Into The Inferno
Project Overview
UI Research
Researched different interaction elements to use in the project. This also helped define the project style.
Visual Asset Process
My project heavily relied on visual assets, so I began with 3D objects. My goal was to test my ideas, and make sure that I could accomplish them in the software, before I started anything else. I went through a lot of iterations for each page and animation.
I originally started with a top down view of the forest, but wasn't getting my desired futuristic feel from it. So I switched to a mini scene which helped a lot, and after switching lighting and some textures, I arrive at my final rendering.
At first, I planned on using the original render, but ditched the idea after realizing it felt too similar to the Map Page. Instead I went for a “cut out” of the larger scene. I wanted this page to feel like you were actually in the fire, with the darkness from the smoke and embers floating through the air.
My first iteration was really blocky, and not cohesive at all with my theme. After messing around with the style of all the elements, I was able to find a design that really strengthened my direction.
Rendering times were very long for this project, so I saved time by rendering static parts once and compositing videos overtop.
Takeaways
This project was fire (pun intended). I always wanted to work with fire simulation, so I had a ton of fun working on this project. One takeaway I learned with this project was how to combine 3D assets with 2D UI elements and animations. I also strengthened my typography skills by working with hierarchy to make the text cohesive with the content. I also pushed myself to produce high quality work, even if it took me a little bit longer to render, because I wanted to have it perfect.
