment that they have clearly been influenced by Humans, but how? How do they know of us? We have been sending signals into space for years, even broadcasts from television out into space in the hope that maybe something will receive it. This race of robots received a signal, broadcasting television stations and shows. However, because of the distance and time the broadcast is actually around 1950's era. The robots saw this and where amazed of our technological accomplishments and the life we had on our planet, it wasn't long before they began to create creatures and various things through the zeitgeist of the time. Films often show humans in peril overcoming monsters and various villains. The robots saw this and believed the humans to be amazing creatures that can overcome seemingly impossible feats - they where fascinated by it. But they where even more fascinated by the life on our planet.
There was basic life that had been discovered by the robots not long ago on their planet, in the sense of trees or grass. Life that is very much living but not like animals. The robot community want to nurture this life and let is flourish on their planet. They feel it is what completes them as a race. However, their race is very much split. A large sector are against the idea of there being life on their planet. They want to eradicate it.
Because of this, the two sides of the Robot race conflict, but not necessarily because they hate each other, but because their views conflict one another. The robots against the idea believe it is more important for them to grow as a technological race, becoming the best they can be by moving further with technology. In turn it's damaging the environment because of the advanced resources they are using, and going against the other sides beliefs.
There is a deeper meaning why the tech robots want to eradicate life on the planet before it's even advanced. They are scared. They have seen what life is capable of, the films that have portrayed creatures, monsters or real life animals causing trouble...and they have seen what we are capable of. They think it will only bring them problems, thus they want to destroy it before it begins.
There is only one section where life resides, as the rest has been destroyed. Guarded by the pro life robots, it has seen many an attempt to be destroyed by the other side. It is their last beacon of hope and their numbers are wearing thin...
With a human now on the planet, the pro life robots are hoping they can make peace with the other side - that the sight of an advanced organic creature may change their minds about the beauty life can bring. However, this proves to be a complicated affair, to some extent having a reverse effect as the tech robots try to destroy the human, seeing him as a threat from what they have learned from the broadcast footage they have seen.
With a failed attempt by the Human and his pro life robot friends to make peace with the other side, they must now protect themselves and last of the life that remains. Whether peace can be made between the split race is unsure, but time is running out.
The idea is rich for expansion and endings could be different depending on the players actions. An example of a bleak ending would be the pro-tech robots destroying all life, leaving the pro-life robots with no hope. They turn to the human and ask whether there is any way the life from earth can be replicated on their planet with human technology...but Earth is no longer a planet, destroyed long ago. Leaving the robots no hope for life....
That is the story for the most part. I believe it conveys the message that we need to look after our world, that technology is overriding nature and the beauty of our planet.
Aesthetically, The pro-life robots would have features that are more akin to human and animal, because they are influenced by us and want to embrace life. On the contrary, the pro-tech robots would be much more industrial and surreal with their design. They would be more emotionless because they are against the idea of life.
The steampunk, haphazard style used for the pro-life robots is similar in a sense to recycled items/junk, to be environment friendly. This style I think is important for both the human and the pro-life robots in reflecting their beliefs and the message I am trying to convey. My next post will focus on the human character, delving into his personality and character to understand why he wants to help them and also understand why he will look the way he does aesthetically.
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Human (Eric) Initial Concepts
Just three initial concepts of the human protagonist. This is just one of two designs from the thumbnails that I will be taking further. This design proved to be popular so I decided to take it further. I tried to unique in the various designs. I may change some of them if a certain goggle design fits with another concept for instance.
Saturday, 21 April 2012
Boss/Enemy Silhouette Thumbnails Update
A helpful friend gave me some criticism explaining that my thumbnails for my villain characters where too tame. They weren't particularly scary considering some of them are massive in size. I have tried changing some and tweaking in the hope that they now look a bit more intimidating. I keep getting worried that I will lose that steampunk effect, but It's early stages of the design so i think I should just trust that later on in the process, they will begin to resemble this.
I also added two extra thumbnails requested by a friend as he thought they also looked nice as silhouettes.
Silhouette Progression (thumbnails)
These are my same series of silhouettes which certain ones taken further. I chose based on what people said and also my own ones I liked. I think some are quite strong and it will be interesting to see which ones people prefer and which ones will fit better with what I am trying to say. I was thinking the boss/enemy characters could be a little less haphazard in how they are constructed showing that the other section of the robot race are trying to move forward with advanced robots.
