Environment Design - Assignment

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• Project 1 - Exterior and Landscape Design
• Project 2 - Interior and Set Design
• Final Project - Complete Environment Design Bible

Project 1: Exterior and Landscape Design

On this page, I'll be detailing the step-by-step process of drawing inspiration and crafting my final art piece.

Week 3 

During our project briefing, our lecturer introduced the first assignment, which involves seeking inspiration from a game or animation and then creating a new design inspired by that source. Today, our initial task is to sketch our inspirations. In my case, I drew inspiration from "Howl's Moving Castle." My intention is to blend this inspiration with the concept of floating islands and infuse it with elements of Chinese culture, creating a sort of fantastical Chinese legend. Below are my sketches:

Figure 1.1 Draft

I attempted to incorporate elements of Chinese culture, including a Chinese palace, mountains, and trees, into the design to add an aesthetic touch. These are the overall perspective and specific angles I aspired to capture in my sketches.

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Week 4 

This week, following a more in-depth explanation from the lecturer, I expanded my project proposal by incorporating additional specifics. I included elements like the background story, details about the inhabitants of my kingdom, the chosen art style and theme, and various other essential aspects. To enhance my understanding and provide a clearer picture, I even drew some specific details and integrated my central element, the Kun Peng, into the structure of the buildings.

Figure 2.1 Proposal

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Week 5 

After receiving feedback from my lecturer, I was inspired to develop a more creative concept to modify my initial palace design. I attempted to merge the towers with the palace, integrating elements from Kun Peng and Chinese culture into the structure.

Figure 3.1 Modified Palace

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Week 6 

I used a grey colour in my hero asset and overview design to highlight the light sources. Additionally, I included more details in my hero asset to illustrate how I incorporated Kun Peng and Chinese cultural elements into my design.

Figure 4.1 Overview

Figure 4.2 Hero Asset

Nonetheless, upon completing my value painting, I found myself unsatisfied with the shading. It became evident that I needed to invest more time and effort into refining the greyscale painting aspect of my work.

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Week 7 

This week, I made the shading in my illustration better and drew the palace surroundings. But I'm not happy with how the palace looks – the perspective and shading need more work. Perhaps I should redraw and change the perspective of the palace so that it looks more spectacular.

Figure 5.1 Modified illustration

Figure 5.2 Palace overview

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Week 8 

This week, I want to make the palace look more impressive by changing the way it's seen. Since I struggle with drawing perspective, I used Blender to create the basic structure of the palace and choose an appealing angle. I also tried out applying base colour on it, but I am not satisfied with the colouring. *angry* >:(

Figure 6.1 New perspective

Figure 6.2 Ugly base colouring

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Week 9

Following today's lecture, I applied some basic colors to provide a quick preview of the color scheme for my landscape. I also added more decorative elements and details on my drawing after lecturer's advice. I referred to fantasy landscape paintings to study how artists use colors. This time, I am satisfied with the colouring. 

Figure 7.1 Detailed drawing

Figure 7.2 Modified colour scheme

I also modified my proposal using Canva to make it more tidy and organised. 

Figure 7.3 New proposal 

Reflection

Project 1 has came to the end. Despite struggling with drawing, proposing ideas, and colouring, I persisted and am pleased with the outcome. Throughout this project, I've gained valuable insights that have improved my drawing abilities. While I did receive art education during primary school, the skills I've acquired now are different, such as considering perspective, value, and the structural aspects of buildings to ensure logical representation. Despite initial challenges, I've successfully produced outcomes that leave me quite satisfied with my progress. The exterior landscape isn't completely finalized yet, but I will make it better in my final project. ^_^

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Project 2: Interior and Set Design

Week 11 

I've chosen to sketch the palace hall for my interior design, where the guardian greets visitors. The palace hall has a throne for the goddess, a dancer's stage, and a drum to welcome her. The design features high ceilings and incorporates red and gold colour scheme. I've created two sketches with different perspectives, making some minor adjustments to enhance the overall aesthetic.

 

Figure 8.1 Perspective 1

Figure 8.2 Perspective 2

Personally, I prefer the portrait drawing and plan to persist with value painting. I intend to modify the design, enhancing the perspective for better results.

