BA3 Research into Architecture 4

Going through some of the images I've gathered I have begun by breaking down the busy components into simple geometric shapes and identifying where edge loops and necessary faces would need to be.

This has been achieved by doing simple overlays of line-work over the images to help simplify the structures I would potentially be re-creating.

This initial diagram helped me understand that smooth surfaces and detailed areas do not need as much detail, geometrically, as you'd expect. Keeping in mind my knowledge of the necessity of efficient meshes in games and the need for smaller assets to have low poly geometry meant that in this image I tried to keep things simple.

Some arches and interesting wall designs. These were a little more detailed than the last and focused more on maintaining the curves and ledges yet keeping them simple and efficient. A lot of the architecture is repeated so I work over the areas that would have required a little thought and the rest was simply repeats and basic structures.

Finally a window study help gain insight into the necessity for geometry to define the silhouette but not the interior detail.

The panel on the right shows how I would go about creating the interior arch and slopes yet the panel on the side shows how the same could be achieved using a flat face but either creating a convincing texture or baking down a higher poly version onto the face to give the illusion of more intricate detail despite the flat design.

Thoughts:

The next stage will be putting these images to good use and attempting to recreated one of these pieces of architecture as a simple study in Maya. I'm likely to choose the last of the 3 as I felt I put the most thought into where and why I was placing the edges.

The piece won't be textured but should allow me to get more acquainted with Maya's tools as well as act as a helpful study for help further down the project.