---

###### tags: 'uni work' 'Game art'
# <20029709>_J571020_journal
[my doc](https://hackmd.io/@mqfHQ7bvReiL--olJnOf-g/Bki40RKfs)
### Character and Environment Art (J5z1020)
### Games Art BA(HONS) L5
### Poppy Wade

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# Week one: Introduction to the unit and exploring a new brief.

## Initial Research - Responding to the thematic

When exploring the thematic for this unit 'Metropolitan Ludotopias' in a general sense I first focused on what a metropolitan city means to me; a place that is futuristic and business- with lots of smart-looking citizens. While that may be an interesting concept, I feel that for the purposes of storytelling, a place without diversity or variation is not enough to create a dynamic concept. In response I want to explore the idea of a city with stark contrast, an oppressive, uninviting concrete city with hidden corners of colour and liveliness where the rebels have taken over. Using Pureref, I created a board that I could add a wide assortment of ideas that I can then choose from later.

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## Focusing my frame of reference

**The Handmaid's Tale**
Based on the feminist novel by Margaret Atwood, this series follows the totalitarian society, Gilead , in what used to be part of the United States. Gilead is ruled by a fundamentalist regime that treats women as property of the state in a desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world . The few remaining fertile women are forced into sexual servitude for the highest-ranking commanders. The aspects that I find most interesting in terms of storytelling in the series is the way each character is forced to dress depending on their social ranking. Wives wear the same hue of blue, Aunts wear brown, and the Handmaids wear bright red with cone like bonnets.
##### Costuming in 'The Handmaid's Tale'

The red of the handmaids signifies 'blood: the menstrual blood of the handmaids, necessary for conception but also a reminder of sexuality.'^1^ The red outfits also make it difficult to escape as they sick out significantly in the otherwise muted world of pristine housing and brutalist architecture in the city. The bonnets signify a warning to the handmaids and others - there is no need to see anything other than your own purpose to reproduce.
##### Details of the Handmaid's costume

Another notable aspect is that the series is set in what used to be Boston. Over the course of the series you see how they have dismantled parts of the city to replace in favour of the Gilead agenda. In my own work I would really like to explore the idea of iconic landmarks in Manchester being changed to fit the agenda of my own storytelling.
##### A catholic church being demolished

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**Brutalism in fashion and architecture**

Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that display the bare building materials and structural elements over decorative design. Something I found interesting in my research about brutalism was how the style that is typically associated with buildings bleeds over into high fashion. Martijn Van Strien^2^ is a designer whose work has explored brutalism through a collection made of heavy-duty black tarpaulin. His work is symbolic of the way the economic downfall and the decline of our society life on this planet will be tough and unsure.
##### Martijn Van Strien

<iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/85146536?h=22ca3699a6" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I want to develop the theme of brutalism in my work because it links very well with the idea of a totalitarian society seen in 'The Handmaids Tale'. Should I follow the idea of Manchester being taken over, I would be able to apply the harsh and uninviting visuals of the brutalist buildings into the city to symbolise the overbearing new government. I also think it will be interesting to explore the theme in the outfit of my characters.
##### Daniel Gregory Natale - experimented with concrete liquid vinal as coatings on fabric^3^
##### Example of brutalism in Manchester
##### Geisel Library - La Jolla, California
##### Barbican Centre and Estate - London

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**Neon contrasting with run down urban spaces**
To contrast with the look of brutalism I would like to also show the presence of rebellion that sits beneath the high-rise buildings of the cityscape. The contrast between run-down urban spaces with neon signs makes the otherwise desolate areas feel like they have life in them. including it in my metropolitan city provides a feeling of hope to the otherwise oppressive vibe of the city.
##### Night City - Cyber Punk

My favourite game that uses this aesthetic is 'Stray (2022)'. In a post-apocalyptic city where human consciousness has been uploaded to robots, you play as a little cat who has fallen into the city by accident. The city is set in a giant walled dome, where there are panels covering the sky, meaning all the light in the city is provided by left over lightbulbs and neon signs.
##### Stray - Midtown

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**Mould as character inspiration**
In terms of differing character design for the rundown parts of the city, I wanted to look at something very abstract that can be interpreted in lots of ways to open but more opportunities for experimentation. Visually, I find pictures of mould can be incredibly unique and interesting to look at, and as I want the rebel side of the city to feel overgrown and organic, I am going to explore how I can interpret the colours and textures from my reference photos into clothes and makeup for my characters
##### Dasha Plesen - Mould photography


