Art Attack

Throughout this project, I managed to stay to my schedule pretty tightly. However near the end, I gave myself more time to work on my final design. As well as this, I decided against the weekly development vlog due to time constraints.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire Answers

Focus Group

Mood Boards

When creating my mood boards I used sources such as Google and Pinterest to collect images to inspire me. Especially when creating the 'pre existing examples' moodboard, I only chose photos that had interesting elements, so that I could use them and be inspired to create my own designs. I especially liked the exosuit/Exoskeleton examples, however I did not use these ideas in my final designs.

Silhouetting Practice

While creating my silhouettes, I used my mind maps and other reference material to influence the shapes used. To give myself enough variation I pushed myself to use lots of different mech aesthetics: walker mechs were a massive inspiration for my designs, however the longer I worked on my initial designs I believe the added variation helped me to feel more inspired.

Feedback

I asked for feedback from friends and family using Twitter and Discord.

After finishing my silhouettes, I asked friends and family which ones they prefered. Whilst 3, 7, 13 and 17 were popular, an overwhelming favorite was 15. This was also my personal favorite, as I felt the shapes worked well together - Depending on the design, this mech could be a large, scary military mech, or a friendly non agressive mech.

After I picked my favorite silhouette, I worked on the development of my design.

Set 1

In my first set of sketch development pieces, I stayed close to the guidelines set by my silhoette of choice, which meant that they all looked really similar. I especially enjoy the top half of [2] - I feel that the shapes as well as the headlights look effective, however it can be difficult to tell what would pop out if it was 3D. I like the tire feet of [3], and the idea of a registration plate 'belt' in [1]. Looking back at these designs, They all seem quite basic and boring compared to later designs, however they gave me many of the ideas that I have built upon to make my final designs.

[1]

With my first design, I tried to keep it as close to the silhouette as possible, whilst also picking out key features of the triumph herald in the design. The backlights on the arms, the number plate 'belt', and the face inspired by the front of the car are effective in making it seem inspired by the car, whilst also making it look like a mech.

If I were to draw this again, I would work on my line weighting, as well as keeping my lines nice and neat. I would also focus on trying to make the feet look like they could work, rather then being one single shape.

[2]

My second design had the same intentions as the first - make a mech design based on the car, whilst also sticking close to the silhouette. I did this using the chrome motif at the front of the car's bonnet as a sort of smile, the headlights to either side looking like eyes. This gave the mech a friendly appearance, whilst also using aspects of the car that I enjoyed. Furthermore, I enjoyed the detail of the 'RAC' badge used as a sort of belt buckle, which can be seen on the front grille of the car. WIth this design I tried to make the joints feel like they could move, with negative space factored so that the metal could have a range of motion, as well as making joints and hydraulics visible, as shown at the joints connecting the legs to the body.

If I were to create a design similar to this in the future, I would work on making the hands look more unique compared to the first, as well as making sure my lines are weighted correctly to give the effect that I was going for.

[3]

In my third design I decide to try and go out of the box compared to the other two, and try out some elements that differed to that displayed on my first few design ideas. One of these was the smaller cockpit, window shape based on the car's own, which gave the feeling that the driver is more protected then in the other two designs. Another of these ideas in the storage compartment over the stomach, door based on those from the car, which I thought came out really effective! I also really enjoyed thinking up was the tires used for feet, as well as those used on the wrists to make the hands able to spin. I feel that If a mech based on Triumph herald parts was created in real life, the wheels could be used for uses such as these. On the head I used the mirrors mounted to the bonnet of the car, as well as the sun visors (which can be seen when the roof is folded up) to give the almost 'antenna' feel shown in my chosen silhouette.

One thing I would change if I was to refine this design would be to make the torso area feel less bulky, and break away from my silhouette to think of more creative ideas to do with the shapes of the body. These are the ideas that I decided to focus on in my second set of the designs, so that i caould broaden my horizons and make the mech feel more appealing whilst also sticking with my core ideas.

Set 2

With my issues about the first set in mind, while drawing the second set of development pieces I strived to use the silhouette as a guide, but to be creative and try to make the mechs look more interesting. Even though I enjoy the unique aspects of this, I believe that it ultimately fails to accomplish what I am setting out to achieve - making a mech that looks similar to a Triumph Herald. In my third set, I plan to incorporate ideas from both set 1 and 2, to create ideas that will work for my brief, as well as looking interesting and unique.

