context and research
Assignment: My final project (name chosen, cabinet arcane)
For this project I have been tasked with planning and then creating a piece of creative media linked to games based on my own skills and knowledge. Shown below is the processes I used in order to reach the conclusion to what my project would be and how I would make it.
Mind map
For my final project I wanted to do something impressive but not overextend my skills as that was a trap I had fallen into in past projects causing me to end with an unfinished project as such these ideas would be focus on quality rather than quantity. I wanted to explore several different final project ideas which could be different and show my skills indifferent ways as well as expressing my interests in fantasy and certain franchises.
Diorama and scenes
After recently beginning blender I have found that I can create certain things faster and with a closer alignment to my vision than 3ds max. This has familiarised me with a diorama angle and style which could house a large number of different ideas both original and from existing franchises.
I wanted to explore both of these possibilities so I branched off in my mind-map of both franchise and original environments. I recently found a video of creating studio ghibli style trees[1] and I really liked it so I thought of a king Arthur sword in the stone esq scene reminiscent of the master sword in breath of the wild with the sword surrounded by stylised foliage. This was one of the two original environments I had planned. The second one was a lovecraftian structure with non-eucuedian geometry. This one could have a lot of interpretation for it was the structures themselves are usually gothic which doesn't have much variation however its the different way they're placed and where they lead which would have the most creativity in that particular scene. These ideas can be seen being explored through these two mood boards I created to get a more clear idea for these potential projects. Out of these two the sword in the stone one interested me more so despite the simplicity I decided to go with the sword in the stone for one of my final three ideas.
Calling back to an earlier piece of work in my portfolio I explored several diorama pieces and this was one of the franchise pieces I thought of doing. I really liked the mystical nature theme of the bandle city portals and thought it could make an extremely visually appealing diorama. I also had some practice with the fairy nature style due to my experimentation with blender however in the end i decided this was to simplistic for a final project and wanted to do something more ambitious.
These were my original scene ideas however I also had a few ideas based on other franchises mainly league of legends. Continuing along the path of a diorama I planned to use the aesthetic of Bandle City a place in the League Of Legends franchise inhabited with Fairy like creatures called Yordles. I really enjoyed the nature based magic asthetic as well as the swirling gold portals and wanted to make something along the lines of the image in the top right. Showing some kind of structure in front of a large tree with swirling yellow portals around it. I eventually decided however that I would like to do something different from a diorama and moved on to another part of the franchise and concepted making a 3d model either directly showing or based of the scene of the character Pykes loading screen.
(Pyke seen below)
I was dissuaded from this idea however due to the complexity of the project. although I loved the aesthetic of the idea as well as the potential of the effects and sound. I didn't give up on the idea however and I want back to the drawing board thinking how I could make this underwater aesthetic and character work. This caused me to remember a 3d print of a fight scene I had seen of reddit between the characters of Sans and Frisk.
This combat style of posing would work wonderfully as a diorama and due to Pyke being an underwater ghost I could be more free with how I position him. This piece of inspiration also works wonderfully due to pykes backstory as one of his enemies is a sea serpent esq creature called a Jaull fish. I could have them swimming around each other about to attack with a piece of shipwreck or driftwood in the scene to better fill it out. I had created a moodboard to show various monsters I could model and show in the scene Pictured below is the Jaull fish in the top left with and a sharktooth in the bottom right. Pyke is shown in both the top right and bottom left. This would work for one of my final three ideas.
I had dabbled with horror before in my previous project and so I considered doing it again for this piece and for my third and final piece of franchise inspired work I considered creating a posed character model for the character Fiddlesticks.
Fiddlesticks due to his highly mechanical nature would be easier to make than the jaull fish for example due to my familiarity with non-organic textures vs organic textures like skin. I would have placed him in a pose like an Amibo from Nintendo or a super smash bros model. I would have some kind of loop of rotating around the model and maybe have a rendition of his theme playing. This was highly appealing however one thing concerned me and that was the cloth around fiddlesticks neck. It had a very distinct texture and style and I was concerned I wouldn't be able to replicate this type of 3d modelling if I hadn't done it before and therefore I moved on.
Cabinet arcane
Cabinet arcane would be a cabinet that would have a currently undecided design but Inside the cabinet would be several different weapons and items from different video games. You could then click on the models and it would bring up a menu that would let you look at the items at in viewer like item inspection in resident evil. Not only this but the items would be accompanied by an item description that would give you lore information.
My three choices
I essentially outlined my three choices above however I'll reiterate what they are and why I picked them here. For my three choices I picked my sword in the stone scene, pyke battle scene and cabinet. The pyke battle scene would be between pyke and a jaull fish but due to the flesh textures of the jaull fish I didn't feel confident enough to pursue this particular project. The sword in the stone project was defiantly a more viable option however I didn't want to do something so simplistic for my final project. This made me settle on the third choice of the cabinet that holds different video game weapons and items. This third option would be modular in design. This would allow me to modularly change the amount of content of the project without creating a situation where the project would be smaller than initially intended.
Planning conclusion
I had explored several different ideas and made lots of different mouldboards and resources to look over but none of it was quite right. I had previously made the mistake of being overconfident in my skills which had caused me to not be able to complete my projects to a level of skill that I would have liked. That didn't however mean my ambitious side had gone which left me in a conundrum. I couldn't afford to overestimate myself for t his project but i didn't want to do something underwhelming and that I wouldn't be proud of at the end. This was the problem with the above examples. They were to easy, I'd done something like it before or I knew when it came time to start the harder pieces due to the way I work I wouldn't be able to produce a good final piece with the time I had available. I needed a piece of work that could shape around my workflow, That could be challenging yet simple. It was really hard to think of something like that but eventually i came to the conclusion of my planning and the title of my final project.
Cabinet Arcane.
I concepted a piece of work that could be modularly changed to fit my schedule and mood, It could be made to be large and extravagant with particles and other effects or it could be simple with basic textures. it could have large complex assets with extreme attention to detail that could be apricated by anyone looking at it or it could house simple yet clean assets that could be apricated from any distance. I could strain my ambition and increase the scope basically forever depending on the amount of time and motivation I had for the project but If I was mentally drained and exhausted I could lower the scope and shorten the project to a more comfortable level.
In short cabinet arcane is a large decorated cabinet that opens up to a weapons arsenal. What's special about this arsenal however is that the weapons and items come from different video game franchises. Allowing me to take inspiration from the entire body of work from the industry I apricate so much. The cabinet would then allow you to click on items and much like the trophy system in Super Smash Bros Brawl you can rotate the models with an item description accompanying it with some lore text. This project would include every single skill I have learned over the entire duration of the course. Unreal engine, 3d modelling, texturing, particle effects and animation.
SWOT
Strengths
Weakness
Opportunities
Threats
I have a novice level of experience with blender
I am experienced with photoshop which lets me edit my 2d work to show different colours or change the tone with filters as well as edit unwrap textures.
I don’t have much experience with the grease pencil or geometry nodes
I struggle with constant note taking
I recently got a message from an art collaboration newsletter I could use as inspiration
I ask college lectures for additional help
Due to stress, I could begin to have poor sleep which could lead to a lack of work due to exhaustion.
Gantt chart
