Return to Architecture with the Fundamentals of Castle Design

  When I hit a rut with character design recently I took a new approach after some refresher time with one of my favourite genres of video game: The city/nation builder. It gave me time to reflect on what I was interested in with 3D design. While I am still willing to happily dabble with character design, I've realised that I've been deeply fascinated in architecture.

  Going back to those roots I continued a fantasy theme by taking on the design of a castle. These are quite fascinating buildings that entertain a passion I've had for cities. A castle is not simply a structure in and of itself. It is a form of settlement, with the lord's keep as a centrepoint but can host several other separate buildings like kitchens, stables, doctors, places of worship, gathering centres, armouries, barracks, prisons and guest houses.

  They were designed as places of power. Centers of control for a local lord and a headquarters for a local garrison. From the first castles of the 11th century to the chateau-forts that followed the dominance of the cannon and the subsequent obsolescence of their ability to protect. Their design varies wildly from location-to-location. Climates and availability of materials can greatly influence their design. But they also have a particular fondness in role-play gaming like the tabletop or computer RPGs as somewhere for players to call home. Not just because of the prestige of the structure and somewhere to receive guests, but the aforementioned fact they contained many facilities from stable to kitchens, putting everything an adventurer (or adventuring group) would need in once place.

  In short, nothing seems to make a player feel safer than to be within two or three layers of curtain wall and all the resources they could ever need to keep themselves supplied and prepared.

  At present, the only part of the current fort I dub "Castle Ridgewell" near completion is the curtain wall. As I wanted to balance between fantasy and realism (in a Game of Thrones kind of way), I pored through just what kind of tricks were used in the construction of the typical castle, and what architectural features were common as these were primarily fortifications.

  I've had to bear in mind the thickness of the walls, the use of machicolations (an afternoon's work by themselves), where any potential enemy might reach the walls. Layers of defence, how to funnel various forces, defensive tricks and the strategic location of various assets. This is still a home, but one that needs to be well protected.

  This particular example is imagined as something that has been held by a family for something like four generations. Not obscenely wealthy as the owner is something like a baron or a count, but with a home in a key position on the borders of the kingdom. Not luxurious, but definitely heavily reinforced. So my plan is to not go crazy with curtain walls even though further walls can be made by recycling the assets I have already designed. The towers for instance, can be switched form being enclosed towers to open at the top (though how this is done I should have programmed in before duplicating).

I have considered roadmap for the castle's development giving me an idea of what to do next:

• Redesign the keep's layout.
• Block out outer defenses.
• Block out resource buildings (chapel, blacksmith, granary, armoury).
• Resculpt rock face in Zbrush.
• Block out possible props.

I plan to stream the project's progress for anyone interested in watching this come together. I've got the software for it and it's good to get what I'm working on out there. Star Drake Projects will make a comeback after a long while of inactivity in the near future.

External sites

https://www.twitch.tv/draco176

Fantasy World Map now with Cities

  It's been an interesting divergence lately to work on maps for fantastical locations. After my last posting I had two key ideas to make the map more authentic.

  The first was to create a more thematic-looking set of icons for the various locations. Instead of Ordinance Survey like set of icons I had the idea of shorthand visuals: One hut for hamlets, two for villages, three for towns, a mage's tower for an academy, castles, castle-towns and do on to better fit the more old-time mythical style of the rest of the map. The sits sit much more neatly than the original black marks, and I have a few brushes for future projects of a similar style.

  The second idea was partially inspired by how some fantasy maps embellish a representation of an important site. A recent example being the stand-out representation of Erebor on a map from Peter Jackson's The Hobbit. On this map, that focus was given to the capitals: The port and temple of Kirstan, the royal citadel of KharKanas, the fortress-gates of Drongo and the marbled spires of Istri. While KharKanas is much larger compared to the others, I figure it justified as the Conglomerate Empire has a whole continent to itself.

The client was certainly happy with the end product and it has got me thinking about the environmental or architectural side of my creative ideas.

Character Design Project

   The last month I've been deep in Maya and Zbrush with character crafting. My original inspiration was a character I had drawn up for Dungeons and Dragons with friends, but despite having a rather short life (dying twice in quick succession to a blast of light from a much more powerful magician), he made impression enough that I have fond memories of my experience with him.

   So, with such an impression I drafted him as the first for possibly a whole line of such characters, and a showcase for anyone who might like a similar result.for their own player characters. Posable, usable in animations and quite possibly a source for 3D printing if the setup is right.

   Magic users have had quite a compelling allure to them - masters of mystic arts, scholars and academics who shape reality. This talent, and a lack of armour for their class gives the opportunity to make them one of the more casually-dressed character types in games of D&D. Other classes certainly have a style, but one way I find magic users fun is how they can bring court style and artisan outfitting to an adventure.

