Week 2

Week 4

8th February – 10th February

I expanded my moodboard to include inspirations that were closer to our vision for the scene, looking at a blend of both sci fi and gothic in things like film, 3d models of specific areas, and miniature figurines.

As stated in my next steps in my Element 1 conclusion, my first task was to create a block out that would help create a concept/foundation for creating the rest of my scene. I started blocking out by importing height maps to create a base landscape, sourced from https://www.motionforgepictures.com/environment-height-maps-free-download/.

I experimented with the height maps by changing scale and sculpting into the terrain. I used the unreal blocks to map out the basic structure of the cathedral, also using the unreal mannequin as a reference for scale.

For the water, I used the unreal water plugin and imported an ocean into the scene, a different method of creating water will be necessary for the custom appearance we need for the final look but it works well as a placeholder. I watched this video:

I preferred the larger landscapes as it framed the cathedral better but possibly makes it appear too small.

I moved onto create a spline blueprint so that I could more easily place and adjust duplicated objects.

I watched this tutorial:

Troubleshooting involved: reimporting the fence to the correct unreal scale, rotating it in the correct direction, and centring the object within maya to correct the object being far away from the spline/ offset from the spline.

Further troubleshooting is required to make them match up more closely.

11th February

Spoke to industry professional, Daniel McGarry, and received feedback on E1 outcome and concept/blockouts. I expressed my difficulties with creating a concept and he said that it’s best to use a concept from another artist as it’s something that I won’t have to do in industry. He gave Richard Wright as an example concept artist that has created works for Warhammer 40K, our main inspiration. He said that the island isn’t particularly ‘Warhammer’. So next steps is to discuss with my teammate and decide on a suitable concept to work from, instead of trying to create our own. He also said that we should pay close attention to details within our works, for example, ensuring everything is grounded within reality ensuring each of our designs makes sense in the real world. We should also be polishing textures, adding Warhammer aspects like grime, oiled/dirty/greasy surfaces and blood splatter and stains. Our work should be as good as, if not better than the original concept adding extra educated details and develop it.

11th – 13th February

Following up from the feedback, I looked at a large collection of Warhammer 40K artworks on https://40k.gallery/.

I like the city scape of this, I will be using the surrounding buildings and central walkway as inspiration.

I will be using this as inspiration for smaller buildings surrounding the main walkway and possibly use fog and smoke in a similar way to imply grandeur but also help make everything cohesive and feel like a never ending city of hell.

For the main cathedral, I will be taking shape inspiration from this and add more complex details.

I will be using this to inspire the main portal.

14th February

I asked for feedback from my lecturer, expressing my struggles with blocking out and feedback from industry professional, main points include:

• Architecture and theme will always have a basic blueprint to follow, Ancient / Gothic / Sci fi /Religious, have templates that exist.
• Take core concepts of shape language from each and constructing something ‘new’ from them.
• Just work with basic shapes in maya or unreal to nail the footprint, silhouette and scale. Before deciding on the final design.
• A lot of the determining factors will come from the emotion you want the viewer to feel: Oppression, power, ominous, humbling, scary etc. This will dictate the shape greatly, using squares, triangles, harsh angles, towering height etc.
• If you want to convey the grandiose, then the design should be unnecessarily complicated. If it’s purely functional then the design will be more simple.

My lecturer referred to the cologne cathedral as an example of grandiose:

17th February

Using the references, I created a blockout, in order to improve, I’d like to experiment with scale to make the main cathedral look most central and/or move extra buildings so they don’t disrupt the silhouette. Moving forward, I’d like to seek feedback from my lecturer about whether this scale is too ambitious and any other improvements I could make.

18th February

Before requesting feedback, I tried to implement the changes I stated earlier, I gave the cathedral a large circular base to make it look more like the main focal point and added some buildings in the background to frame it.

20th February

Feedback from lecturer on blockout:

• Replace side buildings with military defences, like cannons, guns etc. Side buildings shouldn’t be as grand as the main cathedral
• Don’t have pathways connecting to main bridge as it should be the only way into the cathedral and only path to defend.
• Instead of fogging the ground, have volcanic, basalt land then there isn’t need to build an entire city.

• push lower ground detail up (tiered foundation on cathedral further up

For landscape height maps, instead of using pre-made downloaded maps, my lecturer suggested programs that I could use to make my own:

https://www.world-machine.com/download.php

https://quadspinner.com/Download

I collected references of different military weapons, both Warhammer inspires and real life references to inform my new design choices.

27th February

I outlined the details of the front of the cathedral so I can begin my modular asset creation while keeping it to scale.

I created a rough plan for my modular assets for the cathedral, missing assets include the large towers but a separate plan will be made for more close up details.. There is a lot of ‘red’ arches, to make this less repetitive I will be adding damage and decals.

3rd & 4th March

To begin asset creation, I started with one of the most detailed aspects of the cathedral, the main portal, to set a benchmark in terms of detail and quality. I began by collecting more focused photos that looked at real life portals, concept doors and some poses I may need for the figures within the asset.

I made the archway deeper and added indents along the top of the arch where figures will sit/stand.

I then made modular trims that can be used in other areas of the cathedral to decorate edges and cover seems.

I then began adding organic figures, I utilised a free asset from sketchfab:

I posed the skeleton to fit within the gaps I made in the arch.

I was inspired by this image from an earlier moodboard to create the main focal point of my arch, I decided that I wasn’t going to use cloth to add extra detail as I have ensure this is an achievable benchmark for the rest of the project.

6th March

This is my first texture pass, I liked the contrast between the dark metal and the gold however I felt that there was too much metal and repetitive glossy materials.

In order to improve the earlier repetition, I decided to make incorporate a rough concrete texture to contrast the shiny metal, I used the same green/grey colour that George uses in his stone tile material. I also added bullet holes, scratches, and blood splats to further break the repetition but also add more interest and enhance the story.

16th March

As I have set my benchmark with the main portal, I then produced the side portals using the same method and techniques. I was able to reuse my trims from the main portal which helps make it look more cohesive. I wanted the side portals to still be fairly impressive, but also not overshadow the main portal therefore I used less skeletons to distract the eye less. Since these portals were going to be duplicated, I didn’t add as many bullet holes/scratches else it would be an obvious duplicate. Instead I will use decals to add these elements to repetitive, non unique assets.

During this process, I also moved the entire blockout into Unreal to get a better feel as to how the textures would look in the final product.

17th March

After looking more closely at my references, I decided to to create to extra variations to the arch frames as in my modular plan the same repeats for the entire cathedral except the main portal however in reality there is a lot more variation.

This is my first attempt at making a balcony fence, I didn’t like how round it was, this meant that it didn’t fit in with the rest of the assets.

This was my next attempt, this was much more successful, I liked the shapes created when duplicated. I also tried to mimic some of the shapes in George’s interior such as the spikey tips in order to better tie the two environments together.

I framed some earlier modular assets to create more interest on the wall behind the main portal.

18th March

I created two trims scaled for import to Unreal, these ones are being used to decorate the wall between the windows and the ground.

