For me personally as much as I appreciated the effort that I put into my first rendition of the website it wasn’t quite what I was looking for and I wanted to change the way it looked. Some of the images were hard to read and the color pallet was a little off.  I thought it was far to bright so I changed some images, the layout and the colors used. The first thing I did was change the background of the title page. Although mountains do in some ways represent Norway they don’t represent my project and it’s purpose overall. Instead, I have decided to use an image of an oil rig as this of course is where the DLC is set. This looks much better for the project and the colors of blue are still present. Of course I also changed the color of the text box to black and made the text white as this is what Rainbow Six Siege typically do and I want to stick to their style as best as possible.

I then changed the layout of the second page. Previously it was to cramped and some of the images were cut off. You also had to scroll to read more stuff and this may have meant the reader missed some information. To make this easier I made it so that the icons and map were all displayed clearly on one black page which meant that all could be read at once. I much prefer this look and think it’s much more organized.

I then changed the look of the operator screens. To do this I made the background black to start out with as Siege is a dark game and this color suits the mood better. I also made the text towards the top so they can read the backstory before looking at the operator. This gives them a better starting idea of what the character is capable and why they look the way they do. I also made the font white.

 

Again I wasn’t happy at all with the look of my original Goliath design and for me personally I wanted to re design. In my opinion the new Goliath is 10 times better than my first approach. There is much more detail on the character and the background is much more effective for the audience. I think this new design represents my aspirations for the project much more and I appreciate what I have done. I started this project by again creating an outline. I wanted Goliath to look confident and powerful and represent fortification. I built his pose around this, strong, steadfast and broad to make him look as purposeful as possible. He looks very imposing and large and that’s exactly what I wanted. I went for a fairly strong build on this character as in his backstory he is a body builder.

I then started the armour plating on the shoulders. I wanted him to look bulky and make the armour look thick. I used the rectangle tool and eclipse tool to create this effect and he looks great. These shoulder pieces look like they could soak up damage. I also wanted his head to be protected by these side panels to make him very formidable and tough. I simply used the rectangle tool to create this.

 

I then made a bit of a jump from this stage to the next. I chose my colours for the Goliath suit. I did this for several reasons. The darker colours are to blend into the ocean and the darkness to add realism and make him useful. Making him green or yellow would be a stupid decision for fairly obvious reasons. I started work on building this character up. I started placing colour onto this character and added bulk to him by creating this back panel behind his head as well as the helmet. As used in my original design for Goliath I used a layering technique to build up his visor to make it look as if it was glowing. I also placed the word Kjempe on the left shoulder which means Giant in Norwegian as this is what the suit is called. Having it in black makes it clear against the dark colour.

I then created the arms by using the pen tool. This was a very simple job and it wasn’t to difficult. I made a little gap between each armour plate as this allowed his dark clothes to be revealed underneath.

I then started adding some battle damage to the arm overall and felt that it was really excellent. To do this I used the brush tool to draw the damage onto the arm and make these little cracks and dents and thought that it was effective at presenting damage. I also added a shadow effect to the armour plates beneath each joint and used varying levels of darkness to lighten these shadows towards the end. I love this effect and think it is great. I also added mud to the suit to make it look worn out and used as well as adding some additional scratch marks to the design. I also created his fists. I made these very bulky and big to male his armour look large and well built. These large gauntlets look powerful and make Goliath a Goliath.

 

I then added the detail to the other arm in the same way, using the same colours and shadow techniques as well as applying the damage. As another step I created the fingers on the gauntlet by simply drawing black lines onto the gauntlets.

 

Next I started work on the legs and torso.  I built this up in the same way and made small grooves into the armour to again represent joints in the plates like the way knights used to look. This was especially important on the legs as I wanted them to clearly look like separate pieces of the armour. This was to make him look like he was mobile and capable of actually moving which of course was important for being part of  special operations force.

I then added some more details in a large area as well as working on the background of the design. The first thing I did was create a shotgun for the Goliath, specifically the Binelli M1. I made sure to base it off the actual gun by copying an image of Google from memory.  then created shells by using the rectangle and eclipse tool. I personally liked the way these looked and used red and yellow for the shells which I then placed on the black shotgun to add some variety. I also and copy pasted the Norwegian flag from Thor onto Goliath’s chest to let people know who he clearly represents. I also finished creating his legs. To do this I created the pen tool for the design aside the knees which I built with circles to make them look like joints in the armour. The rest of the legs were simple to make and there isn’t much more to say about them. I also added some bloody handprints to Goliath. I wanted there to be a dead man on the floor and the handprints looked very intimidating and made him look scary. I also made the background grey as I wanted to make it look like he was inside a room and then I started work on the window. This was really fun and I loved the final design. To do this I created a rectangle shape and then ,multiple triangles using a light blue colour to look like glass. I placed these onto the window frame and made it look like it had been shattered and broken. I also addd rain to make it seem as if it was raining outside to add some dark mood to the image. I also added used shells to the floor of the room for effect and additionally made smoke plume from the barrel of the shotgun to make it look as if he had just fired it. I also added shotgun damage to the chest by using black circles to make it appear as if he had been spattered with buckshot. I also add some blood detail.

