Week 9 - Save the Environment
Story Prop Poster:
Logos & Fonts:
Do research on historic fonts from the period the story takes place in.
For example, Buster Scruggs takes place post-Civil War. You should find
advertisements and wanted posters from that period and identify a font that has the
same tonal quality and character as the
level of the game you are working on.
In Photoshop, cut out the letters of the title and hand set the spacing and kerning of each letter. When this is complete, trace each letter of each word in the title, by hand! The results should look authentic and match the period and setting for your story.
Extrude from a Map:
Take the current map of Richland College and import it into Photoshop. Create a new document that is Tabloid (11x17 in wide) and lasso just the black buildings of the school and the dark grey river. Drag this selected part of the map on to your new document. Change the blend mode to Multiply in the Layers section of your tool bar. Create a new layer and (using a brush with black or dark paint, outline the entire school. When finished, create another layer and outline the river in a slightly different paint color.
After you have outlined the school buildings and river, duplicate both layers. Now, TRANSFORM both school layers and both river layers at the same time using the DISTORT tool. Follow the example I have shown here and stretch and squeeze the image so it looks like it is at a 3/4 angle and laying down on a flat surface. The easiest way to do this is by starting with the top left corner and stretching it more to the left. Take the lower left corner and stretch it to the right. Then take the lower right corner and stretch it up and to the right. Lastly, take the top right corner and stretch it to the left. Your final result should look like this:
Now, turn off the river layers. Select ONE of the school building layers and (using the arrow key) nudge it slightly up, ensuring you do not nudge it to the left or right even a bit. The end result should look like this:
Next, turn off the school layers and turn back on the river layers. Select one river layer and (using the arrow key) nudge it slightly DOWN. Do not nudge it down as far and you nudge the school building up. This is very slight. When you are finished, select the color you used to outline the river, make a new layer and connect all of the corners of the river by drawing straight vertical lines up and down. Find the river layer that is lowest in height and select it.
Now erase any of the lower river outlines that touch the OUTSIDE of upper river outline. When you finish, your river should look like a river bank in 3D! Select a 50% gray color and create a new layer. Determine a light direction from the sun (top left corner or top right corner) and loosely color the riverbank wall that is not receiving direct sunlight. Adjust the opacity to lighten the contrast.
Repeat this entire process for the outline of the school and create a shadow layer for it too using the technique listed above. You have extruded a 3D representation of the school and river from the plan view map. Add trees and dash marks to indicate windows.
This view is called Isometric because it implies perspective without using vanishing points. all of the vertical lines in the drawing.
Exteriors & Interiors:
A good drawing of an exterior will save you from any headaches when designing the interior. The interior should always LOOK like it fits inside the exterior with architectural ques in place to determine where windows, doors and chimneys are. The details don't have to be EXACT in animation, just look accurate.Here are some examples from the Warner Bros video: Tom & Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes -
Look at this Carriage Exterior and how it compare with the Interior. Space was made inside the carriage to accommodate the action of the characters in the storyboard.