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| Human (Main Character) |
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| Boss/Enemy Character |
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| General Robot Character |
Friday, 20 April 2012
What Am I Trying To Say? Reflecting On The 5 Minute Presentation
In the 5 minute presentation I was supposed to convey my ideas and message quickly and concisely. I completely failed in every aspect. My idea and message was somewhat jumbled resulting in me stumbling with my words. I was unprepared for the question that was posed to me: "What are you trying to say?"
With my idea, What am i trying to say? What message am i trying to express through my work to the person viewing/playing? It's an important question and one which I had not properly considered in order to give my work depth.
One comment I was given was that I had developed an aesthetic first, and therefore I was trying to attach meaning around this, rather than express something I want to say (an issue perhaps) and build something around it. It made sense to some extent, although you can equally have a style and build a message around it. After all, the aesthetic acts like a window on what you are trying express in some respects. I think because I focused on aesthetic and story first it somewhat confused me and in the process I lost what I was trying to say.
In retrospect, what I was talking about were my themes - rather than what I am actually trying to say. Themes are obviously important as well but my main message is what is most important and other themes and aspects can develop from this.
With all this having been said, I thought about my idea more and as a result some of my story has changed. But I kept asking myself, "what am I trying to say?" and to put it simply and concisely - We need to look after our planet. I thought about my idea and how the robots want life and have seen what we have done and simply, they are just a way of highlighting we need to stop destroying our planet, and start looking after it, appreciating the beauty we have. The robots don't have that beauty, and they want it - this what I am trying to say. Having reworked the story, I think this makes more sense now and hopefully it doesn't sound too typical or silly.
The story still needs work, but it goes as follows:
A male human is in a personal 1 man space craft on a course until a fault happens with his ship, his ship is rapidly loosing fuel and as a result he needs to land somewhere quickly and wait whilst a ship is sent out to pick him up. As he descends on a near planet, he only just makes it and ends up crashing his ship.
He wakes up fully healed, somewhere very industrial and steampunk with cogs and steam showing the inner workings of the area. A robot race resides on the planet and after the shock he soon realises they are very excited he his there.
The robot race have lived on the planet for a while devoid of life, they populate the size of a city, if not less. It is clear from their culture, design and environment that they have clearly been influenced by Humans, but how? How do they know of us? We have been sending signals into space for years, even broadcasts from television out into space in the hope that maybe something will receive it. This race of robots received a signal, broadcasting television stations and shows. However, because of the distance and time the broadcast is actually around 1950's era. The robots saw this and where amazed of our technological accomplishments and the life we had on our planet, it wasn't long before they began to create creatures and various things through the zeitgeist of the time. Films often show humans in peril overcoming monsters and various villains. The robots saw this and believed the humans to be amazing creatures that can overcome seemingly impossible feats - they where fascinated by it.
With a real human now on their planet, they where excited. Because they had a a big problem...
The robot race was somewhat split. One side wants to develop technology further through means of a new substance which in turn, will damage the atmosphere and planet - whilst the other side want to continue developing naturally and are more interested in creating life, to make the planet as luscious and beautiful as Earth. With a Human now in physical form, they hope to make peace with the other side, requesting the Human to help them with this mission. The result doesn't go according to plan, and the robot's looking to move forward with technology soon act hastily toward the human as he uncovers deeper seeded plans...
It still needs work, but I believe that It represents what I want to say better and more clearer. The aesthetics further push my message. The steampunk/50's industrial style often looks very haphazard - almost as if the object has been constructed from various bits and pieces. My robots would be designed in this way, reflecting a recycled look - which would relate to my message, that we need to look after our planet and not destroy it.
I am going to look at back at the film 9 and Machinarium to try and understand what is being said. What is the film trying to say to the viewer? Hopefully by uncovering the message I can focus more on this important area rather than the aesthetics which I was focusing on before.
With my idea, What am i trying to say? What message am i trying to express through my work to the person viewing/playing? It's an important question and one which I had not properly considered in order to give my work depth.
One comment I was given was that I had developed an aesthetic first, and therefore I was trying to attach meaning around this, rather than express something I want to say (an issue perhaps) and build something around it. It made sense to some extent, although you can equally have a style and build a message around it. After all, the aesthetic acts like a window on what you are trying express in some respects. I think because I focused on aesthetic and story first it somewhat confused me and in the process I lost what I was trying to say.
