#REFLECTIVEPOSTS

[dailylaughdose]

"This Clock Isn’t Just Telling Time—It’s Sending a Message You Can’t Ignore…"

Ever felt like time is slipping away but you don’t know why? This image isn't just a clock hanging in a station — it's a silent scream from the universe, asking one question: What are you really waiting for? 😮‍💨

Some photos stop time. This one challenges it.

⚡ It’s not about the minutes ticking — it’s about the moments you’re missing. Don't just keep scrolling. ⏱ This could be your sign 👉 https://urlhub.pro/7a558f

[dystopediapod]

Battle Royale wasn’t just about violence. It was about abandonment -a generation left to fend for itself in a system that no longer cared.

What happens when a society can no longer justify its own rules, yet keeps enforcing them anyway?

That question doesn’t end with Battle Royale.

Next week, we go back over a century to E.M. Forster’s The Machine Stops - a story from 1909 that somehow predicted Zoom calls, screen addiction, and humanity retreating from the physical world.

If Battle Royale showed what happens when society loses control of its youth, The Machine Stops asks what happens when we willingly give up control altogether.

🎧 Catch up now & get ready for Thursday.

[antoniab93-blog]

Imposter syndrome - part 3

This post originally started as an exploration of what #ImposterSyndrome was and how I thought I'd experienced it. Last year I chose to do a post reflecting on how I'd progressed from the original in 2021 and I thought, why not do a 3rd?

This post originally started as an exploration of what Imposter Syndrome was and how I thought I’d experienced it. Last year I chose to do a post reflecting on how I’d progressed from the original in 2021 and I thought, why not do a 3rd? This is a NSFW post, I swear a lot. So what’s the definition of ‘imposter syndrome’? From good old Wikipedia: Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor…

[jamesdyecg]

Research & Enquiry: Reflective Post 10 - Time Management and Organisation

- Why this is important -

Following on from my previous post on Burnout, I have found myself struggling this semester with keeping on track with everything. Suffering time to time from lack of motivation, burnout, and general lack of direction. This is where time management and organisation come in to save the day. As mentioned previously, breaking down a task into much smaller pieces can help reduce the mountain of work in front of me. For this I use a organisational tool called Trello.

- Trello -

Trello is a list based organisational tool, in which users can create boards, lists and more to help with project management. This tool has helped me tremendously throughout this semester, breaking down modules and topics, creating to-do lists, and tracking progress. Below is an example of one of the many cards I have created for this unit.

In this example, I have created a check list, in which I have listed different ideas for reflective blog posts, while a few of them I have decided not to use, It was better to jot them down, than to forget them. Trello has helped me stay organised and break down tasks into an easily understood way.

- Schedule -

Now you can have all the lists in the world, telling you exactly what you need to do, this won't help at all however if you are not doing the work... This is where a schedule comes in to help. Breaking down a project into the weeks or months required you can start to work on the time management part of this. Understanding when different parts of the project are due can help to keep on track and reduce any 'crunch' time toward the end.

Along with a project timeline, it is important to have an individual schedule as well, by this I mean.

A regular time to start work

set break times

set end times

a regular sleep schedule

a diet plan

daily exercise

time for hobbies/relaxing

Whilst these may not seem obvious, maintaining a healthy and fun schedule can help stay motivated, reduces the risk of burnout, and lead to a healthier lifestyle.

- Maintaining organisation as I progress through the year -

The above mentioned methods will be vital to my success in the future. I will ensure I continue to use these techniques as well as continually search for further ways to help with organisation and time management. It is also important to note that sticking to the plan 100% of the time doesn't necessarily equal the best progress, sometimes a rework of the plan is necessary when unforeseen circumstances occur.

- Citations -

Trello Enterprise, 2011. Trello. Organisation Tool. www.trello.com: Atlassian.

[coolgroup13posts]

Belbin Results

Looking at my belbin results I found out my strongest attributes were as a plant and as an implementer. According to the site plants are creative with unconventional thinking and with being able to come up with ideas when others can't. Also implementers  are good at getting the work they need to do and combine creativity with practicality. Looking at these attributes I think that I have a strong combination. When speaking to the rest of the group I found out that for some they had these attributes as their weakest and in reverse my weakest were their strongest. This balance in a group is important and will mean that we are able to be adaptable in our work and combine different skills to create a better outcome.

-Daniel

[placeswhereidontexist]

What is a reflection & what do lecturers expect?

A reflection is an active process that encompasses you to think about your learning. Making time to think about what you have read, heard and did helps deepen your understanding of important ideas. Your reflections help you to create link s between what you are learning at university and your experiences outside of uni.

A reflective text is a lot less formal than a university paper, it’s a lot like a journal or a diary entry. Your reflective texts are about you, where you express yourself through writing and video to demonstrate your thoughts and reactions.

-Uni reflections are usually about your thoughts, emotions and reactions about what you learnt, felt, did and thought.

Your lecturers want to be more active and involved in your own learning to help them show your understandings but to help them understand your thought processes of how you found the work and class to be.

