YPGTTO: The Harp District Texture & Compositing Test Update

The Harp District Shot 1 Revised: Basic Composit

Details have been added to the balcony to help it feel less generic in close up and distinguish it more from the background.

YPGTTO: The Harp District Texture & Compositing Test

The Harp District Shot 1:Straight from Maya

 

 The Harp District Shot 1: Basic Composite

A start to texturing the Harp District. A few tweaks may be needed, the sky and 'hero' harp in the foreground may need more detail. The hero harp railings could possibly be adjusted to help distinguish them from the background objects too.

Digital Set: The Harp District

I have constructed The Harp District where Red is lifted up to a terrace atop a giant harp in the centre. He then takes in the view of the entire district around him.

Environment/ Asset Design- Lots of Signage!

Embarking on some of the last few pieces of District furniture. I needed to finish the signs preceding a few of the Districts.

Following Red's fall down the stairs to the Double-Bass District, he scrambled to his feet and is faced with Design number 2

Chosen Design 2

Later, after his ascent from the Double Bass District, Red finds himself on the precipice of the Harp District. A few lovely little birds fly by, carrying Signage Design 1 to inform him of his place in the world.

Chosen Design 1

 Directly behind Red is the Horn District. The squiggly spaghetti like structure of design number 5 will be the Horn District Sign he will see. Shortly afterward, he sets off with steely resolve to find the summoning light in the distance.

Chosen Design 5

A while later Red finds himself caught up in a stampede of fellow notes as they all speed towards the summoning light in the distance. It puts both Red and the Trumpet District sign in a bit of a spin!

The design was supposed to point in the direction of the district. The first sheet of designs I focused on creating it entirely from Trumpet elements. However they didn't communicate direction very well at all. So in sheet two I took a more obvious approach and we settled on design number 5.

Chosen Design 5

Finally the Percussion District. Red arrives in spectacular fashion, delivered by the hook of a crane to find himself in the middle of a Construction site. 

The Percussion section is comprised of multiple instruments, unlike the others. Initial sign designs were therefore a mix of instruments. As I struggled to nail it down, it was highlighted that I had missed the most obvious connection. Triangles are well known for warning and caution signs, so that was the instrument I then fixed on to complete the Percussion District signage.

Modelling: The Harp District #03

Modelling: The Harp District #02

Modelling: The Harp District #01

Environment/Asset Design- the Harp District

Here I've envisioned a rather busy looking Harp district. This is the vista that Red sees upon exiting the lower districts.  I get the feeling this is possibly a tad too busy and the first concept was more of a disorganised sprawl than a district. I feel the second concept may have been a little more successful upon spacing out the environment. There's room to breathe here.

Concept 1

Concept 2

Environment/Asset Design- The Harp District - Buildings

I've begun working a little into the Harp District to add to the pool of existing Harp structures. I've opened with a a few conceptual building designs.

I need to approach this district in a similar way to the Violin. Red simply observes the city from one point rather than moving through it. I intend to investigate some broad vista shots of the Harp District next.

Environment Design: The Violin District / The District

Trying to keep up with this project as we approach December. It's a huge relief to have Emily on board producing great assets ready for production. So, here are a few from my end, exploring the Harp and Violin districts. I still want to get some composition thumbnails here, especially for the Violin district as I feel that could be almost abstract in it's criss-cross of strings.

YPGTTO: Preproduction Test #01 - Simplicity and Restriction

As preproduction ramps up, myself and Ethan are exploring art direction, animation and technical aspects with an open mind. It's the exciting stage whereby we try lots of things out, throw things at the wall, and see what sticks. And so to kick things off, here is the first of many tests and experiments in that vein.

Inspired CAA student, Julien Van Wallendael's beautiful response to the harp district, this is all made in Maya, with Hardware 2.0 rendering and super simple geometric construction.

It's been a while since I've used Maya, so this first experiment is an exercise in simplicity. I wanted to create an engaging and creative environment using a simplified toolset within Maya. These restrictions were as follows:

• Hardware 2.0 rendering as a base, super responsive and  speedy output.
• No texturing, only shaders. 
• No lighting
• Simple Models / Multiple Layers

This already starts to explore some ideas which we have discussed as a team in early meetings. Can we simplify Maya as a toolbox for creating exciting environments that are expressive and engaging, but also easy and fun to build? And can we do this with an emphasis on animation. I.e the art direction and creation should be of the animated world, rather than competing with the real.

These are all really appealing notions. Especially for independent animators of student film makers. Often, the complexities and possibility space of Maya can destroy a project. Users get so flustered and caught up with what Maya can do, that they simply forget about what it should do. This points to the idea that we create a restricted Maya toolset for our modelling team that allows for creativity but suppresses over-the-top, technical creations. Essentially, giving more time to the things that are most important, like storytelling, or animation, or art direction.

Here are a few screenshots of exactly what this scene looks like in Maya. It's rendered in Hardware 2.0, so a full 30 second shot only takes a minute or two to generate via playblasts. The shaders are largely surface shaders, so create a bold base without the need for lighting. And the modelling is so simple that it invites creativity. It allows for the user to play around, try things out, throw them away. Without that horrible feeling that you just spent 20 hours on a particle system that looks like crap.

It only took an evening to create, render and composite this scene. And although this is in no way a definitive guide to how things will look or how we will move forward, it does bring up some exciting possibilities. The simplicity of this approach is very refreshing. It would allow modellers to spend time on the sets themselves. Allowing them to be creative and unrestrained. And it would allow for other departments to expand.

In my next few experiments, I'll be looking at particles, textures and shaders. I'd like to explore the possibilities of shaders as an addition to the toolset. Almost like a set of paints, can we create off the shelf textures that the art team could use for city generation. And can they express the print like qualities shown within Julian's work?

In addition, I'll be posting a few discussions on art direction and approaches to CG production. But for now, this starts to get the ball rolling. More soon!