20th March

Lecturer feedback:

• Make the main door much bigger than everything else, each window/arch should lead the eye toward the main door to make it look more intimidating

1st April

I started by implementing my lecturer’s feedback by scaling the main portal and lowering the side windows.

I then moved onto making the stepped towers that frame the main portal.

When texturing I was unhappy with the texel density, even when increasing the tiling the material looked blurry. Because these assets will be close and take up a lot of space on camera i decided to go back and increase my texel density.

https://www.beyondextent.com/deep-dives/deepdive-texeldensity

I used these resources to inform my decisions.

Previous texel density:

Improved texel density:

Through increasing the number of UV maps and making the uv spacing more optimised the textures now look a lot less blurry.

2nd April

I decided to change the edgewear mask so that it didn’t cover the whole edge to make it look more realistic. I added a cloud texture multiplier to create gaps within the edgewear.

List of things:

• mini arch texture on side portals
• textures on window trims
• window wall small arches & titles on tilted surface
• make a breaker in the fencing
• fence textures
• decor spikes to window upper arch walls

Summer Progress

Proposals

-See https://georgecozensfmp.myblog.arts.ac.uk/ for Gothic Proposal-

During the summer, I teamed up with George to collaborate on our FMP. We focused on three main proposal ideas: Gothic, East Asain, and Lost Civilization. To thoroughly explore each concept, we drafted three iterations for each idea, ensuring we had a wide range of options to choose from. I specifically worked on the proposals for the Edo Period and Lost Civilization. We exchanged feedback on each other’s proposals, refining existing concepts and introducing new ones to strengthen and add more detail to each proposal, effectively conveying our vision.

Next, we created moodboards for each theme, aiming to establish the atmosphere and setting for each. Our goal was to outline the directions and influences we wanted to pursue, drawing inspiration from real-life references, concept art, games, and films.

Theme Moodboards

Gothic

The piece that stood out to me most on this moodboard was the concept art from Elden Ring. It closely resembles real-world architecture but incorporates fantastical elements, such as massive, oversized buttresses in the background, and is perched on tall, overhanging rocks. For our cathedral, I’d like to experiment with similar extremes to create an otherworldly feel, making it stand out from the other assets in the scene. I also appreciate the grungy, earthy tones used throughout, as the washed-out colours suggest a lost vitality, evoking sadness and melancholy, and contributing to a sense of gloom. We can replicate this atmosphere in our work, not only through textures but also by using mist and cloud effects in Unreal Engine.

East Asain

George recommended that I explore Blue eye samurai, Samurai Jack, Afro Samurai, Sekiro, Nioh, Ghost of Tsuschima, Mini ninjas, Kung Fu Panda, Samuri Champloo, and black myth wukong.

If we decide to move forward with this theme, we agreed that Kung Fu Panda would be an excellent reference for the art direction we want to pursue. There is a wealth of concept material available through Google Images and art books, showcasing bold, vibrant colors and striking shapes with fantasy elements.

This art piece from the Kung Fu Panda reference stood out to me the most. It captures a sense of serenity with its inviting colours, like green, and an ethereal atmosphere. The contrast between the two dominant colours—green and blue—helps the village stand out against the surrounding mountains. I also love the glowing burst of light in the background, suggesting there’s more to explore and evoking the feeling of stepping into a new world.

In terms of the post-war theme, this art piece stands out due to its striking, sharp silhouettes and bold use of color. The predominant red and black tones convey a sense of danger. The characters standing atop the building suggest an impending threat below, where red flames and embers erupt, hinting at an imminent, life-threatening battle. The red symbolizes the bloodshed that awaits beneath them.

Lost Civilisation

George suggested that I look at references such as Wakanda, Star Wars battlefront to go alongside my other game references.

The reference that stood out to me the most on the Lost Civilization moodboard were the game shots from Star Wars Battlefront‘s Kashyyyk. They portray a civilization that, while hidden, is still thriving—nestled within enormous, fantastical trees and sustained by nature’s resources. I love how the roots and branches twist upward, guiding your eyes toward the tree canopies. The use of oversized mushrooms as platforms leading up to the housing is also a creative way to blend nature and function.

Presentation

We then collectively made a presentation briefly showing our directions and influences:

We aimed to keep the presentation brief and focused. For each proposal, we outlined the overall objective, highlighted key features that define the theme, and selected two game or film references for each iteration, listing what elements we would incorporate. Each slide included key photo references from our moodboards to help convey our ideas visually.

Thursday 3^rd October

Presented our 3×3 summer proposals and received feedback:

• Gothic Sci-fi was the most preferred
• Explore the unsettling nature of gothic, looking at sources like Scorn, aim to create the sense of unease
• Avoid any direct references to Warhammer 40k and other game sources
• Take influence from religion but don’t explicitly state it
• Veins/powercables/something connecting the buildings and objects leading to the main building (cathedral)
• Have a statue/object of power/focus point within the cathedral, something to build up to

Saturday 5^th October

Exploring what makes the gothic theme, looking at its history and delving deeper into its key features.

My most interesting finds through this research were that gothic statues are usually more realistic than past figures, often featuring an ‘S’ shape. This is something to consider when creating a focal point within our cathedral.

It also gave reasoning behind gothic architecture’s most recognisable features like buttresses, sharp arches and decorative ceilings each designed to help support the sheer weight of the building.

Sunday 6^th October

I explored the characteristics of the science fiction genre, noting that it often overlaps with fantasy under the umbrella of “speculative fiction,” as its ideas are typically further removed from our reality. I then examined key historical examples of sci-fi, discovering that Amazing Stories—a magazine series running from 1926 to 2005—featured work by notable sci-fi writers.

A common theme in these stories is an alien force taking over or threatening humanity. One that stood out to me was “The Colour Out of Space,” which describes a cosmic entity slowly consuming the land and living creatures. This concept could serve as excellent inspiration for the central object or focal point within our cathedral. It’s not a traditional alien, but rather a meteorite that emits color, which encourages us to think beyond conventional alien designs for our hero asset. I was also drawn to “The Fate of the Poseidonia,” where aliens siphon water from Earth, a concept that aligns with our idea of interconnected buildings and objects, linked by power cables or organic structures. I like the idea of something feeding on what’s inside and draining Earth’s resources.

Cathedral Hero Asset:

I started exploring ideas for our hero asset within the cathedral, focusing on horror creatures and dark, gothic statues to create a sense of unease. After reviewing various references, I came up with the concept of a host or mother figure birthing children or workers within the cathedral. The host would have a swollen abdomen, overwhelmed by numerous umbilical cords that extend from the stomach and lower body. These cords would stretch out from the cathedral, tethered to smaller, weaker workers that echo the host’s design, explaining the veins scattered throughout the environment.

The host would be a fusion of metal, technology, and organic material, with a vaguely human form to ground it in reality and heighten the disturbing atmosphere. The workers, or children, would scuttle through the environment, collecting food for the host—whether organic material or scrap metal washed up from the coast. Some of these workers might have exposed mechanical components that break down the food into smaller pieces before it’s sucked up through the tubes connecting them to the host. You might even see shapes like human faces, hands, or parts of weapons bulging through the tubes, hinting at the disturbing process within.

