The Factory Floor

Tell me...or I will beat an answer from your horrid lips.

2012-01-29T22:21:00.001Z

So here is a painting. Can't really call it speed. Was pretty much ambling along here. Didn't know what I was painting but then I thought of one of my all time favourite game characters. Can you guess who it is you scabbrous wretch?

Lack of comments will be punished by 32 lashes of the Soul Reaver.

It's been a while.

2012-01-09T08:59:00.001Z

I have been a busy boy, and not neccesarily stuff I can post up just yet.

Yes, it has been an odysee of scripting, Drag and Drop event crafting, and writing things down on paper only to realise it is hard to read back...but I persevere.

Not much time for game playing, but I got in a go at Half-Life 2 and the less I say on that the better. Now making my way through L.A Noire (often called lenor) and putting those detective skills I was associated with to the test. We will see how that goes.

I might just do a painting for you all soon; but then I might just do a little sculpture too.

You never know what might pop up in the next few weeks...

A Bit of a Brush About

2011-11-08T11:52:00.002Z

Just thought I would do a nice little painting whilst I was listening to talk by Richard Lemarchand all about how the basic disciplines of all things game are exposed in different ways from Indie games to 'AAA'; but the premise remains consistent.

It was another one of those 'yeah I have been saying that for years' moments. Playing with pacing and encouraging players to interact on a variety of levels has been something I have thought alot about for some time. Storytelling can be done in so many ways. Mr Lemarchand talked about the impact of the 'Quiet Village' section of Uncharted 2 and how it was risky but ultimately gave substantial pay off. For me it was one of the few truly compelling moments of the game.

Watch the talk, it's all very good.

Bip Bip, Boop Boop

2011-08-30T21:31:00.001+01:00

It's amazing what you can do with a little bit of total and complete random trial and error...and a few tutorials.

So I downloaded GameMaker Lite and got to work on seeing what I could do. Not knowing anything about programming (or logic it seems) I was still able to make a level complete with collision, pick ups, sound effects and jumping animations which follow the way you move!

As simple as that sounds, let me tell you it is anything but. This was me from the hours of 10am to 9:30pm, sitting here making this work!

GIF Animation. 16-Bit

2011-08-26T20:27:00.002+01:00

Click to Run!

I did a little Gif animation in the style of some old skool games. Might try and make one...if I find the time/have the actual intelligence required...

Speed Paint: Hawthorne

2011-08-25T23:46:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

The Hawthorne Building was actually one of my favourites. Didn't go in there too much, but it is really grandiose on the exterior. One of DMU's best structures.

This was taken from the 8th floor of the Fletcher building; right in the heart of pattern making.

Speed Paint: Academy

2011-08-24T22:18:00.000+01:00

40 minutes from photo reference

Diabolical...simply really.

Speed Paint: Kirby Muxloe

2011-08-23T22:08:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from Photo reference

The old castle at Kirby Muxloe. Nice place, It had some very showy Swans who started posing when you took out your camera.

Speed Paint: Sock Factory

2011-08-22T22:13:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

The old Sock Factory in Leicester. We went in for photo reference purposes, then a Demo man told us they were gonna blow it up the next day. I don't know if they ever did.

The first time I went down there, it was abandoned, save for a dodgy looking transit van. The guys standing in front of it started to look in my direction, and my spider-sense tingled so I split. Who knows what was going on.

Speed Paint: Approach

2011-08-18T18:58:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference.

On top of a hill, a Church, next to it, a mausoleum; somewhere, a secret passage to a network of man made tunnels. Intrigued yet?

Brushabout 3: The Lord of the Manor

2011-08-17T23:34:00.001+01:00

Is this not David Gower?

Just another random sequence of strokes which ends in a 'finished' sketch. For some reason it looks like David Gower. Google him if you don't know who that is.

[EDIT] ...or Richard E. Grant. Take ur pick.

Speed Paint: Leafy Underpass

2011-08-17T21:27:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

The original photo was black and white, so I worked on that assumption to begin with. From there I just quickly colourised it.

