Final post showreel/design sheet

As my main interest in the games industry is environment modelling I have taken on the role of an environmental artist or a prop artist. For this I have done my show reel based on environment and have also created a design sheet for a prop that I created in my second year of university, thus demonstrating how I would showcase my work.

The Show Reel

For my show reel I used 50% of my own work and 50% of other peoples show reels and concept art that inspired me.

The work included in my show reel is all environmental and does not focus much on props. The environment pieces I have used are: -

·         Cottage

·         Indoor cottage

·         Reservoir dogs scene

·         The Abandoned Hall Way

Below is a direct link to my show reel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3c6sL_Wdkw

The Cottage

 As you can see in the show reel the cottage is WIP (work in progress) and is still in the block out stage. I decided to show the model I have done so far on it and also the concept art that I am working from. I have tried to set up cameras in the style I want them to be in my final show reel, and also added a character artist’s show reel to give a better understanding to the approach I am going for.

In door cottage

I chose to do the inside of the cottage I am creating as well. I have not yet started the block out stage of this yet, so I have added the concept art and an example from an environment artists show reel. His show reel demonstrates good camera movement around the environment, showing the depth of lighting he has used as well as showing wire frame view. I hope to achieve the same effect when I do my final product.

Reservoir dogs scene

In my film scene (Reservoir Dogs) I want to show the progression stages I have done to get my final product. For this I have used what I have created so far. I first used cameras with a repeat rotation on them, then I rendered out a base texture build and then rendered out the diffuse maps. After doing this I then faded them in together to get the effect I was looking for. With the final product I will also be showing wire frame normal maps and light maps. At the end of the progression stage I plan on showing beauty shots of the scene showing close ups of the environment.

The Abandoned Hall Way

The final environment piece will be my Abandoned Hall way. For this I plan to mainly show beauty shots of the scene with the possibility of a fly through camera. I have yet to start the block out of this scene, so I made use of the concept sheet I am working from. This will exhibit my strengths in hard edge modelling.

Music

The music I have used is from the films “28 Days/Weeks Later” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbwlGv9SWfY) The reason I have chosen this song is that it does not seem too overpowering and gives my environments more of a deep/dark mood (Which is the effect I am trying to achieve).

Design sheet

The design sheet is based on a prop I created for my character in the steam punk project in year 2 of the course. The sheet shows two perspective shots, one front view and one side view. All shots have AO (ambient occlusion) maps and are also shown in wire frame.

http://img576.imageshack.us/i/finalnr.jpg/

10th December 2010

This week I have carried on with my show reel plan.

I have now added video material from a character artists show reel to show the view the effect I am trying to achieve. This effect is a turn table of the character and then the camera dose close ups showing off the high detail on the model.

Below is a screen grab of my show reel plan with the character artists show reel in the clip.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f292/Danog/video_showreel.jpg

As stated before the character artist dose close ups of his model, I am also going to do the same effect to show off the model more. I have put together a camera rig and batch rendered off the scenes to place in to my show reel. Below is an image of this.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f292/Danog/close_up_showreel.jpg

Next week I will be posting up my final show reel plan. I am going to add text to the show reel as well as more images and possibly more video animation.

03 December 2010

This week I have been working on my Show reel plan. As said in my blog post on the 12^th November 2010 I will be using 4 environment scenes which are in the following order :

·         Cottage – I will first start off with my cottage on a turn table. This will be showing the underneath of the cottage and the environment around it, this will show use of foliage as well as being able to work from concept are.   http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f292/Danog/conecpt_09.jpg

·         2. Cottage inside – After displaying the outside of the cottage I will show the inside of it. This will hopefully show the viewer that I can work well with lighting, as this piece of concept show good lighting from the fire, giving a warm atmosphere.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f292/Danog/conecpt_08.jpg

·         3. Hall way – The Hall way peace will show that I can work well with hard edge modelling. As the hall way looks like it has been abandoned this will also show that my skill and ability to make my models look used and worn.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f292/Danog/conecpt_02.jpg

·         4. Reservoir Dogs – The final environment scene will be from the movie Reservoir Dogs. As I am doing the textures in a more grunge style, this piece  of work will show I am able to work with film material but also reconstruct different elements if necessary(e.g. the textures).

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f292/Danog/RD_shot_WIP.jpg

At present I am half way through my show reel plan. I plan to make my show reel last about 1:30 – 2:00 long. If I have any extra time on my show reel after displaying my environments then I will be placing some assets that I have created in other scenes or in my spare time.

(Below is a screen shot of the show reel layout up to date)

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f292/Danog/show_reel_WIP.jpg

19th november 2010

This week I have been looking at the audio side of the show reels and been lessening to audio that could work for the style of show reel I want.