##### Mould inspired textiles

##### [Moon Branch Designs on Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/listing/832073135/deconstructed-lagan-look-green-earth?epik=dj0yJnU9dHRSU3VkeXhHT1AwZlRUNWJKX0lNU2w3VUJFSk1Bb0ImcD0wJm49SHo3d3pjQ2IzclNWc3hEaF83VkJZZyZ0PUFBQUFBR05BS1hz)


##### [Mould Inspired makeup: makeup artist @sirraccarris](https://www.tiktok.com/@sirraccarris/video/7143700919790603525?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7069163728210396677)

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## Mind maps responding to my research

From my research I created a large pureref page that shows massive range of visual and media references to begin exploring through concept art and through the plot of my game.
#### Big mind bash page





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## Key aspects I want to explore in my practical work
* Totalitarian state takes over the city and industrialises it- brutalism is evident in every aspect of the regime particularly in the clothing and buildings. In contrast, there are back streets that are full of neon lights and organic matter that show signs of rebellion.
* Clothing is based on societal status, the outcasted make clothing out of anything they can get their hands on and are hidden in the dark back streets.
* Upper citizens ( CEOs, rich people, kingpins of the regime) all wear extremely structural clothes that are reminiscent of the city’s brutalist buildings. Eccentricity is a sign of class level.
* Outcasted- there are remnants of the structural elements, but the shapes and themes are devolving into organic matter, colours are added as a symbol of rebellion

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## What are blockins and why are they important

When working on a 3D project it is vital to work out scale, volumes, and proportions in your scene before moving forward with the next stage of the game pipeline. Blocking is a 3D ‘sketch’ showing the positioning of elements a scene. It is an animation technique that enables you to adjust proportions efficiently, without having to complete final renders before you see your results. It is the most basic iteration of your scene to which you can later apply details, such as lighting, textures and expressions.

Blocking in scenes is very important, especially in large-scale projects where they require the blocking to be fully approved for the next steps to be carried out. This draft version gives the entire team (the animator, supervisor, and director) a clear idea of the direction the project is going in.

##### Blocking in Maya, from a basic shape to a character model
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nBIImxXrUn0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

##### Pixar progression reels - showing enitre animation process

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WyQZ--fBNfc?start=18" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PiQfCDgaxgc?start=21" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

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# Week two: Understanding the game art pipeline and world building for my game.

## week overview:
* Identify the processes, tools and techniques of the Game Art Pipeline
* Create basic thumbnails showing the arcitectural influences in the city and what the back streets may look like in contrast.
* Try creating a blockin based on what concept art has been created.
* Show inital pureref pages
* Developing a plot

## Overview of the Game Art pipeline
The Game Art pipeline refers to the sequence of operations required to take art assets from concept to a finished product. For the purposes of our project, this pipeline is as follows^4^:

* Concept: Napkin style sketches, shilouettes, divergent/convergent designs.
* Creation: modelling, texturing, lighting
* conversion: putting assets into their final forms, file type conversions, testing and debugging
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## Case study: The Scary Butcher

#### key source: Art production pipeline, Genl team (https://blogs.geniteam.com/art-production-pipeline/#Features_Environment)

Scary butcher 3D is mobile game where the main goal is to escape from a creepy butcher while he is busy with his various activities. If he catches you, you'll fail the level. If you are able to smartly move and complete your challenges, you beat the butcher.

### Stage one: concept and market research
The first step to start the pipeline is the concept and idea. At this stage it was decided that the game would be a semi realistic 3D horror game. The “Scary Butcher” name was chosen because research showed that 'scary' was a trending keyword that may result in more downloads. The name overall describes the genre of the game and is very transparent about what the game will be about.

Designing the features and environment was also apart of this stage. The concept artist works with the game designer to produce concept art showing the features and environment that will influence the overall look of the game. This starts with a sketch and floor map to make the environment of the game.


### Stage two: Creation of assets

In this stage, 3D modelers can begin to work on the environment of a game that will become the play space using software like Maya, Max or blender. They also bring in texture and colour using substance painter.


