MORE CONCEPT ART

After eeking away at this, I've finally got my new concept piece done... this one is showing a typical scene you can expect to encounter if you're ever unlucky enough to find yourself in the vicinity of ++ THE FEEDERS ++

This area, which should measure about 3kms by 3kms can be thought of as a perimeter around the centre of NOVA ZONAs affliction, and is directly linked to the incident that unfolded to create a New Zone on the once relativity uneventful Border Island (Kordonu Ostrovy).

If you did manage to somehow pass this "perimeter", your life would be almost immediately on a count down as there is yet no known way for living beings to survive for more than 20 minutes in the actual Ground Zero of NOVA ZONA... hence, there is a lot of interest and exploration attempts to pass THE FEEDERS as who is to say what you could find where few have managed to tread and return..?

The vague similarity to a Concentration Camp is intentional- I visited the Dachau Concentration Camp a few years back and was struck in all sorts of ways, but the visual appearance was absolutely horrific to me.

As for the relevance of the actual spheres themselves- lets just say that there are exactly as many of them as there were civilian inhabitants on Border Island... each one represented a once living person, now long dead.

Where you see a full single sphere- that was an adult. 

Where you see clusters atop each other or otherwise joined- that represented a family unit.

Where you see a half sphere- that was an infant.

So from this hopefully you can begin understand the horror of what the Border Island Authorities were actually involved in, and believe me- it's not even close to revealing the enormity of what they were doing over a very long period of time- that part you will have to discover for yourselves.

MORE CONCEPTS

Two more concept art peices here, one for NOVA ZONA and the other was directly inspired by THE LAST OF US.

With the NOVA ZONA image, I roughly modelled out the scene first, dropped a few lights in and rendered it out and used that as a base to start painting over. The main advantages of this method is you can obviously nail your perspective spot on from the off (I adjusted the lens also, to be a bit "fisheye"), and you can tweak the light sources until you're more or less happy and then go from there.

I was trying to create another atmospheric piece, this time of an interior that subtly hints at an Anomaly down that big round tunnel- hence the greenish blue glow. 

During the process I had all sorts of variations of anomaly drawn up, but the more in your face they were, the less convincing they seemed to me- I even had loads of greenish yellow gas pouring out of the entrance but it seemed too over the top for what I have in mind for NOVA ZONA... 

I even sketched in a Stalker, pressed right up against the wall under the light to show him trying to summon the courage to turn the corner but it made it look too "gamey"!

I also decided to do one directly inspired by THE LAST OF US as I've never played it but have seen enough of its development artwork to really want to have a go myself.

From seeing various screenshots, I really liked the way their artists tried to convey a sense of nature reclaiming the earth after mankind has gone and also that the apocalypse doesn't necessarily have to be a grim and desolate wasteland all the time- there could be little pockets of beauty and graceful decay if you were to look hard enough.

Again, I'm trying out different techniques here, having first done a very basic model and light pass and used that as the basis for starting the paint over.

There were a lot of little details in this one that needed fleshing out, so it took a little longer than it should have really.

CONCEPT ART 03

Hi, another concept piece here as I'm finding it close to impossible to grab any meaningful free time to work on the actual objects as I'm also trying to get acceptance on to a Concept Art Class early next year so have to dedicate a bit of spare time to that end.

In a way, it's a nice compromise as I can build up my folio alongside fleshing out more ideas for NOVA ZONAs vast landscapes too...

Anyway, I hope you guys like it. :)

CONCEPT ART PRACTICE

This is an image I completed using a different technique, as I'm currently trying to refine my concept art.

I started with a photo plate and used that to colour pick and to get some values from- this is the end result.

I'm pretty happy with it as it only took about 5 hours and was really good fun- it's a nice way to approach a piece. I tried to rely as little as possible on the underlying photo, drawing over most of it and completely creating a new environment.

This image was inspired by a great tutorial by the amazing Shaddy Safadi..!

It's a great way to create a nice clean sharp piece from a photo, and the method lends itself to being really flexible as everything is on its own layer with a corresponding layer mask.

I chose this photo as it presented quite a challenge because it's in values only and those values are really close together- it took a lot of squinting to see the value separation and I resisted the temptation to "fog out" the background behind the train to make it pop more than it does in the photo.

3 SHOT VARIATIONS

At the risk now of over using some structures, I've taken three shots of the same scene to again show how much the atmosphere can change on NOVA ZONA- I haven't got time to create any new structures right now and won't have for the next few months so this'll be it for awhile unfortunately.

Either way- I hope you like them...

And most important of all, follow this one simple rule at all times when on NOVA ZONA:

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES, TWENTY FOUR LITTLE HOURS...

Two shots with two purposes: 

One to show the difference a single day can bring forth whilst traversing NOVA ZONAs many splendid environs.

Two to answer numerous requests by certain unnamed individuals seeking sun soaked Zones. (Ie: "Why is it always f&*$£!g raining in NOVA ZONA..?!")

++ IN THE LOFTY HEIGHTS ABOVE THE NEW ZONE, THERE ARE SOARING ANGLES THAT BREACH THE CLEAR DAWN ++

++ IN DARKNESS SHEER, TRAPS AND SNARES WITH HEIGHT SHALL INVADERS CLEAR ++

The "++" quotes above and below are taken from a guide that will accompany the release of NOVA ZONA: "SURVIVAL BY MEANS OF DECEPTION THEN EXTRACTION FROM THE NEW ZONE"

++ THIS PLACE EXISTS TO KILL YOU ++

ANOTHER QUICK UPDATE

Hey up, as I'm again pushed for time, here's three screen shots I've taken to show a new building in the engine and also a shot of the Raised Block again- this time with a sister..!

