ALIENWARE Challenge Entry: Matthew Gilbert

[ZrO-1]

OK, here's the inital very rough sketch.

The idea is the martian landscape.
The location is the "Face on Mars" landmark.

Some of the detail will be a canyon in the foreground with barely visable buildings sporting alien architecture. In the mid-ground is the half-exposed monument beneath the "face" landmark.
Background is the thin martian horizon at dawn/dusk.

I know this sketch sucks, but it's just to start me off with a real idea for the composition.

http://iris.nyit.edu/~mgilbert/Aware-CG_sketch1.jpg

[ZrO-1]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/3/328/328_1066793357_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/3/328/328_1066793357_large.jpg)

this is a very rough scktch of my plans. Foreground is a canyon with alien city emerging out of glowing mist. Mid-ground is the martian "face" landmark, partially exposed to show alienware logo structure. Lighting is dawn/dusk.

[erilaz]

Good to see you back in the challenge Zr0-1! Looks like a great start...:D

[ZrO-1]

Hey erilaz, thanks buddy. :D

This first sketch was really rushed, I really only wanted to establish my basic concept, so that if later-on if there are similar pieces, i can at least show that I'm not copying those pieces.

I am working on taking my establishing "concept sketch" and making it more of a "concept art" piece right now. The finished concept art piece should really convey the look and feel of the alien city in the canyon as well as provide a better approximation of the perspective I would like to achieve.

I'll provide more details about the concept once I post the finished concept drawing.

[Bezerker75]

lookin good...this is gonna be a great challenge with lots of cool stuff.can't wait to see more!:thumbsup:

[Magnusv]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ZrO-1


The idea is the martian landscape.
The location is the "Face on Mars" landmark.

Some of the detail will be a canyon in the foreground with barely visable buildings sporting alien architecture.


Looks to be a good concept.However is the architecture part of the whole idea they are looking for?In the instructions they state "This location seems to be whispering to you, you have a feeling that something was created here".It sounds like something "was"possibly but is not there now.I think this should be clarified.Are structures allowed?If you have them is it excepted,a plus or a negative?
Good luck,and I like your idea.
:beer:

[KOryH]

looking good.
now go and get all the reference you can possibly get . It will help you take the details to the next level.
I would choose the buildings in the canyon OR the face, but not both. they are in conflict and muddy the story.
try making the face out of constructed materials. I would make it look like a mega city and only from an extreme distance could you tell that it resembles a face.

Keep up the good work

[ZrO-1]

The formalized sketch is progressing pretty well. I should have it up by the week's end at the latest.

Thanks for the great crits you guys. I'll try a couple versions with your suggestions.

Anyone know if you can submit a second pic on the CGnetworks page as a concept piece? Or is it one submission per catagory?

[ZrO-1]

Alrighty boys and girls, i decided to put the emphasis on the canyons on Mars rather than the "face". I did this mostly because at ground-level you lose all the visual interrest and immediate recognition of the "face" structure.

I'm about 75% finished with my canyons concept art. I will probably post the pic late tonight.

Well back to work...

[ZrO-1]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/3/328/328_1066951523_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/3/328/328_1066951523_large.jpg)

This concept focuses on the canyon portion of my original concept and de-emphasises the "face" landmark.
I'd love to hear your crits/comments/suggestions.

[ZrO-1]

Here's a slightly larger format version:

http://iris.nyit.edu/~mgilbert/Aware-CG_conceptA-2.jpg

[Xtronik]

REally liked it!
Give us some more !

[juanitopablito]

Quite a progress since the first sketch!! The buildings are great, quite original in design. I have a few questions however:
-I'm intrigued by the face... is it really needed for your comp? IMO, it's very cliched and doesn't add any originality to your work. Do you really need it there?
-Comparing the relative (and apparent) scales of the canyon and the buildings, it would seem like the later are not extremely big. Is this correct?
-As I've mentioned in other posts, these kind of landscapes contain too earthlike mountains and rock formations. Do you plan to do anything special with those?
Other than that, it's looking great!! Good luck!!!:thumbsup:

[ZrO-1]