In retrospect, what I was talking about were my themes - rather than what I am actually trying to say. Themes are obviously important as well but my main message is what is most important and other themes and aspects can develop from this.
With all this having been said, I thought about my idea more and as a result some of my story has changed. But I kept asking myself, "what am I trying to say?" and to put it simply and concisely - We need to look after our planet. I thought about my idea and how the robots want life and have seen what we have done and simply, they are just a way of highlighting we need to stop destroying our planet, and start looking after it, appreciating the beauty we have. The robots don't have that beauty, and they want it - this what I am trying to say. Having reworked the story, I think this makes more sense now and hopefully it doesn't sound too typical or silly.
The story still needs work, but it goes as follows:
A male human is in a personal 1 man space craft on a course until a fault happens with his ship, his ship is rapidly loosing fuel and as a result he needs to land somewhere quickly and wait whilst a ship is sent out to pick him up. As he descends on a near planet, he only just makes it and ends up crashing his ship.
He wakes up fully healed, somewhere very industrial and steampunk with cogs and steam showing the inner workings of the area. A robot race resides on the planet and after the shock he soon realises they are very excited he his there.
The robot race have lived on the planet for a while devoid of life, they populate the size of a city, if not less. It is clear from their culture, design and environment that they have clearly been influenced by Humans, but how? How do they know of us? We have been sending signals into space for years, even broadcasts from television out into space in the hope that maybe something will receive it. This race of robots received a signal, broadcasting television stations and shows. However, because of the distance and time the broadcast is actually around 1950's era. The robots saw this and where amazed of our technological accomplishments and the life we had on our planet, it wasn't long before they began to create creatures and various things through the zeitgeist of the time. Films often show humans in peril overcoming monsters and various villains. The robots saw this and believed the humans to be amazing creatures that can overcome seemingly impossible feats - they where fascinated by it.
With a real human now on their planet, they where excited. Because they had a a big problem...
The robot race was somewhat split. One side wants to develop technology further through means of a new substance which in turn, will damage the atmosphere and planet - whilst the other side want to continue developing naturally and are more interested in creating life, to make the planet as luscious and beautiful as Earth. With a Human now in physical form, they hope to make peace with the other side, requesting the Human to help them with this mission. The result doesn't go according to plan, and the robot's looking to move forward with technology soon act hastily toward the human as he uncovers deeper seeded plans...
It still needs work, but I believe that It represents what I want to say better and more clearer. The aesthetics further push my message. The steampunk/50's industrial style often looks very haphazard - almost as if the object has been constructed from various bits and pieces. My robots would be designed in this way, reflecting a recycled look - which would relate to my message, that we need to look after our planet and not destroy it.
I am going to look at back at the film 9 and Machinarium to try and understand what is being said. What is the film trying to say to the viewer? Hopefully by uncovering the message I can focus more on this important area rather than the aesthetics which I was focusing on before.
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Silhouettes!
Initially I was going to do 100 silhouettes for each of the three characters. A total of 300 silhouettes. I realised very quickly that this was a bit to ambitious given the time frame. Not only this, but i'd rather do less silhouettes and make each one different and unique, rather than run out of ideas and end up just tweaking little aspects making everything look bland and similar.
Therefore I have cut my amount down to 20 for the main character, 20 for the a boss character, and 30 for a general robot character. This could be anything between citizen to maintenance robot. I think this amount is reasonable since I will work many of them in depth and look and a lot of variations of the chosen silhouettes before continuing the design process.
Main Character - 3, 7, 13/ 3, 7, 15, 17, 20
Therefore I have cut my amount down to 20 for the main character, 20 for the a boss character, and 30 for a general robot character. This could be anything between citizen to maintenance robot. I think this amount is reasonable since I will work many of them in depth and look and a lot of variations of the chosen silhouettes before continuing the design process.
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| Main Character (Human) |
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| General Robot |
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| Boss Robot |
Main Character - 3, 7, 13/ 3, 7, 15, 17, 20
General - 17, 21, 26/ 3, 5, 8, 16, 31
Boss - 8, 14, 15/ 1, 7, 10, 14, 19
These are the results of two people I asked. I will look into fleshing these silhouettes out further along with others I like.
