Assessment

GAMA2003

Assessment: The Third Servile War

The concept for the assessment is the Third Servile War, a historical event which happened between 73 - 71 BCE. It was a revolt against the Roman Republic led by gladiator Spartacus.

When selecting any of the three deliverables - Narrative, Environment or Prop Design, creative freedom is acceptable and the design can be focused on any viewpoints of the event.

Research

The story of the Third Servile War has been portrayed in movies, TV shows and books. Since it is a real historical event, there is a factual and linear line of events that occurred within it and that is a solid base to use for this project - we are allowed to change the genre completely and have creative freedom, but the 'story' of the war itself must remain the same. Some sources I'll be looking into:

The Spartacus TV show
Reading about the event from a history book and the web
Documentaries

Some events in order:

Breaking with about 70 gladiators using kitchen equipment as weapons to overcome the guards
Setting up camp on top of mount Vesuvius and gathering more people to join their force as they did so
Watching the Roman army from the mountain, waiting for an opening, and ambushing them from behind after descending from the mountain using ropes made from vine
A second army, twice the size carrying the Roman symbol of authority, Fasces (an axe wrapped in a bundle of rods), arrived to decimate the rebellion. The rebellion won again and captured the Fasces
Travelling south, Spartacus' rebellion pillaged villages along the way and gathered more troops for the rebellion. He set up a quarter in Metapontum, where he began training all of the slaves into soldiers. He used brass and iron to forge them into weapons, with the most iconic being the Gladius
They marched north
A group of 20,000 Germans lead by Crixus were separated from the rebellion, marched north and were defeated on mount Garganus
Spartacus took 400 Romans and forced them to fight to death
They faced the elite opposition in Mutin, led by Gaius Cassius - the rebellion won, killing virtually every Roman soldier
The rebellion didn't want to go over the Alps to freedom, but instead preferred to march back south to fight the Romans
Crassus, the richest man in Rome, bought himself an army to fight the rebellion. The rebellion fought Crassus' army in the open fields instead of attacking their fort. The rebellion was victorious, and Crassus started using the old technique called decimation to get a grip of his army and make the soldiers fear him more than Spartacus
The rebellion was now pushed back towards the south. Spartacus had an objective to strike Sicily, which was Rome's main source of wheat and had a history of slave unrest
Spartacus was betrayed by the pirates who were supposed to ferry them to Sicily. Crassus began to build a trench and a wall to trap Spartacus and his rebellion to the south of Italy
After the rebellions first failed attack to the wall, Spartacus crucified a Roman prisoner in view of both of the armies. This made the emperor quite mad
Spartacus managed to lead an attack on the wall during the cover of the night and break through
The rebellion wanted to keep on fighting even though more than 30,000 thousand reckless Germans were defeated and the rebellion was now outnumbered by the Romans
The rebellion was finally defeated
Spartacus's body was not found, and Crassus had all 6,000 of the survived rebel fighters crucified

Key points to keep in mind if changing the setting/genre completely:

Breaking out from the initial place
Setting camp on top of a high place
Travelling to seaside and setting up a base of operations
Travelling all the way across the country
Turning back and travelling all the way again
Being trapped in a corner
Breaking out of that corner
Being finally defeated

Prop Ideas:

Fasces (the Roman symbol of authority)
Gladius (The iconic sword of the gladiators)
Crucifix (Might replace this with something with less religious influence, but in a way that it still does the same job of hanging up dudes on display)

Style Guides

Design Pillars
Shape Language - what are the primitive shapes
Detail Frequency - the balance of the image, allow the eye to rest. Rule: 70% low frequency, 30% high
Tech - expansion from Design Pillars
Colour/Materials/Decals - pick a colour scheme and work out the primary, secondary and accent colours

Prop Design: Fasces

My initial design for the Fasces is to take three base components which will be the rod bundle with the axe, an eagle or a similiar winged animal and a cloth banner, then combine them together to create a sort of standard that would be carried in battle.

