Charlotte E Animation
Robot Design Project
Ubisoft Contextual Research
Ubisoft is a French video games developer known for games such as Assassins Creed, Just Dance and Rayman. Their games generally lean into a realistic, 3D style, as seen in the Assassins Creed series. Although, there are also a few games that take a more colourful and uniquely stylised approach. I think that they do a good job at setting the mood of the games world through the textures and colours, as well as the choosing between realism for a more gritty game and a stylised approach for something more light hearted. They also make lots of games based off other franchises like Avatar and lots of board games. Based on visuals, they seem to effectively use the existing material to create something new whilst keeping the original feeling. I enjoy how they incorporate the tech look into their realistic styled games which I may reflect in my work, but overall I prefer the more unique graphics and think they will influence my robot designs more. From the splash art of the games, I especially enjoy the blocky robots of Atomega and Grow Home as well as the the vibrant round look of Ode.
Artist Visual Analysis
Cait May:
This character artwork from Cait May was made for Dimension 20. The use of shape in each image reflects the characters and their abilities incredibly well. In the top image, the soft flow of the ribbon alongside the harsh sword held high reflects his personality and fighting style as well as creating a strong and recognisable silhouette. The same can be said for the bottom image - The silhouette and shape clearly reflects that she is a Rockstar and the fire effect coming off of it reflects her infernal nature. The shimmering texture and golden colour on the flowing ribbon contrasts with the rest of the image and the light reflecting off it indicates its texture further. In the right side image, the characters are simultaneously united yet contrasting. The shapes and colours are contrasting yet the overall style and the position they stand in clearly indicates that they are a pair. In my work, I wish to take inspiration from May's ability to create personality in their designs by using different principles.
The Lolloco:
These artworks by Lolloco effectively use a saturated colour palette that feels cohesive as the colours appear in both the characters and their respective background, additionally the line work is very soft and is coloured not just black to bring more cohesion to each painting. The character appears as the focal point of the image whilst also having a very detailed border or background, then whichever of those is less full has a more subtle design to balance out the fullness of the rest. There is also an interesting use of texture to differentiate between materials as well as having a watercolour like feel even though it is painted digitally. Shape is used in the borders with them being symmetrical and cohesive, which makes them feel like playing cards or even book covers. It is also used within the characters as they have very clear silhouettes with the items they are holding and the dimensions in the clothing. There is also very little empty space which adds further personality to the artworks. I enjoy the unique geometric borders and soft line work the most, so I wish to incorporate those aspects into my work.
Robot Visual Analysis
These robot designs come from varioius media which I wish to inspire my work. Seen here are robots from Amphibia, Trinyvale, Horizon, Adventure Time, Slime Rancher and artworks for homunculus servants in D&D. There are several things from these designs i wish to reflect in my work. Firstly, I like the robots which are based off of animals - such as the frog, spider, bee and dinosaurs. The merging of the natural forms with the robotic style makes for a very interesting design and can be done in many unique ways. For example the robots in horizon have a very realistically metal texture and lots of movement joints, making them appear dangerous whereas the bee in slime rancher has very simple shapes, bright colours and a silly face making it seem sweeter. Furthermore, another aspect I wish to reflect in my work is having a cuter stylised design over a realistic one. A character like BMO has simple design but clear character with the games sytem body including a variety of bright colours and the screen face which changes reflecting emotion. Finally, I really like the robot designs which use unique upcycled materials or are based off of other technology. The spider homunculus artwork by Alexander Trufanov uses the bright purple ligthbulb as the spiders main body and balances it with the traditional metal that you would normally see in a robot
design. He then brings in that bright purple to the front of the legs to make the design more unified. Similarly, the robot Otto in the right of the Trinyvale image has a changing design from a more human looking design to being able to convert into a small keychain. The variety in proportions in which he can assume makes for a very interesting design as well as being made primarily of wood, giving him unique texture amongst other robots. I like the changable and recycled designs of these robots and will reflect that in my design ideas.
Ubisoft Visual Analysis
ATOMEGA
Atomega is a multiplayer FPS where you collect mass to transform into different forms. I enjoy the colour scheme of this game with the bright lights and pink and purple sky appearing in most places. The golden buildings and magic effects complement the rest of the colours well. Additionally, the cube shapes forming into the different creatures makes for interesting and unique movement and proportion between each ability. Going from a small box to a giant but still having the same base shapes for an exciting looking game. The whole landscape as well as the player are made of these blocks except for the eye
of the character. This puts a clear emphasis on the area as that is where the players perspective comes from as an FPS game. the blocky arena landscape creates unity between the players form and the scenery as well as having a variety of shapes and holes to create dynamic arena gameplay. The use of the bright lights to outline the blocks puts further emphasis on how the robots are made from individual pieces to create their main mass. Overall, I like and want to incorporate the adaptability of the robots in this game and the way they change and use the resources around them to get stronger and bigger.
