Visualisation Project 2 - "Location, Location"

"Design and model an interior location base on a story from a different time period."


"A well designed environment can act as a form of expression to communication a story visually and is important in setting the time, place and mood of any game, animation or architectural visualisation.
For this project you will need to design, model, texture, light and render 60sec walkthrough of a location of your choice based on a published story or script from a different time period. The interior location should be set either in a room in a residence or monumental space i.e. church, factory or historical building. You will need to include all the visual elements such as the furniture and objects that described in the story.
The design of a location is an important for supporting a story and the characters. It is essential to consider the different architectural periods, genres, dramatic atmosphere and mood, colour and lighting conditions of the location.
Two locations have been provided for your use; see the page 2 & 3 of this document. If you choose your own story you will need to submit the passage/s taken from the original text that you have used."

I think this project sounds really interesting, and takes a much less technical route than I thought we might face for an architectural visualisation module. It has taken me pretty much a week to look through some older books that I have read in the past or have heard of for their quality of description. I originally thought I would use the first paragraph of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum, which described Dorothy's family's farmhouse. However, I have now remembered reading "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck (all those years ago!) for my English Literature GCSE at school, and found a pretty good description of the bunk house at the start of the second chapter in an online copy of the book.

Here is the passage I plan on using for this project:

"The bunk house was a long, rectangular building. Inside, the walls were whitewashed and the floor unpainted. In three walls there were small, square windows, and in the fourth, a solid door with a wooden latch. Against the walls were eight bunks, five of them made up with blankets and the other three showing their burlap ticking. Over each bunk there was nailed an apple box with the opening forward so that it made two shelves for the personal belongings of the occupant of the bunk. And these shelves were loaded with little articles, soap and talcum powder, razors and those Western magazines ranch men love to read and scoff at and secretly believe. And there were medicines on the shelves, and little vials, combs; and from nails on the box
sides, a few neckties. Near one wall there was a black cast-iron stove, its stovepipe going straight up through the ceiling. In the middle of the room stood a big square table littered with playing cards, and around it were grouped boxes for the players to sit on."

This description is actually much more detailed than I thought I would find, so am very pleased with this find! :) Next on the agenda will be to start re-reading some of the book to remember the characters and style of the book to help with architecture and artistic research later on. I will also soon start to produce some mock up drawings using quick perspective renders of shapes in 3DS max or maya, before editing them in Photoshop or on paper. These will help with my visual ideas and research for my presentation at the start of March.