I later had a discussion with George to generate more ideas for the statue hero asset:

-Weeping angel/morning star statue chained up/down within the main cathedral possibly in-front/over a blood pool/fountain and watched over by monks (inspired by Schema Monk Russia).
– Throughout time the monks start hearing voices compelling them to bring blood to the statue, whether that be their own, from fallen soldiers, blood from the shoreline (possibly tech filtration system).
– In the process of delivering blood they leave behind blood trails and footsteps that lead towards the chamber from all parts of the map.
– They possibly deliver blood in skulls using them as buckets or even carrying blood in cupped hands
– Bloody handprints on doors
– 1st Potential Stretch Goal: Have a different phase of the statue showing a later development of reviving the statue, you may see patches turn to pale, almost translucent like skin (inspiration from Prometheus Alien). You may see veins pumping blood through the statue. A compliment to this idea could also be that the monks start to get paler from their loss of blood and lifeless (zombie-like), their sense of selves leaving them as they become almost a hive mind.
– 2nd Potential Stretch Goal: Tapestry/painting on the ceiling of the chamber displaying the story that is unfolding. Panels could include: when the cathedral was first being built, when the angel was first captured and trapped, when it preserved itself in stone, when it started to compel the monks to give it blood, when the angel re-awakens spreading chaos.
– Potential stone reasoning: vampiric- it may be that the angel turned to stone as a way of self preserving itself (inspiration from the Pillar Men from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure(1987)).
-The statue may have tubes connecting its back to the pool of blood as a way of absorbing the blood. Alternatively, their may be a balcony above the the statue where the monks pour blood over it. There also may be fountains/taps of blood leading up the walls.

Following on from my moodboard and research on the statue, I decided to take a closer look at H. R. Giger’s work for further inspiration. I started by collecting images of his work and collecting them into a moodboard.

I then looked at the history of Giger:

H. R. Giger is one of the world’s most famous artists of Fantastic Realism. He was born in 1940 in Chur, Switzerland and then later moved to Zurich in 1962 where he studied architecture and industrial design. By 1964 he was producing his first artworks, mostly ink drawings and oil paintings, resulting in his own first solo exhibition in 1966. Shortly after he was experimenting with the airbrush and his own hand painting style leading to the creation of his surrealistic Biomechanical dreamscapes.  

Necronomicon was published in 1977 which was used as inspiration for the Alien film directed by Ridley Scott. He was then awarded the 1980 Oscar for the Best Achievement in Visual Effects for the title character. Giger is also well known for Poltergeist II, Alien 3, and Species. 

Giger also extended his art style to sculptures, which later led to him opening a Giger bar in Tokyo.  

The HR Giger Museum was opening in June 1998, in the Chateau St. Germain, in the city of Gruyères, Switzerland. 

He then hosted numerous exhibitions in places such as Paris, France, previously mentioned Chur, Switzerland, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Germany, Kunsthaus Wein, Austria, Moscow, Istanbul.  

Giger passed away Monday 12^th May 2014 at the age of 74 (HR giger – the official website 2012). 

Monday 7th October

[insert fantasy landscape moodboard here- include an analysis from favourite works found in the moodboard]

I started experimenting in ZBrush to create a 3D base for the statue concept in our cathedral. We concluded that multiple arms would give it a god-like appearance. To streamline the process, I used Insert Meshes (IMMs) in ZBrush since this was just a preliminary concept. I also created my own IMM for the eyes featured on the chest and hands, intentionally designing the eye bags to sag slightly for a more unsettling, creepy effect.

Tuesday 8th October

I employed various techniques to refine my 3D base, including paint overs, photo bashing, and the transform and liquify tools. I began by lassoing and liquifying the limbs to create a twisted distortion. Next, I collected images to incorporate into the concept, such as the wings, rings, head, headpiece, and bowl/goblet. Using brushes, I blended these images into my design. This approach allowed for a quick creation of a basic concept; if I were to develop it further, I would paint these elements myself and adjust their shapes and details to align more closely with my vision.

While I appreciated this design, it felt too horrifying and demonic for our intent, especially since the statue resides in a cathedral. Going forward, we plan to add clothing and desexualize the image, aiming for a more appealing and less disturbing look. This aligns better with our story, as the statue is meant to attract the monks, and a softer appearance would be more fitting for that purpose.

Wednesday 9th October

I moved onto writing up a project proposal:

Thursday 10th October

Today we spoke to our lecturer, Amil, to discuss our ideas and how to approach the remainder of our research segment until. the end of November. From this feedback I created a to do list:

Continuation of H R Giger research

Line and shape: The artwork features smooth, flowing lines that transition between organic and mechanical parts, giving the figures an otherworldly or alien appearance. The shapes are elongated and skeletal, resembling mechanical parts, yet deeply human-like anatomical structure, these is something I would like to experiment with in my own concepts, specifically for the statue.

Texture: There is a sense of cold, hard metal juxtaposed with the soft, organic contours of the bodies.

Colour: The monochromatic palette, dominated by grey, blacks, and metallic hues, contributes to the stark, industrial, and lifeless atmosphere.

Form: The figures occupy the foreground, deeply intertwined with machinery around them, giving a sense of fusion between flesh and technology. The background is dark and minimal, focusing attention on the subjects.

The alien, dehumanised figures reflects themes of isolation. The overall feeling is dystopian, as if these figures exist in a world dominated by machines, a feeling I would like to replicate in my own work. The biomechanical forms hint at a loss of individually or the submission of organic life to industrial forces.

Deeper look into the Gothic and Sci-Fi themes in Games

Warframe

In particular I liked this interior, ‘Hall of Memories’. The use of arches and smooth, flowing curves in the architecture emphasises an advanced, sleek, and futuristic design. The arches blend tradition with high-tech.

The straight lines and geometric shapes (rectangular panels, hexagonal lights) with the curved elements evoke a sense of technological precision and control. The clean, polished textures of walls and floor emphasises the idea of advanced materials. The predominant colours are metallic greys, whites and greens are commonly associated with sci-fi settings. The green glow and subtle gold highlights contrast and stand out from the rest of the environment, underlining the importance of the use of colours to make certain aspects of a scene stand out.

The grand scale provokes the sense of wonder and curiosity, draws the viewer into the scene. The cool, subdued colours and soft lighting evoke a calm, meditative atmosphere, yet the glowing green light and subtle details hint at hidden dangers or undiscovered secrets.

In conclusion, this scene from Warframe(2013) effectively conveys a sci-fi theme through its use of sleek, futuristic architecture, grand scale, and carefully controlled lighting.

Warhammer 40k: Space marine 2

The golds mixed within the gothic architecture blends the theme of Gothic and Sci-Fi well as the smooth metallics hint at themes of advanced materials and the ornate shapes and sharp arches hint at the gothic elements.

The sharp broken shapes of the ruins convey destruction, contributing to the sense of a world ravaged by war. The swarm of creatures crowding the sky imply a sense of impending doom and danger, combined with the smoke that overcasts the sun.
The scene primarily uses muted greys, browns, and other earth tones, which contribute to the feeling of a grim, decayed world.

The lighting in this scene is harsh and dramatic, with the flames casting an orange glow that contrasts against the cold blue and gray tones of the sky and buildings. This contrast adds to the tension and unease, as the flames suggest immediate danger while the dim, overcast sky implies a bleak future.

This scene from Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 blends gothic and sci-fi styles through its use of grand, ancient architecture, high-tech armor, and a war-torn, futuristic setting.

Sunday 13th October

Today, we expanded upon our Gantt chart in Notion to create a more detailed and comprehensive project plan. The updated plan includes more precise task breakdowns, real-time status updates, set task dependencies, prioritising of tasks, deadlines for each task, and further features to allow for seamless collaboration. The website also allows for meeting planning and document sharing facilitating for excellent communication and organisation.
I’ve given a brief display of how we are utilising Notion below:

This the main overview of our tasks, we added tasks up until our hand-in on November 21st for EP1. The table is expandable and allows for sub-tasks which provide for more detailed breakdowns of each task.

An example use of a sub-task.

This is a simplified display of all tasks, helping give a broader overview of the progress of each task.

A calendar is also available for an overview of upcoming deadlines.

Specific Project brief

MVP

Monday 15th October

Today I looked into the Book of Ezekiel as suggested by lecturer, Amil.

I want to use this historical tale as inspiration for the story behind our god-like statue, giving it a purpose for draining life and blood from the island. The monks could serve as prophets, dedicated to restoring the statue by destroying the land around it in order to bring forth new life. Outsiders might not understand or accept their actions, and some may even oppose them. Perhaps the statue compels the monks to offer blood and restore it through visions, much like the ones God gave to Ezekiel.

As a stretch goal to our storyboard, we could animate a scene where the island is vibrant and full of life, as if offering the viewer a vision. This could subtly encourage them to embrace the role of a prophet and join in giving the statue unlimited blood acting as almost propaganda.

Tuesday 15th October

Today, I wanted to focus on making a start to our scene slice by making arches that can be used as walls, windows or supports.

I started by collecting images for a moodboard in order to inspire and educate my designs.

I created a series of ornate arches that build upon each other so that they can be used as a whole, combined or singularly.

Example use alongside George’s pillars.

We tested our initial assets in a corridor and realized we needed to examine vaulted Gothic ceilings more closely, as they have a specific construction style. Additionally, we decided to widen the corridor to enhance its grandeur and impact, which means creating extra pillars and arches for structural support.

Thursday 17th October

Today, I cleaned up the geometry for the arches and created UVs for each one, keeping them on a single UV tile. This approach improves loading performance and eliminates the overhead of using multiple materials for the same purpose.

Closer Look At vaulted Ceilings

I looked at a video to understand the construction behind vaulted ceilings in order to better inform our models. I looked at a video by Myles Zhang – https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=DHtYXJ-bgnI.

In our previous attempt we were missing a middle arch that would help better shape the ceiling to the arches.

Friday 18th October

Following my previous attempt, I shifted to sketching in 2D to refine the concept, drawing inspiration from George’s concepts and the generated images we created to address the elements we felt were lacking. You can view George’s referenced work here: George Cozens’ blog. Once I was satisfied with the body concept, I added photobashed wings to incorporate the statue’s angelic aspect.
I aimed to integrate all the research we had done so far, including biomechanical influences from Giger’s work, which are evident in the upper arms, sci-fi elements inspired by Warframe (2013), and features from the newly generated images. Additional touches, such as drapery in a ‘mermaid’ pattern on the lower half, added a seductive quality, complementing the contrapposto pose and ‘S’ curve of the body I explored earlier during my research in the Gothic theme.

Although this iteration brought us closer to our vision for the statue, it appeared too much like a ‘harpy.’ To address this, we considered making the headpiece more dramatic and intimidating, as well as designing custom wings rather than using photo images.

Gargoyle Research

I first looked into what makes a gargoyle and what are its key features. The most notable feature was that is acts like a drainage system, redirecting water away from brick walls.

George suggested that I look at the gargoyle at Paisley Abbey which features a gargoyle inspired by the creature in Alien(1979)(The story behind Paisley Abbey’s alien gargoyle 2020).

I think it blends the sci-fi theme and gargoyles well adding functionality to the design through elongating its body and posing it with its mouth open, something I’d like to consider in my own designs.
Find George’s synopsis here: /https://georgecozensfmp.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2024/10/15/week-3-further-research-and-concepting/

I also collected a series of images involving realistic and concept gargoyles in order to better inform my own concepts.

Wednesday 23rd October

I attempted to start sculpting a gargoyle in Zbrush however I was struggling to get the forms right and started to lose definition the more I tried to adjust the forms. Therefore, in my next attempt, I will create a simple blockout first establishing the main shapes and then add detail ontop.

Thursday 24th October

Following on my my attempt yesterday, as stated, I began my second attempt by blocking out the main forms first in maya and then imported it into Zbrush.

I started by establishing the face and expression and then worked down, I like my progress so far however I would like to add more sci-fi elements before adding more detail.

Tuesday 29th October

We decided that creating a gargoyle is lower on our priority list therefore I began making a substance designer texture for a rocky ground.

Rocks

To begin my texture, I created different sized rocks by varying the scales of each cell 4 node then applied edge detect to each one with varying edge widths and roundness in order to control the amount of each kind of rock; big rocks have less density, while the smaller rocks have a higher density. I then blended them all together and applied grayscale colour, giving each sized rock a specific colour. I used a distance node in order to reduce the spacing and compact the rocks.

In order to give shape to the rocks, I used flood fill to gradient nodes with different angle variations and random seed values to give roundness to the edges of the rocks, I blended each of them together using blend nodes set to min darken. I also used Gradient Maps in order to change the shape of some of the rocks in the gradient pattern above.

I also added noise to this graph in order to add some natural variation.

I added a Flood Fill to BBox Size node and an Auto Levels node which increased the values, this makes the larger rocks lighter giving them more height and the smaller rocks darker making them blend in more with the ground.

I added a Flood Fill to Grayscale node and adjusted it’s luminance in order to flatten some of the sharp edges and points.

I kept this graph separate to my main graph and gave it an input and output node and dragged it into my main graph.

I exposed certain aspects of the graph, such as Noise Overlay, Scale Multiply and Luminance Adjustment and set them as parameters so that I could easily adjust certain aspects of this branch graph in my main graph.

This is how the rock sculpting graph appears in the main graph alongside sliders for the parameters. This makes my graph cleaner and less busy.

I created another separate graph for rounding and softening the edges of the rocks and also adding a rough texture to the rock. I did this through a series of noise maps including Cloud, Perlin and Gaussian.

This is my material so far with completed rocks.

Wednesday 31st October

Today I focused on creating a fence for our scene slice, I tried to include Sci-fi elements in the framing, and then Gothic elements for the bars. I think the outcome was a successful blend between the two.

I decided not to stack the UV’s for the fence so that we could adding lighting wherever without any duplication issues.

