Hello, my name is Chris Anka (not to be confused with Kris Anka artist at marvel comics) and I’m currently a first year at DMU game art design.
I’m an aspiring artist hoping to make the most of my three years at DMU and join my artistic heroes as a character artist although I admire all forms of art and would like to pursue most things that allow me a creative outlet such as film, animation and graphic design.
I chose Game art to push my skills and surround myself with a medium that I have adored since the early stages of my childhood. This blog will serve as a diary of my artistic journey and I hope in the future this blog reflects the notion that art is a skill which can be learnt not something we are born with.
Pro tips - Facial anatomy, The muscles under the skin
To make sure for me
personally there isn't too much information overload I have decided that these
Pro-tips posts to be shorter so that I may record this information and learn
from it. There no point re-posting tutorials if you're not going to learn from
it.
Pro tips - Facial Muscles, Expressions and the Forearm Muscles
This
has been an area to which I have some knowledge in them however my knowledge
still needs some feeding particularly with the forearm muscles and how the
muscle groups change when pronated and supernated.
So that's it. The end of an era. My first year is done and time does fly by. So the big question in my head is what now? I guess it is time to graft and push the area I am most passionate about in this course, which are my visual design skills.
So inspired by artist Foervraengd I'm going to start producing "Pro tip" posts over the rest of the term. A lot of these tips will be sourced from Foervraengd because well she has a lot more experience than me plus her tips are really useful, memorable and entertaining. These Pro Tip posts are mainly for me to collect important resources that I can understand to aid my learning and secondary to anyone else who is interested.
First of Painting Dark skin. This has always been something I personally have felt that there aren't as many credible if not any good resources which are widely accessible. From doing some research here are some of the best links I found
Painting Dark skin
Dark skin have “stronger” highlights, but they’re at the same time not “larger”.
Cooler hues like blue and low-saturated purple works well as a base color and for shadows.
Don’t be afraid to add some red tones on cheeks and lips etc, just don’t use light pink for that.
Gurney's colour zone theory
.From doing some research into colour theory, I may have made a discovery. I'm not too sure yet but I believe you can use colour palletes such as analogous, Monochromatic, tertiary and so on to aid rendering and create a transition of light to shadow well. Not too sure yet but I will experiment in the coming days. Also I believe that blended transitions from highlight to terminator suggest direction where light is hitting. If this is the case, this should also aid my rendering
Source Foervraengd
Holding a Pencil
Source Foervraengd
Something silly :/ How to smell your own breath Step 1: lick the back of your hand ( use the whole tongue) Step 2: Wait about ten seconds. Step 3: smell the hand. If the smell is bad it means you have a bad breath and should brush your teeth, a tongue scraper is also helpful! Source Foervraengd - Honestly will be useful when presenting and pitching ideas or even doing group work. I mean who is going to take you seriously with bad breathe !?!?
Source Foervraengd (again yes this pro-tip post is basically a Foervaraengd fan post... I'm sorry) btw a little quick tip before I go to bed: do not underestimate dull, low-saturated colors for your painting. They can give harmony in your piece and make stronger parts like highlights pop out much more. Many artists tell you to “start with the big parts and save the small details for last”. Try to do that with your coloring as well; start with less saturation and save the stronger colors for the finishing touches.
By now you know who this belongs to
Finally I managed to find Foervraengd's exercise list for pushing 2D skills. Over the next few weeks I propose attempting this list especially the anatomy and important basics category. Important Basics:
Value study, work with grayscale/combine with composition Color theory studies. Use still life and photographic references Perspective and composition Different surface/texture (metallic objects, drapery study etc) Still life study on static objects/photographs
Anatomy:
Gesture drawing
Muscle/skeleton study
Faces and facial diversity (ethnics, age etc)
Female/Male differences
Bodyshapes/age
Herbivore mammals (horse, cows, deers etc)
Carnivore mammals (lions, wolfs, bears etc)
Rodents (mice, squirrels, rabbits etc)
Birds
Reptiles and Amphibians (lizards, snakes, frogs etc)
Aquatic animals (fish, sharks, whales etc)
Insects, spiders and other invertebrates
DINOSAURS!!!!1 (+ other prehistoric animals)
Mythological animals (don’t stick to “modern” illustrations, go for the very very old designs!!)
