Week Number & Date:
3 02/12/2019
List of Tasks planned for the week:
3x Drone Designs
Texture and Choose final concept
Current Position:
For my first sketch I have produced the concept of a cyberpunk drone through the use of a graphics tablet and for this drone I have decided to go through with designing an industrial like machine that patrols the streets of a dystopian city using a skylight that I have attached to the frontal snoop of this drone. For the rear end of this drone I have implemented two boosters that serve the purpose of allowing the drone to travel through the air whilst for the frontal face I have added multiple components that serve as the visual sensors with the search light being the dominant function of these modules. What I like about this sketch is how I have kept the design simple whilst making it intricate in style and giving the drone unique features that allow it to fit in with a dystopian setting as the presentation of this machine makes it look as if it has been weathered down and is used cheaply. This is the first of 3 designs.
To finish off the first concept for my cyberpunk drone I have created a colour palette and used it as my texture that will present my drone as a finished rough concept that gives me a design I can review once I complete the other 2 designs that will follow this one. For this concept I wanted to create an eerie and dystopian texture that allows the drone to be seen as a well used asset that has been weathered down and is starting to deteriote and to convey this I have used a relatively dark colour tone that whilst still keeping it light makes it look more gritty with a texture that makes it fit into an industrial and polluted environment. The final touches for this concept were a series of highlights that I added using a light neon green with a lowered opacity to around 50% that allowed me to add tints of a neon glow to certain areas of the drone which was a feature that I wanted to add to my texture as I believe it makes this design fit more in line with what the cyberpunk genre features. After this design I will be attempting to create a more detailed larger concept that features a more complex look as I am seeking to challenge myself for all aspects of this unit and although I like this design during the initial sketch phase I was not to confident if it met the vision I had outlined in my mind despite the positive outcome.
In my second experimental concept I have gone for a more aggressive and militaristic design which can be seen through the weapon attachments present on both sides of the sketch I have produced which I have decided to include to make this design seem less industrial with more of an appeal towards a totalitarian society. I have made this sketch more complicated as I wished to progress towards designing more detailed concepts that allow me to experiment further with my skills as well as put the various reference I have collected into further use. For this texture I will be going with a more vibrant lighter appearance that will make it look as if it is well maintained and utilised with effective force.
For this texture I have I added in a various amount of highlights which I have created to make my design look more futuristic whilst being mixed with the flat texture gives it an intimidating and threatening appearance which connotes its purpose as a combat drone. To finish off this texture I will implement a similar coating onto the mounted gun seen on the left that I have used for the previous one. This coating with some differentiation between itself and the previous one will help to make the drone appear as if it has been produced efficiently and is capable of representing an organisation. So far I am pleased with the outcome of this design as it fits the image I had visualised in my mind and is one where I have utilised textures and highlights effectively to give my drone an appealing look towards the theme of my project.
In this image I am now presenting my 2nd concept with a finished texture has given me the appearance that I was aiming towards from what I visualised in my mind. What I like about this image is how the texture illuminates it and gives it that futuristic but industrial appeal whilst maintaining a fearsome look that gives it the impression of a combat drone patrolling a cyberpunk mega city suffering from instability. My next design will feature a more covert and slightly smaller drone that fits into an enforcement role.
What Tasks didn’t you complete this week?
This week I was unable to fully produce all 3 of my drone concepts due to management of time and my work process.
Planning for next week –
- How do you plan to catch up?
- Do you need to change anything about your work or planning?
Next week I will focus on producing all of my drone concepts and implementing a texture onto each whilst I will try to get my ideas down faster and speed up the way I work so that I can meet the deadline whilst still being able to focus on solving all the problems I may be encountering during this time.
Week Number & Date:
4 09/12/2019
List of Tasks planned for the week:
Finish designing and texturing drone concepts
Begin blocking out/sketching hoverboards
Colour ideas for hoverboards
Current Position:
In this image I have produced a more detailed and refined concept for my cyberpunk drone, to get the shape and size of this drone I first produced a blockout in maya utilising the primitive shapes of a sphere, cylinder and another sphere where I played around with the attributes that allowed me to shape the primitives in a way that appealed to me, following this process I have assembled and screenshotted the model that I have since ported into photoshop and sketched an outline over where I have also added a few more details such as the bottom end where there is now a propulsion area visible as well as multiple sensors on the face plate drooping down. What I like about this design is the perspective I have gotten from it as well as how neat it looks due to the assistance that my blockout provided me, the texturing for this drone may seem a bit bland and to change this in my upcoming concepts and colour ideas I will be utilising a more neon and vibrant colour scheme that will make it appear less apocalyptic and more in line with the genre that we have been assigned. Overall this idea generation has provided me with a new and effective technique at producing asset designs as well as how I can texture and implement details onto refined layers. For my upcoming concepts I can experiment further with brush types and colour tones that will in hope provide me with an even better result that reflects what I have outlined in my proposal.
