I actually managed to cut the triangle count on my model by over half for the different level of detail! Im really happy with this although it does make me wonder how inefficient my other model was if this one looks pretty much the same.... hmmmm. Ah well it's all part of the learning process!

A friend pointed out my model is too shiny, I need to sort this out so that the different materials look like their real life examples.



There are a few issues with the LOD atm... for starts the AO map is seeping into different areas... but I can sort that out. There are a couple of smoothing problems aswell wwhich keep cropping up, but again.. I can sort that out with a little grinding. The LOD model is 2992 triangles with a 1024 diffuse map (although I am not sure if that should be down sized for this model).

Self Portrait

Finished texturing myself and have used an AO map to bake in the shadows. Am now going to rig it and create a different level of detail and take it to about 3000 tris. This model is 6382 tris.

Texturing

Have begun to texture my model. As Heather always says to, I decided to start putting something on before refining it. At this stage the textures are no where near complete but I am proud of how it is turning out. The photos that I have used for reference have been really easy to use and this is probably due to the type of lighting used when we took the photos. They gave an over all flash which got rid of any shadow information on my face or the rest of my body. If I have to do more characters I may ask friends to go to the studios with me to take photos so that I can use them for reference.

the Christmas doooooooooooooom

It feels like Christmas.... ITS WRONG!!!! But it feels so good!!!

The time has not yet come! Keep your excitement hidden Simon, a carol service and a Christmassy film should not make you feel this way! You are 19 now and you are not going to get that £150 millenium falcon on the 25th that you so long for.

It's ok people, I do definately remember the meaning of Christmas: In fact I celebrate it very much. I love Jesus, soooo much : I just happen to love the benefits that come with the festival... yummy.

I realise I am probably spelling everything wrong, but I don't care. I don't have time for this blogging malarky. I've got to go and lie awake all night thinking about all the goodies that I shall receive. Oh yes, and of course the pies.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm pies.

More and more of MEEEE

Finished up the main shape of my self portrait today! I am very happy with it! Seeing as I have use very few polys compared to the allowance I will use the remaining polys to make myself some accessories such as headphones, a jacket and maybe some other goodies. Like I mentioned before, I will be using lots of see through planes to make up the hair. I have used about 3100 polys.

Donnie Darko

The films that we have been watching recently in lectures have been of a dystopian theme and now we are moving on to looking at films that play tricks with narrative. Donnie Darko is the first of these films.

I had seen this film before, but when I watched it for a second time and made notes about the themes within the film I found I understood a lot more of the techniques that the film makers had used to create the film as a whole. I was particularly interested in the themes running throughout the film and was actually surprised at some of them as they weren’t apparent the first time I had watched it. Here are some of my thoughts on the film, mostly from my notes so I apologise if they are quite disjointed.

Within the first scene it is clear that there is going to be something psychologically dark about this film: The viewer is introduced to Donnie lying in the middle of a mountain road in his pyjamas who appears to not have a clue where he is. Upon arriving home, allusions to Halloween point towards a significant event in the future. Once Frank appears and warns of the end of the world, the whole film becomes shrouded in paranoia and the feeling of impending doom. This feeling escalates as Donnie doesn’t know how to deal with what he has been told and the things happening around him.

The main themes are shown quite obviously in the “fear and love” scene in which the teacher tries to get Donnie to place a scenario onto a scale that only has two answers: fear, and love. Donnie becomes frustrated and angry due to the fact that life just isn’t that simple. I would say that one of the main themes in this film is to do with decision making and Donnie’s inability to choose his actions. His complete overwhelming fear of loneliness leads him to do exactly what Frank (his imaginary friend) tells him to.

Donnie as a character is obviously troubled which is evident when he starts talking about his past in which he burned down an abandoned house and ended up in prison. Not only this, I would argue that his character shows signs of being sexually disturbed, especially when he gets hypnotised and cannot be taken off the topic of sex no matter what the therapist says to him. He is clearly a very intelligent individual that finds it very difficult to deal with his emotions and mental state. His girlfriend says his name sounds like a superheroes name and he says “what makes you think I’m not” which suggests that he may think that he is able to do a greater amount of good or that he just has illusions of grandeur.

His whole attitude is quite immature and seems greatly influenced by films and comics, he mentions at one point his love of “Back to the Future” and how futuristic everything is. Also how similar everything is to the book “The Destructors” is a suggestion that he may have stole ideas from it. Is this whole scenario simply a construction of his twisted imagination being influenced by the things around him?

Another theme that kept coming up was “predestination” and the will of God. Donnie can see what is going to happen in the future, yet he cannot stop it. He argues with a teacher who is teaching him privately about time travel that he cannot choose what he is going to do as it is within the will of God. However when his therapist asks him about why he does what Frank says, he says it is because if he doesn’t he will have nobody left: while he keeps doing what Frank says he at least has him. When asked whether he believes in God he quickly changes subject, most likely out of fear for denying something that could be real. Maybe he is doing the will of God, after all he did burn down the house of a man distributing child pornography without knowing he did that at all.

