Working on the concept and textures of my shop (Visual fix Checklist)

 At this point, the 3d programming module and the digital art one seem to be merging together. There is no one without the other. So, when I saw what I had to do for the shop project, I already knew I would be spending a lot of time working in photoshop. And yes, that was actually the case.

Since the house had to be designed by me from scratch, I had to create a blueprint to determinate the shape of it, but also for choosing the colour palette. After lots of scrapped ideas, I settled with this concept:

This helped me so much while working in 3ds max, and I will definitely repeat this process every time I work on something in 3D that has to be designed by me. 

Working on the textures has been a faster process than I thought, mainly because I used all of these techniques that I have learned during this term, like starting with a base colour on a shape, then using that to make a selection, which let me paint directly on the material itself. Learning how to use the custom brushes helped me a lot, too, since with them I was able to add this realistic looking textures onto my materials.

Make a tilling texture is easier than I would have imagined, the cleaning up process being minimal since I would make sure there were no seems from the sketch stages with offset. 

The special thing about my shop project is the alpha textures I have made, that being the case for the hay rooftop, the foliage and also the flowers. Again, the process of making an alpha texture was a lot easier than I have expected.

As a reflection on my work so far, I would say that I am satisfied with the results, but there is still a lot of room for improvement, especially on the technique part. There are still a lot of things that I have to learn how to do in photoshop, but I am happy with the evolution that I had so far from the start of this term. 

Week 8: Measured Constructive Drawing

 In this task, we had to create a still life composition, adding to every object boundaries through using volumetric blocks. Honestly, I think this was a really enjoyable and easy task for me. I easily was able to identify the shapes of the volumetric blocks, without having too much to think about.

For this task, I chose a kettle and a mug from the kitchen. I made sure that the proportions were right, that the symmetry was correct before outlining the object at the end.

Final piece

I added the objects into the scene from the back to the front. For the early sketch, I have used an F pencil, moving on to an HB and B later in the process.

 I can happily say that I am very satisfied with the result, and I would love to use this method again in the future.

Planning of the project

 Planning is one of the most important stages in the development of a project. Deciding what you have to do and how you are going to break that down into different tasks is very important. Time management is something that has to be taken very seriously, even more so when you have a deadline.

I broke up the Shop Project into 4 different tasks: designing the shop, painting the textures, modelling the shop in 3DS Max and setting up the project in unreal engine 4. Also, I decided that the best approach is to do the tasks exactly in the order mentioned here, in order for the project to have a logical development.

When talking about time management, I decide to allocate a maximum of 2 hours a day for working on it, to avoid getting bored or overwhelmed. I am also planning on finishing the project at least one week before the deadline, in order to have time to fix any issues that might appear or any mistakes that have been made in the process. 

I can not wait to see what the results will be, and hopefully, I will be able to translate all the ideas I have into the final piece. 

Week 7: Orthographic drawing

 In this task, I had to project a symmetrical object and an asymmetrical one onto the paper from the front view, side view and the top view. I chose my props to be some bottles of perfume I had laying around my room.

 I had to make sure everything was accurate, so I measured everything carefully.

The symmetrical object was really easy to project. 

For this drawing, I have used an F pencil for the sketch and a B for the outline at the end.

The asymmetrical one took more time but was still really easy to project. I tried to keep these projections as simple as possible, just as it was shown in the pictures of the task.

For this drawing, I have used the same variety of pencils as in the first one.

I think I would have been able to add more detail to these drawings, but I think that would have taken the result away from the main goal of the task, which is being able to visualize an object from every angle. 

The Flower Shop

 When I found out that we are supposed to make a shop for our final project, I got honestly excited and scared at the same time. It is a big project, which will require lots of work, dedication and not lastly, motivation. 

With all the restrictions we have to work with, such as texture size, the size of the house, etc, came the freedom of choosing what we want to sell in the shop, and of course, how the shop is going to look like. I wanted this project to be as personal as it could be, so choosing what I wanted to sell was a thoughtful process. I wanted it to reflect my fun personality, but also my art style and direction. In the past, I have been criticized by professors for making things "too beautiful", more beautiful than they are in real life. If back then I was doubting myself, today I see this trait as a strength and I am utilizing it at its full potential. So, what can be more beautiful than flowers? 

I ended up deciding to make a flower shop, but more like one from the past, around the time of mediaevalism. I wanted it to look welcoming, almost like it was coming out of a fairytale. Before starting the working process of any project, I like to plan everything in advance. In this case, that meant experimenting with ideas, finding references, deciding what the final piece would look like, and then making a blueprint of the house from every angle and also with the colour palette.

