Concept phase (1): defining my idea

Hey guys!

So I went into this project only knowing I wanted to create a 3D environment. I didn't really have anything special I wanted to create or some ideas that where already in place.

So my first step was thinking of a concept. To gain inspiration, I decided to ask some friends over at a Skype group (a group of gamers who only play games I don't, but that's kind of my fault) what their favorite gaming environments are. They sent me some great examples of cool environments. I collected a bunch of images and threw them into a Photoshop file. Ofcourse I added pictures of gaming environments that appealed to me personally. It's not really a moodboard, so we'll just call it our ideaboard.

I'm not sure if this is the way to go, but I kind of like this approach. I just made another blank file and started sketching some things I thought where cool from the images. I also used the same file to randomly sketch out some stuff that came into mind. I kept the ideaboard on my second screen at all times, looking at it every now and then, hoping for a sudden burst of inspiration. That didn't quite happen. Instead, I decided to go downstairs and prepare a pasta salad with some leftovers I had laying around. Food makes me clear my mind and preparing food is strangely relaxing for me.

Having eaten the pasta salad, the sudden burst of inspiration still did not come. No worries. I'm quite used to that by now. When inspiration doesn't come there are other ways to create new and fresh ideas. I started to look more vaguely at the images, looking more at curves and general architecture, and just started sketching. I made this silly object, and from that object came two very basic thumnails.

Yet this is far from it. I do kind of like the general idea, but there's way too little defenition. I want to create my own architectural style. Right now, it's way too empty and looks boring. But hey, these are just the first couple of thumbnails! I just realised I spent all evening on this... Next post I need to create a quicker workflow, or this could become a very long project. Next to that, more interesting thumbnails, More ideas. A more solid concept for who the environment actually is or who or what creature actually lives in it. That should give me more cool ideas. So next post: more stuff.