It could be argued that the entire film after the disaster at the house could have been the result of his deteriorating mental state although there are many signs that this is not true as main characters are shown surviving a better life without him once he has died. Also the jet engine still came from nowhere, the film really gives you no choice but to believe that it all truly happened.

The actual narrative in the film jumps from being literal to figurative. Real world events are explained by the fiction that Donnie is studying in class and everything that is happening around him seems to relate to his personal struggle. Nothing in the film is irrelevant to what is happening.

Over all, I found Donnie Darko to be a very exciting film and so intriguing that I could probably write about it for years! Unfortunately my other projects are calling my name. I would recommend the film to anybody who wants to really think about something deeply.

A little bit more of me!

Did a massive amount to my self portrait today. Managed to model the body, arms, legs and hands. Now I have to just attach them all and make them realistic, checking that the proportions are right... I am already thinking the arms arent quite right compared to the hands... they just dont fit properly. However, that is a job for another day. Tomorow I think I will get down to creating a torso for my clay model of the head to complete my character.

Mr Old Man

Did a sculpey model of a male head today that was based on a concept that I drew up. The concept was based on a guy that I had done a quick sketch of in a bar and developed. I REALLY enjoyed making this and surprisingly I made it all today in about 3 hours casual work. SOOO much fun! I am really enjoying making any kind of character based work, especially when it is sculpture related or on 3Ds max. I am starting to think that I would preferably like to be a character artist of some kind or work in that kind of field. Of course I will be considering this more over the next couple of months.

Going Crazy?

Last night I learnt a valuable lesson.

Yesterday I slept until mid-day, which was a much needed sleep. I did this with the knowledge that the following evening (last night) i would be giving out hot drinks at the student union with the others from the Christian Union. This was so that as people came out of clubs they could have a hot drink and a sandwhich so that we could show a little love and get some great convos going with people.

Now the problem with that was that it was going to be at 2 in the morning... and so as it came to late evening I decided to watch the film Brazil with my house mate and then make my way to bed for a little sleep before I went out. This is where I made a grave mistake. Brazil is a very surreal and slightly disturbing film. I went to sleep for a couple of hours only to wake up not knowing where I was... what was real or even WHO I was. The combination of surreal ideas being planted in my head and lack of any kind of decent sleep or sleeping pattern resulted in me feeling a little bit crazy.

The moral of the story... sleep well, at regular times and don't watch weird films before bed or you may wake up as confused as I did!

Learning from this... I am off to bed... without any strange images of Bob Hoskins in my head. Yes it is as weird as it sounds.

My self portrait

Pretty much finished the model for the head of my self portrait in 3ds max. There are improvements to be made to the mesh but Im sure that I can do that once I have done other parts of the body. Once I have some textures on the model I intend to make the hair using lots of planes and alpha textures. This is fun!

I've used about 1000 polys at this point but I think i can lose about 20.

My day as a movie star!

My day yesterday ended up making me feel somewhat of a movie star! It started with a nice early 8 o'clock start (a time I had started to beleive was mythological) and I headed down to the university with my house mates to do some filming in the green-screen rooms. All I had to do was take a drink and act poisoned and die... a simple task for anybody with a simple acting bone in their body, a feature that I'm sure God left out when he drew up my blueprints.

The whole experience made me feel like I was in Star Wars, you know... the bad ones. I wasn't complaining! The interesting thing about it was the use of lighting to create certain moods. The shot we were doing was intended to have a film noir feels and so a heavy spot light was used to create heavy drop-shadow.



Soon after I had finished filming with my friends I headed on to the photography studios in order to both take pictures of my maquettes and to get some reference pictures of myself so that I could create myself in 3Ds max. The lighting rigs were surprising: a large amount of lights were used in order that there was no particular shadow and create a flat lighting. All of the flash lights were attached to the actual camera.




Once a few of us had enjoyed the photoshoot (a little too much), a seperate lighting rig was set up so that I could take pictures of my models. These were set up so that we could have a directional light. The guy helping me out explained that often people have the preconception that you can just take a picture and it will turn out the same as you see it at the time. However, he went on to explain that the directional light simply helps to pick up surface details and create shadow, it is the flash that creats the exposure needed to get a successful picture.





It was a very exciting morning and it actually left me quite exausted! I think I may go and book the photographic studios again at some point so that I can take some more pictures for reference such as poses and maybe some more of my models could be presented better this way.

Personal Development

Over the last couple of weeks I have been studying how the muscles and bones are structured within the human body. This was so that I could draw them in a more believable way. I have noticed a real increase in my confidence to drawing and sculpting the human form and I would highly reccomend other people doing a similar project. Wenever I felt I didnt understand a part of the body or thought it was difficult to draw I gave it a go after looking at my anatomy and drawing books for at least an hour.



This has lead to me being more confident with creating interesting characters. This one was based on a quick sketch of a guy in a pub. You wanna find weird looking people? Go into a pub during the day!




Once you start to understand the bones at a simple level, it becomes easier to draw because you know what to expect out of each shape. Another thing that surprised me was that actually sculpting the shapes helped tremendously to help me understand how they worked.

