High Poly Asset Modelling

The object I decided to model for my High Poly Asset, is the sword Chaoseater, which is used by the protagonist of the videogame Darksiders. 

The sword features a mixture of sharp and jagged edges, carved, organic looking faces and a mixture of different metals for the separate components of the blade.

High poly model in Maya

To create the swords basic shape, I used the Quad draw feature to get the very specific shapes that the sword has. Since the sword is asymmetrical, I had to mirror it on a different plane than other swords. This carried over into the modelling process in Zbrush, which allowed me to further enhance the quality of the blades details, especially the faces.

Completed High Poly Model

However, parts of the swords, such as the more pronounced teeth and the detailing near the hilt that I primarily modelled in Zbrush suffered distortion when they were completed and this unfortunately carried into the Low Poly model as well. 

Following the high poly models completion, I used decimation to reduce the poly count and make the low poly version.

Colour Map

Since the blade itself has two different types of metal, I broke up the blade in the colour map so I could insert so the early textures into it.

Textures applied using Quixel

Without Textures in Unreal 4

With Textures in Unreal 4

Group Project - Box Art

When designing the front cover I wanted to use a very simplistic design, to better portray the focus the game has on psychology and draw the player’s eyes to the bizarre mixture of colours used within the game.

I decided to mix together the rainbow of colours that we’ve used previously in this project and the black block shapes reminiscent of Rorschach tests. As for composition, I took some influence from Andy Warhol’s painting of Marilyn Monroe, both because of its use of colours and the pop art visual fights with the aesthetic of the environment we are creating.

Group Project - In Game Posters

Since the posters are decorations within the player characters subconscious, I decided to name several of them in a much the same way that drugs or other illicit substances would, as well as making the designs reflect this intoxicating or potentially dangerous feeling.

Bone Dust – A white powder that could be visually linked to Cocaine.

Mandrake – Phonetically similar to Marijuana and has an intimidating jungle design.

J.O.Y – An appreciation similar to LSD.

Lightspeed – A play on Speed. Unused.

There’s also some symbolism in the fact that several of the posters are “Sold Out”, indicating that the main character could be running out of options and his addictions can’t support him anymore.

While not all of these designs were used, I think that they all convey a different tone and indicate different facts about the characters history outside of the game as well as his attitude towards these substances, since he's linking them to something that many people publicly idolize. The best designs seem to be those that use very simple blocks of colour, rather than more intricate patterns or flourishes.

Group Project - Environment Art

The group decided that the club will be divided into different areas in varying levels of decay. It also has a hybrid ascetic, with a more traditional design near the front and more modern features in the adjoining rooms. I worked closely with James to figure out the exact spacing for the different rooms and props.

To keep the rooms somewhat consistent, even when there's clearly very conflicting levels of quality between the different rooms, I decided to include interlacing wooden beams that add in the retro look of the first room and leads the players back to it if they get lost.

For  this variation of the design, I repositioned the stage and adjusted the dimensions of the bar to allow the players to access the area behind it. I also changed the layout of the lights to account for the new stage location. I also added a pile of crates to make it seem like there was still equipment to be set up and this part of the club is under construction/renovation.

Initially, I was going to use more earthy colours since the club is located underground, however this didn't mesh well with to colours near the entrance. Instead, I changed it to a blacker colour and switched the carpet to a deep purple.

Lastly, I added in some seats and some lighting to set the mood.

Group Project - Reference Research + Character Design Development

Part 1: Research and Influences

To begin the project, I looked at various point + click games and how they present the images they show as well as their own visual styles.

Featured Games - Wolf among us, Tales from the Borderlands, I have no mouth and I must scream, Day of the tentacle, Tormentium, Grim Fandango, The book of unwritten tales and Monkey Island

Since our game also deals with hallucinations and manifestations of a persons innermost thoughts, looking at hallucination scenes from both games and movies was the next step.

Featured movies/games/Tv Series - Jacobs Ladder, Hannibal, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman Arkham Knight and Psychonauts

Featured movies/games/Tv Series - Jacobs Ladder, Hannibal, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman Arkham Knight and Psychonauts

Lighting is also important and I looked for inspiration in a short animated film I'd found.

Part 2: Breaking the results down

When designing the character, I looked at how addiction to various substances effects a person's physical appearance and some examples of this in media. Most drug addicted characters seem very obviously emancipated or even skeletal due to the negative side effects of the drugs their take. A lot of the characters I looked were also very wide eyed and crazed looking. While I didn't want this kind of expression to be permanent, I made a note the eyes would be something to emphasize. Unkempt hair was another common feature but I felt that could easily become too distracting in the design, and could be difficult to pull off given the limits to the poly count.

Featured Images - Whitnail and I, Black Books, Breaking Bad and Trainspotting + Rough Character sketches

Featured Images - Whitnail and I, Black Books, Breaking Bad and Trainspotting + Rough Character sketches

I decided to use the design the incorporated a hood as it would put more emphasis on the characters eyes and make the player pay more attention to their overall body language. This is an important aspect of these type of characters as seen with Ewan McGregor's character in Trainspotting. People associate that pose with that movie and it's subject matter because it's very clear and very striking.

 

Types of Jacket

Character Poses and Expressions

For colour, making the character more saturated will make any colour of light show up quite well on him and further contrast him with any brightly coloured crazy imagery, also his skin is coloured to more resemble a decaying body or a zombie, taking a more literal image of drug addicts. As for his eyes, I originally went for something sharper but dialled it back to make them look more natural, allow they are still coloured to resemble a nocturnal animal. His hat was also an interesting feature since we decided it could be used as an extension of his expression by making it bend and stretch with the characters eyebrows.

Prototype designs A + B and Expression/Alternate Eye shapes

Measured Character Guide