FMP

Project 3:FINAL MAJOR PROJECT:OPEN BRIEF

For this final project, we have an open brief allowing me to put time into and asset that I feel shows off my skills I have developed over this course. In this project I am hoping to show off my knowledge of all the programs that I have learnt such as 3DS Max, Maya, Unreal Engine and Photoshop. My finished project will be a textured 3D model and a 2D concept to go with it. I would also like to implement some form off animation aspect to my 3D model.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

During this project I wish to explore different styles and experiment with everything that I create. Here is my timetable off how I would like to go about the project.

Week	This week	Did I do it?
1	Introduction Project overview	I was able to complete my introduction and start my project overview ready to update it every week, I will be able to make sure my introduction is done to the best off my ability and make sure all my work is relevant.
2	Mind maps Mood boards Photographic reference	I finished all off my mind maps and mood boards I have explored different ideas and I have got a few reference photos from different places I have been this year I have looked at varying moods and different ways I would be able to produce my work
3	10+ different ideas 5 ideas 2 ideas	I have now narrowed my ideas from 10 to 2 I have researched many varying assets and I have made sure that whatever I research about I am interested about.
4	Final idea research	I have now decided what I want to do for my FMP I was stuck between DJ decks and a festival stage but as I have explained I believe that, doing a festival stage would spark my interest the most, I have many reference photos and videos that I would be able to implement into my work.
5	Project proposal Silhouettes Initial concept art	I was able to finish my project proposal in Greg’s class to a high standard with all the information I need, I had to do it twice because the first time I did it I put too much information in, I was able to overcome this by getting feedback. I have also finished my silhouettes and initial concept art, with inspiration from cel shaded artwork.
6	Iteration sheet-art style Iteration sheet- colour pallet Iteration sheet-lighting	Getting through this iteration sheet this week, I have enjoyed experimenting through what colours and designs I could do, I also experimented with what light would work well with my project.
7	Iteration sheet-composition Iteration sheet-design mods Image plains /Orthographic	Again just working through my iteration sheet finally finished with a lot of different ideas, has been very helpful with deciding what kind of tone and mood I want to go for. I also finished my Orthographic and I have got everything I need to get my project to the right scale, I have all the reference I need.
8	Modelling practice run Game context Game back story Promotional concept art Concept break down	This week was one off the toughest I have had yet as I had so much to complete but I finished it all, I was able to block out my scene and see how it will look, I was also able to come up with an idea for a backstory for my festival stage, I also broke down my final concept into different parts and I now know how much time I will need for each asset in the scene.
9	Modelling time breakdown Block out- model	As I completed all off the time breakdown last week and I finished my block out, I was able to get a Formative sheet back giving me feedback on what I need to improve my research so that’s what I ended up doing this week.
10	Block out-ao render Block out- ps paint over Practical documentation	I was able to  do all the block outs and see how it will look in Photoshop, I have also made sure all off my practical documentation is up to scratch and made sure everything is there.
11	Final Model Final model-ao render	Throughout last week and this week I was able to finish all off my model I have modelled it all and rendered it out too see what it will look like.
12	Final model-paint over UV layout Texture maps	This week I was able to focus on looking on varying ideas on what I could texture my model like I explored options off how I could light up my scene I also completed all my uv layout and texture maps ready to add them on next week.
13	Final 3DS max render Unreal engine render Evaluation	This week I was able to finish all the texturing and render my entire model in 3ds max I have now got my finished product and I am very happy with how I turned out.
14	Look through all work and make sure that it is all done and done to the best off my ability	I was able to leave my evaluation till this week, as I have already reviewed my work twice I have been able to make sure everything is done to a standard I am happy with and then finished my evaluation .

Mind Maps

As this project is an open brief I am going to get a lot off varied research to get the right idea for what I want to build within the span off 13 weeks. I have finished my first initial mind maps, through this I just got some general ideas and assets down off things I am interested in, while  thinking whether or not I would be able to build and create those things.

As I am very interested in festivals I have found it very easy to research about them, I have realised that there are varying assets I can do that would be an interesting to build and make for my final fmp. Just take Boom town for example I could put my own twist on a festival stage and make it in a style that is unique.

I looked through varying locations to bounce ideas off each other to get another varying amount off assets, just so I can get a very broad idea off what I can make and what options I have.

Again these assets have been considered and thought about with the timescale in mind, with this mind map i have broke down some off the small assets that come along with the assets themselves. 

In this mind map I have looked at doing a larger scale scene, I have also broke down some of the general things that would be in and around these cities.

