real worlds - environment idea generation and thumbnails

Environment Idea Generation and Thumbnailing

Idea Generation

For the second half of this project, we were tasked with creating an environment, as well as some asset of furniture to go within our environment. I had the idea that I wanted my environments to tie into my game and characters I had previously designed for this project, so I wanted to keep within the theme of a sci-fi laboratory. I wanted my environment to be of an enclosed area depicting the inside area of the lab, showcasing the area my space bug character was held captative inside the laboratory.

 I complied a Pinterest board of ideas of existing environment concept art I liked, as well as different things and furniture within the scene that I felt would fit my environment. 

Thumbnailing

To begin thumbnailing, I started by doing some quick sketches of different environments. I kept these thumbnails sketchy and messy to quickly get my ideas out, as I would begin to develop them and add details to them as I created more ideas and had a better idea of the type of scene I wanted to create.

After  I created my first few thumbnails,  I asked for some feedback from my friends and other people in my class. After getting some feedback on my initial 6 thumbnails, a lot of people said the environments reminded them of an aquarium. Originally, I wasn't trying to create an aquarium but I really liked that idea! So, I decided to go forward and keep developing my thumbnails in a similar style, but also combining the idea of an aquarium with my thumbnails too!

As well as drafting some thumbnails of environments, I also created some thumbnails of different assets and furniture within my scene. I wanted my scene to be a experimentation lab with machinery and robotics, as well as the place that the creatures were contained. So, I created a few concepts of different incubation pods and tubes, as well as some machinery and robotics. Since I wanted to keep with the fish and sea creature theme, I created some sketches of different machines and robots that houses sea creatures, and also some that looked like creature (e.g. 23 is inspired by a jellyfish).

I also created a simplistic floor plan to try and give myself a better idea on how the rooms should be laid out when drawing them. This will help my scenes to look the same and also give me a starting point to go off of.

I then started to develop more detailed versions of previous thumbnails that I liked. I combined a few ideas together from previous thumbnails, adding different features from each that I liked. I also tried to make the environment replicate the simplistic floor plan I designed, as I knew that would help my thumbnails feel cohesive and depict the same scenes, just from different angles and lighting. I also tried Changing certain parts and furniture around slightly, while keeping the theme similar.

 I asked for feedback on these 4 concept thumbnails, and was told that 25 and 27 were the best. However, I was also given the advice that the angle of 24 worked well. As this scene is meant to showcase the lab where the monster was contained, the tilted angle creates a sense of danger and uneasiness which I really liked, and felt would be something I could include in my finalised illustration.

I then created 2 more thumbnails of 27 in more detail, showcase the room from the same angle but in two different perspectives and canvas sizes. I wanted to room to appear cluttered and messy showcasing it is actively being used, as well as the many different machinery and containment chambers within the room.