Thanks for the comments juanitopablito.
About the face: I really put it in there as a reference both to mars and the fact that this is an Alienware challenge and I wanted to tie-in thier logo if I could. I think for now it will stay in the concept piece, but it won't go into the 3D render if it doesn't work in there.
The building's scale: I wanted to convey that the canyons are huge rather than the buildings are tiny. I think the reason it is lost in the concept piece is that I used such a large brush while blocking in the color on the canyons.
As for the landscape looking earthlike: You are correct it does look earthlike. That might change a little as I progress, but frankly, a planet is a planet. And if it supports life, then most likely it will be earthlike. :shrug:
I will be adding more of an aptmnosphere (<- I can never spell that right) that should pull the landscape off of earth and make it more "otherworldly".

Again thanks a lot for the comments. You've got me thinking...that's for sure. :D

[juanitopablito]

Great!! I'll keep an eye for your updates!! :wavey:
(But I still don't like the face :p )

[Bezerker75]

hey, I like where you are going with this updated concept. However, I agree about the "too earthly" look, looks kinda like the grand canyon. Maybe the rockformations are not your typical tan dirt/rock material, maybe they could be crystaline, or mineral in nature...just some ideas, here are some samples of what i am talking about...crystals (http://home.comcast.net/~bezerker75/crystals.zip)
again this is just my opinion, so take what you want from it...but keep it coming I think you are on to some good stuff:thumbsup:

[ZrO-1]

Hmmm, crystal canyons...
Ideas are flashing through my mind, thanks for the suggestions Berserker75 :thumbsup:

[ZrO-1]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/3/328/328_1067193340_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/3/328/328_1067193340_large.jpg)

After recieving several great tips about my last concept looking too "Earthly" I decided to try a version with the entire canyons made of crystal. Imagine the entire planet is made of crystal rather than rock and you'll get an idea of what I'm trying.

[ZrO-1]

The colors in my latest concept are pretty busy and it gets kind of distracting. So here is a plain B&W line-art version. http://iris.nyit.edu/~mgilbert/Aware-CG_conceptA-3b.jpg

[ZrO-1]

Also here are some crystal reference pics which approximate the surface I want to achieve.
I'm aiming for a structure similar to Obsidian (volcanic glass) with details and color similar to Florite.

http://iris.nyit.edu/~mgilbert/crystalRefPics.jpg

Let me know what you think.

[sakenstein]

very good... i like it...also i see that u have in mind to eat your proccessor's power, alll crystals??? WOW

[pLoty]

IMHO first sketch is better, but it's your choice. Why you dont try to add crystals to first sketch...
Goooood luck!

[ZrO-1]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that the city structures will still be in the pic. I just didn't bother adding them into this particular concept. I will definetly be adding in the buildings though, that's for sure.

[DimitrisLiatsos]

i am impressed by the degree of research u are shoing on the subject....looking forward to see where u are heading.

[Designer2]

if your Crystal mountains are going to reflect and refract i think-if i'm in such place for that one- I would better think about something that keep my Processor Healthy and young, the final art surely is going to be fascinating...

by the way it is so close to earth, may be because of the colors right now i think it will show up when you texture eveything later... (that's the Aliens' Cow Boys Community) :D

[ZrO-1]

It will definetly be heavy on the processor, but I have some plans for that.

I'll be rendering in passes/layers.
I'll be doing as many "faked" reflections/caustics as possible in the distant mid & back-grounds.
I'll probably do a few non-critical lighting effects in postprod.

All together it might not be too bad; though I do plan on using the last month just for rendering/compositing.
So I'll have:
1 month designing & modeling
1 month texturing & lighting
and 1 month rendering & compositing

Oh and I've got a 3GHz P4 with 2GB RAM and a Quadro 2000 to work/render on, it should work out fine.

[Bezerker75]

:beer: Dam with a machine like that you don't need to enter this contest....lol...no, but anyway...I think the crystal thing will be really cool..and you can probably fake alot of the reflections/refractions with maps....anyway...keep em coming!:thumbsup:

[mbatten]

Originally posted by ZrO-1
...with details and color similar to Florite.

http://iris.nyit.edu/~mgilbert/crystalRefPics.jpg



Which one is Florite?