Adventures in Cinema - The City of Lost Children

The City of Lost Children is a French film directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, made in 1995. The film is set in a supposedly, post-apocalyptic, surrealist society. A scientist kidnaps children in order to steal their dreams as he cannot have any of his own. This has resulted in him ageing too quickly and in order to save his own life he relies on finding a child that can help him experience any kind of positive dream.

Early on in the film a strong man in a freak show loses his little brother when the scientist sends “the Cyclops” to collect some children to sample their dreams. These characters are a kind of religious cult who have decided to blind themselves to the world in order to hide them selves from its sinfulness. They rely on a mechanical eye to see in a more sterile manner. The strong man (who is simply called One) is played by Ron Pearlman. His character is an ex-sailor who speaks French very crudely, in the same stereotypical way that The Hulk breaks his sentences. One is joined by a young orphan called Miette, a character who has very many similarities to Little-Red Riding Hood or Alice from Alice In Wonderland.

Many of the characters in the film borrow from the kind of fairy tale mentality of a child but the surrounding world seems corrupt and polluted: Riveted surfaces, dirty sewers and an oil rig are the main settings for the film. This juxtaposition works wonderfully and along with using a striking colour palette this suggests a completely alternate universe for you to explore. Interestingly, the main theme of the film is dreams and nightmares and the world seems very much like a twisted, nightmarish version of what it is supposed to be. I think that the best way to describe the experience would be like watching a cruel world through the eyes of an innocent child.

There are many references within the script to things such as “The Big Bad Wolf” and “The Sandman” and the characters themselves also fit very familiar roles to the ones that you may have heard in children’s stories. For example:

The Uncle (literally a brain on life support) is the intelligence figure. He represents logic and science. He is also the sandman character in the film and at times seems to act as a conscience for the scientist.
The evil twin sisters who run the orphanage speak at exactly the same time and are effectively one person (although you could dispute this as they fight later in the film).
One, the strong man, is a physically powerful character with very little brains but a big heart.
Miette represents the innocence of children and is the only character in the film that is not filthy or grotesque to look at.
The orphans are effectively thieves, much like in Oliver Twist.
The four brothers are clones, and they all act the same also but they all battle for individuality and want desperately to be the original.

There are other characters which borrow from other stories or history also. The Cyclops seem to believe that they are a master race and want to convert all to their cause. This is very reminiscent of both a negative view to evangelical religion and historical dictatorship such as the Nazi movement. The cult leader is heard to say that “only through the third eye will you truly see” which is an idea taken from eastern religion. It is quite clear that the writer Jeunet has a very negative view of religion and the corruption it can bring. From the outside the Cyclops appear grotesque and rather than becoming less evil they appear to hide from evil by removing their ability to perceive it. Maybe Jeunet was making a comment about the hypocritical nature of religion: he may believe that religion is not a solution to the problem of the world but that it is just a way of deceiving oneself and closing ones eyes to the corruption and suffering.

On the other hand, some of the Cyclops allow themselves to be able to hear or see with a greater sensitivity than before. At a stretch, this could be just a way of showing how easily offended religious types can be. The slightest noise startles them are causes an uproar. However I am just reading into the matter quite deeply.

The relationship between One and Miette is actually quite a disturbing one. It appears at first to simply be one of a brother and sister and it is often referred to as that, but the appearance of it is that there is something more sexual to it than that. There are many hints at this in the film even to the extent that they have what could be interpreted as a consummation scene in which they are both lying next to each other. Of course this is very metaphorical if my argument is correct. Furthermore, to develop this idea there is a scene in which Miette asks One if he will ever find a woman and he seems to say “there is no hurry to find a woman”. Again this could be interpreted that he would wait for her to grow older before initiating a relationship with her. These are quite hidden themes and maybe they are there just to get the viewer thinking or on their toes when identifying what these people are really like. Against all of this is the fact that they call each other brother and sister so I may be completely incorrect.

The colours in the film range from being Christmas themed (which again seems to represent the warm innocent dream world) to industrial browns, greys and toxic greens. Miette carries the same colours as the dream world which is again a directorial trick to show her innocence visually. In the dreams, Santa is present but the dreams quickly turn to nightmares. The Scientist dresses up as Santa later on and terrifies the children corrupting that dream and becoming their nightmare.

Overall the film was a very strange experience, but one that the viewer can get drawn into very easily. All aspects of the film work together effectively, which actually makes this strange world quite believable: The fantastical technology that looks old fashioned, the polluted world and the wonderfully strong characters all work together to create a picture that is disturbing yet familiar.

Club?

Having trouble with this one.... am seeking help... was trying to go for the grotty club look.

My "atmospheric environment"

Trying to make a spooky church environment. This is how its going so far!

War of the Worlds

My interpretation of the tripods from H.G.Wells' War of the Worlds. Still a work in progress!

"We are all born artists, we are just educated out of it"

I thought I would share some thoughts that I have gathered on education. It is something that is very important in our society and in other societies it can actually mean the difference between the gutter and the luxurious life we consider to be normal and mundane.

