Major Project Brief
Developing an idea for my major project.
Mood board/Research
Space:
Extinct Animal: Dodo Bird
Project Pitch
Scene/Shots plan:
1. Video/Picture of the underground platform. Bird, dressed up as a businessman, waits for the train to work.
2. Next shot of arriving train.
3. Close up shot at the Birds face (eyes blinks).
4. Environment (Beach, holiday) where Bird would wish to be instead of the underground station.
5. Passing train (Bird missed the train).
6. Suitcase on the platform (Bird left).
Reference Images
3D Models
I am currently working on two models. These two objects are going to be a part of Dodo dressing.
Umbrella
Hat
Hat workflow
I used Maya to model the hat. I also applied all the textures in Maya.
Hat colour palette
Underground/Overground Videos
Piccadilly Circus
Videos without people at Picadilly Circus Underground Station.
Holborn
Video with people at Holborn Underground Station.
Shadwell - Limehouse
A trip from Shadwell to Limehouse. Video from inside the train and Limehouse station.
Passing Train
Presentation
Basic visualisation of the project with music.
Timetable
Environment
I decided to model environments in Maya (Underground) and Unreal Engine (Beach). I enjoy modelling and I consider to work as an Environment artist so I think that would be better to model environments instead of use videos.
Underground
I already started to work on an underground station to see how would that go. I am going to focus on a small bit of the corridor, so I will not go highly into building details. I will cover the part of the environment that will be visible in the camera shot.
References
Project Progress
Beach
I learnt Unreal Engine in my first year of study (Games, Design and Animation course). Because it will be mostly a water environment I found it easier to model in UE. I will do the 3D models in Maya and import them to the UE scene. I tested it out and that's what I came up with so far.
References
Unreal Engine
Maya
Penguin
My first idea was a Dodo, but I wasn't sure how it would come out and I didn't know how to approach its face. I search for the bird I would like for quite a while. Finally, I decided to go for the penguin. Penguins don't have feathers. Also, they have a simple, round body shape. I managed to find a 360 Penguin view, which will help me to make a very accurate 3D model.
References
Maya 3D Model Progress
Everything is at a basic stage. Although I wanted to try out everything before I made my final decision on how and what software I will use for this project. I am happy with the outcome and I am confident to manage the full project on time, including 2-3 weeks to render.
Penguin
Unreal Engine Beach Progress
I finished the Penguin model. The last step for this model will be texturing in Substance Painter.
I am still working on this project. Although I already set up the camera animation. To model most of the plants, I used images from google. I made an alpha copy in Photoshop of the original picture and applied it on the plane together with the picture to receive the plant shape.
Textures
Sand
Palm Bark
Pre-viz Penguin
Penguin Texture in progress
Beach
Underground Station
Based on reference images I created an underground station. The advertisements I used are related to animals as the main character in the scene is the penguin. I kept the scene in a little bit old style.
Train
I mostly focused on the outside of the train. I modelled a chair and added a London underground chair texture.
Suitcase
My original idea was to keep the suitcase black, but it was not visible when I placed it next to the penguin so I decided on a shiny gold colour. I placed some rubbish and newspaper under the bench.
Finished scene
I increased the light power on the platform and inside the train to reduce noise and add extra reflection on the ground when the train was passing by. Although I still struggled with some noise. I could not make the scene more bright because the reflection on the top of the train was too bright.
I edited the final video in Premiere Pro. I add a background noises, reduced the noise as much as I was able to and also add some shadows.
Showreel