This project was my CMP (Creative media Project), where my brief was to design and 3D model a futuristic cityscape of Metropia 2042. To begin this project I researched into sustainable cities in modern day which use mostly renewable energy, I then thought of ways I could add these elements into my own design. For example 'Songdo' in South Korea which was one of the first smart cities to use green energy to not only reduce pollution but improve peoples mental and physical health by the vast green spaces. I then looked for artists to help inspire the aesthetic style of my render, I came across 'Annibale Siconolfi' on art station which was a big pivotal moment for the visual inspiration. He makes very realistic designs but also adds in those sci-fi elements to make them more unique and futuristic, I also wanted something which looked like my interpretation of the future. 

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I did a lot of research into sustainable energy as this was the thing which would power the city, being by the coast line allows for wind turbines to generate more energy efficiently. I also wanted there to be a lot of natural sun light in the scene as there would also be solar panels which generate electricity for the city, I also removed any roads to make more space to house the population. This means that the transport is in the air, so flying cars navigate the city flying high above the ground, I also took inspiration from the movie 'Bladerunner' which has a lot of flying vehicles. 

 

To begin the development process I sketched the city out in rough and then took that into Photoshop to use the Wacom tablet and define the lines for reference. Once this was done I started to model out the buildings and create the composition I had in mind, I wanted to have the biggest building at the heart of the city and then have the rest work around that much like a 'City Hub'. The modelling of the buildings was the longest part of the process as I had to develop my skills to be able to model better in Blender. I used the bevel, extrude and Boolean tools to achieve my desired look, I wanted to have organic shapes / geometry as modern buildings are often more fluid and even inspired by nature. This compared to the bleak and square buildings below would show the development of the world. I then made all the materials procedurally to be added to the buildings, I added neon lights to emphasis the futuristic technology, clean white metals for the foundations and finally glass to reflect the light within the scene.  

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For the lighting I added a sun light in a warm colour and blocked out shapes within the scene to block the light and create more interesting shadows over the city. I also added smaller point lights to add areas of interest and warmth within the city. Once I had the visuals completed it was time to start adding in the animation, the simple thing to do was camera zooming into the environment. But I wanted something much more exciting, so I decided to have a flying car swoop past the camera at speed and travel down into the city, to do this I created and manipulated a Bezier curve and parented this to the vehicle. I then key framed the offset of the car and added some variation in the rotation and position. I wanted to finish it off by adding small details like the docks along the coast line, and some wind turbines which I rotated for extra dynamics. 

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The last part of the development was the post production phase where I brought the mp4 file into After Effects to add some chromatic aberration, colour grading and even some blur. All of these effects where planned out to add depth to the scene and also make more of a unique style which has a very futuristic colour palette and environment. 

 

Below are some screenshots to show the progression of the scene.