Week 24- Classicism and Neoclassicism. Focus on Human Figure

 With this week's task, I decided to take the opportunity and practice more the drawing of the human form. I have started with a quick sketch, being mindful of the proportions, but also the perspective shortening. 

After that, I added some shading, trying to define the muscle structure better, I have also added a darker background to make the shapes stand out better.

I think this drawing is correct from an anatomy and perspective standpoint but could have used some more work and detailing.

For this drawing, I have used an HB, B, 2B, and 3B pencils.

week 23

This academic year we have been introduced to lots of different techniques and materials that I have not approached before. One of them was the use of pastels. Technique wise they are somehow similar to charcoal. They smudge quite easily, but that helps a lot while blending the colors.

Working on the drawing in the studio was quite challenging. It was the first time using this media and  I panicked a little. At the same time, I ended up choosing the wrong color palette, the green and bright yellow giving a very sickening look. After I got home, I noticed some issues with the proportions and perspective as well, so I decided to start again from scratch.

This time around I have chosen a warmer color palette from the start, to avoid getting that same effect.

Another important aspect to me was figuring out a nice composition, pose and angle for my drawing. After some thought and lots of searches, I was finally able to find one. With everything gathered, I started making the sketch using a black charcoal stick.

Having the outline ready, I added the base colours of my drawing uniformly, so that I will have a nice base when I start polishing it.

The next step was adding in the details, revisiting, and focusing on one single element at a time. Getting the face to look nice was quite challenging since the pastels were quite thick, even if I sharped them, and also with the repetitive smudging. After some hassle, I was finally able to get it right. At this stage I have also used a black charcoal pencil, to outline the features of the face more.

I have also ended up adding stuff to the background, making some nice shapes that resemble some bedsheets. Adding those tied up the composition quite nicely.

I am quite happy with the final result. It was really challenging to get to it, but I think that it was definitely worth it.

For this drawing, I used colored pastels, charcoal sticks, and a charcoal pencil. 

Texturing the Husky

 For the texturing of my animal, I decided to approach 2 methods. The fur and the leather straps are going to be made in Substance Painter, and the other elements like the cloth, baskets, eyes are going to be made in designer. 

With this in mind, I started working on the textures in designer first. 

I made the cloth one taking inspiration from this tutorial I found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAI8jRBR23w&list=LL&index=39

For the basket, I have taken a look at this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA6NVq_RiIc&list=LL&index=38

For the eyes I have taken inspiration from this tutorial and also the one provided on blackboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq7ft4Jspho&list=LL&index=36

Of course, I had to do quite a few adjustments to get the desired look. 

Painting the fur in Painter was not as hard as I thought. I have used a variety of hair brushes, trying to follow the flow of the hair. Considering the fact that my previous projects were quite lacking on the roughness map, I took extra care to make sure this time I will have a more complex one. 

After I finished the fur, and also added some final; touches to the nose and paws, it was time to import my textures from designer to substance. Considering that i made sure when I unwrapped my saddel that the UVs war straight on the UV sheet, the tilling worked nicely, the only thing that I needed to adjust was the scaling. 

For the leather strips, I have used a combination of fill layers, masks, and generators, while also adding some details such as scratches with brushes.

This new approach had made my work improve drastically, and I am very happy with how things are coming together. 

The way that meshes show the role and use of an animal in the gameplay and the game world

Thinking about this topic, the first thing that comes to my mind is the level of detail. An animal that would be seen from a closer viewpoint and for a longer period of time on a player's screen should be way more detailed than one that is just running around in the background. The best example that I can give is the birds in games. For the ones that are seen from further away, the geometry and textures are very simple, considering that there is no way the player would see them from up close. On the other spectrum, a bird like the eagle in Assasin's Creed would require a lot more attention to detail, being treated like any other character.

This applies in regards to the rigging and skinning as well, animals that are seen in the background having a very simple bone system, while animals that are way more into the focus having more complex ones, with additional bones depending on the case. 

Topology is something that also comes to my mind while thinking about this, an animal that would be shown in a cutscene requires some nice topology on the face for the facial animation, while an animal that would be seen walking in the world would not need something like that. 

Finalising the body and face sculpt

 After some further feedback from my professor Katarina and also looking at an anatomy statue in real life, I finally dynameshed and zremeshed everything together and started working on the body.

I spent a lot of time trying to get the anatomy and proportions right, while also focusing on the muscle structure, since my character will be quite muscular, considering her role. 

While doing this, I also kept in mind the areas that were going to be covered, and how thin the clothing was going to be, If the clothing was thin, that meant that musculature was going to be showing, so that meant that those areas were wort working more on. On the other spectrum, since she is going to wear pretty heavy boots, the feet do not need that much attention. The only thing that i kept in mind for them was the sizing.

After getting the body done I revisited the face and added more details to things such as the ears, nose, eyes, etc... I also spent some more time trying to make her resemble the model more. 

I am very happy and satisfied with how this turned out.

Thinking about the gladiator I did in the past, this process is a lot more intuitive and enjoyable and has a way better outcome. 

I still have to revisit the hands since I have only done the general shape, but I know that if I finish them now, I will be spending way too much time on that, so I will be moving on to the clothing part for now. 

Week 21- Using Indian Ink and Ink Washes

 I wanna start by saying that I have never used Indian ink before, Of course, I do have some experience with painting, but not specifically with Indian ink. 

This is a very unforgiving material. It stains the page instantly, having no way of erasing what you have previously done. Making an outline is out of the question, the only way of doing that is using a pencil beforehand. I chose not to do that though and stuck to the techniques that Teodora was shoeing us.

More exactly, that meant me getting loose. Not thinking about the stuff that I was doing too much, adding strokes roughly where I thought the shadows were going to be, starting with lighter values, and then moving on to darker ones. To achieve that, I had to use some diluted ink, since it is very pigmentated. To be honest, this was a really fun process that I would definitely give another chance in the future.

Unfortunately, I did end up ruining my mixed approach painting, having too many outlines that were flattening the image. For the lightweight one, I struggled from the get-go. As a result, I decided to remake all of them, being mindful of the mistakes I have done before.

I made the first one was made using the same approaches as the one from class, but I did think more about the proportions, and I added more tonal variation and detail. I also decided to add some stuff in the background because the picture looked too empty.

For the second one, I started working the same as I did with the first one, but I did not add so much detail and variation, since those were going to be read through the outlines. I also tried not to add too many of these, leaving some spots to blend with the background.

For the linework one, I decided to make a sketch first, which really helped during the process.

Getting the smaller details was quite hard considering that they had to be painted straight now and I couldn't erase anything, even with very small brushes.

I did end up giving her some long hair cause I thought it would fit the style nicely. I do wish that I wouldn't have added so many lines to the face though.

Deciding to remake those was definitely the right call, having improved considerably in comparison with the first versions.