 ·Lecturer’s expectations:

Your lecturers would most likely ask you to write a reflection and they would expect you to write your thoughts and reactions to something you’ve learnt about in your module.

 Some tips to guide you:

- don’t write a description,

-be precise and detailed in your emotional and thought processes

-be clear with your evidence of learning

-demonstrate distinctly that you are an active learner and a critical thinker

[cafemizudashi]

Nostalgia Pt0: Anemoia, nostalgia for a time you’ve never known

It is always the same. I find myself in bed, late at night, lost in thought, checking something on the phone when suddenly it hits. In this case, I really should have seen it coming. The installing of old games, checking old equivalents of interests of mine... 

Specifically today, the trigger was Kowloon Walled City, City Pop, and old consoles such as the original GameBoy. 

Why these topics? Because I am interested in big cities, Japanese music, and videogames. But why these in particular? I was not alive during most of that time after all. Let us first check what all these topics are.

Kowloon Walled City by Atlasobscura

Kowloon was built naturally, it grew and grew up until 1993, when its demolition started. It offered many amenities for its residents, such as doctors, technicians, water sources... And although the Urban Hell  looks and the many drug, gang - triads -, gambling... problems, people often talk about it fondly. 

I do not have any connection to this place whatsoever. It perhaps may not even be the best example. But I find something about this strangely familiar.

Matsubara Miki, Best Collection by Spotify

City Pop on the other hand was created as an introduction of occidental culture into the 70s and 80s Japan. The music takes inspiration from funk, R&B, and soft rock among others, and you can tell by the funky bass, the techno piano, and the unique drums. Again the only connection I may be able to make is Spanish 80s ballads, which my parents used to play when they were my age.

Pokemon Gold by The Orion

Then for my latest example is the original GameBoy / GameBoy Color. These were released in 89 and 98 respectively. I was born in 1998, so I have not experienced them at all. I have no older siblings nor family who may have exposed it to me. I did start with the GameBoy Advanced later, but the feeling is different. 

I returned to them recently, even bought an original GameBoy second hand. And It definitely feels like I have experienced this before.

It turns out that, of course, the internet has a word for this feeling. According to The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows:

Anemoia - n. nostalgia for a time you’ve never known.

That is exactly how I feel about some of these. And I know I am not alone on this.

Very prevalent in my generation is the liking for things that have old qualities attached to them, even if they may not be.

One of these would be Lofi music. A style that aims to replicate the Low Fidelity aesthetic of older mediums such as VHS or cassettes. These are mostly recent, but perfectly exemplify it. And it is not as easy as creating some pixel art game, or some grainy sounding music.

My favourite is old songs but it's lofi remix. But there are other, more modern, lofi videos on YouTube.

Undertale does this to perfection. At least to me, when I first played it I felt as if I was playing an older title of my childhood.

The game was of course brand new, but everything from the art to the music had that aura. And it is strange that my generation has this love for old things. Such are the Vines compilations that still roam around the internet - even though Vine has been discontinued for years already. Or your family is asleep and you’re playing minecraft on a cool 2012 summer night. 

So it is not that farfetched that new pieces are created to scratch that itch.

Who knows, maybe as I grow older I will experience nostalgia for these things I am now exploring, a nostalgia towards a fake nostalgia. Like having the freedom to write a blog post at 3:30 in the morning - after my previous one was deleted completely, thanks Tumblr.

Nikon 35Ti by emulsive.org

But do try to give it a look. Perhaps if you are interested in cameras try researching about the 90s film cameras, and take some lofi on your way. Or if you are interested in music check some older synthesizers. You may not know what you have never experienced, perhaps you were 10 years late to experience it, that does not mean you have to miss it completely. 

[christiewaku-blog]

MAKING IT REAL & Reflective Post

For this assignment, we were asked to create/to model an object of our choice, using a 3D package using a program called SketchUp. SketchUp is a “3D modelling computer program for a wide range of drawing applications.” 

At first glance at the program it presents itself as a great tool for those interested in architecture and in my opinion had no common ground with anything visual that i could possibly create or use for. However learning about the program through tutorials and online forums did change my perception of the software. 

I managed to come across Randy Wilkins who is a set designer. He was first introduced to SketchUp in 2004 and was able to use the program to create a Hollywood set design. He quotes “It’s very hard for people who aren’t used to orthographic drawings to be able to visualise them in three dimensions… To be able to quickly build something in 3D to show someone is a lifesaver when you’re working on a tight schedule.” (SketchUp Blog, 2017) With that in mind it brought on ideas in which i could further use the program to my advantage. A very useful tool for visualising a possible future shoot in which i could present a template of what my major project could possibly look like. 

Using the program was quite a handful as i only had a week to familiarise myself with the interface and its tools. What i have realised with the way i work is that i do spend a lot of time searching for examples that are like minded to my area of interest, which sometimes are hard to find. This can be an disadvantage as then i realise that i lose out on time to focus on the planning of my production. Online tutorials are a great help but also depends on if you find a tutorial that is best suited to your way of learning and is fun and also interactive. In spite of this i did managed to somewhat get the hang of the basic functions of the program and managed to sketch an model of the outline of my ethnic background. Here demonstrating another part of my identity and a means of self expression. In future i do hope to further my skills with Sketch Up as it could be really beneficial in future projects or even creating a 3D birdseye view scene from a storyboard.

