Concept Art Adaptations
The piece of concept art that we are working from shows no humanoid sculptures. For me to carry out my role in the group, David and I spoke about the changes that would need to be made from the concept art. We decided that instead of having the large body of water in the concept art that goes underground, we would instead have a pool of water that surrounds a base that a sculpture of a Norse-like human would stand on. This sculpture will either come to life or will crumble to reveal a character that would then attack the camera. The water would have come from a broken piece of wall nearby that would have otherwise held it in. There are also a few more alterations that will be made by David to enhance his work in regards to making the scene adhere to the module assignment. These changes include increasing the size of the environment so that it could host a player moving around in it, adding more detail to the wall, and removing the ceiling of the scene to give way to better lighting.
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| Fig.1 In game version of the concept art. (Derek Jenson) |
In order to create a sculpture/character that is suited to the environment I will produce a mood board to represent what I think the environment is showing. Reference is also key to creating a character, and looking into Norse characteristics and art will help me do so.
The plans for the cinematic are fairly loose at the moment, with David and I discussing camera movements that will both show off the detail and important elements in his environment work as well as show off the character animation. Making sure that these two work well with each other and flow from one to the other seamlessly is important. As of now we think the camera should start by coming through the door and archway, moving around the scene in a yet unspecified manner and then the door possibly slamming shut, with the sculpture then coming to life. This plan will no doubt be more detailed and changed throughout my posts as we gain a better understanding on how to make our two roles work together.
To create the character I plan to use ZBrush, possibly focusing on hard-surface modelling for the sculpture, and soft-surface modelling if there is to be a character within the sculpture.
I am predominately an animator, it is what I am specialising in and have not spent a great deal of time on character art or rigging. As mentioned in an earlier post, one of the key parts to this module assignment is that we use techniques and/or technology that we have not used before. Therefore character modelling and rigging will fill this role for me, especially as I have never used hard-surface sculpting in ZBrush and never made beyond a basic rig.
Broken down into the simplest form, my plans for this module are to:
- Gather references and create a mood board.
- Create character concepts.
- Research ZBrush for what I am using it for (hard surface sculpting, etc.)
- Model character through use of ZBrush and Maya, including textures.
- Research rigging methodology, focusing on rigs for games.
- Rig character using Maya
- Storyboard animation/camera/cinematic
- Composite team work for final product
These points are not necessarily in a specific order, as I will no doubt need to revisit some areas. All of this will be done with constant feedback and collaboration with David for the best possible results.
Bibliography
Derek Jenson. Tomb Raider Underworld. Available: http://www.derekjenson.com/tomb-raider-underworld.html. Last accessed 21st January 2014.
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