July 6, 2022 VR Update

 

June 22, 2022 VR Update

 

06/08/2022 VR Update

 

4/21/22 VR Update

 As mentioned in the video, the state machines are in a working state, all that's left is for the character BP to catch up and to implement some boolean triggers!  Other than that, Squirtle's got most of its animations in a proxy state which allows for ease of application.

3/16/2022 VR Update

 After the Tangled VR project was cut, this week has been mostly getting organized and distributing animation clips among the animators.  This week I worked on several clips for the pokemons' basic animations that will be cycled through as they move around the environment.

We also signed up and posted to the Epic Games forums, and will be continuing to post as a way to garner attention for this experience!

https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/fieavr-pokemon/505195/11?u=izrafan

2/28/2022 VR Update

 This week I built the state machine for the Pascal pawn so that the player can now interface with the character and see visible feedback.

VR Update

This week, I worked on compiling sound effects for our primary Pawn actor, Pascal.  Afterwards, I mapped out the state machine based on what we wanted the character to do and set to work implementing boolean variables and trigger boxes to make the first series of states work.  It's been going with mixed success as we've had to build the pawn blueprint alongside the state machine but it's going well.

 

VR Experience Sprint 2 Progress Report

This sprint, I compiled a rudimentary pose list out of our current animation master list, splitting it into groups for each animator to work on posing.  After that, I uploaded my clips as animation sequences and built a blueprint that utilizes a state machine to cycle through each pose on a loop.

We felt this would be helpful for visualization and as an improved placeholder over having tons of pascals all over the level.

 

VR Progress Report

Better late than never on this post!  Without a rigged pascal, the animators have been using a rig with a vaguely reptilian quadruped mesh to practice out animation.  Through reference, I discovered Pascal runs like a cat quite often and attempted to emulate that.

 

Week 15 VR Progress Report

 This week I took our proxy rig from the previous week and performed ROM and a test point animation, bringing it from maya to engine, as well as worked alongside my co-animator to set up placeholder proxies for our future planned animation clips.

Art Style Guide Week 13

 This week I worked on rigging our proxy model for the interactor in our game.  I also did some design work on the presentation slides!

Art Style Analysis and Presentation 3

 

Animation/Art Style Breakdown

 

Slide Contributions

Movie analysis slide contributions

Hero's Journey Photobash

We developed a powerpoint demonstrating an understanding of the Hero's Journey by creating an original side story based on the IP of choice for our VR project.  These slides involved making simple photo collages that explain the premise of each stage.  These were the slides I developed and presented.

Use of Perspective and 3D Referencing

 I didn't really know how to set up a 3D reference for anything other than one point perspective, but it was an interesting assignment regardless!  My immediate go to for the "Transport" theme was a sort of people mover.  Eventually I settled on a submarine bus sort of vehicle.

Here's my completed piece:

My reference images:

Two Point Perspective:

Finally, the 3D render which I used to create the vehicle:

 

Digital Art Piece building up Shadow, Lighting, and Silhouette

 

I was really inspired by the use of shadows as a tool for 3-Dimensional Construction, exemplified by the work of Carlos Huante.  I did my best to begin with flat base colors with a vibrant palette so that I could avoid doing any construction with line in this piece.

I suffered from a lot of art block when trying to figure out what the subject matter should be, but ultimately I'm quite happy with how that shadows on the reaper character and the serpent beast turned out.

Here is a piece by Carlos Huante that I used when building my shadows

In particular, I loved the blending on this particular work.  I've got quite a way to go before I can say I really captured what the artist managed here, and were I to do it again I'd certainly build more color into the shadows.

Basic 3 Point Light Study

 I ended up actually using four lights, but I'm too thrilled with how the end result looks to really be too worried about it affecting my grade!  Masks and Blur tools are my friends now and forever.

Here's the original image!

Use of Value and Contrast

 This is a value study based on the 3D model artwork of Nick Zuccarello.  It served double duty in a practice of more realistic, blended shading (which I am a bit of a novice at) and photoshop painting and shading workflow in general.  I have a strong preference for line over value, but it's important to expand horizons, particularly since I want to have stronger conceptual skills in the art field.

Thumbnails and Silhouettes

 It took a long time to really rough out some unique ideas, but I ended up building out 8 redesigns of the public domain character Faust.  Now, the iconic individual who sold his soul for infinite wealth and pleasure is entering the Octagon and the Devil's in his corner!  It's the UFC and Literary Classic Crossover that no one expected.  Just remember it's not THAT Faust!

I started with thumbnails so that I could get a better idea of the direction I wanted to take each concept, then did my best to make each silhouette dynamic and interesting.