Under the current education system within our country, the arts are often considered to be of lower priority than other subjects. There seems to be an idea that is drilled into our brains from a very young age that you need to be good at Maths, Science and English in order to survive whatever the future may bring. The problem with this is that it is essentially an outdated system that was introduced to meet the needs of industrialism and gear us toward working in factories and managing buisnesses.

Sir Ken Robinson is a man with extensive recognition for his work into creativity, innovation and human resources. He argues that the current education system actually hinders the artistic minds of children that are lead through it. In a radical lecture posted online to TED.com he expresses his desire to see multiple forms of intelligence recognised and celebrated within our society. He reminds us of something Picasso once said: "We are all born artists, we are just educated out of it".

The current culture has resulted in a certain amount of mild prejudism. Many have been known to consider the arts as a less valid career option and suggested an academic qualification as a more valid career option. I have experienced this is the the last 5 years of my life as I have started my serious education in Art and Design subjects. Even reading that previous sentence will be enough to make many people scoff and chuckle:

"oh yea?... so wait... you want to get a job colouring things in?"
"it's not REAL work is it, it's all a doss really isn't it?"

I have experienced both of these comments within the last week and I, like many others, wish for a change and for a sense of recognition for the kind of work that I aspire to and train toward. There is also the question of relevance: many people will often comment that they will not ever need to know about volcanoes from year 9 geography when doing paperwork in Slough.

"I've got qualifications in biology and metalwork. So if you ever need someone to weld your budgie, I'm your man!" (tacky jokebook... it makes a point somehow!)

As a rich nation, Britain has a large supply of luxury items. Something to consider is, how many of those actually have creative individuals within the design process? Something that people forget is that Film, Games, Music, Textiles and Fashion are all highly in demand and there are growing oppertunities to gain a sustainable career after studying into these areas.

Interestingly, some schools and colleges have started to recognise this and invest in new ways of inpiring children to retain their fearless creativity. Many of the people in my family are teachers. When talking with my sister she mentioned that the primary school she works at is actually investing money and time in a kind of "creativity time" in which they explore the visual, audible and kinetic arts. On the other end of the spectrum, when my Dad stepped down from being a full time Art and Design teacher, the man who replaced him stripped the classroom of all its visually inspiring trinkets that were full of great textures and forms. This must have taken away a great deal of inspiration that the students could have gained from real life.

I will continue along this line of thought soon. There are many things to be said about education and I would like to cover more of them.

Should I believe the hype? Even after I have seen The Dark Knight?

Heath Ledger. There is no doubt in my mind that much of the hype surrounding his performance as The Joker is due to his unfortunate death.

I managed to see The Dark Knight on the first day it was out here in the UK and I have to say I found it both exhilarating and refreshing as a film. Scenes were expertly put together and many memorably dark decisions were cast in front of the audience to marvel both at the character of The Joker and the strength of the "symbol" of the Batman. I really enjoyed that aspect of the film: the Joker always found a way to make things incredibly worse for everybody just because he felt like it. His mysterious and unexpected nature were entertaining in such a deeply sinister way that you couldn't help but.... love him...

Now I know that I have already said that I enjoyed this film, but the problem in the back of my mind is that I remember feeling the same kind of satisfaction after seeing Batman Begins and later realising that it was not as strong a film as I had remembered. Is much of what we enjoy from a film based on what we have been told prior to seeing it by advertising, or even critics opinions that we have had forced in front of our eyes?

Whether I say that The Dark Knight is a good film or not seems to be dependant on me seeing it for a second time after the initial hype has died down. I did thouroughly enjoy it first time however, which could suggest the arguement that it is a good film but that I just don't want to like it because everybody else does. Upon seeing it a second time I could decide not to like it to make a statement of some description.

When it comes to film or music or even any expressive arts, like many others I find that I want to have my own identity rooted in what I like. If I come across something that initially gets my heart beating in all the right ways, I want everybody to know that I discovered it first, somehow affiliating me to that particular expression. It's either that or I take a complete offence to what has been put in front of me so that I can declare that it is rubbish and too mainstream to be acceptable by my supreme opinion.

I think this is a common condition. I would even say that people have always been the same in this sense, always wanting to be involved in "the latest craze" which comparably, during ancient times would have probably been the latest cult or religion (ooo bit of a stretch!! but you get my point).

Back to our leather clad friend: My main frustration with the film came from the real world situation surrounding it. The realisation that what I was watching was the only time I could ever watch the Joker, there was no excitement when they suggested a relationship between batman and his arch nemesis that could span beyond one film. Also the change of actress for the character of Rachael left me struggling to imagine who she was in the previous film and I kept trying to fit her square shaped personality into the new triangular hole. It made me take a step back and realise that it was..just a film. Much like when you are playing a computer game and a terrible glitch steals away the realism and makes you aware that it is just a game.