In this next stage of my problem solving I have produced a simple outline of a drone which I have first blocked out using primitive shapes in maya before importing a screenshot of the model into the drawing software Krita where I have traced over the blockout in the perspective I took the screenshot in. For this session I have not added a texture onto this drone as I produced this design just to focus on practicing with my line work as using a graphics table to produce sketches of certains topics still proves a hinderance to me and so in this session I have solely focused on straightening up my line work whilst excluding texture from the final product. Despite myself finding the blockout process enjoyable it has not given me cohesive results for my 2D artwork and so this was the last part of my problem solving that features this technique of producing a design.
After halting my experimentation on blockouts I have switched to more simple and successful sketches which I have produced through feeling more relaxed and calm about the project which has allowed me to produce better outlines and receive much better results and for the drone pictured above I have made it a lot less complicated and focused on just getting a design completed and despite the fact the drone lacks a lot of vibrancy it does fit into the role that I have outlined for it in my proposal as a surveillance drone and so despite some touching up it requires I am overall pleased with this design and may ret con it further to create more detailed close up images that give my drone a greater presentation.
This next sketch I have produced using the same colour scheme as seen in the above image being textured onto a more cinema like camera that is smaller in size and less elegant, fitting in as a more bleak and dull cheap drone unlike a high quality surveillance system. What I do like about this design is how I have laid out the eyes it features as with each one being separate colours outlines the fact that each lens conveys a different purpose. Although I like this design I would rather stick with a more intimidating and futuristic appearance although some features from this concept such as the two lenses I may utilises in a further design.
This 4th concept of my simple sketch technique features a levitating sphere like drone which features large optics on its front end. For this design I previously looked at many spherical like drones which featured multiple functions on both ends some being weapons and others being sensors and assets, what I like about designs like these is how simple yet elegant they are as well as how effective the design is at conveying what purpose it is that they serve.
This is my final concept of drones from the simple sketches I have produced and is one that whilst maintains an interesting and unique appearance I am not to keen mainly due to the structuring and length of the machine which makes it seem less robotic and more remote controlled and so with this design completed I will most likely only take the way in which I have implemented the texture into the production of my final test piece for my cyberpunk drone.
What Tasks didn’t you complete this week?
This week I was able to complete the majority of the tasks that I had assigned myself which consisted mainly of finishing up and texturing my drone concepts whilst the one task that I was unable to complete is the beginning of sketching my hoverboards which whilst were not a priority for me this week were nonetheless as task that I was unable to focus on.
Planning for next week –
- How do you plan to catch up?
- Do you need to change anything about your work or planning?
I plan to catch up by using the first self directed session and software at home next week to begin producing the designs I have in mind for my hover boards, these designs will consist of simple sketches as well as colour ideas that will each be different from one another with different tones of vibrancy and darkness.
Week Number & Date:
5 16/12/2019
List of tasks planned for this week:
Hover board concepts and colour ideas
Final hoverboard and drone concepts for idea
Begin character concepts for outlaw and cyborg
Current Position:
To start off my next phase of ideas generation I have begun sketching out multiple simple concepts for my cyberpunk hover board which I have used a reference to help me getting the perspective and size correct for my asset. To create this sketches I used the drawing software Krita on my own graphics tablet at home and whilst this software is useful to me I do prefer to create art work in photoshop as I get a much more comfortable feeling when using it. In these concepts I have only added texture onto one of them and this is because at the time I was doing this I only aimed towards producing one concept but instead changed my mind and created a template of 4 each one with a different appearance than the last, alongside this I also struggle to add texture in krita as it does not feel as effificient as it does in photoshop and so I have only left the one idea textured and left the others in a sketchy appearance and so this leads to my next sketches which will all be detailed colour ideas for my hoverboard that will make up for this template. For my next designs I will be attempting to blend colours together that will be implemented onto a finalised sketch outline inspired by any of the above 4 concepts that I have created.
For my first detailed concept I have produced a hover board inspired by number 4 from my previous image though I have retconned it a little with some new features that I believe make it stand out more. For the colour scheme I went with bright neon colours that are most prominent within the cyberpunk genre and I have utilised the mixer brush tool to allow me to blend colours together and get an interesting texture that makes the hover board look as if it is of high quality. Though this image isn’t too detailed it does serve to give me a better visualisation of my idea for my final product and shows how I have influenced my idea from the first sketch I did on the previous image.
