Steampunk Myths and Legends Entry: Kelley Grantham

#1

Kelley Grantham is entered in the “Steampunk Myths and Legends” update: View Challenge Page

Latest Update: Final Image: “This way, please’”

#2

Here’s my concept drawing for the challenge. I decided to do the Egyptian story of Anubis and weighing of hearts to get into the Afterlife.

#3

I did some rough models to block out my scene. My figures are going to be kind of robot versions of the characters with rivets and steam valves, etc. and there’ll be alot of steam coming out of the pit. I’m also thinking of having hieroglyphics stamped into the back metal wall. The scale will probably have some gears and wheels and some kind of steam valve also. I’m thinking of building some kind of heavy mechanical Door to the Afterlife as well

#4

Hey Kelley,

Your idea sounds cool, and the pre viz looking good :smiley: Good luck and looking forward for more updates on your concept. Cheers !! :beer:

#5

I’ve modeled all the figures so far. I still need to make the scale, texture, work on the lighting and make steam come out of the pipes and the head vents of the figures. I’m pretty happy with how it’s going but I’d appreciate any feedback as well. Thanks!

#6

Here’s what I have for texturing and lighting so far.

#7

OOPS! I uploaded too many times

#8

OOPS! I uploaded too many times

#9

Software: Maya,Photoshop

This project was inspired by my understanding of the Egyptian story of the Hall of Two Truths,in which Anubis brings the deceased person to have their heart weighed to determine their worthiness for the Afterlife. The heart is placed on the Great Scales and the feather of Ma’at is placed on the other side and if the heart is lighter than the feather, it is allowed to go on to the Afterlife with Osiris. If it is heavier than the feather, is considered to be weighed down by wrong-doing and tossed to Ammit to be devoured, and Thoth, the scribe of the gods, observed and records the results. I used Maya for most of the design and construction and then a little touching up at the end with Photoshop.

I wanted to create a scene in which this event would be performed by steam-powered robots that were built, perhaps, by the actual gods. After doing a few very small thumbnails to decide how I wanted to approach the story, I decided on the point of view of the dead person as they’re being led in by Anubis for my concept sketch. I built some very rough models of the characters I wanted to include and placed them in the scene and then began building the gods to look like big brass robots. My goal was to create a sense of uncertainty for the viewer by showing both possible outcomes of the scales.

I have always read that Osiris was the guardian of the Afterlife and in my original concept sketch I had him seated in a throne next to the Door to the Afterlife. Later in the modeling process, I decided to actually make him part of the door itself instead and make the door a large and cumbersome rolling panel that would slam shut if the person failed the scale test. I places a few trees and some grass outside the door using some simple Paint Effects and added some environmental fog with a little yellow and light green tinges along with a light green directional light to give the feeling that the Afterlife is a lush green paradise.

To contrast the door area, I placed Ammit right next to the scale, clawing at the edge of a fiery pit as if she can’t wait for someone to fail the test. Like the trees and grass, the flames are very simple Paint Effects flames as well. The chamber is lit with an orange point light placed near the flames and another dimmer orange point light behind the camera, just to cut the blackness of the shadows and show some detail. I also placed a point light above each plate on the scale just to emphasize their importance in the story.

All of the brass and gold in the scene, the characters, scale and back walls are either blinns or anisotrophic shaders in gold with various ammounts of reflectivity. The hieroglyphics on the wall and door produced by examples of actual hieroglyphics that I used as bump maps. The floor and pit texture is one image that I patched together in Photoshop from a photograph of dirt and of a metal plate that I repeated and resized to create floor tiles. I used the same image, slightly altered for a bump map and a specular map.

All of the characters are created to look like they’re constructed from molded metal to recreate organic shapes. I designed the face of Anubis in very much the same way as he appears in Egyptian sculptures but with a hinge in the jaw. The head-dress actually forms vents for the steam that powers the robot. I have always seen Anubis as being simmilar to the Grim Reaper, so instead of building a torso shell in the shape of a human torso, I decided to base it on a skeleton. I could then create the creepy skeletal hands that he uses to lead you to the scale, adding to the tension of the scene. Ammit and Thoth are copies of Anubis that I altered and added to so that they look like similar robot models, but built for different purposes, and thus looking more like their hieroglyphic counterparts. Finally, for Ma’at, instead of placing her on top of the scale, like in the old pictures, I decided to make her the whole scale.

#10

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