Class Log 03-09

Today's class was the big reveal of my color paintings for Phoebe. I did three version of her in different lighting so that the texture artists could see what effects we were going for. Sunny was surprised that it was a painting, which was a win in my book. I think this was a really helpful piece to create because it gave everyone some ideas about what the final look could be. It included more helpful information than is on the surface: the use of brush strokes, the out of focus background, Phoebe's relationship to background characters.

Also of note are the new sandals and short leggings. These were some of the changes the art directors requested, in addition to tweaking the color of the headband to be a little more vibrant.

It was wonderful to work in this pipeline. I got to move back and forth with Dennis and Ana with the character design. Then, working on top of a finished drawing by Dennis, I was able to bring it to a finish. I incorporated Shannon's backgrounds into my pieces, which was a great time-saver and maintained unity across the production.

 

A very important thing I learned in this class is how to navigate a collaborative environment. Sometimes, the project shifts to an area that is outside of your expertise, and you have to learn how to pivot to stay relevant to the team. For me, that was when the product became increasingly stylized to the point that I was having trouble creating designs that fit in with the overall aesthetic. Because of that, I shifted gears into a painting role so that I could help bring these designs to realization in 3d. Instead of asking "Why are they going in this direction?", I have learned to say "What can I do to contribute?"

Other things we developed in this class include Phoebe's model, along with camera block-ins. Rebecca and Sunny are developing their textures very well. Today they showed roof tiles that have a great feel to them. They said what I have developed for Phoebe is enough to try and match, so it was a very productive day.