AMA Fantasy House Document

Fantasy House Document

This is a document showing the progression of the fantasy house that I made.

AMA Flat Document

Flat


This is a document showing the progression of the flat that I made.

AMA Car Document

Car Document

This is a document showing the progression of the car that I made.

AMA

Finalised Brief

This is the finalised brief I never got a chance to update, it clearly shows the three things I am handing in in good detail.
It was changed again to suit what I wanted to get from the module, and I thought 3 different briefs was better than one to add to my portfolio/showreel.

PPGI - Week 12

Above is an example showreel I have created that will go along the same path as my final showreel.

There are a few improvements needed before the final showreel including:

1. The use of my own material to be included in the showreel, that way its displaying my work to potential employers.
2. Better transitions between videos of my work is needed, I got the fade between Maya videos right, however there aren't any transitions between any of the other videos.
3. Smaller videos over the top of larger videos to show different views (wire frame, textured, etc) so employers know how I work.
4. An animation at the start of the video, just for the text, so as to make the showreel interesting from the start and have it stand out compared to motionless text.
5. Perhaps different music, sort of more mellow, or at the very least, have the videos transition along with the music, therefore it looks more appealing.
6. Similar to the last video (the cottage), show a concept or what the scene is meant to look like in the bottom left of the screen.
7. Have a border along the bottom of the showreel with my name and email address, constantly reminding the viewer of who I am.

PPGI - Week 12

Storyboard of my Show Reel.

However, I don't have some of the work to show in the video that will be coming soon and it is quite a short storyboard as there will be different angled fly throughs of the same environment.

PPGI - Week 12

I will be use the following image to plan the story board of my showreel.

PPGI - Week 12

A good final attempt for a sample asset presented in a house style.

PPGI - Week 12

A first try at presenting an asset in a in house style.

It has everything I want to show for the town hall, but I need a better way to merge everything together.

Things I'm going to improve on include:

1. The contact information, including the link to this blog (as an example), email address, perhaps a phone number, and then choose a better font and colour.
2. The background colour is very neutral so the images do stand out, however, it looks rather bland.
3. A better way to display the textures, perhaps having them smaller, or laid out differently.
4. A third view of the asset to fill up some more space, perhaps the back image of the townhall.
5. A border to box everything nicely into the picture might be a good idea.

PPGI - Week 12

High Level Exit Plan

Link

The above link provides information on how to create a really good showreel, and numerous examples of good show reels from with the industry, be it games or films industry.

It does provide 3 different methods to self promote myself:

1. Youtube - To upload my showreel so people and potential employers can view it at anytime, and means that only an internet address is needed to be sent rather than a DVD containing my showreel.
2. Blogger - A good place to blog, uploading designs/sketches, and work in progress, and also to include an embeded show reel and other completed work.
3. LinkedIn - A source to build up a CV and start making connections with people in the industry.
4. Elance/Guru - Gives the chance for my work to bring me some freelance work, using both Blogger and LinkedIn.
   

A couple of things I already know to do include:

1. Creating a business card with up to date contact information so if I do meet someone who shows interest in me and my work, a card is easier and more professional to show rather than writing down contact information.
2. An up to date CV is essential for any job, and since last creating a CV I have had a couple of jobs, which I believe will help at starting at the bottom as a receptionist/runner for a VFX studio.
3. A website to have all my finished work displayed, with links to my show reel and blog (as long as the blog is kept up to date of what I'm working on, otherwise the blog is pointless) and to show my CV. This means that any potential employer can look on one website to find everything they need to decide if I'm good enough for the job in question.

On an interesting note, I found a website of visual effect employees from around the globe working on animation films and their show reels. As someone who is aspiring to be in the film industry, its good to see some animation work, although I don't necessarily want to do animation, before applying for jobs.

Reel Barrow

PPGI - Week 12

I had the Viva Voce this week, although I believe too much focus on the DeLorean in my Back to the Future scene was too high, even though I explained throughout the 12 weeks of working on the scene, vehicle modelling isn't my strong point, and I wasn't that thrilled about doing it. Although I completely agreed that the DeLorean had to be in the scene, I wish I had chosen a scene with more focus on the environment.

Saying that, the scene itself was very enjoyable to create, with animation quite difficult to do, but all in all, it made me want to learn more about environments and become an environment artist.

From ART to AMA, I'm focusing on environments, and that's why I'm creating the Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean and if I have much time, create another scene that I really want to do.

PPGI - Week 9

I couldn't find a lot of advice on Design Sheets for 3D models so above are 3 different Prop Sheets I found online, two from previous students to see what they displayed on theirs. From what I gather from the better Design Sheets are that a render of the final model, fully textured, along with one or two wire frame models from different angles.  Finally, there should be 3 different maps on the Design Sheet which include the Diffuse, Normal and Specular maps.

To finish it all off, it has to be presented well on a Design Sheet. The best is the bottom 2, while the bottom is rather neat, the middle is much better laid out as it seems to blend into the background.

PPGI - Week 9

I've been looking into the type of audio I could put into my showreel, and want something classical with little or no words so as to not distract the viewer. A lot of online resources believe there shouldn't be music on the showreel as it distracts the viewer, however, subtle classical music is both visually and aurally appealing to the viewer.

I have chosen this song above (How to Train Your Dragon OST - New Tail) as the movie was mentioned on a website for having good music for a showreel, and I both like the film and the music featured in it.

Furthermore, I believe its nice relaxing music to go along with a showreel so should be able to easily have a good flowing showreel.

