Week one - Research, references and a basic block out

After hearing the premise of the GART230 project I had several ideas in my head as to what scene from a television series/movie to recreate. After thoroughly reading the brief, looking at the previous students examples given I was able to reduce my ideas down. One of my first ideas was of iconic exteriors to houses that would be interesting to sculpt but still a challenge, like the houses from 'Lilo and Stich' and 'Coraline'. However after reading the brief and the suggestion of a contained space I decided an interior would be best especially since I currently have no experience in landscape building in engine. I had suggestions given to me like the living room from 'The Simpsons' but I didn't want to go down a super stylistic route since I didn't think it would show off much skill or fit the brief. I had a constant idea throughout of one of the sets of 'Friends', mainly Monica's apartment or the coffee house. I looked into some other sitcoms as ideas however I have alot more knowledge of 'Friends' than any other so decided to prioritise my research to that since I knew it could be useful. I looked for reference images of both the environments I was interested in choosing and weighted the pros and cons of each. For example, while the coffee house set is smaller, and so would be more manageable time wise, I think it is alot more unknown to the viewer as there isn't as many different camera angles so some sections you barely see which would make those areas very hard to recreate. Whereas, even though the living space in the apartment is somewhat bigger and more challenging there is alot more reference to it available. I feel like their are a large number of smaller assets in both settings which I see as the main challenge especially for time, but I knew I would feel more confident in recreating the assets in the apartment because of all the references I can collect and rely on.

After deciding on recreating Monica's apartment, I created a pureref and filled it with several images of the set. I focused on getting a range of angles so every part of the apartment is there for me to look back on. I also made sure to get some images straight from the show so I had people in the shot for size reference, which ended up coming in very useful in the block out stage where I was trying to scale everything as accurately as possible. Another important reference I searched for were floor plans of the set, this was recommended by my lecturers and I found them to be incredibly beneficial when creating the walls since the room has a very unique floor plan, I feel like this floor plan enabled me to save alot of time in the block out stage.

My next priority was planning my time and what needed to be done so I created a Trello board for this project. I have used Trello before for personal projects and the last environment art project and find it very useful for keeping my self on track and knowing what to do next. (This is a screen capture of my board at the end of week one).

Before I started collecting more specific references I wanted to put my floor plan image into Maya and build the basic room shape so I could understand what I was working with and since I was relatively confident with this step due to the floor plan I had found. I created a plane and textured it with the image I wanted, then I imported the scale man I had used last year for GART160 in to help me with scale.

After I had completed the walls basic block out I decided to put in the floor. Even though its not indicated in the floor plan the back section of the living area is raised. I referred to my reference sheet to see where I needed to make it raised from.

After completing the walls and floor I took some time to gather some texture/colour references. I made a palette on photoshop including the multiple wall colours, the built in kitchen colour and a small screen grab of the flooring colour/pattern.

Next, I collected some more specific images of the larger assets and listed all of the notable assets on a Trello list so I could link the images to the named card, this enables me to keep track of the individual references and eventually what I have sculpted and what I have not. Some of the images aren't the best quality and don't show off the entirety or details of the object however I believe due to my knowledge of the show, when if I need more detailed images I can pin point episodes that include the shots I need.

After collecting my references I started blocking out the large assets. I mainly used the original pureref document I created since I was just looking for scale and a very basic base for my block out. I also used the list I had created on Trello to make sure I didn't miss anything and if I needed some more close up photos, for example seeing the scale of the tv compared to the stand its on. I just used cubes to block in the furniture, and a cylinder for the circular table. I made this very basic just so I could then have a clear plan on the size and location of all of my furniture assets that ill be sculpting later. My floor plan image helped with the sizing of the blocks since it also has the basic furniture layout included in the image, however I did make some changes to parts that weren't included or didn't match with my references. I started with the kitchen since the furniture is built in so it made sense for me to start there, it took me a couple of tries to get the height right but after selecting a reference with a character stood directly next to the counter and fridge I could then match that up with my scale man.

I then worked my way through the apartment continuing the block out. The only troubles I came across at this stage was that some of the objects were moved or replaced throughout my references due to minor set changes throughout the 10 seasons. To combat this I decided to go with the placement/item that showed up most or that I could get the best reference of, as long as it made sense.

When blocking in the window seat I was able to adjust the walls to fit the space. I also slanted the back window wall so it was more accurate.

When starting work on the more unseen areas I had to go digging for more specific shots, for example the beam above the kitchen. I was unsure if the beam went all the way across since the camera never went that high, however I was able to find some behind the scene shots that confirmed it did go across. Another example is the wall to the left of the front door, this wall doesn't usually exist on set since this is where they shoot from, however I know there have been a few shots of it shown so I found the scene and took some screen grabs of the area to fill it in as best I could. After finding these images I added them to my pureref document for future use.

Throughout the whole process I kept my scale man close by to whatever I was working on at the time to keep a cohesive scale.

At the end of the first week I think I am at a good stage currently, with a block out, a decent amount of research and references and a introduction to textures. I have a solid way to plan and keep on track with Trello and have created a section for my blog ready for the weeks ahead. I have realised this will be quite a challenge, however I think working modularly and repeating assets where appropriate will save me alot of time so next I'm going to be focusing on finding a way to do this. My plan is to take my references, break down and annotate where modularity would be best used. Another goal for next week is to get it all into unreal engine.