Finished my trash project

When I finished my treasure chest I was well in the first
week of my next project THE TRASH. With the trash project I was not worrying
about it that much, as it was just a bunch of boxes all placed randomly. My
initial thought was that I wanted to get it over and done with because I wanted
to start on the mortal engine project. It took me about 2 weeks to finish the
trash project which is a record for me as I never finished a project so quick.
It just shows that I am getting faster in using 3d max which is fantastic.
Although I did say to myself that I would try and add more objects other than
boxes....I kind of added a lot boxes:/ however I did add a big cone to the mix
which is not a box everything else is pretty much boxed shaped.

More than the modelling I particularly like the use of my
texturing, not only did I make it look dirty and scruffy (I think) I also added
a small text on the box, which says;

12/12/2011 WAB

Keep area clean or pay 1p fine

All proceeds go to JRahman Corp

If you’re wondering what WAB means then it stands for WEN
AM BAK!!!

Task 16: Elements of game design, part seven: level design

Level design is similar to environment design, the way an
environment artist would start planning what he would have in the scene a level
designer would also have to start planning its process. Level design can fall
in different categories when it comes to developing, it can be as missions,
levels or stages. Level design is not something that is done visually (which is
widely regarded by a lot people) it is more to do with intellectual side in
terms of planning and construction within a game formality.

Level design usually starts with concept art, sketches, renderings, and physical models. When the initial
process of planning is complete then these concepts will go in to documents,
and thus making a model of an environment.

I think planning the
level is vital as it not only allows the fundamentals to be laid but it also
allows the basic shapes to be in place. Planning is not something that will
allow an artist to finish all his work, but it does allow the work to be completed
at a faster and a much smoother rate. If you think about it when an artist
makes a concept for a level, rather than having to think of what to do next he
would have everything he needs in front him, this in turn would allow the level
to be created at a much smoother rate. The planning process in level design is
called Preproduction this is just a document stating what you are going to
create? And how it will look and play?

I think level design needs
to have a few elements which are required in terms of building a good
environment. Planning is first and foremost, because without planning there are
no real fundamentals. Secondly is
Visuals, taking in regards to color theory, lighting, architecture, landscape
and also what the player would see and not see. Thirdly is Gameplay, which
includes the players movements in the level, how fast he would move and what he
would encounter on the environment.

Most of these issues are usually
completed by the level designer who is responsible for creating environments
and scenarios using level editor. Some of the celebrated level designers are
from PC First Person shooters such as John Romero who made the levels for Doom.

Many believe that level
design is just to do with the artistic side of developing, this is not so as it
also requires a lot of technical process. This is due to the amount of conceptualizing
that needs to be done before any of the creating can be done.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_design

http://www.worldofleveldesign.com/categories/level_design_tutorials/why-i-failed-for-years-at-level-design-and-game-environments.php

Finished the Treasure Chest

So I finally finished my treasure chest the other day actually a few days after the deadline..... I know
I should not have but there is always something I forget to add. This year we
have the freedom of working towards our own deadline which was pretty daunting
at first as I thought about how I would manage projects. Last year at every
deadline we had our work marked if it was not handed in time then it just would
not have been marked it was as simple as that. However this year we have to
manage our own time but all the work needs to be handed in before Christmas.

So back to the treasure chest. I was actually quite pleased with the final
outcome. It came out just as I wanted with a few errors of course. I did not
want to copy the exact reference image; I wanted to add my own twist. So I
decided I would make the legs a bit different, instead of making the top of the
legs connect to each other I made them go in to the main box.

This did not change the main basic shape but it did make it a bit unique as mine was the only one that
had this. I also changed some of the colours instead of adding a wood texture
all around I played with the colours a bit. On the legs I added a plastic
texture to the wood part which also gives it a nice feel.

I am pleased with what I have achieved considering I was gobsmacked when I first saw
the project last year. I thought to myself that looks very hard to do. But now
that it is over with I am well chuffed with the end result :)

Task 15: Elements of game design, part six: visual composition

Painting, sculpting or sketching, all of these need some sort of
composition to make the final image appealing. Without the right composition
the image would just look like another piece art work without any sort of
meaning. Composition is usually used to arrange certain elements to form
something. R. Berdan mentions “Effective
images are those that command attention and communicate some feeling to an
audience. Capturing a "feeling" and your viewers' attention is a
demanding task that requires practice, experimentation and study”. I think
an image needs to capture the audience in terms of what their feeling and what
they are thinking when they look at an image. This is something that is missing
from a lot of work that people do including mine; I think this is vital as most
people produce work for the audience so the audience needs to feel attracted to
the image.

To organise a scene is very difficult it requires a lot attention
to detail. I think it is a lot easier for a painter to come with a nice
compositional art; however I think if an artist goes to photograph something
then it would be a lot more challenging for him to get the right the scene, as he
would need to go out and search for he’s desired scene. But I think a painter
can just put down on paper on how he wants he’s final image to be laid out. I think
natural composition is usually the best lay out for forests and jungles, with a
few minor placements of your own.

For artists the composition for any scene requires planning, an
artist needs to plan where he would put objects to make a believe atmosphere.
There needs to be countless amounts conceptualising to get the right
composition, only then can someone come up with an interesting scene. R. Berdan
also says “Improving our visual sensitivity requires
quieting our minds, relaxing, and preparing by learning as much as we can about
our preferred subjects”, this is also something that needs to be taken in
consideration. In my experience I have found that I cannot work when there are
loud noises. For instance if I am drawing I need to be alone with only my
sketchbook and pencil.

Learning about something before we start to interact with it
is also an interesting fact, as this allows us to better understand what we are
about to tackle. When we see a scene that is interesting we need to isolate
everything that is not necessary and focus on the important visual elements.

People should study intensely on composition; this would make the
artists think a lot more when they are producing a sketch and also in turn come
up with a final outcome.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_(visual_arts)

http://photoinf.com/General/Robert_Berdan/Composition_and_the_Elements_of_Visual_Design.htm

http://goshen.edu/art/ed/Compose.htm