02. The Preparation

Section A

But now back to the tool. This small, very slim script, which integrates into the structure of Windows Explorer after installation, allows you to create a “project folder structure” with just one click. Basically, all you have to do is create your folders and name them accordingly and save them as a base structure. Then you create a project folder with the name of the project and when you right-click on the newly created project folder in Windows Explorer, you simply select the entry “Create a new Project” and all the folders in the project that you created as a “folder base structure” when setting up are created. A wonderful script that makes life easier and also ensures that every project folder has the same folder structure. 

Link to DirTemplate Extension

A short statement about planning and preparation

Before we continue, I would like to point out an important point. It concerns topics such as planning and preparation. I am well aware that the approach I am showing here is not for everyone and is probably a bit exaggerated in some places. A similar approach to the one I am showing here is often shown and recommended in tutorials or in larger workshops. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with this, for some it is a safe approach to not drift off during the project phase and to stay on track. For others, however, this approach is simply annoying or they find this process completely useless or, rather, unnecessary. 

But to keep things in perspective, it should be mentioned that this process is considered to be the industry standard. In a studio, for example, this process is divided among many more artists. For an individual artist, this process of planning and preparation is rather annoying and they usually want to get started immediately without all the nonsense around it. I can understand that very well, because I used to be of the same opinion, just to get started without a plan, the bottom line is that something always comes out of it, whatever the result and in whatever form. 

However, over the years I have learned and realized that a certain amount of solid planning and preparation is usually half the battle. Basically, it's like in real life, there are people who have and need their chaos around them, otherwise they don't function, and then there are people who have their so-called organized chaos, and then there are the orderly ones and, last but not least, the extremes. I believe that a healthy balance is the best way to go. As soon as one extreme chases the other, it gets uncomfortable and you just stumble. What I mean is that everyone has probably acquired their best approach over the years and this pillar, once set, is usually very difficult to move. 

Finally, my personal tip. The planning and preparation approach I have shown here is generally only used by me for larger projects, otherwise I usually approach smaller projects in a very playful and uncomplicated way. At the end of the day, it's always the result that counts and if your work is well received and praised, the way to the goal doesn't matter. Nobody will ask whether you have considered or planned this or that, or whether you have, for example, cut the UV cleanly or whatever. Surprisingly, I have repeatedly experienced that when I have published works somewhere in which I have invested hours and hours, days or even weeks of work, I hardly get any response. Whereas I got more likes and a much higher response for some of my works, in which I had invested hardly 2 hours of work, than for the time-consuming works. Just play around and don't try to follow a workflow that will only cause you problems or, in the worst case, make you lose interest in the game. 

Section B

I will think about it in the next few days and consider how I will ultimately realize it. Whether baroque or modern, both have their charms, but in any case, I will start by collecting as much information as necessary in UpNote so that I don't have to invest too much time in it later during the modeling phase. However, I don't know if it makes sense to link all the links, videos and individual pieces of information that I collect for UpNote here on this page. That's a good question, I'll think about it. 

Section C

I'm also working on two other big projects at the moment, so the start here is a bit bumpy, or rather slow. But the more I make progress in the other projects, the more fluid it will be here. I already mentioned that I'm not sure yet what style I want to use for this project. The question was whether I wanted to do it in a realistic baroque style of the 17th century or something more modern. After three days of deliberation and consideration, I decided to realize this project or rather this scene in a more modern style. Since I would like to go through every decision and, if possible, every detail as well as the course of the project with you, I would also like to give you the reasons why I decided on the modern style.

First of all, the Baroque is a style with lots of curlicues, decorations and ornaments, not only in the rooms but also on almost all objects, whether they are doors, mirrors, furniture, frames or other accessories. Actually, almost everything was decorated with stucco during this period. Since I have never modeled such decorations or stucco work before, I would have to learn this skill for this project, which is not a problem for me. However, I can imagine that it won't happen overnight and that you need a certain amount of practice to create such a large project with this skill. However, I don't want to bore you with my learning curve here on the project page and I also want to avoid even more unnecessary breaks between updates, so I decided to go with the modern style. I will learn this modeling technique at some point, no question, but initially only in smaller projects. 

