Games Modelling

Maps Part 2: Rope Normal Map

Adaptation B: The City of Dis

During my tutorial last week with Alan we discussed the direction I'll be taking this project in. It was suggested I avoid the high fantasy route as this could come up as being quite clique, but it is the direction I would quite like to go in. So after a little more discussion it was decided that I would go with a lot of detail and make the environment as disturbing as possible.  Trying to capture the feeling of oppression, horror and terror described by Dante in the passage. As well as capturing Dante's new lack of empathy he feels towards the sinners as this is where Dante begins to feel that the punishments inflicted upon the sinners are justified, where as before he thought they were harsh and occasionally fainted and cried when confronted with the results of the punishments.
Alan showed me an Artist by the name of Meats Meier who uses Maya, Zbrush, After effects ect.. to create all his work. The videos below are two that I particularly liked their quite creepy, and it is definitely something like I would like to do with my own environment. Having lots of bodies that have subtle moment within my environment will add the the unsettling feel of it.
The rest of his artwork can be found here on his website http://www.3dartspace.com/

It was also suggested that since I am going to be going into a lot of detail with my model that I focus on a small area. So I have decided that I want to focus on just outside the walls with the gate, then what you see inside the city when the gates open. I really want to focus on the gate quite a lot and make it one of the main focuses not just the inside of the city.
Look at some more inspiration Alan pointed out that the ministry of magic statue for the Harry Potter films is quite incredible and depicts oppression quite well.
Then I just found a few more images that I quite like the look of.

Mike Butkus

William Blake

Inside the Basilica di San Petronio there is a fresco painting done by Giovanni da Modena called "The Inferno" which is based on Dante's The Divine Comedy and it is an incredibly detailed painting.

Mudbox Lesson

We were given a model and the final concept art for the model and we were asked to start putting the detail into it. Below is what I have done so far.

Infographic style research

As my idea has developed since I last did some style research, I decided to take another look and find influences that are relevant to my infographic and emulate I style that I would like to do.

Adaptation A: Draft script

I spent the weekend figuring out exactly what I would be doing with my Infographic and how each of the crazy laws will be shown as well as the transitions between each one. Minor things might change once I get to the animating stage but for now this is what I will be working with.

Script by Kym Mumford

Modelling Part 3 and Maps Part 1

Modelling Part 3: High Resolution

Maps Part 1: Base Normal Maps

Life Drawing

Today I went to life drawing and I really enjoyed it, was really good to get back into it. We did four different 20 minute poses.

Adaptation B: Influences

I thought I would start doing some more research for my adaptation B project. The first sheet is research on how other people have interpreted "The City of Dis". The second and third are just a few images that I found interesting in one way or another either because of their composition, colour or their content. Then lastly the fourth page is some images of Architecture from Italy and Greece. Although after my tutorials my influences will probably change.

Mudbox lesson 2

We learnt to create new tools in mudbox and how to use layers and freezing certain parts of the model while you sculpt the rest. So I was just playing around with the different functions and came up with these. 

Adaptation B

For my Adaptation B I want to do a digital set, an environment. I decided I would base it on The Divine Comedy by Dante Aughieri. Most people are familiar with Dante's inferno which is the first part of the book, the other two parts continue Dante's journey into purgatory and then heaven. I've read the translated version of the book and have decided to focus on Canto VIII- IX where the 'City of Dis' is described. I've scanned in the passage along with my first notes and points to research on the topic. Excuse my handwriting it can be hard to read sometimes.

Canto VIII-IV (and notes) by Kym Mumford

The Conventions of the crazy 50

I was thinking about the order I'm going to be showing the laws in and I decided to do it according to where they are on the map. I also have been starting to think about my title and how that's going to look. I'm still struggling to figure out how to show the laws and what time of animation I'm going to do. I'm doing a few after effects tutorials hopefully I can get some inspiration while doing them.

Map Ideas

One of the ways that was suggested that I move in-between my different laws since they are state specific. So instead of just having a map of the USA and moving around it I thought it might be interesting if on the map there are various other images that are typically american or typical to specific states, just to give the viewer a little more to look at as you move around on the map.  So I looked into things that are quintessentially american and how people have put them into infographics of their own. Below are some of the results I found. Not sure yet if I want to go down this route but it's an interesting idea to look into.