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Week 12 

Continuing from the portrait drawing, I proceeded with the value painting, making slight adjustments to the perspective. I changed the drawing perspective to make it look spectacular, with a view from below, representing the goddess's royal and elevated position. The result below is something I find quite satisfying.

Figure 9.1 Value painting

Week 13

I started adding colors to my painting this week. The palace hall is mostly red and yellow, giving it a grand and mysterious feel. The dark surroundings contrast with bright lights from the ceiling and the throne, creating a dramatic atmosphere.

Figure 9.2 Base colour

Reflection

This marks the completion of my second project. Personally, I find Project 2 to be more manageable than Project 1 due to the experience gained in understanding perspective from the previous project. In Project 2, I utilized Blender for modeling in interior design, focusing on finding the most fitting perspective to showcase the grandeur and regality of my palace hall. However, I recognize the need to further improve my skills in constructing buildings, ensuring that the building structure is logic.

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Final Project - Complete Environment Design Bible

Week 14

Our final assignment has arrived, requiring us to refine both the exterior and interior designs we've previously worked on. Thankfully, with no other classes to attend, I can dedicate more time and effort to this project. To begin, I prioritized the interior design, finding it easier to start with.

Figure 10.1 First retouching

After receiving feedback from our lecturer on my initial refinement, I invested additional effort into incorporating texture, shading, and decorative elements to elevate the grandeur of the design. The result is reflected in the final presentation of my exterior design below.

Figure 10.2 Final retouching

Week 15

Following the completion of refining my interior design, I proceeded to work on the exterior design. I encountered difficulty in capturing the desired ambiance in my painting and faced challenges as the added texture wasn't clearly visible. This aspect of the painting has caused me some stress.

Figure 11.1 First retouching

Week 16

This week, I completed the final touches on my exterior design by incorporating additional texture and shading. Additionally, I took the time to draw specific breakdowns of unique structures in my design, such as pillars and lanterns.

Figure 12.1 Final retouching

In my interior set design, I decided to illustrate the whale sculpture, throne, lantern, drum, and pillar as my detailed breakdowns. Meanwhile, I also drew the Kun and Peng sculpture. roof. panoramic view, pillar and lamppost as my exterior breakdowns.

Figure 12.2 Interior breakdown

Figure 12.3 Exterior breakdown

I also improved my proposal by adding information about my inspiration, the steps I took to create the design, and showcasing the final outcome.

Figure 12.4 Modified proposal

Finally, I've included a time-lapse video of my drawing process. Interestingly, it took me 30 hours for the exterior design and 24 hours for the interior design. Surprisingly, they took a lot of time, even without considering the time taken for multiple sketches, inspiration gathering, and 3D modeling for perspective.

Figure 12.5 Interior time-lapse

Figure 12.6 Exterior time-lapse

Reflection

In my first project, I struggled with drawing and coming up with ideas since I only have primary school standard art education, I learned to consider things like perspective and building structure, which made my drawings more logical. Despite some challenges, I'm happy with how it turned out.

Project 2 was easier for me because I applied what I learned in the first project by applying Blender for the perspective for interior design, focusing on showcasing a grand palace hall. I realized I need to get better at building structures. These projects taught me a lot about art and the importance of continuous learning and growth.

The final project, aimed to refining both Project 1 and Project 2, is a time-consuming and demanding for me. The task involves a lot of effort and concentration, requiring work in areas such as shading, adding textures, and engaging in trial and error to determine the best outcome for my design. This phase extends the creative process as I strive to enhance the overall quality of my work, investing additional time and energy to bring out the best in both projects.

In conclusion, my journey through these projects has taught me the importance of overcoming artistic challenges and continuously expanding my skills. Starting with limited art education, I learned to incorporate elements like perspective, building structure, value painting, polishing and so on, making my drawings more logical and satisfying. 

Nonetheless, this project has underscored the significance of continuous learning and seeking assistance from others to enhance my skills. Ultimately, the valuable lessons gained from this experience motivate my determination to continue improving and strive for excellence in my future endeavors.

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