Another reason why I decided on the modern style is that, as an artist, I live in the here and now. I also want to breathe a kind of soul into the project as best I can and convey a certain flair, if you know what I mean. In my opinion, I can only achieve this through the impressions and experiences of the environments from our/my time that I have already acquired. What hardly anyone knows is that I worked as a barista for a good 10 years on the side and took part in a few latte art competitions, sometimes doing very well. So I basically know a lot about coffee and how to make it, as well as about the administrative, logistical and furnishing aspects of running a café. I have never worked in a Parisian café, but having seen and visited a number of cafés in Lyon, Nice and Paris over the past few years, I have not noticed any major differences between them and other coffee houses in this country or elsewhere. What I have noticed, however, is that the operators pay much more attention to the ambience and interior design. Nothing seems to be left to chance. Everything has its place and as a visitor you get the feeling that every piece of furniture or accessory and even the many appliances are exactly where they should be and have always been there. Just like the Italians, the French also have a sense of how to give their surroundings a special charm, giving every environment a special kind of life that is difficult to describe. Whether you visit a location on a busy street or a small bistro in a small, narrow side street. 

Now that the destination is roughly set in terms of style, I was looking for a suitable reference for the overall scenery. I have already compiled some reference images in PureRef, but these only serve for certain details such as building type, colors, look, furniture or various objects. I'm back on YouTube again, but this time I came across a 12-hour “lounge jazz music video” on a different channel with another AI-generated image that appealed to me purely in terms of mood and environment. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not a fan of AI-generated images, but for reference purposes I think they're fine, why not. After I had taken a screenshot of the video or the image, I looked at this image for a long time and, if you will, analyzed it. 

A small side note: As far as the legal aspects are concerned, I have already mentioned that I have no economic advantage here and am not seeking one, so I also think that the use of the image and its falsification by me, which was generated by AI anyway, should not cause any problems. 

Well, after looking at the picture for a while, I decided that I wanted to create a similar scene. So it will go in this direction, but I don't want to copy it 1 to 1. I have slightly distorted this picture and given it a painterly “concept art look”. Now someone might ask why? I have a very unique and special approach to certain projects. I am the type of person who likes to get very involved in details very quickly, which may be a good quality on the one hand, but on the other hand it is rather a hindrance in many cases. I have found that if I adapt or edit a picture for myself in such a way that I only recognize the most necessary details, it is much better for me, because I will only concentrate on the mood and atmosphere. If I have too many details in the picture, I discover something new here and something there, and then I think to myself, I should do this too, and so on and so on. I can only warmly recommend this approach to anyone who is confronted with the same problem as I am. 

As a final action, I set this picture I had worked on as the desktop background for my two workstations, laptops and tablets. I actually do this whenever I start a new major project, and for two reasons: firstly, I am confronted with the project every day and thus become more and more immersed in it from day to day. The second reason is that the forced and constant viewing of the picture from time to time either gives me new ideas or reminds me of important details that I enter and add to my “project notebook”. 

Section D

Google Street View

Another great but often underestimated way to get reference material is "Google Maps" or "Google Street View". Thanks to Google's "Street View", you have a wonderful opportunity to virtually explore any place on this planet. I mostly use "Street View" when I am looking for real references for certain types of buildings and their special details. For this project too, "Street View" proves to be an excellent tool for taking a close-up look at the individual cafés in and around Paris. 

Note- Sketchbook

As already mentioned, I can't do without analog media such as a notebook or sketchbook, so I create a project notebook for all my projects in which I write down and sketch everything that is important to me and the project. As you can see, I haven't written down or sketched very much yet, but that will change as the project progresses. I usually use a DIN A5 notebook, which has between 80 and 100 pages and is just enough for about two projects of this size. I'll be showing photos of the contents of the notebook from time to time during the course of the project so that you can see what nonsense I put in there.  :-)

Section E

I will now close the "preparation" section as there is essentially nothing more I can add to it. I have now collected a lot of reference images and created a project folder. For now, I've jotted down and entered some notes and important links and videos in "UpNote". I've also created a notebook and sketchbook in which I'll write down and sketch everything that might be important for the project so that I don't forget anything and stay on track. I've even created a Discord server especially for this project, as I think most of you probably use Discord. However, I have to admit that I'm not very happy with Discord. There are too many bells and whistles, which are supposed to be of enormous importance for the younger generation, but for me it's just "too much". The sheer number of settings alone drives me crazy. 

I would have a better decentralized "open source alternative" with "Element" and "Matrix.org", which is a lot cleaner and clearer and also works across platforms. Although "Element with Matrix" is obviously used by many, this is not the broad masses, and I don't think you want to register there specifically because of this project in order to be actively involved. It's a dilemma because I don't like Discord myself and there's too much bling bling and too much stuff around it that nobody needs - at least not me. Element in conjunction with Matrix.org would be a cleaner and clearer decentralized "FOSS alternative", but is hardly used by the masses or only very sporadically. 

I'm probably thinking too much about it again, as ultimately not many people will actively participate and I'll be wasting time, thought and effort on this. But well, it's all still in its infancy and who knows how it will develop.