Sunday 31 May 2009

Drawing: Major Production Final Designs



For my final major project in my last year of Uni, we were asked to design and model three distinct elements. In the end I decided to model a scene, a character and a vehicle to give myself as much variety as possible.

During the design process I was very inspired by my own culture and remembered that I actually rarely base my work squarely at Chinese culture, hence the idea of a Chinese teashop came into my mind. I was thinking it could exist in a digital game as an item shop or in the case of GTA, as a teashop where missions or meetings occur.

The Character was inspired by Tim Burton's art style in particular Corspe Bride and the Victorian fashion. I wanted to create a flawed character, whose fronting as a Vicotorian Gentleman but is also an investigator searcing for vengeance.

My vehicle was the last to be designed and perhaps the hardest as I was least familair with designing vehicles. I was inspired by one of my earlier works, the underwater city Aquapolis (posted earlier), and thought that marine shaped vehicle
was interesting and didn't even need to be in the water, but in the air. Also inspired by Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle and the AirShips off Golden Compass and Stardust.

Saturday 30 May 2009

Drawing: Landscape - Part 02


The second part of landscapes that I drew during my second & third year of Uni and since I've previously drew landscape elements of Fire, Earth, Air and Water, I expanded this by adding four more elements of Wood and Metal (Chinese Classical Elements) and Ice and Electricity (RPG staple elements). I gave each a backstory and perhaps I'll eventually develop these drawings into full CG models.

Brown Landscape: Wood, Baobab Village
After numerous attacks from the savage wildlife, the people of Baobab took refuge by spending their entire lives on the tree-tops, building huts, platforms and even village squares among the acacias and since most of their needs came from the trees, only the hunters ventured onto the savannah floor. When more space was needed, trees were grown in advance, choosing different trees regarding in crop, strength, space and the type of spirit the tree will pocess. The Baobab also built watchtowers and rope bridges to link them all. Giraffes were tamed and broken, and with a bit of acacia feed bribes, were used as quick transportation between tree hamlets.

Orange Landscape: Metal, Via Palindromius
Built on top of rich iron reserves, Novella Napolis attracted scientists and smiths from across the globe, with so much metal around, the town soon grew into a soaring monolith and the city was coated in metal, which proved useful against the attacks other its marble-cladded neighbours.
Many discoveries of metallurgy were discovered, especially magnetism and soon discovered magnetic sandals and thus the metal city became a space playground, with upside-down townsquares and piazzas on the side of buildings. Palindromius stations and cog transportation system were built to tranverse this sprawling city.

White Landscape: Ice, Pirtu'Vak
Clinging onto a side of a glacier, Pirtu'Vak marks the last human settlement before the North Pole Mecca, but between here and there, lies the dangerous Tundrake Sea, riddled with numerous ice shelves, flows and Krakens.
The only safe passage, is to purchase one of Pirtu'Vak's renowned IceBerg Boats. Generations of craftsmen and women gathered here, all helping to construct these ships, which can easily carry 10 people whilst camoflaged from the sight of the Kraken, from the carvers of ice blocks from the Glaciers, Igloo Builders, NarWhale Hunters and Artisans, as well as Engineers, Pelt Tailors and cooks to feed the army of shipbuilders.

Purple Landscape: Electricity, RahdMahjd
A major energy source of the world, RahdMahjd was founded by emissaries travelling through the desert, the climate and terrain meant that there were constant thunderstorms at night. Soon colossal metal rods were erected to capture the lightning and below, glass domes were added to store this power. Soon a whole metropolis sprang underneath the shelter of the domes, each connected to the myriad of wires and lightning stations, enjoying the abundance of electricity. So much electricity was captured, that the majority had to be exported.

Drawing: Landscape - Part 01


Here is the first part of landscapes that I drew in my spare time, during my second & third year of Uni. I tried to infuse a classical element them into each landscape, giving each a backstory and perhaps I'll eventually develop these drawings into full CG models.

Red Landscape: Fire, FuegoMinas
An abandoned subterranean cave where lava and water are channeled into pools and cooled to form crystal farms. The mines suffered from constant earthquakes and eruptions, hence the eventual abandonment, but many sacrifices were given during the mine's productino to appease the gods.

Yellow Landscape: Earth, Linderbloom
A steampunk Victorian metropolis, with its vertical boutiques and galleries, the Earth element being the idea of segregation and that the rich would live at the top of these 'mountains', while the poor live descendingly lower with all the pollution and less sunlight.

Green Landscape: Air, Himalayasia City
An Asian inspired city clinges onto the peaks of mountains, the remnants of a drowned world. Each of the mountains are considered districts, in turn inspired by a different East-Asian culture. In this city wind is the main source of power and lantern balloons, kites and bridges are used to tranverse the different disctricts.

Blue Landscape: Water, Aquopolis
A underwater futuristic city, where all the buildings are inspired by marine forms, the centre being the Cephalo Station, a huge squid-shaped building where all the tentacle-like glass tubes converge and spreads across the city, linking each of the buildings.