hhmm...

It finally dawned on me this morning, after I handed in my work and heckled Nick Clegg, that I no longer had work to be doing... Its a strange feeling, I don't like it. I still almost feel stressed about the work, driven to get it done, but there's nothing for me to do. Needless to say I'll be getting on with personal work, but I just kind of miss it. I almost don't want the summer break. I could quite happily get on with Third year now, start my final major perhaps, create something amazing in Unreal, another group project maybe.

But what about fitness? I suppose all this time off will give me a great opportunity to get my fitness schedule finished... Not that its stopped me yet, I've not missed a day for months now. I suppose TA will feel more relaxed, I don't need to think about the work thats not getting done. Maybe I'll go to the park and have a bbq.

Oh goodness I don't know - don't even know if I'm in the third year yet, well nothing I can do now, just a waiting game I suppose. What if I'm not? Shit boxes and hand bags, I'd be off to Sandhurst, that's a scary thought, I was much more comfortable with the idea of it being after uni, if my degree works out I'd probably just stay in the TA, maybe spend my free-time humping a Bergen over the Brecons, preparing for the big one.

Yes, that's something I can do over the summer break, when I get home I'll frequent the brecons. Our TA summer camp is in Sennybridge too, I wonder if I can get the lads up the fan, better not invite the fatties, they'd slow us down.



Whats this on TV? Another fucking Lib-dem broadcast, jesus christ, it really does worry me that Clegg is converting the idiots, why are there so many easily lead idiots in this country? None have the nous to read the lib-dem policies, a few good ones I'll agree, but it just doesn't add up, their financial plans are flawed and rely on too many of the 'rich' people being stupid enough not to find a loop-hole. They say they want to 'finish the war and support the troops 100%' but they would scrap the Hawker Typhoon program, who's going to provide air support in 10 years time? the Typhoon will be a flying antique by then.

Jesus I'm pissed off, I'm angry at the idiots, I'm going for a run.

Team on three 1, 2, 3, Shock! Horror!

Well, the team project has finally come to a close, along with the second year, and I must admit, I'm almost.. stunned perhaps? I feel like the cartoon image of a man standing in the wake of a formula-1 car in the desert. Everything is roaring, noisy, messy, fast paced, and then suddenly, without preperation, I'm left alone in a desert with nothing but the settling dust to keep me company. Sounds depressing doesn't it?

And well yes, I kind of miss that group project, and definitely enjoyed it. As a team we bonded strongly. Colleagues at the beginning, friends at the end. I've taken a lot of positive experiences from it, learned a lot about unreal, and also about myself.

In the first year, I'd looked forward to being a team leader in the second year, running a group project. I was assured of myself, relaxed that my experience would sail me to the front, and have people looking forward to being in MY group. But when the group projects rolled around, I learned a strong lesson, a harsh lesson, but one I'm grateful of to no end.

I wasn't picked as a group leader, in fact I was almost seen as a 'liability' within the group, as people had noticed my relaxed attitude towards working hard, and had noticed my poor attendance. When I put myself forwards as a group leader, I received an almost laughing response "But you'd never turn up!" - bastards! This was my first year dream they're ruining, of course I'd fucking turn up, this would be my baby! - But they were right... What other image had I presented? What other examples of working hard had I given? What had I given to them that would lead them to believe that I was capable of doing a bloody good job? Nothing...

Every member of the class learned about unreal, learned about naming conventions, and I'm sure anyone reading these blogs would be bored stupid about people trying to sound interesting when writing a doppelgänger blog about what the group project taught them, would be bored stupid, and I won't bore you with it.

But I learned more than just that, I learned about myself. I learned that people perceive you skills based on what you practice in front of them. People think you're lazy if you don't turn up. And these people will one day be the ones deciding your fate in the games industry.

I learned that people perceive me as being lazy, cocky and lacking in self-discipline. Regardless of what I KNOW about myself. I learned the hard way that this affects my ability to chase my dreams. And I learned that I'm going to fucking change this image.

Good night, and thanks for a blast team: 'Shock! Horror!' We were fucking awesome.

Debrief - Learn - Plan ahead

The year isn't over yet, and I've still got work to do, but I feel in a reflective mood today, and think its time to look back over the past two semesters, and evaluate the pro's and the cons, after all, the first step to fixing a problem is recognising its there.

Its easy to dwell on the shortcomings, especially for someone as critical, and at times 'pessimistic', as myself. But lets not forget the progressions I've made as a game artist this year. My learning has by no means plateau'd and I feel progression as well as see it.



Both 3d work and 2d work has progressed, and I feel much more confident as a 3d artist. in the 1st year, and before, I was 'afraid' of Specular, Normal etc. maps. But this second year has pushed my boundaries further. Now, not only am I confident in my ability to use more complicated maps, but I'm also doing so on a frequent basis as part of our group project.
My 2d knowledge and skill has expanded, not as noticeably, and by no means on a level par with my 3d work, but its still improving, and while I'll never admit that I'm a 'good' 2d artist, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting the gist of it.