Finally, one of my only true critisisms is one that has nothing to do with the quality of the film. It should not have been a 12. I was actually disgusted that children would be allowed to watch such a traumatic, violent and disturbing film with a moral compass that tends to face NNW. I would not want any child to watch that film, make it a 15, great! That way it is justifiable. As a 12 it could confuse about true right and wrong, it could traumatise them and give them nightmares that won't go away very easily. Somebody clearly thought they could bend the rules (again!!!) so that they could get more money. Surprise surprise. I am fed up of seeing films with a 12 rating that have little difference to 18 rated films from 5 years ago.

Yes... I think that it had many classic film moments that will stick with me forever. Yes... I think that Heath Ledger was genuinely incredible as The Joker. Many scenes come to mind when I say that, which just proves to me that I am being a ponse.

There we are, I have just dicovered that I am just stubborn when it comes to having my identity rooted in the materialistic achievements of others. In other words, I am selfconcious and not proud enough of who I am but feel I have to add to that by saying what I like or dislike. I'm not the only one though am I? ;)

Trying to master atmospheric painting

I have been trying a tutorial today to do with painting an atmospheric landscape. I recently designed a character that could fit into this kind of landscape very easily. I designed him to be a man wearing wolf-skin after I had been reading an article about wolves and felt inspired to create a feral feeling personality. After reading the tutorial briefly I decided there was a lot to offer and so I thought I would have a try.

This picture is about half way to what I want it to be. It is based very closely on the tutorial example but I have done every step myself. I am really enjoying doing this. Everytime I do a new photoshop tutorial I feel like I am learning a million things.

Rooting for a friend

A friend of mine that has left University this year, Pete Curran, has just come in the top ten in a film festival called From Here To Awesome and the film will be available very soon on amazon. Thoroughly enjoyed it and I expect that he will make many more great films. Heres the advert.

Respect your elders!

Finished the old man I was creating. However, I couldnt quite decide which was better: without the original line drawing, or including. I think personally for my own style I like to have the line drawing over the top, but it may need a little tweaking if I am ever to display it properly. I did paint it so that it would look realistic without the lines following a tutorial. I really enjoyed making it.

The more I practice, the more I realise that I enjoy drawing a lot more when I start getting good at it. I think that I will spend a lot of time trying to learn new techniques so that I can decide whether it is something I want to pursue as a career.

Faces faces faces

Made this guy up after watching the DVD on drawing the male head. Painted him today based on some articles I read in ImagineFX. I felt geeky buying that magazine.. but I think it is going to prove useful.

At the time of painting him I was litening to an audio reading of I Am Legend, the original book. I found it really funny that I imagined the main character to look like him. Even though the character is supposed to be young. Oh well, it was fun!

Finished Model

Finished what I could on this model. I realise that the UVs are really messed up n that the textures on the bodyu and hair could be alot better. However, I am really happy with the face. Next time I will use unfold 3D and make sure that my model is compatible with it in order to improve my textures.

I have learnt so much from making this model. I now hope to make my Dad to improve on these skills. If not, I at least wish to rig this model at some point. For some reason the idea of seeing my Mum backflip is a hilarious enough idea for me to want to do that.

It ended up being about 2900 polys and I used a 512/512 diffuse map and lit it for these shots. I could add ambient occlusion to bake this lighting in.

getting there!

Slowly but surely I am making progress. Had sooooo much difficulty with the ears and was determined to use unfold 3D but it really hated my model and for a reason that is unclear to me it didnt want to work. Therefore I had to do all the unwrapping myself. For the moment I have blocked in solid colours just as a guide. I intend to paint the whole model and then just add overlaying textures to it to make it look like real fabric etc. I made the eyes seperately but im not sure that I will do the same again next time.

making my mum!!

Have been attempting to make my Mum in 3D and have made many mistakes along the way but I'm actually pretty happy with how it is going so far. It may not be the most technically correct model ever, but its starting to actually look like her, which is always good.

However, I have learnt a few lessons from doing this. Making the edge loops go full circle is something I need to do in my next model. I have ended up with alot of optimising that has resulted in more polys, and a higher chance of smoothing problems (therefore more time needed to work on it). Although the tutorial I am watching has said that triangles dont matter too much, I find them very difficult to deal with so I am going to try to avoid having them appear from now on.

I think my work flow could be alot faster next time aswell, I found many things had to be redone and that I confused myself way too often with things being inside other things... Im going to move on to making the body now and follow the Ben Mathis tutorials as I feel I am already learning soo much.

Now I just have to find a time when I can draw... and a life.. hmmmm :P

Another speed paint

Heres another, still just trying to get better at representing people on photoshop. I've also done some face drawings that I'll put up as soon as I can dig out the scanner. This one took me bout.. 45 mins I reckon.. I say reckon because it was more for fun than a serious exercise, didn't really count. Tried to focus on proportion and light. Again, took reference from my anatomy book as I didn't have a model.

further development...not going anywhere fast!

worked on this pic for another hour or 2... im still bloody slow... need to keep practicing this stuff.. but like I said before, this is a way in which I am practicing several techniques that I have taken the time to learn recently.

