The Gunpowder Barrel - Part 1

 For the first test of the realism versus stylised texturing, I have successfully modeled a gunpowder barrel from the game Sea Of Thieves. I have chosen to avoid following the full stylisation of it along the edges as this may fully distort even the realistic texture. For this reason, I have simply given the edges a beveled look, to maintain the style of Sea Of Thieves, while still being able to give it a realistic render later on.

I have however kept the stylisation on the paper label on the front of the barrel, as I felt that would be an excellent test for the realism on top of stylised models. The model was successful as even though it does not hold 100% stylisation, it holds enough to be a good even ground between the two styles. 

Seaofthieves.com. 2018. Sea Of Thieves. [online] Available at: <https://www.seaofthieves.com/> 

Here is the reference image I used for modeling the gunpowder barrel, notice the edges are flattened and there is general wear and tear along both the metal and wood areas. I opted to not include these parts as I felt they would be better represented in normal / height mapping in order to avoid the realistic texture having to compromise so much with the shapes of the damaged areas. One issue I did find with this reference image however, is the fact that the wick on top is missing. For this reason I had to use a variation of the barrel to determine exactly how to place it. 

A Continuation

 The next step I wish take in my stylisation experiment is with the textures of the models. For this experiment, I aim to create two varients of a bunch of models., one standard shaped and the other stylised. Both variations will have a realistic texture and a stylised texture. I will also be testing the boundries of the stylised texture itself to see how simplistic I can make it while still representing the texture of the model itself. For example, I shall take the stylisation far enough where it will end up as single block colours with miniscule amounts of detail. 

For my first test, I will be making assets from my favourite stylised game, one I've talked about a lot before, Sea Of Thieves. I will then be giving the assets a hand painted texture similar to what they look like in the game, and also a realistic texture in Substance Painter. I feel as though this may make the difference between stylised and standard a lot more obvious, as stylisation has ways of working with the texture to create the odd shapes they produce. The first asset I wish to test will be a gunpowder barrel, as they are simplistic enough in my opinion that they could look quite normal with a realistic texture on.

Evaluation

 After the tests I've performed on the different shapes, I think I have come to a conclusion. I would like to take the ideas I have explored further but potentially in a slightly different direction. What I mean by that is, I started the study on how far a designer could push a silhouette, yet I've found more enjoyment in organising scenes of stylised models to find hidden shapes in them.

Hopefully, I can continue this study and further investigate hiding shapes in scenes through the use of silhouettes. In order to continue, I shall be looking into artists that do this in paintings and in real life, to gain a grasp on the way they portray the art, and how they would go about starting to lay it out. In the mockup scene I made, the ship was only slightly visible to me, I wish to take this further and have a themed shape clearly visible without having to edit it in. For this, I will also need to research composition and scene placement in order for the image to be seen as well as the scene making sense. 

I feel my most successful silhouette test was either the shack or the cone. The shack provided some useful insight into the differences between regular and stylised silhouettes without taking the shape too far to be unrecognisable. The shack proved fun to distort, and the fully stylised iteration inspired me to create the final image with the hidden ship. The cone on the other hand demonstrated just how far you can push a recognisable shape in order to remove its familiarity. Multiple of the iterations of the cones were far from what they originated from and demonstrated the power of stylisation.

A Stylised Past

 My previous experiences in modeling have all followed a stylised theme. From my early days in college doing a Marvel asset showcase in the style of a comic book, to my more current work from last year, a VR heist game. 

Here I kept the models simple and stylised as I wanted to portray a sort of comic book style, while keeping the assets complex enough to look nice.

During my heist game, I tried to keep the style light and playful as the gameplay was a goofy sort of spoof on a bank heist. To explain furthur, the player was dressed as a gorilla disguise and threw bananas as an attack.

Here is an asset from the game that I spent prehaps the most time on, the car. The car is used a lot in the game as it poses as an obstacle on the way to bank. This means that the player will (if they don't look both ways) come very close to the car model, so it had to look good. While not goofy shaped, the car is still quite stylised but holds a very recognisable silhouette.

The buildings in the game were also similarly stylised to emphasise a cartoonish like world. If I had the opportunity I would have stuck a toon outline on the game like I did on the Marvel one, however all the ones I learnt were too resource heavy for a VR game, so I settled with block colours and bright, no shadowed lighting.

So even though the models are overly goofy shaped, they all fit the same style and work together to create a stylised world as I had envisioned.

The Interesting Logo Of Sea Of Thieves

 I started playing Sea Of Thieves at the beggining of lockdown with my friends and it hsa quickly grown into one of my favourite games of all time. The art style inspires me heavily, and the game play is magnificent. Due to cross platform play too, I can play it with my little sister while she's at home and I'm at uni, almost every Wednesday me and my friends set up a voyage with my sister on board and play until late. 

One of the most interesting things about the art style of Sea Of Thieves is it's unique and inspiring logo.

