Thursday, 15 May 2014
Studio Project - Renders
My final three renders. I am pretty pleased with how these came out. Daytime, sunset and night time.
Haroun and the Sea of Stories
1. What is ‘Haroun and the Sea of Stories’ really about: can you show that meaning through selected quotations?
Primarily I think Salman Rushdie is portraying events in his life and general life lessons.
“Happy endings must come at the end of something,’ the Walrus pointed out. ‘If they happen in the middle of a story, or an adventure, or the like, all they do is cheer things up for a while.”
This is one of my favourite quotes from the book because not only does the principal occur throughout the book itself, there is conflict throughout which is resolved. This also applies in life, life is not like a movie with a beginning, a problem and then a solution, life is riddled with various problems and conflicts. However each time you overcome them.
The next quote is from the character I chose; Mudra.
“...in the Land of Chup, a Shadow very often has a stronger personality than the Person, or Self, or Substance to whom or to which it is joined! So often the Shadow leads, and it is the Person or Self or Substance that follows. And of course there can be quarrels between the Shadow and the Substance or Self or Person; they can pull in opposite directions...but just as often there is a true partnership, and mutual respect.”
He is referring to people in general, almost like we're all a coin with two sides, the human side that represents a person’s individuality and someone’s human nature. Then the the other side, the shadow, that is created by society and outside influences. Rushdie proposes that these two sides can often conflict with each other, such as when religion causes a person to undertake unjust acts.
2. What has influenced your choice of characters?
As I was reading through, I came to this story and honestly the primary reason for my choosing of this character is because he sounds cool. He’s always been the type of character I connect with, the silent, stealthful kind, lurks in the shadows etc. Also whilst I was reading through I began creating him in my head, which I hadn’t done with the characters in the stories beforehand, nor did I with the characters in the stories after that one, primarily because I was so hooked on this character. I began thinking about how he might move, how he uses his gestures, are they angry gestures, or are they quite passive, are they fast and a little aggressive or perhaps rather slow and elegant. With each of these I had images of long wisps of shadows following his every move. I was in love with this character.
The other thing I liked was his background, him coming from a military background. This could have an effect on the way he holds himself, he could be both very upright and composed or because he left he’s the opposite, quite slippery and likes to eavesdrop etc.
3. What factors have influenced your design?
Primarily the lack of description of Mudra in the story. The things that came into my head whilst reading were the following things; shadows, mime artists and ninjas. I imagined him as being a mix of all three.
One thing that was brought up was the Commedia Dell’arte. At first I had no idea what this was being looking into it it was familiar, it’s a form of theatre primarily coordinated around masks. These were the stereotypical masks with the section covering the upper half of the face with an elongated nose. The primary thing I loved about these was simply that, they are creepy. Also with this you can have expressions without the use of a face. The brow lines and the forehead wrinkles can say a lot about expression.
A small external thing I ended up playing with was my incense burner, they let of a continuous and extremely elegant wisp of smoke which you can put your fingers through and swirl around. As I was doing this I realised how fluid like smoke can be. This is where my idea for playing with particles and wisps coming from behind my character. It would effectively be like, black smoke.
4. How will your characters give a player a fun and interesting experience?
Well the first and most important part of character selection is, the first impression. My character will draw a player in just on their looks. A large slender character with shadow wisps. The epitome of cool.
Beyond first impressions is the characters abilities, strengths, weaknesses and the way the character plays (movement, animations etc). The one trait of Mudra that would capture people is his special abilities, the first of which is his shadow powers. One of the first ways he utilises shadows is in the form of transportation. Whenever you come across something that may not be doable or perhaps there’s some invisible enemy, you switch to the Shadow. This sends you to a dark and twisted version parallel universe. Whilst in this universe you play through the same level but there are advantages such as being able to creep by things unnoticed or go under, over or around objects that you wouldn't be able to as Mudra. Now this sounds good and players would question why change back to Mudra, but there would be obstacles that only Mudra you face up to, interactions being the most significant, eg combat.
Mudra has his advantages as well. His primary combat ability is the use of shadows as weapons, but not in the traditional sense, he’d conjure up shadows and make them swallow people or things. They could also be used as a giant tool to help manipulate something. This would be especially useful during puzzles.
With the abilities and powers aside, the design of my character would keep people in awe, as you move the shadowy wisps coming from behind you, the long sweeping movements of Mudra and the sharp, agile movements of the Shadow. He’d just be a wonderful character to play as, both in aesthetics and practicality.
Primarily I think Salman Rushdie is portraying events in his life and general life lessons.
“Happy endings must come at the end of something,’ the Walrus pointed out. ‘If they happen in the middle of a story, or an adventure, or the like, all they do is cheer things up for a while.”
This is one of my favourite quotes from the book because not only does the principal occur throughout the book itself, there is conflict throughout which is resolved. This also applies in life, life is not like a movie with a beginning, a problem and then a solution, life is riddled with various problems and conflicts. However each time you overcome them.
The next quote is from the character I chose; Mudra.
“...in the Land of Chup, a Shadow very often has a stronger personality than the Person, or Self, or Substance to whom or to which it is joined! So often the Shadow leads, and it is the Person or Self or Substance that follows. And of course there can be quarrels between the Shadow and the Substance or Self or Person; they can pull in opposite directions...but just as often there is a true partnership, and mutual respect.”
He is referring to people in general, almost like we're all a coin with two sides, the human side that represents a person’s individuality and someone’s human nature. Then the the other side, the shadow, that is created by society and outside influences. Rushdie proposes that these two sides can often conflict with each other, such as when religion causes a person to undertake unjust acts.
