Diving into color theory and fundamentals of design

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My first week of school has been quite an experience. It started out as an overwhelming rush of emotions and stress. I was not ready for the dynamics involved with going back to school. It has been awhile and it felt daunting.

The first day, I logged in to both my classes from the Art Institute Student Portal (the way we access class on school info). I found I had several assignments and much reading due over the next few days. I thought, how the heck am I going to do all all of that and stay on top of my obligations at work and at home. Thankfully, the online teachers and staff that I have been working with at The Art Institute helped make me feel a little better. So did friends of mine that are also going to school.

Once I got through the first few days, things started to settle into a manageable routine and my comfort and confidence level started to climb back up. At this point I can now say that I am feeling a lot more relaxed and ready to really dive in.

Both my classes have a pretty nice mix of talent and personalities. One of our first assignments was to write a short biography about ourselves so the rest of the class and the teacher would get to know a little more about us. I read some pretty good ones by the other students. There are definitely some diverse backgrounds, ages, interests and levels of natural talent. I tried my best to respond to each of their posts to say hello. It was hard to do so though based on the time restrictions I faced personally. I was up pretty late on the first day, trying to get a handle on reading assignments, lecture content and the assigned tasks. I realize now, that is my problem. I allowed myself to get overwhelmed. It really wasn’t as big of a deal as I made it into.

My two classes are both online and are only 5.5 weeks long. They are also pretty accelerated. Content that would usually span a quarter that is 11 weeks is compressed into under 6. Something is due just about every day; assignments and projects are due, discussions are needed and critiques need to be written.

My first class, Foundations of Design, is pretty nice. It is taught by a very talented instructor who makes pretty good use of technology for teaching. She did a group critique of one of our assignments in a YouTube video. She covered the critique of all of our work for that particular assignment. I thought that was a pretty nice touch especially since it was almost like sitting in the class and hearing in person. It was handled and done very well.

The project was a design assignment where we had to use only seven from an assortment of white and black shapes. From that set we created four designs that were comprised of the same shapes in each. Below is the sample that I made. I was going for geometric characters. It was not a requirement to follow a theme, but I did so anyways. All in all, my design went over pretty well. The instructor presented some really good suggestions for me. One of which was to move the characters off-center as to to create more interest. That was a very good suggestion and wish I had thought about that when I laid these out. The other students project were pretty great. I wish I could show some of them to you.

My First Design Assignment

My First Design Assignment

The assignment after that involved learning about composition and ground-figure fluctuation. That one was not only informative but it was really fun for me. The class put together some really good pieces. I was impressed with many of them. Here is mine, for Assignment 4.

Assignment 4 in Foundations of Design

Assignment 4 in Foundations of Design

The image on the right is supposed to use a distinct foreground (positive space) and background (negative space). The one on the right is made in a way that you cannot differentiate between positive and negative space. I think mine is just a blur! I saw examples by the other students that blew me away. They were really good.

My second class is Color Theory. This class is also really interesting and is taught by another really great instructor and artist. I saw several of his own works. Very impressive. In fact one of his art pieces and his name appear as am example in the text book we are using.

In this class, I have learned both, new things and reinforced information I forgot I knew. In fact one section of the text book I am reading for the class talks about what comprises a color (hue, value–dark or light shades and tints and saturation–tones) and what makes a color complimentary and the various attributes of color. I remember seeing samples of these in charts on the walls of a art class at the school a very close friend of mine taught photography and jewelry art at. I could not help but say, I remember that! when I saw that info in the text book.

So far, I find this class amazing. There is definitely a lot of content in the text book and I really wonder how I will get through all of it. But, the material is really engaging.

Below is a simple design I made applying monochromatic principles. Each color is the same hue of a color. It is labeled officially as a blue but looks so much more like a purple. The left image uses tints– white mixed in (known as High-key)–and the image on the left used shades of black (known as low-key). Each part of the picture is the same; it just utilizes a varied shade or tone.

Color Theory Class Monochromatic Colors Assignment

Color Theory Class Monochromatic Colors Assignment

Well, that wraps this up for now. I need to get back to my reading and getting ready for Week 2.

Going back to school!

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One of the things that has been hugely apparent over the last five years of running and developing this project has been what a good education in game art and design could have done for me. Not to mention having a degree in general.

