Environment Design - Exercises & Projects

30/8/2022 - 7/12/2022 / Week 1 - Week 15

Lui Hsiao Hui (Tressa) / 0342003
Environment Design / Entertainment Design

Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

Exercises

Project 1: Exterior and Landscape Design

Project 2: Interior and Set Design

Project 3: Environment Design Bible

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INSTRUCTIONS

Exercise: World Creation

Fig. 1 Exercise: World Creation, Week 4 (20/9/2022)

I decided to combine Environment Design with Game Art, so the design aesthetic will be based on the game Little Nightmares II.

Fig. 1.2 Exercises - PDF, Week 3 (17/9/2022)

Other basic exercises were combined with Digital Matte Painting.

Project 1: Exterior and Landscape Design

Fig. 2.1 Project 1: Exterior and Landscape Design - PDF, Week ()

Fig. 2.2 & 2.3 Feedbacks about space and rock formations, Week 4 & 6 (19/9 & 4/10/2022)

With this module, I gradually learned how important it is to have space in environment design. It was something new to adapt to since I have the habit of drawing to fill up the space. It took a few tweaks to get the space right.

Project 2: Interior and Set Design

Fig. 3 Project 2: Interior and Set Design - PDF, Week 15 (5/12/2022)

Project 3: Environment Design Bible

Fig. 4.1 "The Carnival" - revised scenic view, Week 15 (7/12/2022)

Fig. 4.2 "Kitsune" - revised vignette, Week 15 (7/12/2022)

Fig. 4.3 "Performer's Tent" - revised interior, Week 15 (7/12/2022)

For the final renders, I spiced up the ambience to a green and red hue to contrast the blues of Little Nightmares II. I also added some chromatic aberration and blur to create a better focal point, and lastly added floating dust particles. These VFX elements are present in Little Nightmares.

Fig. 4.4 Project 3: Environment Design Bible - PDF, Week 15 (7/12/2022)

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FEEDBACKS

Week 3: Maintain symbols, and identify shape languages - what kind of distortion and what makes it unique.

Week 4: Sketch 3 has a bit too much of a strong foreground. Needs more depth and distance, reduce the congested-ness and create more breathing space.

Week 5: Avoid using textured brushes while doing thumbnail breakdowns because you want to be able to see the shapes. Add depth to the props (tents etc).

Week 6: Taper the rollercoaster to create more depth. More value painting for the tent to show its roundness. Fox tail terrain looks like a tongue, perhaps switch it to a hill with some rocks. A bit too cluttered at the stalls, push them back into the distance by lightening their values.

Week 9: Take note of how the garland strings bend according to the shape of the structure. Add more protruding parts as it looks flat.

Week 10: Cylindrical structure & lights need fixing - contour lines. Exaggerate them.

Week 11: More thumbnails of other shots/rooms, don't just stick with one.

Week 12: There's not much of a game experience because it's claustrophobic and doesn't provide the character space to move around and interact with the room. Create an extension to provide more space.

Week 13: Dim the lights on the side, perhaps have an extra pillar on the left corner to add something to the empty space. The colours are there but the lighting needs to be brighter and shift the focal point to the dressing area. Think of what other props to fill the room.

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REFLECTION

I faced a lot of difficulting when it came to Environment Design due to my lack of motivation and passion. It was overall really unpleasant to design as I was not in the right mind space to do so. Even after referencing circus visuals I still couldn't get inspired to spice up the interior environment, it was a challenge to get through. It was also my first attempt at environment designing so it was something new to learn and get used to. An important thing I learned was to ensure a good sense of space and interactiveness in the environment for the character to explore.