   For this particular character, this connection to courts was key to his design as the background for him was of an aristocratic family in decline. This particular member of the ruling classes, who I called Varthen, took to travelling the countryside after becoming an adult. Funding his travels with money made performing tricks which come innately to him at various villages with the occasional performance in a town pub. As well perhaps as other services that come from magical ability coming naturally to him or having a formal education.

   These two factors: A noble background and a life on the road, created a character who was of privileged status but lived with few of the trappings. While I could have taken the angle of just a few trinkets to show his wealth, such as a signet ring or a necklace, I thought he'd go a little more flamboyant. Namely he would still be in touch with the fashions at court, and underneath a (relatively) simple coat would be a silver-threaded blue velvet doublet, linen shirts and silvered leather boots. Underneath a simple overcoat is a man of proud upbringing, who could weave his way through the royal circles if he so wished.

   He's not fully human, more a half-elf. While this does make him rather Eldar-esque, elves in the D&D settings are often far more fairy-like than Lord of the Rings. Half-elves have often been described as a miawy point between human and elven beauty, so a half-human-half-elf is more along the lines of a handsome or beautiful human with somewhat pointy ears. To an elf, they'd look ugly with rather puny ears.

   Most importantly it was really fun to design his outfit, particularly the designs of silver and padding on his luxurious buttoned doublet.

  The other fun thing was learning tricks to rig up large pieces of fabric in the absence of ncloth programs. Varthen has two arrangements to make this work: The lower half of his coat has a grid of controls that link to nine different chains of bones while his half-cape is controlled by a single chain of bones much like a tendril coming from his shoulder.

   There was a lot more work than I initially thought but that is part of the learning process. Some of the most fun things to work on were his hair, eyes (which are rigged with a blendshape to dilate), the pattern on his doublet and getting familiar with the rivet tool. Which I've found can be far more than a way to pin an object to a specific point on a mesh.

   With him done, I've had various ideas on my mind where to go next. Such as offering various components for sale like his coat with attached rig or a blank version of his head. But also considering less human characters like dwarves, tieflings or lizardkin.

Further reading

Artstation entry: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/N5bkON

Finalist nomination: Red and the Kingdom of Sound

   Word on the grapevine is that Red and the Kingdom of Sound, the animation project I contributed to back in the second half of 2017, has been named a finalist of the 2018 Le Petit Cannes film festival. I wasn't in attendance, as I was but a humble animator on the project and it was the district and project leads who got to tour Europe with the film. But it is wonderful news to hear that the final outcome did so well at Cannes and is being so well received across the continent and beyond.

  Win those accolades Red! It was an amazing experience and a beautiful project to lend a hand with and I couldn't be prouder of being a part of making this massive accomplishment happen.

Personal: Heart of an Empire

  I've wanted to get back into creating with Maya now that I am in a more confident place at home. It was a surprising lesson these past couple of months how your environment can influence your motivation. Bygones are bygones now, and I want to get back into my A-game. 

  I've been tweaking and polishing this planet today, making the city lights appear more convincing and giving substance to the ring around it (a discussion session online suggested to me their old distance might risk exposing visitors and occupants to highly lethal levels of radiation. I suppose high-tech science fiction shielding could protect them, and there was even a suggestion the ring-builders could have found a way to clear the radiation belts, but that distance was also impractical for ferrying freight and commerce, which benefits from a low-hanging belt. Shorter transit distances and all that.

  I thought about adding more than one ring because the engineers would not be limited to one orbital structure, and could hang more off the first (maybe even, fur, five, or ten!) And even this massive ring might have its limits for a civilisation connected to millions of other planets. So like any ground project, the infrastructure could have been expanded in times past to meet increasing demand.

 If I ever get this animated, it could be fun to surround the planet with dancing particles that represent hundreds to thousands of incoming and outgoing starships. Watching The Expanse lately I've been enamored with the introduction sequence, particularly the streaks of light that represent 100 years of interplanetary shipping and the timelapses showing urban growth and the great projects undergone in the series' backstory.

   I believe the Expanse has been one of my major influences regarding this project. Studying satellite photographs of the Earth at night helped a lot in building a convincing night-time illumination.A place can be as much a character as a person or an object, it's all about knowing how to convey that story without words.

November 2017: Modified Showreel

I've been especially busy on the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra project this past month. Work has been coming thick and fast but we are over the crest and things are falling into place.

In preparation for the project's conclusion I made some tweaks to my public animation showreel,  I felt like it needed a little more information and flow for clarity, to assist it in working better. These modifications include a few different sequences and details on the project the titles relate to and where I worked when it was created.

Showreel 2017

  As time goes by and the summer passes I feel it's about time to unveil a showreel composed of my best work up to the end of 2017. There's still some personal question of where to go but lately I have been drawn to character and creature animation. There remains a soft spot for the modeling side which I plan to brush up on.
  I don't have many examples of facial animation, having only really picked it up in my last couple of projects, but I plan to rectify that alongside a whole heap of ideas. I have my whole life ahead of me, time now to make the best of it.

