Major Project | Monday Check-In [24/09/2018]

Major Project

It's officially the start of 3rd year, and it's time to get back into the flow of project work! During the summer, there had been some debating around my major project ideas- particularly as to whether I should continue from my Premise, or start anew:

After some debating I've decided to continue my 'Premise' project, as 1- it allows me to delve back into an existing body of work, 2- I want to build on my concept/environment designs for my portfolio. 

Type of Project | An online bestiary.

Core Concept | An illustrative and written guide for a collection of creatures (and their respective environments), as featured/inspired by the written work of 'Borne' by Jeff Vandermeer, as seen through the eyes of our main protagonist. This is to be presented as a separate guide that can be accessed on an alternative platform (i.e. online), to help build context for the world of the book. 

Research Into | 1- 'Digital Painting' and 'Rendering'.

                           2- Presenting finalised designs professionally.

                           3- Environments.

                           4- Animating 2D planes.

                           5- Visual techniques as discussed in concept stage, both digitally and
                                traditionally.

                           6- Existing, digital 'guides' as made in response to a 'film' or 'book'.

                           7- Soundscapes/creature calls.
                           8- Creating 'characterful' creature designs. 

Goal | 1- To embrace the world of 'Borne' fully- and capture the 'feel' of the book within the 

               visual design, and the 'bestiary' itself.  
           2- To produce 5 'well rounded', 'characterful' and 'believable' character designs.   
           3- To finalise and render these designs sufficiently for consideration.
           4- To have 5 written descriptions relating to each 5 characters.
           5- To create an interactable guide, that can be effectively accessed alongside the   
                book. 
           6- A piece of work that works as an 'additional' aspect of the 'Borne' lore, that can
               function both 'separately' or in 'relation to' the original text.

Outcome |   - To create 5 finalised designs by December/January, before selecting a final 

                       design to take forward into modelling, and then onto the animation pipeline.

                       - A visually and conceptually engaging 'Making Of' book.

                     - To create a moving/interactive bestiary, that composes finalised designs,  

                       environments and animations (to capture mannerisms), on a digital platform.

Planned Methodology | The following methodology includes:

Producing a document of design for 1 creature/life form, each week.
Posts include Monday for check in days, to verify the plan for the week.
Fridays are the 'sign off' posts, where this work is complied for consideration. 

This week | 1- Create a template for 'Sign off Fridays'

                    2- Experiment with techniques (both digital and traditional), relating to
                          European bestiaries, and Latin American architecture/culture, to establish a

                       'look' for the document.

                    3-Work on establishing 'character' within designs.

                    4- Look into techniques of 'rendering' and presentation for design documents.