Brushabout 2: This time its silky.

2011-08-17T00:39:00.000+01:00

"Just how does one diversify his bones?"

I don't know, I just started painting and ended with this.

Speed Paint: Rain Slick City

2011-08-16T19:24:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

I like the way everything looks so slick and shiny after it rains. They hazy distance makes it feel like everything has been painted.

Speed Paint: Tunnel

2011-08-15T21:38:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

Speed Paint: El Casa

2011-08-09T22:07:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

There are a surprising number of rather swanky houses which back on to the Regents Canal. Many look like a gun fight between rival drugs cartels is about to break out. Is it a bad thing that I am always quietly disappointed when a helicopter doesn't fly out with a white-suited gent hanging off the side with a big machine gun?

Statue

2011-08-08T19:42:00.000+01:00

I have been sculpting...

Box of Surprises

2011-08-07T18:59:00.000+01:00

Shadow box, clip brushes and poly painting

Probably the most inriguing feature of ZBrush so far is the Shadow box. It makes hard surface modelling much easier and gives a solid starting point with which to devlop on with the clip brushes. The Clip brushes allow you to more or less flatten whole sections to create hard edges and sloping angle. Combine this with masking and the whole process becomes more and more complete.

Speed Paint: Stairwell

2011-08-06T12:41:00.000+01:00

40 minutes from photo reference

I quite like staircases like this. Something very grand about them. They are like villain entrance stairs; should you ever have a dastardly plot you must tell everyone about it as you descend them. Oh, and stairs are pretty tricky especially when they have a pattern.

Hands that make a hand.

2011-08-05T19:00:00.000+01:00

From basic skin to a hand.

I was using my own hand as reference for this and had to be mindful of what aspects to leave out of a generic hand; so no crooked little finger.

A Handy Comparison.

2011-08-05T12:18:00.000+01:00

Basic Z-sphere method

Z-Sketch method

I am going to sculpt a hand and decided that I should have a quick comparison between starting points. So far, sketching takes longer but there is a little bit more fine control over putting in some broader shapes like tendons. Having said that I am not convinced that it the time it takes makes it any better than just sculpting on top of a quick Z-sphere skin; there is still alot of moving to do. So yeah, I think its Z-spheres for this kind of thing.

I think I got better.

2011-08-04T20:36:00.000+01:00

From left to right. Z-sphere maquette, Skinned spheres, Human form

Who would have thought I could have done that from a bunch of spheres in a couple of hours?! I know i'm not exactly a master, but I am getting to grips with old Z-Brush!

Unified Skin for the wiiiin!

2011-08-04T12:24:00.000+01:00

The Z-Sketching [left] becomes a dragon [where the arrow is pointing]

So I continue my jaunt around Z-Brush. Today I have seen perhaps the true essence of it. I always find the general 'import a model to sculpt' method a little daunting as I find it is prone to screwing up (be it my modelling or the Z interface). This Z-Sketch system is brilliant though and actually represents such a degree of control that you really want. Now I can be confident that I can throw about shapes and refine them before having a mesh which is really good for sculpting.

I am starting to get comfortable : )

P.S

I know there seems to be a lot of Dragon related material, but these are exercises in a book and they use a familiar shape which you can be loose with. I want to learn how to use it properly so I can say: "I want to do this," and then be able to.

Z-brush in your face!

2011-08-03T19:33:00.000+01:00

Still on the road to doing actual good things in Z-Brush. Still finding it fairly tricky to use. Still trying to be better at it. This started out as those z-sphere thingys which is pretty good I guess. One day I will be decent at this software. Either that or I will stage a coup and ban it outright!

Do we think I am improving?

From the Sketch Book

2011-08-02T21:47:00.000+01:00

Here is some sketchbook related goodness. Did some stuff in the V&A, where I was complimented on my work by a member of the public, then a random dude started to pretend to draw next to me to avoid the attention of staff. The reason was cos he stole a mouse from the computer bays apparently.

