Texture painting the treasure chest

 I have been painting in photoshop for a while before starting this course, but I have never done anything like painting a texture. After finishing the treasure chest, which took a fair amount of time, I was excited to bring it to life. Photoshop is a program that I am more familiar with, so going back to work in it felt something like going home from a long trip. 

After getting a hold on the Treasure Chest's  UW Map, I have started to sketch my ideas on top of it in Photoshop. I did not want to go to crazy with the concept, since the 3d model of the chest already looked antique, no matter what. So, going to crazy with the textures would have resulted in inconsistency. 

With the techniques that were shown in the tutorial, that I personally have not used before, I have painted in the textures, which were wood, metal, flowers for the inside of the treasure chest, etc. Each material has been painted on a different layer in black and white, the colours being added after that, which was so unusual for me since I am used to painting with colours. Even if I find that incredibly fun, for a project like this one, that would have been a nightmare, cause the industry requires lots of adjustments on people's work while working on something, and having the colours added after helps a lot.

After all of that was done, seeing the treasure chest come to life felt so rewarding.  This was a more complex exercise than the dagger one, which got me excited to start my shop project. 

The struggle of working in 3D

When I was deciding which course at University I should choose to apply to, I wanted to find one that would mix the thing that I am most passionate about, but also good at, which is drawing, and my number one hobby, which is playing video games. The perfect mix was Game Art. Even tho I did not have any experience with working in 3D before joining the course, I have always been excited about learning how to that. 

When I actually started studying game art, my excitement for learning 3D modelling got mixed with fear. It is a subject I have no background with and seeing how fast everything was moving scared me. I found the user interface of 3DS Max extremely complicated, but I used to think the same thing about Photoshop when I started using it. 

If the table and chairs exercise introduced me to the basics, the dagger and the treasure chest showed me just how complicated 3DS Max can be. I realized how important making a plan is before actually starting to model the desired object. You have to know exactly what shapes you should start with, and not just improvise on the spot, or at least that is what I find to be the best strategy. 

Starting with the dagger exercise, I want to say that I felt very good about myself after finishing it, but the process was a very difficult one. I was still not used to the UI of 3DS Max, and also with the shortcuts. Following the tutorial was slightly difficult since when I was pressing pause, the video would start playing again by itself after 5 seconds. I have talked to some of my colleagues, and they have encountered the same issue. I did not try to make it my own, of course, I have made some minor tweaks, but not major ones since I was not feeling confident enough to do that. I mainly stuck to the model presented in the tutorial. Interesting enough, I found the unwrapping part way easier and the process more enjoyable.

When I got to the treasure chest, I was already more comfortable with 3ds max, having the previous experience with the dagger, and that made the process a lot smoother. Of course, I was still struggling a little, took me a lot more time to complete it than the length of the tutorial, but I did not encounter any major issues while working on it. It was just a bigger project, from which I got to learn more techniques that are going to help me a lot in the future. One example would be the symmetry,  that spares a lot of work time. In this case too, just like with the dagger, I have tried to stick to the tutorial, since I was still struggling to follow it in the first place. Even though it was kind of a long process, I did not get bored, since there was always something new that I had to learn. The unwrapping part of this one was a lot more difficult too. Overall, I am happy with the result that I got.

Week 3: One and Two Point Perspective

This week we were required to create two still lifes in one point and two-point perspective. I have studied perspective before, and I have been using it in my drawings for some time now, so I did not struggle while working on these. The only thing I had to be very careful with was determinating the Vanishing Points and the Horizon line since if I get these wrong, my entire project is ruined. I have used the method shown in the video, and it was extremely helpful. 

The one point-perspective was a lot easier than the two-point one, obviously, but I still enjoyed working on it. I was careful not to repeat my mistakes, and I added more contrast and weight to the objects closer to the viewer, in order to simulate depth.

Initial sketch

Finished piece

I have used an F pencil, an HB, a B and a 2B one.

For the two-point perspective drawing things have become more complicated. Since the angles of the objects were different, not like in the first one, I had to work with more than two vanishing points. Some of them were even outside the paper, so I had to extend the horizon line on another one, a bigger one, that I put under the drawing. I paid attention at which object was closer to my eyes, in order to vary the contrast and line weight on this one as well.

For this one, besides the pencils used in the first one, I used a 4B, a 6B and an 8B as well.

Week 2: Line and Line Weight

I have never expected that I would be introduced to so many new techniques from the first task. But honestly, I am very happy with it. The task was to create multiple drawing of a still life that we had to put together, every drawing having a different aim.

The first task was creating three speed-line drawings, allocating around 5 minutes per drawing, focusing on capturing the form and shape. This was challenging for me, since I usually never set a time limit when I'm drawing, and I am more than surprised that I actually was able to finish every each one of them in less than 5 minutes. In order to achieve that, I did not hold back on making really thick and dark lines, to showcase the form of the objects, again, something that I have never done before. 

I have used an HB pencil for the sketch, a B for the neutral tones and 2B and 4B for the shadows.

Overall, I am really happy with the outcome, even surprised that the drawings are so similar considering that I did not look at the others while I was working on another. 

