RESUBMISSION

As I have already completed the production stage, GAMA3000, that would have followed on from this module, I want to take the time to reflect on how what I may have missed or did not complete during the course of GAMA3013 affected my outcomes overall.

I feel, had I put more time and effort into the pre-production and previsualisaton for GAMA3000, I would have had a more concrete idea in terms of design and subsequently, would not have had to revisit my pre production after the production stage had already begun. This being said, I am pleased with how my final outcomes turned out, though somewhat rushed towards the end due to the mentioned backtracking.

During the initial pre production, I feel I was not able to show much exploration or variation within my previs as, at the time, the prop I had chosen to do was something I thought of way in advance of the 3013 module so I came in knowing exactly how I wanted it to look, shapes, colours, textures and style. Looking back, I think I would have gone further with something that was less of a passion project, as this could have been shelved as something to work on in my own time, with the skills and knowledge I would have gained from doing something else for this and the subsequent GAMA3000 module. This would have allowed me to put more thought into the previsualisation thus allowing me to succeed in this module previously. 

In my mind, I had already done the previs way in advance which meant I rushed in with a single design in mind and limited alterations or exploration. This defeats the point of having a previsualisation stage as it is all about creating a variety of ideas, while keeping the end production goal in mind to create a baseline of concepts and use them to create the final outcome, without actaully creating the final outcome meaning all of the planning is done and you know where to start when production begins.   

Previsualisation is an integeral part of any creative project. It allows an artist, animator, film producer etc. to see what their final project might look like beforehand, this also gives them time to make any alterations to their designs or ideas way before anything has been implemented or set in stone during production. As a game artist, with a focus on creating weapons or props for games, there is a substantial array of sources to gather reference from in order to create assets. Especially when those games are true to life, such as the recent installments to the Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises.

I found an interesting article where an artist, Patrick Sutton, Lead Vehicle and Weapon Artist at C77 Entertainment, was interviewed and provided tips and techniques for the creation of 3D weapons, some of which apply to the the design or previsualisation stage of a project. Linked here.

Within the article, Partick talks about designing fictional weapons, detailing that there are differences between the approach of a professional artist and that of a more junior artist, he goes on to say that it is thinking about the first-person view of a weapon where the differences occur. He describes that, when looking at a weapon from a first person perspective you want the silhouette to pop and be intereting to look at, especially for fictional weapons. Having depth from things facing different ways, so that eveything isn't just sideways as you look at it. This also helps in terms of how the prop reacts with lights, variation in shape and the edges provide areas for light to bounce off, giving the weapon some sense of realism.

These are all good things to think about when it comes to designing and previsualising a weapon in game, he continues to talk about steps of the process such as reference gathering and measuring correctly so that your weapon does not look unwieldly or odd. Measuring correctly is a step I can say I applied during my previous attempt of this module, my only issue was, because I was implementing my weapon in to a science fiction setting, and I had altered the original dimensions slightly, it threw off the balance of my sword meaning I had to revisit parts of it. 

As mentioned before, I had to revisit this module after the production module had already started, mainly to get a more consistent and explored design, which I also gained feedback on before proceeding to implement the design into production.