Trying to paint people :S

I have no idea why.. but it seems I have completely forgotten how to draw people from life. To improve this situation (considering it's late at night, therefore no model) I have tried to draw some poses from my anatomy book on photoshop. I've done each in about 20 minutes. The male being the first I painted. I decided to use this style after watching a speed paint that an artist did for the new prince of persia: I felt quite inspired that somebody could do such a high quality picture in such a short time. I will also need to try and learn how to draw some of these pictures in traditional materials aswell. Most importantly, I want to be able to draw from life realistically. I see these paintings as a starting point, a way to start my hand working alongside my brain like it should do!

Desert Market

Working on a painting of a desert market as a way of testing the skills that I have learnt within the last month to do with environments. This is an unfinished version, I've worked on it for about 2 and a half hours so far but I expect that I will get quicker the more I do things like this.

Fusion Man

Just read an article on msn and watched a movie of a guy who likes to call himself "fusion man". Yves Rossy has developed a jet powered set of wings that allow him to fly! Not far off Iron Man I'd say! Im genuinely excited about this, it's like the dream of man since.... the dawn of time and it pops up as a little news story on the internet!



If looking at that jet powered set of wings doesn't inspire you to design new concepts, then you clearly don't have eyes!!!!! Amazing!

After a short absence!...

Thought I'd post up a painting I did over the course of about 2 hours, didn't want to get rusty as I have been trying to learn alot of other things recently which I will post up if I get the chance to scan them in. Really wanted to convey depth in this one, so I hope I've acheived that.

Well im off home for a wedding! But first I thought I'd post up this painting I did today. The background was a speed paint of under 45 mins. The vehicle is the product of design using a layout pad. My starting point was shapes from Jackson Pollock paintings. Im really quite proud of this painting because I feel it's much more successful than I have been before in terms of colour, light and depth. I will further improve it but I thought I'd show where I had got to.



Also did this canal painting recently and thought it quite successful. I am starting to really enjoy using photoshop now that I am grasping the tools! Back of the net!

Week 24- Feedback

The Game Art course has been a really challenging experience for me so far but also one that has offered a lot of satisfaction. I have found that all the skills that are being learnt are really difficult to pick up initially but that once you are through the initial discomfort they become very satisfying to develop.

At the beginning of this year, I hated doing 3D modelling but after getting to grips with the intimidating interface I actually find it quite relaxing and enjoyable to create things (providing Max doesn't want to spontaneously combust in my face or act like a "terrible two" who wants his own way).

I have found it quite stressful when we have been given tasks such as one day projects on top of other work, but it has made me work harder to understand 3Ds Max or techniques in painting. I think that if done at a sensible time, they can be really useful to create a challenge.

The traditional Art classes have been enjoyable, especially when we have got out of the class to see parks and the space center and pumping station.

I would really like to learn some photoshop skills though. I still am really unconfident with how I should approach the tools and making different types of pictures. I have learnt a little on my own and from watching other people, but I really feel like I'm just scratching the surface of what I could do and that maybe I am not arranging my layers properly etc. I have picked up things from magazines that have been useful, but I find that I use those techniques so often that it just doesn't look any different everytime I paint. I find it much easier to learn new skills when I try something somebody shows me, and with photoshop being a computer program, I often feel overwhelmed with all of the buttons and I don't know where to start.

Maybe the occasional workshop showing techniques used in industry would be useful, maybe even getting somebody from industry to show us how to do something and we could work alongside him/her?

I have enjoyed hearing the guest lecturers, but all in all have actually found it quite discouraging listening to what they have to say about the industry. People like Jolian Webb made me excited about what I could achieve because it looked like it was worth something morally and that even within standard Blitz games that I would be able to create something brilliant. Other lecturers just told us that we would never be paid well for the first X number of years and that we would have to work ridiculously hard on something we wouldn't be passionate about and to be honest that seemed to be all they spoke about.

I liked finding out how certain games work: the guy from Sega Rally really interested me when he was telling us the different ways they "create illusions" to make the game seems realistic. For example, the ways in which they created mud on the cars and the environments surrounding the tracks. That was facinating and other lectures like that were equally as facinating.

Game City was brilliant, I can't wait to go again next year. I loved hearing about the physics engines for games and seeing the producers of different games talk about them. I was also very impressed that they come to us to ask for new ideas. That made me feel like I was a part of it.

I look forward to the new year of teaching. I would like to see more things like the hands on workshops we have been doing as they have made me consider new ways of designing and creating. Overall I have been happy with the course even though it has been difficult so far. I definately feel like I am learning. I have been able to come home and show people what I have done and feel proud of it.

Week 23- Whatever the hell I feel like...

Well seeing as we havent been set a task for this week I want to talk a little about Portal. I completed it today having got it yesterday and in no way is that dissapointing. Although short, it was packed with ideas and playful discovery but it also had an eerie feeling about it. It was one of the most atmospheric games I have ever played and I feel like I had both a challenge and an original experience in the few hours that were there.

So do I feel short changed? No! The Orange Box cost me £20, i got 6 (?) games. I had a great time playing portal and it only actually cost me about £3.50. Genius.

I find now as an adult that I want that kind of experience from the games I play. I want to play around with a mechanic for a few hours, feel like I am in an interesting or exciting situation and then be able to leave without any feeling of guilt.

