Idea #1 – Jumpship
After a little bit of research into fan art and legal grounds, plagiarismtoday.com concludes with fan art in general is in violation of copyright law and individual characters are a trademark violation. However, despite the company’s strong legal position, most organisations encourage fans to produce and publish art based on their original content as it inspires participation from both new and old players, and is largely handled on a case-by-case basis. Through this knowledge, I searched Bungie.net for a fan submission webpage and found tonnes of amazing artists here. Therefore, I have nothing to worry about if I try to reproduce Destiny 2’s loading screens between planets. I believe this idea is a mammoth task considering the very few free online tutorials regarding skyboxes, massively scaled environments, and the like. On the other hand, the focus of this piece would be the jumpship and so I’d deem it acceptable if I failed to recreate these amazing vfx and just hand in the finished model instead. As a backup, I could fixate on creating some in-engine functions that allow the player to customize the patterns and colours of the ship itself, with a standard somewhat-empty background.
In conclusion, this project would primarily begin with a specialism in 3D vehicle design/modelling, and will hopefully expand into UE lighting/scene setup and then into blueprints to produce a final look. i.e. simple animation, vfx, customization. The bare minimum I’d like to achieve for unit 12 would be the starship as a prop/vehicle. Preferably, I’d like to aim for a photo-realistic finish, but I will experiment with semi-realistic/exaggerated styles along the way. In addition, if I have the time and energy to do so, I’d like to play around with UE blueprints and vfx to produce a final result that looks more game ready.
Idea #2 – Environment
Although at this time, I can’t find more than 2 examples of a cyberpunk street that I particularly like, my second idea revolves around environments. This concept would involve focusing on the minor details, such: as the damage on concrete walls; the rusting and weathering of steel pipes; the graffiti strewn across the building; signs of bad weather and poor road conditions; and the overall lighting of the scene. The assets involved will be repeatable and most variation will be vertex painted, like the debris scattered across the ground and the puddles collecting on the roads. Once I’ve had a bit of practice, I could create a timelapse of the ‘level design’ and upload it as an unlisted video to YouTube for my portfolio. Because these assets would be strongly repeatable, they’d also serve as excellent uploads for platforms such as Sketchfab. After watching the video inserted below, I feel inclined to experiment with Quixel as a material creator, which would expand my horizons as an artist and be an great skill set to add to my small but growing collection.
To summarise, this project would primarily focus on the 3D modelling of reusable assets that would be used to make up a small cyberpunk-themed street or alleyway. This scene could include a storefront or an old garage entrance, depending on the results of my further investigations. Here I may experiment between photo-realistic and stylized concepts, but will initially lean in toward PBR pipelines because it is what I’m most interested in. However, unit 12 may be a good opportunity to explore things outside of my personal comfort zone. Other than using UE blueprint to add flickering to some lights, this project won’t contain any additional mechanics.
Idea #3 – Weaponry
Idea 3 returns to the basics – funky guns. Artstation is littered with tonnes of Destiny 2 art dumps, including the Omolon scout rifle inserted above, and it makes for a fantastic source for reference images. Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay trailers, demo screenshots, and announcement streams also make for great sources of inspiration regarding this subject. If done properly, a small set of science-fiction-esque weaponry can look amazing on a protfolio. Similar to idea #1, this project can be expanded with customizable options inside of UE, ranging from a mod layouts/presets to paint jobs and patterns. The combinations are endless with the right mindset. If I don’t attempt this project for unit 12, I’ll probably try to squeeze it in over the winter holidays. Below, I’ve included the start of a video tutorial series that demonstrates the use of sockets when it comes to modifying a weapon.
To conclude this final concept, this project will follow a specialism in 3D prop modelling rather than environments, providing me with an opportunity to explore props before choosing a larger project for my FMP. If I were to choose this idea for unit 12, I’d be fixating on photo-realism over other cartoon-ish styles purely because I believe so much more can be done in this preferred field. Once the bare minimum has been achieved (one HP and LP mesh), I will move into Unreal Engine to utilise their blueprints for loadout and aesthetic customisation.
Level 3 Year 2 