Friday 1st November

Dirt

Today I added a dirt level to my Substance Designer material by adding height variation to the ground and subtle small rocks/stones.

I created the foundation for my dirt through a series of base noise such as, fractural sum base, moisture noise, perlin noise, and blended them together and utilised multidirectional warp to adapt the noises further, adjusting the shapes to create a ‘less procedural’/custom outcome.

I added small rocks to the dirt as if the rocks have been ground up/eroded in the dirt. I did this by using BnW 3 spots, Dirt 3 and 5, blended together and warped them.

I then flattened my dirt to better blend with the rocks by reducing the range of levels.

smaller rocks

I started to create smaller rocks for my ground, I began by using a tile sampler and set the pattern to 2 by 2, half bells and randomised the angles to create the base shape for my smaller rocks. I used a perlin noise to randomise the rocks further and then used a histogram scan to get a clear cut shape.

Similar to my larger rocks from earlier, I used flood fill gradient to sculpt the rock shapes.

I used auto levels to ensure I am using the full range of values, I then used slope blur node with a perlin noise to warp the rocks slightly making them less polygonal and then blended the outcome with the initial clear cut shape to remove any unwanted height. I used my rock noise graph from earlier to add texture to my rocks but with a moisture noise blended in to add variation between these new rocks and old.

This graph blends the rocks with the dirt, utilising height blend creating my final height map.

I then moved onto creating colour maps:

Starting with my dirt height map, through using grunge maps and gradient maps I created the colour for my dirt, finishing with a uniform colour to add cohesion. I aimed for a dark, almost red colour reflecting the rocks/dirt on Barren Island.

Using a similar method, using gradient maps to generate the colour for my rocks, except this time I blended HSL nodes so that I could control hue, saturation, and lightness. I then added a blend at the end to combine the dirt and stone colour maps.

I then created a roughness map to make the rocks slightly shiner, using the height map from my dirt and rock blend and inverting it.

Lighting with Elliot McSherry

Today I also attended a lighting lecture for 3D environments in Unreal, the lesson underlined the importance of global and local levels which helps better organise not only lighting setups but can also be used to organise assets within a scene; we utilised premade assets on fab.com: [VP] Temples of Cambodia – Ruins exterior and interior
I learned new features such as using and importing custom HDRI backdrops and how to adjust settings within them to customise it to either day or night, and how to add more light to interior spaces without adding artificial lighting; this also optimal for performance.
I also experimented with directional lighting and fog to appear as god rays and looked at post processing techniques (PPV).

Sunday 3rd November

I looked at the main architectural features of gothic cathedrals and the naming and terminology for each; this gave me a much deeper understanding of how gothic cathedrals are made and highlighted important aspects that I should aim to include in my own work.

Monday 4th November

2D

For the 2D session today, our task was to create some quick character concepts, focusing on overall shape rather than details. I found this really helpful as the more concepts I did, the more interesting my shapes and silhouettes became. If given time for this stretch goal, I would like to develop these concepts further and create these in 3D.

3D

I gathered my previous models together and added new ones to create a small asset pack, these will be my modular pieces to create a spire for our scene slice.

I used all of the above pieces to create a spire that can be used on the ground, at the edge of walls, or on top of towers. I am quite happy with the outcome, I would like to create a trimsheet/part of a trimsheet to add further detail to the flooring, trimmings and roofing.

Tuesday 5th November & Wednesday 6th November

I decided to revisit the gargoyle, in my previous attempt, although I had made improvements since the first gargoyle, I felt that I could still include more sci-fi elements.

I decided to expand upon my moodboard by collecting sci-fi creature references, focusing on the Tyranids from our theme inspiration, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (2024) and a range of concepts.

1- I began sculpting by establishing the basic pose and defining the features of my gargoyle. I envisioned it gripping the ledge and gazing outward, creating the impression of a looming threat.
2-I gathered references of animals with features similar to my creature’s design to guide my anatomical choices and enhance its believability (see 2 Moodboard). For example, I referenced greyhounds for the legs, bats for the arms and wings, and crows or ravens for the head. I chose to exaggerate the ribcage to mimic the distinctive patterns often seen in H.R. Giger’s work.
3- I added a flat plane so I could better position the claws so it actually clings onto a ledge.
4- I opted to elongate the tail using ZSpheres, adding asymmetry to the sculpt.

Since this asset will primarily be viewed from a distance and positioned high up, I concentrated on creating a strong silhouette with sharp, angular shapes to convey a sense of power and menace. I have highlighted main shapes within the silhouette.

Thursday 7th November

I spoke to my lecturer for advice and he recommended that I make the shapes sharper and less round as if its been chiselled from stone.

I was referred to The Chronicles Of Riddick(2004) and the logo from Judge Dread(1977) to look at their sharpness in shape. For Riddick in particular, I hope to recreate the shame distinct and chiselled shapes in my own sculpt.

Friday 8th November

Based on feedback and research, I flattened the shapes to give the gargoyle a more rock-like appearance. This helps it blend more seamlessly with the architecture while maintaining a cohesive art style through its simplified surfaces.

Saturday 9th November

I then decimated the high-poly model to create a mid-poly mesh, which I imported into Maya. Using Quad Draw, I retopologized the object to create the low-poly model.

Sunday 10th November

I began to bake down the high poly to the low poly.

I encountered some errors with my bake mostly with the spine spikes, the AO was baking onto the skin and the spikes were deformed.

To address this issue, I used ZRemesher to reduce the poly count specifically for the spikes and then removed unnecessary edge loops in Maya to further optimize the mesh. I exported the spine as a separate material from the body, allowing me to bake the materials individually and avoid overlap. Additionally, I discovered another solution by adjusting the AO baking settings in Substance Painter to bake each object individually.

Wednesday 13th November

emissive colours:
base: #E0832A
Emissive: #E0752A

Element 2

Thursday 16th January

Over Christmas I was able to receive mentorship from industry professional Zakia Khan, my main focus of feedback was on 3D sculpting as I felt that in my previous projects it was my weakest area and I felt her art style closely aligned with our semi-realism aesthetic aim. I came to her with my first personal attempt of a headsculpt and her feedback was as followed:

She began by going into detail about Kibbe face types and what each of them portray, she also gave game examples alongside this: Moria (Overwatch) Dramatic, Tracer (Overwatch) Gamine, Widowmaker (Overwatch) Romantic, Ana (Overwatch) Natural. She also provided examples of her work that show the differences more clearly,

She then recorded a video of her sculpting over my original personal attempt and these were her changes:

From this feedback, I followed the same processes and steps to correct my initial sculpt. In her video she demonstrates new tools that I haven’t used before, some key examples: masking areas of the face to create poly groups and ZRemesher to create better topology that more closely aligns with the flow of the face, she works with multiple subdivision levels so that she can make large changes in the lower subdivision levels and small details in the higher subdivision levels, clay polish to create smoother, less bumpy surface, and dam standard alternate to create sharp edges. Thanks to these new tools and advice from Zakia, I think my sculpt looks a lot better.