Next I added more detail to the window and used the brush tool to create smaller glass shards in the window just to add some minor detail.

I then created a cabinet in the room to make it look like a office room. This resembles one quite well. I just used multiple different coloured rectangles for the cabinet such as the handles and the storage units themselves. This detail was simple but really effective.

i then simply created smaller glass shards and placed them onto the floor in different locations and finally created the dead man on the floor. To do this I created some leg shapes by using the brush tool as well as a pool of blood onto the floor using the brush tool once again. I went for a darker colour for this blood and appreciate it’s look. I also added a light to the top of the room. To do this I created rectangles of yellow as well as building up a few yellow colours overall. I then used the rectangle tool to create small supports from the ceiling on the light.

For the next step I worked on creating more shadow, especially on the plates on the face. As the round shapes are actually meant to be positioned behind the helmet piece I wanted to make this shadow present to people din’t think they were pat of the helmet as they weren’t. To do this I built up colour in different levels. I also drew some additional dirt onto his design.

Next I added some additional detail to all the bullet holes on the body. To accomplish this I added some yellow and orange circles to the holes and made them seem like they were slightly charred and warped by the power of the bullet. This helped improve the design a fair amount I think and you can see it quite clearly in the later product.

For the next step I added some blood to the hand designs. I wanted them to look more realistic and I thought that to accomplish this I would make these bigger and more bloody. I also added some different shades of blood as well as onto the floor just to add some variety in the colour palette overall. I also wanted Goliath’s face to be visible to the viewer and I had a great idea. To do this I painted over the helmet with a flesh colour and drew his face onto it, as if the mask has been damaged. this is to help show that his armour is hard to break through but it is possible and this helps to reflect that. I also drew his beard on by using the same technique as with the previous Thor. I did this by painting on different colours of grey in different thicknesses to present the look of age. I also tidied up the blood and mud on the suit to make it look more realistic and real. I also added a slight shadow underneath the desk to make it appear more realistic. To do this I made a black rectangle and lowered the opacity later to make it look as if it’s dark under there.

In this step I first of all added lips to the design which you could easily see on the face and I appreciated this little detail. I then added the classic border to the design by using thinner orange borders around the edge and a much larger one at the bottom of the screen and added my gamertag as usual. I appreciate this look and it fits in nicely to the piece and I feel that this works really well for me. Rainbow Six Siege is a game which I really love and this border really helps to present it. 

As an extra addition I placed outlines across the whole of the design to really help make him pop out of the screen at the viewer. It looks much better and gives it a lot of character than if it did without it.

Finally I got rid of the snow on his shoulders. At first I was going to have him outdoors in the snow but then decided that putting him on the oil rig made a lot more sense to show off a tiny part of the map. I then replaced the snow with mud to make it less plain and dull and of course gave it an outline to finish of the design. I am really happy with the final look of the design and believe that it looks much better.

 

 

 

 

After deliberating many times on my original designs I have decided to change the design completely. For me personally my final results were great and I was very happy with the final design however there was one issue. It just wasn’t realistic enough for Rainbow Six Siege. It appeared very cartoony in it’s approach and I feel personally that it isn’t quite up to scratch. To counter this I decided to restart both of my characters and went for a much more scenic design. In this new version, Thor looks much more real and human like. I feel that the new design and my idea of creating him as a full bodied character very much. Having the ability to see Thor in his full appearance makes him much more interesting. Before Thor’s body was much to large and didn’t really look like an accurate human being.

To start this project I created by creating an outline, using the hand shape which I used on my original design to form the body for the new Thor. This look worked well. He looks lean and slender which of course are great attributes for a shoulder and I am really grateful for the design I came up with. I wanted to work hard on this new character so a fair amount of thought went into his new look. This outline worked well and I feel accomplished with it. I later made some adjustments to this with the node tool and feel it looks much better overall in the final design. It was surprisingly easy to make this based upon the books I’ve read and looked into. I sculpted the hands by considering how a real human works and the body I created by thinking about a soldier and their appearance. I thought of a strong, powerful and fit character with a muscled physique and this is the look I went for.

