Project Proposal.

Specialist Project - Proposal

I, for this project, intend to create a small character diorama based on and around characters from the Star Wars Universe and also modern day soldiers in over dramatised scenarios' that they could come up against. He will be standing off against an unseen enemy, injured and battle scarred waiting for an evacuation that is ultimately too late to save him. I will be using reference from movies, TV series', games and comics in order to create a believable character from the Star Wars universe and also a believable soldier. I have a keen interest in creating characters in the future and hope to follow it as a career path, so this will be my first attempt at modelling one. As i am unfamiliar with Z-Brush, i will be using the skills i have already learnt and creating the character in Maya, as well as continuing to learn about the software and how to use it more efficiently. I want to test myself, to tell myself that i can make it through the design and develop phase and build a character from start to finish. I initial wanted to do a very 'Last of Us' inspired post-apocalypse scene but felt if i could merge that idea of desperation and survival with something like Star Wars i would enjoy the project and the design and develop process far more. When first thinking about the end of the world idea, i couldn't come up with any designs that really grabbed my interest, other people seemed to like the initial sketches however i just wasn't completely invested in the idea.

Not only will i be using references for the costume, but will be taking pictures of people performing the poses that i have in mind, to see what looks natural or un-natural. From there i will also be using poseable models in the chosen pose so that i can rotate it and see if from different angles so that all of it is the same. This is a similar process to what i used last year for my concept development and it worked really well, so not only am i comfortable with this way of working but it has also, already worked in my favour.

The diorama will be for entertainment and artistic purposes, and being based on popular franchise like Star Wars, shouldn't cause anyone offence or concern as it's a completely fictional universe with no, or little references to the modern world. If people like it, and believe that it tells a story, I'll have been successful in what i set out to do. This diorama will be difficult for me to pull off as I've never modelled a character and am learning from scratch but i will do it, and complete it to the best of my ability within the time limit. Having already begun the design process, i can begin to look at developing it, looking at which poses will be possible to model and how my concepts will transfer from paper to an actual model. I have, in a short period of time been through many different iterations of the character, testing different poses and aesthetics to give him a defeated and weathered look while still trying to create something original.

With my current knowledge of Maya, and my lack of knowledge about character creation, i will be doing further research into both areas using video tutorials online, and also using various books. I believe my art ability is up to standard to create a wide range of concept art, pooling different styles of work whilst also using my own style. I intend to use my  research into the concept art of Ralph McQuarrie and the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as research into the Old Republic Online game, 'Republic Commando' and also 'The Clone Wars' animated series as all of them have very different styles. Each of these styles, other than perhaps 'Republic Commando' are quite animated and cartoon-esque, so while i will be using reference from each one, i would like to create a far more realistic and gritty character. It'll be easier to aspire to an 'Old Republic'/'Rebublic Commando' type style as they're both video games so can also, a later stage, use the actual in game characters as reference for how they look. However the style of the 'Clone Wars' has been a favourite of mine for a while so would love to echo that style in my own work.

While Mcquarrie will play a part in my ideas, the concept artist Chris Glenn, who worked on 'The Clone Wars' but also 'The Avengers: Age of Ultron' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy' will play a large part in my research as his style changes from photorealistic to animate. Sadly his website isn't working (will update this document when it is) so i will be using references and links from other websites which showcase his art work. Also the work of Kilian Plunkett, who was the lead Character designer for 'The Clone Wars' and also 'Star Wars: Rebels'.

Throughout the course of this project i will be asking my peers on what they think of this project and how well they think it's progressing, as they'll be doing similar things, and have similar knowledge to me it will be helpful to see how they would do things differently and then be able to test it out, to see if their ideas work or not. I will also ask some of the 3rd year uni students and the lecturers themselves, having done this before they will know even better ways on how to improve it or make it better. Showing thumbnails and sketches to people to help narrow my idea will be the first step, and then again at regular intervals once I've actually started modelling the diorama.

References I'm planning on using.

1- Bioware. (2013). Classes - Trooper. Available: http://www.swtor.com/holonet/classes/trooper. Last accessed 6th October 2014.

2- Wikipedia. (April 7th 2010). Ca1-Trooper. Available: http://swtor.wikia.com/wiki/File:Ca1-trooper.jpg. Last accessed 5th October 2014.

3- Wikipedia. (April 21st 2013). The Clone Wars Season 3 Concept Art.Available: http://clonewars.wikia.com/wiki/File:The-clone-wars-saison-3--concept-art-161.png. Last accessed 5th October 2014.

4- The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars/Facebook. (Current). The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars . Available: https://www.facebook.com/TCW.Series.Art. Last accessed 6th October 2014.

5- 'FireBird'. (March 21st 2013). Clone Cadets. Available: http://www.nexusroute.co.uk/archives/2203. Last accessed 6th October 2014.

6- 'FireBird'. (March 25th 2014). Crisis at the Heart. Available: http://www.nexusroute.co.uk/archives/38857. Last accessed 6th October 2014.

7- Daniel Dalton. (April 23rd 2014). The Original Star Wars Concept Art Is Amazing. Available: http://www.buzzfeed.com/danieldalton/stunning-star-wars-concept-art-ralph-mcquarrie#1h5vz64. Last accessed 6th October 2014.

8- Lucas Books/DK (2012). Star Wars:The Old Republic Encyclopedia. London: Lucas Books/DK. All.