What I might do with this is on my map is have images that depict some of the other laws that I don't have in my final 10 because each state has so many and I'm not showing them all in my infographic might be a nice way to still acknowledge the others. 

Finalizing ideas

During my tutorial with Phil it was decided that I would do the crazy laws in america. I just needed to narrow it down to 10 laws and then decided on how I am going to show it all and what order. Below are the 10 laws I decided to go with.

1. (Arizona) You may not have more than two dildos in a house.
2. (Florida) Having sexual relations with a porcupine is illegal.
3. (Alabama) It is illegal to wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church. 
4. (Maine) In Waterville, it is illegal to blow one's nose in public.
5. (Alabama) In Louisiana, you may not tie an alligator to a fire hydrant.
6. (Illinois) In Chicago, Illinois, it is illegal to fish in pyjamas.
7. (Arizona) There is a possible 25 years in prison for cutting down a cactus.
8. (Montana) It is illegal to have a sheep in the cab of your truck without a chaperone.
9. (Indiana) Citizens are not allowed to attend a cinema or theatre nor ride in a public street car within at least four hours after eating garlic.
10. (Nebraska), In Lehigh, doughnut holes may not be sold.

Looking into style a bit more and how I can present my information across I found these two videos I quite liked. Their simple but still interesting to look at and I like the muted colours in both of them. 

So I think for my infographic I'll go with the colour scheme below, a simple colour scheme of pastel colours.

Games Modelling

Modelling Part 1: Low Resolution 

Modelling Part 2: UV Layout

Crazy Laws

Still looking into the crazy laws around the world it was suggested to me that I place them into categories.

United States 

1. A man can legally beat his wife, but not more than once a month 
2. In Bernards Township, New Jersey, it is illegal to frown as the town is a "Frown-Free Town Zone". 
3. In Lehigh, Nebraska, doughnut holes may not be sold. 
4. In Maryland, it's illegal to take a lion to the movies. 
5. In Longmeadow, Massachusetts, it is illegal for two men to carry a bathtub across the town green. 
6. In Waterville, Maine, it is illegal to blow one's nose in public. 
7. In Louisiana, you may not tie an alligator to a fire hydrant. 
8. In Chicago, Illinois, it is illegal to fish in pyjamas. 
9. In Georgia, donkeys may not be kept in bathtubs. 
10. In Pinecrest, Florida, in order to operate a burglar alarm, a permit must be obtained. 
11. In Denver, Colorado, it is unlawful to lend your vacuum cleaner to your next door neighbour. 
12. In Pacific Grove, California, you can be fined $500 if you bother a butterfly. 
13. In Washington state, there is a law that states that 'a motorist with criminal intentions [must] stop at the city limits and telephone the chief of police as he is entering the town.' 
14. It is illegal to wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church. 
15. There is a possible 25 years in prison for cutting down a cactus. 
16. You may not have more than two dildos in a house. 
17. In Ventura County, California, cats and dogs are not allowed to have sex without a permit. 
18. Having sexual relations with a porcupine is illegal. 
19. A man with a moustache may not kiss a woman. 
20. Citizens are not allowed to attend a cinema or theatre nor ride in a public streetcar within at least four hours after eating garlic.
21. In Ohio, it is illegal to get a fish drunk

British 

1. According to the brilliantly named ‘The Outer Space Act 1986’, the Secretary of State is permitted to use ‘reasonable force’ to prevent an alien invasion of the UK – as long as the aliens don’t possess a licence to invade. In which case, they can operate their ‘space objects’ in perfect legality. This is the sort of law that truly made Britain great. 
2. It is an offense to be intoxicated (drunk) and in charge of a cow in Scotland.
3. All English men over 14 are meant to carry out two hours of longbow practice each week, supervised by the local clergy.
4. It is illegal not to tell the taxman anything you don’t want him to know, though you don’t have to tell him anything you don’t mind him knowing.
5. Throughout the whole of England it is illegal to eat mince pies on the 25th of December.
6. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.
7. In the UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants – even, if she so requests, in a policeman’s helmet.
8. Eating mince pies on Christmas Day is banned
9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour 
10. In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter 
11. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down

