[15/10/2010] Blockout Phase for Avatar Link Room (Room 1 out of 2)

I've been using this week mostly to get everything that needs to be done blocked out and scaled as best I can to fit UDK. At this stage I'm making sure everything is the right size and shape, saving a lot of time later, that is my aim anyway. This means every crucial asset needs to be blocked out and placed exactly where it needs to go, so by the time I've finished the blockout I know how much to build, to what size and can generate a more precise timeline.

Currently I'm just blocking out the Avatar Link room due to the rather odd shapes and proportions making it a lengthy process. Its been a minor challenge to make everything look the same scale as in the movie but after a few days of studying reference and tests in UDK, it works out ok.

The Avatar Link Units proved a little difficult to get them looking right in UDK (scale), making them not look too tall nor too small considering they need to fit a 6ft human inside. The diameter of the room also had to be increased as the original floor plan made the room feel tiny when converted in to 3D / UDK. The diameter was increased by about 20%.

I've had a few ideas of a perspective shot that would be great as a final shot, which is used in the movie too but also shows off most of the room. Here is a rendered shot from Maya as an example:

Here are a few more screens of the geometry blockout just to give a bit more of an idea for scale and position of everything:

I've also done a 'childs sketch' of a general idea of how the research room will be connected to the Link Room. The blockout for this WILL be done by the end of Sunday as its a lot more simplistic compared to the Link room. Luckily there is a very convenient shot at 9:24 in the movie when you can see a lot of the research room, see the images below:

Blockout should be complete by Sunday evening (according to shedule) so that work can start on creating artwork ready for an alpha version on the 29th October.

Thanks for reading,

Noel Mahoney

References:

James Cameron's 'AVATAR' DVD © 2009 20th Century Fox, Chapter 4