Gwydion Inc. Internship
3D Art Generalist Intern
May 15, 2017 - June 30, 2017
https://gwydion.co/
Forward
My employment to Gwydion Inc. involved submitting a 3D modeling portfolio, following my completion of the 7-hour Autodesk Maya Essentials Training on lynda.com. Employed by my art director, Gus Schissler, and CEO Duncan Abbot, for my conceptual work on the Vitula Quartet and relevant 3D modeling practice, I began work in June.
I was hired as a 3D modeler and art generalist, responsible for 3D modeling assets, aiding in the research and development for design plans, and other duties as assigned. My educational goals were to fine tune my research, development, and documentation processes, increase my understanding of Autodesk Maya and its interactions with game engines such as Unity, and observe the role of an art director in a small, interdisciplinary design team. I feel confident that I achieved said goals.
Through the Stamps Internship Scholarship from the University of Michigan School of Art & Design, I was able to fund my commute from Toledo to Ann Arbor thrice a week. The other two work days I worked remotely. I will be returning as a part-time contractor for Unity programming and Visual Production in the Fall, September 2017.
Arthea
"Arthea is a virtual reality and augmented reality (VR/AR) program that allows users to upload their own content through a simple web interface, and then interact with that content in VR/AR on any device"
- https://gwydion.co/projects/arthea
During my internship, I worked on the early versions of the Arthea Virtual Reality interface. In our design process, we aimed to have an integrated UI akin to a 3D point and click video game, rather than a basic menu interface. Our early ideas were based around the concept of a sort of sky-light library, as a place of ethereal knowledge.
After a few hours at the white board and hoards of references, we settled on looking for a futuristic aesthetic. As I was conceptualizing the atmosphere of the Arthea library, I was inspired by white matte furniture and the prismatic reflections that colored it in the right light. This aesthetic is greatly reflected in our final product.
Research and Image-Boards
Before drafting sketches or creating prototypes, I created reference boards for general aesthetic and form ideas. Primarily formed on google drawings and PureRef.
3D Asset Prototypes and Ideations
Once we had an aeshetic nailed down, I began to prototype low-poly iterations of furniture for the Arthea library. The four main units were: bench, bookshelf, display case, and elevator.
The elevator was to be a centerpiece in Arthea- the first thing the user saw when they entered. Our final product was similar to my original concept art and iteration.
In addition to prop-iterations, we also considered the layout of the Arthea interface, desiring it to be a sort of interactive level rather than a flat menu screen. To achieve this immersion, we discussed various layouts of the library, such as its floor structure and how that would interact with the elevator.
Arthea Final Models and Examples
The majority of my time at Gwydion Inc. was spent 3D modeling assets for the Arthea interface. Working in Autodesk Maya, I learned about the importance of polygon count (especially when designing for modest hardware)
The final 3D assets I created that were included in this version of Arthea: nine variations of bookshelves, one round table and bench set, two sets of rectilinear tables and chairs, and several small accessories including four succulent variations, a Newton's cradle, and books.
Once the final lighting designed by our art director was baked in and built, the Arthea library came to life.
"There is something inexplicably satisfying about experiencing your art in VR."
In addition, I created several materials for the 3D assets, as well as textures to display on the mock screens in-app. One example is the Vive instructional visual below. My promotional backgrounds, pictured later, are also displayed on the in-app screens. At this point in the process, our art director was on leave and I handled Unity asset placement.
Once both the architecture and interior design of Arthea were laid out, I 3D modeled extraneous assets to be free viewing examples for our AR/VR viewer, such as the stag below.
Branding and Graphic Web Assets
Simultaneously during visual development, we were also in the process of developing the Arthea website. Using my knowledge of HTML and CSS, I learned the fundamentals of bootstrap mockups and drafted basic web maps for our programmers to implement. One of eleven examples is displayed. Once we were further in the process, I also created web icons used on the website, of which there were several color variations.
We also experimented with different theme variations for the Arthea website, which called for variations in icons for idle, hover, and active use.
Logo Iterations and Design Guide for Future Iterations
As Gwydion turned a new page in its business by expanding its sponsorships and clients, we entered a term of rebranding. I assisted the artistic director in iterating in over 100 logo designs, as well as documenting our process and style guide.
Backgrounds and Promotional Material
During any open time created by gaps in the programming and visual development cycles, I created a series of backgrounds considering the Gwydion Inc. brand. At this time, we had desired to maintain a sort of witty humor, similar to that of Valve. Made in Adobe Illustrator.
