Environment Design - Weekly Journal

Jump Link:

• Week 1 - Line and Shape Drawing
• Week 2 - Perspective Drawing
• Week 3 - Project 1 Assignment Brief
• Week 4 - Greyscale Drawing
• Week 5 - Useful Videos and References
• Week 6 - Ambience Drawing
• Week 7 - Feedback from Lecturer
• Week 9 - Adding Base Colour and Texture
• Week 10 - Project 2 Assignment Brief
• Week 11 - Interior Design and Feedback
• Week 12 - Create Brush and Feedback
• Week 13 - Final Assignment Brief and Feedback
• Week 14 - Online Consultation

Lectures

Week 1 (26.09.2023)

In this session, we were diving into the world of digital art. We were introduced to digital drawing apps like Adobe Photoshop, Procreate, and Krita, and we have also been recommended to drawing tablets like XP-Pen, HUION, and WACOM for Photoshop users. Our primary focus in this class was on mastering the basics – drawing lines and shapes – to lay a strong foundation for our digital art journey.

Lecture notes

• Use elbow instead of wrist when drawing lines
• Use pressure sensitivity when drawing

Task 

Draw basic lines and shapes to strengthen our foundation in drawing.

Figure 1.1 Line drawing

Figure 1.2 Shape drawing

Problem 

• Perspective is inaccurate when drawing shapes
• Thickness of line is not consistent

Reflection

• Practice more to stabilize the strength of my wrist
• Learn how to draw in perspective

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Week 2 (03.10.2023)

In this session, our lecturer gave a simple briefing about our Project 1, which is Exterior and Landscape Design. We are required to collect inspiration from websites such as Pinterest, Art Station and Google and paste them in Pureref, which is a software tool used for creating and managing visual inspiration boards or mood boards. In today's lecture, we were taught to draw in perspective, which is a fundamental yet challenging skill to conquer. 

Lecture Notes

How to draw in perspective:

1. Draw a horizontal line which acts as eye level across the paper.
2. Pick one or two spots on the horizon line which are the vanishing points.
3. Draw lines from the edges of objects, architecture, or elements in your scene towards the vanishing points.
4. As objects get farther from you, make them smaller to show depth and distance.

Figure 2.1 Perspective drawing

Problem

• Find it difficult to draw in perspective without looking at the tutorial
• Not good at drawing shapes like cylinder, prism, sphere in perspective

Reflection

• Practice more perspective drawing
• Analyse the perspective of a picture

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Week 3 (11.10.2023)

Today, we started working on our Project 1 proposal. It's supposed to include things like the background, landscapes, culture, and more. I'll be honest, I felt a bit nervous because it's been a while since I've drawn landscapes and buildings, which can be a bit challenging. So, I came up with some initial drafts, and I've also set up a project page to help me stay organized and keep track of my progress.

Link: https://szeching0119.blogspot.com/2023/10/environment-design-project-1.html

Figure 3.1 Project page

Problem

• Lack of inspiration to propose a brand new idea
• Less experience in drawing landscape and architecture
• Lack of understanding of the assignment

Reflection

• Find more inspiration from Pinterest and Art Station
• Discuss with peers and share ideas
• Practice more on drawing lines and shapes

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Week 4 (18.10.2023)

Today, our comprehension of Project 1 deepened considerably following the lecturer's explanations. I took the opportunity to enhance my proposal by introducing additional details, including a background story, characters residing in my kingdom, the historical era, the theme, and the chosen art style, among other elements. Furthermore, our task for the day was to initiate our project by tackling the challenging task of drawing buildings from a perspective angle. Additionally, we received guidance on creating grayscale drawings using a reference image of a landscape.

Lecture Notes

How to create greyscale drawing:

1. Shade Light to Dark: Add shading to your drawing. Use simple techniques like lines or dots to make some parts darker and others lighter. 
2. Blend and Smooth: Use tool to blend and make your shading look smooth. 
3. Adjust Dark and Light: Make the dark areas darker and the light areas lighter. This gives your drawing depth.

Figure 4.1 Value Painting

Problem

• Find it difficult to blend the colour
• Weak at identifying the light sources and the shaded area

Reflection

• Practice more on shading
• Identify the well-lit area and the shaded area

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Week 5 (24.10.2023)

Today's class was canceled as our lecturer was attending a conference. However, we were provided with a wealth of helpful videos to enhance our drawing skills and refine our concept ideas.