Speed Paint: Huez

2011-08-01T19:33:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

This is a painting of the little french town of Huez. It's where I went snowboarding, which I must restate: IS THE SHIT! If you ever get a chance, do it, it's brilliant. The town is in the Alps so as you can imagine it is quite steep and winding. Lovely place with exceptional views!

Speed Paint: Statue Alcove

2011-07-31T22:11:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

Carved statues with all these sweeping intricate details are pretty difficult. I must devise a way of creating the illusion of the detail at speed...

Speed Paint: Dog House

2011-07-31T14:54:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

Don't paint animals much, but I took a photo of this very territorial dog which eyed me up as I went down the street. It made sure I didn't step on its land, as it followed me all the way down until I passed. A much smaller dog, which had been hiding in the bushes, promptly snuck up behind and sat on the grass...Fail Dog...that is his name from now on.

Speed Paint: One Classy, Glassy Door

2011-07-31T13:06:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

The exterior of a glass fronted office building. I found this particulary difficult because in essence it is one big optical illusion. Lots of painting, repainting, etc. Turns out that I pretty much painted on one layer for the whole thing though; so at least I am becoming more comfortable with making swathing changes and not worrying too much about delicacy. Certainly good for speed!

5 Minute Brushabout

2011-07-28T23:32:00.000+01:00

Something like 5-7 minutes of scribble

Just a bit of screwing around with brush set ups and not much else other than just 'lets see'. I was trying out strokes and made a strange blobby shape which i chiselled into this with just black and white at various opacities.

Speed Paint: Crypt

2011-07-28T20:10:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

This particular image was taken in a crypt. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Though it is a crypt in name only. This church is built on a hill, so the crypt was built to level the foundations; no bodies were ever interred.

Instead, a simply pimptacular living quarters was installed for the priest, including special hiding places for expensive relics. I might do a paint based on that so you get an idea of the hidden gem in this location.

Speed Paint: Kingdom Street

2011-07-27T17:59:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

Speed Paint: Church

2011-07-26T19:02:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

Churches often have awesome architecture. It is a testament to former importance of faith, the level of detail and work that went into these structures. You will likely never see such construction again on any kind of scale. Shame really.

Speed Paint: Lord's Cricket Ground

2011-07-25T22:19:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

In honour of the first test at Lord's I thought I should paint from a photo taken at the ground by me, during the friends provident trophy final. Great day out at an iconic venue.

Fun Fact: Mr Lord insisted on the grass being trimmed only by the grazing of sheep.

Speed Paint: Water Garden

2011-07-24T17:56:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes on the from photo reference

This is a nice fountain by a lake. Lots of sculpted detail and such made this hard to nail in 40 minutes.

Speed Paint: Sunrise

2011-07-24T15:40:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

I like sunrise/sunset/twilight because the colours in the sky are so strong.

Speed Paint: Snow Night

2011-07-22T19:46:00.000+01:00

Approx 1hr from photo reference

This was from a photo I took when it was super snowy a few years back. The OG pic was kind of blurry allowing for the fact it was snowing and night time.

Speed Paint: Sunset Drive

2011-07-21T18:42:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from photo reference

This is a painted rendition of one of the best shots I ever took on one of my long deceased cameras. The way the sky looked like it was on fire was truly amazing, especially when reflected in windows and the surface of a nearby canal.

Speed paint: Forecourt

2011-07-20T18:43:00.000+01:00

Roughly 50 Minutes on the subject of that photo ^^^

Took a picture ages ago. Was a nice little entrance to a...well to be honest I don't know what the building was. I am adjusting to using fewer layers fairly nicely, just changing the mindset.

Speed Paint: Great Wall

2011-07-19T19:15:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes from reference of the Great Wall of China

This was done at the suggestion of Joel V 1.0 to do more from photo reference. I got a pic from this source where it seems lots of other places can be seen. I collapsed the image frequently, so I was hard painting over areas. I admit I am a bit of a layer whore...so this was pretty challenging. Shows up flaws in my methods quite a bit. I was just trying to get the ambience down.

Not my best, but I can only improve!