Additional ideas:

Replace the eagle with a fantasy animal - Dragon, Chimera etc.
The banner needs a picture - it could be something from real life or something completely made up

Prop Design: Gladius

https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/roman-gladius-5d91e14f9473413881951ec89b507bd4

https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/gladius-2cde749616214178ba99321edf0aae46

For the Gladius, I'm going to switch the shape of the blade to something more fancy, while keeping in mind that it is essentially a simple weapon easily mass produced for the gladiators. This is why I'm more than likely going to scrap all of the ones with the holes in them and go for a more simpler design such as the ones on the right.

Additional Ideas:

The Gladius does not have to be a sword in this setting - it could be a completely different type of weapon, however I would like to keep the weapon small in size

Fasces Model

The Plan

Since I decided to create propsheets, I decided that the most suitable way for me to tackle this assessment is to create a 3D model of each prop, which then allows me to get screenshots from any perspective that I can use to draw over on Photoshop to create the sheets.

Additions I'm considering when I'm working on this on Photoshop

I'm going to design some sort of symbol for the Empire which would be on the banner. Currently I'm going for a dragon theme so will go from there
This banner is an important symbol - it's in pristine condition, so no damage/rust or stuff like that

Gladius Model

Gladius

After thinking about different possibilities for the gladiator's signature weapon and designing some different types of blades on paper, I decided to go for this shape. I added a reflective material for the blade which may help me with the shading while drawing it.

Additions I'm considering when I'm working on this on Photoshop

Cracks and scratch marks
Rust
Dried blood
Killcount etching made by the warrior who wielded the sword

Crucifix Design

Image Sources:

http://clipartmag.com/tag/crucifix

https://www.dreamstime.com/illustration/cross-stylized.html

I looked up some stylised crosses and doodled a few basic shape designs for the crucifix. Since I am going for a fantasy theme, I want to make the crucifix look a bit more interesting than just a regular wooden cross. Additionally, the crucification is an execution method used by the Roman empire which is meant to strike fear to all who see it, so I think it makes sense for the cross itself to look fancy and menacing.

I liked this design for the cross the most and made a few variations of it where the middle bit is a bit different. If I end up using the "Symbol of the Empire" one then the symbol will be matching to the one I will draw on the banner on the Fasces so that should work nicely.

Crucifix Model

Crucifix

Here is a 3D model of my crucifix design. It vaguely resembles a winged creature which matches the fasces. I also added some ropes where the victims arms and legs would be tied to. I also made the version with the hole in the middle but I'm still not sure which one I want to use.

Additions I'm considering when I'm working on this on Photoshop

Dried blood
Scratch marks

Extra Additional Idea

Originally I designed this crucifix in a way that it would be used by the Empire, with the dragon theme and all. However, I might instead make it the crucifix that Spartacus used against a Roman soldier - it could still have the same shape and the dragon theme as that would be the perfect way to piss of the Empire, bu it would made out of cheaper materials and be more beat-up and crude.

This version has no symmetry, the wood is twisted and there are nails sticking out from here and there. It is still built in the style of the Empire but with makeshift resources.

The Fourth item - Helmet

After thinking about what to create for my fourth prop, I ended up choosing a helmet used by the Roman soldiers. This would be a helmet used by the elite few, such as Gaius Cassius or his trusted officers.

For the design I wanted to include both the typical Roman centurion helmet style complete with the plume and a face mask. Since I have been going for a dragon theme for the Empire on this project (Dragon on the Fasces banner and the crucifix representing a dragonic theme) I had the idea to make the plume of the helmet in the shape of a dragon's wings.

Helmet Model

The first 3D model for the helmet. As with the other items, this model will be used as a reference to draw over in Photoshop once I create the actual prop sheets. The wings on top of the helmet are taken directly from my Fasces model.

