'Secret Lairs' Creative Partnership

Secret Lairs: Creative Partnership

'Secret Lairs' Final Crit. Presentation

Secret Lairs Final Crit Presentation

'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Truly Final Concept Art

I had completely left the all important helmet spotlight out of my previous 'final' concept art, I've remedied this here.

Previous post, with concept art build up images:

http://dannyrollings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/secret-lair-of-insectoid-soldier-final.html

'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Final Concept Art

Final Concept

Build Up

Insectoid Soldier's Secret Lair: Modelling Refinement Nearly Complete

Again, all progress renders and screenshots to be compiled and posted at a later time.

All that's left to be modelled is the hero prop and water splashing out of the font, with lighting firmly established all that will be left to do is to UV Map and texture the lair. Then I can take a big step back to completing the concept art and producing any orthographic projections and prop sheets. While this is obviously not the normal pipeline order, it is definitely the last assignment in which such a method will become necessary.

Insectoid Soldier's Secret Lair: Block-Out Refining (01) - 23 minute Production Quality render time!

All progress renders and screenshots to be compiled and posted at a later time.

Current progress
Comparing the difference between the Production quality and the Draft quality renders, the most significant (almost only) difference is the reflections in the water. In order to reduce render time I will experiment further with different lower Raytrace Shadow settings and likely remove the lair's back-most torch because it serves no purpose. The mia_material_x water reflectivity will be reduced significantly, as will further experimentation decide whether the central green spotlight is to be removed. The helmet illumination spotlight's fog also needs to be directly adjusted.

First Production quality Mental Ray render. (23:03)
Point Lights, Raytrace Shadows: Light Radius = 0.200, Shadow Rays = 30, Ray Depth Limit = 3.

Draft quality Mental Ray render. (06:39)
Point Lights, Raytrace Shadows: Light Radius = 0.200, Shadow Rays = 200, Ray Depth Limit = 1.

Render of block-out before refinement had begun.

My original, first block-out paint-over attempt.

Curiousity: Scarab Beetle, Hard Surface or Organic Modelling?

Currently refining the block-out models of the components of my ancient Egyptian insectoid soldier's Secret Lair and I am wondering what you'd consider modelling a beetle to be? Considering its hard exoskeleton yet organic nature due to it being a living creature. This post also serves as a way of showing my current progress with the Scarab beetle - so far there are many process screenshots to be sorted through so will be uploaded at a later time.

'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Lair Lighting Development and Base Texturing (Maya block-out)

Render showing current Maya block-out lighting and base texturing progress.

The entire lighting process so far

'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Insectoid Khepresh - Hero Prop Colour Tests and Entire Development Process (so far)

Current stage

Development process

Excellent hieroglyphics resource:
http://www.artyfactory.com/egyptian_art/egyptian_hieroglyphs/hieroglyphs.htm

'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Concept Art Progress (1)

In order to work around my difficulties with producing concept art I have decided upon breaking down my concept work load into specific stages, thus avoiding becoming overwhelmed as I have been previously. I work on multiple layers so objects can be easily edited without impacting their surroundings. The stages are:

1. Rough colour block-out over Maya block-out.
2. Basic colour block-out with forms established.
3. Change colours where necessary.
4. Add any basic details such as hieroglyphics.
5. Consider tonal values concerning object distance from camera.
6. Perform rough paint-over of shadow and light locations + directions.
7. Transfer the light & shadow knowledge onto the concept itself.
8. Add any finishing touches.

Stage 2: Improved colour block-out establishing object shapes.
The central waterfall is not currently shown to avoid it getting in the way of objects.

Stage 1: An extremely rough colour block-out.

The Maya block-out used for my concept art.

The original approved colour scheme.

FAO Phil: Revised secret lair layout (block-out)

While a block-out is naturally boring to look at, rather than waste precious time working more into this when it may just not work, I've presented the revised block-out with the resolution gate accurately representing the 16:9 (2556 x 1440 pixels) canvas size, above the approved colour scheme. If this layout is approved, concept art development will begin as soon as possible.