Speed Painting: Scarlet Heading

2011-07-13T17:52:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes on the subject of Scarlet Heading

Speed Paint: Blamed Guy

2011-07-12T22:44:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes on the subject of BLAMED GUY

Speed Paint: Noble Compiler/ Incoherent Censor/ Adequate Throat

2011-07-11T20:00:00.001+01:00

40 Minutes on the subject of NOBLE COMPILER

40 Minutes on the subject of INCOHERENT CENSOR

40 Minutes on the subject of ADEQUATE THROAT

Speed Paint: Crossed Episode

2011-07-08T21:35:00.000+01:00

About 50 Minutes on the subject of CROSSED EPISODE

I went over a bit. Blame music.

Speed Paint: Patent Gunrunner

2011-07-07T22:01:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes on the subject of PATENT GUNRUNNER

Switched to double word to see what subjects it might throw up. Not a bad start. I am not a great drawer of cars, so I knew this was going to be a challenge. I don't think it came out too bad : )

The Fisherman's Hut

2011-07-06T19:32:00.000+01:00

'Fisherman's Hut'

Saw something about flood planes and wondered what it would be like to make a house on the water supported by some trees. Well maybe this is what it would look like?

Speed Paint: Yellow

2011-07-05T18:36:00.000+01:00

40 minutes on the subject of YELLOW

Speed Paint: Harmony

2011-07-04T17:56:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes on the subject of HARMONY

Speed Paint: Layer

2011-07-03T13:24:00.000+01:00

40 minutes on the subject of LAYER

Speed Paint: Velocity

2011-07-02T18:24:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes on the subject of VELOCITY

Speed Paint: Beer

2011-07-01T19:06:00.000+01:00

40 minutes on the subject of BEER

Interesting one for Friday, I spose lots of people will be drinking this tonight... make mine a Rum please!

Speed Paint: Undergraduate

2011-06-30T17:59:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes on the subject of UNDERGRADUATE

Interesting subject to come up from the old random word generator. I have had the social commentary hat on today.

Speed Paint: Walking

2011-06-29T17:51:00.000+01:00

If you have never seen NASA's image of the day, then check it out. Space has always interested me, it is impossibly inspiring and somewhere that needs more of our attention. So when walking came up as the subject I immediately thought of a space walk!

40 Minutes on the subject of WALKING

Speed Paints: Living and Precaution

2011-06-28T18:34:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes on the subject of LIVING

40 minutes on the subject of PRECAUTION

So I have two speed paints for you this evening, to make up for the lack of upload yesterday. Enjoy!

Speed Paint: Investment

2011-06-26T21:24:00.000+01:00

40 minutes on the subject of: INVESTMENT

Speed Sculpt: Spray

2011-06-25T16:49:00.000+01:00

2hrs on the subject of: SPRAY

I had the radical idea of doing a 'Speed Sculpt' so I did. In honesty this was about 40 minutes or there-abouts because I spent so long trying to get Z-Brush to play ball.

Speed Paint: Wedding

2011-06-24T18:12:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes on the subject of WEDDING

Shame I didn't think of a Vegas wedding, something real sleazy like being wed by a fat elvis impersonator. (Lemonade...lol)

Speed Paint: Sonic

2011-06-23T22:54:00.000+01:00

In celebration of Sonic the Hedgehog's 20th Birthday
40 Minutes on the subject of SONIC

Trek of the Light

2011-06-23T17:17:00.000+01:00

Proof it's all about the lens flare Dr Jones!

Did you know somewhere behind all the lens flares in the 2009 Star Trek dead horse flogging, was a plot?

Neither did I... Apparently it's there...hidden...somewhere...

Speed Paint: Amputee

2011-06-22T22:10:00.001+01:00

40 Minutes on the subject of Amputee
Can't decide which colour-scheme I prefer.

It's rain-ding

2011-06-22T18:51:00.003+01:00

I like rain...what about you?

Edited

2011-06-21T23:06:00.001+01:00

<><>

Howzat? Any better?

Following some useful crits from Byren, I changed an aspect of the peice. Rather than repost the whole thing right now, I thought it better to just do a snapshot.