(Sea Of Thieves Logo by Rare)

Aside from it representing the game perfectly, the logo uses a silhouette technique to represent a skull (a huge part of the game), by placing a glimpse of everything the game offers in one small scene through the mouth of a cave. This is something I wish to be able to achieve in my work, as it looks so simple, yet is so effective in telling the player what to expect from the game at the same time. 

Often, Rare will use a more simple logo for advertisments and trailers, where the logo is just a silhouette of the skull with simpler imagery.

Over the next few days I wish to try something similar to this and create an image out of models that share a theme, and see what sort of things would be easy to create, and what wouldn't.

Hidden Imagery Test

 

After my last post about the Sea Of Thieves logo, I have done a mockup scene out of the stylised models I've made from the previous tests. I purposefully didn't make any shapes this time so that I could pick one out and try and see where I could insert one.

Here I picked the between the trees and the shack to turn into a brigantine. Obviously if I do create the island for real, I'll need to add more space between the shack and the trees, and allow for a few more interestingly shaped objects to create the ship. I feel as though using stylised models for this would be the most effective way forward as they can allow for the stretched and exaggerated silhouettes that would allow the form of the boat to be seen.

One thing I will have to bare in mind is that the Sea Of Thieves logo does not change the original shapes of the objects just to fit in the hidden imagery, so I'll have to come up with a way to fit in the boat without distorting any of the models I have placed in the scene. One work around I could possibly use for this is placing the objects far apart along one axis, so that they can overlap without going through each other. For example if I wanted two trees at different sizes in the final scene, I would place one furthur behind the other to create the illusion of size rather than scaling it down in the scene itself. This can make it so I can pick a good angle to represent the hidden imagery without blatantly inserting it through the use of an altered model and distort something for the sake of the silhouette. 

Simpler Shapes For Simpler Times Part 2

 Part 2 of the simple shapes will be a cylinder and a cone. I feel like these may be a bit more difficult to fully distort than the cube and the sphere, as they are more specific shapes.

The Cyclinders

As usual, iteration 1 is the simplest form of the cylinder, yet from the side appears as a rectangle. The second form verges on the barrel model I made a few posts back, it stretches the shape but is still very visibly a cylinder. The third shape pushes the boundries of the form a little more than the last giving it an unusual look. It seems a bit of a stretch to see a cylinder form in number 3 which I feel makes it a successful test. The fourth shape is back to the simple form with crushed in sides but still visible as what it started as. Number 5 is a more stylised look, but still could be percieved as as cylinder. 5 once again closely resembles the barrel form from the first post I made. The Sixth and final shape is the most distorted, and to me I can't see a cylinder form at all. To me this shape resembles a sort of jug or vase rather than a simple cylinder, which I feel makes this another successful attempt.

The Cones

The cones overall were a higher success as each one managed to push the boundries in different ways. The first cone is as always simple. The second one takes on the form of some sort of pastry rather than a cone, this one's boundries are pushed quite highly as the cone shape is barely recognisable.

The third iteration takes on the form of an expanded cone, losing most but not all familiarity, successfully taking the silhouette to a new form. Number 4 is very recognisable as a cone even though the shape is so exaggerated. I feel as though this is still a success as it is very different from the original and yet still holds it's form. The final shape on this batch is a curved version of number 4, only holding some of the original form. This iteration is perhaps the most stylised of the bunch, and eludes to a softer, jelly like form.

Simpler Shapes For Simpler Times Part 1

 After testing the three pirate themed models, I have found it difficult to push thier boundries of shape. Because of this, I've decided to try and distort some extremely simple shapes such as a cube, a sphere, a cone and a cylinder.

The Cubes

There's obviously not much to say about cube number 1, as it's a simple straight forward cube. For number 2, I decided to round off the edges and squish the sides to give it a sort of Crash Bandicoot crate style. For number 3 I wanted to do uneven sides to try and lose the shape of a cube, however it failed as it still clearly holds the obvious shape of what it once was. 4 was perhaps my most successful attempt as the silhouette of a cube is clearly lost, and gives the appearance of some sort of pot or vase. Back to a basic shape, 5 clearly resembles a cube still, yet has been somewhat flattened. 6 is a less exaggerated iteration of 4, trying to regain the silhouette from the unrecognisable shape it became.

The Sphere

Once again, iteration 1 is the most simple form of the object, with an easily recognisable form. The second example I have produced shows a slightly more deformed, egg like, sphere which still largely represents the spherical form. The third form is the most distorted of the bunch, and shows nearly a cube like shape rather than a sphere. I feel as though this may have been the most successful attempt of both the cube and the sphere so far as it has truly pushed the boundries of it's form. Number 4 displays a lemon-like shape which is fairly distinguishable from a sphere. I feel as though this is also a successful iteration as it leans more towards a stylised rock of sorts. The elements of a sphere are still present, yet if the onlooker wishes to, can be overlooked as another object. The fifth test is extremely simple, as it has been flattened slightly from above to give this bread loaf type look. The shape can still easily be viewed as sphere and holds the silhouette well. 