References 

SketchUp Blog. (2017). Imagining Hollywood set design in SketchUp; a conversation with Randy Wilkins. [online] Available at: https://blog.sketchup.com/sketchupdate/imagining-hollywood-set-design-sketchup-conversation-randy-wilkins [Accessed 18 Oct. 2017].

[jamesdyecg]

Research & Enquiry: Reflective Post 9 - Burnout. Burnout. Burnout...

- Burnout and me -

Just like many artists I suffer from what seems to be an unending pit of procrastination and burnout. One second I can be completely in love and involved with a project, the next. I'd rather drag myself through broken glass than open up Blender again.

Burnout is something that everyone suffers with from time to time, it comes in different forms, from overworking, too over-scoping of a project, to just general lack of inspiration toward a project, plus many other forms. My most common form stems from a lack of time-management, organisation, and project scoping.

- The spiralling effect -

Unfortunately a common symptom of burnout is the spiralling effect it causes. If you start to fall behind on a project the mountain of work begins to grow, and can quickly become something that appears unscalable. I can quickly go from working on something 6 hours a day, to 4, and then 2. After that starting to scale that project becomes a complete mental block, and very hard to get going again. Spiralling out of control. Deadlines approach, the mountain grows higher, and the thought of tackling these issues seems too much too handle. This is something that many people suffer with, In fact I don't think any student I have ever spoken to hasn't had at least a little run-in with these problems.

- Short-term Inspiration -

Often there is a small burst of motivational energy during burnout. This can come from anything, a good movie, a motivational playlist, or maybe just a productive day. Suddenly it feels as if you are back on track, you've equipped your climbing boots, and are ready to scale this mountain. Until the next morning, when you roll back over in bed and down to the summit of the work mountain.

- The cure to artists downfall -

Whilst there is no permanent fix to burnout, there are many methods artists can use to reduce the risk or soothe symptoms of burnout. When this mountain of work starts to build up it is important to break it down into small, achievable goals. Finishing lots of small tasks is much easier than tackling a huge cliff face. Organisational tools like Trello can help with this (see next post). It is important to just start working, even if it is only an hour or two a day, that's infinitely better than not at all. After a few days of this you may find you can start to up that to 3 or 4, and sooner or later you'll be back on track.

- Take care of number one -

It is important to note that you will not be able to maintain any meaningful productivity if you are not in a healthy place, both physically and mentally. This is why sometimes it is important to take a few days to yourself, get some exercise, fix your diet. This can speed up the process of getting on track, which seems counter-intuitive as you are not doing any work! I know I have had to take a step back and take a few days to myself before, even if its just for a break (we all deserve them!)

In my next post I will talk about different methods of organisation and time-management, techniques that are vital to avoid future burnout.

[jamesdyecg]

Research & Enquiry: Reflective Post 8 - What? Why? How?

- Getting caught up in the moment -

It's a very common scenario, you're too close to the picture, unable to see a bigger one. Determined to just finish what you're doing, pushing through. In the past I have felt all these things, but now more than ever I feel a much clearer sense of direction with my work. Why is this? Reflection... These blog posts have allowed me to take a step back and look at my work in a larger sense, rather than just whether my asset has too many polygons...

- What has my reflection told me about myself? -

Through my self-reflection during this semester, I believe I have acquired a clearer sense of myself through my work. It is time for me to explore a variety of different art styles and creative choices, and really start to push toward my future career in the industry. I joined this course in hopes to improve my craft to an industry standard level, and with a sense of direction and purpose I believe I can push for that.

It is clearly evident that reflecting on my work and craft as a whole is very beneficial toward both direction and motivation. I aim to continue doing this, even after this unit fades into the past. I plan to utilise the rest of my time here in Hertfordshire to drastically improve both myself and my work.

- When to reflect on my practice -

There is no right or wrong answer here, whenever feels best, a few examples might be:

At the end of a project or milestone

At the end of a work day

In the event of Burnout

During feedback sessions

After concepting new ideas

Many, many more...

- How to reflect on my practice -

I follow a simple method to best reflect on my work, and ensure I make the most of the reflection, this is:

What happened? (What made me need to reflect)

What does it tell me about myself or my work?

What can I do to improve on this in the future?

- what will I change in order to achieve this -

In order to ensure I do not fall into the same patterns again I will focus on what is important. Counter-Intuitively that can mean prioritising myself over my university course. If I am not healthy and in a good head space I cannot expect great work to be produced. Furthermore, I believe it is important to remember that my portfolio is what will get me hired, not necessarily my degree (although I have no doubt this will help!) I aim to bend my units around my craft instead of trying to fulfil all criteria. By this I mean, creating a decent portfolio piece is more important than perfecting paperwork. As long as I feel my supportive documentation is up to standard, I must prioritise my time to support my creativity. This is something I have felt during this unit, as I have often focused my time toward these blog posts, instead of the creative work of the Practice 1 Unit.

