DISTANT DARK
DVB303 - ASSESSMENT 2 - QUT
ZACHARY POHLMANN - N11101113
https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/f3oDpxsFrecJ9 A1 JOURNAL LINK
Developed independently by myself, Zachary "Zac" Pohlmann, Distant Dark is both a high-fidelity prototype artbook that showcases an assortment of illustrations, and an experiment that attempts to build a world from the ground up to provoke the audience's imagination and curiosity.
Inspired by tabletop role-playing games, and turn-based role-playing video games, Distant Dark attempts to recapture the interest that these video games once exuded through the use of a fake video game-inspired manual. While not a playable game by any means, the intent of Distant Dark is to sell the illusion that this world could very well exist within the video games industry and was playable at one point in time.
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
Using the elements outlined in my first assessemt as a basis, I explored the capabilities of these proposals for use in my final project, asking myself whether it was feasible to create, what creative expression it would allow me, and so forth. One aspect, in particular, struck a chord with me personally as I had already completed a similar project earlier in my university studies and personally found the opportunity to work on a similar project engaging.
DESCENSION: USIOS, BY ZACHARY "ZAC" POHLMANN N11101113 FOR DXB205
All contents of “Descension Usios” are based off the original “Descension” gamebook, a collaborative project between:
ALEX STALLARD - N10481320
ANGELA YANG - N10998802
MINNIE LEUNG - N10888225
TED WONG - N10540547
ZAC POHLMANN - N11101113
ANGELA YANG - N10998802
MINNIE LEUNG - N10888225
TED WONG - N10540547
ZAC POHLMANN - N11101113
All additional content for “Descension: Usios” is developed, written, and illustrated by:
ZAC POHLMANN - N11101113
My ideation stage inspired me to develop a "world book," that outlined and described various mechanics and elements of a game, a sort of strategy guide if you will, however, this vague proposition took many forms in terms of context.
Initially described in my theme research as a "manual," implying a direct connection to an already developed video game as its subject, I played around with taking the concept of a rulebook to many broader contexts for my final project.
While I was deciding upon the subject of my rulebook, I did not completely rule out the possibility of developing a video game manual, as I recently became inspired by the possibility of developing the manual as supplementary material to elements that didn't actually exist. This new avenue would allow me to take on a more artistic approach, that used this unique medium for artistic expression. The final project would become more of a speculative art piece that alludes to a greater world or franchise, rather than a complete and concise commercially developed project.
ILLUSTRATION DEVELOPMENT
As a key piece of my document, the illustrations present across the book must contain a universal style and cohesion that ties the entire world that these all exist within into a cohesive narrative. For the illustrations, my goal is that they alone also tell a narrative about this world. To this end, I began conceptualizing and sketching out various illustration methods for my project.
"RECHAN GAO & EREBUS" CONCEPT ART, COMPARED WITH FINAL ILLUSTRATION
A key consideration for my project was that I wanted want to draw attention to the silhouettes of most characters present in this mood board, using this aspect to compare and contrast. Inspired my contemporaries, both figures make use of blacks, greys, and very neutral-leaning browns to create a homogenized silhouette that is offset by a single saturated colour, whether that be a single-toned cloak, deeply saturated background, or grossly incandescent light that illuminates the figure. Drawing a focus to individual aspects and allowing me to use a global colour scheme will allow me to draw a correlation to seemingly unrelated elements across the book
One of my first considerations was that of medium for the illustrations. Digital has given me more room for error and allowed me to correct mistakes that would otherwise prove disastrous for a physical project, but the texture afforded by physical illustration is second to none. In my A1 experimentation, I toyed around with post-processing effects. The methods I developed during this experiment took full advantage of the photographed paper to great effect, adding texture and purposeful degradation to give the illusion of a printed medium from a bygone era.
Eventually I would settle upon a method that is entire digital, seen below is such a process when used to develop a single illustration. The process begins from an early pencil & paper sketch, to a digital layout that attempts to recreate the same posing. For this particular illustration, I decided to redo the posing for a more portrait, static pose while still maintaining the established character designs. Then came the colouring, which I did by using a digital airbrush while attempting to stay mindful of each material in the piece. (Gold, cloth, bone, etc.) Finally, post-processing, which includes adding a halftone effects and name of the enemy, in this case "The Four Houses," to the illustration.
"THE FOUR HOUSES" ILLUSTRATION, BY ZACHARY "ZAC" POHLMANN N11101113
The full colouring process for this particular illustration can be seen below:
LAYOUT DEVELOPMENT
Inspired by documents of a similar format, I was set on a palette that hue-shifted whites and greys seen in stone, marble, and chrome metal to more saturated, single-toned dense colours. The colours that I wished to aim my lighting towards were solid colours with very little mixing in between, reminiscent of models and printing methods of the 90 to 2000s era, as well as harkening back to a time when digital art was noisy and unrefined, ripe for experimentation and exploration.
I also made a key consideration to formulate a direct contrast between the layouts and more detailed elements across the project such as the illustrations. I wished to design my layouts so that they make strong use of whites and blacks, offset by minor sepia tones and singular bold single-tone colours that draw focus between individual elements at my discretion. These layouts would also be assisted by illustrative elements and rendering effects, sourced from both printing methods of bygone eras.
"DISTANT DARK" BY ZACHARY "ZAC" POHLMANN N11101113
