Cell Tower Model

So I created this model for a small project for my level design class. This model is going to be a target in the game my group is creating. This model is only a place holder for the white box prototype we are creating, so it probably will be scrapped after the semester is over. :( But I thought that I did a good job on the model considering that I made it in about 2 hours while I was in class. Not bad for a speed model. 

Thanks for reading!

Windmill Model Done

Total of 1644 triangles.

So this is the 3D model for the farm environment that I'm in the process of creating for my internship. I started yesterday and finished it today. Some parts were a little challenging, but overall I think it gets the idea across.

Like I mentioned before, I would like to place this at the center of the map right next to where the patient will spawn. For now I'm trying to crank out all the main models so that the engineers in the team have something to work with.

I'm not sure what I'm going to work on next, and I don't know if I'm going to stick with all the landmarks I listed last time. Thanks for reading!

3D Model For Barn Done

Barn 3d model total of 1566 triangles.

So like I mentioned before, I'm in an internship where I have to do all the 3D art for a game we are making for the School of Computing. This last week has been a little weird because of Thanksgiving and all that. So But I've managed to finish one of the main landmarks that will be in the map. Its really simple, but I think once its textured and put into the map, it will communicate to the player what its suppose to be.

Later on, I will also have to build an inside for the farm since this is where one of the activities will take place. For now, I will just try to get all the outside models done before trying to move to the inside of the buildings. Next I will work on a windmill which I will place in the center of the map where the patient will spawn. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Progress on Thesis Before Thanksgiving

So we have decided that we are going to try and get the game published before the start of the next semester, but we still have a ton of stuff to do. Here is our task list for the rest of the semester for art:

Art - ranked as level of priority

1 - Outer level poly reset - We need to optimize the poly counts for objects in the outer playing area. 
1 - Smoke trail particles - Put particle systems on the feet and hands that enhance the feeling of the character falling.
1 - Flower model popup- Flowers will popup on the ground around the radius of the splash. We need a flower mesh, and texture that will just translate and scale up through the ground.
1 - Fix Legs on character mesh - Character needs to not crumble. One attempt is to upres the mesh. 

2 - More Hoizontal objects - This may not mean more new objects, but just populating the Horizontal plane (bottom) of the game. 
2 - Fire escape and clothes line effects - The objects need to be added and ready to work with the correlating code. 
2 - Intro animations - Adam and his motion capture stuff. We need to integrate his animations with the in game scene or a separate scene he creates the animation in. 

3 - Buildings update - All buildings need another pass on them to improve mesh on some and texture on others. Pay close attention to our color pallette. 
3 - Textures related to saturation - This is dependant on the code george is trying to get a texture to desaturate.

4 - Ripple Splat - Have the particle effect of the splash have more of a ripple effect over the landscape

5 - Achievement system - This would require a lot of art, UI etc. 
5 - Themed cities - China town, San Fran, with bridge etc could be considered.

6 - Zelda Ripple effect - This is super low priority and more a pipe dream. Akin to this Zelda video.

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So we are slowly working through this list. I've made the flower and I'm trying to lower the poly count on some of the objects. After that, I'm going to try build more objects that we can use to populate our scene. That's all for now, thanks for reading.

Working on Geisha Painting

Old version (left) & new version (right).

So since last week when I posted the original entry on my digital painting assignment, I've kept working on it since I've found that I really enjoy doing it even if it takes me a while.

The biggest thing about this version is that I added a pattern to the dress. A few people in my cohort said that they liked the improvements, but that the dress needed a pattern. I found a pattern that I really like and overlaid it over the dress and umbrella. Someone else had also mentioned that the shadow in the middle was kind of weird and suggested to make it smaller. The same person helped me get a quick and simple shadow, which I think adds a lot to the painting.

Now my concern is that the highlights aren't as visible anymore. I made some shadows darker, and fixed the geisha's right foot since it was just a bit off balance. Last, I managed to put some pupils in her eyes, many people said that she looked like a zombie without them. I will continue to work on it when I get a chance, hopefully this will even become a nice portfolio piece.

Thanks for reading.

Let The Internship Begin!

So, I was fortunate enough to have been picked for an internal internship here at the University of Utah doing 3D environmental art for a project with the School of Computing. First let me start by giving a quick overview of what the project is.

The School of Computing has been working on a project for people that have suffered spinal cord injuries, and while I don't know all the specifics for it, we the team that I joined was hired to make a new environment for the device known as the Treadport. If you want to know more about the project, you can read an article and watch a video of how the device works.

I'm the only artist in the team, so I will be in charge of making all the art assets for the game. There will be different modes or challenges to the game to try and measure peoples performance. The game has to include these modes: 10 meter test, 6 minute test, a snipe hunt mini-game, directed collection, and a destination quest. There is no HUD or input to this game, so we've had to come up with a different way to get all these modes into the game by creating one map where patient spawns. Then the patient will have to walk to the activity that he or she would like to do and then we will load the next "room" where the activity will take place.