After the feedback, I realized that I should have been more gentle on the edges of the highlighted parts. Also, I should have thought of what object is closer to the eye and base my contrast on that, in order to create the illusion of a 3D space. This is something that I would keep in mind from now on while working on other projects. 

The second task was creating three gestural drawings, one with my non-dominant hand. Unfortunately, I did not understand correctly what gestural drawing actually meant, me believing that I was supposed to do a drawing as accurate as possible. 

After the feedback, I realized that that was not the case, but it was fun retraining my symmetry skills.

For this drawing, I have used an F pencil for the sketch, since it is a low contrast one, that can not make any accidental marks, and an HB for the objects' outline.

The drawing done with my left hand was something unusual that I have never done before but a very fun exercise, and I can confidently say that I am very pleased with the result, keeping in mind that I literally can not do anything with that hand. I was still able to capture the shape of the object, also the proportions. The jittery lines that I thought were going to be a problem actually build up a pleasant image.

For this drawing, I have used an HB and a 2B pencil. 

The third task was doing some blind contour drawing, again, something that I have not done before that I was anxious about. We were not allowed to look at the page while we were drawing, my eyes being basically locked on the objects the whole time. We were not allowed to lift the pencil of the page either.

Doing that was so hard since my eyes were unconsciously trying to look at the page. The first attempt was a failure from my point of view, but I actually really love the second one cause it looks so abstract, something that I have not done before.

For both drawings, I have used a 4B pencil.

For the final piece, we had to bring all the three elements together, which again, is something I have not done before. Combining drawing techniques into a single piece is something new to me, but it was so fun to get out of my comfort zone. I can not wait to do that again! In my final drawing, I have incorporated a gestural drawing, a blind contour one and one with my non-dominant hand, since I loved working on these. Also, I kept in mind the feedback that was provided and tried to make the adjustments. 

For this drawing, I have used an HB pencil, a B one and a 4b one.

Imperfections are what makes something perfect

Rise of the Tomb Raider, the sequel of the successful reboot of Tomb Raider from 2013, is a game that I would consider a masterpiece. From the carefully crafted narrative and characters to the stunning visuals that still stand out today, even if the game was released in 2015, and that says something, considering how quickly the technology evolves these days. 

photo source

One particular 3d art that stands out to me in this game is the character of Lara Croft, the protagonist. Created by the 3D artist Dan Roarty, alongside Kam Yu, Lara Croft looks completely stunning. It is clear as day that the goal was creating a character as realistic as possible with the technology that was available back then, and also with the hardware limitations that the Xbox One and the PS4 brought, and I confidently can say that they absolutely nailed it! 

Considering that the Lara Croft model from the 2013 game was already outdated in 2015, the artists had the challenge of recreating the character from scratch. The initial model was created with the help of 3D scans made of the model Megan Farquhar, but things have changed in the sequel . The face of the protagonist in the second game looks relatively different from the first one, and I have always wondered why. To elucidate the mistery, I have personally reached out to Dan Roarty on Instagram and asked him this question myself. He told me that in the second game, they had to merge the initial face of Lara from the first game with the one of the motion and voice actress Camilla Luddington, in order to get a more accurate representation of the facial expressions in-game. That made so much sense. Crystal Dynamics, the developers, have even used a new method of capturing the facial expression, called Mova, where small dots of fluorescent paint would be applied on the actress's face, in order to give the developers 7000 points of reference, which is incredible! 

What makes the character of Lara Croft so particularly interesting and fascinating is the attention to detail. Scars from the last game have been ported onto the new model to make the character as believable as possible. No human is perfect, but the funny thing is that this multitude of imperfections that were added to this character have created something perfect in the end. Also, the 3d model itself is very detailed. From individual simulated strands of hair, the visible pores on Lara's face, the model is insanely elaborate. In order for the character to seem even more real , the developers added some more features, in order to achieve that goal. Subsurface scattering on Lara's skin, the props that are atached to her being individualy simulated in order to move naturally, these being just some small examples. They even went far and beyond to simulate the clothing that she is wearing, individual creases appearing every time she moves throughout the environment. On top of that, they also simulated Lara's muscles, so every time Lara makes a move, the right muscles that are required naturally flex, or relax, depending on the case. 

photo source

I want to end this post stating that I personally love this piece of artwork and that I admire so much the artists that have worked on it. Without even searching up the facts, it is more than obvious that there has been so much work involved in the process of creating Lara, and I am sure that everyone can say that it was more than worth it in the end. 

photo source

Alternative link sources for the images I have used:

 -Mova Picture

 -Megan Farquhar 3d scans

Being reintroduced to photoshgop

 I have been using photoshop for quite some time, at the start for editing pictures and then for actual painting. I learned most of the things I know from tutorials on youtube, and some things on my own. When I actually started to study it at university, I realized that I used most of the tools differently, and I found out way easier ways of doing things then the ones I used to use. I did that by working on this sphere but also by experimenting with the brushes.

The first exercise I did for the digital art course was the one with the Basic Surface rendering, which really put my mind to work since I had to calculate exactly how these shadows and highlights would fall all in my head. It was a simple task but really fun to execute.