Alien Caterpillar Dude Painting

In this session, we were taught a digital painting technique that focuses on time saving. It is achieved by using three different Photoshop layers and utilizing the layer blending options.

The line-work for the character was given to us. We used Levels Image Adjustment in order to clean up the sketch.

Using a colour pallette that was given to us, we filled in a base layer of colour over the line drawing. We used flat, un-shaded colour, and then set the layer to 'multiply', so that the line-work could be seen underneath.

We then added simple shadows using 50% grey, again using a multiply layer.

We could then use the image we had created so far as a base, and essentially using it as a colour palette for more detailed painting. This technique cuts out a lot of time that would ordinarily be spent trying to achieve the correct values.

This was my final result. As with my old lady painting, I set brush opacity and flow to pen pressure, and by holding 'Alt' to select the colour picker, I had an effective method of blending different tones.

Modifying textures to a character in Photoshop

In this session, we were given a character model that had already been UV mapped and textured as well as animated. We were shown how to modify the textures in Photoshop and how each layer built up to create the texture itself.

I also tried to add some atmospheric lighting to the character.

I believe the main purpose of this lesson was to help us get to grips with how textures are mapped onto a polygonal model. I decided to turn my character into a zombie. I also made use of the lights in Maya in order to create a small degree of atmosphere.

Skeleton Anatomy

Insect Character

Perspective Tank

This is my tank.

Perspective Drawing

For this assignment, we had to watch and complete a tutorial that focuses on perspective. In the assignment, we were given the option to complete our own drawing if we had experience with perspective drawing before.

I have done a lot of perspective drawing before, as I have spent a lot of time drawing city environments in the past. The drawing I decided to complete is going to act as a quick concept drawing for an interior of a part of my Unity level.

The drawing is heavily inspired by the interiors in Alien. My level is a small spaceship docking at the side of a skyscraper in a futuristic city. This corridor will be the first corridor you walk through after exiting your room.

Adding Detail to our Turret in Maya

Similarly to previous Maya sessions, this lesson was spent primarily getting to grips with Maya's various polygonal modelling tools and options.

We would be adding detail onto the Star Wars Turret we had been working on for the past two weeks. One extremely useful option we were introduced to was the 'Make Live' option. When we select a polygonal object and make it 'Live', it becomes a surface from which we can create our objects. Similarly to how we would normally draw our geometry on the grid and bring it out from there, the surface we 'Make Live' would now act in the same way as the default grid.

This is an extremely efficient way of creating geometry adjacent or parallel to our base turret. We then went onto adding detail onto our turret.

Silhouette Photoshop Painting

In this session, we were showed another quick method of Photoshop painting. It involved creating a silhouette of a character, and then shading the character afterwards.

This was my first silhouette. I decided not to develop this one any further as I thought it looked terrible.

This was my second character. I tried harder to visualize the detail inside the silhouette whilst creating the silhouette. This way, I would find it easier when it came to actually painting the character.

This was my third character. I tried to actually imagine the geometry of the character whilst creating the silhouette. Because of this, I believe it produced the best result.

Baking Ambient Occlusion and Normal Maps.

In this session, we were showed how to use a program called 'XNormal' in order to generate normal maps and bake ambient occlusion. We would be using the same turret we had been working on in past lessons. Whilst baking textures is possible in Maya, Robin chose to show us how to use XNormal as it is, whilst old, a robust program.

This is my ambient occlusion texture. Ambient Occlusion is a (somewhat crude) method of simulating how light bounces off of the environment and illuminates a surface. Since running a physically accurate simulation of light is unfeasible in real-time, Ambient Occlusion maps are an appropriate substitute that 'fakes' a similar effect. Some modern games have other methods of simulating global illumination in real-time, and there are very advanced methods of generating ambient occlusion in real time as well. However, when it comes to intricate detail, a baked texture must be used, as the power isn't currently available to perform accurate global illumination on small detail.

This is how I edited my ambient occlusion texture in Photoshop. I simply got a metal image off of Google Images, then pasted it over my texture. I set the layer blending method to Overlay, so that the ambient occlusion was still visible through the metal layer.

This is my normal map. Normal maps are a method of faking greater detail on a surface than what is actually present. In a normal map, the hue of a pixel is read by the renderer as the angle of a surface, and the saturation dictates the adjacency of that pixel against the polygonal surface the map is applied to. The renderer uses this information to shade pixels that would be shadowed if the surface it's representing was actually modeled. This is an effective illusion, but the surface still appears clearly flat when viewed up-close or at an angle.

My textured turret.

Temple Model

For our final Maya assignment, we were asked to model a temple using an image provided to us as reference. We were asked to model the temple as accurately as possible. Unforutunately, I didn't allow myself enough time to completely finish the model, so there is no trim around the front balcony, no windows or doors, nor are the textures aligned properly an all of the model. I aligned the roof texture on one of the roofs, in order to demonstrate at least that I can do it.

This is a simple render of my final temple model. The render was set up simply with the Mental Ray render and using final gathering. I added a 5 degree light angle on the directional light in order to make the shadows softer as they get further away from the object that cast them.

This is the roof where I aligned the textures.

This is my temple in the Viewport.

Tentacle Monster Homework Assignment.

For this assignment, we were tasked with designing a tentacle monster and producing a finished colour concept of the creature. We were asked to start off by creating a mood board in order to get some inspiration.

This mood board is a compilation of various tentacle monsters that I have seen in films as well as some concepts I found online.

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This is my first sketch. This sketch is inspired by various depictions of Cthulhu I found on the internet. It isn't meant to be an actual depiction of Cthulhu, but similar in the sense that it is a large mythological sea creature.

 This is my second sketch. This sketch is inspired primarily by the concepts behind the Facehugger design from Alien. One of the ideas behind the Facehugger was that it was meant to be an alien 'rape' of a human. The mouth of my design is supposed to vaguely resemble certain parts of the human anatomy, in order to imply how it might consume a person.

This was my final sketch. I deliberately made it a very simple and plain design, as I knew I would have to create a final concept in colour, and colour is something I struggle with. I scanned it into my computer so I could begin to work on it in Photoshop.

To help me, I chose to use the technique we were shown in our second Visual Design session. First, I added a multiply layer of basic flat colour.

I then painted over that layer to create some basic tone.

Finally, I then tried to blend the shades by setting Brush Opacity and Flow to Pen Pressure. What I found most difficult was trying to visualize in my head how this 2D design would occupy a 3D space, and how light would fall on it realistically. This is the biggest challenge I face when painting from my head, and adding colour adds another level of complexity that I have to factor in. This is why I find it difficult to work in colour when painting from my head.

Robots Homework Assignment

For this homework assignment, we had to design three different robots. I designed three robots that were each inspired by different concepts from science fiction media. 

As I have little experience with actual character design, I had very little developmental process when designing these robots. I drew them straight away and based them on concepts and themes I remember from films/games that I had already seen.

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This was my first design. It was a relatively quick sketch, and there was no real thought behind the design. It is primarily inspired by Master Chief's armor from Halo. I wanted this design to look like a large, powerful super-soldier. This is the most 'futuristic' of the three designs I completed, as the design is sleek, with lots of angles and curves that are purely for the sake of aesthetics, rather than being anything functional.

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This was my second design. This design is inspired by robots in Elysium, and the Spectres from Titanfall. Unlike my first design, this one is supposed to be a more realistic depiction of a robot. I have left various robotic mechanisms visible, so the player would get some degree of explanation as to how it moves it's articulated body.

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This is my third design. It is mainly inspired by two 1980's action films, The Terminator and Robocop. It is also, in part, an evolution of my second design with regards to the visible robotic mechanisms, only with a more stylized design. 

This design is a police robot in a dystopian future similar to the one in Blade Runner, and the design is supposed to reflect the world it was created in. In Blade Runner, the technology and mechanics of the world have become a visible part of the city's excessively detailed architecture. A similar concept is also reflected in the design of the T-800 from The Terminator. I have tried to mimic this idea in my own design, by making the ample number of robotic mechanisms clearly visible. I have also specifically chosen to make sure that the design has no elements resembling a face, as it is meant to represent the type of faceless oppressive government that exists within the world. The helmet design is supposed to reference an American police motorcycle helmet, as it is part of the somewhat iconic image of an American police motorcycle officer, and can be seen being worn by the T-1000/Robert Patrick in Terminator 2.

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With this assignment, I believe I haven't carried out enough research in order to inform my designs. I also made the error of erasing a lot of drawings that I had begun and started again, as they were designs that were going in a direction I didn't like. They were more experimental sketches, and even though they were relatively random and uninformed, not being able to see them now makes it seem as though I had no process whatsoever when designing these robots. This is true to some extent, but not to the extent that appears here.

I have also not even attempted colour. I find it extremely difficult to work in colour, as I have little experience working with it before, especially when it comes creating images not directly from reference.

Picking Apples Speed Painting

For this excercise, we had to copy an image that was handed out in class, and were given a time limit of (about) two hours. We could use the techniques taught to us in previous sessions in order to complete as much of the image as possible.

First, I started off with a blue background and added a faint gradient in the sky. 

Then, on a new layer, I added the mountains in the background. It took me a long time trying to get the right shade of blue/purple. I forwent the mountains to the right as they would be hidden behind the trees.

I then added the trees on another layer. As with the mountains, I spent a long time trying to get the correct tone. Achieving the same shape in the tree also took a lot of trial and error. I tried to take into consideration the atmospheric purple that effected the tree's tone as they got further away.

I added the front trees and fence posts on another layer, again trying to account for the purple atmosphere.

This final element is what took me the longest. Trying to recreate the correct shape of this character took me a long time. It still isn't even correct, but I had run out of time.

For this exercise, I didn't even attempt to blend the colours or add any detail. Around the edges of the trees, you can see I have added simple blobs of colour in an attempt to 'imply' the detail that was present in the original. I also didn't even get to adding the second character or the moon. What I find most difficult is actually controlling the pen. I spend a lot of time 'trial and error-ing' brush strokes, attempting to get the correct shape.

Chairs in Maya

Modelling Tools in Maya

In this tutorial, we modeled a hammer and a crowbar.

My Hammer and Crowbar

I found most of this tutorial relatively easy. An aspect that was new to me was using the non-linear bend tool. However, learning to use this tool was fairly simple. I was unaware deformation tools like this even existed in Maya.

I am extremely glad I have discovered these deformation tools, as a part of my Unity project needs bending pipes, and I thought I would have to manually rotate each individual edge loop myself in order to create a bend.

UV Texture Mapping

In this session, we were taught the process of UV mapping. The purpose of this process is to define how a texture is projected onto a polygonal model. A well planned and thought out UV mapping process would mean a texture occupies less space in the system's memory. Whilst there is a tool in Maya to do this automatically (with numerous preference options if a particular requirement must be prioritized), it may be necessary to do the process manually if a certain layout is needed in order to appropriately edit the texture in Photoshop. Regardless, doing the process manually helps us understand how the system works anyway.

Using the turret model we made in our last Maya session, we would manually map the UV texture using Planar Mapping.

My unwrapped UV set.

Unfortunately, I have lost the work I completed in the session. Luckily, I understood the process and have created this quick model and unwrapped it in order to demonstrate my knowledge of UV mapping.

I selected all the X-Axis facing faces (either positively or negatively) and projected their UVs from the X-Axis. You can see the result in the UV texture editor. All the faces facing the X+ direction appear blue in the editor, and all the faces facing the X- direction appear red in the editor. I did the same for the faces facing the Z-Axis and Y-Axis.

If I were to create textures for this model, any texture applied to the 'red' faces would appear inverted, as they are being projected from 'behind' the face. I could either inverse these faces' textures in Photoshop or inverse their UV mapping to fix this.

Fish Modelling Tutorial

In this Lynda tutorial, we had to model a fish using a sketch as reference. The sketch was supplied to us, as was the scene file that had the sketch applied to a plane as a texture.

Using the side view in Maya, we modeled a basic profile of the fish, making sure to add faces for the eye. Once we had done that, we could then mirror the model over the X-Axis. We could then use the symmetry settings on the Move, Scale and Rotate tools in order to make sure our model is the same on all sides.

This was the reference we were given.

This is the model I finished with.

We could then use a 'smooth' view to see what our model would look like if the smooth polygons tools was used.

Star Wars Turret Modelling in Maya

In this session, we were tasked with modelling a turret in Maya, using an image of a Star Wars turret as reference. The purpose of this exercise was to further develop our knowledge of Maya's polygonal modelling tools. Robin gave a short demonstration showing us how we should start to approach this exercise, and the rest of the lesson was spent modelling the turret ourselves.

This was the Star Wars turret we had to model.

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First, I started off by creating a Cube. 

Then, I selected the top face component and moved it down. I then scaled it negatively in order to create this Pyramid cross-section shape. 

I then used the extrude tool to bring out the top face. Again, I scaled the top face component in order to create the basic shape of the Turret's base. 

Then, using the bevel tool, I beveled the edges of the entire model, excluding the bottom four edges of the base. 

Using the Insert Edge Loop tool, I inserted two vertical edge loops in order to create the two entrances either side of the model. I then extruded the two faces inwards, and beveled the outermost edges of the entrance.

Maya Introduction

In this session, we were asked to create a model of a silo based off of a picture. Similar to the Old Lady painting session, I believe this was so that the tutors could get an idea of our level of experience in Maya. I have used Maya extensively before, so I am relatively familiar with the interface and how the basic tools work. However, I am relatively new to polygon modelling, as my experience in Maya has been almost exclusively with Maya Fluids.

This is the image of the silo we had to model.

Much the time I spent modelling this silo was spent re-familiarizing myself with Maya's interface, as I hadn't used it in a while. When it came to using the polygonal modelling tools, not much was required in order to create this silo. It is a relatively simple structure, and so I managed to complete it fairly quickly. The majority of it was created with the basic primitive object creation tools, with only a couple of extrusions in order to create the lip and the windows.