BA3: 500 Word Creative Piece

To apply our new knowledge of Vladimir Propp's "Spheres of Action" we have been given the task of creating a short story for a character created during a parlour game seminar. The character I have is shown below:

I have decided that this particular character will be the Helper, which means that he will aid the main hero of the story in some way. We're not allowed to give our character a name though, so this will be a challenge. Here we go.

Have you ever wondered what happens in the wonderful world of the earth worm? No? Well, I'm going to tell you anyway. This is a grand tale of adventure, valour, and of course, worms. So you really should stay and listen. I shall begin my story, naturally, at the beginning.

Under the earth where humans cannot see their cherished kingdom, live the humble earth worms. But the worms we see on the surface are just that, the surface, the workers that build the kingdom and maintain the endless tunnels that twist and turn in your very own garden. This world of wonders is ruled by a Worman, a magnificent creature, the head of a worm, the slim body of a human, tentacles instead of arms and, in this particular Worman's case, two peg legs. All these elements come together to form a creature of truly epic, but still very small, proportions. Under the rule of this great creature, the kingdom prospered and all its citizens were happy. However, things were not as happy as they seemed, and the great Worman knew of this but kept it from his people for their own safety.

Instead, he called upon his only son; Wigwam, in secret to express his concern and ask him to do something about it. In truth, the king was a very wise man, but he had no power other than his knowledge. After losing his legs, the great king could hardly stand at all let alone complete the task he was about to entrust to his son. And so Wigwam came to his father as his father had asked, eager to hear of the request he had. The king told his son how, in just three days time, the kingdom will be subjected to a terrible flood that would fill all of the tunnels with water and drown all the citizens, not even the great king will be spared if the floods were allowed to continue. The great king watched as fear filled his sons face and twisted his expressions with horror, but didn't lose faith in his son. He instructed Wigwam to take 50 of the fastest builder worms in the kingdom to the very highest point in the kingdom and to dig a huge space to fit all of the citizens of the kingdom, and therefore save them from the floods. Wigwam accepted his task, and turned to leave the palace in search of these workers. His father watched with new found faith. "My son will succeed, I know he will" he thought to himself.

As the days turned to nights, the great king of the worms awaited his sons return. On the third day, the king had still not lost faith, and as if on cue, his son returned explaining his success and that he wanted his father to be the first saved from the floods. But the king refused. Instead, fighting back tears, the king then instructed his son to go to his mothers chambers. Upon arrival, Wigwam walked into his mothers room with a confused look on his face, until he heard the laugh of a new born child. The room was never meant to save the kingdom. Instead, it was to welcome a new Worman into the prosperous world that lives on your back garden.

After all, how could a being no larger than a worm know of a flood that will destroy the kingdom?

And there is my story.

BA3: Tileable Texture Research

Creating Tileable Textures for use on models created in Maya is a skill in itself, and something every 3D modeler will have to do to make their models effective in a Games Engine. There are a number of ways to create a tileable texture, but for the sake of this project I will be looking at only one method that I have found on tutsplus.com posted by Collis Ta'eed.

This particular method uses Photoshop and Collis says "So to turn that photo into a tiled background we need to first remove any irregularities, and the make the edges blend into each other". The first step involves getting rid of the darkened edges of an image using the Crop Tool, as shown below. This step can be skipped if the edges aren't as dark as they are in this one.

The next step is to lighten the darker areas of the image using the Dodge Tool. By gently brushing over the edges with a large soft brush you can weaken the shadows slightly, but don't do it too much or the image will appear too washed out.

Once that is complete the next step is to get rid of any obvious details that would show the texture has been tiled. In the image used for this tutorial, there is a leaf in the top right hand corner that will give away the tiled effect, and this can be removed by using the Patch Tool or Clone Stamp.

The fourth step is to make the edges bleed together. Duplicate the layer to both the right and the left to get an idea of where the make the edges bleed. In the image you can see below a 1px gape between the layers so you can see where the layer has been copied.

After that it is important to bleed these two layers together, again using the Patch Tool or Clone Stamp it doesn't make too much difference what tool you use as long as you use it effectively. Below you can see the result of this.

And there it is! By repeating this process for all 4 edges you can create a fully tileable texture. Below you can see the final image.

This is the method that I have used to create the tileable textures I have used for my model, such as the Gold Metal and the ground texture.