However, its not all been a bed of roses, and there are certain aspects that could, and should have been handled with a lot more care and seriousness. a.k.a there were some 'Borks'.
But, I shouldn't shy away from these facts, and try to pretend they didn't happen, then did, and I CAN change them with the right mental attitude, and so it starts, here and now.

Ok so the biggie was 'Attendance', I cant lie, it was pretty fucking shocking. I got far too comfortable with waking up late and going to bed later, I will make a small excuse and say this was not an easy habit to get out of. but that by no means justifies the error. This sadly had a knock on effect with missing work, having to play catch up rather than putting in extra hours, and basically caused a whole backlash which has left my with my tail between my legs for the second semester.

So WHY was attendance so bad? As mentioned, late nights and late mornings. Late nights are acceptable if one is able to force themselves to wake up early in the morning. I was evidentially not as good at this as I gave myself credit for.
So why was I going to bed so late? This one isn't as predictable as one might think. It really wasn't all partying, in fact towards the the second semester I was dangerously low on cash and spent my nights 'in', most often playing video games on-line, late into the night. As I recall, I just wouldn't feel tired till 3- 4am, sometimes, out of pure habbit, I just wouldn't go to bed until these times, almost not allowing myself to, and THIS was the cause of the attendance problem.

So, now that I recognise the cause to that problem, what measures do I put in place to make sure it doesn't happen again? - Well, its really a case of self-discipline, only I can tell myself to go to bed, but thankfully I can impose a few new rules on myself that will help put an end to this:

1: Do not start playing a game after 12:30AM. - (To stop me getting 'hooked' and stop feeling tired)
2: Only 'go out' on a night that does not fall on a lecture the following day. - (Fairly simple idea really)
3: Must wake up, and stay up before 10am on weekdays, regardless of lectures. - (this will keep me in a good sleeping habbit)

So, these measures have been put in place to increase productivity, and to ensure a good sleeping pattern which will enable me to counter the effects of the Attendance problem.
Its a shame these 'realisations' have come so late, but better now then never at all.

Another problem I've noticed this year, is that I've been almost 'shying' away from 2d work, almost as if I'm 'afraid' of it for some preposterous reason. However, this has meant I've often been late or rushing when it comes to doing the work. This default reaction to 2d work MUST stop as its really holding me back.

Whats causing this problem? Humans always seek out what we enjoy, when we don't enjoy something we always put it to the back of our brain, or try to avoid it. These symptoms are the same as that which I experience with 2d work, and so to fix this problem, it seems I must engineer a way for me to 'enjoy' painting.

What measures must I put in place in order to 'enjoy' painting? Well, this one's a toughy, and there isn't much one can do to force someone to like something. However, a lot fo the time, if we don't enjoy something, its because we aren't good at it. After a search on the google-a-tron I read a great idea, that in order to find enjoyment in something, we should 'figure out what we can learn from it'. So, I came up with this:

1: When attempting a piece of work, combine it with a relevant tutorial - (this way, I'm not only getting work done, but I'm also able to feel the buzz of learning while I do it)
2: Evaluate all work with current work to remind on self of the learning progress - (Not all work beats what you did previously, this is especially prominent with 2d work, and this should be taken into account, however, when it does its great to see it.)
3: De-stress the work, by getting it done ahead of schedule. - (A bit late for this, but this is something I'm going to be focussing on in the third and final year).

So, these measures should hopefully help alleviate the negative reaction I have towards 2d work, and as I get better, this issue should be easier and easier to bypass.

There aren't a whole load of things wrong with this second year, but those that did go wrong, went wrong, with an effect on almost everything. However, I am confident that lessons learned from that, are valuable, and should be taken into account. I can't magic back the lecture time I've missed, but I can learn valuable lessons from mistakes made.

So, onwards to the future, what have I got in store?

Well, I'm not giving up, by any fucking means, this course is a major investment, and I'll be fucked if I'm letting it go to waste. I've got plans for the summer, and plans for next year.

Inspired by 'Cameron' I purchased, as said in a previous blog post, a brilliant tutorial DVD about next gen character creation utilising zBrush, and also inspired by the work of other on the course, I'm going to spend my free time during summer burred deep in zBrush learning it. My plans for the summer are as follows:

Create a next gen sculpted character using lessons from the DVD.
Create a small game environment based on my house in UnrealEd.
Fill a Sketchbook with drawings from life.
Summer project.

These three objectives are to be completed by the start of next year,I'll go into a bit more detail:

Character design: I love character design, while I'm realistic enough to realise that I'm more likely to get into the games industry as an environment artist, I still want to build up a knowledge of character design, that I can then expand once I'm working in the industry.

Environment: I've decided environments are to be my bread and butter, thankfully I also really enjoy working within the Unreal Editor and would quite happily do it as a job. I plan on making part, or all of my house in Unreal, this would form as a prep piece for my FMP, which I am planning on making an environment piece. I want to include, if I have time, an external part of the house, as 'exteriors' seem pretty difficult to me.