This next image shows a more simple and grittier version than my previous hover board concept. For this design I wanted to implement a well worn appearance onto it to make it fit into the dystopian environment of the cyberpunk genre and to fit along with this I have used multiple dark tones of colour that help to convey the well worn experience of this asset. Although this design interests me I would still prefer the option of overhauling the previously more vibrant design than to continue with this one and so I will have this one serve to influence my final product as a solo concept.
In this image I am presenting a rough concept for what is my cyberpunk cyborg. For this design I wanted to use a wide variety of colours that would give them a gritty and intimidating texture whilst keeping them simple enough to still remain within the theme of the project. For this design I wanted to take a dehumanised approach and portray the cyborg as more machine than man and I have done this through placing a helmet onto the individual whilst giving them longer than average legs which have been achieved through cybernetic enhancement. To develop this image I worked for a time on photoshop and experimented with the mixer brush once again as I did last year to practice blending colours together so that my design might look more like a proper concept. I have included the reference I used to assist me in this image as it shows where I have taken inspiration from and allows others to see how it has influenced my own design. There is one factor about this concept that stands out to me which is the length of the body as the waist is much longer than it is on an actual person although this is not too damaging for my concept considering they are a cyborg and may possess certain abnormalities than others without cybernetic enhancements.
For this next image I have created a far more detailed and finalised concept which possess a more realistic and gritty texture along with a solid and grimy appearance. To achieve this texture I first produced the sketch of this image after creating an outline and then proceeded to add colour onto the product in small sectors at a time in order to focus on implementing detail and once one base colour had been added I then added the second base in short strokes and blended them together to from the gritty like texture that now appears on this design. For this design I also wanted to take a less dehumanised approach such as seen in my previous concept and so I have added a face whilst implementing some features that act as cybernetics just to fit them more into the role I have set for them. Once again an issue that I have with this concept is the length of the waist whilst the trouser colour I believe looking at it now does not fit the character all to well despite the dark blend I have given it, although these problems persist in this image this is still a concept that I worked hard on and is one that will greatly influence the final product.
What Tasks didn’t you complete this week?
For this week I have been able to complete most tasks that I set myself to achieve with my hoverboard and character designs. Although these tasks are mostly complete I have been unable to begin the designing phase of my outlaw concepts and so these will be the final task focused for the next 2 weeks.
Planning for next week –
- How do you plan to catch up?
- Do you need to change anything about your work or planning?
My work and planning technique has been progressing without any difficulty and has allowed me to manage my workload much easier with less stress and lets me focus greater attention on the tasks at hand. I will catch up by focusing on producing my outlaw concepts and finishing my ideas generation.
Week Number & Date:
6 23/12/2019
List of tasks planned for this week:
Begin Outlaw Concepts
Finish Ideas Generation
Current Position:
For this character design I have used the drawing software krita as at home I do not have access to photoshop and must work with what I am able to launch. This rough design of my outlaw uses a relatively dark colour scheme as I am once again attempting to fit a gritty and grimy texture onto a character as to make them look more realistic. This character does not feature any cybernetic enhancements as in my proposal I spoke about not including them on my outlaw and so this character is fully human without any augmentations present. Although this concept is not as detailed as my previous designs it does still serve as suitable inspiration that can lead to a full fledge final product of my outlaw. For this design I have also seemed to have resolve an issue with the waist as this character does not seem abnormally tall as seen in my cyborg concepts and so this can lead to even further improvements for my upcoming concepts.
for my 4th and final character concept I once again utilised the software krita to produce a textured sketch presenting my second concept for my cyberpunk outlaw. Unlike the first design I have spent more time working on the proportions and aligning them correctly alongside one another whilst also structuring the face so I could get the human appearance that my cyborg lacks, this is also one of my first designs that I have done inside and outside of college work where I have been able to develop an appropriate hair design as implementing this feature has always been a struggle of mine and so this time I experimented by just simply stroking black lines along the side of the outlaws head using a standard sketching brush which I then coloured underneath using the brown texture seen in the image currently. The colour scheme I chose for this outlaw is purposefully vibrant and neon like to reflect the theme of the project whilst I have implemented the appropriate level of grime and grit using a shading brush that makes the character seem dirty and adds a level of realism to the outfit and character all together. Overall producing these 2 designs has helped me understand how to develop different clothing styles as well as their own personas and from what I have learned during these sessions will help me develop towards my final product which I will produce using photoshop a software I am far more confident as well as comfortable with.
What Tasks didn’t you complete this week?
This week I have been able to finish all of my remaining ideas generation tasks which has allowed me to complete this stage of the unit and progress onto the next.
Planning for next week –
Begin Final product for each sector
- How do you plan to catch up?
- Do you need to change anything about your work or planning?
Planning and working this week has been done efficiently and I am caught up with all outstanding work for problem solving.
Level 3 Games Development Spencer Lee 