This unit was one where we were supposed to reflect in on ourselves, and try and express ourselves through our work. I’m not sure how successful I was in my reflecting, but that doesn’t change that I am very proud of what I was able to produce in this semester!!
Mandala
For this project, we were tasked with making multiple different mandalas: one in black and white, and the other in color. For the black and white mandala, I thought I would reference one of the characters that I had been developing at the time. She’s a character with the ability to shift herself to match the world around her, and her village was one that greatly respected elephants, which brought about the elephant/tusk theme in this piece.
Our laser mandalas were also laser engraved. I decided to go with the material of bamboo, due to the fact that I felt it matched the character’s vibe, or energy.
For the colored mandala, I decided to go for a theme completely different from the one above. I wanted to do something that had a darker, more sinister energy to it, so I decided to add bones (specifically vertebrae) as a key component in my piece.
In my previous illustration project, I made an image, so I thought that was something I’d want to replicate with the center of this mandala. I thought it would be interesting to draw a woman who’s trapped, but there’s a confidence in her that says she won’t be trapped for long. Due to the nature of illustrator, the lanterns hanging from the bottom of the mandala are absolutely terrible, but I do like how the piece came out as a whole all the same.
Going back to the previous black and white mandala, making a video of our progression was another part of our mandala assignments. That video is below!
Photoshop Art
The first project we made in Photoshop for the Reflections Unit was a “pastel painting”. Personally, I interpreted it as a drawing that didn’t use the basic brushes of photoshop, and added texture to the piece. I had started drawing the Korok Woods from the Legend of Zelda a while before we were given this assignment, and I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to finish.
The second project we made in Photoshop for the Reflections Unit was a “watercolor painting”. This time, I did use the water color brush and paper texture in order to make my image. The character I chose to draw is from one of my stories, though her color palette is much different now, as is her name.
We were also required to take some our old photographs and add a water color effect to them. I decided to use a number of photos I had taken while in Japan over the summer. The first one with the lanterns is my favorite, but I do like how all three turned out.
Photoshop Compositing
For the photoshop compositing assignments, we were tasked with taking multiple images and putting them together to make something new. We practiced a number of times with our own photos, before we ultimately made a final project that had to do with our world building unit.
For the first image, I chose to use a photo I took of a museum in Japan that showcased homes and architecture from the Edo period, and completely switch it up by adding in a giant Gundham, a photo of which I took in Odaiba.
The next composite I chose to make involved three photos. I decided to use the photo of butterflies I had taken at Team Lab (in Odaiba), as well as a photo of some gacha gacha, and an old photo of my friend Lucy. She looked so disappointed in the photo, that I thought it would be a fun idea to make it seem as if she was a reluctant salesman, so that’s what I chose to do.
Photoshop Surreal Composite
The next photoshop composite (and the biggest assignment we to complete for this) I made was one where I didn’t use my original photos, but rather used resources from the internet to try and make something new, that was also related or intertwined the the world-building project in English. The creature I decided to create was a Mourning Dove, a magical creature in the world Jessica Lohse and I built, that carries the thoughts and feelings of those whom they have lost, and then delivers those messages to the souls of the dead.
Animation
In animation, the majority of this semester was dedicated to learning how to use 3D programs, and making models in those programs. We didn’t do much animating until we neared the end of the semester, but I do like what I created.
First, we practiced modeling by creating a number of simple objects in the program AutoDesk Maya.
For this particular assignment, we were tasked with creating greek temples, which we then placed around a mountain. The finished render looks very artificial, but I don’t dislike how this first attempt/practice at working with models turned out. The rest of the practice models in Maya were of a similar vein.
Once we learned how to make basic shapes and images in Maya, we moved on to another program that taught us to make more detailed models. The first thing we tried to make was a skull, to practice organic shapes.
Weapon
After learning how to use the programs, we moved on to making a weapon model. My concept for the weapon model was a dagger for one of my original characters – a dagger where the blade is a magic feather.
After making the concept art, I worked to create the basic shapes of the model in Maya, after which I transferred it to Zbrush to add detail and more organic shapes.
After detailing the model in Zbrush, it was time to add textures and color. For this, we learned how to use another app known as 3D Substance Painter. The controls were much more similar to Maya than they were to Zbrush, which was something I greatly appreciated. When using Zbrush, it’s always very obvious that the program wasn’t originally made for 3D modeling.
After the colors and textures were added, it was time to render. Luckily, this didn’t involve moving into nay new programs, as Substance Painter had a way to render already present in the program. I would show the render here, but I unfortunately lost the file for it.
Character Model (And Animation)
After making the weapon, it was time to start making our character models. In previous projects, I had made characters based on mythical creatures (Nai, the Kitsune, Ten, the Pheonix, Kanon the Elephant), so I thought that was a trend I wanted to continue. When I was first coming up with the context for Ten, a dragon character was also one I heavily considered. Because I ultimately decided against it then, I thought it would be fun to revisit the idea now.
To start the project, I made the concept art for the character.
Next, I made the basic shapes of the character model in Maya.
After making the model in Maya, it was time to add the details and more organic shapes in Zbrush. The only screenshot of this I took, however, is from when I was making her head.
While ultimately I ended up changing the face to have a more 3D shape, I still prefer my first attempt at making her face in Zbrush, so I’m glad that I still have the screenshot, or record of what it looked like before.
After finishing the details in Zbrush, and then adding textures and colors in Substance Painters, it was time to render. I chose to use the background above the clouds, to try and match the air that mythical dragons often give.
We were also tasked with making a character bio. I bs-ed her name. Ame means rain, and to be quite honest I believe I should have just left it at that (and I probably will change her name to that), but for some reason I thought that it needed an extra syllable, so her name became Amelo.
Now that the character model was made, it was time to animate her. I brought the model back into Maya, and began animating her to make her run, jump, and walk.
After animating by hand, it was time to start animating using motion capture. We hadn’t gotten around to creating our motion capture just yet, so we started by using the motion capture left behind by the students of last year. It was tough, as the arms for my model didn’t cooperate with the rigging, and it required quite a bit of editing after the motion capture was applied. However, I still like how it turned out in the end.