When I was laid off from my job as VP of Sales and Marketing at MTD, I had a really tough time finding another job that didn’t just want to pay me $10-12/hour. This was because the job environment has changed pretty dramatically. Most–if not all–companies now require you to have at least a Bachelors degree. It is also simply cheaper to hire someone right out of college (paying them less) than to hire someone older with a lot of experience. Sadly the prospects for graduates in 2013 don’t look much better. Read Article on LinkedIn

I also found that one of the challenges I had while working on this project was that I could have led and done more work myself had I had the knowledge and background a game design degree would have given me. Yes sure, I can learn on my own from all the internet resources out there but formal learning would have made the pain in the process a lot less grueling and production a lot more well, productive. I also know I may have been taken more seriously by investors, had I had more professional knowledge and experience behind me. These are the primary reasons for my going back to school.

I know I have learned a lot on my own and through my team members and as a result have a pretty good foundation to stand on with regards to moving into the formal learning arena. By going back to school, I will not only have a degree (which I can use) but also have knowledge that will boost my self-confidence and equip me with the necessary tools to take this project into the next level. Matching the new knowledge with my marketing and sales background, my drive and everything I have learned so far, I am confident that the goals of this project will be realized.

I am planning to get my Bachelors of Arts in Game Art and Design at The Art Institute of Colorado. I start my first class the first week of May and boy, am I excited!

I took a look at several other schools that offered game programs, but AI is the only one that offers all the elements I need (eg. Art and Design). The Art Institute is also already familiar with this project and is letting me present it to my fellow students in the program. I will also be able to skip some classes based on the work that has been done on the project. Of course, this relates mostly to the work I personally did and not that by my team members. I will also have some great networking opportunities at the school with students and the companies in the region in our field.

Yes, I am a little afraid of what the future may carry for me as well as the inevitable debt load caused by going back to school but am optimistic that it will work out. At the minimum, I will have a richer base of knowledge and from a really good school.

I plan to write often here about my experiences and how I can apply it to Project Planet Postmoderna. So follow me and join me on my ride.

Planet Postmoderna Project Update – 012013

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Yes, it has been awhile since I wrote an update about what has been going on with this project. There have been a lot of developments and yet nothing, if that makes any sense. A lot has happened to me on a personal basis which relates directly to the project and that has had some significant impact (at least from my perspective since I am the one stuck in the mire). There have also been some developments on the game platform and environment front with Entropia Universe and the Entropia Partner Planets Program which has also affected the current direction of the project.

The most challenging aspect of this project has been the issue of finding funding. Over the last year and half, I have done everything from launching a project on Kickstarter to joining networking groups such as Angelist and Peak Venture Group. I went to Meetups such as Pitch Night, Startup Colorado Springs’ Open Coffee Club, and others. I even signed up for the internship and startup mentoring program through Techstars and followed Startup Colorado which is a chapter of Startup America. All of these organizations are great sources of information and guidance for Startups. I learned a lot about pitching the project, about startups and did more than a fair share of networking but still no success on the funding front. Yes, I admit, I can always do more. Mind you, my lack of success really has nothing to do with the quality of these organizations and I would strongly recommend any startup business looking toward them (and those in your community) for support and help.

I was also able to get sponsorships over the years from Autodesk, Pixologic, Teamwork Project Manager, Vastpark and others. These partnerships and sponsorships made it possible to get a lot done on my near-scarce budget and to learn even more about game and virtual world development. I can’t imagine how much harder things could have been without their help and support. Of course, I cannot emphasize enough the value and importance of the contributions made by the team members. They put in long volunteer hours over the years to make fleshing out of the original story concept into the game model the project uses today.

I also have to admit and share that part of my poor success came from my own personal, family and financial hurdles which have taken their toll on me over the years. These challenges have not crippled me though and that is a good thing. On the whole, I am a pretty positive and optimistic person. I am not much for giving up on anything but have to admit that over repeated hurdles and failures I have had a lot of power sucked from my engines. Persistence can be good too (a strength gained from my challenged upbringing and my sales and marketing background) but also is the need to pivot and adjust one’s project and business plans. That is something I gained from reading Eric Reis’ book, The Lean Startup. That book was another great find from my being involved with the Peak Venture Group and Startup Colorado Springs.