1. Design Cinema - EP 40 - Fantasy Landscape
2. Design Cinema - EP 56 - MMORPG Landscapes
3. Design Cinema - EP 102 - Intro to Digital Painting
   
4. Painting Concept Art Environments with Depth
   
5. 5 Important tips to Improve your architecture drawing
   
6. 9 BEST Tips For Environment concept

Some amazing references from our seniors: 😆

Figure 5.1 Unknown Reference

Figure 5.2 Reference from Aram Kim's 

Figure 5.3 Reference 1 from Winwen Hu

Figure 5.4 Reference 2 from Winwen Hu

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Week 6 (31.10.2023)

In today's lecture, we received a more comprehensive explanation of our assignment. The emphasis is on being highly specific about our hero assets, understanding the purpose of each building component, and exploring ways to enhance our hero asset using different shapes. Additionally, we had a brief tutorial on creating ambience drawings, which is a new skill for me to acquire.

Lecture Notes

Elements to include and consider in our concept idea:

1. Story
2. Culture
3. Function
4. Ask yourself: Who lives here? What is the purpose?
5. Space Needs: balcony. prayer room, store, toilets, kitchen, living room, bedroom

Figure 6.1 Mind map of concept idea

Figure 6.2 Silhouette

How to create ambience drawing:

1. Start with Greyscale: Begin with black and white drawing.
2. Adjust Lighting: Make the image lighter or darker accordingly.
3. Add Colors: Apply colors using blending modes like "Multiply."
4. Choose Tones: Select warm colors for a cozy feel or cool colors for a calm atmosphere.
5. Highlight Light Sources: Make light sources stand out with glows and highlights.

Figure 6.3 Ambience drawing

Problem

• The background story of the landscape hasn't been identified yet
• Find it difficult to shade 
• The painting is greyish after shading 

Reflection

• Practice more on colouring
• Identify the bright and dark area
• Amend my proposal and make it more specific

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Week 7 (7.11.2023)

Today, some of the students received feedback on class design projects, offered suggestions to other students on how to enhance their hero asset designs by incorporating cultural elements. Additionally, I had the chance to talk with our lecturer for a consultation after class to review and receive feedback on my own hero asset and overall design.

Lecture Notes

These are 3D computer graphics game engines that we should explore:

• Unreal Engine - a powerful game engine developed by Epic Games, used for creating 3D games and various applications in industries like architecture and film. It offers advanced tools and is known for its high-quality graphics and flexibility. It's available for free with royalties on commercial projects. https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US

• Twinmotion - a real-time architectural visualization software by Epic Games, used to create interactive 3D renderings and animations for architectural and urban design projects. It's user-friendly and helps present designs effectively. https://www.twinmotion.com/en-US/download

• Unity - a popular game development engine used to create games and interactive applications across various platforms. It's known for its versatility and user-friendly tools. https://unity.com/

Figure 7.1 Unreal Engine

Feedback from Lecturer

      1. Overview 

• Apply darker grey on the covered faces
• Can be used as illustration

Figure 7.2 Overview

       2. Hero Asset and Details

• Apply shading on the roof
• Draw the details of the component
• Identify the material 
• Add a concave base under the palace
• Add a human figure
• Adjust the ceiling

Figure 7.3 Hero Asset

Problem

• The shading of the value painting is inaccurate
• The structure and scale of the building is a bit off

Reflection

• Modify the structure of the building to make it more sensible
• Analyse and recolour the shaded area

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Week 9 (21.11.2023)

In week 9, we learned how to incorporate a base colour and image texture into our greyscale paintings. Additionally, our lecturer extended the deadline for Project 1 to the next week, giving me the opportunity to make further improvements and adjustments to my drawing and painting.

Lecture Notes

Steps to add base colour to greyscale painting:

1. Paint over the grayscale image on the new layer with your selected colors.
2. Use lighter colors for well-lit areas and darker colors for shadows.

3. Try different blending modes

   like multiply or overlay for different effects.

4. Adjust opacity.

5. Refine and add details.

Steps to add image texture:

1. Find a texture.

2. Copy and paste the image texture

   onto artwork on a new layer.

