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Next-Generation of Character Concept Art:. Creating photo-real people who don’t exist. Chip Sineni Vince Proce MIDWAY GAMES. Goals + Issues of Next-Gen project. We want ‘realistic’ characters. Can’t spend indefinite time on R&D; Need to be fast- can’t tweak forever.
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Next-Generation of Character Concept Art: Creating photo-real people who don’t exist Chip Sineni Vince Proce MIDWAY GAMES
Goals + Issues of Next-Gen project • We want ‘realistic’ characters. • Can’t spend indefinite time on R&D; Need to be fast- can’t tweak forever. • Next-Gen consoles not as powerful as we would like- avoid problems in the ‘Uncanny Valley’.
Target of Next-Gen • Photorealistic surface materials. • Memorable characters with subtle exaggerated memorable features. • In real-life, similar to movies like: • “City of Lost Children” • “ Sin City”
Previous Character Experiences • Concept Defined: • Proportion. • Mood and Attitude. • Rest was solved “Brute Force” Art Direction • Team not sure of final objective. • Difficult to get approvals. • Endless tweaks.
Environment Concept Success • For environments we realized we needed to spell out: • Architectural relationships, structure and perspective. • Mood, Lighting and Atmosphere. • Material and Texture.
Case Study of “Thug 1” Realizations • Faces and cloth did feel “real”. • Next-Gen tech did not solve issues as much as we hoped (normal maps, subsurface scatter simulation, etc) • Preproduction of textures and materials were not specified to a degree that there were agreed upon instructions.
Midway ‘Current-Gen’ Detail PS2 generation likenesses of athletes looked more real and believable than our Next-Gen heads.
Case Study of “Thug 1”New Direction • Couldn’t CyberScan imaginary people. • Using real actors reference did not meet goal. • Finding the right materials. • Casting call for heads.
Case Study of “Thug 1”New Direction (2) • Producing the high resolution photos of facial features that match the original approved sketch. • Creating a photo composite “mug shot”.
Case Study of “Thug 1”New Direction (3) • Exaggerating certain features to illustrate the characters identity- bad or good, dumb or smart, etc. • Clothes research & gathering to match original sketch. • Blending, painting, and compositing in final painting.
Case Study of “Thug 1”New Direction (4) • “Paper doll” approach for multiple concept ideas for thugs in orthographic pose.
Summary • WYSIWYG- Art, Design, Tech, Production. • For our Next-Gen Characters we now specifically define: • Proportion. • Mood and Attitude. • Material and Texture. • Process works well with outsourcing. • Questions?