This week was cut somewhat short in terms of in-class work days, but this upcoming week will be even shorter and busier. This week I continued work on the Zenith poster and the flashbacks, and took some time over the long weekend to work on this as well. The due date for the actual playable game was pushed back (thank you Mr. B) so the pressure isn't as high for the upcoming week as we thought it would be, however, we have to balance exams and getting ready for college and graduation all the while creating this finished product. We realized through this process so far that creating a polished, complete game takes a lot of work and effort, and moving forward we should start off with a less complex game idea when working with a limited time frame and/or small number of people. With these limitations we have come to an understanding that our finished game won't be as ambitious as our original idea, but we will make sure it is still playable, and for a first game, that sounds good to me. As for the upcoming week, most of the work will have to be done outside of class as many school days will be dedicated to exams.
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This week there's been a lot to do, and again flashbacks are at the forefront. The flashback has been going well although as time catches up pressure is getting higher, and hopefully the quality of the art doesn't decline as a result. Unfortunately, one day this week I lost time to work on the flashbacks due to an issue with the tablets at school, as a result I was then assigned to a new project, making a poster for another team's game in our own. Initially, this was supposed to be something for me to do that wouldn't require a tablet, but once the tablet's started working again I decided draw it out since it looked better in my opinion, and fit the idea of a promotional poster better. I also got a glimpse into what the other members are working on for the weeks ahead, and needless to say we all have quite a bit on our plates. Moving forward I will continue working on flashbacks and any other side projects brought to me.
In Summary:
This past week I've been continuing work on the flashbacks, and am reaching the completion of one. Working in Photoshop so far has been partially remembering what I've learned in the past, as well as learning along the way. So far I've mostly made use of clipping masks which have been very helpful, and blending modes. Something I've struggled with was dealing with mistakes while drawing, specifically when it comes to layers. I've made the mistake of drawing something on the wrong layer and only realizing until too late to reverse it. Although I can work around these problems, finding ways to do so lengthens the drawing process significantly. As the other 2D artist shifts focus away from flashbacks this week for texturing, I will be doing the opposite, but we will still remain in communication regarding the flashbacks. We will be sharing Photoshop files with one another to improve consistency and communication. Unfortunately, I couldn't draw as much this week as I would've wanted since I was extremely busy with college-related things, but this week my schedule should be more free. As the year comes to a close, it's interesting to see how the work has been coming together from all team members.
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This week I stuck to my goal of primarily working/focusing on the flashbacks, and made some more progress. There was also some more communication with the other 2D artist so I could share the frames I made for a transition from in-game to the 2D cutscene. This transition will fade into the cutscenes at their beginning and end. It's important that we both have this transition so that we can maintain consistency across the board. I continued my work on the actual animations and am reaching a finished product which should be done by the end of the weekend. After speaking with the team lead and the other 2D artist, we will likely be collaborating more on the actual animation of these scenes, and sharing the Photoshop files we've been working on with one another. This upcoming week's goal is definitely aiming for more collaboration on these cutscenes as well as completion so we can begin testing the scripts in-game to make the cutscenes appear when they're supposed to. As the deadline approaches I will have to do more work at home to make sure we aren't crunched for time in the last moments before the game is due, and hopefully the rest of production goes smoothly.
In Summary:
This week we got back into our team games after working on our individual educational games for our PBM. As a group we met up at the beginning of the week to sort out how we would continue working moving forward. As one of the 2D artists, my main job will be the 2D cutscenes within the game. This means I will be working more closely with both the writer and other 2D artist. This week we decided on using a watercolor-esque style of animation since it fits well with the idea of memories since they are somewhat faded or blurred. I began working on the storyboarding for the first cutscene, and since we are using a watercolor style I decided to find a good paper texture that would work well in the background of our animations. I also decided to use the Kyle T. Webster watercolor brush pack, and I shared both the background and brush pack with the 2D artist and writer so that our animations will look consistent across the board. In the upcoming week I will continue working on the storyboard for this flashback, and once it is finished I'll continue storyboarding for the others. I will have to continue talking with the 2D artist to see which of the remaining flashbacks each of us should work on, as well as getting feedback from both them and the writer.
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I would fit the role of 2D artist well because I already have prior interest/experience in 2D art, both digital and traditional. I understand software such as Photoshop and Illustrator, and if we ever have school licensing issues with Adobe CC I also have experience and access to the free alternative, Krita. I have a decent understanding of the tools and software to create the artwork, but also the concepts such as anatomy. Creativity is one of the most important aspects of this role as well, and I would like to consider myself a creative person. I would be able to complete the expected responsibilities listed in the graphic because when I have an artistic idea, I am motivated to bring it to life. I have experience at home using a drawing tablet, and I also participate in the digital painting club, so access to the right tools and experience using them wouldn't be an issue.
2D animation has a pretty straight forward title, so you probably already know the premise of this post by looking at the title. This type of animation is quite relevant to me and the other students in my course because we will soon be learning how to take what we have have been learning recently in Illustrator into our own animation. I am really interested in this aspect of media and design and have been waiting for this lesson because it literally puts the information we know into motion. It will be interesting to really break down how 2D animators create so much movement in their work just using 2D imagery. unlike what we've been doing so far, in order to successfully create animation we will need to have an eye for the process of movement and not just one still image. As you most likely can guess animation takes time because you need to create many images to make even one smooth motion, so we will definitely need to take advantage of as much of our in class work time as we can. When we think about the creativity aspect, this will not only be how you can create an interesting storyline,but also being able to make an animation that isn't too short for the story so it feels rushed, but not too long so the people watching lose interest. Since we will most likely not have the time to make long animations we will have to focus on what storyline can be interesting, but also not take too long to tell. Animators have to deal with this type of decision making all the time. Sometimes we can overlook the design aspect of animation in which we have to recognize what will make our animation more or less appealing. These are all things 2D animators take into account, and of what I'm sure we will be learning about soon.
In Summary:
As we continue our work in Illustrator, we are using more hands-on tools like the pen tool, and the mesh tool. just beginning work with these tools can be quite challenging in some aspects. The most difficult part for me to get the hang of in the mesh tool would be placing the handles where I want them to go. This will determine the highlights and shadows of my objects to make them more realistic, but will take a while to get used to. Figuring out where to place new anchors and using handles make this tool more advanced than what we first learned in Illustrator, but being able to master this skill would be a great asset in the long run for more appealing images. Using the pen tool comes easier to me than using the pen tool. I also enjoy it more because it's interesting figuring out how to make the objects you want. It definitely takes practice to get it just right, but I so far I've been picking up on it.You can play this game at https://bezier.method.ac/, it gives you practice on making different shapes with the pen tool. You can make curves by holding down the point you are on, and you can make straight lines by holding the shift key. Using the alt key changes your direction, which is a useful tool for more complex shapes. The image below is one of my digital badges which I created mainly from basic shapes using the shape tool. The pen tool would have been more efficient in this case because I could make objects like the pencil and clouds in just one go. In the professional world one might be able to use these tools to create storyboards or concept art for games or animations. In Summary:
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About meI am a Senior at DSA and currently taking the Advanced Game Art and Design course. I enjoy playing video games and drawing in my free time. The opinions expressed within this blog are my own, and do not reflect that of Durham School of the Arts of Durham Public Schools Archives
May 2022
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