Sketchbook: I've missed too much 2d work this year, and rather than say 'oh well' I'm going to hit the sketchbook hard in preparation for next year. After next year, I need to go out and get a job, a scary prospect, and this summer is the most 'free' time I'm going to have before that massive undertaking, I'd better make up for that which I lost this year.

So, to conclude, this year has had ups and downs. I've been debilitated by my own laziness, and held back by late mornings. But I'm not giving up. I've learned valuable lessons about myself during the whole experience, and all I can say is:

Don't give up on me now, I'm so god-damn close. I've had a shit year, but by god I'll show you what I'm capable of in the third year...

Tutorialzzz

Summer isn't far off, and after drawing NEW character Ortho and final for an interesting character project, I've been longing to model the character in 3d, this kind of extra work is great for not only my portfolio, but to demonstrate to lecturers that I'm working on skills, however, ironically I don't have time to get cracking while the iron is hot due to other deadlines, doh!

This surge of motivation came as after a combination of finished orthos and a purchase of a new tutorial DVD from Gnomon workshop. Yes, you read correctly, I actually paid for software.

I've been thinking about buying the DVD 'Character Modelling for next gen games' for quite some time, since I first saw it at the beginning of the first year in fact. however, I've long been told that zBrush is Satans penis or that I should 'watch other DVD's first'. But No, I know ME better, and I'm doing it, and so I took the plunge!

And what a DVD, I learned so much! I'm really itching to get cracking with a new character, and with new Orthos too, I can't wait! Roll on this summer.

http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/product/523/Character-Modeling-for-Next-Gen-Games

God-damn, if only I had more time!

Work, you spend months fighting for inspiration, scared that you're losing your ability to function artistically. Then all of a sudden, like a change in the wind, you realise that the reason you've been struggling all this time, is merely a bad approach towards the subject at hand.

This may all sound unrelated, but let me go on. All this time I've been put off doing work, worried it will look 'shit' and refusing to be anything other than original, I've had it drilled into me that I must be this magic Original artist. Of course, for an inexperienced artist, being original isn't easy. but recently its dawned upon me, that EVERYTHING is copied, nothing is original, original is impossible, it doesn't even exist. Today on the internet I read "Its not where you took it from that matters, its where you take it too" and suddenly like a switch it makes so much sense, we can't be original, the human race has existed for too long, everything has been done at least once. So why not just do what looks good? Its art after all.

This realisation has brought good emotions around me, and made it easier to work, but sadly hasn't 'magic'd' me more time (I still end up doing everything three times too!). But its taken a very stressful process and made it much easier to approach. Thank you 'Stumble Upon'!

Rule Of Thirds

The 'Rule Of Thirds' is a compositional tool used to maximise the interest of a painting, photograph, render, or just about any kind of 2d image.

I feel almost guilty that I've not taken it upon myself to learn this important composition rule, but, as of late, I've started to build confidence in my 2D painting and drawing abilities, and have decided its time I learned how to not only draw accurately, but to be able to create compositions well.

So, basically, the rule of thirds states that pictures should be broken up into 9 squares (by dividing an image into thirds on both the x and y axis). These lines serve as a placement guide on the image and the point is that you place interesting items of the scene on these lines. Better still, place interesting things at the points where the lines meet.

For example:
Image taken from Wikipedia

Such a simple set of rules, but makes perfect sense, and breaks up the monotony of having front on composition all the time. I shall be applying this technique to many further 2d works!

A Personal Milestone

Not work related, but life related.

For various reasons, I decided at Christmas, that as of boxing day, I was getting fit... Just like the other 10,000 people that panic after seeing themselves in a mirror after the season of eating.

However, I've still not 'biffed out', and with help from my trusty book 'Fighting fit' by Adrian Weale I've been hammering out the runs.

Now, no goal is achievable unless it is SMART (oh god someone actually listened in those lessons). For those who didn't this acronym means that a goal must be S-Specific, M-Measurable, A-Attainable, R-Realistic, T-Time bound.
So, after boxing day I took a good look at myself, and decided that my fitness goal would be to be able to run 10 miles in under 60 minutes before I'm 23. When I started I was 20, so this gives me a good length of time to achieve this goal. Its wholly measurable and very realistic.

So, when I started I was weary, I'd never really run more than a mile before, and setting myself the quick goal of being able to run 3 miles seemed like a monumental challenge. I won't lie, I thought it'd take ages. But, after a few weeks of pain and commitment, I finished a 3 mile run without any walking breaks, I was ecstatic, a happy man indeed.

To compliment my runs, I decided (the book decided) I'd swim twice a week, on 'rest days'. Swimming? I fucking suck at it, but once again, I set a small scale goal, to be able to swim for 30 minutes continuously (front crawl) and, after teaching myself to swim (you laugh, I looked like a drowning retard when I started), I slowly increased from 15, to 25 to 30 minutes! Wham, I now knock two of these out per week.

the runs were the important part, and I was still stuck on 3 miles, I'd run these for about two weeks, and was still finding them a strain, but I needed to press on in order to reach my goal. I upped the mileage from 3 to 4.5, and then ran 6.5 on sundays... 6.5! once again, the feeling of improving hid the pain, I'd just ran 6.5 miles without stopping at 2am in the morning, and no one was taking it away from me. I broke my strict diet and bought an early Easter egg to celebrate.

