Gaming 28/2

Today we finished watching Video Games: The Movie in class. A 2014 documentary on the beginning, and evolution of video games, and methods to play them from their creation to current day.
Started a powerpoint for the proposal. I need to find games that arent MMO to use as key works.

Plants vs Zombies Heroes, simple concept but highly addictive, encouraging the "just one more try" feeling. you plant various plants, each has a different use, to fight off waves of zombies. The resource you use to "buy" the plants is time limited, so skill is required in prioritizing purchases. As you unlock more plants, you have to decide which 7 plants you will use in each game, you cant use all of them.

Figure 1. Loading screen

I like using Green Shadow the most, the plants that are associated with her fit my way of playing this game nicely.

Figure 2. Green Shadow hero

Reference

Figure 1. Plants vs Zombies, 2018, https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/plants-vs-zombies/plants-vs-zombies-heroes

Figure 2. Plants vs Zombies, 2018, https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/plants-vs-zombies/plants-vs-zombies-heroes

Digital Painting 26/2

Photoshop colouring and textures, will be better once my card has scanner access.

Tips for getting 3D perspective correct, easier said than done. Practice makes perfect

Digital Painting 19/2

some fun examples of drawings for ideas

first still life attempt in class

Artist inspirations

Chris Metzen (ex-Blizzard) - http://www.sonsofthestorm.com/gallery.php?artist=metzen

Samwise Didier(Blizzard Art Director) - https://samwisedidier.deviantart.com/gallery/

Both of the blizzard artists have very dark, pencil toned pieces that I like in video game styles.

Anne Stokes - http://www.annestokes.com/

I love how smooth and colourful Annes pieces are, beautiful renditions of fantasy realms and creatures.

Animation 22/2

Week two is practicing frame by frame animation. I think I need to go back and practice last weeks example, fingers crossed the not being able to open toon boom will be fixed soon.

Short story idea for animation

Opens in a living room, a crackling fireplace in the centre. One cat is sleeping on a chair to the side of the room. The lounge door opens slowly, inch by inch, then another cats head pokes around the corner and disappears quickly.  A few moments later, the head reappears slowly, stealthily, looking around the room. Not being able to see the first cat, the 2^nd cat starts to sneak into the lounge, one footstep at a time, looking around cautiously at first. After the 2^nd cat is halfway to the fireplace, it relaxes and starts walking normally until it reaches the fireplace and lies down. At this point the 1^st cat pounces on the 2^nd cat hissing and trying to scratch him. Both cats then run out of the lounge door, the 1^st one right on the 2^nd ones tail. The 1^st cat then returns all smug like, to the chair it was sleeping on.

Very succinct tips to make walking more realistic. Need to finish the rabbit frame by frame, add grass as another level and work on the chewing grass.

Animation 15/2

www.rijksmuseum.nl website for textures, animation resources.

Toon Boom Harmony is the program we will be using, note to self, download user guide. Need to start thinking about what my animation story will be.

Film 22/2

Story - Idea
Plot - scripting, location, character, dialogue, action.

Today we turned a joke into a short film idea. mine attempt was: 

A woman is on trial for beating her husband to death with his guitar collection. Judge says, 'First offender?' She says, 'No, first a Gibson! Then a Fender!'

It was a bright, sunny day outside, a stark contrast to the mood inside the historic courtroom. The bailiff introduces the defendant to the court, waiting until she has been escorted to her place in the dock, to read out the charges. “Your honour, the accused is charged with one count of murder in the first degree.” The judge, after re-arranging his papers, looks up at the bailiff and asks him, “First offender?” Before the bailiff can reply, the defendant interrupts at the top of her voice “No, first I used a Gibson! Then it was a Fender!” The gallery erupts into a mixture of nervous laughter and angry shouting, as the judge futilely calls for order in the court. The defendant’s lawyer groans, as he face palms, takes a moment to regain his composure and then stands to voice his objection to his client’s inadvertent confession. After a few minutes, the court attendants regain silence in the gallery, and the judge calls for a recess.

