Here is the final 3D Piece for the Crime City:
Tag Archives: Bridges
Narrative Bridges: Final Idea
Here is the final version of the Bridges Narrative. 
Based on one of my original developed idea except with colour, I chose this narrative due to the fact that It presents it’s self really effectively to the audience. Now that colour has been added as well the images materials are well presented in a sense of the bricks for the walls and the bolts for the bridges. The perspective is excellent as well preventing the image from looking miss proportioned in certain areas and makes the image look realistic.
Narrative Bridges: Bridge Development
This section of the Bridges project is focused on the development of the bridge designs from the original design ideas. This section will focus more on combine the bridges with effective narrative ideas that make the best of the bridges and their designs.
This development idea is based on my original Truss Bridge idea, that involved a broken Truss Bridge, but this time instead of having a high crime based narrative. I have changed the narrative to that of a zombie apocalypse, this can be identified by the characters placed in the images with their arms stick out in front of them on the broken bridges and the also by the ruined buildings as well as the men on one side of the bridge with the machine gun. The image is drawn in a good point of perspective that allows the narrative and bridge to been seen clearly.
This developed idea is based on a arch bridge but more like a aqueduct arch bridge. This point of perspective is clear allow the narrative to be seen clearly as well as non of the bridge or other elements seem miss proportioned except the horse and prisoner cart, that needs to be worked on a bit more. The narrative of the story is clear to a certain extent and what I mean by that is that you can tell it has something to do with prisoners and mythical creatures such as dragons but the rest is unclear. The materials of the area are some what displayed correctly e.g. the cliff faces of the canyon but not the actual bridge.
This developed idea is based on the wood elf narrative suspension bridge from my design ideas, for this idea not much as changed except for the fact that I have tries to make the bridge more tree like by adding branches to the support beams and that you can see more of the eleven village now. The perspective was a little of in this idea due to the fact that I tried not to get confused with the newly added branches locations and the vines that acted as the support cables. The materials used for this image have some what been indicated by the roots of the trees in the river and the narrative can be seen somewhat but lacks indication of any elves except the wizard on the bridge.
This bridge is another Truss bridge that is based on another post apocalyptic world except no zombies, just the remaining humans fighting over the last of the resources. The narrative of this developed idea is well presented due to the fact that there is a destroyed train that has lots of supplies spread out across the valley floor and that their are human survivors that are armed raiding the trains supplies. The perspective again is a bit off but isn’t that notice able if you aren’t looking that closely but you can see some of the materials used in this environment quite clearly e.g. the train tracks.
This developed idea is based on the original truss bridge idea, so it is a run down town/city due to a high crime rate. This narrative is quite easy to spot due to the fact of the ruined truss bridge and all the gratify across the area as well as certain characters performing criminal acts. The perspective of this image is well done and looks decent with the image and the materials used for this environment can be seen clearly e.g. the rubble and wooden board for the abandoned and destroyed buildings. Need more indication on some of the buildings for materials though e.g the valley walls.
This developed idea is based on the wood elf village again and instead of a suspension bridge, I have changed it to a arch bridge and the buildings are a lot more easier to see. The narrative of the image is a lot clearer now to understand due to the fact that not only are there eleven characters spread across the image but also due to the fact that the eleven style buildings are clearer to see. The perspective is clear and non of the buildings look ridiculously proportioned because of this. The only down fall is the indication of the leaves within the image and the actual trees (I need to work on drawing trees). The materials are well presented as well, with the exception of the leaves.
This bridge is based on the combination bridge design idea. The narrative within this image is very clear, it presents it’s self as a futuristic trade and supply route that uses hover vehicles as a means of transportation, but the actual routes are quite old now. The perspective of the actual image is a little of in the security building but the actual bridge and the roads came out excellently and is seen more then the off building. The down fall with this image is that the material indication is quite low.
This Developed Idea is based on a Aqueduct Arch Bridge, but the setting of the actual narrative is a medieval period. The narrative is easy to indicate due to the various horse and carts as well as the castle walls on the edge of the image. Again there is no material indication except for the top of the castle walls (need to look into giving more indication of materials when drawing). The perspective of the image though is excellent and none of the image appears to be miss proportioned or disrupted.
This developed idea is based on a bar bridge and the narrative is so easy to see. The material indication for the actual image is better then some of it’s predecessors because the actual falling rubble helps indicate what the bridge is made out of. The perspective is excellent because you get a excellent view of the narrative allowing it to be understood better and no signs of miss proportioning of the actual image any where in site.