But what of this Milestone?

Now I'm back home, I've increased the 4.5 mile run to 5, as the new route is 100% flat. 5 miles, 4 times a week, that's half of ten, my final goal! By this point I'd given up on timing myself, it was laborious and generally didn't yield many results worth getting exited over, but as I left the house today I glanced almost subconsciously at the clock, a quarter past 1PM. I set out for my run, naturally run quite fast, and slow down for the long mileage runs, but bugger that, this time I'm going to keep tempo and push, I feel like punishing myself. After what feels like an age, I finally pop the keys in the lock to the front door and begin making my way to my Bergan in the hallway (off for a weighted walk across the fields). I notice the clock, think nothing of it... Wait, its exactly a quarter to two... That means I was out for almost bang on 30 minutes... 5 miles? 30 minutes? that's 6 minute miles! I'M HALF WAY!

I've given myself till I'm 23 to be able to run 10 miles in under 60 minutes, and today, under four months into my fitness routine and I'm statistically half way. I smiled hard, slung my Bergan and boots on, and headed for the fields.

Work Update

As mentioned in a previous post, I set myself a tree project. During working on the tree project, a friend of mine asked if I could make him a tree for a cartoon-styled game he was making in XNA. Putting two and two together, this study had some useful timing!





using saturated colours and sticking to a rather basic palette I was able to make this tree look cartoony. I was also asked to make a stump to go with it (It could be chopped down by a robot in the game). If I were making this tree, and aiming to make it realistic I'd have used much less saturated colours, introduced more blemishing to the leaves, and stretched my texture budget to allow for the use of texturemaps with leaf-less branches on.

What did I learn form this study? - I quickly realised that the placement of leaves on a tree is paramount to making it look... well, like a tree. Previous to this study I'd throw leaves on rather 'willy-nilly' without paying much respect to the reality of tree growth. After examining the trees in Cod, and other games, I was able to make mental, and diagrammatic note of the placement of leaf planes, and place mine with reference to this.

One stark realisation made during the study, is the differences between the tri and texture limit I am taught to use, and that of the current, and previous gen props. While I don't see this as a flaw with my education, it is frustrating to try and re-create excellence with only half the resources available to me. However, my interpretation of this, is that the lecturers imposing these restrictions, are doing so in order to maximise the efficiency with which we as students work. However, I shall talk more on this subject in just a little while...

Anything else?

As any student or lecturer reading this will know, we are in the process of our group projects. With every team frantically working to get more props into their scene and fix the problems of the de-moralising artillery barrage that was our formative assesments, I have not been exception to this, and have been working hard. After being told we needed more rooms, I've taken it upon myself to produce as much office (the rooms are office rooms) props as I can muster, in order to bring some life to the new rooms. A lot of these assets won't be used, and I accept that, but its better to have them right?

To start things off, here's an old office plant. Withered and drooping, I wanted to bring some 'life' to the scene. Our level is chock full of man-made props, but nothing living, nothing that suggests that its really on planet earth. I created a plant to fix this. While not a thriving plant, as people haven't been looking after it, it's instead drooping, and slowly going black. "Why black? Don't plants go brown when they die?" - I did a little research on the world wide web, and in humid environments or environments where there is much moisture in the air, plants tend to rot rather than dry out. Here it is:



Is that all?

nope, afraid not. I've been sketching up some VERY QUICK character sketches for my interesting character project with a Planetside theme. I already have a final for my interesting character project. But personally? it just doesn't go, I can do better. So I've been doing a few quick sketches slapping down basic colour schemes to see what I like. Both of the following images have huge flaws, but you know what? I don't care any-more, this is my art and I like it.

Wherefore art thou Planetside?

Or more importantly, "Why did they bastardise thou Planetside".

Just recently, I decided to check out the Planetside universe again, for old time kicks, nostalgia and all that parp. I've played thousands of games, wasted countless hours, some not so wasted. Games come and go like bad lovers, and like bad lovers, are forgotten pretty quickly. But just like in life, there's always one you never forget, long to go back to and re-live the experience, one you compare current experiences too but is never beaten. Yes.. I fell in love once, with a game called Planetside.



For those of you who went through a stage of delinquency and have no idea what this game was all about, I'll briefly, and with a biased point of view, explain.

Planetside was an MMOFPS, you levelled up, and unlocked new toys, but when you killed someone, it was your personal skill that did a lot of it. No WOW stat bashing top trumps going on here. It was a universe at war, with tanks, planes, dropships, power-suits, nimble backstabbers, snipers, cars, bases shotguns... etc. Three sides fought for war over different continents of a planet, there were no winning conditions, and continents changed hands daily with a flood of people fighting at all hours. basically, Planetside was the balls...



