Listening Station 09 Concept
Using Unity, I wanted to concept an old Listening Station emitting a sonar ping off into an abyss. I wanted to create a minimal, brutalist style of architecture that relies more on silhouette than loads of detail. I found it an interesting challenge to realise when I was adding too much detail that wasn't actually doing much for the overall scene vs adding meaningful details that contributed to the story.
I added some extra life through various elements such as particle and wind effects as well as some subtle animation to the characters and various props.
3rd party assets used include some rock models by Alen Vejzovic
Don't forget to turn on sound for some extra mood!
Early Concepts. First image the structure felt too temporary - almost portable. I liked the idea of making a scene around a small shelter but decided I wanted something larger and older.
Sculpted a few technicians in Zbrush. I wanted these to be fairly simple and readable as the camera was quite some distance away. To help, I used an unlit shader on these guys to pop them off the background. Slapped some stock Mixamo animation on too.
Moodboard with key influences. I researched a lot of old soviet structures and found some elements of architecture that I liked and felt compatible.
For the radio/antenna equipment I relied on some personal photography that I took while traveling.
Earlier on I wanted some equipment in the foreground, but I felt it drew too much attention away from the outpost. Here are a few silhouettes I liked, but went unused. They did eventually inspire the larger 'Microwave Sensors' visible in the background.
Quick and dirty textures for some of the warning signage.
