Research and Concept art
Early Idea
LO1: I wasn't actually a part of this group properly at the beginning. I was just interested in the idea of a horror game and helping out a friend of mine. So I jumped in as a concept artist, but also a story designer. I wasn't officially part of the group, so most of my ideas were thrown about with Jenny, my friend, who was in the group.
LO3: There were a few ideas thrown about and she explained to me that there were a few ideas they had. Just based on those ideas I started doing some quick drawings for them.
One idea involved a young, Asian girl who is trapped in her own house at night and she is trying to escape from a kidnapper.
The next was an idea about a young boy at school, have to battle with the strange going ons during his school day.
I didn't want the boy to look like the typical game character. For some reason most game characters are brunette men, so I used a blonde boy for the design instead.
LO3: There were a few ideas thrown about and she explained to me that there were a few ideas they had. Just based on those ideas I started doing some quick drawings for them.
One idea involved a young, Asian girl who is trapped in her own house at night and she is trying to escape from a kidnapper.
The next was an idea about a young boy at school, have to battle with the strange going ons during his school day.
I didn't want the boy to look like the typical game character. For some reason most game characters are brunette men, so I used a blonde boy for the design instead.
Research
LO2: It was decided that a school would be the best kind of environment and the most interesting to play with. It would allow for good modelling as the majority of the group was interested in modelling.
Below is some of the research I did when trying to come up with the look of the school.
Below is some of the research I did when trying to come up with the look of the school.
GAMEPLAY INSPIRATION
LO2: When it came to looking a gameplay, we looked at games like Silent Hill, for both aesthetics and game mechanics. The group wanted puzzles, rather than fighting monsters, so Silent Hill was a good basis as there are many puzzles. Also, there is one Silent Hill (Shattered Memories) which is set in a school.
LO2: When it came to looking a gameplay, we looked at games like Silent Hill, for both aesthetics and game mechanics. The group wanted puzzles, rather than fighting monsters, so Silent Hill was a good basis as there are many puzzles. Also, there is one Silent Hill (Shattered Memories) which is set in a school.
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Concept Art
LO3: It was decided that the main character for the game would be a Janitor. The Janitor is an unassuming character and would be in the school during the night, a good situation for a horror game scenario.
Here are some of my concept art for the character. There was no decision on what he would look like, so I literall drew different Janitor looks and see what everyone preferred.
Here are some of my concept art for the character. There was no decision on what he would look like, so I literall drew different Janitor looks and see what everyone preferred.
LO3: It was then decided that the young, dark haired Janitor, with his hair slicked back would make for an interesting character and reflect the type of character he is. I did some more pieces, no playing with the environment. This was quite hard for me as I am not very good at environments yet.
I also did a creepy looking character because there were discussions of former students being some of the scary spectres in the halls of the school.
I also did a creepy looking character because there were discussions of former students being some of the scary spectres in the halls of the school.
LO3: I re-edited a few of the pieces and changed lighting etc. I'm still uncomfortable with lighting, but I tried.
LO5: We communicated often via our Facebook group and I would post the work I did. At this point I was generally a part of the group, although quite a new member. I still felt a bit odd in the group. Here I posted some concepts I did where I drew over images to make them reflect the mood and atmosphere we might want from the game.
LO3: Here are the edits I made. I played around with bright images to make them seem dark and spooky.
LO3: Here are the edits I made. I played around with bright images to make them seem dark and spooky.
Storyboards
LO1: I was then tasked to do storyboards for the games intro sequence. Another person was meant to do these, but in the end they could not, so I took the job as there was nobody else who could draw it.
LO3: Below are some of the very basic storyboard ideas I came up with. There wasn't a big brief, just a general plot for the intro of the game so it was all up to me how it was shot.
LO3: Below are some of the very basic storyboard ideas I came up with. There wasn't a big brief, just a general plot for the intro of the game so it was all up to me how it was shot.
LO5: It was a bit hard to start as I didn't actually have the final character design. I couldn't draw him without knowing what he really looked like. So I had to ask the character designer to send me the final designs. It was rather stressful at this point as I have other storyboards to complete for other groups.
LO3: This is the first drawing I did for the storyboard of him mopping. It was meant to be a panning shot that panned up as he mopped so you could see his name tag. I did a colour shot just to test it out.
LO4: This is the final storyboard I did for the animatic. Each frame was coloured in greytone. This was quite fun to do, but took a while as there are over 30 shots drawn. I tried to make as many different camera angles and interesting shots to create tension. I thought this was a successful piece, but I know I could have done much better with more time and if I had known I was going ot do the storyboard earlier.
