Environment Ideas

From the beginning i wanted to make an environment as i think it really brings out the character, and its emotive design, also i figured it would be a massive challenge, and lets face it, you can only get better if you challenge yourself.
Its become apparent that to bring my character to lie and not just a simple 3D render i need an environment, hopefully one that truly portrays his emotive design and lifestyle.
Even from the initial ideas i had a sense of what kind of environment i wanted him to be rendered in, i wanted it cold dark and lonely but livable, not down on his luck but a passion for not comforts or socially acceptable worldly goods, but rather his own obsession, which in Veepees case is the self modification and the substance in the needle, these things would mean he'd need a laboratory of some description, perhaps not a very shiny upscale one but one that has the capability of creating science experiments and such.
That plus my Frankenstein inspiration i kind of leaned more towards a dark stoney room in a castle, perhaps medieval or outdated, and a view of seclusion, like every decent horror scene.

As you can see in SKETCHBOOK and the below blueprint like sketch, i designed a simple box room, a small homely room seemed perfect for Veepees and keeping it a box shape like most medieval rooms will prove useful come time to gather rendered images.

***INSERT BLUEPRINT sketch x2

As shown in SKETCHBOOK and briefly in internet based images below, the shape of the doors and windows was a big feature to decide upon. I want Veepees shut off from the outside world to an extent, so i decided on just one window and one door.
Since there is only one of each they needed to be perfectly designed, they are a major asset of the room.

http://image.yaymicro.com/rz_1210x1210/0/410/medieval-windows-at-lacock-abbey-4104e2.jpg

Should it have depth? perhaps a bay window?

http://www.lughertexture.com/images/textures/details/windows_35/old_medieval_window_stone_and_rusty_cage_20130827_1019031419.jpg

Small dingy window? more suitable than a grand church like window

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRP14h5A0G_hB7bTmV6pnuze6X46ZEoFDOJi0BRjyim_jQN0uTo6g

The shape is also really important, and height, the slightest detail will create an entirely different mood, If the window were to take up the whole wall or look too grand, the whole point of the room could be lost, and it could take the attention away from Veepees and his emotive design. 

http://www.goodtextures.com/thumb/5819/windows-medieval.jpg

The shape of the door and window would obviously be quite similar, as it would be the same builders who made it. and it keeps things realistic looking.

Once the basic shape of the room and fundamental assets was settled on, the next big thing to sort would be textures and materials.
I didn't want it dirty, after all its a lab, and hes preforming self experimentation, it needs to be as sterile as any medieval villain lair could be.
The floor i want to be rather fancy, not just old boards, but proper mahogany, hard wood flooring, thats easy enough done choosing a type of flooring, but making them as dark, shiny and even the gaps and disposition distinct will take a good bit of playing around with material editor to get right.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shearer's_Covered_Bridge_Floor_Boards_3264px.jpg

Though these broken old boards, faded in colour and covered in harsh nails, in Veepees case they dont suit, he might be a wee bit obsessed and insane with his work, but he obviously has the brainpower to tranform his body into a super being using animal parts, so in turn he'd have the brains to use a decent and clean environment for all his experiments.

http://www.salvo.co.uk/images/userimgs/31546/Reclaimed-Pine-Floorboards_41148_2.jpg

To design this sort of a floor board texture would be amazing in 3D Max 

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRCEtQsBYh_vFq_-ixSCDEPRwy5Dhp1BWawrCdr2DVyEAM9ozfL

I prefer the dark rich wooden colours, otherwise it looks too modern or too old, clean and good workmanship but not to the extent its all glossy and unnatural in the enrionment

Walls as we know i wanted to be stone, but bricked? nicely lined up stones? boulder like stones? multi coloured? mis matched colours? grey? old? new? cobwebs or moss?
These are just a few factors i had to take into account when deciding the type of walls i wanted, and of course i had to think on how it would suit both a box room, its contents and the window and door.

http://www.genealogyintime.com/GenealogyResources/Wallpaper/Vintage_Stone_Wall_Series_1/vintage_stone_wall_wallpaper_series1_page1.html

http://www.shantishop.com/images/wallpaper_photos_of_India/1024/ancient_stone_wall.jpg

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRwnDM6Cse1LcBv_LtjNm-wY2UGuNK3GkDV4l0pPJ2pzBpaaBcn

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQl7U8gSQlURanOrWecCeaH_IaY91Q1zkzUojSsUYL9YsggrWCW

This one is actually probably one of my favourites due to its gritty colour, shading and shape however it would need a seriously high bump map or something to look like this in 3D Max.

Cant have a door with a door.... yes i have the shape of the door, and its similar to the window and is architecturally sound but what about the actual door material or textures? will it be shiny? fat ? thin? old? new? have fat hinges? any hinges? be solid ? or like the floor boards?
And whilst playing about with the design of the room ive had further ideas on how i want to show it off in the final render, and im contemplating a render peaking through the doors in at Veepees, so the Doors will have to be suitable to be opened of closed.

 

http://www.woodweb.com/images_forums_public/wnw/Medieval_Door_Texture_01_by_goodtextures.jpg

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/090/9/8/Medieval_Door_Right_Texture_by_goodtextures.jpg

Single or double doors?

 

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3242x7RrdbH-ZanVHfmXva5TjfEvxzM4n61lJRMvlqcuNzoPAsS0Ms__-5zlKzr9StJuZ0V6XvYQ7_-Nr0JG0NL31n4TxOVMs8ileb8nx4d_bGhdvONlhDCHzkC5sKr11M4k5FCDU0s/s1600/medieval+doors.jpg

The trim/edges will obviously need to be taken into account.

http://www.artfactory.com/images/Solid-Wood-Door-4455AT.jpg

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/8d/6f/4b/8d6f4be41722d18cf1f01e012a91ac64.jpg

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/197/f/b/Medieval_Door_by_nub4sh.jpg

Rounded door, semi, or triangular ? and should the hinges be grand? or there at all, if theres too much hinges it could look like a bolted prison door or a door too grand for the designed environment.

Now we have a room i want to start brainstoming what i should fill it with other than just Veepees, it cant take away from him, but it should build on the character, making the scene more believable and in doing so making the emotive design more obvious.
I already have some ideas as you can see in the blueprints above and in SKETCHBOOK, but its time to develop them and create smaller objects and furniture and see what i should and shouldn't include, after all more is less in some cases, and a big part of 3D Design is time keeping, i only have a limited time to create this character and environment and im already over reaching on some unacquired skills ill need to create this character properly.