So last week was the last week of the first two course of my second year here, which means this week two new courses started!
First off, we had Motion Capture, which was really cool! I kind of expected us to only do theoretical stuff and talk about the software we’re going to use, but our teacher Nataska had two students from the class dress up in black velcro suits and act out some fighting scenes! One of us also got to act as a director for the ”actors”.
It was awesome.
It was also really cool to see how their bodies translated into dots on the screen that connected into ”skeletons” that moved around. After we had done some practical stuff we did actually talk about the software a bit and we got to try and create those ”skeletons” from the dots by ourselves. It was relatively easy, though the program takes some getting used to.
We have also begun 3DII this week, which will be about creating modular evironments. Modular environments are basically environments with assets that gets reused over and over again, to create a unified look and to reduce the workload for artists.
If we look at this screenshot from Skyrim for example, you see the same kind of pillars, walls, chandeliers, banners and even pattern on the rug repeated over and over again. This feels natural, because this is how architecture and interior design typically works, but it reduces the amount of resources the game has to load by a huge amount. Then there are unique assets of course, which adds the extra touches an enviroment needs. For example, in the screenshot above there is the skeleton of a dragon’s head above the throne in the far back of the room, giving the keep its name: Dragonsreach.
After playing Skyrim for a few hundred hours you start noticing these things, but instead of it feeling ”cheap” or lazy, it just feels like the people are all part of the same culture and build their houses the same way, which is a good thing.
For the assignment this course, we’re going to create modular evironments ourselves, and I will most likely make a corridor from a sort of Victorian ghost house. I only have some loose ideas at the moment, but until next week I’ll need a proper art guide. So I’ll show you then!
Tova Svensson 