Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 4.13
Screen grab from OpenSim showing a virtual representation of contrast of form in 3D, with two objects
that exemplify this: (1) a geometrically based object (sphere) and (2) an organically based object (tree trunk).
4.4.5 d
ireCTional
C
onTrasTs
When you see a weather vane spinning on the top of a house or a lag lying straight out from a pole in
a strong wind, you are seeing two simple examples of directional contrast. In each case, there is a stable
element (the house and the lagpole, respectively) as well as the moving or “unstable” element (the weather
vane and the lag, respectively). The visual direction of the stable elements in these compositions is gener-
ally vertical; both the house and the lagpole rise from the ground. The visual direction of the weather vane
and the lag while generally horizontal will also change orientation with the wind and create a directional
contrast. Figure 4.14 provides a simple example of sculptural directional contrast.
4.4.6 s
TruCTural
C
onTrasTs
Structure in nature tends to follow some standard rules. Small on top of large, such as in the branching of a
typical tree, or graduated volumes, such as you might ind in a chambered nautilus shell. In buildings, you
tend to ind some sort of internal structure that connects the loors and rooms in a cohesive pattern, until
there is an earthquake. By utilizing the physics engine in a virtual world, you can create lovely random struc-
tural contrast as stacked objects fall to the ground. Figure 4.15 presents an image of a structural collapse and
the structural contrast it creates. On one side, the elements stand straight and tall, and on the other side, they
are in a complex pile at the base.
4.4.7 s
ize
C
onTrasTs
The creation of size contrast can have profound effects on how a 3D design is understood and accepted. The
contrast in size between the elements contributes to the observer's understanding of the relative importance
