Timekeeping: Final design + Model sheets

After manipulating the alchemy silhouette I began developing a few that I thought were decent. I tried to mix up my colour schemes without being too drastic with changes. I ultimately thought that the 6th and 7th design were the best ones for this sheet.

I went ahead after the development and iteration of the silhouettes and made a model sheet for both designs that I liked to see which variation I felt worked better in a "3D space" and had more values to consider. In the end I opted for the first design!

Below is the model sheet but with additional 3/4 views. Yay!

Timekeeping: Developing alchemy silhouette!

Similarly to the insect project, I went back to my silhouettes after feeling like my first developed timepiece was rather lackluster. I went to my Alchemy silhouettes as they offered me a range of more mechanical and angular forms to play with. I picked my favourite and then manipulated the shape to create various iterations of the original!

Timekeeping: Silhouette development

From my initial silhouettes, I chose one that I felt was easily recognizable and held some potential. I created iterations by duplicating the silhouette and combining the various shapes to create something new. I also played with colour, I didn't want to create anything too ambitious at this stage, just broad areas of colour.

I enjoyed the top right iteration the most on this page, due to the idea of creating a timekeeping device that was monumental and technologically contrasting with its environment. To follow through with this, I will iterate and develop some alchemy silhouettes as they typically follow a more mechanical aesthetic.

Timekeeping: Alchemy Silhouettes

Here are some more silhouettes that I created using Alchemy. For these silhouettes I opted to focus more on a "mechanical" range of shapes that look interesting rather than operational. I played with a few of Alchemy's settings to create these silhouettes, as I wanted the majority of them to just be black.

Timekeeping: Silhouettes!

For my second task I have to design a timepiece of some sort using a similar process to what I used during the creation and development of my insect.

timepiece |ˈtīmˌpēs|

noun

an instrument, such as a clock or watch, for measuring time.

Now onto the silhouettes!

Here are my first batch of silhouettes where I mainly explored interesting shapes and forms rather than functionality. Compared to my silhouettes I created for my insect task, I feel like these are much more varied and creative! This may be a product of practicing, which I should keep up! Before developing my silhouettes I will create some more. Perhaps on alchemy! 

Insect final concept piece

Final concept piece~

Here was my initial sketch. I followed various lines and focal points found within a typical thirds composition. For the image itself I knew I wanted to play with perspective a little to give a more intimidating appearance to the insect. I also placed the "camera" lower to add to this effect as well.

I also wanted to include some form of prey item so I decided on a cricket. This helps give the insect scale as it is relative to an actual insect. The addition of a prey item also indicates the hostility and insectivorous nature of the insect. The reasoning behind me choosing not to have the insect killed but to have it flee was to emphasize the insects lack of vision rather than its incompetence at hunting.

From the sketch I layered various greens and yellows to get an idea for the lighting and environment as a whole by using large and varied brushes. As environments are not my strong point, I tried to create something simple that supported the design of the creature rather than looking realistic or innovative. While painting at this stage, I decided that I wanted my insect to be revealed by the light, as if it lay in wait.

As I worked on this stage of the image, I switched back and fourth between the creature and the background as I wanted to leave some of the background colourations in the insect to stop it from feeling like it was separate from it. I began laying down basic tones and colours on my insect focusing on light and shadow. I used a variety of brushes for this stage, mainly ones with textured edges and sharp brushes for finer painting. I wanted the image to look very green in the hope that the claws of the insect would contrast, but not too much. For the background I decided on painting mushrooms due to the mushroom shaped head of the insect, adding a little camouflage.

After finishing most of the tonal work on the insect, I began to add detail and highlights with finer and more controlled brushes. I also began adding shadows to the different sections of the insect to indicate the direction of light. I also added the proboscis and membranes in the mouth and other goodies.

More detail work! I started bringing the piece together by refining areas of detail, painting up the cricket and rendering more shadowed areas. I also worked on the environment a little more, although I am still not too happy with it. 

For this stage I added a multiply layer and began refining the insect even more focusing purely on light this time. I added motion blur to the cricket to give a sense of motion (obviously). I did try adding blur to the left claw of the insect, although it looked very out of place and bland.. More work on the background and details!

Here is the final image. I added more indications of light and some particle effects here and there. I added some texture to the background to give it a bit more life. I also played around with the levels to pack more punch into the lights and midtones. I can't say i'm too pleased with the final image, some aspects feel rushed and others feel very bland and not thought out... I do enjoy areas of the insect that rendered pretty well though.

