final piece

i won't bore with details, but here is the final piece, expect to see the prep. work over the weekend.

see you all tomorrow

tree models

Now these are actually modelled in Zbrush, as with my limited knowledge of maya, my trees would have turned out looking rubbish.

originally i looked at a tutorial on how to model these, i took a few pieces from that, and made these.

they obviously aren't textured yet, as i'm going to leave that until the scene is fully set. much like the treasure chest scene. as you can see, even when rendering them as bmp. files, they came out crap with parts missing. hopefully my upgrade will be here soon.

and yes, the finished concept piece is done, although i noticed a massive flaw which i'm changing now.

EDIT: I lowered the sub-divisions so these would render faster, and now the option to raise them is transparent (not available) any help on this? i know that obj. does not carry subdiv. info but they were ztl. originally

Product/era research

This research was actually done weeks ago, but i am only putting it up now.

the poem was first released in 1845, therefore having my scene with a block of flats in the background (one extreme) or the house being the wrong shape/look for that area and period, is going to make my piece look weak.

the tree's usually found in this part of America at this time of year, and this period in time were most commonly oak trees. tall strong trees, which were made bare at the very start of an autumn season, therefore, the tree i want to put in my piece (or trees) are going to be large trunked, pale brown, leafless trees like such.

very branchy, again, thick, distorted trunks with a pale grey like brown and flat smooth texture.

as for the houses, in this part of America, a so called student would have been staying in a basic, yet large house, usually wooden and symmetrical. they would be neutral colours e.g. white or wood natural colour.

although this is a more spruced up version, it was the clearest picture i could get of a house this style. notice the slats of wood running along and the symmetry in the windows and door. again, notice the bare trees running along house, this was common as trees were considered highly decorative in this time.

Now as my image is likely to be a close up from outside to inside, the detail on the window is going to be very important. as you can see on this house, the windows are very large, yet broken up into symmetrical sections and are usually opened by lifting from the bottom.

this is one of the clearest shots i could get of such mentioned window panes. obviously, all these above images are just to guide me in getting an accurate reference, as i remember Phil commenting particularly on peoples lack of referencing when it comes time to draw something.

anyway, next up, concept drawing of said piece.

Hello again

It's been a very very hectic season for me, work abroad and at home plus an overseas competition this year so you will understand the sudden lapse in my blogging. anyway folks, hope all is well with everyone, and i shall be reporting with my ''seasonal'' work first thing in the morning. as for now, i think sleep is in order