Specialist Study 1 - Aims

In light of the research I have done throughout the last month, I now have a better understanding of how I should use my ambition to achieve a career in Computer Graphics.

My aim is to understand, practice and apply the main principles that are required to be successful as an Environment Artist in the Computer Graphics industry. Through several micro-projects and collaborative work, I will study and utilize the fundamental color, lighting, texturing and modeling theories in order to achieve fluency regarding these. Color studies will include reading sessions and also painting in order to experiment with how various moods and tones can be achieved. To develop my lighting skills I will look into the very basics of photography and how light can affect the general feel of an image and also what affect it has on macro and micro detail.

Texturing skills will develop through the study of various video-tutorials from revered online CG schools (e.g Digital Tutors, Gnomon Workshop) and then taking these studies and trying to utilize them in order to create different types of texture maps.

To enhance my modeling skills, I will use a software that is absolutely mandatory in the field and which is less technique orianteted. The sclupting program called ZBrush perfectly suits this purpose, because it allows more visual expression than most of the other software in the industry. I will schedule several modeling studies such as rock, wood, soil and various other assets.

My main audiences are the gaming and the film industry.

For feedback I will post my work to several Computer Graphics societies like ZBrushCentral, CGArena, 3DTotal etc. The very best artists post their work on these websites, as a result they are an excellent source for objective opinion.
I will also attempt to contact industry professional to get advice.
Frequent consultations with my tutor will ensure I stay on the right progression path, as often times it's very easy to focus way too much on insignificant details. Objective opinion is crucial.

By the end of the project I expect to have gained significant experience in Environmental work and have produced several work and research material as proof.

My main approach is to bump into as many problems as possible and then anylize them to further my development.