Deep Background

by | Oct 23, 2024 | News | 0 comments

One of the most intimidating parts of tackling Paradigm Shift has always been the urban environments. When I first started to draw the comic, it was easily the thing that I was scared of doing most, which is ironic considering that the highly detailed drawings of Chicago neighborhoods became one of the things I’m most known for. The only reason that was possible was I had to take that fear of drawing those shots head on. I drew some test cityscapes, and started with them on page one, and by the time I’d done a few, they weren’t so scary anymore.

Fast forward 25 years, and the same problem hit when trying to bring Paradigm Shift to animation—these bloody cityscapes! Now, video games have been tackling this problem for decades now—managing the huge amount of assets that will be required to make a believable city street: buildings, cars, people, signs, etc. Modeling every little detail by hand the way I drew every line for the comic is a daunting proposition, and not exactly the best use of my time today.

Thankfully, I don’t have to because there are so many talented artists out there in the 3D world already who have made their work available for a very reasonable price. I’ve spent the last couple of year accumulating assets through DAZ3D’s store with an eye towards making Paradigm Shift: Chinatown—buildings, cars, weapons, sets, and various asian-themed environments. Now I can finally put them to good use! However, I’m not deploying them as-is, but rather I use them like LEGOs, like I did with the sets I got as a kid. I disassemble them and use them for parts. In short—I kit bash. This way, I can save my modeling time to create the very specific buildings and props I need to make Chinatown look like the neighborhood I knew back during my time in Chicago. Buildings like the Pui Tak Center:

Or the iconic Chinatown Gate: