Initial Thoughts for Direction

For a few months before university started up again I had been thinking about what direction I wanted to take for my project. So I started by evaluating what I like doing, what I'm good at, what I could get better at, what's current in the industry, and what skills are important for employability etc.

Throughout the years there have a number of areas of computer arts that have snagged my interest, and the decision to specialise in only one to showcase will be hard. This project needs to focus on something that I truly enjoy, that I feel comfortable with, yet dedicated to so I can challenge myself. But I don't just want to do it because I like it; I want the results of this project to represent an area I'd like to go into in the creative industries, and to show my capability. A section of the Handbook conveys this well:

“Your topic should be neither trivial nor superficial, and similarly should not feel limited by a context which is too large or complex to be addressed entirely within the project time scale.”

Looking at myself, I tend to think as a designer as well as an artist. I want my work to look good, be appealing and fit for its purpose, but I also want to know how everything works, how it all fits together, and what's the story behind it. I think I kind of dabble in many areas, but only in certain places of production. For instance, I love the initial stages of character design, and less so when doing a digital painting of that character. It's the opposite with environment design; I'm not fond of the initial concept stage and prefer going straight to modeling and level design. What is present in all my interests is the story behind it. I want to know everything about it, instead of just making it nice to look at. So now I'll try and weigh my interests against potential for a project idea.

1.) Character Design: I find that when I look at character art, I lean towards profile sheets, concept designs and simpler digital paintings like portraits, rather than full on action pieces. When designing them myself, I tend to focus on the fashion side of things before physical traits such has the face and hair, and then showing more personality through body language. Character art can convey so much life and personality, and there's so many ways to tell story and background through little details, and I find it fascinating to break down. I think characters are just easier to relate to than any other subject like environments or technology, and they can evoke much stronger emotional responses.

2.) 3D Environments: With games in 3D, I've always loved being immersed in an environment by being able to walk about it instead of just looking at it. Making such virtual worlds allows you to believe you are really there, and makes the story more immersive and interactive. With level design, I loved planning how players could be drawn to areas I want them to by different means, such as lighting, interactive elements, and sounds etc. With renders, I enjoy the atmosphere and character that could be shown in details, and the crispness from it being 3D. 3D modeling has so much potential across different industries, from entertainment like films and games, to educational like historical re-enactments, or informative like planning what your building is going to look like before committing to it.

3.) Visual Storytelling: This is a concept that I've tried to implement in most, if not all, of my work through the years. Giving something a story, even just little quirks, gives it just a little more spirit and life. Giving something a personality or background can cement into the real world, give it something people can relate to and identify with. Visual storytelling can be told in so many ways and has so many platforms, from illustration to animation, to games and movies.

I am aware that for junior jobs and small companies, they won't have an artist just for character concept etc, but will expect the artist to be much more capable, go through most of the pipeline from design to production, 3D and texturing to animating etc. Depending on what direction I go, I'll try to show as many skills as possible without spreading myself too thin.

Personal Outcomes & Objectives

• Improving technical skill in chosen method, i.e. digital painting, 3D modeling etc.
• Becoming more knowledgeable in my chosen specialisation.
• Identify my own pipeline, research existing pipelines, and compare to industry standard.
• Explore different research methodologies to inform my own.
• To be continued...