2. What has influenced your choice of characters?
As I was reading through, I came to this story and honestly the primary reason for my choosing of this character is because he sounds cool. He’s always been the type of character I connect with, the silent, stealthful kind, lurks in the shadows etc. Also whilst I was reading through I began creating him in my head, which I hadn’t done with the characters in the stories beforehand, nor did I with the characters in the stories after that one, primarily because I was so hooked on this character. I began thinking about how he might move, how he uses his gestures, are they angry gestures, or are they quite passive, are they fast and a little aggressive or perhaps rather slow and elegant. With each of these I had images of long wisps of shadows following his every move. I was in love with this character.
The other thing I liked was his background, him coming from a military background. This could have an effect on the way he holds himself, he could be both very upright and composed or because he left he’s the opposite, quite slippery and likes to eavesdrop etc.
3. What factors have influenced your design?
Primarily the lack of description of Mudra in the story. The things that came into my head whilst reading were the following things; shadows, mime artists and ninjas. I imagined him as being a mix of all three.
One thing that was brought up was the Commedia Dell’arte. At first I had no idea what this was being looking into it it was familiar, it’s a form of theatre primarily coordinated around masks. These were the stereotypical masks with the section covering the upper half of the face with an elongated nose. The primary thing I loved about these was simply that, they are creepy. Also with this you can have expressions without the use of a face. The brow lines and the forehead wrinkles can say a lot about expression.
A small external thing I ended up playing with was my incense burner, they let of a continuous and extremely elegant wisp of smoke which you can put your fingers through and swirl around. As I was doing this I realised how fluid like smoke can be. This is where my idea for playing with particles and wisps coming from behind my character. It would effectively be like, black smoke.
4. How will your characters give a player a fun and interesting experience?
Well the first and most important part of character selection is, the first impression. My character will draw a player in just on their looks. A large slender character with shadow wisps. The epitome of cool.
Beyond first impressions is the characters abilities, strengths, weaknesses and the way the character plays (movement, animations etc). The one trait of Mudra that would capture people is his special abilities, the first of which is his shadow powers. One of the first ways he utilises shadows is in the form of transportation. Whenever you come across something that may not be doable or perhaps there’s some invisible enemy, you switch to the Shadow. This sends you to a dark and twisted version parallel universe. Whilst in this universe you play through the same level but there are advantages such as being able to creep by things unnoticed or go under, over or around objects that you wouldn't be able to as Mudra. Now this sounds good and players would question why change back to Mudra, but there would be obstacles that only Mudra you face up to, interactions being the most significant, eg combat.
Mudra has his advantages as well. His primary combat ability is the use of shadows as weapons, but not in the traditional sense, he’d conjure up shadows and make them swallow people or things. They could also be used as a giant tool to help manipulate something. This would be especially useful during puzzles.
With the abilities and powers aside, the design of my character would keep people in awe, as you move the shadowy wisps coming from behind you, the long sweeping movements of Mudra and the sharp, agile movements of the Shadow. He’d just be a wonderful character to play as, both in aesthetics and practicality.
Wednesday, 14 May 2014
Life Drawing - Session #3
This was at the Cathedral again only this time we were doing perspective drawings. Will took us round the back of the Cathedral where the various layers built on top of one another to create a stacked look. It wasn't too challenging to map out fairly quickly. The only problem I had was making it fit the perspective, as my eye level was low, the building should've been coming into the centre point at I was drawing it as opposed to straight up.
I am happy with the end result, I felt I captured the light correctly and kept the drawing accurate to the subject.
I am happy with the end result, I felt I captured the light correctly and kept the drawing accurate to the subject.
The next task we had was to draw what we had just drawn, or something similar, but with our own imagination added, so manipulate it in some way. I decided to go with a worn down/derelict feel. Including trees and vines coming out of the Cathedral as well as sections that had worn away.
Sunday, 11 May 2014
Commedia dell'arte
'A type of comedy developed in Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries and characterized by improvisation from a standard plot outline and the use of stock characters, often in traditional masks and costumes.'
This was a suggested topic for me to look into because of one of the ideas for my character. As Mudra has no dialogue and communicated using gestures, I decided to go towards the masked appearance of french mime artists. This lead on to this, as Commedia dell'arte is based around masks and is actually where Punch and Judy originated.
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This was a suggested topic for me to look into because of one of the ideas for my character. As Mudra has no dialogue and communicated using gestures, I decided to go towards the masked appearance of french mime artists. This lead on to this, as Commedia dell'arte is based around masks and is actually where Punch and Judy originated.
Castagno posits that the exaggeration and distortion of the masks features is typical of the 16th century Italian artistic Renaissance. In the Commedia, the characters within are each given a specific emotion through their masks, for example happiness, sadness, confusion, mockery etc.
Tuesday, 6 May 2014
Studio Project - Normal & Specular Mapping
Wrapping my head around this was a little difficult to begin with but once I had done a couple of textures I found it easier. I downloaded a piece of software called Crazybump to create my normal and specular maps which proved effective.
Friday, 2 May 2014
Life Drawing - Session #2
This session was with Nigel at the Norwich Cathedral. This session was on composition, composing a drawing built from multiple sections of buildings to look right.
The exercise we were given was to pick out bits of the cathedral and draw them. The point was to create boundaries, so we'd draw within an even rectangle to give a nice framed image. I found this interesting and quite enjoyable especially as I got to draw in detail. Plus the Cathedral is an interesting building.
The exercise we were given was to pick out bits of the cathedral and draw them. The point was to create boundaries, so we'd draw within an even rectangle to give a nice framed image. I found this interesting and quite enjoyable especially as I got to draw in detail. Plus the Cathedral is an interesting building.
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