 I have looked over as many general assets and ideas as I could think off I will know continue to look at different ideas and put them into mood boards, I will be able to now further my research through this. 


Mood boards

Through these mood boards I am going to try and explore different images that I have discussed about in my mind maps, I will then be able to specify 10 different ideas through these mood boards too see what I want to research more in depth about. 

Through these general first mood boards I have got a brief overview off what asset I could make I am now going to research 10 different ideas more in depth, but before that I am going to look at general photos I have from first hand research.


Photographic reference

To get a better idea of what I want to do, I gathered a few photos I have taken and took today, off what I could do, these pictures are mostly scenes with a certain asset in, all these pictures display a different kind off mood that I could portray and build on. These are not the final three I am focusing on I am just adding these to expand my research and see all the possible options I have.

The woods

At first I got some reference off the woods as this would be an interesting concept for a final idea I could implement some backstory to the forest scene, this would be also good for researching for artists as there are many that have painted and drew woodland scenes.

Hills

The hills would be a good scene to create as all the texturing I would have to do is with grass and rock and I would be able to get some first hand texture research for that in effect making my work look more photo-realistic. 

Festival stage 

Here are some pictures from a small festival I went to recently called Forbidden Forest, this would be a good final piece as I have seen this stage first hand, it just gives you an even deeper understanding off how the lights would work and how I would texture the stage.

10 Ideas

Festival stage

 Skate park

Studio

 Dj Decks

Pistol

 Bed

Train

Big Ben

Tokyo 

Guitar

These are my final 10 ideas, going through all the research and seeing with how much time I have, I believe these 10 ideas would be best to do further research into, I will now analyse which 5 I would like to research. Generally these assets are all moderate in size and in skill involved to create them.

5 Ideas


Dj Decks


Initial concept art

Reference




With these decks I think they would be an easy build and quite hard to texture, I would be able to put the dj decks in a club or a rave for my scene around it. 
I will have the choice to pick whether I want the decks to be big or singular.

Guitar

Initial concept art

If i do a guitar I have many options off what I can choose to do, I have to decide whether I would want to make a acoustic or electric guitar, if I made a guitar I would be able to design the patterns myself. 

Bed

Initial concept art

If i wanted to do a bed I would have to choose what style I would want to make this would involve deciding what decade the bed is from, I could make a futuristic bed, or a old style bed.

Pistol

Initial concept art

With a pistol I would be able to many variations and designs for what I would like to make. I would be able to experiment with the scopes, silencers and the colour off the gun.

Festival stage

Initial concept art

If I made a festival stage there are varying stages that I could take inspiration from and take ideas away from it. there are varying sizes off stages that I can make and I will be able to research further into.

Looking through these 5 concepts, I have decided to further research about Festival stages and dj decks.

2 ideas

dj decks
Can it be done in the time frame?

I would be very interested in doing this as they would be small but I would be able to put an immense amount of detail in, the only problem that I can find is that I would finish them too quickly and therefore would not be a true representation off my work.

will this asset work for a project?

The positives for this project is that the asset is only small so I would be able to focus on my blog a lot more, and therefore be able to make sure that all off my research leading up to the build is perfect. Another positive is that I am very interested in dj'ing and other dj related activities so i would not find it a hard time to research about the subject

The negatives off making dj decks is that I will not be able to model for as long as I wanted, this means that I may finish my model too early and therefore will mean I wont have reached my full potential. As I want to research about different decks there isn't many variations off decks which will stunt my research into them.

How challenging is it?

Looking through the detail off dj decks, I have realised that the most challenging thing about them is going to be all the nobs and buttons on them, which in turn will make texturing a bit off a pain too.

What will you learn from this project?

If I decided to do this project I would be able to focus on detail and in turn would improve my all round modelling, uv'ing and texturing this will help me with my further education wherever that is.

mood board




Festival stage

Can it be done in the time frame?

As I am very into music and am actually going to  festival's this year I believe it would be a easy thing to research as I would enjoy looking up all different aspects off the stages, again the only real problem that may withhold me is that it will take too long to texture.

Will this asset work for a project?

The positives for this project is the fact that its on a much larger scale which means I will be able to incorporate more off my own design into the project and even though the scale is bigger I believe that in making a festival stage it would be a lot easier to make than DJ decks.

The negatives off this project is that because off the scale if I run into a problem it will keep me behind quiet a bit and therefore make me run out off time, I also might have trouble with making this scene have the right aesthetic which would give the wrong idea all together.

How challenging is it?