For a few years now, Nintendo have been making games like this and I used to find it frustrating. While I was young and had a lot of free time it was great to play lengthy games with intricate storylines. But now I want a different experience that I can just jump in and out of to have a bit of fun. Games should not be a way of life in the same way that eating lots of fatty pies should not be a way of life. I think you should have a delicious treat every now and again and then get out and see the world before you start sweating gravy. Portal was that delicious pie.... or slice.. of cake

(note to self... metaphors aren't cool)

battle against the odds

Quite possibly the best fight I have ever watched. Bonyaski is my favourite fighter! If you like an underdog story, check out this fight from K1.

Week 22- Game Developers Conference

Well it appears that like many others I have found myself writing this blog a bit too late and finding myself very confused about what it is I am supposed to be writing about. The Game Developers Conference has been and gone recently and an article that I came across has interested me. The article at http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6186530.html is about futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil and what he expects of the future and of what we can achieve as humans, not only as game developers.

I have found it incredible that within the course we have had the oppertunity to discuss such a range of topics that don't directly apply to just drawing and using computers, but that we have been encouraged to consider what computers will be capable of in the future. Having watched programs about "futurists" and what scientists predict that we will be capable of, I am quite honestly scared of what people want to be able to do in the future.

Kurzweil talks about using computerised blood cells to enhance our human abilities at the moment and even being able to cheat death. He beleives that the growth of computer capability is exponential and that it will continue to open new doors to us as a human race.

What does this mean morally? Do we actually want to cheat death? I remember my Grandmother saying "never grow to be old" and my Great Grandmother saying "I have lived too long". I genuinely don't want to live until Im 600 or "enhance" my body with nano technology, and I'm pretty sure it would not feel right living for such a long time.

His approach to inventing and developing ideas struck me as intreguing. He beleived that you should develop things that have the potential to do alot more in the future with the advance of technology, "develop ahead of the curve".

It seems that this idea has already been excersised with the game Crysis, which it seems cannot be run at full power on currently existing computers but has been made in a way that will push the development of greater processing power forwards. Maybe we should be looking ahead in terms of what people want to see within games, looking for emmerging trends in art and fashion to inspire the way we design.

Looking around me when I am out, I often see trends within art that echo within all other areas of visual design. At the moment the trend with graphics tends to be sillouhettes and decorative pattern, flowers and stars. This is seen on adverts and posters everywhere and has obviously become an influence within fashion aswell.

I bought The Foals album this week and the graphics work within the pages are very similar to the style of work i was looking at throughout my studies at BTEC. They include handwriting, used things, things that are left behind such as: receipts, notes, doodles. They have all been combined to make a particular asthetic style that can also be seen in many different places.

My point is that there are trends in art, and therefore there will be trends within what will sell a game based on its aesthetics. If we are to take on board what Kurzweil is saying, then we should be looking to see what is happening elsewhere in the art world.

Week 21- reflection

What do I want to get out of my three years at university? When asked to define my answer to this question it becomes quite difficult for me to answer, because in some ways, I’m not sure. I think that before coming, what I really wanted to do was to be able to express my creativity in new ways and put that creativity into an area that I would enjoy as a job and that would be employable. However having been on the course for a year now I am not sure I feel entirely the same. I don’t feel as creatively free as I did when I was on my BTEC Art and Design course and I find I am struggling considerably most of the time. This does not mean that I am not enjoying what I am learning, it just isn’t affecting me in the way I thought it was and it has made me assess my goals a little differently.

Many of the guest lecturers that have come to see us have told us over and over again how working in the game industry takes up your time, isn’t fun, demands that you are the best of the best and doesn’t pay very well for a long time and its left me thinking “well what is there left that’s good about it then?”.

I think that now what I really want to do with this course is acquire a number of skills that could make me employable in many fields of work. I don’t feel particularly passionate about the gaming industry anymore but I do get excited about the idea of creating things, and doing this course certainly gives me that ability in many ways. Maybe I will want to go into games after university, maybe I won’t, but either way, I am going to try my very best to do well because I believe that if I am here, why should I settle for a bad or even mediocre grade? I aim to be one of the best in the class by looking at what everybody else is doing and what is happening in the game industry and trying to learn new skills.

I think that if you are going to apply yourself to something you should do it fully and this may partly be to do with my beliefs as well. I am a Christian and one of the Bible verses that stands out to be as particularly challenging is “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (Colossians 3:24).

I want to come out of university not regretting how hard I have worked. I want to be able to do digital and traditional drawings and paintings at a skilful level and I want to be able to 3D model in a way that will allow me to get a job in many different areas of work. I am genuinely excited whenever I learn something that develops these skills and I look forward to what the rest of the course has to offer me.

Outside of the course I also want to challenge everything I believe in currently and develop who I am as a person. I see university as a huge oppertuniy to mature in many different ways: in my opinions about things, my ability to deal with other people and the way I deal with situations generally. I see it as a very challenging atmosphere as everybody comes from different backgrounds and beliefs and I think that if you believe in anything you should challenge it constantly because otherwise how would you know that you were doing the right thing? I think that without coming to university I wouldn't be able to feel confident doing anything as an individual. It has given me the chance to grow up and I've found I have changed quite a lot over this last year and I feel more like an adult than a child. I hope that by the end of university I will be much more able to be who I want to be and not be afraid to fulfil my dreams.

