The object placement was extremely tricky and hard to actually commit to, ill be honest, i made a paper model and paper objects and shuffled them about a bit to see the best place, it actually got to that stage of confusion i needed something so visual as paper prototypes.
Im quite pleased with the final placement though, the big objects have thier own space and nothing clashes too much with anything else.
The road signs, and Christmas lights were actually the most difficult to decide upon, no where seemed right until the very end, lighting wise it should render out nicely.
During the object placement i came up with an idea for the unused area at the top of the dress, i was intending on just covering it in textures of pavements and roads that i walked regularly, but with some reflection ive decided that would look quite boring and messy even.
The idea is similar, roads ive walked, mixed with a type of art i experimented with years ago in foundation art. Its a technique called ???? basically you close your eyes and draw whatever it was, and some of the stuff looks good, whilst others if just messed about with, looks like a toddler drew them, badly.
Itll be this technique used to create a map of my most regular routes, like bus, shops, uni, etc. In the end it should look like a a bird eye view or a map of the city, white with my route done in a black line. Itll either be interesting or just look like a pile of lines.
I will do a quick brainstorm of routes i go and decide which ones would be best to include.
I will then invision the route and all the ups down and corners along that walk while making a simple line of travel, it would be easier to do this with a black marker and a piece of paper, however i would then have to make a digital version and that would cut out the free handedness, so im unsure how i will do this yet.
Sunday, 5 January 2014
The base and surroundings
Two extremely important factors that will determine the outcome of the final model, will be where she is, and if she looks legitimate. How many figurines do you know that stood on their own and not on a scene, or platform ? exactly, none.
So as you can see in SKETCHBOOK i designed a platform for her to stand on, but took it that extra step further than just a base.
The Foyle river is full of memories for me and everyone else thats even heard of Derry, and i want to really push the 'very Derry' theme more than i have been so far, So what i designed, was actually inspired by a tutorial done in class recently, a water effect.
So i could make the Foyle river, gravity wise it would be at her feet, but not standing in it, so she has an extra wee platform and the well known black railings down by the river Foyle.
As i designed the water i came to a problem, apart from the fact i dont know how to actually make the water effect in 3D Max but thats not the issue right now, a design problem was i didnt know where the water would end, and thats when i thought it could be in the shape of Derry.... not the city mind you, thatd be messy, the county.
This will not only add a more Derry theme to the figurine, but will also give me a big challenge of making water and shaping it into Derry.
I still have to work on the size and actual dimensions of the character, but for now im picturing her about the size of a pint, i played with the idea of her being a statue in Derry (easily photoshopped in) or like the statue of liberty. The annual giant xmas trees in the shopping centres also gave me the idea she could perhaps be a landmark inside, like the giant trees several storys tall.
For now i am going to design her in either a glass cabinet or shelf with other ornaments, ether in th home, or in Austins department store itself, which meas yet another fun run back to Austins. tenth times the charm to get all the reference photos after all.
As seen in SKETCHBOOK, this was developed quite bit and thought through, as is the next stage, narrowing down my favourite objects, deciding the most featured, and object placement.
So as you can see in SKETCHBOOK i designed a platform for her to stand on, but took it that extra step further than just a base.
The Foyle river is full of memories for me and everyone else thats even heard of Derry, and i want to really push the 'very Derry' theme more than i have been so far, So what i designed, was actually inspired by a tutorial done in class recently, a water effect.
So i could make the Foyle river, gravity wise it would be at her feet, but not standing in it, so she has an extra wee platform and the well known black railings down by the river Foyle.
As i designed the water i came to a problem, apart from the fact i dont know how to actually make the water effect in 3D Max but thats not the issue right now, a design problem was i didnt know where the water would end, and thats when i thought it could be in the shape of Derry.... not the city mind you, thatd be messy, the county.
This will not only add a more Derry theme to the figurine, but will also give me a big challenge of making water and shaping it into Derry.
