Over the summer Presentation|COP3

Today we had to present the research we did for the dissertation over the summer within a 5 minute time slot. I've thought a lot about my topic during past few months but decided to talk mostly about the ideas for the Practical Element, as it seemed to be easier to explain (also the idea for the actual academic essay is still floating in my head, supported by few pages of notes and couple of the books already read).

At the beginning I was thinking about creating a short 2D animation, stylized and in a way similiar to the Trichrome Blue Lois van Baarle shared on Deviantart few years ago, but moved away from this idea due to the multiple factors. First of all, my dissertation moved from the interest in just social networks and how websites like Facebook, impact our lives and the way we communicate with each other (you can be miles away from your family and friends) to the more specific interest in just online games and why they are so addictive. Second reason for changing my Practical Element is due to the availability of specific programs and resources. To make a short animation I will probably have to visit college quite often, as the AfterEffects on my computer doesn't work great (render time is beyond ridiculous), not to mention any film editing softwares. Since I'm 6 months pregnant I have to remember that there might be days were won't be able leave home. Therefore, I have decided to change my Practical Element to more concept art orientated, as it can be done from home (where I can take breaks more often and work whenever I want). I will still try to test out Photoshop CC in college (I'm stuck on PSCS5 since it works great for me) and maybe record the process of drawing, which then can be shared via YouTube (in a form of timelapse).

Back to the actual presentation - I've talked about the character concepts I did over the summer. While creating a completly new and unique alien race I also had a great opportunity to test the work flow and new painting methods. From the beginning, I knew that the race I'm trying to portrait so not technologicaly advanced and mostly tribal influenced - think undeveloped African tribes. Started with simple, quick thumbnails to explore certain look, followed by deeper exploration of different head gears and hair cuts, with a range of full body figures as the last step. As mentioned in my presentation, I stepped out from my comfort zone and used a different approach to painting. Instead of spending extra hour or two on drawing a good, solid lineart, I've painted directly on the sketch. This way I was able to cut the painting time down to 6-8hours and concentrate more on the forms than clean lines. Moreover, this approach to concept art is typical for the MMO games (e.g. World of Warcraft).

Since I've established a certain work flow and technique, in the next couple of days I'm going to work on the plan for Practical Element. As I want to imitate a certain style of drawing I'll also research more deeply into the MMO games. For the start, I'm going to write a list of classes and races that should be included in the multiplayer game and then work on few different once using the process I've tested on my alien race. I'll also try to approach different online communities and ask for the feedback.