Week Twenty: Creativity

New ideas and methods are ways in which creativity can manifest itself. These could be in the form of a theory, an imagined scenario or even just be a new way of approaching a situation or problem. The impressionists were a group of artists who decided to paint in a way that was considered wrong, or lacking in skill: However generations down the line you can see their influence across the arts and this is due to their creativity in approaching how they viewed the world and transferred this onto canvas.

Whether it is an artist within a film company producing a concept for an environment, or a composer completing a symphony that has never been heard before, creativity can be channelled through many different media. If a company were having trouble marketing a product and an employee came up with a revolutionary strategy to advertise and sell their product in a new way, the employee would be considered incredibly creative.

So how is creativity hindered? Can it be gained? Some believe that within education that our creativity has been hindered through being told that there is a right and a wrong way to approach the arts. I find it interesting that if an artist such as Jackson Pollock were to produce work like he does now within the current school system, he would probably be told that it was wrong and that it did not show any skills that the National Curriculum would want to see.

Like many students, Pollock would have probably been told to do a still life painting of an apple for his 10 hour GCSE exam. Does that encourage creativity? Pollock shows expression and movement within his paintings using the materials on the canvas and the marks themselves actually show a story of how his body was moving when he created them, maybe even showing a little of how he was feeling on the page. Don’t you think that is what creativity is all about?

We should be exploring new ways of expressing ourselves. Despite this, the current generation are afraid of trying new things because they have been told that they can’t draw, or that their style of work is not going to get them the grades because they don’t show that they can paint the same old Georgia O’Keeffe flower that the rest of the class have all slaved over without a single new idea or experience. How many times have you heard somebody say “oh I can’t draw, wish I could be creative because I have so many ideas!”?

Having grown up with two parents who are both teachers, it is interesting to see that they also struggle greatly with the system at the moment. They delight in students producing individual work and showing a passion for it yet feel bogged down because they are constantly asked to produce paperwork stating their academic progress! I don’t believe that you can measure somebody’s creative process. I was shocked to learn that after my father stepped down from his full time job as an Art teacher that the man who replaced him instantly destroyed all of the resources my father had worked so hard to collect to inspire his students: items such as plants from all over the world, folders of artist references and bones from different animals that had worked well at feeding the students creativity. Just like the games industry artist Jolyn Webb said to us during a visit “we must constantly be feeding our minds, feeding our creativity with the world around us”.

So how is creativity used within the Games Industry? Within the games we play? Games are another creative field for the imaginations of people to be expressed, much like film or books or even music. In a games team they have an overall vision that they want to convey which is controlled usually by the art director. He will make sure that the ideas being generated are directed in the right way so that they don’t conflict with the rest of the game. The artists are allowed a certain boundary within which they are allowed to work to make something new which is controlled by the brief which they are given. Ideas will be refined by others later and the whole process is ideally there to make sure that a game is a collection of ideas from different people.

Week 19 - Life Changing Or Career Building?

When approaching a career as a game artist it is unclear what path one must take. Many games magazines will have advertisements for different universities in which you can study with the aim to become an artist in industry. However, how can anybody know which course is employable? Would a specialised course be considered too specialised?

Companies such as blitz value creativity over ability to use software when initially employing new talent. If that is the case should someone looking to be a game artist purely study fine art?

To answer this question first I need to determine what skills are needed within industry. A current job advert for an environment artist asks that the applicant "must have strong fundamental drawing skills and be capable of producing game quality work to the standar of other artists in team and.....have several years worth of experience in photoshop and 3Dsmax". This instantly suggests that when looking for a course to train themselves, a student must look for a course that teaches skills within photoshop and 3Dsmax but that also has a strong focus on the traditional side of art.

Many companies are explicitly requesting artists that know how to deal with realism. Colour theory, proportion and strong rendering techniques all seem high on the agenda when hiring an artist within the current gaming market. High definition games and the ever-increasing power of consoles demands that the boundaries of realism are constantly pushed. What more can computer game graphics do apart from push toward the more realistic if they are to be original and awe inspiring?

It is also important that people know how to use the tools that are being used, such as 3dsmax so that a company doesn't have to spend money training more people when they want to be making new games and making a profit. Some kind of training is needed aswell as having skills in traditional art.

I think ultimately, its a balance of the two scenarios. If a completely abstract artist tried to apply themselves to an industry project, they would find it difficult to produce the kind of work that they are expecting. The work-flow would probably be quite similar but the two are very different in the outcome that they would require.

My Brilliantly Over-Shiny Tree

Been making a tree as my current project and decided to make the tree I always climbed as a kid with my friends. *sigh* nostalgia!!!! is currently a bit too shiny.. but I got over excited by learning to use specular maps... so atm it looks a tad soggy but I can fix that later.