As well as the environement, at this stage they begin to develop UI (user interface) designs and how the game is going to look to the person playing. A good UX design creates quality and satisfactory interactions between a user and a game, and as this is a game for mobile it was important to make these assets large and easily selected when playing on a small screen like a phone or tablet.


### Stage three: finalising assets and post production art development.

The final stage of completing the pipeline include making sure all assets are rigged and debugged so they can be handed over to an animator and dev team. Along with this, the art team also create promo graphics. As the game is on the app store on mobile, they had to ensure that the game icon is attention grabbing to stand out. The game icon plays a massive role in increasing a games downloads.


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## Developing my research into an idea
To start, I made two basic thumbnail sketches of environments that I thought could reflect the brutalism in my designs.





I didn't feel attatched to these designs so I decided to look at more frames of reference to help make my concepts more unique.

### tricorn shopping centre
The tricorn centre (demolished in 2004) was a shop and market centre built on a series of concrete decks surrounding a central plaza. The structure included flats, multistorey parking, lift towers, a department store, a hotel and a night club. All were arranged to give the complex a science fictional skyline.^5^





Focusing on Tricorn in my project will allow me to have more detailed concepts and models as there is a massive amount of reference images to work from, as well as being able to paint over the images themselves with my idea of introducing toxic mould.

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### 90's rave fashion

For character design I wanted to find a style that was completely the opposite of what brutalism and harsh arctiecture represent. I found that 90's rave outfits were something that represented expression and have very unique style elements that resonated with me. I really like the bright colours and eclectic feel to them and the fact they look costumey and home-made. This fit into my idea of my character being a rebelious person if their style represents the complete opposite of what the society they live in forces upon them. ^6^
‌


###### Pureref of references

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### Arcaddageddon

Arcadegeddon is a cooperative multiplayer game that provides a mix of PVE and PVP experiences that allows for all different speeds of play.^7^ The art style is bright and colourful, and is blocky and cartoony, which is something I really want to bring into my own character when modelling in Zbrush. While I don't like the overall character design, the main thing I would like to take influence from is the way the hair is modelled in one piece/formed from large shapes.


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# Week Three: How my concept art follows the Divergent to Convergent pipeline and how it was used in the art of 'Horizon Zero Dawn'.

## Week Overview

* Exploring the divergent to convergent concept art flow
* Showing final concept art to model from

## Case study : Concept art of 'Horizon Zero Dawn'

The concept art created for 'Horizon Zero Dawn' is a good example to follow when following the divergent to convergent pipeline when creating characters. It shows how the initial iterations of a character can change very much before the final design.

###### Early Iterations of Aloy
###### More developed and detailed designs
###### Final design render

###### Completed 3D model of Aloy
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2QRCwY382ck" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

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### New concept art

From my developed research on the 90's rave fashion, I explored new character design and clothing options. I also explored the visuals of the brutalist architecture being taken over my organic moss.

###### Tricorn centre inspired concept

###### silhouettes inspired by 90's rave culture


###### final two characters to choose from

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# Week Four: Exploring 3D anatomy in my practice

## Week Overview
* Developing practice in 3D character anatomy
## Modelling a skull
Before I began to build my character in Zbrush it was important to understand the fundamentals of modelling human anatomy as well as become comfortable in Zbrush. Using the Pureref that our tutor Ashli made for us, I built a basic skull, as well as a torso using the basic shapes.
###### Skull reference board by Ashli


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# Week Five: Finalised game idea and using zspheres when modelling
## week overview
* finalising story and game idea
* Researching Zspheres in use
## Finalised Game idea
The final iteration of my game idea is that it would be an open world rpg with mulitple explorable areas of the city, similar to the areas seen in 'Stray'. The main story follows the main character, {name}. She is part of the rebellion against the oppressive governing system that has taken over [city name]. As this is a very overdone trope, the unique selling point of the game will be the inclusion of organic matter taking over, which is the main thing influencing the rebels. The organic matter [mould] throws off spores that influence the gameplay by creating special abilities like Xray vision and invisability ect. The overarching theme of an oppressive government is meant to act as a red herring villain, and as the story progresses the player realises that it may not be the positive force it initally thought it was.

