Technical stuff...

Received some positive feedback last week with regards to my visual studies.. must get to grips with the more technical stuff though, really want to push my artistic abilities to their limits!

Went straight to the library and took out as many books on 3dmax and photoshop/aftereffects as I could get away with...

3dsMax is a BOYs program I've decided. I found the lessons tricky as I didn't know my way around the interface as I'd never used it before in my life! Trust me... theres nothing obvious about polygons and edge faces and every button seems to open a drop down option a mile long. There are no nice coloured icons like in photoshop with its pretty and simple pallets...

I'd compare it to being in the cockpit of an aeroplane with all the controls and dials in your face and being told to take off. Im so busy concentrating on what buttons to press from the instructor that I haven't noticed Im heading in the wrong direction... upside-down!

Looking forward to aftereffects though, haven't used it before but understand it to be similar to photoshop which I love... so hoping if I can get some reading up done and just get familiar with the whole layout prior to getting the hands on it may just give me an advantage!

For the grid project I would really like to create the playing pieces for our board game using 3dmax. This will mean creating a plane in 3dmax with depth to it and then putting the images I have designed in photoshop onto the plane using bit mapping. I think this will give a much more professional look, especially if a shine can be added so that they look as if they are made in plastic.

Character for game design - Host & Found

Thinking about the scene for my game design... I want the look of my game to represent a virtual world (world of warcraft) After speaking to my much younger brother (extremely excellent player of nearly every game on the planet... such an advantage) his comments were that one of the main features of online games that a lot of players enjoy is the ability to design individual features of their characters. A lot of games can be disappointing from an artistic point of view, the more detail the better and more impressive the character.

Therefore as an additional feature for my game, the characters (being woodland folk with no modern tech) will have tribal markings or tattoo designs. Each player will have a choice of markings for their character. More impressive marks will become available the more advanced you become as a warrior so to other online players you can compare and evaluate the strength of other players visually.

Competitive and fun... maintaining an interest in the character.

Watched 'alive in Joburg' (Blomkamps original 2005 short film) inspiration behind the making of District 9. Have also watched the extra scenes and all the extra bits on the dvd to get more details for my essay... hopefully this will give me more insight into Neil Blomkakmps thought process for the movie. Having visited various sights containing interviews with the Director.

Grid Project - 3dmax. So far Ive created an abstract relief from a photograph of a post in the street of my grid area.

Next I want to develop some character designs. I'll take pictures/ film and make sketches of the people in my grid area. From these images I can attempt to create some different characters ( in 3d using max, sketch book studies etc. I want to study how visual elements can give an impression of someone without speaking to them. What makes someone stand out from the crowd? Does their walk say anything about them? What impression do I get from the clothes they are wearing? Do they look confident? Color of clothes / hair, does this get them noticed more?