In response to OGR feedback I have adjusted my camera angle, added basic block-outs for torches and created the hero prop's dais. Lighting will be established within concept art, however I have shown the hero prop's illuminating light in the form of a transparent polyCylinder. The design on the torches is not random, while the colour is to be ignored the design takes inspiration from a historical ancient Egyptian symbol known as a 'Sa', meaning protection - considering the secrecy of the lair, such a symbol could act as protection from intruders and protect Nemhisect when he lies within it. 

Fig. 1: Screenshot of revised Maya block-out of Insectoid Soldier secret lair.

Fig. 2: Approved colour scheme, overlayed on previous block-out.

Fig. 3:
Sa symbol.
(Deurer, s.d.)

Here's a quote from egyptartsite.com concerning the Sa's meaning and appearance:

"This symbol means protection. Its origins are uncertain but it is speculated that it represents either a rolled up herdsman's shelter or a papyrus life-preserver used by ancient Egyptian boaters. Either way it is clearly a symbol of protection." (Deurer, s.d.)

Quote Bibliography

Deurer, Richard. (s.d.) EgyptArt: Symbols and Definitions [online blog] In: egyptartsite.com At: http://www.egyptartsite.com/symlst.html (Accessed 24.11.13)

Image Bibliography
Fig. 3: Deurer, Richard. (s.d.) Sa symbol [digital graphic] At: http://www.egyptartsite.com/symlst.html (Accessed 24.11.13)

Secret Lairs OGR (2)

Secret Lairs OGR (2) Presentation

'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Revised Colour Tests

It's a shame to be dealing with the colour pick stage so close to the OGR deadline, however the hurdles that I've had to jump over in response to vital feedback especially in the past two days has led to what will be a much better piece of concept art than I would have originally done, so as always feedback, especially in the form of constructive criticism is very much appreciated! 

My favourites are colour test 01 and 02 as they both scream "Insectoid" as well as connect back to the green eyes of Nemhisect and his murdered mother in the Character Profile while looking masculine enough to suit a male character, unlike 04 which I feel is a bit too pink and feminine and 03 which is simply too colourful.

Colour test 01

Colour test 02

Colour test 03

Colour test 04

'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Revised Hero Prop Designs

See below images for important information related to the hero prop designs.
These designs also count as thumbnails 34 - 39.

The six hero prop designs. According to feedback so far, the most preferred designs are 1, 3 and 4.

The revised hero prop Influence Map.

Important information when viewing Hero Prop designs:

Character Profile synopsis
The story is set in ancient Egypt, it focuses on the hidden son of the Pharaoh, Akhenaten - known as Nemhisect so as a result is the rightful heir to the throne of Egypt. However for many years Nemhisect is led to believe that both his mother and father are dead. He begins as a common peasant but is forced into the Egyptian military and over 10 years rises to the rank of General due to his skill and resolve to serve the gods, General being the second most powerful position in Egypt - higher than all but the Pharaoh. 

On a nighttime raid on a camp of enemies of the Egyptians, he meets his true mother, who like himself has green eyes 'the colour of papyrus reeds' she tells him his father is Akhenaten and that she was exiled and tells him the meaning of his name, 'Apprentice to Horus, the god of war. The one true king of Egypt.'

This leads to Nemhisect taking his mother with him and challenging the Pharaoh, who then murders his mother in front of him. Nemhisect is locked away to keep the truth from spreading and experimented on by his father's servants, he is then embalmed alive with an apparently mystical oil of insects of the desert and the blood of the damned. He begins to mutate and breaks from the embalming's bindings. A mutated insectoid Nemhisect escapes, vowing revenge but knowing he does not yet have the power to defeat the Pharaoh and his men, he retreats underground and plans his revenge.

