Day 4 of Inktober 2018

It’s magic you know…

Day 3 of Inktober 2018

It’s 82 days til Christmas, so here’s a roast turkey and some potatoes for good measure.

Day 2 of Inktober 2018

What’s says tranquil more than a dove flying with an olive branch?

Well, Sort Of…

This week I have been changing a few things on a lot of my social media. Including this blog on Tumblr, congrats if you spotted it. For those that didn’t, all URL’s for my social pages are now under the same naming scheme. Daniel Rhodes Designs. Well, all apart from Twitter, because usernames are only allowed 15 characters. I have decided to do this in an effort to make everything easier to remember and more importantly consistent. But that’s not all I’ve been doing this week…

Aside from starting my third year of University and some 5-a-side football, I’ve been prototyping various different colours for my personal brand. Take a look below. I’ll be looking to further reduce this down to 5 total colours. 2 vibrant/  stand out colours which are harmonious with each other,  in conjunction with 3 more neutral colours. Over the next week, I will be looking into various icon designs I can use for my logo and start creating a brand style guide featuring the final logo. 

That’s kinda it for this it for this week, so I’ ll leave you with a whole list of updated links to my social media pages. Be sure to follow me over there.

Social Links

ArtStation - https://danielrhodes.artstation.com/

Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/DanielRhodesDesigns

Twitter - https://twitter.com/DanielRhodesDesign

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/danielrhodesdesigns

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/DanielBRhodes

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/DanielRhodesDesigns

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/DanielRhodesDesigns

Tumblr - https://danielrhodesdesigns.tumblr.com

Google+ - https://plus.google.com/111940595517630617766

Behance - https://www.behance.net/DanielRhodesDesigns

A Quick Update

So I’m going to be taking part in Inktober this year. My first year. I am far from great when it comes to sketching, so bear with me its gonna be interesting.

For anyone who doesn’t know how this works; you create one ink drawing a day for the entire month based on the prompt for that day. I’ll only be doing small icon drawings for this year (like the one below) because that’s what I want to focus on and improve. For more information about Inktober check out this link.

Note: For anyone interested, I will be posting my weekly update sometime tomorrow instead of the usual Monday. Just a one-off. See you tomorrow. 

Another week, another blog post.

Okay, so I’m going to be honest, this week I haven’t really done much. I found myself trying to organise myself for the future, overdoing things that benefit me in the present. I’ll talk about this a little more at the end of this post. All in all, this means this blog post might not be as long as usual. So let’s get on with it.

One thing I’ve done this past week is looked into colour theory. I have already done research into this before for various projects and thought it would be best doing the same for this one. To quickly sum up what this means for anyone that may not know. 

Different colour schemes can complement each other or be used to contrast and catch the viewers eye. The eye can percept colour differently based on the colours that are matched with each other. You can see this in this image. 

Red looks bolder on black than it does on orange or white for example. Looking further into colour theory, you’ll find that each colour also has certain words the brain will automatically associate with them. For example, red corresponds with danger (main colour on warning signs) or love (most common colour when drawing a heart). And that’s a really brief description of Colour Theory. With that out of the way lets continue.

*** Note: If you would like me to do a more in-depth video on YouTube looking at colour theory let me know in the comments. ***

I started looking through the branding reference I gathered last week, sifting through it, removing inconsistencies and narrowing it down to find a persistent style & the colours I want to be associated with my brand. I will be sharing more on my final selection next week as I further narrow down my selection using sites like Coolers to create the perfect colour palette.

So that’s about it, looking back over this has turned into one of my longest posts so far. How wrong I was. Before I go, as promised, I just want to say that if you haven’t seen on my social media over this week I announced that I’ll be doing a skydive for charity in October. You can find out more by visiting my Facebook or Twitter page. Links below. But that’s it for now, hopefully I’ll have something more final to talk about and share next week. Thanks for reading this far.

Links

View my Portfolio - https://danielrhodes.artstation.com/

Drop a like on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DR.ArtistAnimator/

Follow me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ddrhodes33

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/drhodes3/

Back Again.

Pinterest & Skillshare. Over this past week, I have been dividing my spare time over three things. Gaming (that’s a given), Referencing & Learning. In my effort to improve my own personal branding and productivity I have been using these two sites.

Let’s start with Pinterest, this has quickly become my new favourite way to get reference material for any project I am working on. I’ve been using it here and there for a couple of years now but never this much. Its quickly become a backbone for any type of research I now do. It’s so simple and easy. I’ve been busy making some boards for my new branding and you can check them out here. 

https://pin.it/2dldncfuvbb34q

So what about Skillshare? Well, this is a site that is a site that I have only recently come across. As the name suggests its a site where others share their skills with people that want to learn something new. I used the site to gather all the material that would help me learn software and skills I have always wanted to try. Ranging from typography, logo design and UI/UX. I have also used this site to help learn how to be more productive and organised. I have learnt & started using Todoist for example and I feel like I am a lot better at getting more time out of my day. Getting more stuff done. It also helps that all this is free for two months. 

Follow this link for yours https://skl.sh/2D7m9JH

Overall an interesting week for me, learning new things and getting better at things I have done for a while.

Links

View my Portfolio - https://danielrhodes.artstation.com/

Drop a like on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DR.ArtistAnimator/

Follow me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ddrhodes33

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/drhodes3/

The quote that has changed my mindset on things. 

I’m a guy who loves playing video games; so much so I’ve become a 3D Artist and Animator. Recently I came across this quote while gaming and it got me thinking. It got me thinking about how people see me and my work. Am I giving myself the best opportunity when showing someone who I am? That’s what this blog is about, striving to do more, becoming the best I can and making the first few minutes to introduce myself the most memorable.