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
9
Top add further to my research, I watched a film I was recommended called 9. Produced by Tim Burton and released in 2009, 9 is a film about a character named 9 who wakes in a post apocalyptic world. He soon ventures out and meets others of his kind only to find out that a robotic creature rules the land and is trying to destroy them. Things soon escalate as 9 accidentally awakens a giant machine which was laying dormant. The result of the world is from a war between man and machine as a scientist created a machine that became too dangerous.
The reason the film was good to watch was because of the style of the world. It bears a similar resemblance to Machinarium in the sense that the world is quite desolate. What was most interesting is that these dolls have built objects that have steampunk industrial qualities, which again fed my imagination of what I want the characters to look like. The film had a serious tone considering it's aesthetics, and although mine will have comedic elements and quirky characters I very much want it to have a serious tone as well.
Something else of interest, although unrelated, is that the main character looks very much like sackboy from Little Big Planet. I wonder whether they where influenced by the film.
http://www.thefilmcynics.com/blog/?p=1821
http://www.moo2u.com/2009/01/10/animated-feature-film-%E2%80%989%E2%80%B2-trailer/
accessed 11/04/2012
The reason the film was good to watch was because of the style of the world. It bears a similar resemblance to Machinarium in the sense that the world is quite desolate. What was most interesting is that these dolls have built objects that have steampunk industrial qualities, which again fed my imagination of what I want the characters to look like. The film had a serious tone considering it's aesthetics, and although mine will have comedic elements and quirky characters I very much want it to have a serious tone as well.
Something else of interest, although unrelated, is that the main character looks very much like sackboy from Little Big Planet. I wonder whether they where influenced by the film.
http://www.thefilmcynics.com/blog/?p=1821
http://www.moo2u.com/2009/01/10/animated-feature-film-%E2%80%989%E2%80%B2-trailer/
accessed 11/04/2012
Machinarium and Skytown
Two games which show a really nice alternate Industrial design are Machinarium and Metroid Prime 3. In Metroid there is a specific area you visit called Skytown. The whole area is based high above the ground and it has a futuristic, yet streampunk industrial feel to it. The inhabitants are often quirky little robots fixing things that have gone wrong. It's mix of browns, gold and bronze like colours melded with light green/blue colours help to show it's futuristic whilst rooted in industrial. One of my favorite places in the game, and it also has a fantastic soundtrack.
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| Looks very haphazard and steampunk like. The colour palette will be noted. |
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| Excellent Design |
The above character design for one of the robots in Skytown is a perfect example of the style i'm looking for with my own designs. Cogs, rustic metallic look, smoke. It's perfect. I have noticed that there are little to no wires, which is something I will have to be careful of including in my own designs, although I am not sticking 100% to a steampunk style so there is room for variation.
Machinarium is a game I saw a while ago and it instantly caught my attention. The whole art style is amazing and detailed. It's a clear example of a world made from industrial materials. Furthermore, the artistic look gives that impression of objects cobbled together to make something, exactly what I wan to achieve. The characters are simple and have a lovable look to them. Using typical big eyes is not something I necessarily want to do but I believe it is an important design choice to consider for emotion, and because in a steampunk sense - goggles are often big and protrude from the face. It will all depend of where I take the designs.
Although my style will be more realistic, this gives a good indication of what It could look like. The world is quite barren with everything built from machinery. The colour palette will also be taken into consideration for my style.
accessed - 11/04/2012
Monday, 9 April 2012
General Style Inspiration
These images below show The general style I am looking achieve for my project. For the robotic world i'm looking at a industrial built world but with steampunk elements. For example, cogs, pipes and bronze colours - rather than just grey industrial.
The idea is that almost everything on the planet the robots have made are from industrial materials. Even the houses and furniture. Because the robots are highly influenced by Earth they have even created animals and forests in mechanical form. These steampunk animal items below are examples of how my design could look.
http://www.mszan.com/2011/06/steampunk-animals.html accessed - 09/04/2012
The idea is that almost everything on the planet the robots have made are from industrial materials. Even the houses and furniture. Because the robots are highly influenced by Earth they have even created animals and forests in mechanical form. These steampunk animal items below are examples of how my design could look.
