For this module the aim is to create a showreel, and I am making an environment for different modules that will be added to the showreel, but I am also making an environment for this module too. As you saw earlier I did a breakdown of the temple scene from Gears of War, and now I am making it in 3D.
Here is a screenshot showing the modular pieces that are used in the scene, I planned the scene so I can focus on a section and duplicate it around to save time and be efficient, everything in the scene is duplicated around apart from the top of the temple.
The meshes are quite simple, the shape of the temple has been captured well I feel, there are elements I missed out such as the eagle sculpture has been replaced by a small concrete piece and I have not put in the trees as of yet.
I have learnt throughout these three years on this course how important time management is, and as I get through each project I come across many problems but I have learnt from these and now I think about my projects much more, and plan in more detail.
For example the current plan I have for my Advanced 3D module, I broke the scene down into an asset list and expanded it by estimating how long each asset could take, this allows me to plan my time and see how realistic a project is, whether I need to downgrade it or not, or even upgrade it.
I feel this is the best way to plan, to have a detailed list like below and not only that but to have a weekly schedule, depending on how long the environment might take, so I plan out the jobs such as research, block out, modelling, UV mapping, light mapping, texturing, material shaders, lighting and so on.
Here is the scene blockout as it stands, breaking this down, the brick wall surrounding the temple can be modular and should be straight forward to create. The large plane in the scene represents the surrounding terrain, I feel this will need to be extended and using the terrain editor in UDK I will create a simple field which I think it is looking at the concept which is surrounded by fog. The trees are not the kind of trees I want, they are just place holder generic trees which will need to be changed to large blossom trees at a later stage but first I need to learn how to create them correctly. As for the temple I am not sure what is in the middle so I may leave it empty but the temple itself looks like it can be created in sections and duplicated so this will allow me to focus on a section and get looking like a good quality portfolio piece.
I am now working on the second half of this module, Professional portfolio development 2, and for this module I am continuing from the first part, I will be creating this scene from the concept art below which is from Gears of War, as seen in my showreel blockout. I have identified that I need to look into creating foliage, for the weeds as well as the blossom trees, what I plan to do for this is only create one and duplicate this around, and rotate the blossom tree slightly so it looks different. I will be researching into foliage creation next week. One of the things I really wanted to add are falling leafs, since there are some already on the floor I will be looking into how to get that dynamic element in the scene. As for the main piece I am contemplating whether to use Z-brush or something else, and even though I have not used Z-brush that much I feel this is the best way to do rocks and concrete details and I will have to learn that as soon as possible along with the foliage.
Breaking this down I think if I only do one section and duplicate it around it will make it much easier and quicker to complete this scene. If I have time I would like to add day and night transition however this is also another thing I need to look into. Overall I feel this concept piece is do-able in the time given, and doesn't require too much time to complete compared to others, the only downfall is I will need to learn quite a few workflows in order to do this. My aim is to have this in my end showreel along with the Crater Tavern which I am working on in the Advanced 3D module and the last of us modular building, I am still unaware of which one will be going first and last in the showreel but that will depend on the finished quality at the end.
Exit Plan
My exit plan will depend on my final portfolio/showreel quality, I have to have all 3 environments to a good standard and I will be ready to apply for junior entry roles straight after university, if I feel they could be improved on, and they are not ready to be sent out to companies just yet, I will work on it during the summer while having a normal job on the side. One thing that is important to me is not to let another job overtake where I want to be, the sooner I get a good quality portfolio the better and that is my target. I hope to have a good portfolio between April-September. Final Blockout Showreel
I have now completed my final blockout showreel, planned my future environment projects next semester and used the camera to pan around them. Firstly I start with my name, role and contact email along with the logos of the software I used.
The first environment is a concept piece from The Last of Us, I wanted to create a modular environment and make it look as unique as possible, hiding the fact you are using the same models, textures for most of the scene, and I feel this scene allows me to do this. My second environment is a concept of a Sci-Fi styled diner, quite a compact scene however a lot going on, a lot of small props in the scene which will show I can work on small props if that is the entry role I have in the games industry. The main thing I like about this environment is the transition between interior and exterior, and the lighting. Finally my 3rd environment is a concept from gears of war, when looking for ideas I wanted something that could work well for my showreel and I feel this environment does, I can rotate around it while having a dynamic environment, falling leaves from trees, day/night transition.