The final developed idea which is based on a cantilever bridge and a suspension bridge hybrid that allows the passing of heavy vehicles easily and effectively. The perspective of the image is perfect allowing the target audience to see the narrative perfectly and not have distorted image. Again lack of material presentation apart from the actual support cables and the narrative is well presented by the image due to the actual bridge and the modern vehicles located within it.
Narrative Development: Bridge Design Ideas
This section of my Bridges work is focused on the actual bridges and their designs and some of the ideas integrate different narratives to help make them fit into what I thinking.
The idea I went with was a standard Arch Bridge due to the fact that It is one of the most stereotypical type of bridge used within narratives e.g. Fairy tales and adventures. I found that this idea to be bland due to the fact that it is a basic choice and that due to the this that the stories would ring a similarity to others heard before once i applied more narrative to it, making the story of the image predictable to others. This bridge is somewhat in complete due to the fact that it was more of a practice run for getting used to how to draw certain types of bridges and because of this it is incomplete and it is disproportional due to a mishap with the perspective.
Again I attempt another arch bridge but this time the drawing came out a lot better and looked more realistic, like it could be found within a small village within the countryside that was quite old but had a lot of mystery to it. The image came out decently due to the fact that I managed to get the perspective of the bridge right when I was drawing it so no part of the bridge looks incorrect. The only downfall with this image is that it is some what incomplete due to the fact that when I drew it I was focusing on the bridge style more then what it is made out of, so next time try to make it look like it is made out of stone or wood.
This design idea is based on the Truss Bridge, a Bridge that uses a wide range of support beams in certain or multiple angle to support it’s self. I based this image on a narrative with a town/city that has been destroyed by crime, this explains the ruined bridge but the still running armored train. This design idea came out quite successful and the narrative is understandable just by looking at it. The perspective is also well proportioned so the image doesn’t look ridiculous and the material used for the bridge are understandable.
This next Design idea is based on a Suspension bridge, this suspension bridge though only uses, the cable near the two points that it is connected to and is more of a public walk way bridge then a heavy traffic bridge. This Bridges proportioning was some what correct it works to a certain extent but when it comes to certain parts of the bridges such as the support cables come out miss proportioned and aren’t draw that well to show that they are the actual supports of the bridge.
This bridge is based on a combination of bridges both from the fictional and real world (Bar Bridge, Halo Energy Bridge and Transformers Cybertron series bridge). The image tells the narrative quite effectively without the assistance of characters or objects within the image, although they are required. The Narrative declares this bridge is either from the future or from another world. The perspective is well done allowing the image to come out looking appealing without anything been miss proportioned.
This design idea is based solely on a Bar Bridge. This image contains no narrative due to the fact that was trying to understand and learn on how to draw a bar bridge effectively and for a first attempt it came out quite well. This style on how I drew this bridge was also a first because I attempted to make the bridge heavily damaged and was literally falling apart and from the looks of the image it has come out quite well and is at a excellent point of perspective, making it look realistic as well. The image is not fully completed in a sense but was good learning experience to allow me to understand the mechanics of this style of bridge.
I attempt The suspension styled bridge again but this time i placed a narrative within it mainly attempting to get a elven type narrative feel to it due to the fact that elves are known to live in forests. The entire suspension bridge is made out of large trees and is support by not only the trunks of the trees but also the the vines that come of the trees which in design are suppose to act like the actual cables of a suspension bridge. The bridge is well proportioned with the point of perspective and doesn’t look too bad and the material help indicate the narrative I was aiming for.
My final design Idea and this time I was as focusing on the material used and how that can help imply the narrative so I tried to make the narrative for the bridge of one based in world involving magic by using the wood/trees to indicate that this no bridge could be formed by normal means unless by magic. surprisingly the bridge present this narrative with the help of the material design quite effectively. The bridge style id that of a Cantilever bridge except it has only two supports on the sides which are the sides them selves. The perspective point of the image is also well presented so the image of the bridge doesn’t appear miss proportioned.
Narrative Development: Bridges Artist Research
Here is a list of the artists and reasons why I think they would be good examples and inspirations for this project.