I look forward to what my progression through this course will look like, and any future opportunities that may come my way!

[jamesdyecg]

Research & Enquiry: Reflective Post 7 - Stylised Vs Realism: Is it time to explore different styles?

- The moment of inspiration -

As mentioned in a previous post of mine, Riot Games’ new show Arcane had a huge motivational impact on both myself and my studies. I have found myself watching some scenes repeatedly, analysing the art styles and attempting to figure out how the artists over there where able to create all of it. In doing so, I began to reflect on my own creative journey, and what steps had led me to the place I am at now.

- What has been my focus up to this point? -

When starting my educational journey into 3D I was a huge fan of survival game titles such as Bohemia Interactive's DayZ. I loved the realistic looking landscapes and weapons, it felt incredibly immersive to me. There has also been a huge boom in the realism market, with many AAA titles boasting their 'Photorealistic' graphics and detailed textures. So I started with exploring realism as an art style, particularly hard surface prop modelling. During my Undergraduate degree I focused primarily on firearms and vehicles, exploring the different methods used to create these objects and how to create realistic looking textures and lighting. For a long time I believed this was the direction my career was headed, I found it interesting and am fairly good at it. I was also extremely proud of the final product that came from my degree!

So, as I progressed into this niche I figured it is what I'd stick with for this Masters degree. However, as I continued creating assets during this first semester here, I found that it was all feeling a little repetitive. Essentially I'd find an object, find the blueprints, recreate it, repeat. I quickly became burnt out, with the feeling that I was no longer creating art, rather just generating a CGI version of a real life object. There was a lack of creative freedom... after all, an M1911 pistol is a well known weapon, I couldn't change anything about it, otherwise it would no longer be recognisable as that pistol.

Circling back to Arcane, and the inspiration I felt from the show. I began to wonder if an alternative art style may suit me better? whether a more stylised approach would allow the creative freedom I have been craving, but simultaneously making use of all the skills I have learnt up until this point.

- Time to try something new? -

So with all this in mind, I have decided to explore some new territory, diving into the realm of stylised art. Starting by recreating some of the assets from the show Arcane. This whole process is new to me, and up until this point I have skimmed over sculpting. I will be attempting to learn Zbrush over the next few weeks to help support this new direction. Below you can see the start of an asset I have been working on.

This is a recreation of Jinx's 'Boom' Grenade from the show. still a little way from completion, but progressing nicely. Once I am confident with my skills in creating this style, I look forward to conceptualising and creating my own work from scratch.

Not only is this new direction highly enjoyable, I am continually expanding my skill set, after all, soon I will need to be looking for employment. Having evidence of both a realistic and stylised portfolio may help with employability, as it would show I am not limited to one area.

Furthermore, skills learnt between the art styles are completely interchangeable, learning sculpting is a fantastic opportunity, not just for stylised art, but also for realism, as many hard surface artist use Zbrush as their main creation tool now.

Evidence of this:

This image is taken from Cane Townsends tutorial, available for purchase. In which he describes how to use Zbrush' Dynamesh workflow to quickly concept and create meshes for hard surface assets. Cane's 80.LV article explains this well.

I look forward to where this new direction will take me!

- Citations -

Arcane, 2021. Series. Riot Games. Netflix.

Cane Townsends, 2021. Dynamesh: The best tool for hard surface design. 80.LV, Available from: https://80.lv/articles/dynamesh-the-best-tool-for-hard-surface-design/ [Accessed 2 December 2021].

[jamesdyecg]

Research & Enquiry: Reflective Post 6 - The art of feedback

- The feedback mishap, circa March 2021 -

Many moons ago, back in Southampton whilst I was finishing my Undergraduate Degree I was working away at my final major project, a group project between myself and two course mates. We had taken the task upon ourselves to create a game environment inside Unreal Engine 4. Whilst this project started off well, communication was... lacking. Several weeks in, we started to collate these assets into the scene, quickly we discovered that our styles differed greatly. Had we communicated and asked each other for feedback when we were creating these assets, we may have been able to avoid this situation, but we did not, and had the painful task of recreating many parts to better suit each other. This has led me to this blog post, highlighting the benefits of consistent feedback.

- Why is feedback important? -

When creating any work of art it is very easy to get caught up with the process, not being able to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. This can lead to mistakes being made or unnecessary time extensions when a part needs to be remade at the end.

These delays are unnecessary as there is a way to help minimise or avoid them altogether. Feedback, defined as: information about reactions to a product, a person's performance of a task, etc. which is used as a basis for improvement. Essentially a peer or mentor discussing your work, and pointing out parts that they may see as needing work, or removing altogether. Feedback is an essential part of the production process, and vital to good teamwork. Often studios host daily sessions to go over the work of that day, to help direct the artists work and avoid possible delays.