This story doesn't have a happy ending though. Just when Planetside was losing a few players, Sony decided to spread the battlefields out even more with a shitty cave fighting environment. This turned major conflicts into smaller skirmishes spreading an already thinning populace out even further. Not the end of the world, us players still found fun ways to fight, and then. When just players started coming back, Sony dropped the final hammer blow... MANGA ROBOTZ. Giant shitty unbalanced Noob raping robots, stomped around the battlefields with shitty ainmations. Fueled with rage that Sony had defaced and raped my beautiful lover, I hopped on the band wagon... and quit.



The history of the game aside, I've been thinking a lot recently about the character and vehicle design of planetside, and how, at the time I thought everything looked amazing.

Of course, like any old game, when looking back, everything look pretty pants. But rather than pointing out flaws and handing out negative criticism, which does no one any good, wouldn't it be fun to re-design some of the characters and spaces? I'm finding motivation hard at the moment, so I'm going to combine this new angle with my work. Lets see what I can come up with.

A Just Cause?

10,000ft above a beautiful rainforest, I jump out the pilot's seat of my stolen harrier jet, and freefall towards the dense green canopy. As I sail suicidally though the clouds, I spot a civilian single prop plane flying below me. As I sail nearer to the plane, a grappling hook fires from my wrist, and within seconds I'm standing on the cockpit of the plane staring at the unaware pilot.
Without securing myself, I lift open the cockpit and throw the civillian out - Ha! Take that, as he falls towards certain doom.

I fly the plane towards a large city, the lights emmisive in the nights sky. I see tracers, balls, must not have lost that army chopper, it just took its time. I Jump out the plane, leaving it careering towards a built up skyline. As I fall I accidentally press the space bar and a parachute pops out of no where. Fuck, its a long glide from this height. I detatch the parachute, choosing to free-fall, after all, I've got unlimited parachutes to save some time, after all, I've got unlimited parachutes, its 3:00am and I don't have time to mess around... Wait, its 3:am? Fuck, I'm up at 9, I'd better save.


And that was my first exeperience of the far-fetched experience that is Just Cause 2. And this for me is unusual, as I'm a self-confessed realism geek. Someone once described as 'allergic to fun' choosing rather to simulate a long flight to Chicago, or get into a realistic firefight and shit my virtual pants.

Just Cause 2 is the complete opposite of the realistic games I've conditioned myself to like. For example, on one freefall session, I used 6 parachutes in one drop, but wait... My character doesn't even have a backpack! You come equipped with a grappling hook that will attatch to anything and ninja skills to go with it. You can hijack a commercial Jet mid flight, all in within 4 minutes of each other. And still have time to admire the scenery.


And here's one of the main sticking points of this game for me, the scenery. Some of the views I've experienced within the short time I've played this game have been absolutely breathtaking. Jungles rich with vegetation, sunsets that reflect across shallow seas. haze, fog, volumetric clouds. Its pretty fucking good.

The models look awesome, and the technical skill of the artists is un-disputed. Some of the Normal maps are fantastically sculpted. But I can't help but not quite like the style of some of the vehicles. Some very bland, some tasteless, some just look shit. Its a strange kettle of fish, by trying to make (espeiclaly the militairy) the vehicles unique from any in the real world, the designers have hit a barrier. The style can only be explained as rather boring, big chunky vehicles without many details, and laden with flat surfaces, liek real army vehicles? Hell no, real army vehicles are laden with bits and bobs. But then thats realistic, and this game? Ok so maybe it gets away with that one...



However lacking in taste some of the vehicles are, the game is a beautiful fun fest, guarenteed to keep you occupied like a child for a few hours, and well worth £26.00!

Teresa Green

Lately, I've been looking at... Trees.

After a very informative conversation with a codemasters artist, I learned that the most reliable way into the industry, is environment modelling. From whole maps, to awesome props, its all important, and all goes down well on a CV.

SO, in reply to this, I think it would be prudent to act upon what I've been told, and improve my environment work. And so, I've started with trees, as these are in my opinion, the staple to any environment.

I've spent most of the afternoon running around in Call of Duty, on my own, gawping at the trees and other environment objects, and I've documented some of my findings in the picture below:



As you can see, I've identified three texture maps on the tree (though I suspect there are two different leaf maps, which would bring it to a total of four maps.).
I've also noticed that there are a lot more branches than I usually use, this is a fault on my part, not a more efficient technique. I've also noticed that the artists really know their trees! The placement of the branches and leaves reflect this, the leaves being at the end of the branches, in clusters, and not in the centre of the tree (where there would be no light).
Finally, I noticed the way the artists very rarely used any planes at right angles to the x and y. Almost all leaf clusters are actually two planes at 45 Degrees to the X axis. This means that you cannot 'see though' the planes from the sides.

I've learned a lot from my solo cod game, and will make sure to employ these lessons in a tree project that I am setting myself.

What I'm working on and other good news

I've recently left a MOD team I was working in for about 5 years, in search of pastures new. To be honest, I was a bit fed up of world war 2.

