Summer Break Update.

I'm almost half way through the summer break now and I've played a few games, done some drawing and messed around in UDK enough so that it doesn't scare me. I have also made some progress in the project that we we're given at the start of the summer, so I can finally show off some of that too! First up I'll go over what I've been playing and share my thoughts on the games.

Dark Souls II

I finally got around to playing Dark Souls II! The first game completely took me by surprise and I fell in love with it, so the sequel had a lot to live up to for me. I personally think the game just misses the mark of the first one but as a game by itself it is still overall fantastic, with the same great combat and exploration.

Wearing a dressing gown I stormed the castle... [1]

I think it's a number of minor details that made Dark Souls II  fall short. While the game can look breath taking (like the above screenshot) there are a few areas that look unsightly. The story this time around was even slower, taking around 30 hours for anything to really pick up, and with some of the areas and bosses feeling like a filler certain moments of the game became a real struggle to push through, not because of difficulty but because I was bored. Despite this, Dark Souls II is still more Dark Souls and that is never a bad thing!

Spec Ops: The Line

I decided to pick Spec Ops up in the Steam Summer Sale after hearing many people praise the story and they weren't wrong! A game that could often look like your average military shooter the story is great, with a superb ending to wrap it all up. Unfortunately the sections in between the story telling are your generic shooter.

To The Moon

Another game I grabbed during the sale due to the internet talk about the game's story. The most interaction you receive with game is exploring the environments in search for items that help you advance the story, so the entire game is basically leaning on the story aspect. Luckily the story was engaging and heart warming with some likable characters, but i can only recommend this game if you can look past the lack of actual gameplay.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Ever since Bayonetta I have been a huge fan of Platinum Games, therefore picking up Metal Gear Rising on the cheap was a smart move for me. I am only a few hours in but every boss fight has had me smiling and at times out-right laughing due to how ridiculous they are.  The combat is quick and brutal, but at times can feel button mashey, this doesn't bother me though, the game plays well and is an utter laugh.

The game looks great when caught mid-fight [1]

Drawing

I have spent a large chunk of my summer so far practicing my 2D skills. I've tried to keep a good balance between traditional and digital, studying and creative. Simply drawing for creative purposes is something still quite new to me, which probably sounds wierd.

An area I have been trying to improve upon is my draftsmanship and to help with that I bought a copy of Scott Robertson's How to Draw which spends a huge amount of time simply explaining how to draw in perspective correctly. The drawing below is probably the most interesting thing I've done from the book so far, but I already feel more confident in perspective.

Drawn with help from the book "How to Draw" [2]

Below are 2 drawings from imagination, using reference for the armor on the knights. Playing Dark Souls has had a clear influence on me, as I've been drawing plenty of knights and weird monsters.

The end results after a few hours of practicing drawing armor

An idea popped into my head, maybe a Dark Souls boss?

Along side all the traditional stuff I wanted to seriously increase my digital painting abilities, so I've made sure to spend a few hours a day painting in Photoshop and I think it has worked so far. Progress is slow but I can see small improvement with each painting I do. Below are a selection of paintings I've done.

Virtual plein air

Virtual plein air 

Virtual plein air

William Bougueraeu Master Study [3]

3D

The main summer project had us choose from a list of themes, and the themes were split into 2 categories. One category wanted us to create a character or vehicle set within a small scene, the other was to make an actual playable level with a character. Both of these had the usual resource restrictions.

The list of themes covered everything, from ancient ruins to desert canyons. I picked the abandoned subway theme because as soon as I read it I imagined a Metro 2033/The Last of Us style subway. Looking back I wish I chosen another theme as I already feel like I've done the survival thing to death, but I am really happy with everything I've done with it.

I will go into detail about the entire process once it's all finished but for now I'll just show a few WIP screenshots.

The above shots are very dark but that is because the lighting isn't final yet and there are many props to add to really bring the level to life but hopefully it gives the idea I am aiming for. Below I've added a screenshot with more light to help with viewing. Learning UDK has been really fun because it appears the engine has limitless options when it comes to adding things to make the level stand out, trying to think about how to build the level out of smaller modular pieces has also been interesting.

While I'd love to become a conceptual artist, working as a level builder inside the engine is something else that's interests me, it is like playing with virtual Legos and this is why I've been having fun with figuring out UDK. I without a doubt have a long way to go with both UDK and my 2D work but the longer I spend doing each the more confidence I'm gaining, when the level is complete I will do a more in-depth post about it.

Reference & Notes
[1] Both screenshots taken in-game

[2] How to Draw written by Scott Robertson & Thomas Bertling
[3] William Bouguereau - Moissoneuse Original