Design/culture:
Modern/historical fashion (shoes, dresses, suits etc)
Armor and defense (for both humans and animals)
Furniture and interior design (modern/historical)
Gadgets, jewelry and other decorations
Small items like glasses, plates, spoons etc
For the past 7 weeks I have been
tasked with producing a Toyota Pickup truck which later on in the project I
would also be tasked to create a zombie apocalypse modification to the model.
For the model, I were given a set of orthographs to model from with a budget of
6000 triangles for the basic Toyota Pickup and up to 10,000 Tris for the final
model. Textures must have a photo realistic quality to them meaning most of my
textures where sourced from photos rather than hand painting them fully.
Five things that worked well
Textures
of the Zombie version - After
experimenting and somewhat failing with my first unwrapp and iteration of my
textures I decided to re-unwrap my Toyota especially the top and front bonnet
of my truck. This allowed me more texture space for asymmetric details but also
resolved my older problem of the so-called Rorschach
look that I managed to get last time I textured my truck. In addition, the rust
and distress texture of the car is less noisy as compared to my first version.
Possibly due to the fact that I managed to do some research on how car rust
actually forms.
Concepts- I'm very happy
with my concepts although they took me a lot of time to actually think about
and I didn't get that many. On the other hand, I am happy at how unconventional
they are to the zombie apocalypse genre. Normally the references I had found all
hand a sense of grim and dread to them in the sense of strapping spikes and
guns to the vehicle. I decided to direct my designs towards the more DIY look
of a zombie apocalypse and connote a tacky vehicle rather than a well
maintained domestic death machine. In addition, my final concept seems to have
a strong silhouette to it.
Modelling
of zombie props- The topology of my
props, particularly the topology of my unicorn seems quite clean. In addition,
it took me about an hour to actually model said horse's head. It seems that I
may be growing to be an efficient modeller both in the appearance of my models and
the time taken to model them.
Learnt
About perspective - In my spare
time between the project I started to study more about linear perspective which
aided me in the photobashing stage as well as helping me to draw vehicles and
actually draw in general better. I feel like I have seen a great improvement to
my skill in recording information visually since I started looking into
perspective more. That said learning about perspective has also given me an
insight as to what is good perspective in an image and what is bad and has
allowed me to understand many of the mistakes in my photobashes. These mistakes
have not been rectified fully however due to my lack of technical skill with Photoshop's
perspective tool.
Time
Management- During the course of
this project there has rarely been a time in which I have felt overwhelmed with
the work given to me. This is possibly because I started to plan my time around
the holidays and executed my plan accordingly. Finishing a first draft of my
essay before even arriving back for these last two weeks.
Five things that didn't go so well
Textures
of the first car- My first attempt
at texturing my car looking back reflects a sort of post project fatigue. I had
just finished such a large and intense project such as the character one and to
be introduced to another large-scale project I felt took a lot of will to work
with. Therefore, I feel that the many mistakes and horrid aesthetic of my first
car texture rather reflected my state of mind at the time. However, after
taking a break and coming back to it, I did manage to make amends in the final zombification
version.
Topology
of the car - The topology of my car
compared to the tutor's example is quite poor and once again reflects the state
of mind I was exhibiting when starting this project. This poor topology in
addition caused some problems with the texturing of my vehicle, which I will go
into further detail.
Stretching
at the front - Due to my
recklessness of the topology this caused some stretching in the front bonnet of
the car, which looks, very unpleasant. To get around this I lessened the amount
of detail in areas in which stretching would occur to make it less obvious
however this has cost me valuable space in which I could have added some more
details which could have really sold my model.
Seams
obvious- There are areas in which
seams are obvious. Some work to great effect as they can convey a sense of
distress in the texture and tackiness however some have just cause visual
problems which can be solved however the time take to solve them would not be
put to good use as I would be using this time to refine my Extended reflection
for the year.
UVS
can be packed better- This is
particularly more directed towards the later Uv's for the re-unwrap of my
model, the chassis and the zombie props. Packing Uv's hasn't always been my
strongest point and it is something that usually takes me long to do as I would
normally be a perfectionist and fear failing, wasting precious time
procrastinating. However, with this project I decided to throw myself right in
the deep end and pack it to the best of my ability. Looking back though, these
Uvs can be packed better there is a lot of space I could use which would allow
me more texture space and better resolution for certain areas such as the rat
eyes. They are too low res as compared to the unicorn eyes. Speaking of which I
should think more in how much space I would need to text in terms of the models
relative size. I seemed to have given the unicorn head more texture space than
the rat head, which is larger than the unicorn head. This resulting in such a
large area of my model looking low res in terms of texture.
