Environment Design Rocks!

[vlada]

Hey Amitt, no worries! You've been doing a phenomenal job so far. I look forward for everyone's critiques, gonna give them a listen tomorrow morning :)

I like the more personalized/brief assignment, too, that's really awesome of you to offer. I will likely miss the stream (I'm away for most of the day and have an exam to prepare for on Monday), sorry about that!

[Aumes]

Hey Amit, hey guys what's up?  
So, i'm posting this week's dev of my nvrs. As i was working on the values, i thought it would help to push it more to photo-bashing (i hope it's alright).

All the best to everyone.

Cheers

[Aumes]

Oh man. Only now i realized i screwed up with time zone. Sorry Amit (i wasn't enable to upload the file on the website). My bad.

[Aumes]

[Amit Dutta]

Sent an email, but posting here as well:

Week 04 Mini-Project Crits: Sunday 15 November @ 10:30 am - ?? NZST (UTC+12)
Use http://www.worldtimebuddy.com to check when this is for you.

I have found some time to squeeze in the long-awaited crits for your awesome mini-project beginnings. I will start streaming at around 10:30 am and keep going until I finish. The stream will be recorded for later viewing, but if you can make it and ask questions directly that  might be useful for you.

If you have already received your crits but want to show me any updates, please just post it here in the forum thread and I will check it during the stream.

[Olooriel]

I'm away from home for the weekend, so unfortunately I won't be able to make it to the stream - but looking forward to watching it later, have fun everyone!

[keeny]

Hey Amit,

I started blocking out the cliffs in 3D. This is what I have so far. Everything is easy to move around - so with your feedback the composition could be completely different, camera can be moved, etc.

I'd like the viewer to see down to the water, but also the underside leaves of some foreground tree tops. I think the foreground area could be larger/deeper to allow placing some people, huts, etc.

I think the cliffs could be higher & closer to top of frame too - to give a sense this whole world is really in a giant canyon.

Cheers,
Barry.

[vlada]

*stealthposts*

Some stalls/boat detail sketches I knocked out a few days ago and only scanned recently.

[Amit Dutta]

Guys the crits are all online now, recorded and viewable on Sywork : https://sywork.tv/channel/name/monkeyscratchingses
Sorry you're gonna have to skip through and find your crit yourself.

@AndyR: I totally forgot that you sent me yours on FB, so I couldn't crit them live! I'll write up some stuff on your latest sketches soon.
@ Vlada, nice sketchies...haha you snuck that in during the stream then, shame I didn't catch on! :)
I like the whimsical nature of your designs..very nice vibe. In terms of design, definitely think about some elements of consistency to tie them together using shape / material and the fabric patterns/graphics in use. I think there is a sense of the shape language of sails in even the landbased stuff which might work really nicely for a city that is very focused on the water. Perhaps less square and more the triangular / ribbed works would work.

Of course for your IP city, things would have built up in layers over time, and you have newer stuff built over and next to older stuff. Perhaps thinking about these evolutions specifically might also help you create a feeling of both variation and consistency at the same time.

Keep it going, and let's see some of this reflected in your more detailed comp sketches!

[Aumes]

Hey, thanks for the feedback Amit (and for being patient). Sorry man, i realize i didn't nailed it right, because of the photos in it. I gotta work on it following your direction.
I'm learning and i like it a lot!

Cheers

[ZombieChinchilla]

Here's mine, a whole week and a half late! Amit, if you don't want to do a whole crit of this, I totally understand, but I would really appreciate any comments from anyone about how my stuff is coming along.



I'm a little torn over which thumbnail to do. The first one, of a church in the distance, is interesting and I like it, however it does not really convey that there are statues everywhere. I want to have a statue standing right outside the door but I don't know if that's enough to convey the plot.

The second one is really interesting, but I'm not sure if a swamp is really the best environment...but having the statues in the water is really creepy, plus the house in the background with the light in the window that is your objective makes it perhaps the best composition.

I kinda really hate the third one because interiors and perspective are my biggest enemies, so it was really rough. It's creepy, but again, it doesn't really convey the plot.

[monkeybit29]

Just checking in. I apologize for not being able to make it, but thanks a lot for still providing me a critique (especially after having to do it for 3+hours lol).

I see I have a ton of work to do still, I still haven't had the time to make the building sketches, but i'm hoping tomorrow I will have a few to go off of, and Thursday (since im like practically a day behind your timezones lol) I will have something ready to turn in :^D

Also @vlada I really dig the sketches you got going on for some of the tent/props, keep it up!

[keeny]

Hi Amit,

Here's a set of designs for one of the mars trees. I started looking at kelp for A+B, then lily pads for C, and D is a mix. D is my favourite so far. I was thinking the aliens might climb and collect the bulbous fruit like coconuts. So I should probably scale them down some.

Cheers,
Barry.

[Amit Dutta]

@monkeybit: All good man, let's see what you come up with. I really want to push the sense of scale and mood with yours. It's gonna be sweet!

@Barry: Damn man. Those are all awesome. I'm definitely liking the lily variants, but B is good too, and yeah I think a bit smaller in scale would be good for the illustration. Also play with the trunk shaping/width/number if you like, but this is great stuff man! Ecosystems have variety in shape and scale, so definitely keep going with more plants etc...and then we will have a great library of stuff to populate your comps with!

[Adam Lina]

Zombie, I like the middle thumb the best. That figure on the far right is competing too much with your focal point though.

I've made a lot of changes to this comp. I wanted to hear any thoughts you guys had on it so far. Im thinking of leaving the knights out since its going to be a single stand alone image at this point so it might confuse the narrative. I want to imply that the apes are being led up to the pyramid to be sacrificed. I might add in chains or ropes on them to show they're captives.

[TwilightExplode]

Here's my new thumbnail's line work. It feels a little empty to me, but I think that's largely due to the lack of value.

When will the new upload form be up?

[Amit Dutta]

Nice updates guys. I'll have to reserve crits for the stream, just don't have the time to do it inbetween.
The upload folder for "week05" is ready, so you can use the usual form to send me your stuff!

[Aumes]

Hey guys, how are you today?
i'm revising the scenes, step by step. I'll post here what's done so far.

Hey Amit, please, when possible, can you give me some feedback? Thanks.

I'll post as i go, for the other two scenes.

Cheers

[ZombieChinchilla]

Sorry if you said it and I missed it, but when is the official deadline for week 5? Friday at what time?

[Amit Dutta]

@Zombie, sorry I just mentioned it on the stream.

Deadline to upload your stuff this week is 9pm Friday 20 November (NZST).