World Building

    

World building is something that I’ve been fascinated with for years. From game design to creative writing it is quite literally the building blocks of all fantasy and fictional worlds. Between my film and illustration projects I will be exploring the idea of world building as I see it, from research to concept; map design, characters, location and inspiration to name but a few. Although I am essentially an artist and set designer I have an interest in writing and all forms of narrative such as game design. There will be posts that focus on all types of world building as well as visual inspiration.

     

So whether you’re a concept artist, writer or budding production designer you should find something that suits all narrative research. It’s worth following the blog and also looking back over my MA work as there are many relevant entries about science fiction film and set design.

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Books Versus Film and My Final Project (The Tube Riders)

As a separate part of my project review I wanted to not only share a handful of the designs from my novel to film project with the wider world but look at the book versus film scenario.

We’ve all heard the phrase “yes I saw the film but I preferred the book”. I see these comments posted regularly on social networks, but why is that?  As readers we have a personal experience when we read a book. The author will guide us and entice us with their own vision, but that doesn’t mean we all see the characters or locations in exactly the same way as another reader or even the author. Novels allow us to get inside a characters head whereas  film, by comparison,  can be more selective. It’s probably because we spend so much time with these fictional people. A book can take anything from a day or two to several months to read depending on the reader compared to a film which is normally set around 2 hours.

Perhaps it’s unfair to compare the two given the time constraints for film makers to produce a believable world. All we can do is to strive for the very best rendition we can, using the best technology, scripts, actors, talent available. Some film versions are better than others for this reason. In many cases some novels are just more adaptable.

My own opinion is that films and books should be treated as two separate  experiences, after all, there are a lot of people who don’t read. Films allow a window into an author’s mind albeit for a few hours and makes a story accessible to all.

What’s important is a good story and a set of characters that an audience can relate to.

For this reason I chose The Tube Riders by Chris Ward. Immediately I was drawn into the world from the first page. There was a great blend of character insight and world building without being too caught up in unnecessary verbal clutter. It also had the right pacing for a film and fell into the science fiction/horror/dystopian genre that is currently popular in both film and TV. Given the time constraints of the project I concentrated on a couple of settings and also worked on some visuals as future guidance for VFX. Working without the normal set up of director/art department/producer I had to make my own decisions through discussions with my tutor. I also used some artistic license as there was no screenplay to work from.

The purpose of this post is to firstly share my work, maybe get some opinions or comments and secondly to hear from those who have read books and seen them transformed into films. What are your experiences negative or positive? Feel free to comment below and let me know what you think about the designs or the subject matter.

Below are some photos of scale models for the Medical Research Centre reception area and arena.

 

The book can be found at:-  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tube-Riders-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B007LVFSP8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409468188&sr=8-1&keywords=the+tube+riders

 

Arena Render: Final stages

I needed to complete one rendered section of a set to show model making skills. These are the various stages through to the final piece. I decided to use a combination of techniques to render the model. The sandpaper provided texture for the walls and floor and printed textures provided the detail for the doorways, lights, ceiling detail and railings. I also used wire, mesh, old jewellery chains and painted cord to make the metal wheel, add detail to railings and for the walkway floor to give a 3D quality to the model.

 

Final images of model complete with some lighting.

Arena Model Render: First stages of model making

As part of the project I have to produce a section of set that is rendered to show model making skills. I chose to do the arena space because it contained several different textures including textured sandstone walls, concrete, iron, metal grille flooring etc. The first stages of the render were the walls. I chose to use painted sandpaper as it gave just enough texture for both the walls and columns and to provide interest and a realistic look when lit.

The images following are the various stages to date.

The next stage is more focused on the fixtures and fittings including a door, railings, lights and a central metal wheel that chains are fixed to. I also need to complete the ceiling.

The White Card Model: Medical Research Centre part 3

Building on the details of the main reception area I began to add buttress style pillars throughout the space. I wanted to create walls or areas that could be lit, casting some subdued light in addition to the shaft of light from above. There is still a lot of detail to add to the walls including piping and ceiling connections. There is also a floor motif to design and the ceiling itself with a walkway.

Top pictures are some wall and buttress detail, below the pictures show the rough layout of the floor space of the reception with pillar positions.

Model Making: The Medical Research Centre

I have started to piece together the rest of the model sections with a simple wall structure for the corridor and main reception area. There will also be a lift and corridor joining the two areas and another separate section behind the main reception that joins onto the arena. That section will be worked on once I have some more detail in the arena and reception area. I just wanted to get an idea of the sizes and layout in case anything needed to be altered. I always like to work with a model for that reason.

This stage of the model has been based on the rough plan drawings that I drew up in my sketchbook. Next I will add some detail.

Another great reason for working with a model and experimenting is that you come up with new ideas for architecture. I had a play with cutting card into curves and decided that it would work well as wall features such as a futuristic flying buttresses.