So, sticking to the game engine I know, I've asked to work with 'Project UKF' (United Kingdom Forces). A modern era mod for ArmA2 that focusses on British forces. This is a fantastic mod opportunity for me as being in the TA means reference pictures are never hard to find :)

As my test model, I've been asked to model an HK417 (new 7.62 assault rifle used by the SAS). I've spent about two evenings worth of time working on the model, and here is a work in progress picture:


I'm moving back to uni tomorrow, and I've got to compile my 1st semester presentation, but I hope to get this baby finished as soon as possible.

On other good news, my very late Xmas present came today (literally, my only present... yeah that was a shit christmas). A nice shiny Wacom - intuos 3. Woot, and my goodness is drawing different with a decent Wacom (in comparison to my old Bamboo)/ I sat for a while earlier today and had a bit fo a shape and form experiment, and ended up re-doing the 2d vehicle project!
Here's a pic:


Its a form of future civilian transport, much like a single person car. Its powered by the thruster underneath, and also steered by this thruster. This means it can traverse almost all terrain; water, hills, even air!

...Oh did I say single seater... there are two seats, you just can't see the second... therefore it falls within the brief :P

I've also found some brilliant (IMHO) that really helps me concentrate when working, get a load of these guys, I bring you Ryksopp:



its safe to say I'm obsessed with this song, and this one by Mind.In.A.Box:


Right.. back to work on that 417

Progress on the Character

I've been working on my SelfPortrait character for ages, I've re-done the model twice, and was so transfixed with the computer screen last night, that I stayed up till the road went quiet outside, the birds started tweeting and drunk students stopped walking past the house... Hmmmm... something's odd, what time is it? 5:10AM!

I've never jumped out my seat, slammed the computer off button, and dived to the bed faster, and rather unsurprisingly, I didn't make my 8:30am wake up. Infact, I closed my eyes after turning off the alarm, and woke up at 4PM :(

This, rather frustratingly, means I missed my monday lectures. However, After reading the course structure, I'm going to spend the rest of the day/evening getting on with the relevant work.

But, what of this fabled character? Here is an image of the fella, for those that don't know, he is meant to be a pilot of my airship (vehicle project). Here he is:

Oh Snap! We were meant to be blogging this year?

Whoops

Kinda missed the boat on that one. Well, I'll try to keep this blog updated.

So, new year, new projects, new house, how's it going for me? Sadly I've made the mistake of fully booking an already busy schedule, I can advise that trying to complete a university course, play American Football, and fulfilling my commitment to the TA (Territorial Army), and keeping up with my fitness routine, has been more difficult than I planned (apparently, there are only 7 days in a week! Who would have thought! A week sounded like such a long time.)

HOwever its not all doom and gloom, I've figured out my priorities, and sadly, for now the American Football is going to have to suck an egg, I just don't have the time to be committed.

But screw the boring stuff, what of the course?

The course is coming along nicely, I've recently invested in some very good ZBrush tutorials (yes, thats right, I paid for something!!!) and I'm really enjoying the new projects we are being set, not to mention, I'm finding a love for 2D work, drawing is actually quite fun when you finally start getting better, I think its less stressful, and therefore more fun. I won't deny it though, I am slightly behind, though I have no one to blame but myself.

Right, I'd better be cracking on with some work, I'll talk back soon.

Halftrack WIP

Work has slowly.. much slower than I would like, but steadily been progressing on the M3 Half-track. I'm glad I'm doing this project as there is some rather complicated geometry going on, and its really like a puzzle game trying to get it all right.

Here are some WIP pictures:




On other news, I finally got my sketch pad out and started drawing the other day, which was fun... for the first few minutes, then annoyingly frustrating as nothing seemed to 'click'. A sign possibly, that I am trying to draw logically, rather than visually, something I will experiment with tomorrow evening if I have time.

I've noticed a certain aspect of my personality, a blessing and a curse in equal respect. I tend to experience everything, yet specialize in nothing. I base my actions on my mood, and my mood seems to change multiple times a day. For example, earlier today all I wanted to do was play cricket, sadly the great British weather was raining and generally shit, so I frivolously ate some biscuits and played a game. Before long my mood changed to wanting to work on the half-track, so a quick alt+f4 turned my game off, and I started 3ds max. the M3 loads... but I can't face working on it, I want to do a character, so, after following a similar impulse the previous evening, I load up a .max file of an American Paratrooper, in very early stages. Nah, that's boring, I can't be bothered, I want to do a British para now.

I spend the next 20/30 minutes quickly sketching up an orthographic image of a British paratrooper, but the inspiration has died, I can't even be bothered to scan it in. Oh snap, I just had a totally cool mission idea for ArmA2! I load up ArmA2 and pop into the editor and start making the mission, damn, its going to take ages to play test this, I can't even get past the first bit... I'm not even in the mood anymore.

The story. Sadly, goes on an on. However, there are some positives, this constant stream of 'good ideas' means that I have already done a considerable amount with my life. I've worked in America, then traveled from east to west. I've played just about every MMORPG in existence (but paid for none). I've played almost every game on the market, had flying lessons, and many more. I think its a general lack of a need for closure.