- What are some way to get feedback? -

There are numerous ways of gathering feedback on your work, for me this could include:

Weekly classes at University

Contacting Lecturers directly

Asking classmates for feedback (group Discord feedback channels)

Asking friends in the field

Asking industry professionals

various websites such as, Reddit, Artstation, and other forums.

professional mentors

other art communities

etc.

These are just some of the examples of where I could gather feedback, I'm sure there are many, many more I have not listed. However, there are a few places where you should AVOID getting feedback from, such as:

A Parent or Sibling

Friends

Romantic partner

Any communities that have no focus toward art

Again, I am sure there are many others that I have not listed, but these are just a few of the main places. These sources will give BIASED feedback, as to not hurt your feelings, or in the case of strangers, they may not have the expertise required to give you feedback. An accountant is not going to be able to accurately inform you that your portrait lighting is incorrect (unless of course they have an interest in lighting!) These sources are simply not reliable, and there is no shortage of other places to gather from.

- When should you get feedback? -

This is a simple one. All. The. Time.

There is no right or wrong time to get feedback, obviously if you're asking every 10 minutes your partner or boss may get a little tired of telling you that your cube needs a few more faces. But getting regular feedback is important.

According to Cambridge University Press, feedback is both "an opportunity to motivate" and "a way to keep learning" - Bob Dignen 2014. This article covers several reasons why feedback is important, after reading the article I have a greater understanding of the uses of feedback, not just to improve a product, but to improve motivation and learning. Positive reinforcement is something that's been used for years to help keep people on task and excited to work. This is why many artists post their work to places like Instagram or Artstation, they receive a few likes, and a comment saying something like "Wow! amazing work". Now this kind of praise can be useful, I know I have enjoyed it in the past, but with every coin there is a flip side. The dangers of relying on external validation to feel good about something you're working on, if you become to reliant on positive feedback you may get seriously discouraged when anything negative comes up. Furthermore, if you are now avoiding negative feedback in order to not feel discouraged you may find you are only showing people finished artefacts, as there is usually less to say at this point. This can of course lead to poorer standards of final product, issues with having to redo parts, or needing to restart entirely, which is something that would not be acceptable in the intense place of a game studio.

So, focus on getting valuable constructive feedback as often as you feel is necessary, and try to avoid sources that feel one sided, or only every praise your work, unless you need a little motivational booster of course ;)

- The tricky art of giving feedback -

Now with all of the above stated there is one thing I've missed. How does someone give good feedback? and how can you tell when someone is giving you poor feedback?

You need to take a step back and think about the person you are receiving feedback from:

Are they qualified to be giving it?

Do they have ulterior motives?

Are they directly competing against you for something?

Does it feel like they care about giving you feedback?

Do they have any experience with the problem you are having?

Are they scared of hurting your feelings with negative input?

And many, many more..

- Important to note -

Bad feedback is worse than no feedback at all, a product that is off is an issue, a product that's been lead in the completely wrong direction, now that's a disaster. It is vital as artists that we recognise and understand when we are receiving good or bad feedback, and to utilise it correctly.

- Citations -

Bob Dignen, 2014. Five reasons why feedback may be the most important skill. Cambridge University Press. 17/03/2014. Available from: https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2014/03/17/five-reasons-feedback-may-important-skill/ [Accessed 1 December 2021].

[jamesdyecg]

Research & Enquiry: Reflective Post 5 - How do I plan to use my work in a positive way?

- Still pondering... -

Continuing on from my last post, still questioning what video games meant to me, I began to think about what my work meant to me? and how I could use it to positively impact the games industry.

- What does my work mean to me? -

Much like many of my peers today, I grew up playing video games, they where always a great way to connect with friends and family, I remember sinking many hours into Lego Star Wars with both my sisters and my father. I'm sure I could ramble for hours about all the different games I've run home to play or sunk an unhealthy amount of hours into, but I'll spare you the rant.

Fast forward a few years to college, a little lost as to where I wanted my career to progress onto, a friend of mine asked if I wanted to try making a game with him in a program called 'Unity' which I was unaware of at the time. I jumped at the idea, I hadn't realised making games is something any old joe could do, I thought you needed a big studio and millions of pounds...

I tried my hand in coding, that was... a grind at best, hard to stay motivated. However, I did enjoy making the very low-poly and probably extremely badly optimized models in the only 3D program I knew at the time Cinema 4D. So I decided to pursue a path in the games arts, and 3 years later I graduated from Southampton Solent University with a First Class Degree in Computer Generated Imagery!

Still, I felt a little lost as to my role or purpose in the industry, I was being rejected from every job I was applying to, not even so much as an interview. I started wondering why I wasn't having any luck, now of course this is a very competitive industry and finding an opportunity is not easy at all, but I couldn't help but wonder if I was ready for a job. So I decided to continue my studies, hone my craft in, so I moved here to Hatfield! Studying MA Games Art and Design at the University of Hertfordshire, I was extremely happy to get accepted into the program as Herts Uni is one of the highest rated games art schools in the UK!

So now I have the opportunity of working on myself, my craft, my ambitions and what my future may look like. So what does my work mean to me?