The next step I took was to begin working on his legs and his outfit. To suit the climate that Thor is in I wanted to create a camouflaged pattern onto his pants. However I didn’t want to use the classic khaki colours as he is in a snowy and watery battle zone. To make it much more accurate I used a palette of blues and whites as this is what is used as camouflage in snowy climates.  I also started to add some different details to the character. I made a helmet using the pen tool as well as the rectangle tool to make it look round towards the top. I added a chin strap to this by creating a black line with two rectangles to make it look like a clip. I also created a strap across his chest as well as I wanted his gun to be slung over his shoulder. I also built a belt across his waist and on this I added two magazine clips to show that he was organised and prepared. I also added a circle as I wanted Thor to have a spare grenade on his belt as in game he would have 2 of them so I thought it’d be a good idea to show that on his character.I I also coloured in his boots with black as I wanted him to be wearing combat boots. 

I then started the legs by creating a solid light blue colour. I then began to add some different colours to the design in random locations across the legs to make it look camouflaged. I added some darker and lighter blues and then finally finished it off by drawing white around the areas which hadn’t been touched. I think this final result works well and it looks very true to life.

the next step was to add colour to his upper body. As he is a soldier I need to create a bulletproof vest on his body as well as making his top the same blueish colour as I did before hand. Of course this was to add more camouflage to the design and make him blend in with the environment. To make the body vest I used the pen tool to create a outline around the body and then made two straps coming from his shoulder area. This look was effective and I thought the proportions were great. I also added a circle and lowered the opacity to add as a shadow but I later removed this as I turned the background into a portion of the map.

I then added some detail to the vest. To start this process I created a Norwegian flag and placed this onto the vest in the right corner. This looked really great and I personally thought that this detail was important. Not only did it break up the colour of the black vest it also showed the viewer where he was from which was missing from the previous design. I also used a dark green colour to add some minor detail to the vest as it looked very plain. I created some pockets and lines across it to make it look like kevlar.

The next step was working on the grenade itself. I used my classic stroke technique to add a variety of colours to the grenade and make it much darker this time around as if it wasn’t activated yet. Towards the bottom I made it lighter as I felt that the energy source would be towards the bottom of the grenade. This layer technique was brilliant and as usual I thought it was super effective.

I then added a grenade to the built by carrying out the same technique as the other one. I used the same colours to make them look as identical as possible. I also coloured his hands in with black to make them seem like gloves and began to colour his skin in. I made this fairly light but I wanted him to have some colour to him as he had spent so much time on the ocean, battling winds, rain and storms. I also removed his ear as I felt it was to big and didn’t look right on the design. I also removed the weird spines from the back of his leg on the left and smoothened it out to make it look much more realistic.

Next up I started work on his face. The first step I did was create a visor for his helmet. This is fairly common on soldiers helmets to protect against weather, shrapnel and even bullets. I added this to his appearance. I also started work on his mouth. I wanted him to look very mad and quite sadistic so I gave him a very wide smile. I added some rough teeth of various shapes and lengths as again I wanted him to look fairly mad. Once I created his mouth I drew over the lips to smoothen it out at a later date.

I then began to make Thor’s facial hair by using the same technique as I did with the previous Thor design. This was to layer up 3 different colours onto his face. I chose to do a grey face as I wanted both operators to be fairly old.

Although a bit of a time jump I then created a background for the design.i wanted to make it look as if Thor was posing on the oil rig map and I felt it would make the character much more interesting. I started by making a dark blue background to make it look like the night time. I then created a railing by using a selection of rectangles as safety is key on an oil rig and I needed a protective barrier. I also created a large pillar with a sign on. I made it red as commonly they are to draw the eye to people. It was quite amusing I thought as it states to wear safety gear and Thor is wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet. I also added the orange border as is seen in the game and my gamertag at the bottom. I later made the font white.

I then added lightning to the design. This first design I felt was really poor and I wasn’t happy with it. It was to cartoony and bulky so I later replaced this with another design. O also added some shadow to the pillar and the posts. I loved the layering I did on the pillar to look the bottom look dark but I later deleted the black shape at the bottom. They didn’t look great and I didn’t think they were to suitable overall. I also aded grating to the floor of the rig by creating rectangles and combining them all together. I then copy and pasted this design across the rest of the floor. This was to add some more detail and make it look much more interesting. Of course I also added some rain to the piece to make it look chaotic and wild. I did this by simply drawing grey lines with the brush tool.

I then added several little changes and details. I first drew a black outline around both grenades to give them more depth and a solid look. I then changed the colour of the magazines on the belt to black as well as his gun as they were not coloured correctly before. Black is a standard colour that is used often so this is what I used. I then created the new lightning by drawing thin white lines with the brush tool and used the outer glow tool to make them light up. This was to show that Thor had arrived and was ready for battle! I also adjusted the shoulder strap on his vest as it wasn’t really directing towards his shoulder, more his neck. I also tidied up the pillar to stop it overlapping onto the sky.