Additions I'm considering when I'm working on this on Photoshop

Metal spikes representing teeth on the jaw bits
Holes on the cheek areas
Strong colour contrast with the dragon wings

The contrast between the Empire and the Rebels

I listed down some materials and colours that would be used in the props. As it stands now, each side would have two props:

Empire

Helmet - Shiny steel base with a blue trim; dark blue or golden dragon wings
Fasces - Dark blue cloth banner with a golden Empire symbol; dark wood pole; hemp ropes; shiny steel axe blade;, basic wooden bundle with basic iron bindings; golden dragon; shiny steel end bits on the pole

Rebels

Gladius - Crude, rusty metal blade; basic wooden handle; red, wooden pummel
Crucifix built in the Empire's style - Crude wood; hemp ropes; basic iron nails; the dragon wings on the crucifix have been coloured red, the colour of the rebellion, to aggrevate of the Empire

Additionally, I will add a brief description of each item within the prop sheets.

Prop Sheet progress

Here is the Fasces from the front view as it will be displayed on the prop sheet. I spent quite a lot of time doing the shading and will consider only shading the perspective view of each prop from now on, and only having the basic colours on the ortographic views.

The first layout plan for the prop sheet. The name and the description of the object will be displayed on the top right area, and the materials on the bottom left.

The first 'completed' version of the Fasces prop sheet, subject to change. It also contains the dimensions of the object.

Crucifix prop sheet progress

The Wings of Death

While creating the prop sheet, I decided to call this object the Wings of Death instead of simply Crucifix. I am going for a solid dragon theme for the Empire, and will be naming objects and writing their descriptions accordingly. On the left is the prop sheet for the Wings of Death in its current state. It is still subject to change and I'm mostly thinking about making making changes to make the materials list and the name + description stand out more. The prop sheet for the Fasces would go through similar changes as well.

Alternative version with the boxes behind the text bits. I'm still debating if I should add them or not, but they certainly help the text stand out more.

The Dragons of the Empire

The Empire has a dragon theme, and each object belonging to the Empire (The Fasces (name subject to change), the Wings of Death and the Helmet) will have their own dragon linked with them. Ideas so far:

Axillion, the Dragon of Death. The dragon has dark scales made out of iron. The Wings of Death symbolise Axillion.
Dominaxus, the Dragon of Law. The dragon has golden scales and is the Empire's most fabled symbol. A golden idol symbolising Dominaxus is attached to the Fasces.
Proellun, the Dragon of War. The dragon has bright red coloured scales and is believed to bring inhuman prowess to the Empire's soldiers on the battlefield. The high-ranking officers of the Empire's army have the wings of Proellun on their helmets.

Helmet prop sheet progress

Something to think about

Currently, the wings on top of the helmet are very thick. For narrative I decided that they would be made out of lighter aluminium instead of steel or some other heavy metal, but I'm still thinking about redrawing them to make them much more thinner.

Krita Gladius

Instead of Photoshop, I used the free program Krita to create the prop sheet for the fourth item, the Gladius. Although I used the same methods, the process and outcome was slightly different due to the difference in tools between the two programs. Here are some screenshots of the progress:

I found the text tool in Krita poor and tough to use, as there are no standards for the font size and editing the text after it was placed didn't seem possible.

Summary and reflection

I created propsheets for 4 item with the theme being the Third Servile War. The items I chose were a war banner (The Fasces), a crucifix (The Wings of Death), a helmet (Centurion Helmet) and a sword (The Gladius). Instead of historical accuracy, I went for a light fantasy genre, replacing Rome with 'The Empire' and giving them a dragonic theme, and reshaping the iconic gladius sword to look more unique.

The methods I used for this project was to first create a simple 3D model of each object, taking screenshots of them from various angles and then painting over the screenshots in Photoshop and Krita. I chose this approach instead of fully 3D modelling each object because I want to focus on practising Photoshop and I like the 'cartoonish' style.

Even though I created the final products by drawing, I could have spent a bit more time on the 3D models as sometimes I ran into situations where it was difficult to define the topology of the items in the screenshots, and sometimes I wanted to draw some different features to the objects that were not in the reference screenshots but didn't do it as accurately translating those changes to the front and side views as well was too tough.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse