LIFE DRAWING :: 11/04/16 - Reflective Statement

Life drawing this term has been an interesting experience, and vastly different from last year's classes in the methods we have tackled.  I feel that with a wider variety of techniques, I have gained a better understanding of how to apply ideas of structure, gesture and anatomy to my own work.

I'm quite pleased with how my early silhouettes have turned out, especially when combined with the line of action work that Thaw had us draw in lesson one.  The exaggeration and direction really helps to solidify the sense and weight of the pose, and would definitely help with natural gesture and weight distribution in future animated works.  There are still quite obvious issues with my anatomy - my legs continue to be too short and arms are still generally too elongated, but for the first week I'm still very proud of how they turned out.

Anatomy studies are also an area I feel like I have improved in - it was helpful to reference sketches done by masters such as DaVinci and refer back to the anatomy sheets that we had been given last year.  Combining these with the exaggeration of the previous lessons made for much more dynamic skeletons in my opinion, and a much more pleasing composition over all.  I feel as though I can study a skeleton and be able to tell apart males and females now, even though I may not be able to name most of the major bones of the body.  As I wasn't able to sit in class to study a live model, I had to refer to Bridgeman's anatomical drawings to get a better sense of how muscles sit under the skin for the next week's work.  Repetition and different angles really helped me to solidify which shapes appear in things such as the torso and legs.

Sculpting was perhaps the most difficult out of all of our lessons, as working physically with clay is a medium that I am still very unfamiliar with.  I feel as though my first two sculptures were not very good - the second one repersenting the arms especially, as I focused too much on the torso and ignored the arms completely.  However, the third sculpture of the legs shows some definite progress and a better understanding of how to block out and shape the form of the body.

Overall, I feel like I have gained a better understanding of the different areas of life drawing and hope that I can combine these lessons further to continue to grow and improve.  Sculpture in particular has been an exciting part of our studies, and I am definitely eager to learn more techniques in that particular field.

LIFE DRAWING :: 12/04/16 - Week 8

INTERACTIVE NARRATIVE :: Gameblogging 06

Of the key narrative elements discussed so far in the course (interactivity, level design/linearity, moral choice/non-linearity, character), which do you think is the most prominent, important or interesting in your chosen game?

This week my chosen game was Terraria, one that I have had previous experiences with and enjoy immensely.

Its narrative is created through the player's curiosity - you are placed in a world with only a guide to give you a basic tutorial - one that you do not even have to pay attention to.  Therefore, due to such an open nature, I believe that the most important element of the game is in its linearity/level design.

"Open-world video games offer the player the choice to engage in an immense range of optional activities that do not necessarily contribute to closure, but rather to expand the player’s experience."  I believe that this quote from Cardoso's Breaking the Game is particularly relevant to Terraria, as it is a game that does not limit the player to a linear sequence of events.  The whole point of the game is for the player to experience it - there is no Ultimate end goal beyond 'do everything that the game has to offer'.  Players are given the options to defeat bosses and explore every last inch of the world, but there is nothing saying that they have to.  The experience is driven by the player's curiosity.

There are limitations in place to make sure the player is constantly challenged; they start out with weak weapons and universal monsters (slimes and zombies) that spawn frequently during the day and night respectively.  The only way to get stronger is to collect various materials from the world's surface and underground in order to craft stronger weapons,armor and structures to better defend yourself.  This in turn creates a reward/goal system for the player from the get-go - through exploration, the player uncovers more of the world, and finds more equipment/materials to become stronger to explore further or enhance their experience.  The player also gains new villagers through a crafting element - making houses for these villagers to move into - and provides reward for the creation /building aspect of the game with the perks and unique items that the villagers offer once they are settled.

As stated in week 3's level design lecture, "Clever level design matched with enemy/obstacle placement will make for a compelling experience and it ought to contribute to the narrative experience as well".  Terraria presents a linear, 2D terrain with different biomes representing the different areas of the world.  Within these biomes are different kinds of enemies with varying strengths, and different types of materials for the player to customize their equipment and appearance, as well as build structures with.  Each world is unique due to its randomized creation, therefore the player will never know in advance the kind of terrain or dungeons that they will explore, where to expect new biomes, or know what kind of equipment and treasure they will find in the randomly generated treasure chests.

The idea of clever level design can also be applied to the player's created structures - Besides the edges of the map and the generated terrain of the world, there are no restrictions on how tall you can make a structure or how far down into the world it can go.  Players can build walls that monsters cannot pass over in order to defend their villages better, or may use trapdoors instead of regular doors to prevent monsters from opening them.  Traps can also be utilized to prevent monsters from entering inhabited areas.  Again, ideas are only limited by the player's creativity and by how far they want to push the game.

Overall, the terrain and design of the world and its denizens helps to shape the player's experience by providing a large and excellent landscape to explore and discover.  While it may be enticing for new players, it also provides a unique experience for veterans, as no two worlds will ever be alike and while each world contains a finite amount of elements, they are always presented in new ways and require different methods to overcome them.

CINEMATIC :: 07/04/16 - Mattepainting Updates

Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on the mattepainted background for our animation.  Admittedly I've struggled a lot with it composition-wise and have been neglecting to update my blog about it - so here's where I'm at currently.

Last week I refined the concept sketch of the spiritual world, removing a lot of aspects of the floating islands in order to create a stronger and simpler composition.  This was the final sketch that I got out

It ended up being a really dense, naturalistic landscape with a lot of trees and foliage, with one central floating island.  The group seemed ok with it and I started messing around with colors and brush types/shading technique

In the end, this was as far as I got with it, as Tea came up with a much nicer composition based on my sketch and Hamish's test images.  I was told that we were going to add the phone in through use of 3D, and my task for the rest of that weekend and up to this point was to refine Tea's sketch into our final mattepainted background.

Currently there is no background and I'm still debating on whether I need to deepen the lighting/shadows on the islands, but I'll work on that over the weekend.  All of these islands are on separate layers and having a background set up this way means that Jo and Tea can start adding their creatures into the scene!

I do still need to add pipes under the tree for when the Spirit world turns dark, but the rest of the island changes can be done in post production, as far as I understand.  At least the basic setup is done now so that I can play around with lighting and composition effects.  I'm still not sure if I will be doing a background or if Hamish is going to quickly generate one, but for now, it is safe to say that the background plates are more or less done!

I'll probably be helping with animation after this, assuming that I don't need to put too much more into the mattepainting.

LIFE DRAWING :: 05/04/16 - Week 7