 

 

 

For this project my chosen form of media is Wix. Creating a website is great as you can simply paste this to any form of social media for critique and for sharing to the community and world. This was really simple to create and I found the process really enjoyable. I had never used Wix but I discovered how easy it is to use and what is possible when using it. I really appreciate the final look of the website and feel that it looks similar to the way Siege portrays their DLC’s. For the first page of the website I simply created a title page with a large image of some snowy mountains in the background. This was really effective for the DLC as it immediately lets the reader know where this DLC will be set along with the climate and country. I created a simple headline for the title as well to let the reader clearly know what will occur in the DLC such as the map, location and two new operator names. This helps clearly define what the project is in a very simple way. I also used the Learn More button, linking it to the next page on my website which I will discuss soon. The font I used here are also very similar to the one Siege uses whilst not a direct copy which prevents any legal issues. i am happy with the title page and feel it is very effective at setting the scene.

The next page I named Welcome to Operation Bulwark and simply lists the new additions to the game such as the two new operators as well as the new map. Each has their own simple description to let the reader know what they can do and this list format is really effective as it is used on the Siege website commonly. I used the two icons for these operators on this page to allow people to understand what they represent without giving to much away yet. I also placed the map design onto this page as this is another thing that Siege do on their website. The layout looks great as well as the colours here and I think it is a good look.

The next step was creating a simple biography which gives a small breakdown of the operators and what they do in game. The first one I created was Goliath’s. This was fairly simple. I uploaded an image of Goliath to the left side of the page and wrote a little paragraph about him, detailing his gadget, overall look and what he’s about. I also obviously placed his name on the top of the page. I went for a simple colour scheme so the text and image were much more visible and were the first thing you saw.

I then did a similar thing for Thor. There isn’t to much else to say about his page as a whole as it is very similar to Goliath’s. However I like the final look and feel that the website has gone really well. In the future I may experiment more with colours and layouts but as of right now I am happy with what I have created.

https://jacksadler7.wixsite.com/website

 

 

I started this operator in the same way as I did in the other one, creating a orange border effect as in the other one. I made it a little thinner as I wanted to add more detail to this operator screen. I also used the same effect as I did in the other operator artwork and put my gamertag on the border to resemble the real game.

I then created began to create the shadow effect. To start this out I used the pen tool to create a black background which was very simple. I would later turn down the opacity to create a shadow effect.

I then constructed another shape and made this slightly lighter to blend these shadows together. This looked really good in the final design and I am glad with it’s final look. I appreciate the effect of these two shadows as they create a border in the centre which looks very interesting and breaks up the two colours which makes it look more real.

I then added a little more detail by creating some more colours and lowering the opacity on these to make some lighter and darker shadow. I also added some more shadow to the design just to add some more minor detail and the final effect is great.

The next step was to draw the arms/hands of my operator as these would be clutching the helmet of the operator Goliath. To start this out I attempted to draw a free hand hand and arm shape and it actually went quite well. The fingers are a little off but for the most part it looks quite good and I am pleased with this design. I used the pen tool as well as the node tool to create smoother shapes so the hand looked more natural.

The next step was to start adding some minor detail. To do this I created some knuckle shapes on the knuckle areas. This was to give off the effect that Goliath was wearing some tactical gloves with hardened knuckles for protection and punching. Although simple these added some detail to the design and I appreciated the final look.

I then added a simple fill of blue to the wrist. I wanted to add some blue to the design to link to Norway and their snowy climate etc. It would also be useful as it would prevent the design from being to mono colour and would add some lighter tone to the design which was important for me. By creating this background I could layer on colours later without any white showing through. This blue allowed a solid base for the arm and it was effective.

I then added some layers of colour to the design using my standard method of layering them on top of each other. I started by adding some darker colours from the top of the wrist and added lighter colours towards the bottom. This is because in the final design they would be turned to the side so the light would be shining onto the underside. This is below. I also began to colour the hands in using a selection of brown colours. Again this was to contrast some colours together and add some additional detail. I didn’t want to make these gloves black as I didn’t think this would be interesting enough for the design.

I then added some additional details to the knuckle area by creating some bonus circles and features to the gloves. I thought these looked good and am happy with the result. I also added some brown on top to ensure that I strayed away from linear blocks of colour and created something with a little more detail.

Below is the order of events which took place when colouring in the hand and the sleeve. I placed these into a little compilation to showcase the process that I went into. However to easily sum it up I started by simply layering the colours over each other, slowly upping the brightness of said colours towards the bottom of the wrist.