I've got friends, who play a game, and can't rest until it is completed, the need closure. I on the other hand, just want to try a new game to experience it, see what its like, then I'll move on to the next. I've completed a grand total of about 5% of my collection of games. Same goes for my early 3d models. However, I've since learned that finishing a standard model is more important than starting cool ones.

I'm suspicious that this behavioral trait is caused by a combination of tiredness, and waking up late (based on the theory that waking up late makes me lazy for the remainder of the day). I'll set my alarm for 8am, tomorrow, lets see if it changes.

Still alive

Well, lack of lectures really effects your drive, mentally. Something that needs to be changed, and I am the only one responsible for that.

So, what have I been doing this last term? - Mod work mostly.

I've just finished an M1 Carbine, for our US infantry models. complete with four resolution Lods (levels of detail).


And with our release imminent, here is an in-game collage:

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/9163/carbe.jpg (far too big for this puny blog).

So, the Carbine kept me busy for a short while, but it is by no means an excuse for two months of inactivity. And honestly, I don't have one, I've never lived so close to so many clubs and bars, maybe that has something to do with it.

I know little about creating vehicles, I've only ever made one before and that was a ford transit for a hand-in. So with a recognized weakness, I've decided that my next project (once again mod work, this time for our sequel) will be an American M3 Halftrack. We need a new one, and what better a learning project, it has both tracks, and wheels, so I've plenty of UV mapping challenges facing me, it has fun details, and a challenging interior. So, before summer projects are started, I'm gonna finish this mother.

Here's how far I am after about an hours work:



My my my... finding reference on vehicles can be a nightmare, dreaded google can only give me certain bits and bobs, old world war 2 photos are hard to make details out of. And there's never reference for that crevice you can't figure out!

So, I decided I would pop down Domino's model shop, and buy myself a little model kit of an M3 half track. Best idea I've had in AGES! Its so useful having the model in front of you, not only is it much easier to convert 3d information in real life into 3d information on the screen (rather than 2d to 3d) but I also get the nifty blueprints they supply to help with painting, double whammy! Definitely going to repeat this next time I make a vehicle. Not only this, but it was also really fun to make!



Oh, and if you're wondering why its got loads of black on it? I was experimenting with using a dark wash to deepen the shadows... it didn't work :(

Well that was a waste of a week

Euraugh, I've had a bit of a shit time of it recently.

I broke up with my girlfriend just two days after my formative assessment, not the end of the world, I'm not going to cry and be all dramatic about it. But it is rather annoying, as the collateral damage was rather unsavory. Plus she was a nice friend.
she lives with my best mates, I used to chill out with them every night in order to relax, can't do that for a little while! Which is ironic, as now I need that more than ever!

With this doing a good job of stressing me out, I then have caught some god awful flu, very similar to Mumps symptoms (I swear I've had my MMR so hopefully its not) Which has kept me inside my flat for nearly a week now. I've been in bed for the past few days, bar a small shopping trip to get some fresh air... Which made me even worse the next day :(

I feel a bit shit to be honest, my number of friends has essentially been chopped in half, I've lost a girlfriend I don't mind admitting I was starting to get quite close to, and I'm stuck indoors to think about it... all this, while sweating uncontrollably and shivering like an arctic explorer.

But why post this? Why moan?

I'm posting this because I feel it is quite important to mention. The last week I've not been able to do any work, every time I pick up a pencil I end up putting it back down and go to sleep. I tried some digital painting but it gave me a headache almost instantly, same goes for 3d work. I have only recently been able to start using my computer again without feeling like its draining the blood from my brain. Playing games is an interesting challenge, as my reaction times are comparable to 'paraplegic' or 'mentally retarded'.

I feel slightly better now, I can stand up, and even use my computer. Not confident with going outside just yet, I have the heating on full in my room, I'm wearing a hoodie, and I'm still freezing cold! - though I am also sweating, which should I believe? lol.

As for drawing? I'm sorry Chris but I can't see much happening this week if things stay like this, I feel shit, emotionally, mentally, physically. I honestly feel about as creative as a 40 year old investment banker. My life has gone from awesome, everything working, to - loads of things going wrong, that Guy needs to fix, but can't because he is ill.
As much as I love this place, Leicester, having my own flat, my course and my friends, I need to get out and away from it for a bit. I need to forget about Kaleigh, I need to remind myself of the friends I still have, get home in the safety of my parents place and sort my life out, I just wish it hadn't happened at such a shit time.

What just happened?

What just happened? I'm nearing the end of my first year already!?

In a quick round-up, what a year. I've enjoyed every second, met awesome new people, learned so many things and changed, as a person. It is safe to say that out of all the university courses in the country, I have chosen the right one. The one that inspires me, answers my questions, and most importantly, I enjoy. The course, unlike others, hasn't handed me reams of shitty essays and exams to be getting on with, just pure art. The course has opened my eyes to artwork, I've noticed things in drawings that I've never seen before, I've learned to draw and paint better than I'd ever been able to before. When I was home for Christmas, even my mother recognized a dramatic improvement in my sketching skills.

I've learned about the brain, why we think certain things, why some people are better artists than other, how born 'talent' doesn't exist. How to beat the creative block, how to develop my skills. The list is endless.