Speed Paint: Applicant

2011-06-21T22:46:00.000+01:00

40 Minutes on the subject of APPLICANT

Building Concept

2011-06-20T21:36:00.000+01:00

Scanned in the strokes of a pentel brush pen (among other brushes) to see if I could replicate the feel of it in a digtal medium. Early days, but some of the grain is definitely coming through.

So I worked out pages...

2011-05-04T19:04:00.000+01:00

Aren't I clever :)

Now you can click on a little link to the 2d/3d stuff I have done, which is very convenient isn't it. This means I don't keep pushing my work to the bottom with trivial posts.

Progress :)

Arty-work

2011-04-28T15:31:00.000+01:00

Say hello to some ink sketches I did. I usually try to be steady and still, but in these peices I just threw the water around with the ink, making the floor pretty wet in the process, but I was pleased with what I discovered.

Seeing what layering can do texturally

Sketching with inks is challenging as well as intriguing

Just playing with the brush can give interesting effects.
I always find that small areas of an overall picture are attractive

It is complete

2011-04-19T21:15:00.001+01:00

A suitably poncey way to show that I have finished my latest peice, which soon I shall share with you all.

Progress

2011-04-06T23:54:00.000+01:00

There is so much stuff to tweak and play around with in UDK, in search of a certain look. I have been doing lots of playing around, getting the building looking like it lives and breaths. Adding the little things has been one of those maddening but utterly satisfying processes, as I have tried to find the object that builds the feeling I am looking for in any given location.

Yes I know...but that's as much Fan-Boy as you're getting here.

Nothing wrong with a little shameless self-promotion.

In the distance, something lives some prime real-estate.

Soon it will be ready to share with you all, but till then, some little teaser shots...

Z-Brushing-up

2011-03-21T21:16:00.004Z

It's no secret that I have had a torrid relationship with Z-Brush, a piece of software I have observed others using with both ease and brilliance. Every time it seemed I tried to take it on and beat it round to my way of doing things I failed miserably.

I could bodge, just about get things done, but I had ZERO understanding of what made it tick and how I could exploit its tools to do MY evil bidding...so I got a book...

It's called Introduction to Z-Brush 4 and it is by Eric Keller. If you want to enhance your skills with a Z-Brush, then go and pick it up. It has managed to explain where I have been going wrong in no less than 79 pages so far. I have been doing the excercises in the book (well I have done the first one anyway) which involved making a Dragon head.

...and here is my first attempt. All of this lacivious beast came from a simple sphere. I know I must sound like a complete noob (hate that term) but I am understanding how to bend it to my will. I was always fixated on a specific end product via A-B and never about flowing the art outward, reaching C-D-G-K-B#... You get the result in the end, but its about the journey (to wax philosophical).

I plan to make a really interesting tree for my building (which continues in the shadows) and I thought I may as well understand what I am doing to fully squeeze the goodness out of the sculpting portion of my workflow.

Go on, give me a pat on the back for self improvement.

On an unrelated note, I went snowboarding in France...it was fun! By the end of the week I was doing Red Runs (which are Advanced dont-cha-know) and not falling down very much. I even did one of the harder runs of the week with a broken binding, which during the ride I only registered as an unusual flexibility! That is called laughing in the face of danger...and that's how I uh...slide... Both myself and my snow buddies racked up many thousands of metres in the week.

I highly recommend it, if not only for the views!

Carnage

2011-03-03T21:50:00.002Z

Here is the brand new trailer for the brand new game Carnage, for the iOS.

I helped on the art on this game, creating some rather cool looking stuff. I can assure you, Ben Wilkinson, Louise Roberts , Joel Pigou, Tom Carter, Tom O'Brien, Elena Ruth Simpson Ragdale, and Col Rodgers among others did a ton of other cool stuff worth picking this up to experience. I urge any and all of my readers to keep your eyes on the ap store for this one...tell your friends, neighbours, pets and even your enemies too!

More Angles

2011-03-01T20:21:00.001Z

More Angles.