Death

1. If you fancy a spot of eternal life, forget the Holy Grail: just go and live in the remote Arctic town of Longyearbyen, where dying is against the law. Actually, this is because it was found that bodies didn't decompose in the permafrost. The graveyard stopped accepting newcomers 70 years ago; so if you fall gravely ill there now, you will be hastily dispatched by plane to the mainland, where you can end your days without getting arrested. 
2. ; A women can be fined (only after death), for being electrocuted in a bath-tub because of using self-beautification utensils. 
3. A Minnesota tax form is quite thorough. Some would say too thorough. It even asks for your date of death. 
4. In Hemet, a driver of "any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in death...shall immediately stop...and give his name and address to the person struck. 
5. Death penalty statutues require the inmate to be completely healthy before execution and to use sanitary procedures during execution. Also, inmates can delay execution by donating organs to science, ad infinitum, and avoid execution by staying unhealthy. 
6. Death is no excuse under the law for unpaid parking tickets. If a meter maid finds an illegally parked car with a dead person inside, the car must still be ticketed. 
7. In the state of Georgia, in the United States of America, it is forbidden to use any profanity in front of a corpse that is located at a coroner's office or at a funeral home 
8. In the state of Illinois, it is illegal to abuse a corpse as well as it is against the law to have sex with one. 
9. It states that a husband may be allowed to have intercourse for up to six hours with his deceased wife after her death. 
10. Need to transport a corpse in London, England? Don't bother to call a cab. It's illegal for taxi drivers to drive corpses around.
11. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.

Mudbox Lesson

In our mudbox lesson today we just played around with the different tools. 

Style research

I decided to do a bit of style research and below are some of the styles I really liked and have thought about having for my animation. 

The Conventions of...

During the pitch it was suggested that I do Culture perception, Unwritten rules of society and etiquette as the three of them are pretty much the same. It was also suggested that I look into dining etiquette and the major differences between how people behave at the dinner table and what is considered rude in one country is polite in another.

Focusing on dining in different cultures these are a few examples I found of the differences in some countries.

Etiquette by Kym Mumford

While I was doing my research I came accross some of the craziest laws around the world and I found a few interesting things that I think might actually work better than finding the differences in dining in various cultures. Some of the laws are really funny and finding 10 interesting and funny crazy laws will be a lot easier, also to be honest researching dining etiquette is rather boring and very difficult finding some of the diffrences.
I found this book "The Law is an Ass" by Richard Happer that has 250 of the worlds craziest laws and I will be looking through it to see if there is anything in there that I can use as my video infographic.

Some of the examples of the laws I found are as follows;

• According to the brilliantly named ‘The Outer Space Act 1986’, the Secretary of State is permitted to use ‘reasonable force’ to prevent an alien invasion of the UK – as long as the aliens don’t possess a licence to invade. In which case, they can operate their ‘space objects’ in perfect legality. This is the sort of law that truly made Britain great.
• In Denmark, you legally have to check under your car for children who may be sleeping there before you start the engine. But don’t panic too much if you forget and get thrown in jail for running over some catnapping kids – in Denmark it is not against the law to escape from prison.
• If you fancy a spot of eternal life, forget the Holy Grail: just go and live in the remote Arctic town of Longyearbyen, where dying is against the law. Actually, this is because it was found that bodies didn’t decompose in the permafrost. The graveyard stopped accepting newcomers 70 years ago; so if you fall gravely ill there now, you will be hastily dispatched by plane to the mainland, where you can end your days without getting arrested.

The conventions of..

The part of a sentence that I picked out of the box was 'The conventions of..'

I wasn't sure of the meaning so I looked it up and conventions means a set of agreed, stipulated standards or norms often taken from of a custom

The ideas that I came up with are as follows:

• Disney films
• Science fiction
• tragedy
• Fairy tales
• Film noir
• Opening sequences
• Comedy
• Romance
• The origin story
• Cults
• Gender roles
• Stereotypes
• Hero/ Villain/ sidekick etc..
• Vampire genera
• Horror
• Art
• Social behavior in public
• Unwritten rules of society
• etiquette
• Cliques
• Zombies
• Housewife
• High Tea
• Culture perception

Maya Tutorials

Skinning Part 1 - Building a Ribbon Spine

Skinning Part 2 - Building the Skeleton