A friend of mine is on the Teeside course, I'm not shafting them, but when we met up at Christmas and talked about how we've been doing, our stories were drastically different. He'd been writing essays, not much of the 'real stuff'. I'd been modeling, drawing, and learning so many things.

The course structure has been great for the first year. The socializing with the other years has helped surprisingly, talking to Cameron for example has taught me a lot about digital paintings. I know, it didn't work as well as it could have, not all computer nerds are social to people they don't know. Del, as another example, helped me with little tips for texturing my character.

I wouldn't change a thing - apart from, Chris, please could you be a little mores specific with your assignments. I understand you want us to be creative, but sometimes the briefs are so vague we aren't sure what you want - however, I suppose this is all about creativity, not fearing being wrong.

Any suggestions?:

I would like to suggest one thing. From my experience in the 1st year, it really helps to speak face to face with a 2nd, or 3rd year student about my work, and their crits. I understand the Facebook accounts are supposed to replicate this, but how about, in addition, we have a session, say, on a Thursday, where we rotor in students to present a project they are working on to the other years, a real forum so to speak. To ensure attendance we could make it a 'registered' event.

Example:

Thursday, students to present are; Guy, Mitch, Matt, Abi, Tash, Andy, Cameron, Del, etc.

We each in turn, load our work up onto the projector and show what we are doing to it, what we have done, and how we are going to improve it. And those watching can present crits, offer advice, even take over and show them how to fix something, in front of everyone.

Receiving face to face crits is awesome.

E.G.2:

Andy is showing a model of a figure that he is doing for an online mod, its not finished but its looking pretty good. Del notices that some edge flow is slightly off, he also notices that part of the texture could have some noise added to increase the believability.

Andy tries it there and then, and notices it looks better, everyone watching learns from the tuition and remembers it for their next/current project. Awesome, Andy says thanks and Mitch steps up... etc....

End of suggestion.


In conclusion, I've loved my first year, even thought we didn't have the labs at the beginning I feel it still went well. The Facebook group was an original, quality idea. Watching movies on a Wednesday has been inspiring, and has definitely broadened my experience of different genres and artistic styles. Life drawing has been useful, I've learned a lot, and trying different mediums has been exiting. I'd never used charcoal before, now I love it, I've definitely found my preferred technique for drawing life (the initial smudge technique).

Blind drawing has 'opened my eyes' so to speak, about engaging the right side of the brain and not 'thinking logically' about my drawings.

Heathers modeling classes have still taught me a lot of things I had overlooked, use of 'snaps' for example, efficient use of normal maps (the NVidia Filter!) specular maps, working in triangles rather than polies.

My first year has been awesome, and I can't wait to improve, roll on year 2!

P.S, My mod work has improved so much since I've been here. Just the other night a friend said this over MSN:

[RHS][Vex_man][I44] says:
lol, no offence but I never really remembered you as being this good

Awesome Artwork

Ive got to be quick as were heading out to the cinema in a minute to watch Watchman (I hate comings, this film is going to suck)

But I've stumbled upon this section of the Elder Scrolls web page. I had seen it before but because I wasn't as aware of things around me as I am now it never really sank in. Now Its really fun to look at these images and wonder how I could produce something similar.

So here it is, have a look, its very inspiring, I personally love the art style.

Its humbling also to see that some of the art isn't all that great, some perspectives are off, some proportions are off, but it all gets the point across perfectly, is it this that really makes good concept art?

GDC 09

MMMmmmm... I love California, when I was there last summer I never got the chance to check out San Fransisco, its definitely one of the cities I want to see, and also where GDC is taking place in only a week or so!

I've had a look at whats going on, and there are definitely a few sessions I would love to go see. Most notable would be the 'Terra forming of Far Cry 2'.

Far Cry 2 is a really fun game, I wont lie, the story and missions get repetitive and boring really quick, but. Its so beautiful, it feels like Africa, the graphics are awesome, the grass, when set alight burns ferociously with a roar, and spreads with the wind.

I initially bought FarCry2 as a benchmark for my new system build (and it doesn't lag, even on super high graphics :P) But I soon realized what an awesome game it is, the multi-player is fun too! but the defining feature was definitely the scenery, and the setting. Without this setting the game wouldn't be half as engrossing and impressive.

From working in mod teams, I have learned fairly rapidly that it is always the maps that take the longest time to make, and the longest time to perfect. They always have the most bugs, they always take ages! When working for mods of 'Operation Flashpoint' I soon learned that the huge maps, were built object by object. The map mappers would place every tree, every building, every clump of grass. And it literally took months (I believe its the same process for ArmA but I'm not sure).

But what about FarCry2? The map is huge! and even more detailed! For someone to place every individual object on such a game would take ages, years maybe.

And this is why it interests me, my understanding of level making leads me to suggest that something interesting is involved, that the developers have used a new 'trick' to help them develop their environment, and I'd love to know what it is.

For the record, I'm guessing it is something along the lines of the technique used to populate 'Oblivion's' forests.