First things first; I think we've discussed before how off-putting it can be for visitors to blogs if there's a tone of negativity and apology - and again, your OGR ends on a page of apology and self-loathing. Dan - no one is interested in that - leave it out. I'm not saying that I'm not interested in you discussing the challenges, but enough with the 'my work is crap vibe' - it's not constructive or particularly professional; your course blog isn't a misery memoir!
I very much like the poeticism of your Travelogue - but it's interesting I think that you don't actually describe any building in a specific sense, which is making your job a bit more difficult in terms of figuring out what your key Maya assets might be, and which elements you'll be taking forward into production art. Like you, I like your first thumbnails - whereas all the rest are those same oblong skyscrapers that dominated your last project for so long! I think one of your issues is the method you're using for thumbnails. In simple terms - your drawing isn't helping. I'd like you to try using a simple set of tools in Photoshop - using the ellipse shape tool and gradients, using the 'line' shape tool etc, and then using the warp and perspective adjustments to create simpler, yet more controlled forms. Start simply, and then use duplicate layers etc to build-up more complex forms. You're not yet really dealing with structures, but rather filling your thumbnails up with detail. You might want to consider thinking more simply about composition too - so put a horizon line in and then start adding your Riley-inspired components as foreground, midground and background elements. I think you need to 'use' the tools and layering in Photoshop AS your method, as opposed to drawing line art and blobby silhouettes. I want to see you working up thumbnails in a completely different way; whatever you've been doing - stop doing it; it's not helping you with this artist, because she uses clean lines and clean geometric shapes. You need to find a thumbnailing method that gives you that quality, because until you do, you won't be able to 'see' how this artist can give you an original city.
I also want you to write an additional section to your travelogue in which you think about specific locations/elements/buildings/functions in your city - because you need these to help you move on in terms of the rest of the project.
So - enough with negativity, change-up your Photoshop method, describe something specific... You need to have more ideas, Dan, and reflect more constructively on your own creative development. Looking forward to seeing more updates on here soon - including alternate thumbnails using a whole new set of simple techniques please.
OGR 06/11/2014
ReplyDeleteHi Dan,
First things first; I think we've discussed before how off-putting it can be for visitors to blogs if there's a tone of negativity and apology - and again, your OGR ends on a page of apology and self-loathing. Dan - no one is interested in that - leave it out. I'm not saying that I'm not interested in you discussing the challenges, but enough with the 'my work is crap vibe' - it's not constructive or particularly professional; your course blog isn't a misery memoir!
I very much like the poeticism of your Travelogue - but it's interesting I think that you don't actually describe any building in a specific sense, which is making your job a bit more difficult in terms of figuring out what your key Maya assets might be, and which elements you'll be taking forward into production art. Like you, I like your first thumbnails - whereas all the rest are those same oblong skyscrapers that dominated your last project for so long! I think one of your issues is the method you're using for thumbnails. In simple terms - your drawing isn't helping. I'd like you to try using a simple set of tools in Photoshop - using the ellipse shape tool and gradients, using the 'line' shape tool etc, and then using the warp and perspective adjustments to create simpler, yet more controlled forms. Start simply, and then use duplicate layers etc to build-up more complex forms. You're not yet really dealing with structures, but rather filling your thumbnails up with detail. You might want to consider thinking more simply about composition too - so put a horizon line in and then start adding your Riley-inspired components as foreground, midground and background elements. I think you need to 'use' the tools and layering in Photoshop AS your method, as opposed to drawing line art and blobby silhouettes. I want to see you working up thumbnails in a completely different way; whatever you've been doing - stop doing it; it's not helping you with this artist, because she uses clean lines and clean geometric shapes. You need to find a thumbnailing method that gives you that quality, because until you do, you won't be able to 'see' how this artist can give you an original city.
I also want you to write an additional section to your travelogue in which you think about specific locations/elements/buildings/functions in your city - because you need these to help you move on in terms of the rest of the project.
So - enough with negativity, change-up your Photoshop method, describe something specific... You need to have more ideas, Dan, and reflect more constructively on your own creative development. Looking forward to seeing more updates on here soon - including alternate thumbnails using a whole new set of simple techniques please.