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## Zpheres and their functions
ZSpheres are a ZBrush tool that permit ‘sketching out’ a 3D model (particularly an organic one) quickly and easily. Once the model has been formed using ZSpheres, it can be ‘skinned’ (a mesh can be created from it) for further sculpting.^8^ They are unique to Zbrush as no other program has them. The benefit to using this tool is the ability to explore poses and organic shapes quickly. Due to being spherical, they are also very good at replicating were joins should go on models that require them.

###### example from : [[Zbrush ](http://docs.pixologic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ZSpheres_Intro.jpg)](https://)

###### basic giraffe model using zspheres

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# Week Six: applying the new zbrush knowlege to create my character's face

## Week Overview
* Creating my character's face
* Using Dynamesh in practice
## Modelling a character face
Using a basic face mould, I began sculpting my character's face ontop into it. I wanted my character to be soft and subtle, without a lot of angles. I chose to use an image of Grimes after she had plastic surgery as it was a high quality close up of her face, but I also really like the features she has.

###### Zbrush base model face
###### Grimes post-surgery

###### final face model

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### The importance of Dynamesh

Dynamesh is a tool in Zbrush that allows you to freely model without the usual topolocical constraints associated with 3D modelling. it’s possible to change the overall shape of any DynaMesh by pushing or pulling, adding various pieces of geometry to combine into one, or even removing geometry in a manner similar to what you can do with Boolean operations. ^9^ Dynamesh is able to instantly retopologise your model as you work, helping to keep the polygon distribution even.


###### Dynamesh in the Zbrush software

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# Week Seven : Creating a character body and Identify the key factors that determine texel density.
## Week Overview
* Why is Texel density important in practice?
* Modelling and designing a unique body for my character
### Texel density and the URP and texture output

Texel density, or the number of pixels per square inch on a texture map, is an important aspect of 3D asset texturing. Proper texel density allows the textures on an asset to appear smooth and detailed, while also maintaining good performance when the asset is used in a game or engine, like Unity or Unreal Engine.

One benefit of high texel density is that it allows for detail and realism in the textures of a 3D asset. When viewed up close, a high texel density texture map will appear smooth and lifelike, with minimal pixelation. This is especially vital for assets that are intended to be viewed close up, such as characters or weapons.

###### Example of texel densities ^10^

If the texel density is too low, the textures on the asset will appear pixelated and blurry when viewed up close. This is very noticeable on assets that are intended to be viewed closely. In addition, low texel density textures can also be distracting and take away from the overall quality of the asset.

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## Creating a body and clothes for my character

When modelling my character's body, I chose to build upon a base mesh so I could ensure the proportions were accurate. I tried to add more mass to the body to make it look a bit more unique than the bodies that are the standard in games currently. I also tried to give my character quite flared hips as my concept art shows her wearing a skirt and as I am quite inexperienced using Zbrush, I thought it might provide a bit more volume for her skirt to flare from.

###### base mesh from Zbrush


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# Week eight: Creating stylised hair and creating clothing
## Week overview
* Exploring my character choice in the hair
* Difficulties of modelling clothes
## Modelling Hair
To model the hair I mainly used the hair from 'Arcadageddon' as my reference point. I wanted the hair to be chunky as if it is all made in one piece, and for the headband to look like it has an effect on pushing it down. The main piece of hair was the most difficult to manipulate. When modelling the ponytails, I used separare objects to the main hair piece, meaning I was able to model one, then mirror it to the other side.



###### Arcadegeddon character hair


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## Modelling Clothes and painting

Creating clothing ontop of my model was something I found quite difficult as I chose to do a dress, instead of something form fitting to the body that could have been sculted against my body model. Using the extraction tool, I was able to manipulate the mesh into something that resembles a flowing fabric, but I had to sacrifice detail on the dress to keep the topology even. Once the clothes were completed, I was also able to paint on my figure.

###### Final model before retopology

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# Week nine: Retopologising and rigging in Maya
## Week Overview
* Retopologising
* Rigging in Maya
## Retopologising my model

Using the Zremesher tool in Zbrush, I was able to remesh each componant of my model so that it had organised topology.



###### Retopologised model

###### Wire frame

###### Painted model after retopology

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### Rigging my model in Maya

To finalise my character, I imported the retopologised model into Maya and applied a rig to it, which means there is articulation across the entire model, but it is particularly effective on the arm articulation.



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# Week Ten : Finalising the project and reviewing

## Making the asset production ready

To finalise my asset I uploaded it to sketchfab, a website that renders and shows your 3D model in a professional format. You can also allow others to download your models after they are published. It is helpful to show your final assets as it allows the viewer to look at the wire frame and rig of the character.