[Pyke]

I know that its off topic, and i REALLY dont want 2 hijack your thread, bu seeing as it was asked here....ima throw in my 2 cents!
...............
QUOTE]Originally posted by ZrO-1


The idea is the martian landscape.
The location is the "Face on Mars" landmark.

Some of the detail will be a canyon in the foreground with barely visable buildings sporting alien architecture.


Looks to be a good concept.However is the architecture part of the whole idea they are looking for?In the instructions they state "This location seems to be whispering to you, you have a feeling that something was created here".It sounds like something "was"possibly but is not there now.I think this should be clarified.Are structures allowed?If you have them is it excepted,a plus or a negative?
Good luck,and I like your idea.
..................

I think that the best way to show of an alien landscape isnt to have a purple sky with funny shaped plants, but rather to have alien design elements. So I think that having alien architecture is a big plus-but I obviously dont think that it should be THE major aspect of the scene....

ZrO-1

I love your idea. I love the whole 'easter island' thing you have going with your buried alien artifacts. I noticed that in the latest sketch you took them out...I hope that isnt your final desision! You could really create an awe of mystery with them half buried in the chrystal....perhaps one of the coolest parts being that because the crystals are tranparent you could hint at larget structures built in2 the mountains...
If you are going to have those 'sculptures' sticking out of the earth-I think that you should make them alot bigger than you have shown...2-3x the size. Then you can get away with some really inventive texture work (scriping them with Glyphs, or alien relief sculptures)....

Maybe you could 'mix elements' have have your crystal mountains covered by a thin layer of 'snow', to keep your eye from bouncing around the caustics in the final, and to help define the shape of the mountains (ie-with them all of a similar texture, and transparency, they may get 'lost' in the image.

[ZrO-1]

@ berserker: LOL you're pro'lly right, but I really liked the theme of this contest. Thats (mainly) why I entered. If I win (and I doubt I will with all of the awesome entries) I'll be selling the current system cheap, you can have first shot if you want. ;)

@ mbatten: the flourite is the purple crystal (the 6 pics in the upper left). The obsidian is in the upper right. The rest is just lighting and structure references.

@ Pyke: thanks for the comments.
I mentioned somewhere in here that I am definetly planning on keeping the alien archetecture in the scene. I just didn't draw it into the last "crystal" version of the concept piece. This is mostly because I'm still trying to iron-out the design details of the structure's archetecture. I'm trying to find a design that meshes well with the new crystal of the planet's surface.

Thanks again for the comments guys, keep 'em commin. :)

[Pyke]

I just re-read all the posts and noticed it..my bad. :(

Keep the drawings coming!

[derelict]

erm... its all very nice but isnt crystal found on earth too? I mean its an alien alien land might it not be more alien in nature? Just thinking aloud.

Edit: Didnt explain my point... my bad. My point is here on earth we do have crystal caves and when you look at some o the chinese dig site or even look at argentina crystal dig sites you cant help but feel the look of canyons only diff is that it is in a smaller scale. So.... I think it might not look alien enough?

[ZrO-1]

@ Pyke: LOL no problem. I appreceate your comments either way. :)

@ derelict: An entire planet made of crystal isn't alien enough?
I don't know...I think it is, but it could just be my crappy concept art that's giving you that feeling. I think you might start to see my POV once I translate this into 3D.

Thanks for your comments though. I do value your imput (I just hope your wrong on this point) ;) :p :D

[derelict]

All the best than!:beer:

Ps: I hope i'm wrong too

[ZrO-1]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/3/328/328_1067488850_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/3/328/328_1067488850_large.jpg)

This in my "proof of concept" piece. I just threw this together really quickly to see how feasable my concept was. This is just a test. None of the stuff you see here will appear in the final piece.
What I'd really like is your feedback as to weather you think this concept could work, now that you see the proof in 3D.
Thanks

[ZrO-1]

Here is a higher-res version:

http://iris.nyit.edu/~mgilbert/Aware-CG-proof1b.jpg

[OZ]

WOW! good stuff here!:beer:

[ZrO-1]

Thanks OZ

I'm glad you like it. I still have a lot of work to do. But its good to know I'm on the right path :D

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