What project changes happened?
Not many Project changes happened with this project as
compared to the last other than the fact that although I was in a fatigue state
I did push myself to model an interior of the truck which was in fact a stretch
goal for the project.
What would you do different
Firstly,
If I had more time I would like to produce more iterations. Although I am happy
with the final concept result, I am sure there is a stronger design in me somewhere,
which really could've conveyed my idea to viewers. In addition, I would've
liked to experimented with a process called PBR or Physical based rendering. Admittedly
I have done little research on it but I believe it's a process that results in
photorealistic/natural-looking textures and details which I should've taken
advantage of for this type of project
Finally
I would like to re-unwrapp, pack my UV's tighter for more texture space, and
clean the topology of my model to prevent the texture stretching.
Conclusion
Overall, I have learnt quite a bit during the course of
this project in terms of perspective but more importantly, I believe I have
learnt that working when burnt out can often lead to poor quality in work especially
in a visual course such as this one, which requires full attention to notice
and correct mistakes.
It’s the final week of the course
and so I thought it would be crunch time. As it turns out I think I may have
underestimated my skills this week as surprisingly enough the only thing not to
get any rust on was my skills in 3ds max. I managed to pick it up and model in
no time giving me the rest of the week to texture and wrap things up for the
course.
However before this, I refined my
concepts. Focusing solely on a DIY theme proved hard as there would be many
times in which I would reach a sort of mental block. To combat this I took
breaks once in a while just scrolling through the internet until an idea popped
up in my head. Not too sure if this was effective but it did lead me to my
final concept which was a rat exterminator truck with a few quirks such as
having a mirror as a car mirror. Hopefully this will convey the haphazard/tacky
look of my truck with ease.
I do have a special place in my
heart for some of my early concepts such as one which I like to call crowd
control which was a pizza delivery truck with speakers on the front to attract
zombies and chainsaws on the side with a fully automatic electric powered
sledgehammer on the front to knock the zombies back.
The reason why I didn’t choose this concept
was because I felt its silhouette wasn’t strong enough. I did try to retain
elements of this concept in my final few concepts however it became too noisy
and cluttered and I just had to simplify.
Attempting to take elements from "Crowd Control" and have a strong silhouette but it became too much
In terms of other work I managed to
find some time to work on a Mech concept I’ve had in my head since Easter. The
concept is based on the Jaeger from Pacific Rim. It’s a Vatican City Jaeger.
This concept is something I really would like to go back to and refine one day especially
the Mech details. I find that they are too noisy and all over the place.
Finally it’s sad to say this but it’s
over. I’ve finished modelling the final Game production project which was the
zombie truck. I’m quite happy with it so far however as I will explain in my
post mortem later on I will also discuss things that I would like to change and
improve if I were to do this again. This includes things such as experimenting
with PBR to create some nice details and scratches.
And so we are back on the horse.
After spending 3 weeks away from the course, this week felt like a week of
shedding rust away from my skills. Which admittedly annoyed me as I spent half
the week trying to re-learn how to render. I was doing so well and just like
that it was all forgotten. I guess this shows that there “aint no rest for the
wicked “or in other terms I need to be consistent with my practise.
Trying to remember how t render form
On the other hand this could
indicate that perhaps my analytical eye with art has grown since I gave myself
a break over the holidays and maybe now I can see all my past mistakes. In any
case this week mainly consisted of practising for my zombie survival
presentation, photo bashing and digi painting to shed the rust and get back
into the swing of things.
Singer Sergeant Study - Its eyes are too big
This week felt a bit strange since
there was no formal sessions in all 3 modules. Even in life drawing we didn’t
have a model; instead we were tasked with drawing each other. To which I had
found that I had not only found rust in both rendering but also rust in drawing
from life. I found that my proportions were all over the place. Moreover my
visual analytic skills have taken a blow as I found myself forgetting my
methods as to how to construct form such as the human form.
