Setting the Scene

I have started creating my final scene of the training area. Beginning with basic elements I have made the cliffs, an ocean and sky.

Sky and Clouds

I experimented with creating a sky and adding different clouds to the scene.

Rocks

Similarly to the chains, I created these rocks using script. The rocks are a big part of my environment, as the setting itself is located on a rock cliff.

Time of Day

After watching the movie, it was clear to establish the different times of day the different scenes were displaying. 

Morning

Midday

Afternoon

 Evening

Night

For my setting, I plan on having the time of day set around afternoon to evening as that is when most vikings would start to finish training for the evening. It also would display the cliff and formations nicer, and viually enhance the colour scheme I am using.

Camera Exploration

For my camera exploration, I plan on having the camera explore the area from a dragon riders perspective. Similar to an over the shoulder camera shot, but without any visibility of the rider or dragon. 

The camera moves quite quickly and rigidly when following hiccup ride night fury in the movie, and explores heaps of crazy varying angles and heights of flight. I will create my camera to move as if flying around the training area to give an establishing shot of the overall setting, then have the dragon land to explore the training area and facilities further and finish with him flying away into the sky.

How to train your dragon - Romantic flight scene

Terrain

I experimented with different types of terrain that would suit my training area. I feel a rocky ground similar to the one shown in my previous post, or a more steep cliff like structure.

rocky ground

cliffs

Texture

After experimenting in maya and beginning to create elements in my scene, I realized the importance of texture to get an accurate representation of the How to train your Dragon visual animation style. I decided to inspect a lot of the aspects of each scene, and analyse the textures and shades the creators used to get a polished result.

stone texture

cliff texture

inscriptions

wood & metal

ocean & cloud

fire