How has your diorama met the needs of your audience?
When first looking into the needs of my chosen audience, I based my concept towards a male between the ages of 14-21. The reason behind this, is because I chose to create my concept art stylized, although containing real elements of Western tradition in the assets design, which means the ages are broad between teenagers and young adults, as each are able to appreciate both the style and the history. Typically, teenagers within this age range prefer colour schemes such as green and grey, and are balanced between the females of red and yellow. These were the main colours featured within my diorama. My age range fits perfectly for this theme, as they are not only the second largest age-range to play video games, but also like the genres of action and romance the most; my diorama is made as a large landscape, meaning it can be interpreted as either a simple and relaxing environment, or a large farm area used for combat between players. I liked that this could be interpreted in both of these ways, in which boundaries of violence would be quite vast due to this age-range typically being young adults.
How did your audience research inform the development of your idea?
Deciding on a target audience is important in narrowing down my options for the type of colours, details, and overall themes of my project. It is important to have a set target audience, not only to attract a certain target market, but also to help you decide how you want to create your piece. I based my style upon ‘Over-watch’s’ graphics, as these are based upon a similar demographic age group to mine, and solely focus on mixing stylized artwork with realistic lighting. Within my concept piece, I was then able to translate this into a similar style, using exaggerated shapes, but creating lighting and shades that you would realistically see in a Western environment. In addition to this, as I was focusing more on using realistic and dull colours such as grey, and brown, I thought it would be more appropriate for a male audience, as girls within this age range prefer much brighter and bold colours, specifically during their teenage adolescence.
Web link address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zXTR8AgRnk
Review your research and final product and identify how it reflects the identified characteristics and contexts of a 2D diorama
A diorama in defined as a “representation of a scene with three dimensional figures”, this means, my guidelines for a 2D diorama, would be to create a scene shown in the Western genre, with a 3D dimensional perspective. For this, I researched further to find different examples of dioramas, how they are shown, and what they are specifically used for. An example of this, includes computer generated dioramas, which are typically used and created by 2D artists, and 3D modelers, using software to produce the entirety of the scene. Although, further examples such as gaming, are usually featured as miniature dioramas, something I learnt during my research, as this is an important factor when designing a landscape development for a game rather than computer generated. Comparing this research to my final product, my concept art reflects all of the required characteristics of a 2D diorama, as it was created using Maya as a block-out, which gained its three dimensional viewpoint. In addition to this, it is an enclosed space. where you can fully see the entirety of the product, making it a full model of a scenery.
Reflect on your learning and skills – What you have done and why you have done it?
Throughout the entirety of my course, I have learnt how to use my own workflow, and apply it to my 2D art pieces to speed up the process, and create unique sets of artwork. When thinking about this development, I have used my previous mistakes, and applied it to this project, which overall really improved my knowledge of both the software, and the types of tools I can use. For example, I wasn’t familiar with the blending options, and using these tools as an advantage; by experimenting with Photoshop’s interface, it allowed me to use textures I have created, and apply them to almost any area within my diorama, which is something I struggle doing by hand with the different changes of perspectives. In addition to this, I got to improve on my freehand 3D modelling skills, by incorporating a technique I have never used before, this technique not only allowed me to improve my ability to create block-outs of environments, but also use this as a building block to create my own original paint-overs, without having to worry about the assets themselves being disproportionate.
Sum up your ongoing evaluations/opinions/reflections that you documented during the project.
When I was given the brief of this project, I was excited because I mostly experimented with characters during my previous projects. Although, creating a 2D three dimensional scene, took me out of my comfort zone. At first I wasn’t sure on the types of material I could create, as I mostly thought of environment work as landscapes rather than buildings and objects, when this project was focused towards this sector, I was excited to develop my ideas, and consistently expanded on what I could create, as it was something new. When developing my research, one of the most challenging areas was deciding on a demographic, I had trouble gathering statistical information to fit my age group, as this range was particular focusing on both teenagers and young adults, rather than one or the other. This made it difficult to back-up my reasoning’s for colour designs, and my dioramas material, although I realized using the Overwatch’s visual style, would really allow me to contrast my decisions with the way they base theirs for their audience. Throughout the project, I was tested when creating in an isometric view, at first my artwork was completely scewed, as I wasn’t sure on the ways to fix this issue; once I was taught new methods on how I could use my knowledge of 3D modelling within my 2D work, this really changed my perspective on my work, and allowed me to change my concept and adapt it into something much more accurate.
When reflecting on my project, and its documentation, I realized that my previous knowledge of design methods, allowed me to use that information to overcome issues I had with a newer and more complicated design scheme. It meant I had to manage my time swiftly, and change and adapt my ideas much more thoroughly than usual, otherwise my project would fall about. I began thinking more in-depth about the types of demographic i’m aiming towards, and the importance of this when i’m creating artwork for a concept piece, or for a project within the gaming industry.
What do you feel has worked well and what did not work well? What could you do to improve your work?
During the beginning of my production was where I had the most issues, I struggled to figure out where I wanted toe assets, and how I was going to create this is the 3 dimensional isometric view I needed. Perspective is one of the main things I struggle with within my artwork, as I already had the scene planned out from an early point within the project, I just needed to figure out how I was going to create this the way I wanted. During the end, I mostly sorted out the proportion issues, although I should have considered how distant everything would be, as because I chose to surround my diorama with mountains, it meant the barn and the windmill had to be quite small in comparison, so it would be the correct perspective. Although this meant the detail within these assets were limited, and wasted on the amount of time I spent constructing them. On a positive note, I believe the shading went well, and really complimented my design especially during the change in colour balance near the end of my diorama; it meant my concept started to come alive and fit the style I wanted, and really worked well with the main base, and grass shadows, one thing I was particularly worried about during the production process.
Reflect on peer and tutor feedback
When evaluating on my peer and tutor feedback, most of my issues lied with not showing enough development within my problem solving and production periods, or not putting in my work within my blog on the peer feedback days. This meant a lot of my work was missing even though it was completed, and although I am usually ready by the official deadline, managing my time so that I am ready a couple of early, would mean I wouldn’t get peer feed-back comments which inform me of my missing work. Aside from this, I have been keeping a steady pace and working to a good level, which is something I would to continue doing throughout my newest projects. In terms of my student action plans, they consist of ensuring I have completely developed my work as furthest as it can go, as well as keeping track as to whats submitted on my blog during feed-back assessment periods.
What have you learned during this project?
In terms of what I’ve learnt, my time management has been much better, meaning i’ve been able to adapt my work further than I usually would be able too, as well as allow my production log to stay on track, so I can move forward within my projects. I have also gained knowledge on a variety of different Photoshop tools, such as experience with the pen tool, as well as blending modes and overlays, helping me improve my work process, and keep my workload down. I am now able to confidently create environment block-outs and use them to create isometric and 3-dimensional artwork, much quicker than if I was trying to create the perspective myself, without having problematic issues with skewing and over enlargements.
Morgan Clark: Games Development L3 Year 2 