Gabriella Grace
Christyanti / 0371915
Enviroment Design/ Creative Media /
School of design
Task 1 Exercises (Fundamental)
1. Instructions
2. Lectures
3. Process Work
4. Final Outcome
5. Feedback
6. Reflection
1. INSTRUCTIONS
IDEATION
Before we make an environment design, there are several points we need to make sure we figure out:
- Who lives there?
- What's their occupation?
- Figure out the building's function
- Where's the location?
- What would the characterization of the building be?
SHORTCUTS - PHOTOSHOP
How to skew in photoshop:
- Press Ctrl + J (Duplicate Layer / Selection) to keep the original layer intact before modifying.
- Press Ctrl + T (Free Transform)
- Hold Ctrl + Shift and drag one of the edge handles to skew the layer horizontally or vertically (or right-click the bounding box and choose Skew). Press Enter to apply.
- Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + T (Transform Again & Duplicate) repeatedly if you want to duplicate that skewed object and stack the transformation across multiple new layers.
COLORING
Contrast is important when picking colors, learn your fundamentals and learn how to harmonize colors. Which colors do you intend to make pop out more? And make sure to use complimentary color.
Evaluate the lighting and value as value will highlight where your audience will need to focus on.
LOGISTICS
Define the area of your environment. Figure out what are you extracting from, break it down, narrow it down to references that will be useful for you.
Scaling: You need to make the scales believable, if the character is a certain height, where would the door handle be?
WEBSITES USED
Unsplash - For Photos
Adobe Color - For Color inspiration and to make pallete sheet by dragging your inspo into the website
PERSPECTIVE STUDIES
In the beginning, we were introduced to the fundamentals of Environment Design. This served as our initial exposure to the subject, with guidance and instruction from Sir Kannan. As part of our first exercise, we practiced perspective studies by drawing five different objects using three basic geometric shapes. We sketched each object from various angles to develop our understanding of perspective, form, and spatial visualization.
During the perspective studies exercise, I found the pyramid to be the most challenging shape, especilaly when drawing it in three-point perspective, it took me a considerable amount of time to construct it accurately, but I continued praticing until I achived a better understanding of perspective. On the other hand, I found drawing cubes to be the most enjoyable because I was already familiar with their perspective and felt so much confident working with them.
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| Fig 3.1 Perspective Studies.Jpeg |
VALUE STUDIES
For the Value Studies, we completed several in-class exercises to better understand how value can show depth and distance within a scene. We first photographed a tree and created a value study from it; I chose a bonsai tree as my subject. Later, we also completed a value study of a house within a 20-minute time limit, which helped train us to observe light, shadow, and tonal relationships quickly and efficiently.
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
After the fundamentals, we began exploring composition and environment concept development. I started by researching games, with Battle Chasers as my main inspiration. I studied its visual style and environment details, then created several temple composition sketches based on those references.
One challenge I faced was developing a strong visual identity. My early compositions lacked enough exploration, making it difficult to find a unique direction. After experimenting with more ideas, I decided to create a Snake Temple concept, inspired by Battle Chasers, The Mummy, and Conan the Barbarian. This gave my project a clearer identity and direction.
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| Fig 3.3 Composition Studies.Jpeg |
AMBIENCE STUDIES
For this stage, I conducted ambience studies by exploring different environmental elements and lighting conditions. Through this process, I gained a deeper understanding of how ambience influences the overall mood and atmosphere of a scene. It also enhanced my ability to observe the relationship between light and shadow, allowing me to better communicate depth, focus, and emotion within the environment.
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| Fig 3.4 Ambience Studies.Jpeg |
COLOR MANAGEMENT
For the color management stage, I experimented with different duotone color variations to explore which palette best matched the atmosphere and visual identity of the temple environment. This process helped me evaluate how different color combinations influence the overall mood and strengthen the intended ambience.
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| Fig 3.5 Color Management.Jpeg |
For the vignette set design, I focused on a close-up composition of the temple's main entrance. This serves as the player's first visual reveal before the full temple is introduced, creating a stronger sense of anticipation and impact. This study also helped me understand how composition and framing can effectively guide the player's attention and enhance environmental storytelling.
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| Fig 3.6 Vignette Set Design.Jpeg |
For the photobash stage, I explored an alternative composition to improve the overall visual flow of the environment. By using photobashing, I was able to preview realistic materials, textures, and environmental details early in the design process. This helped me better visualize the final outcome and evaluate the composition before moving into the final production stage.
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| Fig 3.7 Photo Bashing.Jpeg |
4. FINAL OUTCOME
5. FEEDBACK
Sir Kannan introduced us to the fundamentals of environment design, including perspective, value, colour, lighting, scale, and environmental storytelling. He also emphasized the importance of understanding the inhabitants, function, and location of an environment before designing it. During my concept development, I was encouraged to explore more compositions and references before settling on my Snake Temple design. The photobashing and ambience exercises also taught me how materials, lighting, and colour can strengthen the mood and visual identity of an environment.
EXPERIENCE
This stage gave me my first proper introduction to environment design and helped establish the fundamentals that I would later use for my Snake Temple. I experienced a wide range of exercises, from perspective and value studies to ambience, colour management, vignette composition, and photobashing. Although some of the exercises were challenging at first, especially perspective, they helped me become more comfortable with analysing environments and thinking about how different visual elements work together.
OBSERVATION
Throughout these exercises, I observed that a convincing environment requires more than just detailed modelling or attractive artwork. Perspective, value, colour, lighting, scale, and composition all contribute to making an environment believable and visually understandable. I also noticed that the more I explored different compositions and references, the easier it became to identify what made my early concepts feel weak and what could give the final environment a stronger identity.
FINDINGS
I found that environment design is strongly connected to storytelling and planning. Before creating the actual environment, understanding its inhabitants, purpose, location, scale, and atmosphere can provide a much stronger foundation for the design. The exercises also showed me the importance of experimenting before committing to a final idea. Overall, these early studies gave me the fundamental knowledge I needed to develop the Snake Temple and prepared me for the more technical 3D modelling and photobashing stages that followed.
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