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| Copper and Gold like colour seems to be mostly used |
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| A clear example of a steampunk style creature |
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| Looks like it could fall apart at any minute |
What I love about the style is how everything looks like it has put together in a haphazard way. It looks like it could fall apart at any minute. With my designs that is what I want to achieve, I want the robots to literally have dangling bits and machinery hanging as if they are falling apart. Steampunk industrial will influence my design but that doesn't mean It will solely look like this, I will have elements of the design mixed with futuristic qualities. This brings me on to my next post in which I will talk about two games that further help show what my vision entails.
http://www.mszan.com/2011/06/steampunk-animals.html accessed - 09/04/2012
Initial Idea
For this project we are given free reign to do whatever we choose. Conceptul art, 3D Design, Rigging etc. What I would love to specialise in is 2D Character Design. I love the process of creating a character from initial thumbnails right up to final design.
Initially I wanted to create thumbnails with no context, relying on my character design to fuel my game idea. I later realised this would be risky and having an idea would help me to focus my thumbnails, as long as I don't have a pre-conceived vision of what the characters will look like. With that being said, I have a rough idea for my story:
A team of Space marines are on a mission to investigate the asteroid belt around Jupiter's region. An accident occurs with the ship. Eric attempts to fix the problem on the outside of the ship but as he does an asteroid connects with the shit sending him flying into space whilst the ship plummets into the distance crashing.
Eric wakes up on a different ship. It is clearly not of human design - very industrial and has steampunk design elements to it. Acting hostile at first, Eric soon realises that this race of robots are friendly and only want his help as they head toward their planet. The robot race soon show they have been watching Humans for years and have been massively inspired by us, they have based their own world after our own with architecture and robots clearly influenced by animals and humans. They are ecstatic that they have come into contact with an actual human from a planet full of life.
This planet they reside on is lifeless, only their robotic race lives and they have tried to trigger life before but to no avail. Their creators are nowhere to be seen and when questioned about it they avoid the topic. The robots need Eric to do something for them before they send him home, Eric agrees but during the course of his mission there is a feeling that something could be wrong. Before he can act he is neutralized by the robotic race, and it is made known they had captured a missing female space marine years before on a previous mission. The robotic race are trying to forcefully create life through an adam and eve effect with the two humans and their technology. At this point Eric needs to escape with the female before they become dead experiments.
That is the general idea of the story. It needs to be a lot more thought out with names and what the robots require of Eric, but it seems to work. The Adam and Eve idea was pointed out by a friend and seemed like a brilliant idea - the robots have followed the humans and their progression on Earth and desperately want to create life so there is a feeling of belonging for them.
In my next posts I will look at the styles that reflect my ideas and further look at the Story and the Robot's motives.
http://www.arthrobots.com/
http://www.arthrobots.com/
Initially I wanted to create thumbnails with no context, relying on my character design to fuel my game idea. I later realised this would be risky and having an idea would help me to focus my thumbnails, as long as I don't have a pre-conceived vision of what the characters will look like. With that being said, I have a rough idea for my story:
A team of Space marines are on a mission to investigate the asteroid belt around Jupiter's region. An accident occurs with the ship. Eric attempts to fix the problem on the outside of the ship but as he does an asteroid connects with the shit sending him flying into space whilst the ship plummets into the distance crashing.
Eric wakes up on a different ship. It is clearly not of human design - very industrial and has steampunk design elements to it. Acting hostile at first, Eric soon realises that this race of robots are friendly and only want his help as they head toward their planet. The robot race soon show they have been watching Humans for years and have been massively inspired by us, they have based their own world after our own with architecture and robots clearly influenced by animals and humans. They are ecstatic that they have come into contact with an actual human from a planet full of life.
This planet they reside on is lifeless, only their robotic race lives and they have tried to trigger life before but to no avail. Their creators are nowhere to be seen and when questioned about it they avoid the topic. The robots need Eric to do something for them before they send him home, Eric agrees but during the course of his mission there is a feeling that something could be wrong. Before he can act he is neutralized by the robotic race, and it is made known they had captured a missing female space marine years before on a previous mission. The robotic race are trying to forcefully create life through an adam and eve effect with the two humans and their technology. At this point Eric needs to escape with the female before they become dead experiments.
That is the general idea of the story. It needs to be a lot more thought out with names and what the robots require of Eric, but it seems to work. The Adam and Eve idea was pointed out by a friend and seemed like a brilliant idea - the robots have followed the humans and their progression on Earth and desperately want to create life so there is a feeling of belonging for them.
In my next posts I will look at the styles that reflect my ideas and further look at the Story and the Robot's motives.
http://www.arthrobots.com/
http://www.arthrobots.com/
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