She also gave feedback on some concepts I was working on at the time, her changes are highlighted in red. She suggested a really interesting idea that some parts of the statue could be floating/rotating (In this case the horns) and she advised me that I should push the silhouettes more.

I gathered concepts I created throughout Element 1 and over Christmas and presented them to my tutor. I expressed that overall I don’t think I have quite captured the alien/otherworldly creature look and I felt that none of them were overly successful.

Through our discussions we determined that out of all of them, this one more closely aligns with our vision. The key points we liked were: the interesting corset piece, two arms pinned up and the other two twisted, the elongated neck. His advice for moving forward was to create a base silhouette/body base including the elements we discussed that were successful and then add the alien elements on top and create iterations.

I chose to use a gantt chart for planning my research as it underlines clear key goals and objectives and also clearly shows research deadlines.

Notes from research in ‘How to write a dissertation’

https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/abstract/

• An abstract is a short summary of a longer work (such as a dissertation or research paper). The abstract concisely reports the aims and outcomes of your research, so that readers know exactly what your paper is about.

https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/introduction/

• The introduction is the first section of your thesis or dissertation, appearing right after the table of contents. 
• Begin by introducing your research topic and giving any necessary background information.
• After a brief introduction to your general area of interest, narrow your focus and define the scope of your research.

https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/methodology/

• Your research methodology discusses and explains the data collection and analysis methods you used in your research.
• Quantitative methods
• Qualitative methods
• you should indicate how you processed and analysed your data
• In qualitative research, your analysis will be based on language, images, and observations (often involving some form of textual analysis).

https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/conclusion/

• It should be concise and engaging, leaving your reader with a clear understanding of your main findings, as well as the answer to your research question.
• Your conclusion should begin with the main question that your thesis or dissertation aimed to address.
• Your conclusion is an opportunity to remind your reader why you took the approach you did, what you expected to find, and how well the results matched your expectations.

Academic Support Session Resources

In preparation to following academic support sessions, I gathered a list of potential thesis ideas.

It was agreed that cultural appropriation and appreciation in games would be the most effective.

Literature Review notes

Young, J.O. and Brunk, C.G. (2012) The ethics of cultural appropriation

The book refers to the Oxford English Dictionary for the definition of ‘appropriation’ which is “the making a thing of private property…; taking as one’s own or to one’s own use”. It explores appropriation within a broad range of cultural assets, helping clarify the types of cultural appropriation, making it easier to define and analyze. It finds that in every case, something is alleged to be taken and made use of (Young & Brunk, 2012).

Guo, L., Eyman, D. and Sun, H. (2024) Games & play in chinese & sinophone cultures.

This extract focuses on ideas surrounding cultural appropriation in games, in particular, the visual design and narrative elements in World of Warcraft and Genshin Impact.

It focuses on the Mist of Pandaria expansion within World of Warcraft which incorporated elements of Asian Culture, primarily ancient Chinese culture. Stating that the expansion was made to appeal to the growing popularity within China. The book highlights the Pandaren player race, which was originally designed with inspirations from Japanese culture, but the design was later changed to better suit to a Chinese audience. Players claimed that Pandaria relied on many insensitive clichés and engaged in surface level research. Although the book realizes that there is no official study of Chinese player’s response to the expansion to the date of writing, through self-study methods it can conclude that the expansion engaged in cultural appropriation through superficial design choices and the use of cultural elements simply for entertainment and increased engagement.

It also looks at an opposing example, Genshin Impact, which is a Chinese-produced game unlike World of Warcraft which was produced in the United States. It states that unlike World of Warcraft, Genshin Impact uses Chinese cultures more generally. It lists positive reviews from players expressing that architectural design elements and recipes within the game are accurate representations which have promoted cultural education. Based on the findings from the extract, Genshin Impact serves as a strong example of cultural appreciation (Guo et al., 2024).

Even though this study lacks academic or expert analysis, it aids in how to identify cases of cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation specifically within games.

Games for the Pluriverse: Exploring the Use, Opportunities, and Problems of Drawing from Local Cultural Heritage in Video Games

Article- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/15554120241234126

This section of the article focuses on how the use of local heritage can likely lead to stereotyping, underlining that while games may benefit from leveraging from these stereotypes, it raises concerns about misrepresentation on an international scale.

It questions whether games like Falafel King successfully engages with cultural heritage, an Israeli browser game that primarily uses common tropes and boldly portrays aspects of public and organizational life in Isreal. It focuses its discussion on Greek-inspired games such as Age of Mythology, God of War, Apotheon, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and Hades describing them as unofficial ambassadors of what is perceived as Greek Culture. Despite Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s research, which involved sending researchers working alongside the Greek Government to study ancient manuscripts and in-game locations, the game faced harsh critique when it came to cultural representation. Similarly to previously mentioned games, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey reduced local cultures simply to stereotypes and “exotic” settings. The article argues that because of limited resources and marketing, games that showcase Greek culture and mythology that are created by native Greek developers are quite rare. It uses 1821: The Struggle for Freedom as an example, the game was made by an indie Greek studio named Icehole Games in 2001, however the game only received recognition mostly within Greece. The chapter closes by saying that culturally focused games face challenges when competing with mainstream games that promote the values of more powerful cultures.

Case study Research

I spoke with my Games Art lecturer and they provided a lists of potentially interesting areas:

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

• Chinese subtitles
• Over use of Sakura trees
• removed Yasuke splash on Japanese sites and removed his name as samurai and replaced with mighty warrior, but still samurai in west
• applied censorship to the game in Japan
• interview saying that they value and research and promote culture but contradicts
• Ubisoft and assassins creed every main character is always native of the region its based in, but in shadows this doesn’t follow the trend
• Complaints against RE5 but cant complain about ac: shadows

Ghost of Tsushima

• Developers made ambassadors of island

Reviewing

Before moving onto proof reading, I completed the thesis self-assessment checklist so that I could identify main problematic areas to look out for.

Main areas of improvements:

• format and title chapters better
• reword sub headings
• sort bibliography in alphabetical order

Choice 1 – Apex Character

Create a character within the IP of Apex Legends. I’d like to create a character with an heirloom to solidify it within the IP.

I’d like to treat the other colour variations as different skin colours, similar to the grey rank skins in the game.

My initial aim for the heirloom is to create a part mech snake that wraps around her arm, further cementing it into the game’s IP.

Choice 2 – Duo

Potential idea for posing, male Tiefling wrapping tail around to protect.

More scope for adding my own ideas and designs to develop the concept.

Choice 3 – Riot Character

Would be nice to experiment with effects and has strong concept.

Research & Concept

Moodboard

My chosen IP for this project is Monster Hunter. I hope to create a character in armour inspired by a creature similar to the games’ armour sets. To fit within my IP, my base character will be human and the outfit will include a variety of textures such as metal, fur and cloth.

I started by looking at the games’ armour sets which are crafted from materials obtained by killing monsters. Each armour set is reminiscent of the design of the defeated creature therefore for my own character, I will include elements of a creature design so that the armour fits within the IP.

