Pied Piper

Right now I'm concepting ideas for the Pied Piper.

Again, my workflow begins with research, writing down ideas and iconography, and sketching.

I've decided that the pied piper NEEDS four things.
1. a pipe.
2. "pied" clothing (which I learned is having two or more colors).
3. Rats.
and 4. A scared child cowering in fear.

With these icons I hope to convey the story of the pied piper within my "sci-fai" theme.

This is the first drawing I made and was completed before I came up with my thesis proposal:

With this model I made the pipe also an ax and added some ambiguous scifi tubes that connect from his shoulder to his head. other than that he's just a generic ringmaster-looking dude. However I do like

 his facial hair and it's probably the only thing I would use from this drawing in the final sculpt. Unaware at the time I gave him a hunger games looking face....

I started to think about how I would get a job as a character modeler and realized that that job is extremely competative and I'm still a newbie. I was told that there are at least 10 environment modelers for every character modeler and that most people get a job as a environment artist and slowly work their way up to characters. As a result I have talked with my instructors and decided that it would be best if I include some sort of environment and scene for my character models. This would not only help display my interest and skill in environment modeling but it would also help support the mythology I'm trying to create around my characters. 

With that in mind I made my second drawing:

 I was given a bunch of constructive feedback on this drawing.

1. The piper doesn't look like hes really pulling back on the rat and that there's no tension.

2. I should make a scene that can be used in a turn around, and therefor the alley is a horrible choice for that. However the child hiding behind something makes sense.

3. I should visually connect the piper to the child so that a story can be derived more clearly. I put children skulls on his strap but was made aware that they look like small adult skulls and it didnt work the way I hoped. A guest speaker gave me the idea to attach a teddy bear or some other child paraphernalia to his wardrobe.)

I almost completely repainted the drawing and made the alteration advised by my instructors and peers. However I'm still working with his color scheme.

I'm not so concerned with perspective for these concepts since they will be accurate once modeled in 3d. but at least this informs me with aesthetic choices including camera angle, pose, and lighting. 

I'm still figuring out what to do with the scene in order to tell the story that I have in mind. 

I want the feeling to convey something like this:

....but with ROUS (rodents of unusual size)

____________________________________________________________________

Thinking about the barrier that separates the child from the pied piper I have found some references:

a rococo fence with s rat sticking its nose between the metal bars and sniffing for the child who is hiding behind the concrete wall just a foot away.

I mostly like this scene since it would be fun to sculpt, but it may not be as appropriate as some sort of post apocalyptic rubble, or shelter, or dumpster, or broken down vehicle. Although in the future I imagine a building like this would be preserved if not just overgrown and be a perfect safe haven for lost kids. 

I really like this scene that I found online. I can picture the child hiding behind this car as a rat is on top of the hood unable to see the kid but smelling the air as if its just about to find them. 

I envision the pied piper as a drifter that would walk down city streets looking for food. enticing children with music..and even resorting to cannibalism.

While I was working on my high-poly mermaid I was also working on the low poly/cartoony mermid concept.

the concept for this model was similar to the high poly version in that instead of a mermaid being half human with a fish tail I wanted to make it half human with a fish head. I imagine that this fish bites onto the head of weary snorkelers and controls them with its tendrils and telepathic abilities. The concept is supposed to be funny and I really enjoyed making it. 

I decided that instead of swimming the model should be standing as if the fish is using the human for her legs in order to walk out of the ocean. For the human to still function logically I added a snorkel coming out of the fishes gills. (after all the fish needs the human to stay alive in order to control her).

I painted the model in Photoshop and worked modular in order to work as fast as possible since I tend to slow down once I get to the texturing process. I made one fin and duplicated it, I made 1 scale and duplicated it 4 times to make 4 colors, then duplicated that group over and over until they covered the surface of the fish. I also created a variety of swim suits for the model. some bikinis and some one pieces in all sorts of colors. The one that got the best reviews was a green striped one piece. Which was also my favorite. ...the bikini was just way too sexy.

After making the model I thought that there was something missing. Something about the silhouette was off. So I experiemented with the body form and added a toy prop to balance out the top heavy feeling. (although I imagine that the girl would come out of the ocean staggering, barely able to balance the giant fish which is flopping and positioning itself. 

