#gam708

Sorting the proposal and concept photo bashing

I spent the first part of this week stressed out trying to get the GAM708 project proposal sorted. The main part I was stuck on was 'state of the art' and refining my question into something that I really wanted to focus on. I knew that I wanted to do something with characters, but I don't want to fall into the same habit I have of sticking within comfort and ending up doing something I have done before in my previous work. This project, I really want to challenge myself. Trying to write a research question was the difficult part. My problem was I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do yet.

I had to think of something that would really push my skills. I figured that the real goal was figuring out a pipeline where I could combine two complete different workflows: One where I could use high quality, dynamic cloth physics, along with a sharp, flat planar sculpting style that is used in shows like Arcane and South Of Midnight.

Once I had found that style that I was after and found a technical focus to aim for, I searched for people who may have researched or challenged themselves to do similar. I found and have now anchored my project using the research of Hall (2016) and Bernaers (2023). Hall covered how stylised planes catch lighting on high fidelity sculpt, and Bernaers covers non linear pipeline, which fits my modular character screen perfectly.

Research Question

'Using the stylised art methods from Hall (2016) and Bernaers (2023), how can I balance realistic cloth physics along with a flat-planar look to build a modular Star Wars inspired original character for an interactive portfolio display.'

With the question sorted, I could finally get out of my own head, and move onto the art and getting something down on canvas!

Photo bashing & Shape Design

This week I worked on starting and finishing my initial photo bashing passes to lock in silhouettes and the overall vibe/aesthetic of the OC. I was strict with myself and purposely avoided colour. I wanted to focus purely on working out the silhouettes and overall interesting shapes without getting distracted by colour yet.

Initial Design Exploration

Before deciding on my final configuration, I explored multiple character archetypes to test how different garment shapes and hard surface elements interacted with each other.

As shown in the images below, I'm aiming for a gritty, live in Star Wars aesthetic. My character should be a blend between something that looks as if It could belong to the Star Wars universe (Mainly something in Outlaws and Rebels), along with something that matches that sharp, planar art style of Arcane that catches real time lighting, along with blends with painted in lighting.

I explored and experimented with distinct silhouettes ranging from a light scavenger look with tactical vests to heavy, dramatic trench coats and structure capes. Some of the things I explored were The Samurai/Bounty Hunter (Inspired by the bounty hunter Embo from the Clone Wars, The Desert Walker (Inspired by Dune - Large, baggy attire) and The Mechanic (I used a drone head as a welding helmet, made the hair slick back with engine grease, and the clothing is very light weight).

After receiving feedback from various people, the second iteration on my design sheet (The one with the conical hat, wrapped face and long rifle), stood out to me the most. The large drape of the cloak hanging over the shoulder has given me a broad, blocky surface to test our Hall's (2016) lighting principles on flat planes, while providing a strong, recognisable Star Wars wanderer silhouette. I created two different variants for my modular, interactive character screen. I have a full poncho silhouette and and under armour variant. The full poncho is a combination of the conical hat, wrapped mask, and a heavy poncho creating that distinct, gritty Star Wars wanderer shape. Giving my character an asymmetrical drape gives a unique, dynamic silhouette.

The second variant I stripped away the heavy headgear and outer poncho. This lets me check the base anatomy and the hair silhouette on its own. The look switches from a rugged, desert wanderer, to an industrial, tactical vibe. This features tight, form fitting tactical vest, armoured knee pads for battle, a blaster pouch, a long ranged weapon, and a heavy utility rig.

Modular Gear & Backpack Variants

To make this display truly modular, the UI will allow users to toggle dynamically between these two clothing variants. Alongside the main outfit swaps, I've designed a hard surface mechanical component to act as separate swappable attachments. As annotated above, I'm building a specialised backpack kit bashed from Rey's speeder engine parts. The backpack will feature a hard case and retractable jets. These are going to look like scrap. The backpack will be made up of several odd parts made to look like Rey's speeder. It will look industrial and mechanical. This will contrast nicely against the soft, flowing fabric folds of the poncho, and acts as a jetpack that Mandalorian's wear. The backpack will also have net storage. There will be messy junk stored in the net and the vents of the backpack will be rusty to sell that classic, lived in Star Wars texture aesthetic. By seeing how these will work together in concept and separating them into static, individual meshes now , hooking them up in blueprinting will be easier later on.

Weeks 3&4: 3D Blockout and Fabric Test

With week 2 complete, I'll be moving straight into production for the next two weeks. I'm jumping straight into sculpt to get the primary shapes down and see how the blockout starts coming together.

For the next two weeks, you should expect to see: Proportion and base sculpting. I'll be blocking out the main character proportions in Blender or Nomad, then sculpting the high poly base in Blender Marvelous Designer. I'll be using a basic template garment in Marvelous Designer to start creating, simulating, and testing how the fabric drapery and folds sit for the poncho and cape layers.