Capstone Part 32: Retrospective

This is our final week of Capstone, so I'd like to take the time to review the last 32 weeks.  Overall, it was an enjoyable and important experience, one that I'll remember.  But it does come with mistakes and regrets.  I wish that I had spent more time doing concept art, which is what I liked most about Diesel Thunder.  I can only imagine what my painting skills would be like if I had dedicated myself to it from the beginning.

There are also things I did that i wish I could go back and change.  The design of the first tank doesn't sit well with me; the hull is a weird shape, the turret doesn't really fit with it, and it isn't really broken up.  I also wish i had spent more time on the pickup concepts, because I didn't know they would be displayed at portfolio night.  But if I didn't fail, I'd would never learn.

Capstone Part 31: Logo

Having noticed that we didn't really have a logo for this game, I took it upon myself to design one.  My initial design was inspired by 1940's logos and tattoos, with curving shapes and a heavy outline.  No one liked it so I redesigned it to be "darker".  I used a eagle as the mascot because it's the symbol of Germany, and it references the Thunderbird, a mythical creature from Native American folklore.

Capstone Part 30: UI

I worked on a new UI design for the win screens.  The first is for free-for-all mode, and displays the winners in descending order of box size.  The next image is a concept for the win screen for team death match.  I used the same aesthetic for the menus, and added the colors of the players for an outline and font color.

Capstone Part 29: Color and Finish

Continuing on from last week, I worked on finishing the loading screen image.  I chose the 4th concept because I felt like it had the best perspective and blocking, so I made 3 different color concepts based on it.  And although I decided on a very barren tone to it, I still mixed up the colors for the sake of variety.
The first is based on a this place at sunset, what photographers call Golden hour.  It's the period where colors are usually at their most saturated and shadows are at their most defined.
The second is a much more snowy and cold environment, with heats of snow and black smoke stacks.
The third is more green and peaceful than the others, almost like nature has reclaimed the land.
The final is picture below.  i went for a cold environment, but made the sky clearer.

Capstone Part 28: Envrionment

Although i wish we had tackled this way earlier, I'm finally working on environment concepts.  My task is to paint an image for the loading screen, just to give the players something to look at while they wait.  Below are my initial sketches for this environment.  I went for a barren, post-industrial landscape.  Like a volcanic region that was turned into a factory.  Blow those are value studies for my 4 favorite thumbnails.

Capstone Part 27: Turn Arounds

I've finished the turn around for the third tank, which was easier in some ways and harder than others compared to past turn arounds.  I didn't have to do a top angle since the thumbnail is in perspective, but the design also features a lot of curves.  Finished curved lines are difficult because they rely on you drawing from you elbow or shoulder rather than your wrist, which is hard if you're not used to it.  Normally, I can't draw finished lines, but this turn-around helped in overcoming that.

Capstone Part 26: Third Tank Concepts

We decided to add a third tank to the game.  Since we cannot customize our tanks, we have to make a third tank to match a third weapon.  In this case, it has to match the flamethrower.  I tried a new method of concepting for this round of tanks, which is down from an aerial view with perspective.  I also tried going into a more "hovering" direction for some of these.