I still have to work on the size and actual dimensions of the character, but for now im picturing her about the size of a pint, i played with the idea of her being a statue in Derry (easily photoshopped in) or like the statue of liberty. The annual giant xmas trees in the shopping centres also gave me the idea she could perhaps be a landmark inside, like the giant trees several storys tall.
For now i am going to design her in either a glass cabinet or shelf with other ornaments, ether in th home, or in Austins department store itself, which meas yet another fun run back to Austins. tenth times the charm to get all the reference photos after all.
As seen in SKETCHBOOK, this was developed quite bit and thought through, as is the next stage, narrowing down my favourite objects, deciding the most featured, and object placement.
As i said 'loosely' based on myself.
As i said previously, the model is loosely based on myself, this idea has really brought character development on by miles.
The head may be scaled up, and ehem ...certain parts of my scaled down, and the hair will be a good deal comically thicker to suit the designs ive had up until now.
Now i finally have a decently solid idea of the model/figure i can now plan and design objects and objects placement. As you can see in the digital renders to follow and the SKETCHBOOK, i choose a reflective, loving pose, to suit the emotive design of the character.
Things i havent designed or thought of until now ...
-WHERE the objects will actually be (i choose the dress because it was similar to the designs i was developing before the idea of me as a model came up, so i know i want the objects on the dress, but WHERE o the dress is a good question)
-WHAT she will be standing on, i mean shes a figure, will she have a scene or base, or platform?
-WHERE she will be, this includes size, i mean is she small enough to be on a fire place? or big enough to be in a city centre?
-HOW to visually portray a year.
Another idea i had recently is lights. Its one of the things i think often when i think of Derry, and lets face it its hard not to, between the glowing city at night, the Lumiere lights festival, the lit up landmarks ie peacebridge and guildhall. Mostly dim street lights, and the colourful peacebridge lights.
During brief one of this module, i designed and created a 3d character Veepees, whilst designing his environment i was able to experiment with lights and glow effects in the 3D Max, perhaps i could make parts of the model actually glow or light up ?
The head may be scaled up, and ehem ...certain parts of my scaled down, and the hair will be a good deal comically thicker to suit the designs ive had up until now.
Now i finally have a decently solid idea of the model/figure i can now plan and design objects and objects placement. As you can see in the digital renders to follow and the SKETCHBOOK, i choose a reflective, loving pose, to suit the emotive design of the character.
Things i havent designed or thought of until now ...
-WHERE the objects will actually be (i choose the dress because it was similar to the designs i was developing before the idea of me as a model came up, so i know i want the objects on the dress, but WHERE o the dress is a good question)
-WHAT she will be standing on, i mean shes a figure, will she have a scene or base, or platform?
-WHERE she will be, this includes size, i mean is she small enough to be on a fire place? or big enough to be in a city centre?
-HOW to visually portray a year.
Another idea i had recently is lights. Its one of the things i think often when i think of Derry, and lets face it its hard not to, between the glowing city at night, the Lumiere lights festival, the lit up landmarks ie peacebridge and guildhall. Mostly dim street lights, and the colourful peacebridge lights.
During brief one of this module, i designed and created a 3d character Veepees, whilst designing his environment i was able to experiment with lights and glow effects in the 3D Max, perhaps i could make parts of the model actually glow or light up ?
Major development
During feedback, as explained in SKETCHBOOK, I had the opportunity to give and receive feedback on my own and others work.
Which meant i had the general understanding of where everyone else was heading with this project, and i had the chance to discuss this prolonged problem i was having, actually making a character that seemed suitable that i liked.
A few designs and alternatives were discussed, my favorite, which was mentioned by a couple of people, cant remember who, but discussed in length with Ryan D during and after the feedback class. sorry for the others that discussed and suggested it, i just have a horrible memory and don't remember who exactly said it.
So the idea was, Model it on myself. after all they are my memories and it takes it that step more personal, and ontop of all that it should be easier to obtain reference photos and would allow me to use a box referencing technique. basically a box version of the front/side views i built BLOBMAN by.
