CRITICAL REVIEW/ Final Major Project

Student Name: Lucy Peters          Pathway: 3DCP

FMP Title: Caribbean Folklore

To be handed in alongside your FMP hand-in

1. Briefly describe the context of your project. Describe how a range of critical perspectives helped you realise this idea. (max. 50 words)

I am interested in game art, so I designed characters for a horror-style video game, appealing to adult gamers. I intended to expose Afro-Caribbean folklore within video game culture and to simultaneously learn about my own Caribbean ancestral culture and spiritualism. I read a variety of books by Caribbean authors on religion and folklore in the West Indies, as well as books focusing on the fundamentals of game design. I also looked at art books by game companies such as Naughty Dog.

2. How did you use your researched contextual perspectives to develop your project? (max. 50 words)

I went to the British Museum to gain a broader contextual perspective on the effects of Yoruba spiritual art, costume and deities in the Caribbean. I progressed by exploring Caribbean artists, dress, carnival costumes, playing videogames and noting down how folklore is represented and interpreted by games companies. I integrated my research into my design process, making my own interpretation of the Caribbean folklore. I pushed my project further by interviewing my peers regularly, a Caribbean Game Designer, and my Caribbean grandmother to gain a well-informed understanding of my subject.

3. Please discuss your exploration of alternative ideas and how they led to your final outcome. (max. 50 words)

For game characters, I considered a variety of genres such as action-adventure, before deciding on horror. I also experimented with many different folklore characters before developing my chosen final three characters: The Soucouyant, Jumbie and Douen. I thought that their stories and visual descriptions would fit best with the horror genre. I considered pushing my digital 3D models further using 3D printing, initially used to analyse how well I had digitally sculpted the prototypes. I wanted to make physical figurines to compliment the final three character models.

4. What systems did you use to plan, organise and develop your project? Please reflect on the effectiveness of these tools. (max. 50 words)

I used my timetable to stick to research, initial ideas, development and making weeks. I was slightly ahead of schedule towards the end so I progressed my project by producing figurine versions of my 3 characters. I also used tutor and peer feedback with my learner planner to develop my idea drawings and prototypes, and to follow up research topics. The blog was an effective method of reviewing and evaluating my progress and planning my next stages in the project. It also bound my ideas and thoughts together into one place.

5. Discuss practical skills you employed to realise your project. Describe how you explored, adapted and stretched your skills and knowledge. Are there specific skills you have developed that will affect your future course/career? If so, describe said skills. (max. 100 words)

For my initial ideas and development, I used pen and pencil sketches, detailed marker designs and clay modelling. I also used photography and Photoshop to manipulate my photo experiments into fantastical scenes, as well as learning how to use the programme better. I continued to use Photoshop, learning how to digitally draw my developed ideas differently: taking parts of one design, and transferring it to another. My most developed skill was digital 3D modelling, particularly with Mudbox. I could see huge improvements from making the prototypes to my final character models. With Maya, I taught myself how to fix technical errors, essential skills for a 3D game artist. I will need strong knowledge of 3D software and the initiative to problem-solve effectively. New skills I also developed were 3D printing and woodcarving.

6. What type of evaluative and reflective records did you keep? How did a continuous analysis help you to inform and develop ideas? Provide specific examples. (max. 50 words)

I used my sketchbooks and my blog to maintain a record of my ideas, changes, development research, and the learner planners for crit feedback. Keeping notes in my sketchbook helped me to reflect on my progress later when writing the blog. I also used the blog questions sheet to prompt my reflection and evaluation, e.g. “What feedback did you get from others?” The blog questions were useful as they helped me to analyse my judgements and actions in depth.

7.1 Discuss the range of considered strategies you employed to present your personal project. 7.2 Who is your audience/ customer? State what type of end user you had in mind for this project, and how/where project would be presented. Please add visuals to illustrate your plans. (max. 100 words)

Initially I considered placing my final narrative alongside glossy render shots of my figures. However, I was limited on exhibition space, and so my tutor encouraged me to design poster mock-ups and to use game art books for professional layout inspiration. I was also advised to research figurine companies and to consider 3D printing the models to make ‘collectible figures’ of the characters, emphasising the game culture context.    My demographic is adult gamers who enjoy horror games. I chose to present my personal project using a matte A2 poster for my renders, the 3D printed models and the digital screen. As an extra I produced small freebie cards of my characters that people could take at the exhibition. I was inspired by game art book layouts, and Comicon stalls which give out event freebies and sell collectible figures. I imagined my work being presented at a similar event. My outcomes were presented to gamers in my class, who were enthusiastic about the freebies and the models. Furthermore, my feedback told me that the 360° angles of the characters were a more effective method of presentation than using single render shots of the characters on a poster. Art Booth: http://www.quirkbooks.com/post/comic-art-buyers-guide Figures on shelf at Comicon: http://news.toyark.com/2017/12/01/prime-1-studio-tokyo-comic-con-2017-279793 Page from Naughty Dog’s ‘The Art of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End’

8. Overall summary: Describe a few key points to take away from this experience, and a few things to change about your approach to creative production. (max. 100 words)

I took away many positives from this project. I used it as an opportunity to learn about the Afro-Caribbean culture in my family, as well as to experience a long design and making process that would be used in the game industry. Using new digital programmes gave me the confidence to explore different programmes in the future, as well as to fix my technical problems by myself. One major highlight of the project was the Mudbox modelling, as I was really pleased with the final outcome and I enjoyed seeing my improvements from the prototypes to the final digital models. The negatives of the project were the problems that I encountered with the 3D printing as it was frustrating finding the cause of the problem- Next time I will check the printer settings, the character models, and the 3D printing programme for errors before printing, as well as remaining patient. Despite this, my skills have been pushed and I feel ready for my degree course in Game Art next year.