Post your Isometrics

[robmorfin]

It started as the "Isometric of the Week", but it's too much pressure having to finish it in certain time, specially when most of you are very busy already with all the other activities.

So, there is no competition, there is no level of quality, just post your isometric (try not to make perspective views) and hopefully we all learn a little bit more on how to create them and why they are created.

I love EOW, but I really miss creating Isometrics for Environments, it's more technical than Environment Art, I've noticed that Isometrics are mainly created by the "Game Designers" or "Production Designers", but I think it has to be part of the Environment Artist knowledge as well.

The Isometric is not a perspective, it is a 3D view without vanishing points (although I noticed that the Star Wars Complete Worlds book has all the "Isometrics" with vanishing points - great book by the way), if you add vanishing points really far away from the page, you get almost the same results, but you only make your life harder and the modelers as well, the idea of it is to create some kind of 3Dmensional plan which can be measured by having the same scale all around.

The Isometric is the most important piece to create a Game Environment (the whole Environment), one shot sells the idea and the mood, but the Isometric is what makes the game attractive once you are playing it, it's the best way to plan how it's going to work & where you can go, also, it's the best place to plan where props, enemies, traps, structures and everything will be.

Well, too much talking, and I may be wrong, I have no experience with Gaming Design, I am an Architect & all my experience is with real life projects, but I think a lot of what I apply in my designs applies here as well; Please let me know if some of what has being said is BS and I will Edit it.

By the way, if someone has worked on Isometric creation on some Games, Movies or Magazines, please share it here, so people can understand better what I mean, and maybe talk about it a little bit.

thanks.

Rob.

[robmorfin]

Part of a Roman city environment

[grenogs]

its also fundamental for architects.
i think if your going to start up a thread like this you need to cover all the basics. Basicly how to create an isometric from a plan and side view draft, its only then you can produce an isometric view technicly correct, any other way and its basicly guess work. Start from the beginning, create an isometric box with a hole on it, working from a 2d plan and side view.

[robmorfin]

its also fundamental for architects.
i think if your going to start up a thread like this you need to cover all the basics. Basicly how to create an isometric from a plan and side view draft, its only then you can produce an isometric view technicly correct, any other way and its basicly guess work. Start from the beginning, create an isometric box with a hole on it, working from a 2d plan and side view.

Grenogs, I didn't want to cover all the basics because I think it will turn into a kind of class/mentoring thread, I want it to be a place where people can post their own Isometrics, kind of like the "Post your Environments" thread, also, I was not thinking technically completelly correct with rulers and at an angle of 30 degrees lines, just parallel sketchy wiggly lines is fine, like my example.

Now, it doesn't need to be technical only, it can be very artistic like this isometric from Vance Kovac: .
(permission to post given by Vance, thanks.).

Also, you are right about the right rules on how to design an isometric is to crete a floorplan, elevations & roof plan, but I don't think is necessary, you can just create the 3d volumes on the fly and add elements as you go, if you just define a general layout (rough floorplan or map) it helps you locate the objects with the right relation to others, for elevations, if you are just looking at a picture of something you like, you can just create it directly on the Isometric by adding the same elements, just take a reference size to have a believable relation with other objects and try to keep it uniform (ex: a person's height, this is very close to the door heights and the top of the doors is the same as the top of the windows, the railings are about half the height of a person, etc), so by using relationships, you can give it a believable dimension without the trouble of having to measure & use the same angles, it's just a concept.

Here is the definition on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isometric_projection

Here is another great example from Feng Zhu
(permission to post given by Feng, thanks.).

[grenogs]

ok, and the more i think of it, this may actualy be quite a nice thread in the same way the environment thread is. It'll be interesting to see what gets posted here. One question, can we post only environment type images, or is open to everything?

BTW these are great images, especialy the one from vance kovac

[robmorfin]

I was thinking Environments, but if you look at feng Zhu's Miscellaneous Gallery on his Website, some of this Environments have so many mechanical pieces that it becomes a Machine itself, and some of his machines start to take shape of a structure & I like that a lot, so not trying to take shape into the Industrial Design of the Week, I think it would be cool to post also props, vehicles, weapons, etc. in Isometric form, people can later use as reference or inspiration to create their own, so, any Isometrics are fine.

[robmorfin]

Thanks a lot to Vance Kovac for giving me permission to post his image and these other three images I'm posting here, you are the best!!.

This is exactly what I was hoping would be posted here, they are perfect, the third one is about Characters, they are also shown as Isometrics, they are part of the whole Environment as well.

Thanks agian Vance!

[robmorfin]

Some more from Vance Kovac, I had like 30 Vance's Isometrics posted here, they are all awesome, I left only a few, be sure to check the others at his gallery here: http://www.vancekovacs.com
(He has already given me permission to post them).

Thanks again.

[robmorfin]

BTW these are great images, especialy the one from vance kovac

Yes, Vance & Feng's images are great!, I'm sure you like all the other ones he let me post after that, I love them.

[robmorfin]

I want to mention this again:

It doesn't matter the level of skill or quality, post any Isometrics that you want, they don't even need to be finished (they can take a lot of time sometimes), please don't be intimidated with all the nice ones from the PROS, on the contrary, show them you are working on it, let them help you, I will be posting a lot of non-profesional unfinished ones with the goal to get better at it and get feedback.

I haven't posted anything on the "Post your Environments" for that reason (I just realized there is no reson to be intimidated), but I will, right now.

Cheers.

[ArtZealot]

Rob asked me to post one of my isometric sketches. Here goes (it's kinda old, done back in january of 2007)

[robmorfin]

Special thanks to Feng Zhu for giving me permission to post his isometric, here is a link to his website where you can find a lot of great Isometrics: http://www.fengzhudesign.com/misc.html

Thanks a lot man!!

[robmorfin]

Working on this one last few days.

[robmorfin]

some colors

[RocketMonkey]

Hey Rob, this is a great thread - I can't believe it isn't more popular! Just stumbled upon it when I was on another thread and I saw your avatar image and clicked on the link at the bottom of your post.

I am currently faced with the mammoth task of planning, mapping out and creating large amounts of traditional mediaeval Persian architecture (including a couple of fictitious cities) and this is exactly the sort of inspiration and advice I have been looking for. The project I am working on is in its infancy and purely in the sketchy-thumbnail stage, but I plan to post my WIPs as soon as I can.

Hopefully have some sketches here soon!

Peace

[robmorfin]

Hey Rob, this is a great thread - I can't believe it isn't more popular! Just stumbled upon it when I was on another thread and I saw your avatar image and clicked on the link at the bottom of your post.

I am currently faced with the mammoth task of planning, mapping out and creating large amounts of traditional mediaeval Persian architecture (including a couple of fictitious cities) and this is exactly the sort of inspiration and advice I have been looking for. The project I am working on is in its infancy and purely in the sketchy-thumbnail stage, but I plan to post my WIPs as soon as I can.

Hopefully have some sketches here soon!

Peace

Thanks RocketMonky, I have plans of creating some cities or towns soon as well.

Are your persian and fictitious cities part of a game in progress?, can't wait to see them.

[RocketMonkey]

The Persian project is an open-ended one and begins with a series of short stories, a planned graphic novel and then (ultimately) a role-playing game. Concept art is required for the setting, environments, cityscapes, characters, creatures, vehicles and equipment -- basically everything!

Fortunately, there is no specific deadline yet, and it is expected to go on through the development stages for many months to come. Now I just have to finish off a couple of other projects first and then I can throw myself fully into it...