The insect connection

Some insects were considered to be sacred in ancient Egypt, the main one being the Scarab/dung beetle. The desert locust is also a well known insect of ancient Egypt, partly due to the 'Book of Exodus' story involving Moses in the Bible, in which an Egyptian Pharaoh and his people are attacked by 10 forms of plagues, one of which is a swarm of locusts.

Why a helmet/crown?

Feedback on the OGR indicated that a sword for a hero prop was too simple and not interesting enough as a sword was pretty much a blade with a nice handle, I realised this to be true so instead turned to designing a helmet / crown for Nemhisect. Keep in mind that he wants revenge for the lies of his father, the Pharaoh and the murder of his mother, her Payrus reed coloured eyes, that he is the rightful heir to the throne as well as the fact that he is a former - now insectoid - soldier.

The ancient Egyptians rarely wore armor however helmets are seen to have adorned the heads of those high up in the Egyptian military while crowns adorned the heads of the gods or the Pharaoh, who often was considered a god in their own right. Horus is the god of war, protection and the sky while Khepri is a Scarab-headed god who is the subordinate to the sun god Ra e.g. Horus.

Feedback so far

After asking Candice, Ernesta, Hannah and Heidi for feedback I have found out the preferred designs so far are:

1, which has been a preference three times. 3 and 4 have been a preference twice. 5 has been a preference once. As a result I have narrowed my choices down to 1, 3, or 4. Ernesta suggested that 5 had a feminine appearance so after looking at it with that in mind, I was in agreement and felt it would not be suitable for a male character, especially not one wanting revenge; there is also the fact that it is the most simplistic of the designs and would not pose enough of a challenge to create. It was also mentioned that realistically 6 would be too cumbersome for battle.


Related links
'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Post-OGR Thumbnails: 25 - 33
Secret Lairs OGR Presentation (1)

'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Post-OGR Thumbnails: 25 - 33

Fig. 1: Thumbnails 25 to 33.

These thumbnails focus more on the insectoid nature of the lair while also keeping a connection with ancient Egypt. At the moment I'm simply experimenting with different designs without thinking about the method at which the lair came to be, I have paraphrased the related parts of my reply to Phil on my OGR.

My insectoid soldier, Nemhisect could quite easily have spent years plotting his revenge and having once been a slave and then a skilled General, he'd be completely capable of carving out his own lair possibly from a pre-existing structure or excavating it himself. His reason for carving it is due to his resolve to serve the gods and the sacred nature of insects related to them. Further thumbnails will set this in stone.

All thumbnails apart from 29 and 32 were completed before our Photoshop lecturer, Jordan had provided feedback on my latest thumbnails. He truthfully stated that I need to watch my tonal values as my colour ranged from mid-grey to white rather than from black to white and demonstrated an example as to how I could achieve this by quickly painting over a duplicate of 33 (Fig. 2). 

Fig. 2: Comparison between 33 and Jordan's quick paint-over to show the importance of effective tonal values.

My thumbnailing method is currently to spend a time limit of 5 minutes on each before moving on to the next then eventually coming back to those for which I feel it necessary. All required information concerning the character profile / back story, visual concept as well as previous influence maps and thumbnails can be found on my OGR presentation: 
Secret Lairs OGR Presentation

'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Thumbnails 9 - 24

I set myself a time limit of 5 minutes per thumbnail, to ensure I followed this rule I simply used a looping countdown timer on YouTube which beeps at 5 minute intervals. I find this method provides an excellent challenge in terms of what I can produce within that time limit thus forcing development of my ability to create more interesting thumbnails at a much faster pace. Of these I most like 17 and 21.

Insectoid Soldier Character Profile: Nemhisect

Insectoid Soldier Character Profile

Mind Maps and Influence Maps:
"Insectoid"
"Soldier"

Secret Lair of an Insectoid "Soldier" - Mind Map & Influence Map (2)

For my influence image research I decided upon disregarding the concept of my Insectoid Soldier being of the future, modern times or the apocalypse for the simple fact that apocalyptic scenarios, modern warfare and futuristic warfare have been depicted time and time again and to follow these for my more developed character profile and lair design would simply be too generic. In terms of older examples of warfare such as World War One and Two, they have been once again used in gaming and filmmaking time and time again.