This idea, as vain as it is (and kinda feels like cheating) i love! it was as if there was a missing piece of the puzzle that i couldnt see on my own and thats why character development wasnt working. I needed to model the personal liberty like figurine, after myself.
Itll obviously be loosely based on myself, mainly down to the fact i dont want my face on a figurine.
Reference photos can be found in the upcoming post, and the sketches as usual can be found in SKETCHBOOK, showing how my character development came on leaps and bounds once i VERY loosely based it on myself....this wasnt that difficult as ive had to create characters of many shapes and sizes based on myself for animation projects. some of which you can find on my Animation corner (link in the blog description) So now we are actally getting places, finally.!
Which meant i had the general understanding of where everyone else was heading with this project, and i had the chance to discuss this prolonged problem i was having, actually making a character that seemed suitable that i liked.
A few designs and alternatives were discussed, my favorite, which was mentioned by a couple of people, cant remember who, but discussed in length with Ryan D during and after the feedback class. sorry for the others that discussed and suggested it, i just have a horrible memory and don't remember who exactly said it.
So the idea was, Model it on myself. after all they are my memories and it takes it that step more personal, and ontop of all that it should be easier to obtain reference photos and would allow me to use a box referencing technique. basically a box version of the front/side views i built BLOBMAN by.
This idea, as vain as it is (and kinda feels like cheating) i love! it was as if there was a missing piece of the puzzle that i couldnt see on my own and thats why character development wasnt working. I needed to model the personal liberty like figurine, after myself.
Itll obviously be loosely based on myself, mainly down to the fact i dont want my face on a figurine.
Reference photos can be found in the upcoming post, and the sketches as usual can be found in SKETCHBOOK, showing how my character development came on leaps and bounds once i VERY loosely based it on myself....this wasnt that difficult as ive had to create characters of many shapes and sizes based on myself for animation projects. some of which you can find on my Animation corner (link in the blog description) So now we are actally getting places, finally.!
BRAINSTORMING....again. Memories and Objects
I am hoping you are all keeping track of the ideas progression trough SKETCHBOOK otherwise yous are probably quite lost at this point.
The basic idea at this point is a woman, holder of memories. protector of memories, like the elephant made up of shapes, most of this figurine will be made of objects representing memories in Derry.
At this point if you look in the brainstorming pages of SKETCHBOOK you will see my development on the objects and memories.
I decided on big and or personal memories, even ones other could relate to, and then brainstormed objects that would successfully visually represent them.
For example the popular bus from Derry-Belfast the 212 which most of Northern Ireland have been on at one point or another, for me its my bus to and from home. I decided is a major memory of my past year in Derry, and im sure many students and others can relate. So i will visually represent it with not the bus, or an obscure bus part, or even the Translink/Ulsterbus logo, instead i have chosen the 212 numbers in a square box, ie the number you see on the buses, anyone who has been on or around the bus will instantly know what it is and what it represents, and their own memories and feelings of it will come to mind.
This is the basic process of how i made most of the objects seen in not just the final render but also the SKETCHBOOK.
From here as you can see in SKETCHBOOK, ive narrowed down objects and memories i want in the final model. And started really developing the character.
Ive started developing the dress, pose, age, shape, size, look of the character. Its a little clearer how the final model should look now i know how muh and what will build her, whilst not cluttering her or making it overbearing.
There was alot of sketched examples, and alot more reflection than sketching at this point.
I mixed and matched all the dresss, shapes and hairstles in my head a thousand times over before getting a clearer idea of how i wanted her to look.
The basic idea at this point is a woman, holder of memories. protector of memories, like the elephant made up of shapes, most of this figurine will be made of objects representing memories in Derry.
At this point if you look in the brainstorming pages of SKETCHBOOK you will see my development on the objects and memories.
I decided on big and or personal memories, even ones other could relate to, and then brainstormed objects that would successfully visually represent them.