BA3: Research into Bump Mapping

Bump Mapping in Maya (and many other 3D packages for that matter) is a great way to add new levels of depth to your 3D assets and is therefore very important in the modelling process. Bump maps are similar to Diffuse Maps, but instead of adding colour they add the illusion of 3D details to flat poly-planes, saving on your poly count and making your assets much easier to render in a games engine. I have found a great tutorial online that helped me when I was adding bump maps to my terrain in Maya, which you can see below:



With this tutorial I was able to understand the process of Bump Mapping and also apply it using Crazy Bump. The results of my bump mapping can be seen below in this screenshot of my model (in progress).

BA3 - Concepting in Photoshop

After my attempt at creating a concept in ZBrush for my final model, I have been working on a concept in Photoshop to help me plan my idea. Below you can see the development of this concept.

This is the first concept that I created from my ideas that I have developed throughout my research. The castle is based on the Steampunk Style shown in Bioshock Infinite and Howl's Moving Castle, and the courtyard follows this style. The castle and courtyard is built on top of a huge Pirate Ship hull, similar to the pirate ship in Peter Pan and decorated in a similar style once again to Howl's Moving Castle, which has also been decorated with a face to add to the overall style that has been established by Disney throughout the years. By personifying the robot carrying the castle it gives it a much greater presence to the audience. The robot is powered by an steam engine to the rear of the ship with a number of chimneys similar to the engine room seen in Mortal Engines, which is also where I adapted the idea of the Tank Tracks from. The courtyard is also based on the Steampunk style, to create an oasis that separates the castle from the rest of the world, just as is seen in Agrabah from Aladdin. However, looking at this as a concept there were a number of issues that I addressed in my second concept below.

Above you can see how I developed this concept. The castle has been changed and developed into a much more circular design with more towers and details. There are less chimneys and more details on the hull of the ship. The path leading up to the castle has also been made longer to give more of a build up towards the structure.

I then added colour to the concept to help for my texturing phase of the project. I have asked for feedback based on this concept, and one of the main issues with it is the size of the castle. People have agreed that since the castle is the main focus of the piece it should be much, much bigger than it appears in this concept. Something else people said was that the design for the boat was very different to the castle, and so there should be more continuity between them. Finally, a few people thought that the tank tracks used for transport didn't fit with the disney style that I am trying to replicate. These changes have been made and you can see them below.

This is my final concept in 2D, and the one that I will be continuing on to the modelling stage of this project. I have taken on board the comments of my peers and made changes to the design, increasing the size of the castle, unifying the colours and exhanging the tank tracks for legs. I have also given the face on the front of the ship a comical nose, trying to follow in the stylised footsteps of Disney.

BA3 - Concepting in ZBrush

I've began to concept my idea for a Castle that moves from place to place across the world. I started using ZBrush since Mark has always said that it can be used to concept in 3D, so I thought I would give it a go. I've quickly created two ideas using ZSpheres which you can see below.

The first of these concepts was created based around the base of a Pirate Ship. I've adapted the legs from Howls Moving Castle onto the side of the ship to allow the structure to move, and the castle has been created out of a number of towers similar to that of Maleficent's castle that I looked at earlier. As you can see from the 3/4 view of the sculpt, the castle is connected to the rest of the deck similar to a Motte and Bailey castle.

This is the second of these concepts that I have created in ZBrush. The castle has been placed much more centrally with more symmetrical towers, and instead of being mounted on a Pirate Ship the castle sits on a kind of creature with four legs, similar to the Starwhale idea that I explored from Doctor Who.

Looking at both of these concepts, I personally don't feel either of them have much promise and I won't be continuing on with them into the next stage of development. I will next work on concepting my idea in 2D rather than 3D, however it was worth experimenting in ZBrush.

BA3 - Finalising my Idea

Since I've done a lot of research into Disney Castles and what makes them such beautiful and magnificent structures, along with all the research I have done into Mortal Engines and the idea of a moving castle, I've decided to put the two together! How original...

A moving castle, Disney style. Now with an idea like this there are a number of questions that arise such as how is this going to fit together? What elements from each idea will be used in the final model? So on and so forth, so I'm going to lay this post out like a Q and A session to work out all the little kinks in the idea.

1) What will be used as the base of the castle, what will it ride on?

