Personal project WIP

When I find the time (rare), I've been working on a 3D project of my own. The above is the completed low-poly mesh for a transforming bike design. It's been carefully 'engineered' with no 'cheating' e.g. parts that shrink or overlap each other when transformed. 

The scenario for the design involves a human pilot, who occupies roughly1/3 of the height of the robot internally - it's not a sentient, Optimus Prime-style robot. Again, the cockpit has been taken into account. In line with the 'real world' design, the transformation has also been kept as simple and robust as possible, avoiding the kind of complex, delicate transformations of typical high-end models. This is helped by it not having to turn into a perfect recreation of e.g. a Porsche 911. I'm more of a Macross fan than a Tranformers one, though both are cool.

The next step is to detail it up, possibly in Mudbox, texture it, and finally add a rig capable of handling the transformation. I then intend to render a short sequence that shows the moving vehicle transforming into robot form. So not much work there, then.

Character Design using Paths

As part of a level 3 Multimedia course, I've been teaching the students how to use the paths feature in Photoshop to produce clean artwork. It's slightly clunky compared to using Illustrator, but we are using PS for the unit. After scanning in the sketch, adjusting it and tracing over to produce the line art, we then used Multiply, Overlay and Adjustment layers to add the shading.

The demo character below is a futuristic version of the Wolf from Red Riding Hood, this time as a robot. He is designed to walk on two legs or four, depending on the situation. The large head on his chest can open up to swallow you whole! Click to enlarge.

Concept Art Class - Environments

I've been teaching a concept art class based around Adobe Photoshop, and it's been going pretty well. Some of the students have PS at home and have brought in some great work. I've even converted a few to Wacom tablets, and now most of the class have at least a Bamboo (which are really good for £50).

I recently did a tutorial about coming up with an environment from your imagination, blocking it in in greyscale before adding some colour. The pic below is the result; a futuristic re-interpretation of the forest from Red Riding Hood.

Art competition win!

Just heard that I won the Stellar Dawn art competition, hosted by online games company Jagex, to promote their upcoming sci-fi MMORPG. The brief called for an illustration inspired by the tidbits of info and artwork that have been released so far. My entry depicts a damaged mech, lost and seemingly alone in a vast alien forest...

I submitted the entry under dodgy forum name "U1tral33t", which I had chosen at random a while ago  when I needed a login name to play their fab games. Didn't think it would become public! Oh well.

Here's the entry:

Jagex Art Test

I applied to for a concept design position at Jagex, and they got back to me with an Art Test featuring several briefs: create a variety of thumbnail designs for a water-magic using creature called "Slayer", developing one to a high standard; visualise a crypt from supplied floorplan; create a page of props to fill out the Crypt.

My final submission is below:

Final quad painting

The illustration in it's finished form. I decided to put the vehicle in a open setting, to keep the emphasis on the design. Putting the rider outside gave a clear view into the vehicle and simplified the process of finding a good viewpoint.

My final door design keeps the silhouette unbroken, whilst providing a practical way to exit the vehicle from either side in a crash (necessary in something compact, narrow and enclosed). Although such practicalities aren't strictly necessary in a virtual design, I feel they help to sell its plausibility.

The second picture shows the Maya model set up for paintover; the last image demonstrates how the design leans into a bend.

Developing a beauty shot for the quad

Trying out a new technique here, making a simple 3D model then doing a paintover. Haven't done any 3D modelling for years, and since I've switched to a Mac since then, I'm unable to run 3DS Max. So I'm using Maya 2010, which is great, but I'm having to hit the tutorials to find where everything is. Unlike my previous 3D modelling for games, though, which required super-neat surface topology, here I can just group objects together and use as many or as few polygons as I like.

I've been through tons of variations to work out how the canopy opens, as I want the final shot to include a rider, which will be difficult if he is fully enclosed in the vehicle. The shell needs to split somehow to allow the rider in and out, and if possible to still allow this with the vehicle on it's roof or side following a crash. Trapping the rider would be a bit of a design flaw in a compact, enclosed machine. I want to find a way that doesn't totally destroy the silhouette when open though.

Cutaway of the tilting quad

To work out the scale of the design relative to the rider, and because I love cutaway sections:

"Tilting Quad"

Decided to go with a sleek, enclosed, leaning vehicle with four wheels...

Vehicle design

Know I want to design a vehicle of some kind, but not sure what yet. Here are some sketches.

Some mech sketches

Some recent doodles with my Pentel brushpen.

Future Mega-City

A vast future city. My main aim was to create an atmosphere of scale. The lighting suggests late afternoon, as dusk approaches.

Future Port City

A vast future port city. I'm pleased with how the water came out; I used a custom brush originally sampled from a painting of an iceberg, but it seemed to work.

Theseus design development

I've worked up Theseus's armour in more detail, and had a close look at the head. I wanted to create a slightly other-worldly look. The character is young (about 20) and more brash and cocky than combat-hardened. I wanted a fairly high-tech look, but with a nod to the past, particularly with the bronze coloured metal.

The plan views are set up suitably for passing on to a 3D modeller.

More Minotaur 2150 Concept Art

This time it's Dr. Minos, and his foxy daughter Ariadne.

Minotaur 2150 Concept Art

I had set out to become a Concept Artist some time ago, but I'm getting my mind around the process now that I've started to think about design in terms of story-telling rather than just functionality. Sounds obvious I guess, but there you go.

Anyway, here's what I've been up to:

Concept sketches

I've been working on the design for Theseus's armour first, as I love hard-surface design. Below are some sketches to get things going. I find my Pentel Brushpen is great for loose working; if you work small you can generate ideas quickly, and happy accidents abound. I then scan them and draw into them in Photoshop. Proportions are a bit off, but at this stage I'm more interested in finding a design direction.