The next step was fairly simple. I created a simple circle shape by using the pen tool along with the node tool to smoothen it out and make it appear much more natural in it’s appearance. Then I coloured it in grey using the fill tool. I chose this grey as it wasn’t to dark and was light enough to be seen without being to in your face. Darker colours mean more to me as they present a more mature game. I then copy and pasted my hand design on top of the helmet to give off the illusion that the hands were gripping it.

For the next step I used the rectangle tool to create a visor shape. I wanted the helmet to look big and bulky so I made the visor fairly small. Next I coloured this visor in blue to represent energy and to brighten up the dark helmet. This created a good centre piece for the design.

I then used my classic layering effect using the brush tool to make the visor look more realistic as if the sun is shining off of it. This white effect was wonderful and I am very grateful for discovering it.

I then began to create a beard on Goliath. To do this I used the brush effect and picked a suitable grey colour for the beard and began drawing it on. I did this to create the effect that the beard was coming out from underneath the helmet as he takes it off. It wasn’t difficult to create this effect.

I then constructed a glare effect off of the visor by using a circle of white along with several triangle shapes. This makes it look as if the sun is shining off of the visor. I also used a Gaussian blur on the visor and this was really effective to make it look more like real glass. I also drew additional grey streaks onto the beard to make it look much more real and lifelike. This also helps us establish Goliath’s age.

I then added smaller rivets onto the helmet to represent screw holes. This detail is great overall and adds some minor greebling to the helmet.

I then began to build up the colour on the body of Goliath with the same layer as effect.

My next step was to add some effect to the body by drawing on some body straps like on Thor. However these didn’t really fit to well and I wasn’t keen on their final design overall so I chose not to add them.

I then used the same layer effect onto my helmet design by using a brush tool. This made the helmet look much more real as well as effective for conveying my character.

Finally I added a collar design to the helmet. This was a great detail for me as it added some more interesting shapes to the design and also made him look very knight like. I really appreciated this look as it makes him seem like a protector of the people, brave and loyal. I made two separate collars and layered them over each other to make it more realistic overall. I used a lighter colour for the outer colour as this allowed the design to look more pleasing to the eye and not flat. I didn’t layer up this design as I felt it was pointless overall and wouldn’t add to much. To counter this I left it alone and felt it was good enough to keep the way it was.

As one final little detail I created a circle shape and placed it behind the visor, lowering the opacity. This made it look like the top of his head is visible through the visor and I feel that this looks great overall. I am really happy with this operator and feel as if he really represents a strong and powerful warrior with an effective gadget and look. He also looks fairly old which is an effect I wanted. I am really happy and think he looks great.

 

 

Very recently I finished my Thor design for the project on Affinity designer. I think the end result looks great and over this blog I will be talking about how it all works and the way I created it. To start out the project I created a very clear orange border for the background. This is the way the operators are presented in the game and I wanted to replicate the game as closely as possible. I then created a shadow to fill the space using the pen tool as well as the opacity tool to make it appear more transparent to give off a shadow effect. I did this as in the game this effect is used in the background and gives offa a great look. Towards the bottom of the border I wrote my Xbox gamertag as in the game this is where it is displayed. This was a basic start but it worked well and I’m happy with the result.

I then used the pen tool to form a torso shape to fill the orange space. As I wanted the body to be blue I used a dark blue as I knew I would be colouring over this in the future anyway. Using the fill tool was useful for this as I could instantly make it one colour rather than having to paint it. By using the pen tool I could create shoulders on the body by using the node tool to form curves for the shoulder blades.

Next I created the detail on the body as well as adding detail. To do this I used an increasing brightness of blue colour to create a great effect. By slowly lowering the brightness of the colours I could create a great shadow effect as less light is being focussed onto the lower part of the body. As mentioned previously I used the blue colours as this linked to Norway and their snowy weather as well as the colour of the ocean. The FSK in real life often assault boats and rigs which have been taken hostage so the blue uniform would make sense to blend into the ocean and represent their purpose. I also added black strap to represent a body vest and eventually shaded this in to using the brush to to prevent it from looking to bland. The shading and colour is rough but I would polish this up later as you will see to make it much more professional. I also added some shoulder pads to the design to create some extra effect and break up the blue colours.

Next I created a little collar effect to the design to again add a little variation in colour and just create an extra little design. To do this I used the pen tool to create a simple shape and added the layer on.

I then created the head of the operator by creating a circle tool, contorting it until I had the shape I wanted. I then used the circle tool to create two small eyes. I wanted Thor to wear goggles as of course his gadget is an electric grenade. I wanted to make sure that his eyes were protected from harm and the best way to do this is to use goggles. I used the brush tool to colour them in blue by layering them and then used the Gaussian blur tool to create a slight misty effect as if they are slightly fogged up. I used the copy and paste tool to replicate these goggles which saved time and made sure they looked identical to each other.