[4]

With this first design, I had the idea of making a more automated mech, almost like a people carrier, with a large cockpit for groups of people to sit in. I wanted to use the face idea from [2], so I replicated the idea with the headlights as the eyes, now using the metal grille from the front of the car as a mouth. The mirrors on the head made the design look like it had ears which I enjoyed, and I also used the sun visor idea from [3], this time on the shoulders. Another idea I used from [3] was the tires used on the arms like wrists, which would be able to turn the hands around. A new idea that I enjoyed was the legs, and how they folded together, almost like those of a bird. I thought this kind of design would be useful, as it would help the mech move closer to the ground so people could get in and out easier.

However, even with all of the ideas I enjoyed combined, I don't like the final result! I feel this is due to how I have designed the top half of the mech, the head and face making it feel more like a robot then a mech.

[6]

After creating the 'fold out' light design on [5], I decided to base a design around this element! I used this technique on the hands, feet and lights mounted to the torso. I feel that if this design was in a game it would be fun to control - you could stretch the legs out to make it taller, stretch the arms out to reach far off things, and move the lights around, making it have many uses. However, this design strayed too far away from my personal brief for the project, so I feel it was a good use of experimentation to see what I liked and disliked!

Something I would improve upon if I redrew this design in the future would be the sizing. The seat in the cockpit seems too big for a person to actually fit in the mech, as they would have no place for their legs to go. I would make sure I knew what size I wanted the pilot to before creating the cockpit design.

Set 3

With my final set of sketch development, I strived to use elements that I enjoyed from my past 6 designs as well as incorporating unique ideas I developed as I drew. one of these ideas was the wheels on [8], which I thought was fitting saying I am basing my designs on a car. Furthermore, my idea for [9] stemmed from the folding headlight design on top, which then developed into a construction mech with a viewing deck and rope ladder. While I find the design of [9] really fun and unique, I feel it is not inspired enough by the car to be viable as my final choice. A design that could be my final choice is [7] - using design ideas from my past designs, I developed this design with the car fully in mind, rather then experimenting with other elements. the mirror antenna, fold out headlights and drivers cockpit design have all been ideas taken from past designs, which i feel mesh together into a appealing design that matches elements of the car. However, I would change the fold out hands to something more traditional, as seen on some of my other designs.

[7]

After deciding I liked the shape and design of [5], I used this to influence the first of my three final designs. I however changed some details, such as the fins turning into mirrors, legs and feet changing into a more realistic design, and the hands using the folding element I explored in [6]. I however didn't like this change - I felt it strayed too far from my initial design so I decided that if I were to use this design as the base of my final mech, I would change the hands to something more traditional, seen on many of my other designs.

[8]

With this design I decided I wanted to go fully in with the car idea, and have wheels as the main form of mobility instead of feet! This was a really fun element to work with, and I feel it gives the design a unique silhoette while also making the design fun to look at! Furthermore, I took lots of previous design elements and used them, to make it so that this design meshes in well with the rest of my ideas! Another element I really enjoyed was the antenna, which I would like to use on my final design alongside the use of the wheels.

One thing I wold change about this design if I was going to do it again would be the torso and leg area. I feel that It isn't as interesting as some of the other designs I have created, and the waist especially looks quite unstable.

[9]

For my final sketch development design, I decided to have some fun and create another design with folding elements. I started with the mounted headlights on the head, which when I was creating this design gave me a very industrial feel, so I decided to go with this for the rest of the design. The walkway on the mech at the front which gains access to the cockpit, the rope ladder, the use of hydraulics at the hip area and knees, the fold out hands which fit so much better with this design then [7] - these elements all managed to come together to create a really fun design!

As much as I love this design though, It does not fit my personal goal of making the mech look like a triumph herald at all, so this will not be used towards my final mech. However, having the time to experiment really helped me to solidify what I want my final mech to look like!

When starting the 'Art Attack' project - and my work experience for employer Atomhawk - I decided that the best course of action would be to analyse the given criteria to determine what the brief meant, the skills I would require to complete the project as well as the hardware and software I would need to use. I feel like this was vital for my understanding of the project, as it helped me to get into the correct mindset and think about the pacing of my work.