Aaron Limonick: is a Concept design artist who has worked fro several major companies over the last several years such as Marvel Comics and High Moon Studios to help with several of their projects that they had in developments such as early concepts of both Characters and Environments as well as finished versions for Several Comics and Video Games. Limonick Specializes in Environmental art more then any other form of art but he can still draw and create unique concept art pieces that focus on character design and other factors that are involved within concept art.
Click Here to See More of His Work:
What I find Interesting about his work is that he can create several different environments effectively each with their own or joint narrative and not have any problems with creating the concept art to fit with the narrative either he or someone else has created. Now some of his bridge Designs both sketches of actual bridges and his concept art ones are quite interesting, due to the fact that he will mainly focus on either industrialized or abandoned bridges for his concept art as shown in link above. For example a majority of his bridges that focus on industrialization are either really futuristic or have a dark and evil feeling to them even if there aren’t any characters in them, which in sense doesn’t help tell the narrative of the concept art but at the same time it doesn’t need to due to the fact that just on there own his concept pieces without the need of characters tells the narrative. One of his most interesting pieces is this:
I find this to be quite interesting due to the fact that I think it captures the true nature of one of the possible futures that earth could have in a futuristic animation based on industrialization. In fact I used this very image to inspire one of my Bridge Ideas that is based on Humanity fighting each other over the last of the planets resources that are been transferred via succor speed ways (Special fast traveling trains).
Brian Yam: is another concept Artists who has worked on more then several video game projects often designing the environmental concept art for them, one of the current projects that he has worked on was . He is an interesting concept artist due to the fact that he has worked on several video game projects environments such as Resistance 2 and he has worked for several famous video game companies such as Naughty Dog and Insomniac Industries.
Click Here to See More of His Work:
What he has drawn has caught my interest due to the fact that when it comes to a project that he is new too, he will come up with some very interesting and creative Concept Design Idea that catch my attention as well as others, his bridge design idea are very interesting as well and are quite inspiring in the way he goes about it, in designing the actual environments for the projects he is working on. For example some of bridge concept art isn’t actually based like a actual bridge design in fact a majority of theses concept piece are focused more on been able to allow the users to either keep traveling in the unique way only this project will allow or helps allow the character interact with several objects at will without been obstructed by other items in the environment.
Some of Brain Yams work implies that ha may have been inspired by some of Giovanni Battista Piranesi very last works that where sketches of Italian Prisons that he visited due to the fact that his works often involved sketches of ancient architecture in Italy.
Brian Yam’s R2 Concept Art
Giovanni Battaista Piranesi’s Prison Sketch
Narrative Development: The Bridge Research
There is a wide range of bridge styles both in this reality and in a fictional reality, the first part of the blog will focus on bridges from actual life while the second part of this blog will focus on Bridges from fictional works such as Halo and Harry Potter.
Types of Bridges:
Arch Bridge: An Arch Bridge uses a arch as it’s means of structural support, the arch can be found it too place often below the bridge or a above the bridge but this depends on what the architect wants the bridge to be able to support in means of weight. If you click the title of this section of bridges you will see some example of this style of bridge. A perfect example of an arch bridge is the Iron Bridge, which is made out of cast iron and the construction stated in November 1777 and ended in January 1781. The bridge originally took tolls when people or vehicles desired to cross the bridge but this ended in 1950 when the ownership of the bridge was changed.
Click here for some images of the Bridge
This Bridge design might be what I am looking for in my Bridge design because it can support a decent amount of weight and can blend in the environment that it is placed in quite effectively e.g. some Arch Bridges are made from a selection of stone so they blend in with the country side environment. The Arch Bridge style is also very appealing to the eye because they are often quite small in size unlike other bridge types and this type of style is perfect for various forms of narrative to occur.
Beam Bridge: A Beam Bridge is one of the most basic forms of bridges due to the fact that it uses several simple supports as it means of been support but these beams won’t have to be vertically aligned they can be in several different positions such as the supports can be placed incline or in a v formation (theses positions work just as effectively). A perfect example of this is the Albert Bridge that is located above the River Thames in London, the Bridge was built in 1873 by Rowland Mason Ordish and over the years it has been constantly upgraded by various owners. The bridge was also dubbed the trembling lady due to the fact that it vibrate that much due to a wide range of people walking across it. The Albert bridge also classes as a suspension bridge.