 This is a marmoset render of the two models:

Once I finished my low poly mermaid I began thinking of ideas for my next model set. I had a strong desire to make a leprechaun character but since I wanted to add a sci-fi twist I decide to make him a robot.
My instructor advised me to work from a solid 2D concept rather than concept as I sculpt. This was a brilliant idea since as I was designing the metal leprechaun I realized the idea would be harder to pull off than I thought. I started with some thumbnails but quickly drew out a rough concept. This is a different work flow than what I had previously done. I typically have an easier time conceptualizing things in a 3d space and therefore don't have to concern myself with perspective, but this allowed me to quickly pop out several ideas and flush out an aesthetic.

I had several ideas for how to pull off a scifi Lep. One was to make a small leprechaun shaped robot, another was to have a small person in strong and robotic suit, to convey a napoleon complex matched with a mechanical prowess, another was to make a Huge pacific-rim sized leprechaun mech to play with the notion of size. 

Unfortunately the  feedback I received was that it was too much like a "mech", that it didn't come across as a leprechaun, and that the mechanical parts weren't clear as to how they work. 

I decided to make a quick model so that I could understand how the joints would work and what a sillhouette would look like from various angles.

The mech aesthetic and mechanical implausibility  were easier to adjust than the fact that he wasn't a leprechaun in the eyes of my instructors and some students. I figured if I added more lep iconography then it would just work. So I thought to make his metal green and gold, give him a pseudo orange beard, coat tail, a top hat, a pseudo pipe, lep proportions, and would add props like a shillelaghs and pot of gold. (all themed with a sci fi/ Celtic aesthetic).








I then drew a new series of thumbnails with different elements and played with the silhouette. At the same time I created some clubs that were like a cross between a shillelagh and a shamrock with a strong  scifi/fantasy look. However, again, the idea wasn't clear enough since no one could tell what they are.








I began to doubt the concept as a whole and decided that I should come back to it as soon as I could flush out the idea.

I then moved onto my original idea before starting my thesis: The Pied Piper.

SCI-FAI


My Name is Ryan Russell and I am a 3D Character modeler for video games.

The purpose of my thesis is to explore the differences between  creating both realistic and hyper-stylized character models. This would include modeling methods, poly count limitations, texturing techniques, software utilization, workflows, and anything else that I discover while attending the Academy of Art in San Francisco. In order to track these differences I will be keeping a journal, with screen shots, recording my methodologies and outcomes as I work.
This is my journal...

I began my thesis by creating a theme: "Fairytale characters made real through the scope of science fiction" hence the title of my thesis "Sci-Fai" . The reason for this theme is to ground the models to one over-arching genre thereby creating a consistency between the sets of characters by the end of my thesis. It also creates an interesting story based aesthetic that I personally find appealing.


Deliverables:
I will make two versions of three characters;
A female protagonist, a male antagonist, and a creature model made in both realism and stylization- For a total of 6 models.
For Example: I've already decided my female character will be a mermaid, so I will create both a realistic and a stylized version of a mermaid. (Visual example in the following slides.)

The final presentation will be three high-res images of the six models, presented side by side, with their counterparts.  (or individually, i haven't decided)

(The juxtaposition of the two versions, realism or stylization, will create a dialectic that confronts the issue of which aesthetic helps connect with the human condition more effectively. For example; Does realism help a player experience the game and feel more involved. Does stylization and exaggerated imagery help manipulate a players emotional state? Whether or not I'm able to answer these questions I find them important to think about while designing my models.)

The realistic set of models will be made using between 25,000-40,000 tris. These models will utilize high resolution maps combining photo referenced materials with hand painted textures. These models will also be sculpted using Zbrush and/or other high-res sculpting software. This will push me to get better at the skill sets needed to make hyper-realism in the video game industry. Additionally, I want these to be gritty and have a mature aesthetic.

The stylized version of each model will be made with between 2,000-6,000 tris.  Unlike the previous set, these models will be hyper-stylized and be made for a younger/wider audience with humorous overtones. Their design and geometric form will be exaggerated as well as be painted 100% by hand with efficient use of textures maps. I will not be using Zbrush at all with these characters but I will generate normal maps with other processes such as the Nvidia plug-in for photoshop when needed.