For example the popular bus from Derry-Belfast the 212 which most of Northern Ireland have been on at one point or another, for me its my bus to and from home. I decided is a major memory of my past year in Derry, and im sure many students and others can relate. So i will visually represent it with not the bus, or an obscure bus part, or even the Translink/Ulsterbus logo, instead i have chosen the 212 numbers in a square box, ie the number you see on the buses, anyone who has been on or around the bus will instantly know what it is and what it represents, and their own memories and feelings of it will come to mind.
This is the basic process of how i made most of the objects seen in not just the final render but also the SKETCHBOOK.
From here as you can see in SKETCHBOOK, ive narrowed down objects and memories i want in the final model. And started really developing the character.
Ive started developing the dress, pose, age, shape, size, look of the character. Its a little clearer how the final model should look now i know how muh and what will build her, whilst not cluttering her or making it overbearing.
There was alot of sketched examples, and alot more reflection than sketching at this point.
I mixed and matched all the dresss, shapes and hairstles in my head a thousand times over before getting a clearer idea of how i wanted her to look.
What is Derry-LondonDerry to me ?!?!?
At this point i should probably discuss my intial ideas, but you can see all of them in sketch book, with additional hand written notes, so it seems quite silly typping it now only for you to re read it later in th book.
However at this point in my sketchbook as i had the trips to Austins finished and initial ideas developed to an extent, i took a page to reflect. Which im going to jot down here, just for self reflection so i can get feedback from others reading and of course personal review, allowing myself to take a step back and see what my work looks like at this point, and of course where it is and should be going.
Ive lived and studied in Derry -LondonDerry now for just over a year now, So i dont have a massive deep connection to the city that many who have lived in or around Derry their whole lives. Theres only so far research will bring me when it comes to knowing the history. However i think when it comes to envoking memories through an object like this project, theres a big different in KNOWING and FEELING.
Ive played about with some ideas of an ornament or object built up of objects representing memories of Derry.
(More specifically my own memories)
That where ive come to this idea, a model, a person, similar to the ones seen to the left 'holders of memories' . not just holders, but a protector. a person an anonymous person built up of the objects that represent memories of time gone by.
Im unsure if they should be generic memories of Derry and its past or infact my own few but amazing memories. Make it more personal.
Then again the objects that would represent my memories of Derry wont all be obscure objects, they could be landmarks as well, which means they might envoke other memories to other people. making it more relateable hopefully.
From here i want to not just design a model but also brainstorm and design further objects that could be on or make the character.
I want to show my whole short year in Derry.
So i also must figure out a way to visually represent the actual time, a year.
However at this point in my sketchbook as i had the trips to Austins finished and initial ideas developed to an extent, i took a page to reflect. Which im going to jot down here, just for self reflection so i can get feedback from others reading and of course personal review, allowing myself to take a step back and see what my work looks like at this point, and of course where it is and should be going.
Ive lived and studied in Derry -LondonDerry now for just over a year now, So i dont have a massive deep connection to the city that many who have lived in or around Derry their whole lives. Theres only so far research will bring me when it comes to knowing the history. However i think when it comes to envoking memories through an object like this project, theres a big different in KNOWING and FEELING.
Ive played about with some ideas of an ornament or object built up of objects representing memories of Derry.
(More specifically my own memories)
That where ive come to this idea, a model, a person, similar to the ones seen to the left 'holders of memories' . not just holders, but a protector. a person an anonymous person built up of the objects that represent memories of time gone by.
Im unsure if they should be generic memories of Derry and its past or infact my own few but amazing memories. Make it more personal.
Then again the objects that would represent my memories of Derry wont all be obscure objects, they could be landmarks as well, which means they might envoke other memories to other people. making it more relateable hopefully.
From here i want to not just design a model but also brainstorm and design further objects that could be on or make the character.
I want to show my whole short year in Derry.
So i also must figure out a way to visually represent the actual time, a year.