Click here for images of the Albert Bridge
This bridge design is a excellent for allowing important vehicles to cross uncross able terrain but at the same time it doesn’t look that appealing to the eye due to the fact that it stand out really easily, compared to some other bridge types but at the same time I could use this type of bridge quite effectively with futuristic type setting narrative if altered correctly, something I should consider.
Truss Bridge: A Truss Bridge is one of the most basic were they use posts called the king and queen posts as a means of holding up the bridge, the king posts been placed diagonal while been supported by two vertical beams/posts that run across the bridge called the Queen Beams. A perfect example of this is the Truss Bridges that can be found within Hull.
I may look into using this bridge type for my Bridge narrative due to the fact that it has a interesting design that might have some use in both a futuristic/intergalactic or a Medieval/Magic setting but it depends on what sort of narrative I looking for to be presented on this design.
Cantilever Bridges: Cantilever Bridges have a very similar appearance to Arch Bridges, because they supports are designed to have a very similar shape as that of Arch Bridges and like an Arch bridge theses arch shaped like supported bridges can be found both below the bridge and above. A perfect example of this type of bridges is the Forth Bridge, which is located above the Firth of Forth in Scotland. The Bridges construction started in 1882 and wasn’t completed until 1890. The bridge was considered the longest single Cantilver Bridge span until the Quebec bridge was complete in 1917. This bridge only supports trains.
This Bridge type doesn’t really catch my attention unfortunately due to the fact that I think it is too much of an eye sore and that it doesn’t seems to shine in the way I want it too when I look into it. Although it does support a large amount of transportation and people when been used theses types of bridges often are only used by Trains. There is one setting this bridge might belong in Narrative wise, I thinking a post-apocalyptic world were their are only a few human survivors left and it also involves zombies.
Tied Arch Bridges: Tied Arch Bridges are considered part of the Arch Bridge Family but unlike there counter parts they transfer the weight of the transport and people walking across it to the the wired cord in the middle of the bridge which is connected to the supports as well. They are also called Bowstring Arches.
Another Idea I can’t really see been used in any type of Narrative, Except maybe a Futuristic one where technology has flourished. Doesn’t look that appealing to me, but to a few others I asked it looks somewhat appealing to some current bridge designs and types you see these days.
Suspension Bridges: Theses Bridges are designed to be support by various ropes/cable in various locations across the bridge and are connected to the vertical suspenders of the bridge allowing them to supports tonnes of weight such as large amount of vehicle traffic. A Perfect Example of this type of Bridge is the Humber Bridge located above the River Hull Humberside. The bridge was originally built to reduce travel time for people trying to get to work on the other side of the river, as well as speed up the traffic flow because there used to be a water taxi to get across the River Humber. The Bridge was opened on the 24th June 1981 and later on the water taxi’s that where used to cross the river, where eventually decommissioned.
This design is one I might consider for my Bridge Project because it one of the most preferred Bridge designs for handling large amounts of Vehicle traffic and travelers because they can support the wide range of all the different weights that cross it without been strained. Another reason why I might consider using this type of bridge for my Bridge project is that the design of the actual bridge may be a slight eye sore but at the same time it scream safety because of the large amounts of supports the actual roads on the bridge actually have and at the same time it looks some what appealing.
Cable-Stayed Bridge: This type of Bridge is very similar to it’s relative the Suspension bridge because it used cables or ropes to help support it’s self but unlike it’s cousin this type of Bridge uses Double Decked Rope/Cable to support it’s self, that is connected to the columns in two ways, this is called harp style. A perfect example of this type of bridge is the Russky Bridge, which is located in Vladivostok and the Russky Island Russia above the Eastern Bosphorus Strait (A River). The Bridge was completed in July 2012 and is 1,104 meters long.
This idea i could use with some of the narrative ideas I am considering, mainly a futuristic based one where this type of bridge could be used on a artificially made planet to get people from point a to b. This idea not only seems like it would work with this style of bridge but it also looks appealing to the eye due to the fact that the monument looks unique in it’s appearance.
There are another three types that bridges are also divided into Fixed, Movable and Temporary.
Fixed: A Fixed Bridge are often Bridges have no parts are designed to move, this qualifies for a majority of bridges such as Arch Bridges and Suspension Bridges.
Temporary Bridges: Are Bridges that are made out of cheaper materials then regular materials as a temporary resorts to make a short time replacement route for vehicles or people until repairs or a new route/bridge can be made.
