Images (A, C, D & H) are good examples of 3D renders with an environment, telling a small story. The use of colour and style is something I wish to refine, perhaps creating a 3D scene(s) of Dahlia (last years project model). Images (B, F, &G) show the type of style i'd go for - realistic but also with personal style, as well as alot of details. Image (E) refers to what was talked about in the above paragraph; hyper detailed digital paintings/illustration - something I'd love to do. Image (I) is like a poster/wallpaper - something else I could create as an end product.
The above images are more examples of 3D scenes that tell a story. These are very advanced 3D works, and the composition, colours and mood in each scene make them unique, and I can end up making something along the lines of these.
I'm still thinking about the context of what would be made, however the idea of a strong female lead in a game is something I really want to create.
Hey Manisha :) Thanks for the prompt - and here I am. If I'm being super honest, I'm still a bit confused in regards to the 'point' of the work you outline here. I totally get the idea you might be wanting to create hyper-detailed illustrations deriving from 3D characters and digital sets. To me, that is a specific outcome and there is a tradition around this kind of thing I'll share with you in a moment. That said, you then end this post by talking about wanting to make a games character or a character for a game. This is something else. A project in which you make a hyperrealistic '2D' illustration of a games character makes no sense to me - because it is in this sense neither one thing or the other. I don't really think the 'game' thing is very interesting here - or rather your interest in games might be clouding the issue of what your outcome could and should be. If the outcome is an 'illustration' then let it be that, and if it's an illustration then you need to put it in the context of an applied art - i.e. illustration is an art form that is pretty much always an adaptation of an existing text. For example, these are examples of illustrations (by celebrated illustrators) that a) support an existing text and b) rank as 'art' in their own right and c) are characterised by high levels of detail.
ReplyDeleteHarry Clarke: https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/harry-clarkes-illustrations-for-edgar-allan-poe/
Edmund Dulac: http://dulac.artpassions.net
However, in photography, there is a genre of image-making that is very similar to creating illustrations in terms of the emphasis on narrative, but they are actually an art form in their own right. This is known as tableau vivant photography - in which highly constructed photographs are created in order to suggest or trigger a sense of story, while not being an 'illustration' of one - but rather it's own thing: some examples of tableau vivant photographers:
Gregory Crewdson: https://www.artsy.net/artist/gregory-crewdson
Ryan Schude: http://www.ryanschude.com/Tableaux-Vivants/2
Nina Calder: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CJ_bOeYOqLg/UGq7NO82bDI/AAAAAAAAAHI/zaTutPiCLSc/s640/911.jpg
Sandy Skoglund: https://www.artsy.net/artist/sandy-skoglund
Seems to me that if you're going to produce a hyperrealistic 'still' image - then like these photographers, who might want to think about about what the 'freeze frame' factor is actually giving you - the 'still' of your still might be something you want to think about.
If you want to make illustrations then find a context - illustrate something that needs illustrations, and that means choosing source material that lends itself to this high-end, super-realistic treatment. If people are to understand the purpose of your stills, they need to be situated within the idea of adaptation.
If you want to make hyper-realistic tableaus for no reason other than to make them, then you need to look to the context of tableau vivant photography (and the suppression of movement as a way of creating tension and meaning in an image) or otherwise I think you risk just making 'pretty stuff'.
If you want to make a strong female heroine, ask yourself if she needs to have anything at all to do with a game - if she's a game character, but you're modelling her as a realistic high-polygon asset, then how is she a game character in actual terms? (she isn't).
How important is the whole game character thing? To me, it looks like a muddying of the waters if you're actually having a conversation about making stills... what do you think?
Hi Manisha
ReplyDeleteI agree with Phil. There is confusion here and it would be good to clear this up before moving on. When we spoke the other day, we ended the conversation with you going to look at '3D Illustration' as a possibility and not games modelling. This was (hopefully) to move you away from something technologically that you were not interested in - modelling for games. As I said then, there is a model of project where you could use create 3D Illustrations in the service of games, such as board games or card games, or a digital version of those. However, you are circling around console games, which to me is a problem. If you're not interested in that world technologically you should move away from it.
My gut feeling is that you would be better in a project where you were responding to things and then developing work. That was what I meant by making illustrations for game cards (not suggesting you do that) but if you boil that down as a task, it is a visual response to a practical theme - If a card does 'X' when you play it then you get to transform that ability into a character or world (See Magic the Gathering). My feeling is that if you had that kind of foundation you would be fine. Or at the very least if you have a foundation you are more stable than when you have an open goal. Your Adaptation proved that – It was a muddle of good idea, a non-game model, and a conflicted outcome. Building a project is a hard thing to do but the most common mistake I see is the tendency to overcomplicate things and use too many ingredients. Actually, the trick is to use a simpler things to yield greater results. “Pokemon: Insects/their qualities = Characters and combat.” The clever bit is in how you design not in how many ingredients.
You strong female / politicised character is the strongest idea you have in the text above, alongside 3D illustration. However, I’m not entirely sure that you have an outcome for that project yet, which is why perhaps you are adding more. My suggestion would be to try to solve “Female hero + 3D illustration” first instead of bolting on more things such as games. However, if games is your thing then we need to discuss what that might be, of course we know that is not the console version.
You can always speak to Phil on Monday or come and see me on Wednesday to discuss it more.