I then created the straps of the goggles by using the brush tool to use the colour brown. This helped add another colour to the design and also looked great. This colour of course represents leather and when combined with the blue of the goggles it looks wonderful. I added the darker circles to the middle to add a little detail as there are often marks such as these on belts and watch straps.

The next step for me was to colour the face and create the helmet. I chose a great looking colour for the flesh and coloured the face. to create the helmet I used the pen tool to create the first side and copy and pasted this to create the other. I next used a rectangle to form the top of the helmet. I of course painted this black as this is a very common colour that is used often on helmets. I added a little rim to the helmet by using a lighter colour of grey. I also began to create the beard at this point by sing the colour grey. I wanted to make Thor look old and wise and the best way to do this was to create a large grey beard. I started by using the brush tool to paint little strokes downwards to build up a beard effect.

next I added some additional grey colours into the beard to add some ore detail as well as prevent it from looking dull. Adding extra layers adds to the realism of the design as well which was very important for me. I am glad that I used this effect as it helped to improve my Affinity skills. 

The next step was creating the mouth of the character. I wanted Thor to have a rather open mouth, almost as if he is laughing or growling at his enemies. I wanted him to have a fairly mad look to him to add some character and the best way to do this was through the mouth. I started by creating the lips of the character by making smaller lines of a different colouration. Then I created the inside of his mouth by using a darker red colour which I thought was suitable. The final look actually turned out quite well and I am pleased with this addition.

the next thing I had to do was add teeth. This was fairly hard for me as I didn’t really know how to create it at all. I didn’t want to use the rectangle tool as teeth aren’t rectangular so I avoided this approach. instead I used the droplet tool to create the teeth as they are much more rounded in real life towards the bottom. I used the shorter end of the droplet to act as the connector to the gums. This can be sen below. Later on in the project I changed the colour of the teeth as they were much to white. I made them slightly yellowed to represent his age.

The next thing I had to add was wrinkles to his face as of course he is an older man. To do this I looked up an image of wrinkles and then placed them in the correct place. One example was the eyes as these often get crinkled as well as above and below the lip. The forehead is also a common  place. I placed these by using a darker shade on the brush tool.

The next thing I did was add some pockets to his chest. These can often be seen on vests and other uniforms like these and I am very happy with this result. I simply used the rectangle to create these pockets as well as the circle tool to make some extra detail.  I finally drew some thin grey lines down the middle to break up the black colour.

The next thing I did was clean up the border by using the same orange colour. I wanted it to look cleaner and more neat and so I drew over any areas which leaked into the orange border.

the next step was to clean up the sides of the torso as some gaps weren’t coloured in and they looked very bedraggled. This doesn’t represent the FSK and their service so I decided to clean it up and make it much more aesthetically pleasing. This also makes it look much more professional and better to the eye.

The next step to this character was to create his grenade itself. To do this I created a hand clutching a ball shape on a separate document and then made it into an asset. Then I placed this onto my design. The next thing I did was colour in the hand with the same flesh colour as his face as well as the finger nails with a lighter colour to add some realism. I also coloured the sleeve in with the same colour as the body and tried to colour it in the same way as the torso.

The next step was to make the ball shape glow with energy. of course it is an electric grenade so I wanted it to glow with a white light. The inner and outer glow tools were great for this as they allowed me to make the grenade look real and functioning rather than a bland and flat design. By adjusting the glow siders I could make a brilliant look.

At first I made some triangle shapes and placed them onto the grenade but I didn’t enjoy this look and didn’t think it fit. I decided to scrap this idea and just stick to the glowing effect I had made previously.

As the final step to my project I remade his nose. I felt that it was to intrusive and the colour of flesh used was to dark. Instead I simply drew a line and then lowered the opacity to make it much less noticeable. I am happy with this result overall and feel it looks much better than the previous one.

Overall I am really happy with the end result of Thor and feel that it has gone really well. I will be asking for feedback from the community soon to see what they think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next step of my project was to create a logo and the map for Operation Bulwark which I then combined into one by placing the map into the logo for the DLC. I wanted to create a dark and foreboding setting by creating a large and wild ocean as well as a heavy downfall of rain. I started out with two very basic steps overall, the beginnings of the sea and the logo. I used the font Condensed DIN to form the logo of the DLC and I believe that this really is identical to the font used in Siege which was awesome for me. Next I created a large rectangle and used the lock tool to prevent this from moving. By placing this on an angle I could create a great start to my ocean.

I also used the gaussian blur effect on Affinity to help make everything less visible and blocky. This gave off the effect that the rain was so heavy that it makes everything look very blurred which for me looks great. It was great to experiment with this feature and am glad I did to really up my project overall and what I could create. I ended up using this effect on everything in the end such as the sea, oil rig and even the rain.