A Sharper Outline

 The third model I wanted to try, would tie in the other models in the pirate theme. A staple in pirate imagary from movies to game to historical accounts, the pirate's cutlass.

As we see from the test, the cutlass is a great example of stylisation because just moving a single area of the shape can give an entirely new look. The blade and the handle being moved slightly creates a new style of cutlass. It was fun to play with the edges and vertices to create new shapes.

I decided to try an extra bit of stylisation for the model in Maya, then altered the rest of the silhouette in PhotoShop to give it a more used look. I enjoy the final look of this one even though it isn't really pushing the boundries of the silhouette as a whole. 

The Shack

 My second model that I wanted to test the styles of was a shack, as I'm trying to make a series of models themed around deserted islands or pirates. I expected the shape to be harder to recognise than the barrel, yet it seemed to be recognisable throughout the stylisations.

From the style test, I found that while stylising the shack provides some interesting angles, its quite easy to distinguish what the model is and continues to fit the same style as the barrel.

Once again though, with the most stylised variant, I can clearly imagine the world in which it comes from.

For this model I will be stylising it further still as the iterations are still recognisable and doesn't fully push the boundries. 

So far this test for the shack has been semi successful as instead of pushing the boundries of the silhoutte, it has inspired me to furthur explore the theme of a run down pirate like island.

From this test I have realised that some objects cannot be stylised too extremely as there is no furhur way to change it without just ruining the shape in the wrong way.

Plus, for a shack, wooden poles and metal sheets can only look so stylised without losing the hardness of the materials they are. 

I feel this has been a successful test of model however as it's shown me the extent of itself while remaining the shape it was meant to be.

The Franken-Barrel

 For my first experiment of pushing the boundries of stylisation through silhouettes, I went for a simple barrel. Barrels have been a big part of games since games were first on the market. With a recognisable cylinder shape, hundreds of games from low budget indie, to high budget triple A, the use of a barrel has been prevailent in them all whether it's a bright red explosive barrel, or a friendly wooden barrel filled with health items to help the player along.

So far I've loved the stylised version of the barrel, with the most extreme style being my favourite. To me, looking at the extreme example I can almost picture the world it comes from, twisty trees and crazy roads dotted around a cartoon themed world.

Following the barrel, I want to try something with a similar theme, but a harder shape to distort, for this, I want to try a run down shack next. I feel like a building could be quite a challenge to distort while also keeping the silhouette as a recognisable shape.

Pushing The Boundries Of Shape

 My aim for this project is to try and discover how far a designer can take a cartoonistic style while keeping the object's silhouette recognisable. Silhouettes in modeling are perhaps one of the most important aspects of the design. If an object can be taken, turned into a silhouette, and still recognised then it is considered a successful design. What I'll be trying to do, create a series of models in a realistic style at first, with a recognisable shape and silhouette, and create them again in gradually more and more stylised ways, pushing the boundries of the silhouette. 

The first model I'm going to create and distort will be a simple barrel, as you can find them in nearly every game, including the games I've talked about in the last post. I honestly think that the barrel would be recognisable even in the most extreme styles that I could come up with, as they are so prevailent in games that a simple cylinder can often be recognised as a barrel depending on the game. 

(Gunpowder barrel image: https://seaofthieves.gamepedia.com/Stronghold_Gunpowder_Barrel)

(Regular barrel image: https://www.seaofthievesmap.info/383/the-sunken-grove/resource-barrels)

Even the barrels in a stylised game such as Sea Of Thieves are standardly shaped with an easily recognisable silhouette. This is something that may be hard to challenge the idea of.

Silhouettes In concept

Silhouetting for the use of concept art is one of the easiest yet most effective ways to come up with a bunch of ideas fast. Back in college, I had an assignment to cut up some pieces of paper into interesting shapes, then place them on a table. The idea was that the spaces between the pieces should leave shapes for us to be able to create characters or objects from. Since then, I've found it useful quite often, and even see characters and shapes in every day life. This is one of the reasons I have chosen my approach of the silhouette pushing, as I want to see if it's possible to still see the original form even if it's distorted beyond proportion, or if an entirely new object reveals itself.

A Fantastic example of someone that uses silhouettes for concept design is the artist Feng Zhu. Zhu uses silhouettes to establish a base concept, then adds detail to the shape to create a character or an environment.

(Image belongs to Feng Zhu Design: fengzhudesign.blogspot.com)

Commonly however, silhouetting is often only seen by the artist themselves in a pre-production stage of the artwork, before anything is taken further in forms of design or colour.

Ben Mauro is another example of a fantastic artist who demonstrates the use of silhouetting widely in his work. Mauro often displays the silhouetted versions of the characters before showing the final one, to demonstrate how he handles his ideas and concepts, and how he puts the silhouettes into practice.

(Image belongs to Ben Mauro copyright Sony Pictures)

Mauro uses complex silhouettes when finalising the designs in order to push the image he wishes to portray from the silhouettes. The first one for example, even without seeing the bottom image, the viewer can clearly see what Mauro is portraying without the use of detail or colour, kind of allowing you to see his work before it is done.