2D Character Project Part 1 - Concepting the Character

     To determine the characters design, I decided to set myself certain objects to achieve whilst designing it. I wanted to create a character that would feature in a fast paced 2D fighting game. That character would have to have an intimidating design, recognisable silhouette, ranged capabilities, grappling abilities, high mobility capabilities and high durability. I also wanted to create a character with some form of sentient armour that either worked independently from the wearer or simply feed of off them.

     If the armour is in some way alive it could be modeled after an animal, probably an insect giving their segmented armour plating. Parts of the armour seen here have sections that resemble an insects limbs or other body parts. Other examples has sinew transitioning into armour or plating, so the armour has muatted to suit the wearers needs. Since the character needs to move quickly, having insect like wings would serve that purpose.

     Another idea for the armour, is closer to traditional wearable attire or some form of armour that makes it clear that a person is wearing it. Some of the ideas here have parts of their original bodies exposed or have exposed the wearers skeletal structure or their internal organs. The examples from Parasite Eve or Resident Evil allow for a wide variety of body horror designs and interesting concepts.

     These later example feature armour that more closely resembles a separate living entity, with exposed nerves, muscles and ligaments conflicted with bone or chitin armour. These examples are clearly more alive looking than the others, and contrast from the shape or colour of their wearer to further separate them.

2D Character Tonal Practise

50 Min Character Concept

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.