I then started my work on the sea. I used the brush tool to create multiple layers of water effects with different colours of blue. I tried to use slightly darker colours to represent the North Sea and how it may appear in the night time. As mentioned previously I wanted to create a darker atmosphere for this project as Siege is set in a very realistic and downtrodden world so I wanted to try and reflect this in my work. I applied the Gaussian Blur effect to this ocean to make it appear much more natural and less bland.

I also created rain by drawing simple grey lines, selecting them all and lowering the opacity to create a faded effect. This helped add some detail to my background and added depth to the logo overall as it would most likely be much more boring. The final look actually worked really well and helped to create a more wild atmosphere which is great for Norway as it is a very chaotic place weather wise, especially when considering Vikings and Norse Mythology.

The next thing I did was creating 3 pillars in the ocean for the base of the oil rig. Due to watching movies, documentaries and seeing images of oil rigs waves often smash into these pillars and create spray. I wanted to replicate this to show the viewer how powerful this sea is and show how dangerous this environment is. I created this effect by painting white lines across the pillar in a sporadic pattern as well as lowering the opacity and blurring it to make it look more like water in a rainy world. I wanted the pillar to look fairly visible through the water to create a sense of realism.

I then began to create several different elements for the oil rig such as multiple pillars, chimneys, framework and a large crane structure. This was fairly simple as all I did was create a number of small rectangles and combine them together to make some different elements. This blended together with the rain looks really interesting and I think this is great for the project.

I was really pleased with my final result overall but I felt there was something missing. The design was great but for me the colours were very dark and there was little contrast. I wanted to add some light to the design to represent the side of good and hope within this dark and cruel ocean. To do this I created a light effect by using the eclipse tool as well as several triangles to form the lights path.

As a final step I created a massive triangle shape and placed this into the ocean to basically work like a searchlight in the sea. I turned down the opacity to make it look more like a real beam of light and then coloured over the bottom of the triangle with an ocean colour to blend it into the water. below is the final result of this design. I’m really happy with the result overall and believe that it is a great start overall for me.

 

 

As part of the project I needed to pick the right font for the designs. As mentioned in previous blogs I wanted to choose the perfect font which likened towards the font used in Siege. I originally chose to use Scout Condensed Bold on my project but I have decided to use another as for me personally I didn’t understand how to edit the font. I wanted to look on Affinity Designer to compare the different fonts overall and what I could use in my project. Below are the selection of fonts I chose which I thought felt good for my project due to several factors, how they looked on the black background, size, spacing etc.

Below is the font used in the game Rainbow Six Siege so you can compare the fonts above to the one used in the actual game.

DeviantArt. (2019). Rainbow Six Siege Logo. [online] Available at: https://www.deviantart.com/outlawninja/art/Rainbow-Six-Siege-Logo-542312155 [Accessed 2 May 2019].

The first font is called Arial black and is seen below. I like how bold the font is and it’s thickness is similar towards the one used in Siege. It also stands out very clearly due to it’s size on a black background. I do wish the font was a little thinner and taller as this would make it very similar towards the Siege font. It;s an ok font overall but definitely not my first choice.

The second font is named Benard MT Condensed. This font again is ok. It has a minor semblance towards the Siege font due to it’s height. I do believe that the font is to thin but I could alter this by making it bold. Compared to other fonts I have selected though this doesn’t work anywhere near as well as the others.

The third font is an ok choice. It has a nice blend of both height and width overall and it does look good on the background. It also looks quite similar in some aspects in my opinion but there is something off about it. I believe that the font isn’t tall enough as the font used in Siege is very stretched upwards which may be the reason.

the fourth font is named copper black and has no real semblance to the Siege font and isn’t something I would consider using. It is much to gentle in the way it looks and is very rounded and well designed. It looks far to much like a cartoon in my opinion and doesn’t fit the them of my project.

The fifth font is fairly basic but it could potentially work. It looks quite military in my opinion and very formal in general. It’s very bold and equal in all of it’s lettering as well as spacing. It is definitely one I would consider for my project and I could see this working.

The sixth font is perfect for my project and for me is probably the one I will use. It is named DIN condensed and really replicates the look of the Siege font. The height and width is perfect, the spacing between each letter is small and it is fairly cramped in general like the gameplay of Siege is. It also stands out well on the black background. It’s also a very formal font and is very well organised which links to the themes of military and command. This font is really well created and will work brilliantly for my project.

The final font that I chose is named HeadlineA and is a fairly competent font for the project. It is very thick, wide and stands out easily on any background. I really appreciate the font but it is a little to thick for my liking and I feel the bold look doesn’t work to well. This selection of fonts is great and I feel that in the right scenario all of these could work however DIN Condensed is definitely my favorite of them all.