28/02/2011

2011-02-28T23:22:00.001Z

Here is the progression for today. Tell me what you think.

Progress

2011-02-25T17:34:00.003Z

Here is a little combine of the process I have done on the old Tabernacle building. Every so often I do an iterative save, as it is a good fail-safe, but also a useful way to track progress.

You can see the changes I make, the little experiments etc.

The Blueprint

2011-02-18T18:20:00.001Z

Something is gonna get built.

The less I speculate...

2011-02-02T13:14:00.002Z

...the better!

So it turns out that not only was the Processor faulty, but so too was the motherboard. Cue replacement parts from AMD, and a brand new motherboard currently being frisked by customs, and maybe just maybe I will have a functioning computer once more.

I know it's been ages...you all miss me, or have abandoned this here blog cos it has been quiet so long. It's o.k, I understand...as long as you all come rushing back again.

What have I been up to...

2010-10-26T21:36:00.003+01:00

It has been a while since my CPU unexpectedly bit the dust. The technician who examined it gave me definitive answer to the problem "It is Mal-Foonctioing". So when I get a replacement from AMD (eventually) I can keep working on the buliding I started some time back now.

This is not to say I haven't been a busy boy though.

I have been working on a number of top-secret projects in a variety of spheres, each one offering there own possibilites and problems. It has been fun, challenging and exciting to do something like writing a childrens picture book, something I did not ever foresee myself making; but it was great fun writing something a 4 year old would like to read.

Obviously it is very image heavy, and working out how to tell the story visually was very energising as it meant an opportunity to throw some ideas around, and see how they panned out. I am very interested in getting this work published if I can, so watch this space, who knows what might happen!

When I get back on the game-art tilt I will let you all know, and ply you with some new ideas.

Big Strides

2010-08-12T17:58:00.003+01:00

The beauty of this building for me is that its structure reads so nicely. Although the materials are not that varied, the actual shape gives it a great deal of depth. It's starting to remind me of the Albert Hall a little, which is no bad thing.

I would also like to add that somehow, Crazybump continues to become a more and more exceptional peice of software than it already was. The ramping slider on the specular maps is a great new feature. The level of control is top notch. If you don't have it then get over there now!

As ever, lay the comments on me, and let me know how I am doing. If you think it looks cool, use the little buttons at the bottom of the post. If not...I even put a button for that.

...not just a door...

2010-08-04T23:24:00.001+01:00

...it's also got windows...

I think they look quite snazzy. Yeah there are some holes in them, but that is purely because a super special support will be airlifted in with precision very soon. I hope we are all enjoying these regular and thrilling updates! Let me know just how thrilled you are: with comments!

Even More Door

2010-07-21T23:21:00.001+01:00

I'm starting to feel quite pleased with how this is all coming together. It's looking as I intended it to, and all still W.I.P. More comment and critique please...its good for you!

Not just any door...

2010-07-15T18:44:00.003+01:00

...it's more door than before.

The actual doors on this building are pretty awesome, great shape, nice material. Lots good about them. I have made them openable just for the fact I may be tempted to throw up a quick interior for that all lovely parallax. The more I work on this, the more it makes me appreciate the shape of it. I mean, in terms of colours, it is a fairly consistent palette, mainly reds and the odd yellow and blue, so the thing is to get that shape bang on. Hopefully i'm on the way, as ever, input is greatly valued, so please let me know your thoughts.

Gone Quiet

2010-07-14T22:03:00.002+01:00

To those wondering why there have not been any updates on the doorway, it is because I have been busy doing other secret missions. I will soon return to it, but time will only tell when that is. In the meantime, please allow this calming elevator music to sooth you while you wait.

Thank you for your understanding.

Doo dooooo. Da da dee deeeee. Dibby-daaaaaaa. Boo-ba-dee-daaaaa.

Not just a wireframe...

2010-06-27T12:53:00.002+01:00

Its also Smooth and Highlights. The Doorway is 9126 Triangles, which I would usually say was too high poly, but I have seen some stuff lately which has definitely been ramped up to these heights. I say that its is a focal point, so it maybe warrants such budgetry...age of austerity my toosh!

