I am responsible for all aspects.

 

This set explores the vibrant personality that characterizes different Hutongs in Beijing. An intricate network of alleys, shops, and courtyard residences, each unique Hutong showcases the complex impressions of daily life from the large number of people who pass through the community's walls. 

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To create this set, I was first inspired by the work of the incredible visual development artist, Yuan Tian. Her original concept is shown below or may be viewed here. After seeing her piece, I was immediately enchanted by the rich colors and unique style of such a charismatic location, and this led me to research the real geographic setting that inspired her work. I learned that Hutongs have a maze-like, playful layout, and I strove to inform my own artistic decisions from the similarly playful spirit of Yuan's energetic style.

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Mentored by Look Development/Surfacing artist Jeff Nichols from DreamWorks Animation, creating this set pushed my ability to accurately portray a 2D concept in a believable 3D space. I particularly enjoyed interpreting Yuan's experimental brushstrokes as physically-based materials. One key change I made from the concept art was the set dressing around the central gray building. Since the doorway is directly opposite the camera, I chose to place more items around the entrance in order to create additional break-up for the building's vertical lines. This solution also presented an opportunity to create assets directly from my research of the Hutong neighborhoods, including the red lanterns and hand-made bamboo broom seen leaning against the blue pottery shelf. By implementing extra assets like these, I aimed to preserve the original feeling of Yuan Tian's concept and add my personal touch to a set that I grew very fond of.

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I updated this scene in spring of 2022 to include the tree and additional ground details. This render came from a light rig which I used to accurately examine and standardize the quality of each texture map and shader.