Firstly, I created a schedule, which I could follow to keep myself on track throughout the project. During the project, I managed to stick to my schedule for the most part, however some things needed to be changed so that my work would be completed on time - one of these was the weekly development vlog. At the start of the project, I planned to create a short video every week that would showcase the progress of my design, however due to time constraints and the time it would take to prepare, film and edit this piece of work, I decided it would not be a viable idea so it was scrapped. As well as this, More time was given at the end of the project for finishing my final design, when I should have been writing my evaluation and checking work. In the future, I need to have a larger focus on my schedule, and instead of using it as an idea of what I could do, it should be used as a strict guideline so work can be completed in plenty of time.

After creating my schedule, I then worked on my primary research for the project. I started with a questionnaire, which focused on asking people what their ideal mech would be - from the size to tools and uses. I then used the great user feedback from this to create a focus group, which gave me lots of inspiration for the design. This focus group can be seen below [a]:

The next step, after thinking about the feedback I had been given in my primary research, was moving on to creating some mood boards that I could use for inspiration. These included mood boards based on colour schemes, possible aesthetic influences, and pre-existing mech examples that I could take inspiration from for my design. I also created a mood board on different joints, that was especially useful when it came to the sketch development phase.

It was at this point where my goal shifted slightly - I didn't want to create a mech for a certain use, I wanted to base it off of a pre-existing reference. This reference was my family's classic car, a 1969 13-60 Triumph Herald convertible nicknamed 'Peggy'. This car is really special to me, as we've had it since I was a child, and this fact really motivated to create a design that my family would be proud of throughout the project. Whilst my research may not have been super beneficial for my final goal, it was still really useful for gathering ideas, and I don't feel that in the end it was wasted time!

After this focus shift, I had a renewed interest in the project and moved forward with the next stage - Silhouetting. As this was a new practice to me, I started by warming up and designing some swords, using unique shapes and cut-outs to give them an appealing look. This practice helped me exponentially, as it helped me to understand the importance of shape and how to compose an appealing design. When creating my silhouettes, I started with quite stereotypical looking shapes, that seemed to be in the style of a 'Gundam' style of mech. I also struggled to break away from my inspiration of the car, however the more I created the more I decided to have fun and experiment, which ended in me having a really interesting set of silhouettes that were all unique in their own way. For my first time trying this practice, I found it really useful and fun! I feel that I will be able to use this practice in the future, as it pushes me as an artist for creativity and thinking outside of the box. In feedback for these designs, there were 5 that people favoured and I decided to go with my favourite, which was no.15.

The final step of my design process was creating my final design, which a created based on ideas I enjoyed from my sketch development phase. I worked on the linework first, making sure that I made an extra effort to weight my lines accordingly which I believe looks great with my art style! I also decided to go with the colour scheme of the actual car I was basing the design on, which I believe gives it a striking look and is really effective! I also worked at this point to give the viewer some information on how the mech could work, using a small sketch of the wheel to show how the stabilisers could fold into the tire. I also made sure to include an idea of how big the mech was, imagining that the human was the average size of a man (5ft 9in), as I feel this is a really useful tool for showing the size.

I have a few things I would change about this design (such as making sure the shading was accurate and how the hands look), however I am overall really pleased with how it came out! I believe that the illustration is created to a high standard, which could be used in the industry and concept art, however I feel that I could improve upon my colouring techniques and linework to make artwork to a higher standard.

In a questionnaire made about my final design, people expressed that they enjoyed how detailed the design was, and how I managed to fit the personality of the car within my design. When asked what they would change, people flagged up how the legs could be improved, as well as the hands. Most of my responders rated the design 10/10, stating that they felt the design was well thought through, and really well executed - I was really pleased to hear this!

In conclusion, if I were to do this project again from the start, I would work hard on my time management, and making sure that things were done when planned. After focusing on my final design for too long I was left with little time to finish my evaluation, as well as other small things that made me fee stressed. Keeping to a time schedule would really help me in the future, as it will help me to stay ontop of work whilst also getting me used to the timekeeping needed within the game industry. As well as this, I would also work to improve my artistic ability, consulting referances when stuck which could help to excell my work. Overall, I am really pleased with how my project has gone, and feel certain that my employers at Atomhawk will be impressed with my design.