What is this project?

This is the first work of a serie I’m starting!

A quick and fun exercice in which I craft simple blockouts with a focus on composition and visual language.

Learning objective?

I love learning about composition so I wanted to improve my skills at making nicely crafted spaces by tackling new challenges!

Therefore, this serie will have a strong focus on visual language, spatial building and saliency.

How does this exercice work?

I pick a random word that could be translated as a subject in space

I make a list of composition elements/concepts I’ll work with

Word generated :

Lonely

Mandatory base composition elements :

Use of rule of thirds for subject
S curve pathing
Denial & Reward
Visual pointers (Various sizes)
Framing / Reveal

🚧 Construction details 🚧

Process

Understanding of the subject :

From the word I picked, I quickly thought of a lighthouse kind of scenery.Something about an object timelessly standing in front of the ocean is something that makes me feel loneliness.

So I chose this kind of overall picture as my subject!

Starting with simplicity :

I started working by having a 2D approach to the framing I wanted to have, at first containing simple shapes.

The iterations consisted of adding details and volume to the space with sketches, done on Clip Studio. Color is used to highlight what was important in this composition.

Throughout my process, I used to draw on top of my screenshots to clarify the shapes that would make the frame easier to read.

Rule of Thirds

Position of the subject is important so I used the Rule of thirds to get a nice visual balance, placing it on the topright third of the picture.

To make it ‘pop out’ even more, I wanted the background to be empty around it. A whiter background makes the middle ground more visible, so we can see our subject better.

The left side of the picture is more busy than around the subject, balancing the composition and making important informations easier to read.

S curved path

I shaped the path as an S-curve creates rythm and guidance in the picture.

As opposed to the bumpy rythm that comes with rock shapes, the main path catches the eye because of its soothing lines.

Once this shape attracts the player’s attention, following it is an interesting journey, ultimately leading to the composition’s subject.

Denial & Reward

By adding environment blocking player’s view of the path leading to their target, it can encourage player’s curiosity and involvement.

The player would mentally connect the path as to be leading to the Pole but preventing them to see the connection brings intrigue and even momentary lostness.

This makes the journey towards our subject more interesting and our arrival more rewarding.

WIP