Tuesday 30 June 2015

Norwich Castle Keep_Re-enactment Visualisation_Stage 01

The first part of my role in this project ( visualisation work for the Castle ) has involved using the clients provided schematics to get accurate proportions, combining them with notes made on photographs taken for the scale model of the keep, which will act as a tool to speed up the modelling stage.

Site survey photos are limited in their use for reference as we are re creating the keep in its original glory, these initial concepts will assist us in agreeing the final direction for the 2 shots we will produce.

These concepts form 'key frame' shots as part of the sequencing for the 2 overall parallax animations. I have tried to innovate my practice by blocking out a base mesh in 3D and rendering the proposed shots in 'grey box' format, making 2D sketch notes over the top to annotate the story board sequence, Also introducing a lighting direction in the second shot.

Shot 1 key frames and shot master:

Showing key frame 1 with an extreme close up (ECU) of the head table, King centred with queen and 1st lady to one side, guests on the other side.  Key frame 2 shows the mid frame revealing the central feature and arched backdrop, with curtain / tapestry behind table. Guards are flanking both sides of the table. Key frame 3 is the full reveal of the rear elevation, hinting at the gallery and roof structure, a servant walks in from screen right taking a platter to the table.


Shot 2 key frames and shot master:

Key frame 1 starts with a close up of the kitchen preparation area and roaring spit roast in the back ground, the servant heading towards the head table with a platter. Key frame 2 pulls out to reveal the gallery and central feature of the space mood lighting poors in from screen right, capturing the smokey / dusty atmospheric effect. Key frame 3 shows the wide shot of the Keep revealling the roof space and head table.  NB this shot will pull through the Bigod Arch in the last frame, not shown here.










Thursday 18 June 2015

Space Mining Engineer Concept Development

The following images show the start of my process for tackling this specific character development, beginning with collating references and moving on to thumbnail sketches which are diluted to the strongest three, refined and then montaged to a final concept which I will take into 3D and iterate as I work.

The bust development shown in a previous post is the characters bust and will act as a base for the 3D development of the overall character concept.










Mining Truck concept kick off

As part of my self negotiated unit I will be looking to develop my hard surface modelling skills by developing a concept for a giant mining truck based on an alien planet, to coincide with the female character posted below, this will be her vehicle and will help to give a back story to the character.

The reference sheet shows real world earth movers which will form the base for the concept, the idea is that I will use the wheel base for the foundation of the design as a feature production would be able to source one of these vehicles and use it for filming and projecting the CGI concept truck in post production, using a technique called match moving.

The initial sketch concept shown here was created prior to the main brief being finalised as a test piece or warm up for the work to come. The concept requirements are that the truck should have a substantial deck area with a large living quarters to the rear, an airlock must be introduced, but this will need to be at a lower level that shown on my initial concept to avoid having too much climbing to access it in the harsh alien environment.

My next task with this concept is to use one of the references as a base to create a more accurate concept to fir the brief before moving to 3D and blocking out the hard surface model.





Wednesday 17 June 2015

Female lead Character Bust Wip 01

1st post for this current project, producing a 'Strong Female Lead Character' in a complementary acknowledgement to recent classic roles such as Ripley in the 'Alien' Franchise, this bust will be recycled for another upcoming project, the visualisation of the Norwich Castle Keep in its original period setting;

Bust Work In Progress, Z Brush BPR render and Photoshop Composite:


The main forms are in place but the eyes still need further adjustment, once the main issues are resolved I will add skin pore detail, wrinkles etc. I then will be experimenting with the 'Fibre Mesh' feature of Z brush to simulate the hair



Bertie

Here are some progress sketches and 3D mock up for 'Bertie', pitch work for a small robot companion hand made by a minor based on a remote planet, for his young son back home...

The images in reverse order show a mock up of the head of one of the sketches from the 2nd sketch sheet, this was modelled in Z Brush and rendered in key shot, the final 3 texture variations were composited in Photoshop, balancing the renders with and without lighting in the eye areas. Further notes above each image:




Sketch thumb sheet 02: more specific 'Gargoyle' look explored as requested by the client, reference sheet below.



My initial sketch thumb sheet shows a range of possible approaches as per the reference sheet below, I was aiming for a child friendly companion robot as unfortunately the brief was very vague and had little information on the robots appearance or the child's age etc.