I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but the setting has to be a farm, so with that in mind I've started to work on some of the land marks that will be placed around the main map. They will be: a barn house. a wind mill, water silo, grain silo, and a house. They all need to be big enough that the patient will be able to see them from anywhere in the level. Here is the basic level layout that we've talked about in the past and its what I'm working off for the moment:

I will post a render of the barn house as soon as I'm done with the model. I want to finish this post by saying that I'm really excited about getting this internship, it will give me much needed experience not only working on more art, but also working with a new team and being able to get all this done.

Thanks for reading!

First Time Doing Digital Painting

This shows my first (left) and final (right) try at the assignment.

So I've never done any digital painting until now, which was part of an assignment for my Game Art 3 class. The assignment was suppose to give us inspiration for the micro environment & character(s) that we are suppose to built and since the environment that I'm creating is a Japanese zen garden, a geisha was the first thing that came to mind.

I looked for a sketch online that I liked and that I could use to do the assignment for since I didn't know if I could create one that I would like. After doing a quick search for geisha sketches, I found this one that I really like from a Deviant Art member called Melody ( link to her original sketch ) and I loved it right away.

I took it into Sketch Book and did a quick trace, and after getting help from people in my group I made some modifications to the sketch like: rounding out her face a bit to give it a more feminine look, as well as giving her bigger feet, and changing a bit her left elbow.

The picture above shows my first try, and I think I didn't do a good job with the color palette since it looks a little too dark. I redid the assignment after doing the changes I mentioned above with a new color palette, and I think it looks much better than my first try. I also found that it took less time and I was able to put in a little more detail in the shadows the second time around.

My classmates and professor have suggested that I should keep working on it and add a pattern to the dress. I will definitely keep working on it and add a pattern since it would make it look so much better, I just have to find some reference images that I like. That is all for now, thanks for reading.

Progress on Final Project for Game Art 3

So I've been slowly working on getting all the models that I'm going to need for my micro environment. Here are the models that I have so far:

Bridge to cross a narrow part of the lake.

This is the main gate to the garden.

This is an itsukushima or a water shrine.

I'm currently working on making a tea house 3D model and I done making a bonsai tree but I didn't post it here because it looks weird with out the leaves.

One last thing, I think that I will make the map smaller since I don't want to risk making something large but empty. I will make the tea house with a lot of detail inside overlooking the pond with the water shrine in the middle. This way it will have a lot of detail and feel more natural. That's all for now, thanks for reading.

First Thoughts About Assassin's Creed 3

So I don't usually post random stuff in this blog about games that I'm currently playing, but seeing as how my professors keep getting on my case that I don't do enough blog posts, I think this will be another section that I continue to include in my blog. This isn't suppose to be a review about the game, specially since I haven't passed it yet and it wouldn't be fair without knowing everything about the game.

Anyways, as you all know Assassin's Creed 3 was released this last week, and being the fanboy that I am, I pre-ordered it and everything. I only managed to stat playing it two days ago, and I've only been able to put the controller down to eat and do homework. Its amazing how much each game changes as time goes on, and each game always has things that they do better, and some that I wonder why they changed them at all when they used to work so well.

One of the things that I really liked about the previous games was that whenever you used your pistol, it was always really quick when it reloaded for the next shoot. Maybe this wasn't very realistic, but its a game so whatever... Anyways, with this game they introduced full sized pistols (not just a little pistol hidden in your bracelet) and the reloading takes FOREVER!!! This might be more realistic to the time period than the other games have been, but you can't get your players used to one thing and then switch it on them. This has made me almost not count on the pistol at all since I can usually kill an enemy in half the time that it takes to reload the pistol, and maybe this is exactly what they wanted for people to use the pistol less often... but I still don't like it.

One thing that I really like was the way that they changed the fighting system. Before, it was almost pointless to try and fight the enemies, since it was easier to just stand in once place holding your block button and counter your enemies' attack. They have gotten rid of the block button, and replaced it with a parry that only work for a split second, so you have to time it right and also have to take action in the fight more than the previous games.

Also, I'm glad that they also added some of the other weapons like the rope dart. This thing is amazing, it lets you choke your enemies if you are standing above them and then you can reuse the same dart, or you can hang them from the ledge you were standing on and consume your dart.

I could keep going and going about how much I love AC3, but I think I will stop for now, this way I can make another entry in a few days after I've advanced much further in the game. Thanks for reading.

Drop Drop Submitted to IGF

So this last Wednesday, my group managed to submit our game to the IGF competition as we take the rest of this week off to relax and work on homework from other classes. I'm actually still a little tired from this last weekend from having slept in the computer lab, hopefully that won't happen again since I don't know if I could handle it again.

We had a lot of feedback from students in our cohort, as well as from other people at school to try and weed out any potential bugs in the game. The producer managed to get a trailer for the game, and it give you an overview of what the gameplay is like. This is all for now, enjoy!