pavelm

[pavelm]

Assignment 7 - Bike update 03

Unfortunately I ran into some technical difficulties with what I planned next. What I wanted to do was to take my model into substance painter but ran into some technical difficulties with the UV process. Without enough time to complete this, I made renders of where I had gotten to with the design with a focus on making it as presentable as possible.

I made some last minute adjustments to the model and brought back some side-details from before as well.

Overall I feel like the bike is looking cool, but feel like I lacked the time to finish it and get it up to the standard that I wanted to. Regardless of this it was fun and challenging to learn 3D coat and to attempt this project in the way that I have. Reflecting on it, there were many points that I gotten stuck on while creating this model while trying to figure out the intricate details and constantly being mindful of how the overall larger design looks. It was definitely an amazing experience to have worked on this bike and to have learned all the new things I have learned while doing so, and I'm looking forward to taking this knowledge into my next project.

[pavelm]

Assignment 7 - Bike update 02

I was stuck for quite a long time trying to figure out the steering mechanism of the bike. I ended up going into maya and trying a few different options to get this problem solved once and for all.

I wanted the bike to look unusual when it turns, but felt like with how I was planning it before, the engine of the bike would be turning with the the front section of the bike. I wasn't a fan of this as it felt like this would be unreliable in real life, thus taking away from the realism of the design. My personal preference is to avoid elements if they only for the "look" of the design if they take away from the realism from it.

(The red part represents the engine compartment).

I settled on option B after all, even though it is less interesting in the way it turns, compared to C. This way I can keep the engine as part of the body section of the bike.

I then applied this to the model and re-modelled much of the front section of the bike. I also took away the front-weapons as I felt like they didn't go well with the design and I wanted to re-make them better. I added an angular structure to where they were, and plan to have this be able to open up in order to reveal the bike's weaponry.

[pavelm]

Assignment 7 - Bike update 01

I've been continuing working on my Bike concept so far, here's an update on where it's at currently.

Neal had given me some feedback to change the front front-fork (the part that connects the front wheel to the handlebars) to begin from the lower section of the body to improve the flow of the shape-language of the design. Based on this, I've done a paint over to see how it would look.

Old render (top image). New paint over (lower image):

However, when the front-forks begin from the lower section of the bike, it looks a little strange when the bike steers:

Therefore, I've been trying to re-think and re-design this front-fork section to still begin from the lower section of the bike (and to have this compelling quality in the design) whilst also being more functional and looking more practical when turning. (Currently not finished yet, as seen on the lower screenshots, there is an empty space where they connect to the wheel).

I've also added details to the engine, wheels and added a body-framework. Among other things.

Will carry on working this design up!

[pavelm]

Assignment 7 - City Update 04

Bellow is the final piece! I decided to go with thumbnail #01 from my previous blogpost. I thought the arch silhouette was simple/minimalistic yet unusual and powerful.

I also thought the portrait aspect ratio works well, as most of Hugh Ferris's work was also in portrait to show off the powerful buildings and lighting.

I decided to keep the image in greyscale as well to emphasise the lighting and contrast even further.

This is how the raw render out of EEVEE looks, I added textures to the buildings, as well as a few rooftop details and rocky/cliff floor in some parts to make the concept a little more interesting. I also kept mindful about rule of thirds, shape and contrast to make the overall design more compelling.

A few things I wanted to add but never had time to, was to explore the silhouette of the archway a little. Spend more time on windows and window-reflections to create interest and realism. And lastly to add some kind of giant megalithic statues in certain parts of the city, to make the concept more compelling.

I have tried to do all of these, however was not able to make them work well thus far.

Still, over all I feel happy with the result of this piece!

[pavelm]

Assignment 7 - City Update 03

To take the project forward, I decided to go back to the references of Hugh Ferris from my earlier blog post - ArtStation - Practice 1: Assignment 4, Concept Art - Light and Shadows. Blog post 01

I used rough blocky geometry I modelled combined with a google maps rip of New York to get a rough city to explore in my Blender viewport.

As I moved the camera around I was looking for compositions that interested me which I could develop further. Bellow are 6 compositions that I created using this method.

I also re-read the chapter on contrast and shape from Bruce Block's book "A visual story" to get some ideas on compositions.

These were all rendered in EEVEE (Blender), no painting was done on top of any I ditched the sun/sky system I used before and instead lit the scene with only a handful of spotlights to create a more striking and dramatic lighting scene.

References

Block, B. (2007). The Visual Story: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV and Digital Media. London: Focal Press.

[pavelm]

Assignment 7 - City Update 02

I've continued learning Blender and improving on my previous technique. Particularly Lighting and Volumetrics. I ended up using a plugin called Physical Starlight and Atmosphere - Blender Market to save time. Also learned how to scatter objects such as antennas onto the roof's of the buildings to add extra detail.

Then, I've painted over my render in photoshop to add details and effects. Here's the result:

Bellow is the raw 3D from blender (Beauty in EEVEE)

Bellow are the GEO and texture passes:

I had no plan for the direction where to take this piece, it was simply to practise blender and the new techniques to use for later.

[pavelm]

Assignment 7 - City Update 01

With this update, I plan to develop my cityscape project from before. However, I wanted to explore better methods in 3D of creating cityscape environments and also to better learn Blender, particularly lighting and rendering.

My lecturer suggested this video by Max Hay who explains an interesting method to quickly create complex and detailed cityscapes.

Using the methods from this video I had come up with the following results. These are in no way finished pieces of art, but simply quick sketches in 3D to test the method/process. (No photoshop/drawing was done ontop of these, these are raw renders straight from Blender)

A breakdown of the 3D scene I created to make these renders:

Thus far, I really enjoyed this new method and feel like it's an improvement of what I had done before. I managed to acheive these results quicker and found it easier to explore different compositions. 

For the next step I plan to create some more concepts that are closer to the brief subject matter. (A more brutalist look inspired by Hugh Ferris).

I also want to look at method of generating terrain in blender for things like the background, as well as learn a few more tricks to do with lighting, volumetrics/clouds and rendering.

References

Max Hay. (2023). How To Create Amazing Cityscapes In Blender. [Online Video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX2gOPm5YIA [Accessed 14th Jan 2024]