ODE
Ode is a casual exploration game where you play as a fallen star traveling across fantasy gardens while interacting with the landscape, activating music and returning stars to the sky. Although not a robot game, this stood out to me due to the cute and simple design of the character you play as. The round, simple face fits in well with the whimsical and calm theming of the game and the animated bubble trail behind them creates a smooth and fun movement as you explore the areas. Additionally, the change in colour of the character to fit the surrounding scenery further adds to the atmosphere of each location and makes
you feel more connected to it. In the game, you have the ability to interact with the environment around you with minimal guidance. This makes exploration more abstract as you are guided by your perception of the movement of the nature, shifting of the lights and the changes in music. The use of light colours and lights creates a unity between player and background as well as telling the story of the different fantasy worlds you can explore. I wish to incorporate the interesting movement of the player and the use of light from within and around the player character in my robot designs.
GROW HOME
texturing. He has solid but vibrant colours which unifies him with the world around him. There is some contrast with the open world and his design since the plant and the islands are more organic. His robotic form clearly stands out against this background. His design also has a very distinct silhouette which can be seen in the bottom image - this makes him even more recognisable amongst the rest of the world. His design stands out in a variety of environments, lighting and amongst the other creatures like sheep that can be found on the islands. In my designs, I will take inspiration from his geometric and clearly robotic appearance.
Grow Home follows the robot Bud in a vertically explored open world. You control each of his hands to climb upwards to the top and grow the giant plant which follows your steps - reshaping the world and islands you explore. The game has a clear style, I like the blocky geometric look of Bud and the open space between limbs instead of joints ties into his manueverability as he climbs around. Additionally, the glowing blue facial features and name on his chest emphasise his character and name. He has a more traditional robotic look with the sharp blocks forming his body and round glowing eyes but does not have any sort of
Initial Robot Designs
For my robot designs, the main things I want to incorporate are: dynamic movements, unconventional materials, adaptability and purpose. I have begun by making some initial designs that each incorporate at least one of these things.
When making alot of these designs I took inspiration from existing objects and animals - such as ink bottles, rubbish, cogs and throwing tables. I enjoyed making these things have mechanical aspects whilst also incorporating natural elements so that some were less robotic and more like magical constructs. I did make a few more traditional robot designs but I felt they appeared less visually interesting than those that used other textures and materials. Overall, I was more drawn to the designs that included nature alongside the mechanical features. I thinking blending these opposing factors makes interesting contrast. Additionally, by incorporating foliage into the designs there can be more vibrant colours and contrast in shape from the geometric metal to the natural curves. When developing my designs further, I will take them into a digital program to refine the design and colour it.
Woodland Robot Design
I imagine this woodland robot travelling through the forest to provide assistance to any people or wildlife who may need it. I tried to incorporate unique materials into this design with the wooden sticks and stumps making up part of the torso and limbs. The contrast between the natural aspects with the metal indicates the time this robot spends outside, especially in the overgrown moss texture on the metal body parts as well as giving it the unique texture I wanted to incorporate into my initial designs. A way it may help people in the forest is with the vine rope attached to its chest, whereas it could help wildlife by providing them a place to rest on its stick antlers and grassy head. I tried to add subtle pops of colour with the mushrooms and flowers on its legs and head. I chose to place the mushrooms at the foot of the robot since they grow in more moist conditions close to the ground, where the flowers grow more near to the top since they need more sunlight. I tried to make this design a reflection of the woods with the animal-like antlers and plants that reflect all diferent layers of the forest.
Planting Robot Design
This robot is designed to plant and care for the seeds of the plant that is visible on the top of its head. This design includes most of the features I wanted to incorporate - firstly with its dynamic movement and ability to adapt. The 3 multi-jointed legs allow the robot to move in many ways and use the garden tools attached to its legs in many directions. This leads onto purpose, the robot is designed to be as effecient at its job of caring for the plant it grows with the afformentioned tools as well as the head containing water, seeds and having the lamp for clear vision at all times. Regarding the head, the shape reminds me of an upside down plant pot or vase, further matching the gardening theme. It is also partially hollow for the machinery parts and tubes, but the top section would be filled with the water, seeds and roots. Visually, I like my choice of colours since the green of the leaves and the purple top compliment eachother well and add vibrancy alongside the grey metals. I also added texturing to the exterior to show wear and tear from the robot always being outside working as well as dirt and mud on the rake and shovel to indicate its work planting. I have decided to model this robot for my final pieces as I think it suits the more sci-fi ubisoft style mentioned in the brief more so than the woodland robot.
