So, for those who don't know, 3D environments is what I aspire to do for a living, it's my bread and butter, so it comes as no surprise that I would choose to do this for my Honours Project. However it's a very broad subject area, and narrowing down what I want to do is the first of many problems I must surpass in the coming year.
I've had a few weeks to think about this since my first meeting with Lynn to discuss honours, and in that time I've managed to identify a number of areas that interest me (and thought of projects to suit the research). So here are my current ideas of what to focus my research on:
Environmental Lighting
-Currently my main idea as it's the one I have had longest. It is something I have identified as one of my weaknesses when it comes to environment creation, purely for the reason I've rarely put enough time and effort into this part. But at the same time it is one of my favourite aspects in my 2D work and the work of others.
I have had 3 ideas for this so far:
1. A re-visiting of an old concept of mine, with a temple situated in some mountains, in the center of which is a garden illuminated by the sky outside.
This particular aspect I didn't get a chance to model, as I had nowhere close to the skill needed at the time, which is why i would like to re-visit it. Organic modelling is crucial to the concept, another facet of environments I have yet to delve into, which i would like to explore as part of this year. With the light interacting with the plants i feel there is more than sufficient technical challenge as well as a lot to explore and talk about in terms of lighting, such as sub-surface scattering, and animated shadows
2. A house in the south of France, specifically the house built by my grandfather which unfortunately no longer exists.
I am very keen on this idea, as it holds a place close to my heart, which I feel is something i can use to ensure that I put maximum effort into my project. It was a beautiful house, with much of my grandfathers ceramic artwork incorporated into the design. The drawback to this idea is that I'm not sure it would provide enough for aspects of the coursework such as concept development. Would painting various angles of the house from photographs count as development?
3. A sci-fi landscape. This is a genre I love, yet have never really explored. The idea came to mind when I was told to look toward the artists that inspire me for ideas. Coming at the very front of the list is Sparth (Nicolas Bouvier), a concept artist who does (among other things) stunning sci-fi paintings. All of which I find have amazing lighting.
I would love to create something along these lines but in 3D, and I feel this idea has the most potential for lighting and overall creative freedom.
Photo-Realism Vs Stylisation
This is my most recent idea, suggested by Brian after I told him I was torn between which to choose for my project. My thoughts are that perhaps I could create a group of similar environments, each with varying degrees of stylisation, going from photo-realistic, to something like toon-shaded (definitely not set in stone that part). I think a minimum of 3 styles would be nice, and I could talk about the merits of each, and the history behind the evolution of artistic styles.
This would probably be a great project for my showreel, as it shows a breadth of artistic styles, and if I can get the photo-realism good, that is apparently looked on extremely favourably by employers.
Environmental Storytelling (for games)
This is something I have always been interested in, and try to incorporate to some extent into all my models. I love to think about the stories behind environments, and specifically how they guide the player through the world you've created. This is probably my most interactive idea, as I would want to actually have a player navigating my environment. Doing what, or discovering what, is where my mind has so far drawn a blank, but perhaps some of the ideas above would be perfect for it
Of course most of these ideas could be altered to fit into whichever area I decide to focus on, which is great, and quite possibly could be called for.
So that's it for the introduction to my honours ideas, my next task is to do some concepts for these ideas, and try to find more potential areas of interest.
No comments:
Post a Comment