I began looking at real armour, I focused mainly on royal and samurai armour as I felt they closely matched the Monster Hunter style. I liked the ornate engravings on the royal armour which I will reference back to when sculpting. I found many examples from the Tower of London therefore I plan to visit to gather my own references. I found that the samurai armour involved layered, rectangular pieces of armour rather than body shaped pieces as it doesnt restrict movement. I also liked the interesting helmets, each involving uniquely shaped horns which I would like to consider in my own design.
As I wanted to vary my textures, I looked at fur clothing and capes, I liked how some where held together by chains and involved spikes as it comes across as more powerful.
I also looked at costume armour, similar to the creature inspired armour in Monster Hunter. I liked the exaggerated sharp shapes which is something I would like to experiment with my character to make them more intimidating.

I looked at a wide range of concept work including creature and armour references. During my research, I highlighted a few artists which stood out such as Othon Nikolaidis, goo JJang, Russell Dongjiun Lu, and Marcus Whinney.

Character Analysis

The Handler

The Handler’s role in Monster Hunter is to guide the player and provide tips. The handler is made up of round shapes which evokes a warm and approachable feeling. She also carries round a book and wears glasses which suggests she is knowledgeable. The vibrant yellow makes her welcoming and joyful but also implies she is a cowardly, hence why she guides the adventurer rather than joins them. Yellow is also associated with hope, as can be seen in some countries when yellow ribbons are displayed by families who have loved ones at war.

The Commander

The Commander is the de facto leader of the Research Commission in Astera and a member of the First Fleet [2]. The Commander is made up of rectangular and triangular shapes, this suggests that he is powerful and dependable while also being menacing and fearful. His age also suggests he is wise and experienced. His outward, wide stance further implies he is strong and outgoing, and his clenched fists imply he is always ready for a fight. His vest suggests he isn’t afraid to hide his strength.

The Guild Master

The guild master help hunters register into the Hunter’s Guild, they are known to test a hunter’s strength with ‘Urgent Quests’ in order to see if the hunter is worthy of ranking up. They also give hunters various types of advice to help them overcome challenges.

The Guild Master is made up of round shapes similar to the handler, making him appear friendly. His over exaggerated laugh further implies this and suggests he is cheery. His large ears displays that he is a good listener. His age suggests he is knowledgeable. This is further suggested by his blue colour scheme, blue can also mean serenity, stability and inspiration.

Concept

Gender: Female

Species: Human

Personality: Rebellious but protective

Powers: Move using a speed burst so fast it seems like teleportation

Archetype: Genius

Alignment: Chaotic Verbose

Unique Elements: Wirebug Expert

I used a random generator to create the personality of my character, my results showed that my character will be an extremely fast genius which I thought would be a perfect for a wirebug expert. A wirebug is similar to a grappling hook that allows the player to scale cliffs and provides aerial attack opportunities. An example is shown below;

My character would teach the player on how to master the wirebug and provide tips on where to find them.

Fast character Game Examples

Tracer (Overwatch), Octane (Apex Legends), and Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog) are great examples of speedy characters. They each move at incredible speeds, tracer is so fast that she appears as if she is teleporting. Each of them are made up of triangular shapes which suggest they are dangerous, cunning and sneaky. Each of them also have strong, recognisable silhouettes also resembling triangles. Each of them wear tight or no clothing so that they aren’t restricted, I would like to experiement with the balance of protection and movement in my character. They are also lanky with very thin legs.

Character Shape Exercise

I used a www.softr..io.com to randomly generate shapes. From these shapes I tried to create characters, this helped me exaggerate elements of the character and focus on the overall shape of the character rather than the details. This was a quick and easy way of creating unique and interesting characters, I would like to implement these exaggerated shapes in my character design in order to portray their personality.

Tower of London Visit

To aid my research, I visited the Tower of London to see weaponry and armour first-hand. The tower that interested me the most was the White Tower, the armoury. It was useful to see the details and engravings up close as online image quality hid most of these details, this is something I will look back to when sculpting. They also had a wider variety of armour than what I could find online, such as armour for not only men but also women, children, and horses. In particular, I liked the child’s chicken head shaped helmet as it inspired me to create more unique shapes in my character’s armour.

Fantasy Exhibition – British Library

Concepts

For my first concepts, I began with a foundational body and pose, then layered clothing and additional features on top. However, I found that my designs were somewhat constrained by this approach and lacked the eccentricity I desired. Nonetheless, I particularly appreciated the shoulder pads in designs A and C, as their sharp triangles conveyed a sense of danger and cunning, which aligned with my vision for the character.

I also toyed with the concept of a bionic limb in designs C, E, and F, suggesting she had lost it in battle. However, upon reflection, I realized this wasn’t suitable for her personality. Given her strength and prowess, such a mistake wouldn’t likely occur in battle.

In my subsequent concepts, I opted not to use the base body. However, I still found that designs 1 and 2 leaned towards a particular stance, which felt limiting. As a result, I shifted my approach for the remaining designs, experimenting with creating silhouettes first and then sketching on top. This method proved to be more successful, although I still felt that my designs lacked the desired personality traits. Therefore, I plan to leverage the lessons learned from working with silhouettes and apply them to create more dynamic poses in my next concepts, aiming to capture my character’s personality traits more effectively.

On a positive note, I found the spikey hair in designs 1, 2, and 4 appealing. I intend to incorporate similar elements into my next designs and explore iterations inspired by them.

In my final iteration, I integrated dynamic poses as previously mentioned, resulting in significantly more successful designs. They exuded a sense of energy and joy. Design Z stood out to me, with its spread-out pose suggesting both playfulness and strength in the space it occupies. However, I felt it appeared too childish considering the character is meant to be a genius. Attempting to address this, design Y introduced wider and rounder shapes to give a more adult appearance, but it veered too far into seriousness for a character described as chaotic and verbose.

In contrast, design X seemed to strike the perfect balance. It embodied both cheekiness and intelligence, evident in the lively hair and the addition of goggles/glasses. Consequently, I opted to move forward with this design as the basis for my final iteration.

TurnAround

3D Modelling

I began blocking out the body base, using my full turnaround for reference. Utilizing spheres and the move tool, I added the major body masses, such as the ribcage, lower ribcage, and stomach. This allowed me to achieve proportionate angles before adding finer details.

Next, I added all the details to the body, being careful to restrict the areas where clothing would contort, such as the chest, since the clothing would be built on top.

I made sure to define her upper body muscles, reflecting the strength a Wirebug expert would have from constant swinging, which also highlights her athletic traits. I referenced body builders to accurately depict this. As this area of skin is the most exposed, I concentrated most of my detailing efforts there.

I began by blocking out the overall shape of the clothing, using separate subtools from the base mesh to keep them disconnected. To achieve this, I masked the areas of the base mesh where the clothing would lay and then used the extract tool to add mass and separate the clothing.

I started adding details to my block out by emphasizing creases in the top and pants, exaggerating them to achieve a better silhouette. I then used IMMs in Zbrush to add buckles and buckle holes to the straps. To make the shoulder pads and gauntlets resemble leather, I masked the edges and inflated the masked area to create a rim and added bolts following this rim.