I believe video games have given us a great opportunity here in the 21st century to really express ourselves. Games create a place for people to explore their emotions freely and without judgment, push moral boundaries, and so much more. Telling stories is something we as humans have done for centuries, since the beginning of man in fact. Now we get to tell stories in an unprecedented way, with such a high level of detail and freedom. Just take Naughty Dog's The Last of Us series. A fantastic example of what is possible with today's technology, I can personally atone to the sheer amount of emotion I felt playing through these games, there's even many a video essay on YouTube of people sharing their thoughts, and how in some cases these games changed their lives completely. It is my goal as an artist to one day contribute to one of these amazing works of art, even if it is just something that only affects a small number of people, as long as I have the opportunity to express myself through my work and try to make a positive impact with that, I will have succeeded.

- what inspires me most to pursue a career as a games artist? -

There have been many great films and games that have been released in the last few years alone! Some of these big studios are really starting to push the boundaries as to how far they can go with their stories and gameplay. I previously mentioned The Last of Us which is highly accredited with many prestigious awards for what is in my opinion one of the greatest games of all time.

Some recent inspiration I have received is from Riot Games' new Netflix show 'Arcane' which is based off the game League of Legends, a game I consider myself a regular player of. If you haven't seen it yet, stop reading this and go watch it now, you will not regret it! The art style of this show is incredible, immediately you can tell the artists have poured many, many hours into creating each frame. beautifully hand painted background with stunning stylised 3D models and animations. Not to mention the storyline is not only cool but each character is developed excellently, I even found myself feeling for the villain 'Silco' by the end of it! Plus the soundtrack is incredible.

Ok, so enough praising the artistic geniuses over at Riot games. This is just a small example of the inspiration that can be gained from watching or playing through other artists work. It shows that there are real studios out there that have like-minded artists working for them, and I am inspired to one day work alongside them!

- How can I ensure I'm working on something I am truly passionate toward? -

It's very easy to get caught up in the shiny promises of the industry, especially when decent salaries start getting thrown around. So it is important to make sure wherever I end up after I graduate I am happy with what I am working on. There are few things I can do to help with this, extensive research into a studio is important, seeing what projects they've worked on, how they have shared their behind the scenes work. Whether the company has any bad history with employees, and whether its a good work life. This has been brought to the front page recently with the issues arising at Blizzard, I suggest reading an article or two on the subject if you are interested.

Obviously it is very hard to get into a specific studio, and I'd be silly not to jump at any offers I received for work to build experience, I will always be ensuring that It is something I want to do, and something that allows me to contribute for the better, and to never take a pay check over a purposeful position.

- How am I planning to use my studies to support this? -

I'm sat here now with about 9 months left of this course, 1/4 of the way through, and eager to continue. I intend to continue exploring various art styles until I find something that I want to stick, as well as expanding future opportunities. With my final major project coming up in semester C, I would love to conceptualise a project that allows me to express myself and can show off the best of my abilities.

- Citations -

Naughty Dog, 2013. The Last of Us. Video Game. Playstation: Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Arcane, 2021. Series. Riot Games. Netflix.

[jamesdyecg]

Research & Enquiry: Reflective Post 4 - How are video games impacting todays society?

- What prompted this question? -

Sat, talking to my Girlfriend we began discussing my University work, after several minutes of me explaining what on earth an N-Gon was, she asked a question that to my surprise got me thinking rather deeply. "Why video games? what do they mean to you?" This led me to ponder on what these games did mean, and how they contribute to todays society.

- Are they important at all? -

Video games have certainly been a hot topic over the last decade, as we're seeing huge improvements to gameplay, graphics, and accessibility for players (amongst many other factors).

It's not a surprise then, that we're seeing a huge increase to the amount of people that own game consoles and other multimedia devices. "According to the CTA report, 53 percent of U.S households now own a video game console—that number ticked up 10 percent year-over-year, a notable increase for this report." - GameDeveloper 2021

So, with a huge portion of our society sinking more and more hours into these video games, the question arises: How are these games affecting us?

It is worth noting, in the grand scheme of things, video games have only been around/accessible like this for a relatively short amount of time. Therefore, we as a society may not know how they are affecting us fully, this is something that will become a lot clearer in a generation or two, as kids grow up around these devices.

- Minecraft in schools!? All I had were colouring books :( -

Conversations concerning the use of video games as an educational tool have become more frequent amongst a variety of educational bodies, this can be seen with the research into whether Mojang's creation Minecraft could be used as part of a curriculum. With the released of Minecraft: Education Edition in 2016 a variety of researchers looked into the effects in the classroom.

"Educational technology researchers have found that video games capture children's attention and provide particularly favourable conditions for learning and have shown positive effects on cognitive, affective and psychomotor functioning. When players are fully engaged in a gaming task, they enter what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls the "flow state," also known as "the zone," a state highly conducive to learning." - Thierry Karsenti 2019

In this article published by PhysOrg, Thierry describes how he and his team worked with schools in Canada, trialling Minecraft in the classroom in hopes to find positive effects.