New Designers: Final Submission

Year 3 Major Project: Four from Mark Stamp on Vimeo.

A bereaved scientist finds love again far from home, but as he comes to connect with this new lease of life the company's plans must force him to let go.

Major Project Reflective Statement

The past year was nothing short of challenging, but it was a challenge that overall I came to enjoy. It was exciting to explore new areas and investigate new techniques, developing the skills I had gained. Over the project I definitely felt like I was getting faster as I got better accustomed to the techniques I had picked up, techniques I had learned though trial and error allowed for faster and smoother operation, The intensity of the project as well was a positive as it allowed for an immediate application of my improving skills.

I was ambitious in my goal for the project, three characters and a scene included in a full animation . In some areas I felt I was highly successful, in others there could still be areas for improvement. Although this project was a struggle, at times looking like the goalposts were miles away, and while there were days that taking my mind off the project was very appealing, there were few times where I spent significant periods dwelling on whether I could have done something else. There were indeed times where moving to a different project was enticing, in these cases I learned I was able to solve these feelings by moving to a different aspect of the project (i.e. if model making was taking too long I would spend a few hours either painting or sound compositing). In later stages, afternoon projects unrelated  to the main project provided a similar sense of relief. There were times when a smaller project was more inviting, or a different idea entirely, these feelings were often satisfied by the afternoon relief projects.

Being mindful of mental fatigue was one of the more significant lessons I learned over the project. When exhausted, it is not just work quality that slips but unless maintained, mental fatigue can create more significant problems that can build up over weeks and months. As much as I felt the urge to continue working, even on the most productive of days I had my limits. To balance sleep, diet and workload has given more productive results than maximizing my work hours at the cost of other needs.

The project gave me a better understanding of workflow and work practice. I gained a refreshed appreciation for the process it takes to turn a story idea into a visual reality. The project - particularly the search for the right voice artists to go with the project's characters - has given me a strong amount of confidence in the various skills and processes required to make a film a reality.

Overall I am proud of what I have accomplished. I set out on an ambitious goal, and at times this goal felt very far away, but to reach it despite the magnitude of the challenge that was before me has felt like an enormous accomplishment.

Four: Major Project Final Submossion

Making of Four (Version 2) by Mark Stamp on Scribd

Four Interim Presentation by Mark Stamp on Scribd

Four: Final Animation from Mark Stamp on Vimeo.

Four: Minor Project Submission

Four - Making Of by Mark Stamp on Scribd

Interim Presentation: Four

Four Interim Presentation by Mark Stamp on Scribd

Project Proposal (Version Two)

What I propose for a year-long project is:

• One animated Short. Est. 3-4 minutes.
• The animation will be a showcase of:
• Creature design
• Creature animation
• Organic modelling
• Environment design
• Subjects such as creature movement and anatomy will be deeply researched.

Synopsis: Resigned to a lone outpost far from civilisation, a jaded scientist finds a new lease of life. His efforts to escape old feelings of personal guilt and responsibility result in a discovery that gradually heals him, at the risk of his loyalty to the company.

Human characters will not be the focus, but two are planned in order to sell the outpost as a living place.

By the minor project submission date I plan to have ready:

• Production art
• Assembled set geometry
• Completed script
• Completed animatic
• Voice recordings

New ArtStream Layout

  Lately I got thinking that when it comes to my streams I need to be a little smarter with screen real-estate. Learning the benefits of talking while working I realise that when the full video is played back, conversations can look out of context or answering comments can be potentially mixed with musings I make. I managed to get my webcam back so I can now record using its mic as well as my face (this might help with engagement and ad a bit of personality, it might help with presentation but we'll see.)

  The format had to also take into account that these videos are compiled into time-lapse videos several minutes long. So it had to be uncluttered. This reason is why the chatbox, webcam and referrals are separate from the screen itself, so that when the video is converted into a time-lapse I don't have to edit out a gap in the corner where my face would be.

References

Original "Please Stand By" image available form James Vaughn https://www.flickr.com/photos/x-ray_delta_one/4326395585 under a creative commons non-commercial share-alike attribution. I modified the image to replace the Sioux bust with a Colo Colo drawing.

The image will only be used for as a placeholder for setups such as these.

Repost: The Best TIme Of Day To Not To Take a Selfie

  A re-post of my info-graphic animation The Best Time of Day to Not Take A Selfie. Created earlier this year before I set ot work on Colo Colo.

Colo Colo: Crit Day Submissions

Colo Colo Final Presentation

 

The Art Of Colo Colo

Adaptation B: Interim Presentation

Adaptation B Interim Presentation V2

Adaptation A: "Art Of" Document

Art of: The Best Time of Day to Not Take a Selfie

Adaptation A: Final Animation

The Best Time of Day to Not Take a Selfie from Mark Stamp on Vimeo.

Narrative and Character - Character Presentation

Proposal - Legends of the New Year