Use of Composition - Common Art (Week 05)

 

For this digital painting of our school mascot(s), I used a lot of oil painting brushes to block out primary shapes and fill in color details! I really like working with these kinds of brushes so this project was fun but also very challenging. I struggled with lighting the most because some spots would end up bleeding too much around with the brushes and just look muddy. Even though this stage of the piece may not look as clean as Frazetta's masterpieces, I tried to mimic some of his analogous color palettes and somewhat painterly style (where I think I took the most liberties). With more time, I would push the contrast and introduce some new hues for more color complexity.

Proxy and Game Resolution Model Creation - 3D Art 1(Module 2 Week 05)

Here are the first two steps of my new 3D project, a sci-fi crate! My idea for this asset is that it would serve as a locked box in a game to house unlockable weapons or other specialty items. The most challenging part of this for me was beveling edges without creating Ngons or other weird issues, so I had to play a lot with the fractions to make sure the new geo wasn't interfering with any old faces (I spent a lot of time using the multi-cut tool and merging vertices here to fix unavoidable problem areas). I expect to add a lot more details in the next step to make each side look a lot more interesting!

Use of Basic Lighting - Common Art (Week 04)

I attempted some pretty dramatic lighting for this assignment and it was a challenge to work with such high contrast while still maintaining the definition of the three key lights (point, rectangle, and sky lights). For the recreation, I first used the "find edges" and "threshold" tools in Photoshop to pull out linework which I then further cleaned up with a line tool. After that, I pulled values and hues from the 3D render and painted within my new lines to recreate the look and feel of the lighting. Lastly, I used a gaussian blur on my painted layers to help smooth them out.

 

Blueprints and Sequencer/Rendering In UE - 3D Art 1 (Module 1 Week 04)

This was my first experience using blueprints and it was pretty challenging. I was familiar with using nodes from creating materials and it's pretty similar in the way of creating variables, but I was not familiar with these new types of nodes. However, I did really like the camera keyframing and I wish I had more time to mess around with it as well as make more changes with the light intensities and colors. 

Use of Values and Contrast - Common Art (Week 03)

Hierarchies in Maya - 3D Art 1 (Module 1 Week 03)

 Part 01

Part 02

Part 03

For this week, I learned more about hierarchy organization in addition to rendering in Unreal Engine 5! So far, I am a huge fan of the engine - Lumen is extremely effective for quickly lighting up high-quality scenes.

For my abstract environment piece, I took inspiration from space and tried to incorporate a hint of a rocket shape into the main structure and something like a solar system in the center. I also included floating elements I aim to have "orbiting" when this gets animated next week!

Use of Silhouettes - Common Art (Week 02)

 

Here are eight possible iterations of a zombie version of Treasure Island's main antagonist and pesky pirate, Long John Silver. The character's parrot and missing leg helped shape the common image of pirates in popular culture. Retaining these two primary features in addition to Silver's captain-like appearance, I tried to imagine what he might look like if a zombie apocalypse broke out in the Treasure Island universe.

Bouncing Ball First Pass - Animation 1 (HW#2)

 

Basics of Topology - 3D Art 1 (Module 1 Week 02)

 

These projects were great for trying out a lot of tools that were new to me, including paneling and NURBS surfaces. I am now a fan of the lattice deformer tool which allows you to very easily make sweeping changes to the overall shape of an object, which was helpful because my NURBS shape was too pointed at first. I have always used the edge loop tool for creating more geometry but this exercise taught me the power of the multi-cut tool and I don't think I'll really need to use the edge loop tool again! I found it much easier to manipulate and create geometry without causing issues. 

Use of Basic Shapes - Common Art (Week 01)

 

I created each of these three characters based around three primary shapes (circle, square, triangle) and primary, secondary, and tertiary forms. I've never illustrated with Photoshop before so this was a great learning experience and I had fun figuring out what to do with these designs! I aimed for the circular creature to appear soft, gentle, and approachable. The squarish character was designed to appear bulky and sturdy while still looking friendly. My intention for the final triangle character was to appear a little edgy yet still sleek and formidable. 

Moving Object - Animation 1 (HW #1)

 

First animation assignment!