Principles of Game Arts – Project Topic
As our first project of Yr2, we’ve been assigned with a 3D environmental work. Our aim in this project is to design an environment that could fit into a game and has a background story in it. Before starting the project, we’ve been given some themes and environments list to choose from.
The theme which I’ve chosen:
- Magical / Mystical
The environment which I’ve chosen:
- Tree House
Background Concept / Story
After I have chosen my keywords, I have moved on to the next step which is creating a background concept for my project. Since I have chosen the theme “Magical/Mystical” and the “Tree House” environment, I have started to think about the question ” If I were to design a game myself, How would I arrange this theme into the game?” So I sat down and started to brainstorm some concept ideas.
I have then thought about an adventure game, where there are several stages and you have accomplish each one of them by defeating the obstacles. My magical treehouse would definitely be a point for players to come and restore their lives. Because since it’s a magical place, it would contain a lot of magical power enough to restore players’ lives.
Moodboard
After I have created the background concept of my design, I have moved on to the next step which is creating a Moodboard as a resemblance of my ideas.
Research / Inspiration
Alice In Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland is a fiction book written by Lewis Caroll in 1865. The main protagonist is Alice and she teleports onto the wonderland after falling down from a rabbit hole. There are a lot of fictional characters like “The Mad Hatter, The Caterpillar, The Queen” and others. Despite the book, Alice in Wonderland also became a movie in 2010. The movie was directed by Tim Burton and the main actor was Johnny Depp. Personally, It is still one of my favourite movies. I remember nearly every scene from the movie because it was so mystical and the camera angles on each scene were fabulous.
Reference:
- Gutenberg(2008), The Project Gutenberg eBook of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll, Available at: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11/11-h/11-h.htm, (Accessed: 5th of October, 2021)
Mushroom Forest
While I was looking at images for my Moodboard, I have directly thought about the mushroom forest in “Alice in Wonderland”. I then remembered the scene where Alice was walking inside of the mushroom forest. After a quick research on Youtube, I have found the videos of the mushroom forest and decided to create my initial landscape aesthetic similar to it. I wanted to create something that would immediately mesmerise people after looking at it.
Gokhan Sonmez (2011), Alice In Wonderland: Mushroom Forest, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKp-Kd1JMCg (Accessed: 2nd of October, 2021)
Concept Inspirations from Artstation
Before starting to create my own concept, I have first wanted to check out for other artists’ works through Artstation for some inspiration. As a result, I have found out very talented artists with amazing artworks which got me really inspired on creating a treehouse with a magical aspect.
Silhouettes
As the beginning step of my journey, I have first created some silhouettes of the possible designs on which I could focus in a more detailed way. I have created about 6 treehouse silhouettes in total
Concept Sketches
As my next step, I have designed the silhouettes I liked the most, about 4 in total. Personally, the best design which I have created is the 1st one, so I have decided to continue my path with that design.
Design Iterations
After I have chosen the design which I want to move on with, I have decided to create some design iterations for it.
As I was finished with my iterations, I have decided to move on with my base design as I thought the other iterations were kind of exaggerated. I wanted to have something more on the simple side, but also really nice looking in terms of the design and the coherence with the landscape. So, the base design was the perfect match for me.
Colour Variations
As the next step, I have tried on 5 different colour variations for my treehouse design. The one which I liked the most was the first one because it has a range of different colours varying from green tones to reddish tones. My landscape is going to have a magical/mystical forest vibe so apart from greenish tones, I believe that reddish tones will suit my design and will not be that exaggerated.
3D Concept
After I was done with the colour iterations, I have moved on to the next step which is creating the 3D concept of my treehouse model.
Landscape Concept Variations
As my next step, I have started to think about possible landscape designs for my magical treehouse. Since my concept theme is magical, I have decided to design a landscape that gives a magical feeling to the audience. I have designed about 6 in total.
After I was done with the designing process, I have decided to choose the third one to explore further in my journey. The reason of this is because I really liked the depth of the landscape concept, the trees around the house makes my design pop up more.
Value Drawings
As our homework, we’ve been asked to create some value drawings which will benefit us regarding our project.
Landscape Practices
To start with, I have first practiced drawing landscapes by looking at references.
Value & Colour versions of my Tree House
After I was done with the practices, I have created the landscape environment of my own treehouse design.