Game Engines

Something I admittedly never understood prior to this course was the concept of a “game engine”. I had no idea how it worked and I certainly didn't know there were as many as there are. Furthermore I was never quite aware of the fact that I’d end up having to use one. All this talk of engines and I find my knowledge is ashamedly poor. To remedy this I decided to look into what makes a game engine good, where it lacks, how popular it is and what games its powered.

TBC

Bradgate Park - Preparatory work and final piece

I knew I wanted to work in acrylics when depicting Bradgate park because I wanted the colours to be vibrant. I also attempted to depict the impressive fog present the day I went.

I'm pleased with the final piece however I feel some of the colours I have chosen don't quite meld together well.

Bradgate Park (again...) - Photos

I would say I was tired of visitng this place for the 3rd time now, but that might be mistaken for a lack of interest in my course (which is not true). I couldn't really imagine what another visit to the same park would benefit; however I was told we were visiting in autumn which means some of the trees may have reddened....well, that and the place was so foggy it'd put Silent Hill to shame! I did manage to take some interesting pictures however:

I really loved the gradual change in colour: from dull reds to brilliant yellows.

Strangely, even the colour of the light appeared different, which also affected the way the foliage was lit.

I like the sun coming in through the leaves.

The fog was thick that day, but strangely alluring.

I like how the trees almost frame the scenery beyond it; might make a nice final piece.

Loughborough Railway Station - Final Outcome

I decided to paint my final piece in acrylics, seeing as that was what I was most comfortable with using. I also wanted to play around with the colours more, which I find more enjoyable to do with paints. I began by creating some simple preliminary studies which would help me decide on the composition as well as the palette which I would be using. I then painted a final piece using the preliminary study I favoured the most.

Some simple preliminary paintings which would help me to decide upon a final composition.

The final outcome.

I'm happier with this piece more than I was with the Abbey park digital painting since it is closer to my personal style of painting. Some of the perspective is off and I would have liked some areas to have been more detailed. However, overall I am pleased with how this turned out.

Loughborough Railway Station - Sketches

I had to re familiarise with two-point perspective again, seeing as the majority of my work here would be based around it. To do this I made several smaller sketches focussing on getting the perspective right as well as some larger sketches to get the proportions right. Finally I produced some more polished drawings; some incorporating a marker pen.

Loughborough Railway Station - Photos

We visited the Great Railway Station in Loughborough for our next visual design process. This was a great contrast with Abbey Park seeing as the majority of what was around was manmade. I could already tell my work would be mainly perspective based and I knew the train would probably be making an appearance in the final outcome. Underneath are a few photographs I took whilst I was there:

 This part of the station almost looked as if it was still under construction

Whilst this part looked completely developed and very well maintained.

A slightly different angle of the same subject can dramatically change its context

The opposite end of the station

The drastically different, less polished rail yard proved a stark contrast to the previous imagery

My personal bit of fanart

A few nights ago I went to see a Dutch, metal band I rather liked in concert named "EPICA" (yes their choice of name is a rather nerdy one; goes with the territory...). Anyway, since I knew I would be meeting them before the show I thought I'd take the lead singer a piece of artwork.

Portrait made using watercolours, chalk pencils and a white pen.

Well I met the band and they were all pretty nice people, I handed her the picture and she was nice enough to critique it for me haha. Criticisms included "nice clean lines and a good use of colour" (somehow I expect it'll end up as a coffee coaster anyhow...). After meeting and greeting I had my picture taken with the:

Yeah they thought I was pretty weird too...

After that we went down to the venue and stood behind the barricades waiting for the show to begin. I managed to get a few good shots of the band (and some not so flattering ones).

Simone Simoms

Mark Jansen

Overall a pretty good show!

hehe

Storm the Sorrow - EPICA