For the reasons of being non-generic I have decided upon taking my Insectoid Soldier and its secret lair back to ancient times. While ancient civilizations have also been used in gaming and movies, they have been much less over-used than more modern examples - the respective militaries themselves have been focused on even less so, for these reasons I have focused on three ancient civilizations - the Ancient Greeks, Ancient Egyptians and the Aztecs in the Influence Map, I have completely avoided the Roman empire due to how well it's become known thanks to different forms of media. The Ancient Greeks have also become well known by the public due to forms of media, one example being the popular movie 300 (2006) which focuses on the Spartans of Ancient Greece thus narrowing my choice down to the Aztec or Ancient Egyptian in terms of culture as well as lair and basic character design.

Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier - Basic Character Profiles

Very brief basic Insectoid Soldier possible character profiles:

1. Renegade insectoid soldier mutated by virus. This would be a so-called "bad guy" as it suites the renegade aspect more and allows for much more interesting lair design. A renegade soldier would be more likely to have a secret lair than a normal soldier who would instead be placed within army barracks.
2. Civil war raging between territories of the insect population, invisible to humanity due to size and/or based underground - Insectoid soldier fighting for its people - whether the character is 'good' or 'bad' is entirely dependent on the side you support, they are simply doing what they have been ordered to do.
3. Young insectoid "soldier" taking part in a play-fight type mock-war.
4. Human-insect hybrid, hidden in the depths of the earth, rejected by humanity – fighting for freedom from humanity’s oppression.

After coming up with these ideas I'm considering merging 1 and 4 as they both have interesting aspects relating to the character's back story. So a back-story of a soldier turned renegade by the rejection of humanity when infected by a strange virus, possibly forced underground and only coming up from his lair to fight for freedom against those who are what they once was, human. This base back-story still leaves a huge amount of possibilities for lair design, however feedback would be much appreciated.

"Insectoid" Influence Map

Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier - "Insectoid" Quick Influence Map (1)

Before I can produce basic 'possible character profiles' of my Insectoid Soldier and design its environment I've broken down the word "insectoid" and performed image research on things relating to it. Next I will research more into the "soldier" aspect.I have provided a very simplified idea list related to my influence map for this "insectoid" trait:

"Insectoid"

What it does it mean?
If something is insectoid it is described as a creature/object with a body/traits similar to insects/arachnids.

Breaking it down a bit more

The definition of "Insect" is a small arthropod animal with six legs and possibly wings.

Existing insects.

Existing insectoid designs.

Examples of insect habitats and things found within them.

Insect body parts.

Compound eyes, possible texture or window design idea.

Exoskeleton.

Insect fossils.

Insectoid furniture.

Space and Environment Project 2: Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier

Today I pulled out of the mysterious blue boxes the words "Insectoid" and "Soldier". I'm very pleased with this combination as there are a lot of possibilities which come to mind pre-research of where I could go with the lair and basic character design as well as its profile. For example concerning the soldier aspect, soldier possibilities range from soldiers of the American Civil War (1861 - 1865) or before, to World War I and II, modern soldiers or even futuristic soldiers. In my research and design process I will avoid thinking generically as much as possible and the insectoid aspect will of course be of much importance to my lair and character designs. The sheer amount of different insect habitats will also play an interesting and vital role in lair design...

Fig. 1: One of nature's many examples of a dangerous insect, named by humans as army ants.

Image Bibliography

Fig. 1: Durrel, Redmund (2012) One of nature's many examples of a dangerous insect, named by humans as army ants.
[Photograph; Army ants respond to predatory chimpanzees by streaming to the surface to defend their colony through painful bites.]
At: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/sep/17/improbable-research-chimpanzees-army-ants (Accessed 29.10.11)