"My team and I adopted an exploratory research design to highlight the main uses of Minecraft in a school setting and to identify any benefits of using Minecraft at school. We developed a program called Minecraft Master where students had to complete more than 40 different tasks." Thierry then goes on to say. "The educational impacts we found were encouraging. The students showed a heightened motivation towards school, stronger computer skills, greater problem-solving skills, expanded reading and writing skills, a development in creativity and autonomy and increased collaboration with classmates." - Thierry Karsenti 2019

Thierry's research is very interesting, unfortunately I don't have the £90 required to read his full paper on the subject, but I can imagine it's very intriguing! This shows that video games don't only have a place in our entertainment lives, but can also be harnessed for educational power!

- smoking leads to cancer, what does an excessive amount of gaming lead to? -

With almost everything in life, a little is good, too much can be fatal. This of course, applies to video games as well. "Video game addiction is not currently recognized as an addictive disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder" - Meredith Watkins 2021. However, this is still a widely debated topic as even WebMD states video game addiction can be considered a type of impulse control disorder.

Unfortunately, gaming can cause issues, and has been seen widely in todays society, even I have personal friends that have struggled with knowing when to turn the game off. This can lead to a whole variety of issues, including:

"Poor performance at school, work, or household responsibilities as a result of a preoccupation with gaming

Neglect of other hobbies or friendships

A decline in personal hygiene or grooming

Inability to set limits on how much time is spent gaming

Signs of irritability, anxiety, or anger when forced to stop gaming, even for brief periods of time

The need to spend more time playing games or to play more intensely in order to get the same level of enjoyment

Symptoms of physical or psychological withdrawal, such as loss of appetite, sleeplessness, agitation, or emotional outbursts if the game is taken away

Using video games as a way to escape stressful situations at work or school, or conflicts at home"

This was taken directly from Meredith's article on video game addiction

It is important for us to understand the negative affects of too much exposure to games, so that we can learn to limit ourselves and explore this new world safely. This is apparent with modern shooter games, which may have a correlation to the number of shootings in the US or other parts of the world, whether video games promote or incite violence is an old and well discussed topic, which I will not be going into, but there are many articles about this if you are interested.

- How does this all relate to us as video game artists? -

I have briefly touched a few subjects relating to video game in todays society, I feel as if I could write an entire doctoral dissertation on this subject matter, so I will quit whilst I still have your attention.

For us as artists, it is important to understand the video game industry as a whole, not just the small role we play in it. To understand what we are contributing to, and whether there are any ethical concerns to the work we do. This is important when looking for work, or switching game studios. Yes, you may get a flashier office with a built in coffee machine, but is the work you are contributing worth anything? and I don't mean financially. Yes I'm sure there are many game developers who have been made rich with all there small microtransactions. But do there games make a positive impact on our society? Probably not.

I believe as artists it is our responsibility to see the bigger picture, to produce content that will move people, or help them understand themselves better, or simply for entertainment! But never for a bigger pay check, as much as money is lovely to have. We must do better as an industry to help connect people and cultures through the use of video games, as well as inspire a new generation of artists and creatives (see next post for a more detailed look into how I plan to ensure I try my best to stay true to this in my career).

- Citations -

Bryant Francis, 2021. Report: Over half of U.S households now own a game console. Game Developer, 19 July 2021, Available from: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/report-over-half-of-u-s-households-now-own-a-game-console [Accessed 30 November 2021].

Thierry Karsenti, 2019. Minecraft can increase problem solving, collaboration and learning—yes, at school. Phys Org, 22 April 2019, Available from: https://phys.org/news/2019-04-minecraft-problem-collaboration-learningyes-school.html [Accessed 30 November 2021].

Meredith Watkins, 2021. Video Game Addiction Symptoms and Treatment. American Addiction Centres, 26 October 2021, Available from: https://americanaddictioncenters.org/video-gaming-addiction [Accessed 30 November 2021].

[jamesdyecg]

Research & Enquiry: Reflective Post 3 - How can a deeper understanding of what I am creating, help me to improve my creation?

- Looking beyond the surface -

For the 3rd practice project I was tasked to create something from my childhood, as you can see from my previous posts I recreated the rather crude but awesome 'Go-kart mother tank' that my father and I created many years ago. This project was just a little bit of fun for me, a nice break in my journey of trying to continue improving my work. Sometimes it is nice to just sit back and create something, using skills you already have begun to master, that simply just need practicing.

To my surprise I found myself re-enforcing a topic I spent some time researching during my Undergraduate degree.

- Realistic results need a realistic understanding -

I've spent many hours sifting through various Artstation posts of this vehicle or that weapon, most of the posts I see are great, clean topology, great texture work, sometimes even fantastic rendering. But there are always a few posts that shine above the others, from a brief glance you'd think, 'hey, they're not that different' just a few smaller details added. If I've learnt anything over the years it's that small details matter, and I'm not on about rivets or nuts and bolts (although these are important texturing elements!) I'm referring to parts of the asset that make logical sense.