Another factor that has created obstacles for me has been my lack of game development expertise and experience. I don’t have a degree in game design and development nor any experience working for a game studio. Not having those has created its own challenges for me. I was even removed from a group of Colorado Studio heads because I was not a formal studio and had no formal experience. I know I have learned a lot from the team members on the project as well as from what I have done on my own (which represents a lot over the last 5 years). I am grateful for that. I have learned how to use tools such as Autodesk’s 3dsMax, Blender, Terragen, BundySoft’s L3DT, Photoshop and Game Engines such as Crytek’s CryEngine3, HeroEngine, Unity 3D and others such as Multiverse which is no longer around. I learned about 3D modeling, Textures, Level Design, Lighting (to mention just a few game design elements) and even learned how to write a Game Design Document. ‘Goes to show you what you can learn if you put your mind to it. Still, not having formal experience has seemed to be a detriment in the process of my finding funding for the project.

I even went so far as assembling a really good team. That had too its own challenges being that they were a team mostly on paper. They would only officially come on board when the project was funded and when they could get paid. Understandable I know but finding people to volunteer and put in sweat and tears for the promise of future benefit (the backbone of most startup companies) is a lot harder than it sounds especially when the company and/or project is led by someone with little or no formal game design experience–me.

Another part of the funding challenge was that we were trying to develop Planet Postmoderna within an existing game and established platform, Entropia Universe, under its Partner Planet Program. Doing so made a lot of sense to me since development time would be a fraction of what a conventional MMO game and virtual world would be. We would be using the framework of an existing game (eg. Game Engine, Economy, etc) and merely needed to come to the table with a good concept and proof that we had the money to fund the development of assets (characters and creatures, storyline, environment, etc) for our game and for the marketing needed to attract new players. Mindark, the creator of Entropia Universe, had a pretty attractive platform and plan for the Entropia Universe Partner Planet Program. They even liked our concept at the time so I was charged up and felt good about our success.

When I first embarked on this journey, the price tag for being considered for this program was about $2 million. Wow!! I thought. I still was diligent though and spoke to many organizations, Venture Capitalists (VCs) and Angel Investors. Unfortunately, my lack of experience, the price tag and the fact that Virtual Economies were still a pretty new concept in the USA, became a whole lot of obstacles. Now, almost 5 years later, the price tag is about $6 million. A lot of that is due to the lack of success of the existing partner planets (save a few). Too bad too, I think Postmoderna would have been one of Mindark’s successes. Who knows though? I just know that coming up with the that level of funds would be near impossible today based on my experience over the last several years. With all that said, potential investors looked at this leveraging as more of a risk than a benefit. Even if they gave us the money, they would still not own the project (sort of) and if Entropia went belly-up, what recourse did they have? And, that was just one of their concerns. Even though I had shared the Partner Planet Program Plan, which alleviated some of that concern, my lack of experience was still a hurdle and the project was still too new in its development. Thus, there was no money, no progress, no game.

Now in spite of all of what I have shared so far, I am not halting this project. In fact, as I look for a job again (yes, I am unemployed once more and yes, it leaves me very scared and uneasy being that I have not had a steady job since I was laid off in August of 2011), I have decided to go back to writing. It has been decades since I have touched my short stories and the storyline for Planet Postmoderna, based on the story concepts of The Advent and The Children of Arla. Both titles are based on a fictional race of beings that influenced many of our Earth civilizations and who created a planet just for us to find someday. It’s planet that is a living virtual world of sorts, hence the name Planet Postmoderna. Postmodernism is based on the idea of countless copies upon copies of an original and what’s essentially behind virtual worlds and simulation games, DVDs, iTunes, etc. You can read more about this on our out About Us section.

In any case, I have gone back to writing and as part of that, joined a couple of groups to help counsel me and give me creative and moral support. Pikes Peak Writers is one and Writers Write!, a local meetup comprised of many members if Pike Peak Writers, is another. Both have great resources and and are comprised of members with much talent. I am hoping that not only going back to writing and getting involved in these groups will not only get the stories published and possibly create a foundation that I can stand on for the further development of the Virtual World and Game, Planet Postmoderna, but also make me better in my craft and my skills.

Outside of the above, I have also started a new Meetup group of my own, here in the Springs. It will cater to game developers and their projects and do so more locally. There are a few similar groups up in Denver but I felt I should take the lead and see if there is enough interest for representation and networking locally. The Colorado Springs Online and Digital Game Designers is brand, spanking new and hopefully it will draw a following.

Now hopefully, after I get some writing under my belt and possibly even some formal game design experience (from more networking locally) I may be able to get back to driving the “Postmoderna Train.” Stay tuned. I plan to write a lot more here as well.