Okay, so I have been gone a long time, especially when my last post, on ArtStation, was on the 10th of April. In that post, I said that I wanted to be more open as to what projects I am working on. As you can see that clearly didn’t happen. 

So I am back with the motivation to succeed and I have a new project; myself. To improve my own personal branding and productivity. That’s why I have pressed the reset button, looking back at everything I have done, saying I can do better. Over the next few weeks, maybe even months, you will be seeing some changes on all my social platforms and portfolio website (links below) as I recreate my online identity. Through this blog, you will be able to follow my progress, give you an insight into what’s going on and what I’m working on.

Every Monday there will be a new blog post outlining current progress, what I am doing this week and maybe some other stuff along the way. So give this blog a follow and join me on my mission to turn a few minutes into something truly amazing.

Links

View my Portfolio - https://danielrhodes.artstation.com/

Drop a like on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DR.ArtistAnimator/

Follow me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ddrhodes33

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/drhodes3/

This is the last post for today, at least in terms of adding reviews/ informational material I have done in the past and still believe are relevant. You can look forward to many new posts and reviews in the future from now on. Enjoy.

- Cutscenes/ Narrative System

This system is put into play as soon as you start the game. You are greeted with a cutscene and a piece of narrative to help the player start to understand the game's story and emerge the player into the world of piracy that the game is portraying. This system is a lot like the one seen within Uncharted.

- Movement/ Navigation System

When you first get control of your character you are guided through the basics of the movement system and get to see the UI for the first time. The movement system is very similar to other games at a basic level but as the first mission progresses it allows the player to interact/ transverse the environment in different ways with certain buttons giving the player different ways to move the character. For example, initiating the “Leap of Faith” jump off of a tall object plays an animation only available from doing this in certain parts of the environment. The player also has a mini-map in the bottom left of the screen to help with finding key areas of the environment to go to. Prince of Persia has a very similar movement system where it is also a puzzle to get to certain places.

- Ship Movement & Ship Combat System

As well as controlling the character separately, you are also able to control a ship, giving the player a different type of movement and combat system. This system is more cumbersome but gives the player move firepower at their disposal.

- AI System

AI is used in one of two ways, either to help or hinder the player. The first is friendly AI, which is used to help flush out the ship and make the player feel more immersed in the game. Each one has their own role when on the ship as the player’s crew. On the other hand, there is the enemy AI which will attack the player and give them an objective to either kill/ destroy. This is either shown in the ship combat where the enemy AI is trying to destroy your ship or through the land combat where in this case the AI is running away from the player.

- Health System

This system is displayed at all times on the screen during combat either for the player with their health bar in the top left of the screen or for the enemy with theirs been shown above them. It works a lot like in Destiny.

- Combat System

The land-based combat system comes into play when the player wants to inflict damage onto something like an enemy AI. With it having a similar style of system to the Batman games the player is able to perform different attacks and blocks by pressing different buttons. As well as this the way that the player approaches the combat can affect the way the system works, for example, if the player jumps off a ledge onto an enemy it will automatically perform a fatal execution move.

- Tutorial 

This system has been put in place to help players get used to the controls and learn how the game is played. This is done through on-screen pop-ups that give the player either a diagram of what buttons do what or some extra information about a certain system that is used within the game.

- Objective System 

This system is put in place to show the player exactly what the need to do to progress further into the game. This is done in multiple ways, the first being a marker onscreen telling the player where they need to go and a piece of text which says what the need to do. Call of Duty has been known for having this type of system for years. But if the player pauses the game they can access a menu which allows them to see a more detailed progression tracker for things like side quests and challenges.

- Weather System

This system is shown off within the first mission within this game. You start off in the middle of a storm on a ship in the middle of the ocean and then once the player has progressed far enough through the game this system changes and displays a sunny clear day.

The last four systems are very similar to those used within the Farcry series.

- Currency/ Reward/ Loot

As the player progresses through the level by reaching certain checkpoints or by exploring the environment they can get currency and loot/ rewards. For example, scattered through a level are chests which once open award the player with seemingly random rewards. Most often this can then be exchanged for currency which in turn can be exchanged for upgrades.

- Synchronisation

As the player explores the environment they can come across certain parts of the map known as viewpoints, this is usually on top of a high point somewhere. Once the player has reached a set location they can choose to “synchronise” doing this allows the player to see everything that is in that certain area on their map. For example unopened chests.

- Inventory

Everything that the player picks up and is rewarded with in-game is collected within this one system. In this system, the player can view everything that they have collected and earned throughout the game either by finding it in the open world or completing certain quests. The player is then given the choice as to whether they want to sell these items or keep them.

- Upgrades & Crafting System

Although it is not really usable within the first mission as a player you can still get access to this system. This allows the player to buy/ craft upgrades for either their ship, character or hide out within the game. Some of these are only cosmetic which changes the appearance of certain things but others offer buffs to the player, which allows them to fight stronger enemies.

Related Games & Design Literature:

· Uncharted (Narrative System)

· Prince of Persia (Movement System)

· Batman (Combat System)

· Farcry (Currency/ Reward/ Loot System, Synchronisation, Inventory & Upgrades & Crafting)

· Destiny (Health System)

· Call of Duty (Objective/ Progression System)

· Making of Black Flag (Part 1,2 &3) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wR04gSLPnI

· Behind the Scenes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QofPrgUXDpU

· AC4 Development - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVHd6kYiAT8