Answer
This is a very good question. As you can see in this image of Mortal Engines that I have looked at in a previous post, there is a layer of concrete or stone that the city is mounted on. Howl's Moving Castle is mounted on what seems to be a boat hull with legs. This is something I will need to work out for my own model, as what I mount my castle on is critical for this idea. I have a number of ideas, and below I have provided a few reference images of what I could use to fill this role.

Possibility 1, a Pirate Ship. The image you see above comes from the Disney film Peter Pan; Captain Hooks ship is a key element to the plot of the film. I could adapt the boat itself to fit my own needs by removing the masts and adding tank tracks, legs or wheels (whichever I so decide), and this way I will still keep within the very heavily stylized world of old Disney films and would help the continuity of my final model. However, it is still falling into the same horizons and views of Disney, and I would like to explore other possibilities and ideas.

Possibility 2, no one said the castle had to stay on the ground. Here you can see a screenshot from Bioshock Infinite, showing the flying steampunk city of Columbia. This is another strong possibility for how my castle could travel across the globe, and would allow my castle to go everywhere around the world. The steampunk style of the city is highlighted in the propellers and helicopters that keep the city in the air.

Possibility 3, sustained by some kind of creature. I'm a huge fan of Doctor Who, and this particular idea comes from an episode showing the entirety of Great Britain, on a spaceship that is carried across space and time by a creature called a Starwhale. I could replicate this by having my Disney castle carried across the world by some kind of creature, and if I did enough research into monsters and animals created by Disney I could make sure that the house style is up kept throughout the model.

2) What kind of castle will be the biggest influence?

Answer

Even though I am basing my idea on Disney Castles, these ideas had to come from somewhere. For example, the castle in Sleeping Beauty is based on Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, seen to the right. Below I have got a number of castles that have been used by Disney as reference for their own creations, and which I could use as influence for my own moving castle. I have also included a type of castle that (as far as I know) Disney has not yet used and it would be interesting to develop in my own model.

Possibility 1, DunBroch Castle from Brave. Brave is a much newer Disney film, and is based in Scotland. DunBroch castle features heavily in the film, which is a Scottish castle and has been around for hundreds of years. In reality it isn't as complete as the version seen in the film, so there is a lot of space for creative development and visualisation that may be interesting to look into.

Possibility 2, don't use a castle? This is a very interesting idea, and is once again from Disneys Frozen. Elsa's castle is actually based on her signature snowflake from the film, and all the towers features follow the intricate and delicate lines of the snowflake. This is a very interesting idea, and could be developed from any abstract concept. For example, as I am running with a steampunk moving castle, maybe a Gear or a type of Tool would be good to base a castle on to create a more stylized and interesting model.

Possibility 3, Motte and Bailey Castles. I remember learning about this type of castle in Primary School, and to be honest with you I wasn't very interested as I'm not a big fan of history. However looking back at the castles themselves theres a lot of space for development, the castle itself is on a large hill looking over the village which has its own protection. This is an idea that could work very well with a boat or pirate ship base, if I choose to go down that route.

3) What kind of Bridge will be used in the Model?

Answer
Bridges are a huge part of this piece of work, and I want to make sure that I create the right kind of bridge to fit in with my scene. Now I'm probably not going to put the kind of modern and complicated bridge that you can see to the right, instead I will explore other options below.

Possibility 1, standard medieval drawbridge. This would make perfect sense to the idea itself, a moving bridge that would close when the castle was in motion and open to get on and off the structure. It fits in with the idea and is fairly simple to put together, but its a very standard idea with not very much style to it. With that said, the style of the model can be added to the structure within Maya.

Possibility 2, a bridge inside the castle walls. This is an interesting idea, as it would allow me to connect two sections of the structure in a way that is as fast moving as the structure itself. However, how much use is there in a bridge inside the castle? There would need to be a reason that it is there to help make the player believe in my model.

Possibility 3, a Light Bridge. A much more futuristic take on the bridge itself, this is a screenshot from Portal (not sure which version, as it looks like a Mod) showing a bridge made out of solid light. Very futuristic and heavily stylized, but the idea is so simple it can be executed in a number of different ways.

4) Where will the scene be set?

Answer
I could set this scene in a number of locations, and it all comes down to personal preference. The three possibilities for this are as follows:

A clearing in a forest

A Rocky Desert

A Cityscape

Cerberus Pistol - Untextured Render

An update on my progressing 3D Modelling skills, I give you the Cerberus Pistol using by Vincent Valentine in Final Fantasy 7 - Dirge of Cerberus.