Cloud Session

This weeks seminar we were tasked with creating a ‘cloud’ featuring our approaches to work, our skills and generally everything about creative process.

So for 20 minutes I listed everything I could think of. My main take away from the task was that most of my inspirations and drive don’t come from video games; they range from animation, films, comics and a keen interest in the supernatural and folklore.  I believe this is what makes me a good designer; I draw my inspirations from all different aspects of life.

After the cloud task, we broke into pairs and discussed our work with them along with possible research areas. I was paired with Emily, a fine artist whose work focuses on simplicity and anthropomorphism in inanimate objects. It was interesting getting a fine artist perspective on my work and again I was shown that a fine artist approach to work is drastically different to a games artist.

The areas that we discussed for Emily’s research direction mainly orbited the balance of simplicity and over processing in the representation of her work. In Regards to my work we discussed looking at altruism in games and what it is that causes players to behave heroically or antagonistically as well as how nostalgia has a long lasting foundation in the games industry in the form of pixel art. The topic that intrigues me the most however linked to my work specifically as a character concept artist. We discussed how nuclear power and radiation was portrayed in media in different companies, specifically Japan and America. In Japan radiation created Godzilla, an aberration and force of pure death and destruction however in America radiation created a plethora of super heroes, the embodiment of American ideals and power.

Cultural and societal changes influencing character design is a subject that I want to look at further, as to what my research question is at the moment, I’m not entirely sure. As I research further in my subject I assume new questions will unfold and the right question will crop up.