From this painting though, I will definitely be doing some environmental studies and such to help me in the future. I still have a lot to learn about digital painting and I am still relatively new to it, but that shouldn't phase me.

Iconic/important characters from 1970 - 2016

1970~

During the 1970's, many video games lacked any real "characters" such as the ones found in todays games. Some games however have recognizable assets, enemies or icons that could be referred to as the characters of their time. Many examples include the aliens from Space Invaders and even the paddles from Pong, despite their simplicity.

1980~

In this decade, game characters became much more prevalent in games and narrative became more of a driving point for the industry. In my opinion, quite a few characters are iconic during this decade for varying reasons. Donkey Kong introduced us to characters (Donkey Kong, Pauline and Jump-man) in a similar fashion to the 1970's, without any "true" narrative to the game itself other than simple backstory. The Legend of Zelda was also quite a revelation for its time, especially within the RPG genre. Whereas Ms. Pacman and Metroid introduced the first real female protagonists within a video game. 

For me it would have to be Ms. Pacman and Samus for this decade as I believe the usage of female protagonists had broadened game developers views of narrative and the structure of games. No longer did games have to follow the cliché of a male protagonist saving a female damsel from a villain. 

1990~

During the 1990's, I believe that the most important character of this decade was Mario, specifically because of the game Super Mario 64. I feel like this game started and signified the transition between 2D pixel based games and the usage of 3d polygons. Many games followed suit after this release during the popularity and peak of Super Mario 64.

2000~

For the 2000's I feel like Master Chief from Halo is regarded as one of the most important characters from that era. Without Halo the Xbox would have failed in sales and popularity and today's games may be much different, with Sony and Nintendo dominating the market. Halo's FPS multiplayer was also quite an innovation from its time; sparking the competitive scene for the genre that we see today.

2010~

It was hard to decide on a character for this current decade, as more and more games are being produced and more characters created. With the recent boom to the indie scene, game characters such as Shovel Knight and Steve (Minecraft) should be more deserving of this section as of now.

Caillois and play forms.

Here are the five games that I admire the most in various ways organized onto a table in the categories I feel like they fill.

The Metroid Prime trilogy to me is my all-time favourite series of games. I feel like it fits the mimicry category due to the player taking the position of a main character, with set history, lore and their own morals. The player effectively takes on the "roll" of the protagonist and has a set narrative to abide by. However, the emphasis on the exploration element and non-linear progression leads to some very immersive experiences that leads you through alien worlds, which is why I also placed Metroid in the ilinx section also.

Maybe it is my own misunderstanding of the category "ilinx", but I feel like a good amount of games could be considered for this slot as in my opinion immersion can alter your perception. Whether it be time in the real world, or accidentally applying in game knowledge to real world scenarios, wouldn't this class as ilinx?

Nonetheless I continue. I placed Earthbound in the Alea, mimicry and ilinx for similar reasons. The "chance" elements seem very prevalent within the RPG genre as RNG damage systems and such can alter every playthrough of the game, even in small amounts. I believe this can add up through the "butterfly" effect, changing playthroughs in forms such as enemy encounters, experience gains and loot drops. By playing a game with these mechanics, aren't you surrendering to destiny and the will of the game? As an RPG by nature, you play a protagonist; taking their appearance, gestures and voice. (Unless the game in question allows for character creation such as fallout and skyrim, although the story remains unchanged and is independent of the protagonist).
I placed it in ilinx not because of immersion but because of the ways the game portrays real world problems and cultures in a skewed and quirky perspective towards the player. For example, one chapter of the game has you battle against members of a cult whose clothing mirrors that of the Ku Klux Klan albeit blue and with the intent of painting everything blue.

Halo and DOOM share the same reasoning for its placements as Metroid. Although due to the competitive multiplayer experiences found in halo, where ranks display a players experience and in some instances skill, players can be sorted into various groups according to who is "better" and "worse" at the game.

Runescape is a MMORPG in a similar vein to World of Warcraft. I feel like Runescape is primarily a competitive game but not for the basic PVP elements as expected. The games lifespan primarily consists of grinding levels to reach an inevitable cap (which can take MONTHS to reach, by the way) while slaying monsters and completing quests. The skill cap system rewards players with cosmetic items to "flaunt their gains" alongside regularly updated leaderboards for almost every aspect of the game - providing a lot of competitive gameplay, without player interaction.