LO4: This is the final storyboard I did for the animatic. Each frame was coloured in greytone. This was quite fun to do, but took a while as there are over 30 shots drawn. I tried to make as many different camera angles and interesting shots to create tension. I thought this was a successful piece, but I know I could have done much better with more time and if I had known I was going ot do the storyboard earlier.
LO5: After there were little things to worry about as our formative was due in less than a week. I needed to have the storyboard over to Henry so he could work on an animation example for formative.
LO3: I also drew some props just to shot some of the look of the things in the game.
LO3: I also drew some props just to shot some of the look of the things in the game.
Animatic
LO4: Here is the final animatic using my images, but Jenny's editing. She pieced together everything in After Effects.
Formative
The feedback from formative made us have to rethink many things. It was clear the story was confused and the gameplay was unsure. Basically, nothing was overly clear and the audience was left confused. It was a wake up call.
We knew we had to go back to the drawing board and think of something quick.
It was also apparent that the tutors didn't know much about gaming, so they didn't understand what we were talking about some times (Like game examples and gameplay techniques).
Also, there was criticism that there were too many people in the group, as there were 7 and I felt a bit bad that I had kind of joined in like I did. Still, I had jumped in to help a friend out, but the whole idea just proved to be bigger than we all thought and could handle.
The feedback from formative made us have to rethink many things. It was clear the story was confused and the gameplay was unsure. Basically, nothing was overly clear and the audience was left confused. It was a wake up call.
We knew we had to go back to the drawing board and think of something quick.
It was also apparent that the tutors didn't know much about gaming, so they didn't understand what we were talking about some times (Like game examples and gameplay techniques).
Also, there was criticism that there were too many people in the group, as there were 7 and I felt a bit bad that I had kind of joined in like I did. Still, I had jumped in to help a friend out, but the whole idea just proved to be bigger than we all thought and could handle.
After Christmas
LO1: After Christmas holidays, there was very little discussion about the game. I felt confused as to what role I would play in the group now that concept stages were over. I did not want to do 3D, but continue to draw or work on skills to help develop me as an artist. It was also an offer to work on a 2D project and to do backgrounds for another that I left this group as there was no need for me anymore.
LO3: However I did a few more concepts for Jenny as she changed the idea a bit more. She asked for a classroom with brains in jars. So these were the concepts I came up with.
LO3: However I did a few more concepts for Jenny as she changed the idea a bit more. She asked for a classroom with brains in jars. So these were the concepts I came up with.
Jenny actually told me the vats were supposed to be on the tables, not at the side of the walls. So that kind of made my concept redundant. There was misunderstanding as I did not understand the sketch I was given. That is something I have to take into account and make sure to always ask the director.
(Below) I wasn't sure what I was doing here, I was meant to draw vats on the table, but it turned into a colour and lighting practice. It was interesting trying to get the lighting done with the glow from the vats and reflections on the table. Also, brains are quite hard to draw correctly.
(Below) I wasn't sure what I was doing here, I was meant to draw vats on the table, but it turned into a colour and lighting practice. It was interesting trying to get the lighting done with the glow from the vats and reflections on the table. Also, brains are quite hard to draw correctly.
Evaluation
The group did not need me anymore, so I left it. It was a good experience, a bit messy with communication and disappointing with the lack of production. I found it oddly hard to draw a room environment, but found that I really enjoyed editing photos. I even think, despite how stressed I was at the time, the storyboarding was a good experience. I liked the end result of it, despite the fact it will most likely not be used in the final product anymore.
I think because I was a kind of side member, who was also caught between other groups that I did not do the best concept art for this group. I tried my best though and produced the work I was asked for which is important to me. I always want to work to the deadlines and if I could not, I would make sure to tell the group or director. I think I worked more on helping with ideas generation, but I don't know if I helped all that much in that department. There was a lot of discussions with the group, so communication was happening, but I think the group meetings got off topic a lot and nobody could agree with each other. It was an interesting experience being in a game pipeline. Games obviously have different requirements than an animation.
I can now take this experience and I know a bit better what I want and what I don't want in terms of how I work and who I work with in the industry. Lessons were learnt!
I think because I was a kind of side member, who was also caught between other groups that I did not do the best concept art for this group. I tried my best though and produced the work I was asked for which is important to me. I always want to work to the deadlines and if I could not, I would make sure to tell the group or director. I think I worked more on helping with ideas generation, but I don't know if I helped all that much in that department. There was a lot of discussions with the group, so communication was happening, but I think the group meetings got off topic a lot and nobody could agree with each other. It was an interesting experience being in a game pipeline. Games obviously have different requirements than an animation.
I can now take this experience and I know a bit better what I want and what I don't want in terms of how I work and who I work with in the industry. Lessons were learnt!