<div class="sketchfab-embed-wrapper"> <iframe title="Rigged Final Character" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen="true" webkitallowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; xr-spatial-tracking" xr-spatial-tracking execution-while-out-of-viewport execution-while-not-rendered web-share src="https://sketchfab.com/models/95b0cec32bed4ae2a1b0abbd2bee8c48/embed?ui_theme=dark"> </iframe> <p style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin: 5px; color: #4A4A4A;"> <a href="https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/rigged-final-character-95b0cec32bed4ae2a1b0abbd2bee8c48?utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=share-popup&utm_content=95b0cec32bed4ae2a1b0abbd2bee8c48" target="_blank" style="font-weight: bold; color: #1CAAD9;"> Rigged Final Character </a> by <a href="https://sketchfab.com/poppywade?utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=share-popup&utm_content=95b0cec32bed4ae2a1b0abbd2bee8c48" target="_blank" style="font-weight: bold; color: #1CAAD9;"> Poppywade </a> on <a href="https://sketchfab.com?utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=share-popup&utm_content=95b0cec32bed4ae2a1b0abbd2bee8c48" target="_blank" style="font-weight: bold; color: #1CAAD9;">Sketchfab</a></p></div>

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## Final project Review

Upon a final review of this project, I am very happy with my development in my 3D skills and becoming fairly profficient in Zbrush. Something I wish I had been able to explore further would have been expanding the concept art I made for the environment that was built from Tricorn shopping centre. Should I revisit the project I would build out the scene in Maya/Unity and played around with the textural element of the mould.


I think the one of the strongest elements of my project was the face sculpture I made for the character as I feel like it looks accurate to my reference picture, however I had a lot of trouble polishing off details like the feet which I ended up leaving looking bad.



Overall, I am glad I decided to explore outside of brutalism as I think the project would have lacked a USP and something that makes it unique as brutalism is visually unappealing and not something I like stylistically, though as a storytelling device it is helpful to create contrast to the colourful 'mould' I chose to include.

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# Bibliography

‌
1. Atwood, M., 1986. The handmaid's tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
1. Etherington, R. (2013). Dystopian Brutalist Outerwear by Martijn Van Strien. [online] Dezeen. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2013/10/20/dystopian-brutalist-outerwear-tarpaulin-martijn-van-strien/ [Accessed 7 Oct. 2022].
1. Lefilrougeblog Lefilrougeblog (2015). Architectural influences into clothes. [online] Archilovers. Available at: https://www.archilovers.com/stories/10881/architectural-influences-into-clothes.html [Accessed 7 Oct. 2022].
1. PowerShow. (2022). The Game Development Process: The Game Art Pipeline. [online] Available at: https://www.powershow.com/view4/7b85b1-NWI0Z/The_Game_Development_Process_The_Game_Art_Pipeline_powerpoint_ppt_presentation [Accessed 4 Dec. 2022].
1. #SOSBRUTALISM. (2022). Tricorn Centre. [online] Available at: https://www.sosbrutalism.org/cms/15889087 [Accessed 5 Dec. 2022].
1. Anderson, K. (2014). Rave Culture Influence on Fashion - Miley Cyrus, Jeremy Scott. [online] Vogue. Available at: https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/rave-fashion-photos [Accessed 5 Dec. 2022].
1. Arcadegeddon.com. (2023). Home - Arcadegeddon. [online] Available at: https://www.arcadegeddon.com/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2023].
1. ‌Pixologic.com. (2021). ZSpheres | ZBrush Docs. [online] Available at: http://docs.pixologic.com/user-guide/3d-modeling/modeling-basics/creating-meshes/zspheres/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2023].
1. ‌Pixologic.com. (2021). DynaMesh | ZBrush Docs. [online] Available at: http://docs.pixologic.com/user-guide/3d-modeling/modeling-basics/creating-meshes/dynamesh/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2023].
1. ‌Ebadati, B.M. (2023). Texel Density Importance in 3D Game Asset creation. [online] Artstation.com. Available at:
1. ‌https://www.artstation.com/blogs/synthbendati/G1nB/texel-density-importance-in-3d-game-asset-creation [Accessed 28 Feb. 2023].