3. Adjust size and position.

4. Change blending mode such as overlay, soft light, multiply and etc.

5. Adjust opacity.

Feedback from Lecturer

• Add some patterns on the wall of the tower
• Make the roof more wavy
• Add support under the roof
• Add flags and lantern to beautify

Figure 8.1 Adjustment

Problem

• Not satisfied with the base colour which I previously added
• The wall of the tower is plain

Reflection

• Find some great colour scheme from Pinterest and apply it on my painting
• Add some patterns on the blank wall to make it interesting

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Week 10 (28.11.2023)

Today, we received an introduction to our second project, focusing on interior and set design. Our lecturer provided an overview of the general concepts related to the interior's appearance and its essential components.

Lecture Notes

Interior and Set Design

• Ask yourself: Who lives here, what is the function of this space
• Do research on culture, such as pattern, structure, ornament and customize it
• Floor plan
• Identify material of the structure - metal, stone, chipboard, wood, structure design
• Rule of thirds - # - the intersection point is the point of interest/focus, line can be narrow, diagonal
• Golden spiral - drive your view to the point
• Design principle - Perspective, contrast, balance, composition, repetition, texture, colour, value
• Story should be in visual communication
• Use blender as a perspective guide

Figure 10.1 Rule of thirds

Figure 10.2 Golden spiral

Figure 10.3 Blender

Problem

• Have no idea on interior design

Reflection

• Find inspiration from Pinterest and Art Station

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Week 11 (5.12.2023)

Today, we had a lecture on the process of crafting our interior designs, which is almost the same as the process of drawing the exterior landscape. Additionally, I received feedback on a previous interior design project.

Lecture Notes

1. Inspiration - brainstorming by sketching
2. Silhouette - first readability, establishment
3. Value - focal area, lighting which makes greyscale
4. Ambient - mood of space, such as cool, warm
5. Line refinement
6. Texture
7. Polish present
8. Pick one area, such as bedroom, hall, kitchen, bathroom
9. The best represents the culture of your actors
10. Human figure - important to show how big is the space

Figure 11.1 Greyscale

Figure 11.2 Hero assets

Problem

• The angle of my interior design should be lower
• My interior space is a bit compact
• No human figure to compare the size of the furniture

Reflection

• Adjust the angle 
• Add human figure to show how big is the space
• Adjust to make the space wider and spacious

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Week 12 (12.12.2023)

Today's lesson covered creating custom brushes in Photoshop, which can be used as either a brush or a stamp. Additionally, I received feedback on my interior design, which I need to make changes with my structure and lighting.

Lecture Notes

1. Find an image
2. Copy and paste into Photoshop
3. In the selection box, design your stamp brush
4. Use magic wand to select image
5. Go to "expand"
6. Go to "select", select "similar"
7. Go to "edit" in the top menu
8. Go to "define brush preset"
9. Adjust your brush at "brush setting"

Figure 12.1 Adjustment

Problem

1. The greyscale of the pillar is incorrect
2. The carpet is too plain
3. The base of the wall and drum should be supported by thicker base

Reflection

1. Thicken the lower part of wall to make it look stable
2. Add thicker base to support the drum
3. Add different design on the carpet
4. Shadow of the pillar should make adjustment

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Week 13 (19.12.2023)

Today was our last physical class with the lecturer. He informed us about our final assignment about what to include and what to do. At the end of the class, he also gave us a quick consultation about our Project 2 outcomes.

Lecture Notes

Website to gain inspiration from professionals

• iamag
• ArtStation
• 80.lv

AI image generator

• Leornado
• Stable diffusion
• Midjourney
• Bing image creator
• Dream studio

Things to include in final assignment

• header/title
• paragraph
• overall illustration
• polished project 1
• polished project 2
• breakdown - 3 unique stuffs

Figure 13.1 Feedback

Problem

• The front area is a bit plain
• The space is a bit dark

Reflection

• Add stairs at the front area
• Add purple shading
• Add more lighting
• Add details on the pillar

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Week 14 (26.12.2023)

Today, we have a brief online consultation to present the progress on our final assignment. Over the week, I dedicated a significant amount of time to enhancing the interior design aspect, although it is only halfway completed. Our lecturer provided feedback on how I can enhance my drawings. As I haven't refined the details yet, the feedback remains quite similar to last week, with suggestions on how to improve my drawings.

Feedback

• Add details that reinforce the pillar structure
• Add details on carpet that lead audience's eyeball to the throne
• Darken the shadow to show depth

Figure 14.1 Feedback

Reflection

• Speed up my drawing to finish the work more quickly
• Add details on my pillar and carpet

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