Cuppa Team - Building a Team Game (The Set Up)

For the second assignment of the Gameplay and Interactive unit I teamed up with a group of 5 overall (including me) to develop our very first 2D game.

My initial thoughts were that we all had to agree upon a game that we were equally excited about. I believe this is very important in teamwork because, it needs to feel like the whole teams game, not just one person. With this in mind, we also needed a system that allowed us to be able to work together easily, sharing files with one another and being able to communicate well at all times.

For this we instantly set up a facebook chat where we could communicate how we were getting on and when our meetings would be.

I also set up a Google Drive folder for us all to easily contribute our own certain assets, create a spreadsheet of who was doing what for the game, write a long document on what the game would involve and of course hold all of the Unity files for the game itself. This made it very easy for us to upload extra content from wherever we were, be it in class or within our bedrooms and ultimately saved us a lot of time as it also worked as a back up for our game if things ever went majorly wrong.



Spreadsheet of jobs (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kY7g7R-HhxN7J8jaMQXhKUtRw2io7XIlmExlovE99ig/edit?usp=sharing)

Steampunk Character

When concepting for my steampunk character I knew that I wanted to go back to what I love drawing the most, cartoonist animals. I took inspiration from the mouse out of Alice in Wonderland and the many iconic steampunk designs already out there on the web which include pieces such as the top hat, googles, weapons, etc. First I simply sketched the ideas out in Photoshop, a rough outline of what I wanted him to look like as well as the accessories that he would have, such as a pocket watch of cheese for him to nibble on when he's hungry.

Next I got a basic colour palette from www.colourlovers.com including complimentary colours that I thought would look good on my mouse character and painted him, shading where appropriate. I also added a CPU board into his top hat and turned his tail to look more like an antenna, because it's these robotics inside of him that make him an intelligent mouse, which adds to his unique character.


After this I then added light onto the character using the dodge tool to make him look more 3D and overlaid a fur texture onto his body to make him look more realistic. Looking back now though, I'm not sure if this adds to the definition of the character or if it's a bit too much.

You can watch how I coloured in this little fella by watching my Photoshop drawing timelapse video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPtVxvVxtIo

Skeleton and Muscle Anatomy

To understand how to draw a human accurately it makes sense to first understand what is beneath the skin and how we are all put together. Taking an in depth look into how muscles and skeleton bones are formed and how the joints are created and held together have proven useful when drawing characters. Even if the characters aren't human, I now understand better how joints are connected to ensure fluid movement of the body parts.



1. Pectoralis Major
2. Deltoid
3. Biceps
4. Sternocleidomastoid
5. Trapezius
6. Rectus Abdominus
7. External Oblique
8. Gluteus Medius
9. Rectus Femoris
10. Vastas Mediallis
11. Vastus Lateralis
12. Extensor Digitorum Brevis / Extensor Hallucis Brevis
13. Soleus
14. Biceps Femoris
15. Gluteus Maximus
16. Extensor Digiti Minimi
17. Extensor Carpi Ulnaris
18. Extensor Digitorium
19. Extensor Carpi Radialis
20. Latissimus
21. Triceps

Painting over 3D model - Spaceship

This is classwork where we painted over a simple 3D model. This was extremely simply made, by choosing a texture that we thought fit the model, transitioning it to fit where we wanted it to and skewing it to the shape of the model and then cutting it to fit over the top.

Concept Art - Underwater Creature

This was class work where we had to concept our own, unique underwater creature. I looked for images of fish tails and tortoises to form this creature which appears to be a splice between the two. I created this simply by sketching the outline of the creature first and then quickly colouring him in on a separate layer, adding shading and small patterns over the top.

Speed Painting


Speed painting is a very useful technique to master. It's very easy to get carried away with the details when drawing but when you need to concept an idea quickly this simply won't do. Working with multiple layers, working from the background to the foreground, and using tools such as gradients and the dodge tool for highlights, it's very easy to quickly draw a painted simple scene or character for concept purposes which can then be later developed into a more detailed version.


Elf and Dwarf (Height Difference)

Sketching an elf and a dawrf side by side gives a good perspective of each of the characters sizes and body shapes.

As for the elf on the left below: She is tall, slender and graceful, quite like the ones you might witness in Lord of the Rings. They're known for their air of grace and use of magic as well as their gentle and calm nature so I have drawn her with big, soft eyes and curved features. 

The dwarf on the right below is much shorter than the elf with blockier features and an overall more rough appearance. Dwarves are known for their short height but quick temper and manly features. Because of this I have drawn him a lot wider than the elf to show his muscled body. His features are more box-like and less curved like the elves.

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