I read elsewhere that it's always seemingly dark and stormy on NOVA ZONA- this is just for the purposes of all these screens- in the final map, the sun will be making an appearance and there will be the full range of weather situations, although it be biased about 65% to stormy/gloomy weather.

GENERAL UPDATE

Wow, it's been awhile but I'm having a really difficult time to find any time to work on NOVA ZONA right now, but I've managed to scrape together some more progress and I'll just dump some images and videos here without much description guys- I'm really pushed for time as always..! :(

If you want to read about development please check out the thread over at BI Forums as it's always kept up to date:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?142308-Large-S-T-A-L-K-E-R-inspired-Island

Anyway, here's the dump lol:

And here's a couple of videos too to showcase the general atmosphere you'll find in NOVA ZONA:

Well there you go- I'm sorry I haven't got more time to describe in depth these latest updates, but as I say, you can always check out the BI Forums link if you want to know more..!

SPHERICAL PRESSURE VESSELS

Ok, I've managed to squeeze in some VERY late nights here, and eventually finished the new structures I've been working on at last. 

These are medium sized Spherical Pressure Vessels, and there's two variations of them- one is the basic one and the other is linked to the "underground" (Don't get your hopes up yet!) by an inlet pipe and has a raised platform accessible by stairs.

I've always loved the strange look of these containers when I see images of them or in real life- they look like they might just start walking towards you or something..! 

I have chosen to make some for NOVA ZONA as they are such a weird and alien sight on the landscape and lend a feeling of other worldliness to the island. From a distance they really help to break up the horizon line with simple spherical geometry that looks very out of place- this is going to be a continuing theme in my development; creating large big bold basic geometrical shapes that will turn the skyline of NOVA ZONA into a very uneasy place to be. 

I've changed them a bit from how they'd look in real life so as to fit better into this environment- things like making the base supports that horrible industrial tiling you used to get and rusting the hell out of them with drab colours.

I mentioned that these are medium sized vessels (Being 12 meters high from ground to top of sphere). I also plan to make really small ones about the height of a man and huge ones 2-3 times larger than these ones here- so you can imagine how freaky they'll look as they loom all around you in some dark Industrial Area of the map. I have in mind to create some areas that have nothing but these structures, so in effect you're surrounded by these strange spheres everywhere you look- it'd make for a unique environment I think! :)

Again, variations on all of these will play a large part in removing repetitiveness- I have some sketches down for how to chop and change these up and increase the alien feeling of them. ;)

Anyway, I hope you guys like them and here's a shot of them in game, just sitting there and waiting for the next unfortunate soul:

Also, as I am currently bogged down with RL work, I can't bite off another large structure right now so made a couple of VERY quick wallpapers of the NOVA ZONA logo with a few captions to capture the islands atmosphere:

The captions refer to the islands Industrial and Experimental background that went so horribly wrong- there is a back story to NOVA ZONA and I've fleshed it out quite a bit more, but you'll have to wait until release to find out for yourselves. Suffice to say it's not pretty and the island itself will tell the story if you can piece it all together...

As a final treat and because it's been so long since the last update I decided to make my first EVER Youtube video (Yahhh!) showing some of the structures I've already got in game and working. There is a lot you'll have to excuse about this video though- firstly I haven't the foggiest idea about best settings when recording (FRAPS) or uploading, so I don't think it's the best quality but maybe someone can PM me with some advice for future ref?

Also, as mentioned in the description this is a VERY BASIC setup that took me 1 minute to create in the Editor. I just picked a random place, then threw in these NOVA ZONA assets and placed OPFOR and BLUFOR on a collision course. If you look closely you'll notice the large Cinder Warehouses are "floating" slightly too- this is a very easy fix. Little things like oil drum/fences/sign posts are ALL still to come... 

Ok guys, I hope you liked this update and I'd love to hear any feedback you might have. 

It's probably going to be a LONG time again before I get the chance to work on this, but I'll try to find time when I can. 

CINDER WAREHOUSE 01

Hi all..!

Damn, it's been awhile but I finally found some time to get back on with my beloved NOVA ZONA project again..!!! 

I've just finished this large warehouse type building, and based it off the many grim looking warehouses that are to be found all over Thailands industrial areas here (Which are fantastic for inspiration by the way..!). 

As always, I'm trying to keep these in line with the STALKER aesthetic, but take them from a completely different approach design wise so they look new and unique- I don't want to simply reproduce the same structures we've all seen before.

It's a good challenge to build in large details like the overlapping sections on the sides and the large overhanging pipe that splits in two over your head when you enter- it looks pretty freaky when you're in game and you run inside in a rainstorm, look up with your torch on and it illuminates this almost organic looking structure. 

In adding these large details, I also try to make the basic layout of these places easily navigable and readable so as not to confuse the player or stop the flow of AI patrolling through them. 

With this one, there's basically the main front entrance (A large open end with a single concrete pillar dividing it) and two smaller holes knocked out of the bricks on the side. To get through the smaller one you have to duck. 

Inside there's a couple of concrete bulkheads that hold up the large pipe overhead to crouch behind, and also four little stairways up to a raised platform for a better vantage of the entrance.

Anyway, here's a couple of basic shots of the structure from the front and behind:

And, as a special treat as it's been so bloody long, here's a shot of the Cinder Warehouse in game providing cover for three poor souls who are about to be lost to the Zone from God knows what... muhhhhahahahaha..!

"The Last Stand"

Finally, I thought I'd show this building in game in day time too so you can get a better idea of what the sun shafts and overall look is like, so here you go guys- I hope it whets your appetites until the next update:

As always chaps, please feel free to ask questions, leave feedback/suggestions etc- it really does help to keep me going seeing people opinions and gives me a right old boost..!

Take it easy guys and gals..! :)