It's a doorway...or is it more than that..?

2010-06-23T20:42:00.003+01:00

So the door is coming along nicely, but how nicely? That is down to my faithful public to decide. I have to say I have enjoyed the process so far. Using the tools I have with a level of invention is something I always get a kick out of. When it has the actual door on it will look even nicer! Also I will go about the main building which is a cool shape and very brick heavy, with carving here-there-and-everywhere. So much still to do! Who knows what crazy processes I will find out doing the rest of this!

As ever, comments are demanded!

not just any archway....

2010-06-17T00:29:00.002+01:00

The arch above the door is one of the key shapes I need to capture well. I had a long look at it and analysed the shape, and considered the construction. In the end I decided that one large texture would be a foolhardy decision, and decided instead to exploit the natural mesh flow in order to reign in a more cost effecient texture style. In the end, this archway uses just 2x 512 texture maps, which to my mind is pretty damn good...I might be wrong, but it gives a strong result and this is before I have done anything beyond basic sculpting and arrangement. I still have to get the outward angling right, which may be problomatic, but hey, its what makes it fun.

I actually employed some good old fashioned logic to this in order to get a construction which is effective and accurate. I still think I might be able to try something else though, to make it more efficient, but we shall see. I feel good about using a little bit of maths and calculations to get accurate results. I hope it looks good to you all...comments!

A door....but not any old door.

2010-06-15T19:09:00.003+01:00

Do you ever turn a corner and find something truly unexpected which just makes you give an audible....'awesome'?

This happened to me just the other day. I was in search of something inspiring. Something that would make me wanna build it the second I saw it. This place was a little bar/restraunt called 'The Tabernacle'. I saw the sign, and when I turned to face it, I found a courtyard, at the end of which was a simply wonderful building.

Isn't it great! I mean, imagine getting a quick pick me up in there! Everything about the building screams: "model me". So I have begun in earnest.

Why not start with the door I thought. It uses the same nice pillars, with little swirly caps on them as the windows do, so it will help me later on! The biggest challenge will no doubt be to get those shaped tiles right. There is gonna be some stencils made for that I feel...

The combination of shapes and angles make it a big draw for me, I don't know if anyone else agrees. As ever, I would like crits and feedback as I go, If you could be so gracious:)

Meanwhile for you viewing pleasure....a door way!

Motion sensing...like air-guitar?

2010-06-12T15:52:00.003+01:00

Let me try to explain this.

When we consume other types of media, I would say principally music for this argument, there exists a level of spontaneous participation. It is an expression of understanding and appreciation of the draw of the phenomenom...who hasn't sat there listening to a great track and started drumming along on you knees?

Music has what I would call a tactile expression to it. If you bend a guitar string as you play, you effect the sound, you change the expression, you change the feeling. If you change the effect of aftertouch, pedals and encoders on a keyboard, you can do the same. Although there are a number of inputs for playing a game, we rarely see a truly expressive effect on the experience. I wonder if we will see, with the increasing focus on motion related gaming, a translation of the nuances in the players movement in deep way.

Alright I know it is not exactly the most fleshed out suggestion. Imagine though, that we can effect a change on how a game plays with the sudden arrival of another person in your living space. Not regarding them as another player as such, but rather as a nuance in the surroundings. Their movements could be used to affect the expression of the experience...perhaps looking at gameplay as a collaborative experience. Like a big jam session.

Right now, even with multiplayer games on the wii, the action is still oddly passive cause and effect. We substitute a button press for another slightly different arbitrary movement. What if we see that our existence in a space (Granted, as read by the limits of the equipment) can broadly effect the experience.

Ah, so maybe my thought is that the wii is like air guitar...you strum, but there is no expression beyond what is presented to you by the preset limits of your source material. We cannot change the strum on the record, we cannot break free of the programmed response to our wiimote swipe. What would it be like if we could effect it in a personal way, in a way that draws the interest of those around us.

Has this made sense? Let me know...