I should try something a little less literal, and more arty next time.

Sound cords - wrap them up in over-under twists so stop the cord twisting.

Film 15/2

First class.

Film cameras are expensive!

Proposal thoughts, something to do with judging a book by its cover.

Minimal dialogue, Heavily tattooed, bearded guy(Zane) walks into his garage. Puts on his thick leather jacket, jumps on his motorbike and takes off down the street. Pulls up to a dairy, a mother with two kids(Chrissi, lilli and dahlia) is exiting as he enters. She pulls her kids away from him, her looking mistrusting, kids looked scared. He grabs a couple of energy drinks, pays then leaves. As he drives home, random people on the street give him sideways glances as he rides past. He pulls back into the garage, locks up and enters his house. After removing his jacket and boots, he collects his giant fluffy cat(Simba), proceeds to cuddle it, rub its tummy and then give it a kiss on the head. He curls up on a squishy couch with his kitty and turns on some cartoons.

Hopefully work as a class group, share the workload/easy bodies for actors

Digital Sculpture 22/2

Theme brainstorming.

Environmental - Animal Welfare, natural disasters, global warming, human impact on nature.

Animal welfare -  tigers, polar bears, northern white rhino.

The polar bears plight really appeals to me, probably because of 4Ocean supporting Polar Bears International this month, several spam emails proudly proclaiming this.

http://www.sejarchive.org/pub/SEJournal_Excerpts_Su08.htm - article clarifying where and when the population growth inaccuracies about polar bears started.

https://polarbearsinternational.org/polar-bears/habitat/ - the 4 bear inhabited regions of the arctic, with the varying sea ice levels

A Mother's Calling, Starlite Studio, Kitty Cantrell. 

I like the above and below water level view of this sculpture, as if the viewer is just swimming off to the side of this wee family

The Copenhagen Ice Bear, Mark Coreth

"Just outside the WWF International Arctic Programme's Arctic Tent at COP 15, visitors were able to see a life-size sculpture of a male hunting polar bear.
The statue stood at 1.8 metres high – as high as the disappearing arctic sea ice is thick.

In touching this sculpture visitors made a direct connection with the polar bear and its ice-locked home.

As many hands helped to warm and melt the bear, revealing the bronze skeleton within, this changing sculpture brought home to each person how people have the power to affect the delicate balance of nature."

The artist's vision of this statue is really poignant, and one I empathise with greatly. The striking thing about this sculpture is, at the very end, a few years after it had melted to leave the remaining bronze, metal thieves stole the sculpture and melted it down. The artist saw it as a final tribute to just how much human hands have contributed to the destruction of polar bear populations, a fitting end to his installation.

Site exploration exercise in class with Ruth

My thinking behind this arrangement was a take on hot water(the jug) melting the sea ice (the blue wool) creating struggles for the polar bear. I definitely want to do something representing the melting ice, but maybe having a double sided sculpture, one side with a bear stranded at sea, the other side showing deforestation/habitat encroachment by humans.

References

Bear cartoon - https://polarbearsinternational.org/

A Mother's Calling - http://www.armiks.com/Genesis/Genesis_Studios_Sculptures___F/JCGR-1__Polar_Sea__Polar_Bear_/Gentle_Waters__whale_by_John_C/A_Mothers_Calling__polar_bear_/a_mothers_calling__polar_bear_.html

Ice Bear Project
photo - http://the-ipf.com/2016/02/27/polar-bear-day-death-powerful-story-global-warming/
paragraph- http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/arctic/news/past_events/cop_15/icebearproject/

Gaming 21/2

Character Research

My character choice is Tyrael from the Diablo series, mostly Diablo III. Tyrael was the archangel of justice, until he chose to become mortal instead of leaving mankind to its own misfortune, against Imperius's orders.