In order to communicate the idea of an old building, I decided to incorporate a hay rooftop, that is going to be executed with tilling alpha textures, in order to give it depth. Another asset that is going to help induce this idea is the chimney, since people used to heat the houses with fire back then.

Also, to give the house its identity of a flower shop I decided to add some foliage and flowers on the rooftop, almost like they have been growing on it for quite some time. Also, in the back of the house, I decided to add some flower pots, in other words, a display of the products for the costumers. Both the foliage and the flowers are going to be made with alphas. 

Week 5: Perspective Grids

On this task, since I had the freedom to choose either to draw two final pieces in one point and two-point perspective, or one in 3 point perspective, I decided to go with the second option, since I felt like I was still struggling with that.

I decided that the third Vanishing point should be under the horizon line, so when it got to making the thumbnail sketches, I tried to stay as close to the ground possible in a corner of my room. Also, the goal with the thumbnail sketches was to help me build up my final piece and make things as simple as they can be.

For these sketches, I have used an HB pencil and a white one.

Having these has helped me a lot scaling the drawing upon a bigger paper. 

adding the horizon line, vanishing points and
 making all the guidelines

defining the shape

After that

 I went in and added the details, of course, still using the vanishing points.

For the final piece, I have used an HB and a 2B pencil.

It felt really rewarding seeing how I could transfer a real 3d place onto a paper with such accuracy due to the use of perspective. 

Pre-rendering vs Real-time rendering

Optimization has a very important role in the video game industry. Nobody wants a game that can not run, so developers have to make sure that everything runs smoothly before actually releasing a game. Not everyone has a mega computer in their house that can simulate an incredibly detailed video game world without having a huge effect on the performance. Most people have a simple console at home, which is restraining, but also very helpful because the developers know exactly what they are working with.

Pre-rendering is a method of rendering mainly used for movies, animations, architecture, where the goal is to obtain a result as realistic as possible. It is usually done on supercomputers and each frame can take up to several minutes, or even hours, depending on the case, to render. The images that result after the process is done can be breathtaking, but very expensive and time-consuming. Usually, movies that use this type of rendering have huge budgets, and lots of employers that work individually on the 3d models, lighting, visual effects, simulations of particles, etc. The actual process of rendering is very demanding on the hardware, that is why a supercomputer is needed, whit an incredible processing power. A good example of a pre-rendered movie is Frozen 2 made by Disney, which had a budget of 150 million dollars.

Image source

Image source

Real-time rendering is a method used primarily for video games, where the game runs on the player's pc or console, where each frame has to be rendered in a matter of milliseconds. The machine is basically displaying the image just after it has been rendered. Obviously, the quality of the render could never compete with the pre-rendered ones done by supercomputers, but that does not mean that developers can't use some tricks to make the game look closely good to a pre-rendered movie. Engines like Unreal or Unity simulate reality in a cost-effective way. With the restrictions that the users' PCs or consoles bring, the developers have to optimize the game so well, to avoid poor performance.

A good example of a real-time rendered game that still manages to look stunning because of the developers' tweaks is The Last of Us Part 2.

Image Source

Image Source

 

Week 4: Three Point Perspective

Previously, I have said that I have past experience with one and two-point perspective. With the 3 point perspective? Not so much. Of course, I have used it before, but not on the level that I used the other two. 

Study of architecture is not something I have personally focused on before, but I am very excited to pursue it in the future.

I have decided to draw a building from my hometown that I personally like. Since I was not home I asked my sister to take a picture for me. The time of day was not the one I wanted, So I decided to change completely the lighting. 

Before actually working on my final piece, I had to do some thumbnail sketches, that helped me so much in the process. I wanted them to simplify my work, so one has a more simple geometry, one a more detailed one, and one the actual shape of the building.

For these sketches, I have used an HB pencil but also a white one.

After that, it was the time for the construction on my final piece, which was a bumpy road if I am being honest. After all the guidelines were done, I realized that I had been using an erased vanishing point, which altered the entire shape of the house. Luckily, I was able to fix it and move on to the shading. 

In the final piece, I wanted to add a strong contrast between the light and the shadows, so that is what I did. I also kept in mind not to add much detail to the object further away.

For this drawing, I have used a range of pencils, from HB, 2B, B to 6B and 8B

Overall, I am happy with the result, even if I think it could have gone better. I will definitely need to practice more with 3 point perspective.