PPGI - Week 9

Above is a video of a showreel by Brent Waller who is a Lead Environment Artist at KMM Games, and is quite a good showreel in my opinion.

It showcases his best work, made even better by the custom soundtrack that the camera follow. The abrupt start to the showreel draws me in, while the camera pans further out through the levels he is showcasing. Half way through the showreel he then starts panning in the camera through the levels, in a slightly different way/angle/different part of the level, which draws the attention back into the level. This method is good as the best bits will be seen of the level straight away and then how they coincide with the rest of the level.

It finally ends with a slight zoom in shot of his contact details. The only change I would make to this is that the contact details should be seen at the start of the showreel for about 2 - 3 seconds so as they know whose showreel is in front of them.

My final showreel will be similar to his, although perhaps a little bit more technical as there is less work to show. So this will include moving shots of the levels I have created, starting at the best parts of the level and moving out, and then changes to the way the level looks, such as wire frame or without textures. Perhaps having a couple of design sheets mixed into the level of parts of the level I am proud of.

PPGI - Week 7

Professional Practice in the Arts

The above link refers to professional practice in the Arts and how  following certain principles will get the Artist where they want to be.

The four main points of the article are:
1 - Contribute Confidently
2 - Prepare Thoroughly
3 - Collaborate Creatively
4 - Aim High

All of which, in my opinion, are traits that everyone in any industry should use at all times if they want to advance higher in their job.

PPGI - Week 6

One thing that interests me about becoming an environment artist is the chance to work in the film industry, not only is it a bigger industry but I think a much more exciting industry. Although the need for environment artists isn't widely known for the films industry but there scenes that require the addition of environment artists as no such place exists in the world.

'Double Negative' visual effects studio came for a visit last academic year and was rather informative of the films industry and what they do within games.

The above video shows the limbo scene in Inception, which Double Negative worked on.

Other industries that modelling can get me into include the television industry, similar to film industry. The music industry is also a possibility as music artists are getting more and more adventurous with their music videos.

Virtual Engineering is another industry that is possible to get in to. Its basically the use of 3D models to simulate and test different scenarios, good example is say a dam, where the design could be tested in a number of different environments to check how it would cope with different scenarios.

AMA - Week 6

New Brief

Above is the new brief I think would be a lot better for me as I want to become an Environment Artist and I've already chosen Back to the Future Street for Advanced Rendering Techniques so this is something a little bit different.

AMA - Week 5

Brief

Above is the brief (in Google Docs which has changed some of the formatting). I liked my ideas and how they all had a reason behind them, however, brief 1 wasn't liked and that was going to be my major one, whilst the steam punk animals were going to be ornaments for a level. As brief 1 wasn't liked I now feel this module isn't going the way I want it to.

So I'm going to change the brief completely so that I actually like it, which seems a bit extreme but will go in the direction I want. I'm going to email Phil to see if this is alright, and then post what I'm going to do later.

PPGI - Week 5

I'm going to research a little into becoming an environment artist and what I need to know to be successful in the role, and, basically, get a job.

Good advice on becoming an environment artist.

A lot of the advice from industry professional environment artists is to just keep going at it, practice more and more until you can do everything. Although some points I never thought about was learning about architecture as a whole, not to the standard of someone who has done an architecture degree, but know enough to know how certain building, such as the Notre Dame, were built. This gives the motivation to start photographing interesting building, and building I see on the internet, and starting a collection so that when I do enter the industry I will have loads of references.

I do need to know certain pieces of software, such as Maya (of which I'm using continuously), but other pieces of software include 3DS Max, although more studios use Maya more, and Photoshop, which I know the basics to, but there's still a lot for me to learn. I should also start using engines more, which I enjoy using UDK a lot at the moment for its playability and lighting, but other engines such as the cryengine might be a good idea as its a far superior engine to UDK, so I've been told.

Year by year, technology is continuously changing, and for the better. Here are a few points about how they are affecting the games engine. Mobile platforms are continuously getting better, not as powerful as computers, but quite close. This will mean, as an environment artist, I will have to limit the amount of polys on the screen so that the mobile device can run the game smoothly, so I have to be ever aware of how much detail I can have on the screen at one time. Another change in technology, although not specific to being an environment artist, is that streaming games services are becoming available, and again I have to ensure that there is enough detail for the audience to still believe the environment whilst being able to stream the game successfully.

Level Design.

Above is a link about level design and how everything should have a purpose, this is the sort of articles I should be looking for to become an environment artist.

PPGI - Week 4

This week I've been tasked to look at some of my previous work and evaluate it as to why it wouldn't be good to display in a showreel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ignxKGH3RVo

Above is a video of the level I did for Real Time Rendering in my second year. Looking at it again I  realise that not a lot of the work is actually mine. Most of the items outside of the level wasn't created by me and could be found in the UDK engine, whilst the models created by me were not to the highest of quality.

Above is some of the casino games I made back in my second year. I probably wouldn't be able to use them about as they're done in a sort of steam punk way, but at the same time, they were modelled to a good standard, however nowadays I would spend more time getting some higher detail into them. Although these models were placed in a top down casino game.

Above is some work from my first year, as you can tell the scale is completely wrong and the lighting is terrible, so I would never use these models in my showreel as its not my best work, but hopefully you can see that I have improved from my first year.


At the moment I don't have any work to use in a showreel, and that is why I'm spending a lot of time on modelling so I will have something to show by the end of the first semester (December).