Movable: Are Bridges have movable parts due to the fact that they have a electrical current sent through them to move them. A perfect example of this is a Truss Bridge (Some can be electrically charged to move to allow crossing at different locations.
Bridges are also divided into several sections on what it’s primary focus is e.g. people or vehicle.
Car Traffic: A bridge specifically design to allow vehicles such as cars and trucks across it’s self and with stand different variations of Traffic.
Pedestrian: A Bridge Designed to focus specifically to focus on allowing Pedestrians to cross difficult terrain where vehicles can’t reach and are often found in cities to cross roads.
Train Bridges: Designed to allow one or more trains various multiple tracks across terrain tracks on their own wouldn’t be able to be placed on e.g. water.
Pipelines: Bridges designed to allow pipes such as gas, water, air and communication cables across difficult terrain to another location.
Commercial Bridges: Bridges that connect to shops and restaurants.
Here is a couple website that look into the type of bridges.
http://www.historyofbridges.com/facts-about-bridges/types-of-bridges/
Click to access fivebridgetypes.pdf
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/bridge/basics.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/79272/bridge
Bridges in Video Games:
There are several Video game bridges that I have looked at that are quite interesting to look at for design and narrative ideas in the future.
For example:
Halo: Bridges that are made out of a unknown energy that expands and recedes when the user wishes. Quite a Interesting method of creating a bridge by using a energy source that can be called forth on will and is not known for breaking easy but have been known to occasionally break when not used in a while. I can use something like this with one of my ideas.
Transformers Cybertron Video Game Series: Mechanical Bridges that are non-existent except when the user interfaces with the command panel or control pad and when they are the pad activates hidden metal underneath the pad transforms into the bridge, the pads are often located on both sides of the bridges. This is a interesting method of a bridge because unless you know how to activate the bridge you cannot by pass the terrain you want to.
Creative Futures: Narrative Bridges Task 2
The next part of this project this project is to think back to Christopher Alexander’s A Pattern Language, unfortunately this book had no mentions what so ever on Bridges so I can gather no data on Bridges from A Pattern Language, although their is a small section in Chapter 55 on Raised Walk, which states that this section of the book focuses on solely on the risen areas that separate the pedestrians from the vehicles keeping them safe and this can be done by having a raised walkway. As long as this walk way is a decent height passing transportation cannot reach or harm the pedestrians that are walking along side the road. This is somewhat handy for my bridge research and designing because it gives me a good idea on how to keep the pedestrians safe from vehicles but only in certain designs such as ground based vehicles and bridges unlike designs that unfortunately involve anti-gravity and air to a certain degree meaning planes and rockets or broom and dragons etc.
Another section I look at to help me with my Bridges Narrative is Chapter 54 on Road Crossing, which focuses on both regular road crossing such as Zebra Crossing and Raised Road Crossings which is what I looked into the most on this. I did this because it is a basic form of a Bridge to prevent the people from not only waiting to cross the road but to also reduce the risk of the people from getting hurt or killed by drivers that are patient or the people are to inpatient. This Chapter States that “In this case, you can solve the problem, at least partially, by creating islands – certainly ones in the middle, and perhaps extra islands, between adjacent lanes, which means that to have a successful crossing even if it isn’t raised their must be some sort of island to give the people a means of crossing. This is useful to me because I can use this to help with my narrative for Bridges by maybe adding points to help my characters cross or to keep them safe from near by vehicles.
Creative Futures: Narrative Bridges Task 1
The next task set for me to do by my tutor is to design a bridge the main points of focus in this pitch is that it must be a bridge that is a physical structure that allows the passage of people and/or their vehicles across a gulf between two or more points other wise un-navigable. So name of this task is to create a bridge that has two or more points to connect and allows or did allow people and/or their vehicles to cross. The bridge can be of any design, meaning that it can be from any thing you can imagine e.g. Future/Sci-Fi based bridge or a Magical Bridge as long as it shows some means of been connected to another point or points and that their are people and their means of transportation see able on the image as well.
Looking back at Michael Beirut’s Why Designers Can’t Think I have to avoid over complicating or over simplifying my design but it has to be my own original design meaning it can’t have any strong resemblance to someone else’s original work. This also means that it is okay to look at original works for inspiration but like stated previously it has to have it’sown originality. The essay also stated that the best way to design your own idea is to think about what you what out of the product that your are attempting to create and why your are creating it as well as what it’s significance is to the actual project if it is involved in something bigger then it’s self.
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