It became increasingly clear that I
need to get back in practising again or else I may fall behind.
When discussing the zombie truck
project firstly this week I decided to re-unwrapp my truck to make sure that I
have more texture space for the back, top and front bonnet of the truck. This
was to avoid the so called Rorschach look I had managed to achieve with my uv’s
the first time when modelling the car.
New Uv's - could be packed tighter
Later on in the week I started to
refine my mood board expanding my references as well as annotating theme to get
a basic idea as to what I to achieve. After finally getting enough research
later on in the week I started to develop some concepts based on my idea of a
makeshift/DIY apocalypse truck. Moreover I started to work on my concepts
hopefully this will go well in the coming week as deadline is coming up and I
don’t want to be behind.
Finally this week I had present my
zombie survival guide presentation to an audience. I felt quite anxious of the presentation
as when I had practised prior I had found that I would go over as my plan was
so intricate. However after a comment from one of my peers on getting to the
pint and trusting the audience with my reasoning I simplified my presentation
which helped in the day of presenting. Hopefully this came in handy on the day
and I did well.
Anyway that wraps it up for this
week. It’s now just the final home stretch and year 1 is done.
Week 27 – *Come on and Slam and Welcome
to the Art JAAAM!?!?! Or (a chilling elegy)
Unrelated Space Jam Gif - I just really like Space Jam
This week was filled with anime,
drawing and well more anime and drawing. Oh yeah I also went to an art Jam on Easter
Friday.
Taking a break from Game art I
think has resulted in me going back to 14 year old self of drawing anime and
manga in my room, however this time I've got a basic understanding of anatomy
perspective under my belt so it’s no way near as bad as my deviant art phase.
Anyway this leads me onto my next
point, after spending so long on the course studying about design and well
drawing manga characters this week, I started to get a real appreciation for
one of my favourite manga artists Akira Toriyama.
Yes before I start, of course I am
aware of how bad and almost incestrious manga can look and also aware of the
fact that there isn’t a UK manga market so becoming a manga artist is defiantly
a no go. However during the holidays I found myself just captivated at how Toriyama
approaches character design.
NOTE - THIS IS NOT TORIYAMA'S WORK - THIS IS MANGA AT ITS WORST
One character of Toriyama’s design;
Frieza has always conveyed good character design in the sense of subverting
character conventions. The character within the lore of his text is supposed to
be the Grand Emperor of the Universe. A super powerful being who is supposed to
bring fear to all who see him. Yet the design of his first form is a small,
pink effeminate man.
This is Frieza By Toriyama
Said design draws parallels to that
of a French aristocrat during the French revolution or even Napoleon himself.
Rather than showing power and evil in physical fitness this is represented via the
nature of his gesture which conveys arrogance and the feminine look which
conveys a sense of affluence and said intertextual reference to this aristocrat
trope.
French Aristocrat - looks similar right
Napoleon
I would like to end this mini rant
by also mentioning how Toriyama designs the evolved forms of Frieza by falling
within convention of making him physically bigger however then designing his
final form as the small effeminate man he started with thus subverting the idea
of making someone bigger to convey strength in character design and rather
using the look of confidence and arrogance in a character to depict power and
intimidation.
Frieza's final form to the left
So yes of course I ended up drawing
Frieza during the week.
Moreover this week I got really
inspired by a video by Max Landis director of Chronicle. In the video he
discusses how Professional wrestling is more like a soap opera about wresting
rather than actual wrestling. Bring this back to Art related stuff this
inspired me to produce some character designs based on professional wrestling’s
over the top characters. I wish to work on this project in the future as a
little personal project.
One of the wrestlers I'm working on
Studying shape's and also animal anatomy on the side
Frieza really does inspire me in how I design villainous characters
Finally on Friday I went to an art
Jam with some friends off the course. This session mainly consisted of
designing vehicles and creatures via a mashy monsters exercise we did. We got
the idea and name from an exercise we did on the first day of the course in
which we write random names of objects, manmade and natural on a piece of paper
and then we put it in a hat. We mix it up, pick two words and then design it. I
can’t remember for the life of me what I got and what I made. The results are
below. I think one of them is a Rabbit Mech and Butt Mech and a weird
octopus/dear like creature. It was pretty fun anyhow and it got me to use my
imagination in ways I don’t usually use it.