Final Design Development
I built my model in 3Ds Max to reflect my drawing of the planting robot. I decided to trade the shears on the front leg for a scythe since the shears felt too big and I thought the scythe brought more balance compared to the other legs.
I had to make some adjustments to my model after exporting it to Substance Painter since the booleans used to make holes for the pipes, eye and some leaves caused issues with having too many vertices, resulting in grey areas on the model that couldn't be painted over. I decided to remove the holes and just have the features coming straight out of the main model piece. I also had to go back and add different materials to each piece since when they didn't have any, painting on one shape reflected onto all of the other shapes.
Eventually, I was able to paint everything on there correctly. Whilst painting, I received some peer feedback to add more dirt to the tools and wear and tear elsewhere to reflect that the robot has just been out planting something. I changed the dirt on the tools to me more focused towards the base of them and added more rust to the metal legs which can be seen in the final render.
Final Design and Evaluation
Research
Design and Process
In the brief, the task was to come up with a robot design for a sci-fi Ubisoft game in any style. I researched some of their games that include robots and also some robot designs I like. There was a mix of more realistic designs which inspired the texturing of my design and stylised ones which is reflected in the small shape and simple features of it. Additionally, the main aspects I wanted to incorporate into my design based off of this was interesting movements, unique materials and clear purpose. My research helped with the movements since the designs from the Ubisoft games Grow Home and Ode both moved unconventionally by jumping and climbing as well as some of the robots I looked into being able to fly and walk around with spindly, multi jointed legs. The research also helped inform purpose, for example a robot like BMO is clearly a games console, immediately conveying purpose. I wanted to reflect this in my design, with its job being reflected in the tool feet and growing leaves. In regards to materials, my research was more focused on different inorganic objects like the recycled spider with the lightbulb, whereas when making my designs I began leaning more towards organic items like the leaves which doesn't appear on any of the robots I researched but are still more unique. Overall, my research helped me as it gave me an understanding of the variety of styles seen in Ubisoft games and it helped inform me about what features I wanted in my designs.
My robots design is meant to convey its purpose of planting and gardening. I think that it fits into the sci-fi genre but it would be seen in a more natural futuristic setting. The design conveys this though it carrying tools and lights as well as the weathered look makes it seem rugged and worn like many robots in sci-fi are. Additionally, I think the pastel colours and natural elements add some more vibrancy back and show the robots peaceful intentions. I used multiple mediums during the design process which helped me settle on a final design more easily since I could see it through different perspectives and materials, as well as allowing me to adjust things at each part, like switching out the shears for a scythe from my digital painting to my model. When making my 3D model, I encountered some issues regarding having too many vertices where I had used booleans for creating holes in the head. This caused grey shapes on my model in Substance Painter where I couldn't add colour over them. I ended up adjusting my design by removing the holes and moving the other objects in them outwards. Furthermore, when painting I received some peer feedback to make the robot dirtier to make it seem as if it had just been in the soil planting and has been doing this job for a long time - receiving this advice made me go back and make it seem more worn out. I enjoyed being able to get multiple influences on my design like using different mediums, my research and feedback.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this project and getting to learn and improve on 3D modelling and painting through it. If I were to do anything differently I would make some of the painted lines on the model more even looking as the light purple ones do seem wonky from some angles and I would also try and use less materials when exporting from 3DS Max to Substance Painter as it was hard to find which object you were looking for and if that model were to be used elsewhere it would be difficult to organise which textures go where.
Reference List:
Cartoon Network (2021). BMO Adventure Time Distant Lands. TV Tropes. Available at: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/AdventureTimeDistantLandsBMO.
Disney (2020). Amphibia Frobo. Disney Wiki. Available at: https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Frobo.
Guerilla Games (2017). Machine Horizon. Horizon Wiki. Available at: https://horizon.fandom.com/wiki/Machine.
Lolloco (2024). Lolloco Images . Instagram. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/thelolloco/?hl=en-gb.
May, C. (2023). Dimension 20 Fantasy High Character Art. Dimension 20 Fandom. Available at: https://dimension20.fandom.com/wiki/Dimension_20_Wiki.
Monomi Park (2023). Slime Rancher 2 Drones. Dual Shockers Article. Available at: https://www.dualshockers.com/slime-rancher-2-all-drone-locations/.
Tanner, C. (2020). Trinyvale - Retrieval Team 22. NADDPOD - Terrans Journal. Available at: https://notanotherdndpodcast.fandom.com/wiki/Retrieval_Team_22.
Trufanov , A. (2021). Creatures 4 Pack - Spider. [Digital] Artstation. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/rA3zZa.
Ubisoft (2019). Ubisoft | Welcome to the Official Ubisoft Website. [online] Ubisoft.com. Available at: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/ Images and gameplay information from the games Atomega, Grow Home and Ode.