My aim is for my showreel to show exactly what I want to be, an environment artist, there are 3 different environments in there, interior, and exterior, Sci-Fi, Grungy Urban and an old ruin style environment.
Guest Lecture - Ray Shum
A couple of weeks back, Ray Shum visited us for a talk, he is a professional 3d environment artist currently working for Rockstar North on Grand Thief Auto V. It was good to have someone from the industry visit and tell us of his experiences such as working on a variety of games, and how crunch feels.
His shipped titles are a racing game - Project Gotham Racing 4, Blur and GTA V, it is interesting to see the buildings he has worked on in his portfolio, and spot them in game.
Looking at his portfolio he has set it out really well, showing his shipped game artwork which is separate from his personal work. The one element I like about his personal work is he has shown he can work on different types of environments, such as interior, exterior, more dirty and grimy environment as well as some detailed props. This is the kind of thing I want to show in my showreel and portfolio, I want to show I can work on outside environments, working with foliage, working on interior environments which I have been doing a lot of so far and most of all working on different types of environments to create different moods for example Sci-fi will feel and look much different to Urban.
Going back to Ray Shum's portfolio, the navigate is simple and smooth, the pages load fine and the thumbnails show a good preview the environment. I like the fact he has kept all the text in the CV area. Showing key information such as location, email, skills, experience, education, and software knowledge.
Looking at the skill section, you usually see Low poly modelling, high poly modelling, texturing and so on, but Ray has added, team work, self motivated and organised and resourceful, and this is the kind of things employers want to see.
Showreels are very important for animators and riggers but more prop/character and environment artists it is less so, we can use still images to display the work, and they are much easier for people to view the art work rather than a video much might not give the best quality of the work. Having said that showreels are there for showing off you're best work, and it is more of a dynamic method to show off artwork. With props you have them usually rotating around, showing off the wireframe, high poly, low poly with baked normal map, and then diffuse, specular maps as the prop rotates. However it is more complicated with environments, you have to think about the camera, be very subtle when moving it around the scene. Try not to go over the same area more than once, and not to drag it out longer than it needs to be. For smaller environments it might be easier to have screenshots but for the example below I will show you exactly why a video is needed. Here is an example of how a large environment can be shown off using a showreel, this is the only project show in the video but as you can see it a massive environment and it would be impossible to show this off just using still images. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EbsFRtELgI
It would have been nice to see a breakdown of the scene a bit more but he had done that on their development showcase thread on polycount. I will look further in showreels and see how environments have been broken down in wireframes, textures, lighting and so on, as I prepare to block out my own. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkIBEIf-2d4 Here is a better showreel, you can see the environment is shown as well as props, showing the different maps used in a cool way. I really like how the camera is used and makes viewing more interesting.
This week the class was focused on interviews, we got into groups of 3 and we each had a role to play and kept swapping around, the three roles were note taker, interviewer and interviewee and we were given questions to ask the interviewee. The job role was given to use which was a company called Mind Candy who are the developers of Moshi Monsters. So coming in to this I really didn't expect to be thrown into this situation but It was good to see how I coped with it and what I could take away and improve on. Firstly as the interviewer I had been given questions to ask, this gave me a better idea on what they want to know about you, It was good to be in their position because you feel like you want the interviewee to blow you away, you want them to want the job more than anything. I was interesting to know the methods that are in interviews to get to know the person more, for example the question about what animal would you be if you were one is a good way to see what kind of personality the person has. Now when it was my turn to take the hot seat and be the interviewee nerves crept in, I like to really prepare for a situation like this, I haven't had many interviews before, maybe one or two so it is still really new to me having said that I have researched a lot into it in the past and understand it better. The feedback I got from it was It took awhile to answers some questions, I had to think about them a lot, maybe too much, I was a little to honest bout my weaknesses., which can be a good thing as well as a bad thing, it is important to not lie your way through an interview because an interviewer will spot it straight away. Overall I think the interview could have gone a lot better but due to the fact it was thrown on me, I didn't know much about the company or game I was applying for I could have done much better.