Additionally, I included a knee pad that wasn’t featured in my final concept, as I felt the lower portion of the body needed more detail. To reinforce her unique element as a wirebug expert, I added a wirebug emblem to the knee pad using an alpha I created in Photoshop.

Retopology

To ensure my character would function effectively within a game engine, I needed to reduce its poly count. I started with the clothes in Zbrush, using the Zremesher tool to bring the poly count down to around 28,000, which I was able to reduce even further in Maya later on. I aimed to retain the overall shape of each clothing item; however, Zremesher sometimes altered the shape too much. To address this, I decimated some items a few times before using Zremesher to better preserve their form. Additionally, I enabled ‘Keep Creases’ and ‘Detect Edges’ to help maintain the integrity of the shapes.

Next, I lowered the poly count of the body base using QuadDraw in Maya. By using QuadDraw instead of Zremesher, I could place each face manually, preserving the shape and flow of the body more effectively. I began by creating loops around the eyes, mouth, nose, arms, and legs to serve as a guide for filling in the rest of the body.

XGen Hair

I made several attempts to craft a messy bob hairstyle, yet each fell short of the realism I sought. Consequently, I resolved to conduct further research before my subsequent attempts.

I collected various hair references of shoulder-length hairstyles, spanning from blunt cuts to layered styles, to determine which would achieve the desired effect. I found the layered “wolf-cut” references most appealing, as they typically appeared more dishevelled. Therefore, in my next attempt, I plan to create two layers of hair, with the top layer shorter than the other, to replicate a similar effect to a “wolf-cut.”.

As previously noted, I crafted my two hair layers, resulting in a significantly more successful attempt. Subsequently, I incorporated a noise and clumping modifier to enhance realism and augment the messy appearance. To refine this effect, I employed a black map to paint where the hair would generate, ensuring to delicately soften the edges for a wispy finish.

Texturing

I baked my high poly model onto my low poly model in Substance painter. Initially I baked the whole body as one however this made the clothing bake onto some areas on the body. Therefore I separated the body and the clothing and baked them separately.

I then painted colour zones onto the body and face as a underlayer for the skin. This made the skin look more realistic and lively.

I painted face paint onto my character using a black mask. In design 1, I felt she looked too menacing. I liked design 2 however I felt it took away focus from her eyes, therefore in my final design, 3, I simplified this and moved them further from the eyes.

I collected photos of trimmings and floral designs and photobashed them together to create the pieces I will use to outline the cape.

I applied my photobashed elements to my cape and also added some as engravings to my gauntlets.

Cape Tearing

Given that my character will be swinging through trees, I added tearing to the cape to emphasize this aspect. To achieve this effect, I utilized opacity alphas and painted the tears using a rough brush.

Scars

In addition to the cape tearing, I incorporated a few scars on her arm and stomach, as though they had been inflicted by branches or monsters.

Weathering

I further included weathering, dirt, and dust to reflect her encounters with monsters and the outdoor environment.

Rigging

Once I grasped the fundamentals of rigging, I transitioned to utilizing Animation Studio’s Advanced Skeleton tools. Initially, I established a scene reference to maintain a non-destructive workflow. Subsequently, I imported the biped rig and aligned it with my character, allowing Advanced Skeleton to construct the controllers.

For the scoutfly cages and cape, custom joints and controllers were necessary.

I then binded my mesh to the rig.

Following rigging, certain issues arose regarding how my mesh deformed and bent, meaning weight painting was necessary. For instance, in the case of the leg, it lost some of its mass at the calf and knee when bent. Consequently, I addressed this by adding weight to these areas to restore the lost mass. This process was carried out throughout the entire mesh.

Animation

I developed my walking animation by adhering to the principles outlined in The Animator’s Survival Kit (2001). This resource offered valuable guidance on the proper positioning of the body in each frame, as well as insights into the shifting of body weight, thereby enhancing the realism of my animation. Additionally, I aimed to convey her personality through the walk by exaggerating certain movements and lifting her hand as she walked, suggesting a carefree and cheerful demeanour.

Scene Dressing

Final Renders

To start generating ideas, I collected inspirational images for a mood board. I focused on a mixture of realism and concept art to create a wider variation of references. I narrowed my focus on streets in Japan and China as I feel they closely fit with my chosen theme. From exploring futuristic city concept art, I realised that attention is drawn to lights and advertisements while the buildings are mostly plain, I hope to replicate this in my own work to achieve a cyberpunk effect while referencing real life to make my scene look believable.

To develop on my mood board, I produced a few sketches to visualize the basics of my scene. Every concept art scene involved a ‘hero asset’ in order to give a sense scale which I hope to include in my own scene.

When reviewing my sketches, I asked my lecturers and peers which one they felt was the strongest and many agreed on sketch A and D therefore I tried to merge the two into a focused sketch.

I used my sketches to start blocking out my scene but I was finding it difficult translating the 2D sketch into 3D. I realised after attempting a few block outs my approach wasn’t working. My compositions felt uninspiring so I went back and collected more focused references to solve my problem.

During my deeper research, I came across this street in Shanghai and thought it was perfect to use as a reference for my scene. Nanjing road is the eastern part of the main shopping district of Shanghai, it is one of the world’s busiest shopping streets. This meant that in every image there is plenty of life to reference. I also liked the fact that I could see the entire street and zoom in on certain details thanks to google maps.

As a consequence to my deeper research, I was able to confidently block out my scene and achieve a stronger composition. I referenced Nanjing Road heavily during this stage and slowly started adding my own elements. I felt this was a strong base to start adding cyberpunk aspects to the scene. I ensured to plan out spaces on the buildings to add digital screens similar to my mood board references.

I started to flesh out my scene by adding bigger buildings in the background and rails in theme of the cyberpunk look I was hoping to achieve. I began adding smaller details to the scene like lampposts which help give the scene a sense of scale and makes it look more realistic.

My chosen themes for my creature are: Awe, Beast/Animal and Predator.

13/14th February 2023

I started this project by creating a mindmap by exploring and researching around each word prompt. This was really useful, in particular the predator branch- I looked into predators that lure their prey, like the anglerfish and the alligator snapping turtle which had intriguing ways of tricking their prey. I hope to add something similar in my own design to make it unique and interesting- this could be either something visually alluring or an attractive scent. I also explored the deeper meanings behind  each word so that I can depict an accurate creature according to my chosen themes.

I then created a moodboard to build and expand upon my mindmap, I made sure to include a wide range of imagery, down to the smallest of details like teeth, skin and eyes to better inform and inspire my design.

My general idea for the lure element to my creature design is a gem/flower of sorts that sits on the surface of either the ground or a lake, therefore I felt it was fitting to focus on fish, reptile and insect imagery in my moodboard.

15th February 2023

Whilst investigating a range of animals, I researched the reasons behind various features of them. For example, the operculum on the fish, which at first I thought was a simple skin flap- but its actual purpose is to protect the gills from harm. It is able to open and close to allow water to pass over the gills; I thought this was really interesting, therefore I would like to think about practical reasons behind potential features in my own creature.

16/17th February 2023