The only challlenge as I have already mentioned is the scale I need to make sure that I get that off perfectly otherwise this project wont work as a whole.

What will you learn from this project?

If i make this festival stage I will learn how to make something look good in a big scale, I will also be able to experiment with different ideas in which I can make the stage look however I like.

mood board




Final Idea

After looking over my reference I have decided that I am going to do a festival stage, this will be my fmp. I will justify my reasons for why I chose it now.

The DJ decks again would be a great final asset to do but the fact that it is so small was the flaw here, it wouldn't take long enough to do and I would be finished way too fast, I would off liked to have done this asset as I am very into DJ culture and would have liked to have learnt more about it.


I feel out of all off these asset creations, creating the festival stage would be the ideal asset as it is just big enough with just enough detail. I believe that this asset will best suit my ability and give me the variation I need to produce the asset. In this project I am going to complete a 2D piece and also a 3D model, this is going to appeal to the age group off 16-25, as I believe this is the general audience off who would be interested in festival culture and stages.

As I love festivals and all the culture behind it, I have decided that I want to further my research in festival stages as I will excel to my fullest potential, I will be able to look at many variations and come to an amazing final design as I am very passionate about festivals and everything around them.

Research

initial concept art


Here is an initial piece of art that I could possibly do, this is one off many ideas I have had, this is not my final idea at all but I thought this concept looked quite cool, I got this inspiration off an Aztec temples, as you can see on the top off the stage there is a little temple with fire pits on the side off it. I feel like this stage flows quite well and works.

Strobe lights





I am still not sure whether or not to add lights into my scene I am aware they play a massive part in a festival stage but due to my time scale I will have to add them in if I have enough time but if i don't it shouldn't matter too much. 

litedeck




These are very important to my project as they will make up a good portion off the model. As these make up the bottom off the whole floor, these will be a very easy to model.

barrier




There are different variations off barriers that I could use depending on what type off festival it is, whether it is well known or not, I will most likely take inspiration from the top right picture though as I believe that is the kind of style
I am going for.

stage graphics

This is one off the most important details as this is what is going to be seen the most is the graphic that is along the sides off the stage, this will be where most off my detail will be and I am yet to know what kind off graphic and theme I want to go for. I will further research into the kind off style I want to achieve and I will do some initial concept art for it so I 100% know what I want to do.

speakers




Speakers are another main component off what I am making, I need to decide the shape off the speaker and how large they are going to be, these also need to be connected to a main bit off the stage so they don't look like they are just floating. I am going to do some initial designs for what my speakers may look like later on so I can get a good idea off what I would like to do, I will try many different variants off designs. 

led tv's




Led tv's are going to be seen from very far away and are a main part off my project I need to find out where I am putting them and also I need to make sure that they fit in with the style I am going for I might be able to do a border around them and I could carve them into the stage so they fit more.

Potential software

Now that I know what I am going to further research and design, its important that I know exactly how I am going to go about making and creating it to the best quality I can, I need to make sure I know exactly what my creation process is going to be. These things I research now are going to be essential applications etc. that I will need to make my project.

Photoshop





In this project this will be my most used tool, as I will be doing my 2D art and 3D model's texture. Any concepts, art and mood boards will be made on this software. All off my textures will be made on this software as it is good for making normal, specular maps etc.

3DS Max




As I know this is going to be one off the most important pieces off software that I use. During using this software I am going to be modelling and texturing while using this, I will then use this software to export my work into unreel engine and go from there.

Initial concept art

For my first general sketch I went for something that is cool to look at as it draws your attention into it and that is what I want them to look at. This was inspired off when I went to Forbidden Forest the techno stage there was a piece of art they had spray painted on as shown below



as you can see the whole stage was painted by hand and gives off an even more immersive vibe.

silhouettes

Here I have experimented with different silhouettes, the top right is a front view, the right is a side view and the bottom is an angled view, this is a vital part off the project as it varies my options for when I get further into the project. Even though this is just my basic shape for the stage you can tell what it is, and it has made me think about the view that I am going to go for.

colour pallet

Here in my first colour pallet I made it very out there and colourful because this is the main object I am making I want to draw the audiences attention to this. I personally like the middle one in this first colour pallet as the purple really makes the stage pop out more and the signs as well.

For my second colour pallet I just went in to different colours, to get a more varied research into them, just so I am 100% on which kind off tones I want to go for, I wasn't very keen on this pallet as all off the colours bind and blend together which makes you not focus on the stage.