Archangel Tyrael, Sourced from http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/Tyrael

He crashed into the world known as Sanctuary, to help mankind defeat the lesser evils that have risen again. He helps your character progress through the stages, providing consult and insight into each enemy whilst interjecting quips as he slowly learns what it is to be a mortal. His greatest strength could also be his greatest weakness, compassion for mortals. This compassion is the reason for his fall, the reason he became ostracized from all angelkind as time went on. He constantly struggles against the corruption that was released into the world by Diablo when he escaped, affecting Tyrael more and more as time goes on, due to previously being an angelic creature, but no longer having access to the angelic powers that kept him safe.

Mortal Tyrael, Sourced from http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/Tyrael

Sanctuary is a post apocalyptic world, where good and evil are in constant conflict, all sort of magical creatures, and corrupted humans are out to get the player. There is a sect of the humans whos primary focus is gaining power for the lesser evils Belial and Azmodan, the multitude of creatures is a side effect of the powers used to summon the evils to the world.

Sanctuary, sourced from http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/Sanctuary

http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/Tyrael

Digital Sculpture 15/2

Brainstorming proposal ideas with examples.

Gravity -  anti gravity, defying gravity, seriousness of a situation
                think optical illusions, making light of a bad situation

Just Another Conversation by Robin Yakinthou

Action - insinuating movement, actual movement of sculpture, protests

              

Man and Woman by Tamara Kvesitadze

Mustangs at Las Colinas by Robert Glen

People/Human - commenting on state of humanity, how we interact as people


Popular Culture - slavery to social media, technology, marvel movies, video games

Grommash Hellscream by Alliance Studio

Environment - nature, city life, made with found items

Galloping Horses by James Doran-Webb

Identity - who i am, culture, philosophical

Who Am I by Melisa Cadell

I think environmental sculpture tends to call to me more than the others, possibly photography tie-in.

Form = 3D Objects
Shape - 2D drawing

References

Just another conversation - http://www.atasteoftravelblog.com/sculpture-by-the-sea/
Man and Woman - https://www.boredpanda.com/metal-statue-love-story-ali-nino-tamara-kvesitadze-georgia/
Mustangs at Las Colinas - https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/mustangs-of-las-colinas-jeffrey-k-clarke.jpg
Grommash - https://armenoc.deviantart.com/art/Grommash-Hellscream-Statue-493674169
Galloping Horses - https://twistedsifter.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/galloping-horses-made-from-driftwood-by-james-doran-webb-6.jpg?w=800&h=402
Who Am I - https://i.pinimg.com/736x/d7/0d/51/d70d51eaaeff0b2ecc2d6c9a6a2505be--who-am-i-pottery-art.jpg

Gaming 14/2

Video Game Study

Today I have chosen World of Warcraft, as my favourite video game. World of Warcraft is a MMORPG released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment, and as of nov 2017, the 7th expansion was announced at Blizzcon.

Being an mmo, you have many ways to level and explore the environment, so it takes a long time before it gets repetitive. However Blizzard has timed each expansion release nicely, when the subscribers are just starting to lose interest they release a new one.  As an added bonus, there are many other real people online with you, that you can talk to and play with.

The character that attracts me the most is the npc Sylvanas Windrunner. Her story starts with a power crazy Prince Arthas killing her and resurrecting her as a banshee queen, hoping that she will serve him.  Instead she vows eternal revenge and spends her time trying to free the enslaved undead from his mental grasp. The resulting army is called the Forsaken, chaotic and slightly evil, but loyal to their queen.  Her development over the expansions leads to her eventually becoming warchief of the Horde faction, with the players help. She is a badass warrior babe with supernatural powers, that struggles with the dark choices she has to make in order achieve her goals. I think this aspect of her character is what makes her relatable and realistic to the player.

Sourced from http://wowwiki.wikia.com/wiki/Sylvanas_Windrunner

Ultimately, I think the writers have done a wonderful job creating the stories. They flow really well from lore, into the mmo. Also, even though the conflicts are not in our reality, I think they translate well enough to create that sense of empathy in the players that interact with the game.