 

 

 

 

 

After some time of experimenting with Affinity I created a design for Goliath’s icon and how it might look. For this design I went for a much more linear design overall for this icon, using a standard SWAT helmet for the icons design. This design is seen below.

I still decided to use the same blue border for this icon and have always believed it to be a great approach for the project. However in my final designs I have used a lighter colour of blue to represent the look of ice much better. I think that this choice really helped my final designs as the icon is much more eye catching due to the brighter colours.

I also don’t like the flat colour I used on this icon. It is bland to look at and doesn’t feel like a Rainbow Six Siege icon overall. It is much to simplistic in it’s design and there isn’t to much going on. There are also only two/three colours on this design rather than my final ones which are much more colourful and expressive. This just doesn’t feel like a great piece of work and I’m glad I decided not to use it for the most part. The only part I somewhat like are the bullet cracks in the top of the helmet but even these aren’t detailed enough and they just seem off. This may be due to the colours used as well as how blocky they appear.

I also attempted to create a shadow effect using the pen tool. I simply used the pen tool to create an outline of the helmet, made it black and then used the opacity tool to tone down the brightness which then means a shadow effect is formed.

I also don’t like the chipped effect in the helmet. Again it doesn’t look real at all and to me isn’t to a good enough standard for my liking. My newer design is much more aesthetically pleasing and the semiotics of the design makes much more sense to me. It conveys the theme of Norway, ice, snow and Vikings much better and I am a very big fan.

After creating the final design for my Thor icon I had to work on my Goliath icon. I wanted this one to represent the themes of power and aggression as well as the themes of Norway and Vikings. I thought that the best way to accomplish this would be to have Goliath represented by a Viking helmet as seen on my sketches which I will be uploading soon. I think this works really well to convey my themes and ideas which I wanted to get across to my audience as Vikings are viewed as strong, heavy, powerful and barbaric in nature which does link to Goliath and his behaviour. To start this icon out I used the same border as I did for the Thor icon as this worked really well I thought to represent the colour palette of Norway (Ice and water.)

The next thing I wanted to do was create a realistic and interesting looking Viking helmet. Although not accurate to history I wanted my helmet to have horns to really convey Vikings and their stereotypes as a whole to make it clear to my audience what I am creating. I found a great stock image of a viking helmet drawing which I traced using the pen tool to form my original helmet design. I chose not to trace the beard of the viking as this would take up to much space and I felt it was fairly irrelevant.

I decided to trace the simple elements of the helmet and not all of the details which are seen on the helmet as this was to time consuming and not really worth it as i could add all my own effects in Affinity Designer which was a better approach for me personally as it meant I could make it my own. There is a good likeness to the original helmet however I decided not to trace the skeleton as I only wanted the helmet. I didn’t want to overcomplicate things.

Next thing I wanted to do was colour the helmet and to do this I used the colour picker tool on an image of a real Viking helmet so I could maybe match it to a real life one. This colour worked well for my project as it was fairly dark in it’s tone. I didn’t want it to be light as I would be using golds and yellows later on and I wanted to contrast these with a darker colour which ended up looking great.

The next thing I focussed on was the eyes of the viking helmet. I wanted to make them appear as if they were glowing so I decided to use the same technique I did for the Thor icon by layering up colours in terms of brightness. It gave off a really great effect and added a lot of character to the eyes as without the layers it looked fairly bland. i’m really happy with how these turned out.

I then added a little effect to the space above the eyes using gold to contras the blues and yellows together. I wanted to add a royal effect to Goliath’s icon to show how important he is and what he is capable of. I used the same technique as with the eyes to create this look.

I then added another effect to the horn holders which I also wanted to be gold as the horns would be white and again I wanted this to contrast these two colours together as well as link to any royal themes. I also experimented with the gradient tool here to create a darker colour towards the top of the helmet and lighter towards the bottom to represent fading colour. This is important as it breaks up the blocky colours that the helmet would be without effects.

I also used the gradient effect for the horns to create a more professional look overall. I used a very plain white colour as for most icons in Siege the colours are fairly basic.

The final step towards the completion of the icon was the background. I wanted to create a vibrant and interesting background for the icon and felt that it would be very suitable for Goliath as he is a very strong and tough character who can withstand the mightiest of explosions and this for me was a great reason to make a bright explosion effect. To create the explosion effect I constructed a cloud shape using the cloud tool and replicated this 2-3 times. I then created a small selection of triangles and placed them at random points around the cloud, finally colouring the shape with reds and oranges. This explosion was then placed in the background of my shape (first being grouped together.) I love the colour palette of the icon and there is such a large variety of colours, some dark, some light and they all work together to create a great icon. I will be creating a primary research survey about both of my icons and will ask the community what they think of my designs.