Art style

Photo realism 



Photo realism is a genre off art that encompasses painting, drawing and graphic design, through this game developers always strives to get the most photo-realistic games. As you can see in the photo above you can see how software and game developers have advanced in photo-realism and this is only in the last 20-30 years we have advanced far, just think about how much further we will be in 10 years time.



You can still see the kind off cartoon style behind the model but compared to pix-elated characters only 10 years ago in tony hawks pro skater, this is far more advanced, I could incorporate this style into my work this is possibly the hardest style depending on your strengths and weakness.

Cel shaded



cel shading or toon shading is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make 3-d computer graphics appear to be flat by there being less shading, I have used this method off art style without noticing really, this style really suits how I draw, so I am going to do a initial piece for this.

As you can see I have went and tried a cel shaded style concept, this type off art reminded me off an anime type style, this cartoon really suits how I draw.

Lighting

For this part of the project I am going to see, where I want to put my lighting and where it will look best.
For the first picture I have tried just one light and I thought it wasn't light enough so I then decided to try some lights either side.

 as you can see this is lit up a lot more and you can see a lot more off the scene I don't know if I will use this for my final render but it is an idea I can use. I am glad I have looked at varying options off lighting so I can get the best variety off options.

compositon

This is how my festival stage looks at the minute, this is only my white-box but I am going to experiment with what I could do with the scene to make it look more full etc. I am happy with how my scene looks at the minute I just want to look at all my options and see what I could do

Here I have stretched out the bottom off the stage and stretched the sides off the stage so I would be able to put more off a graphic on them the only thing is that it looks a bit too long and I will also have to create more off a scene around it.

I have decided that after having a bit off a mix around with my scene that I want to keep it how it is, this may seem like a waste off time but it is vital to my project as it allows me to create the best possible outcome.

Design mods

Here is a sketch I have done on top off my stage, I could add some speakers on top off it as I haven't added any speakers yet, this is just an idea but i did think it looked quite cool up on top off the borders, but I am going to experiment where else I could put it and decide as I start to add more to the model.

This is another idea I had this is where the speakers go under the led tv's they fit in perfect and I would be able to implement them quite easily, This also blocks out any empty space that would make the stage not look overwhelming.

In turn I could put lights down underneath the tv's as they would also fit there, I may do this depending on whether or not I am going to do my scene in the night and whether or not they are necessary to the scene.

Image Plains

I have gathered some reference that was closest to my design, I will not be copying this stage at all just needed a general stage and this fitted my designs and ideas I will be designing my own stage design. This image plain will make sure that I am working to the right scale.




This is the only reference  I could find for this specific stage, I am not too fussed as I am not going off this design at all. I am just using this stage size and I liked how this stage liked.

Modelling practice run


I am going down to break down a few problems I may have from this build through the having a day to build my white-box and I will analyse anything that I believe is going to be a problem;

How will I overcome these problems?

As I said about the scene this shouldn't be too hard to overcome as I will be able to export all my finished work into unreal engine and then from there mould a scene around this festival stage. Another issue I raised was that even after texturing and making my my festival stage that my stage still might look to empty and I believe that if I texture my stage right and make sure that my scene behind it is too a good standard I believe that it will look full. I am going to research further into what I could put my stage on I will make sure that it is interesting and good to look at.

Is the model achievable with the time left?

I believe with the time that I have left this project is more than achievable after breaking down all the sections earlier in my research I believe I will be able to make this stage to a great standard with all off my own twists on it.

Game Context

How will your object be used in a game?

My festival stage will be used in a game by being one off the levels you would be able to explore it, there would be a little mission to do with it. I believe this kind of stage would fit into any kind off free roam game, maybe something such as grand theft auto or something like that. This could be used for a side mission or something. I have a concept that if it was used in a game you would be able to play a 'king off the hill' type mini game, in which you are on top off the festival stage and people run at you and you have top defend the stage by making sure no-one gets on with you.



What is its purpose?

Its purpose would be to host a mini game and in that it would be part off a free roam game, it could be used in an a apocalyptic state, the main objective is to get to that festival stage because that is where the best open space is, it could be one off many stages that you have too go around in order to survive.

Backstory

The back story for this game is that you are the musician and you are playing a show and during the show there is an outbreak, and all off a sudden all the audience start coming against you, in turn you have to set traps with the wires and you have to stop them while playing your music, at them there are different types you can do, you can be a DJ and you have to kill them with your drops or you can be in a band or rapper and you have to kill them with your vocals.

Promotional concept art



concept breakdown

This is the order that I will be modelling my stage in as I believe this is the best way too see it come together. I will be starting with the main bits off the stage and then slowly making my way along my model and making all the pieces come together.