W.I.P

2010-06-04T22:55:00.003+01:00

So I have been working on some peices of assetry with a feeling of ornament to them, with plans to assemble them into some kind of scene. I am liking the style of the column alot more than the marble of the staircase, but they might be able to work well together with a bit of adjustment.

Speaking of the staircase. I some time ago built a spiral staircase which was absolutely horrible, and by I reckon that they are a tricky asset to get right. None the less I am attempting to create one with a good, solid feel to it.

The small statuette is designed to sit on top of a cap which will be placed on the staircases central column. The base mesh was knocked together in max quickly, and extensively tweaked in z-brush, which I am still learning to get comfortable with.

Marie Antoinette's Mill

2010-05-09T15:31:00.003+01:00

2010-05-02T19:05:00.001+01:00

Better, worse? Still in max, just a quick shader on the windows. Gonna put it in Unity asap.

House WIP 3

2010-05-01T23:21:00.002+01:00

Here is further development of the house. I have often found foliage to be a real challenge. I struggled to figure out how to best characterise their structure. In this peice I really wanted to tackle this aspect of environment, and get to a stage of comfot with it. The sky is placeholder it should be noted, but gives an idea of what I am looking to capture.

I really hope people who see this are liking it. Comments and crits are very much welcomed!

Mill WIP 2

2010-04-28T20:42:00.001+01:00

Here is more of the house. With texturing and stuff. Coming along I guess.

Quaint...

2010-04-26T18:22:00.002+01:00

Whilst perusing an architecture book I found an image of Mary-Antoinette's little cottage hideaway and was totally blown away by it. The shapes are fantastic and it has a real 'crafted' feel to it. I think the scope for lots of little details is there, and I have had fun knocking it all together.

From the Street BRUV

2010-03-04T22:36:00.004Z

A while back I made a rendition of the final level from the classic Streets of Rage; one of my all time favourite games. At the time I kept thinking about making the characters, and since my PC has died I decided to start making it. Using my Bro's 4 year old machine I have managed to put this together...albeit pretty slowly.

To put this into perspective, if you have media player open while you work, it has a tendency to skip, and periodically it decides to just grind to a halt. Though by comparison, I did used to work on a PC with a 400mhz processor and less than 2GB of hard drive space, I won't even explain the RAM I was working with.

This means I can forgive periods of slow-mo, though everything is better in slow motion right?

Here's a little paintover I did mid-modelling. Just wanted to be sure I was getting the character through.

Everything Has Broken

2010-02-24T13:19:00.002Z

So within the space of a week, the motherboard on my pc died, then the cpu died, then my laptop died, then the replacement motherboard is faulty...in a nutshell, I have broken most electrical components I own pretty quickly.

This leaves me with absolutely nothing to do any kind of work on. Great. Waiting sucks.

2010-02-08T18:38:00.001Z

A corridor scene I have been working on. I have mostly been doing outdoor stuff lately, so really wanted to do an indoor piece with some good strong light and shadow; moody stuff. UDK is proving to be a really flexible tool and I have managed to get some nice effects out of it.

Angry

2010-02-05T10:48:00.002Z

A little bit annoyed.

Administer Cold Remedy

2010-02-05T10:37:00.001Z

Looking a little less Off-Colour....gotta love Robitussin!

Head WIP 4

2010-02-04T19:58:00.002Z

Further Developments on the head model. Getting the hair right is an absolute monster. It goes in so many directions, it is hard to ever get it looking 100% accurate, this is a pretty close approximation though.

Head WIP 3

2010-02-03T18:03:00.002Z

Some sculpting and mesh-deforming going on here, and the texturing is underway. I really want to do the mouth interior with teeth, and really show it in action too, so I chose a fairly extreme expression. The hair will certainly be challenging!

Spare Head 2

2010-02-02T14:47:00.002Z

I decided to scrap the old head model, and build a shiny new one. I feel alot better about this one, it has a much better likeness, and will likely follow my face's muscle structure better than the old one. As ever, the nose has proven to be the most challenging area, but I think I got it on this one :) Much better than the old one for sure!