As the models in my show reel are going to be mainly very dark and mysterious I needed a song that would give the show reel a bit more depth.

Below is one song I have found that could work for the show reel I am trying to create: -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teywEaSwM4I

12th November 2010

As I discussed last week with Dave, I will not be putting any of my previous work from the first year and second year in to my show reel, this being because I do not think it is good enough for a show reel and I believe that my skills have improved since being on the course.

These are the three environment concepts I am going to model or my “Advanced Modelling and Animation Techniques”

Environment scene 1

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f292/Danog/conecpt_09.jpg

This environment will be created on a turn table. You will be able to see the piping from the cottage and also the tree roots at the bottom of the turn table. I plan on doing a 360 degree turn of the environment and then show it in wireframe view with diffuse, normal and light map textures applied. Because this is a very small scene I also plan on doing close up shots with the camera panning across to show of detail in the environment. This piece of work will be at the start of my show reel.

Example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HWrrZeotbU

Environment scene 2

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f292/Danog/conecpt_08.jpg

After showing the cottage on the turn table I plan on showing this environment after it. This environment will be the inside of the cottage. I am hoping to get good lighting effects from this scene. Unlike the first environment this will not be done on a turn table but instead the camera will a slow pan of the room, again showing wireframe and texture maps.

Example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF46aJhszbs

(0:44 -0:56)

Environment scene 3

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f292/Danog/conecpt_02.jpg

This environment will be a slow fly through, hopefully doing close ups on some parts of the props in the scene. This piece of work will show that i am able to work well with hard edge modelling.

Example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7RZIiXa6HY

(0:41 -0:53)

Environment scene 4

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f292/Danog/4.jpg

Currently this is the environment I am working on for my “Advanced rendering techniques” assignment. These will consist of three still images, the reason being for this is because it is a very small environment. The scene will also consist of characters that Terry Baldock has been creating. (Credit in the show reel will announced)

24th October 2010

For this week’s blog entry we were told to look at show reels in our area of interest. My interest is environment modelling so I looked in to environment show reels, finding out what I personally think makes a good show reel and what doesn’t.

Good Example

My good example of an environment show reel is created by a guy called “James Pavitt”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF46aJhszbs&feature=related

He starts his show reel off with a submarine in an underwater environment. This piece of work has great lighting coming from the submarines lights and fan. After several seconds of showing the submarine in the environment he then shows the submarine by its self. He shows the final product and then shows the audience the AO pass and that vehicle in wire frame view.

He then goes on to show a cottage. Again this shows great depth of lighting and this really helps the environment stand out. The lighting and textures used gives the effect that the cottage is very old and mysterious. He then shows the cottage in wireframe mode and shows how he used an image for his background. He then dose the same with the inside of the cottage again showing it in wireframe mode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiBy-bRbJn8&feature=player_profilepage
(Here is a short film that he created using the cottage environment)

For his final peace he has done a castle. This piece of work is done in the morning/afternoon time of day while his other pieces of work were more dark/night time. This shows he can do a variety of lighting approaches with his environments. He shows that he also uses background images in this to fill the empty spaces in the environment.

To finish up his show reel he shows his concept art work. This is not just environment concepts but also character concepts that fit the environments that he has done.

Bad Example

My bad example of an environment show reel is created by “Kevin Tan”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3u-g979VXY

The reason I chose this show reel for my bad example is because it seems like each scene is rushed, and does not give the viewer enough time to look at the environments properly.

Also the lighting is extremely bad in each scene; I found it very difficult to actually see what was being shown.

At the end of his show reel he shows a CPU fan he has created. Personally I think that has too much Pollys and most of it is not needed for a model like that.

blog post 1

For our first lecture on Professional Practice in the Games Industry we talked about what the module was and what we wanted to achieve when completing the third and final year.

My goal when finishing the third year is to get a job as a games environment artist. To do this I will need a good understanding of environment modelling, lighting, texturing the use of other programs and also how to make a very attractive show reel.

In my spare time I have been looking at two types of show reels, these are: -

·         Video games environment.

·         Video games lighting.

After looking at several show reels I started to get a good understand on what the key features are of making a good and professional show reel.

I found that starting off with your best piece of work is always a good start, this being because you want to grab the audience’s attention with something outstanding. For the middle part of the show reel you want to put verity in, for example, if I was to create an environment show reel I would show the different art styles that I have done, such as: -

·         Modern/realistic

·         Futuristic

·         Cartoon

For the ending of the show reel you want to show the audience another good piece you have created or showing your first piece with different lighting or effects.