Let me ask you this, would you expect a person who has very little interest in cooking be able to walk into Gordon Ramsay's kitchen, pick up his tools and create a meal that where up to Gordon's standards? No, you wouldn't. Or would you expect a 9-5 commuter that only ever sits in morning traffic be able to take a Lamborghini out on a race track and set a new lap record? Again, no you wouldn't. Forgive the interesting analogies I've tried to use here, the point I am trying to make is you cannot expect someone who has no experience, perhaps even no interest in a subject to just be able to pick it up, and master it instantly. I believe this is something that we, as artists forget sometimes. You may have an in-depth knowledge of how to create shapes in your chosen 3D package, you may even be a fantastic texture artist in substance. But if you have no knowledge or interest in what you're creating, you are simply trying to recreate your reference images the best you can, and reference images can sometimes be... misleading, or at least not clear of every detail of the object.

This is why I believe it is important to have a very clear and in-depth understanding of what you are trying to create. Let's take the M14 rifle produced by the Americans in 1959, and conveniently the rifle I created during my Final major project during my 3rd year Undergraduate program ;)

At first you may look at the reference you have collected, with a vague understanding of how a rifle works, you see a barrel, a chamber, a magazine, a trigger, etc. But what you may not see is how these parts where made. How was this chamber created in the factory? was it sheet metal welded together? was it milled out of a block of steel? How does the firing mechanism work? which way do the bullet casings eject once fired? It's questions like these that are important to ask yourself. You can create a decent looking model just by tracing a reference image, but perhaps the slide doesn't quite line up with the chamber, because your reference images perspective is slightly off. If you had taken the time to understand how this slide retracts into the chamber, you would clearly see that something was off. But to the untrained eye, you would simply see a model that is 90% there, but without a clue on what is missing.

- Gain a deeper understanding -

In order to perfect our craft as artists, we must take the time to understand what we are creating, if possible even get some hands-on experience, this can help with scale and shape. Watch teardown videos of the item, learn to understand how each part works and interacts with the next, learn the common faults in these items, which parts break often? are they more likely to be worn? or have cracking marks? Obviously we are often limited with time to produce this asset, so you can only go to so much detail, but this can really help with the creation process, and selling your asset as a realistic creation.

What if you are modelling something that doesn't exist? Check out reflective post 1, which goes over what helps create believable sci-fi vehicles, which could be applied to other objects as well.

[jamesdyecg]

Research & Enquiry: Reflective Post 2 - How can I tell when I'm 'Over-scoping' a project?

- Consequences of Over-scoping -

Over the last 4 years since I started my journey into 3D I have unfortunately fallen into a repetitive pattern of 'over-scoping' many of my projects. By this I mean biting off more than I can chew, setting goals that are simply unattainable, whether that be through lack of knowledge on the subject, or more commonly, just lacking in time to reach that goal. This has often led me to feel under-accomplished with my work, and has often led to burnouts, I am a perfectionist within my work, and when I can't quite reach my untouchable goals, I have a huge sense of failure.

- Comparing to others -

In this day and age it is extremely easy to compare my own work to that of others, with sites like Artstation I can logon, see these incredible artist producing incredible work and feel completely overwhelmed. But what these posts dont often say is just quite how long they took. Or, even if they did not take that long, these artists have been working at their craft for often over a decade and have perfected this part. It is unproductive to compare myself to these giants, as it will often leave me feeling disappointed or un-motivated, feeling as if I cannot reach these standards.

In one of Jordan B Petersons books aptly titled "12 Rules for Life - An Antidote for Chaos" Jordan states rule 4 as "Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today" a powerful sentence which only once truly understood can reflect back to an artists craft, comparing ourselves to these top artists is only self-destructive after all.

"No matter how good you are at something, or how you rank your accomplishments, there is someone out there who makes you look incompetent." - Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life, p.85

Although this may appear disappointing or even insulting it holds a huge amount of truth, so... If there is always going to be someone better that you, stop trying to be that person, focus on yourself, be the best artist you can be, and only then will you succeed.

- Vertical Slice rule -

This is unfortunately not just my problem, I have spoken to many different artists, both students and professionals, and received a similar testimony from many of them. So, how can we as artists avoid this in the future?

I have started using what I call the 'vertical slice' rule when concepting ideas. the term vertical slice is not new, in fact it is a very common term used within the games industry, referring to:

"a fully-playable portion of a game that shows its developer’s intended player experience. This means its key features and systems are all working together properly, complete with assets that represent – and this is important – final quality." - Xsolla

In essence, I will let my mind run free, think of all the final things this project could amass too, and then. I take a small chunk of this idea, a part where I feel as if I can show off as much potential of the project as possible, and go with that. In the case of my 'Places of Mind' idea for the Practice 1 unit, I found myself at first once again over-scoping the project, but have since recognised my fault and dialled back the idea. I will be expanding upon this project toward the end of the semester and am excited to see the results!

- Citations -

Funding 101: The Impact of The Vertical Slice. Xsolla. Available from: https://xsolla.com/blog/funding-101-the-impact-of-the-vertical-slice [Accessed 11 November 2021].

Jordan B. Peterson, 2018. 12 Rules For Life. Canada: Penguin Books.