Conclusion

After doing this prject I realised I need to practise using Zbrush a lot more. I don't think I'm too bad at it but I could definetly use some improvments. I am much better at zbrush than Maya. I feel as if I have much more control. When it came to creating my model, I thought that just modelling a head with facial features would be boring, so I decided to add a hat and a few scars to the face so you could get to see more of a character. I found using a tablet to do this made it much easier. When it came to the clay model I found this a challenge. I started a model but had to dispose of it as it didn't turn out very good. The reason for this was I didn't use enough water, so when I started my new model I used a lot more water, making it look much smoother. This new model also had more of a feminine shaped head. The last one had a head more like a square than an oval which clearly didn't look right. I couldn't finish the model by putting eyes on it because we ran out of clay material. Overall I didn't find this project too difficult, I just need more practise with zbrush.

References

Here are some of the references I used for my characters face. I based a lot of my characters features on the girl at the bottom. I like the shape of her nose so I decied to model that for my chatacter. I always used the hat picture to model my hat on my model. I prefered that style of hat.I have also used some of these pictures to help me draw head shapes and bone structure. I used the third picture to help me draw the hair for my character.

Here are three different views of my zbrush model in progress. I like how I have done the hair. I found it quite difficult to do the hat as I had to use two different shapes and then mold them to form a hat. I still need to improve the way her skin looks on her face as it seems too stretched out. I have used the standard tool to shape out the bone structure on the face.

The designs

Here I have the designs I made before I started modelling my character with Zbrush and Clay. Over time my characters appearance changed a lot. I added some extra features such as a hat and scarring to the face. I also thought practicing drawing the head in different angles would help me a lot so this is what I did. The bigger image is a final outcome that has been edited quite a few times to get the final look.

Zbrush design process

This is my model further on in the design process. As you will notice I have added a hat and some hair. I still have a lot more detail to do on the face like scars and such. This is the face completely clear.

Topology

As I started my zbrush model from scratch and created my own head I had to edit the topology. This took my a while as I had to avoid creating triangles. Everything had to be four sided so when I am out topology mode I don't have any pinches on my 3D model.

Completed Clay Model

I have finally completed my hand-made clay model. I think I could have done better. But this is my second attempt. I used a lot of water to smooth some of the areas. I also added a hat to model which I should add to my designs because it's not in my references.I had trouble creating the lips. They are so small and I didn't mold them from the face clay. I made them separate. I also made the hair shorter than it is on my designs because we started to run out of clay.
I used a thin metal tool to created the hair strands on my model. I have been unable to add eyes to my model as there was no material clay left.

Clay model fail

I started sculpting a model using foil and clay. As I didn't used much water on this one, it didn't look very good and was not smooth at all. Also, when it came to molding the foil, It was not molded into the best shape for a face. It turned out to be too square and big. I eventually gave up on this one and decided to start again. Now I have had more practice at it, my second model is starting to look much better. I have even added more features so it looks more appealing.

The Artist side - New Project

We have now been given out new project to explore our 3D visualisation and sculptural skills. I have started out drawing more designs for my charcter as I felt it needed improving. I have practised different head angels using thumbnails so I am able to design the head in Zbrush more effectivly.

Customers

When our games were completed and ready to play, we had two groups of other games dev students come in and test/play our games. About 5-6 would join our game, which then we had to explain the rules. We did have the rules printed as well to help them understand further. It didn't take long for them to understand and start playing. The timing of the customers playing the game varied. Some would get through it very quick, whereas others didn't even started attack their opponents after a while. From the way they reacted to the game, they seemed to have enjoyed it. No one left. Everyone continued to play until there was a winner.


After playing the game, the customers were asked to fill out a response sheet. This is like a review for our game. We got a lot of positive feedback, although some did admit that they found it difficult to understand the rules at first.

For example, here is one of the feedback sheets we got from one of our customers.

The board is finished!

Here the board is almost complete. All that we have to do next is add the scenary. The scanary is a lost desert city.
On top of the board there are seven completed models ready for gameplay.








Here the map is complete. We have a fully structured map. On the lower level is the scenary of the lost desert. We have built ruins out of little bricks and sanded the card with brown sugar so it looks like sand. On the outside of the star we have printed 12 copies of the same picture to go round continuing the lost desert theme.

The creation of the board

When we first started planning the game we used an actual game board from a previous game that was shaped like a star. So we took inspiration from this and have shaped our board like a star. This is more convenient for us anyway because we have six players therefore we have six starting points. After the discussion of the map we had an extra player, so we had to add an extra starting point. This player starts from the middle.

The next step in creating the board is making it 3D out of card. Our group has decided that they want the board to be raised up so it looks better and different.

The process of sculpting

Here I have started sculpting my character. I started by creating her body features first so then I can put the clothes on next. We had to stand our characters in a cork so they would stand firmly. I then moved on to creating the stance that my character would stand in. After that I began sculpting her outfit.

More Designs!

Here I have a design that I used marker for. I previously put it on here in pencil but this is the marker piece.
I also have another drawing which I had to alter the outfit for so she could fit with the theme of our group game. As she is a healer and has healing abilities, I have made her outfit seem like a doctors uniform.



We were told to create an orthographic for our character to make the design clear and more professional. Here is a front view, side view and back view of my character. This orthographic has been altered as I had to make changes for my character to fit in the games we were creating in groups.

Let the games begin!

On friday we started off talking about character dynamics. Gaining a better understanding of what type of character I have created. From strong to weak, better in range than melee etc. We was then told to get into groups to create a sort of bored game that our characters could be in. This showed that we were working in mechanics to create these games. It was successful. Our group had a fun game, which all the rules followed through well and that our characters could battle depending on their statistics and abilities.

Lets practice Sculpting

We had our first lesson doing the art 'Sculpting'. I really enjoyed this. I had never done it before, so for my first time, I think I did well. We created different objects, one of them being a human head. I found that sculpting the bone structure of the face first made it easier to place in the facial features. I was very pleased with the head I had created. We did this using something called 'green stuff', which you had to squish, stick together and twist to turn the blue and yellow to green so you can then start sculpting something out of it.

Character Design

Here I have a few Designs for my character. I started with traditional drawings. I didn't have a colour scheme planned for her outfit until I started the photoshop concept. I also filled some of these drawings in with marker ink to show I have used different types of Media.





















As you can see, my character is wearing a torn jacket with a plain t-shit underneath. On her legs she is wearing cropped trousers and depending where you would be in the game. She is either wearing shoes, socks or none at all. On her head she has a pair of white/grey goggles. On her back she has a bag that has a snorkel hanging out of it to show that it will be a main object she will need.
My character has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. She's quite young and not the strongest.

Summer Project

For summer we were given a project to create a character for a Post-Apocolyptic event. I started to relate this project to some references such as movies and other previous video games. I remembered the trailer for 'I am Alive' which inspired me to do a normal Earthly event. I thought that it would be better if my character was just a normal girl. Someone who didn't know that the event was gonna happen and it hit her by surprise just like it would for anyone else. The aim of the character would be to survive. She would use her surroundings and gather supplies as she goes along through the game. The event was that there was a big object collision with the moon causing tidle changes therefore leading to a water apocolypes. A lot of the game would be set under water that's why in my sketches of my character, she is wearing goggles and has a snorkel hanging out of her bag. Things she needs for her to survive the underwater event.