Metal holding the LED TV's

I will start with this piece as it will be one off the easier things too model, breaking down the parts off these TV's, I am going to need a metal texture for the poles holding the TV's I will need a LED TV texture and I will need a different type off metal for the beams.

Front of stage

For the front off the stage I need to find some kind off flooring that suits the way the floor is going to look as well. This will be an easier piece to make as you can only see the front.

Stage side panels

These are going to be one off my main parts as they are going to be the graphics that I designed for them. this material will be made by me to give off a festival vibe.

Main stage

The main stage is going to be dark to give off that festival vibe as it is supposed to be dark, the materials are going to be mostly dark materials so I can give that effect off.

Backdrop

I have decided that the stage is going to be outside and it is going to be dark. All off these changes will be made while in unreel, I will be able to make the scene all by hand and craft it when I get it exported.

Floor

This floor is going to be made out of lite-deck and it will be composed off metal and black floor, I will be able to find these materials online. depending on the angle off my final shot, you may not even see the floor.

FINAL MODEL - AO render

How to create an ambient occlusion.

1. Create a while material in a new material slot then add the material to all the objects in the scene.

2. Then you need to turn off all the lights in the scene tools> Light Lister then untick all of the lights.

3. Then create a skylight in the scene and remember to activate the shadows.

4. Render
UV LAYOUT/TEXTURE PAGE

These UV pages are fairly large at 1024 x 1024 pixels as I wanted the textures to be good quality.

As you can see I took screenshots from the 3DS file I was working on I made sure that each panel was straight on so I was able to make the textures as accurate.

As you can see the progression off How I changed my texture maps, I wanted to do a checker-ed design but after seeing how boring it is I decided that I should put a bit moire colour in.

I then changed all my textures and I was happier with the way the model looked and decided to leave it like that, the bottom right is my flooring and all the other textures are the festival stage, this was my main texture map and needed to be the best quality and the most accurate.

Again here I lined up all the size off textures I would need and fit them into the size box they would need, I flipped the tv's reflection the other way to give off a bit more off a realistic vibe, when in the 3DS file.

I then decided after constructive criticism from work peers that my screens looked too boring when loaded up on the 3DS file so I decided that I would implement an artist on the big screen to give the scene more depth.
Progression

Here you can see I blocked out the model with basic shapes to get a general idea off most off the assets I would like to create in and around this scene. This is the most basic this scene will look, this is when I tried out different modifications I could add to the scene to make it more interesting and I also got feedback asking if the scene was too plain.

I then continued to start making the scene by adding detail to the poles holding the TV's first, as I needed to get a basic foundation for them, after that I continued to research further into different types off metals I could use for the beams, I needed to find a light in coloured metal for my texture.

As I continued with the model I decided to add more detail into the scene I added steel beams at the bottom off my stage to give the scene more depth and I also added steal beams into the festival stage. I also textured the tv's with my first texture.

As you can see I fully textured my stage and I was very unhappy with the outcome because as well as it being nothing like my concept art, it also just looked really plain and boring, so this is when I went and changed both off my texture maps as i stated before. 

I then went in and changed all the textures for my festival stage you can see it adds a bit more colour and life to my scene but I wasn't finished there, after having feedback I was advised to add another asset. This is when I added the railing along the front as you can see, I am happy with how this railing came out and it just makes my scene pop that bit more. I also added in my TV texture that was updated I believe this also adds more depth to the scene and makes it stand out that little bit more.

I then exported my scene into unreal and made a grass scene around it, as this gives the scene more realism and isn't just on a flat plain. I am overall happy with my final outcome and how it has turned out.

EVALUATION
What skills have you developed? 

I have learnt how to make a well structured blog to go along with the process off how to make a model and texture it, with what inspiration came from my ideas and thoughts, I have been able to express my art through all my designing more and has developed the way I see art in all shapes and forms.How did the project go?

Overall I believe that my project went well, I have expanded my knowledge off all types off software's such as Photoshop, 3DS max and unreel engine. 

What went well?

I am pleased with how my project turned out and I believe that it is a true reflection off the art style. I also think that my lighting helped the scene and shows all the detailed areas I wanted it to.

What would I do differently?

If I would have done this project I would have left my self some more time to do the scenery in the background a bit better, like I would have modelled a scene behind it.

Could I improve anything?
If I was to improve anything I would have recorded my build process a bit more as when I start modelling I get really into the building and forget I am meant to be taking screenshots off my progress.