SMU Guildhall Graduate Catalog 2022 — Cohort 30 2022 | Page 12

«

Lauren Dube
Art Creation
Zombie Mech Dinosaur
My thesis artifact involved the recreation of a dinosaur called the allosaurus fragilis , reconstructed using paleontological research and fossil references .
The dinosaur was given mechanical and zombie attributes so that the internal skeleton would be half bone and half machine , and the flesh of the dinosaur includes decay textures that can be vertex painted in various degrees of gore .
Its mechanical robotic parts were derived from the bones of the dinosaur and based on working robotics , animatronics , and prosthetics . This bio-mechanical skeleton was rigged and animated to mimic the natural movement of the dinosaur . The mechanical design was constrained to always fit underneath the skin so that the non-vertex painted skin could form the façade of a normal dinosaur .
Its zombie parts were reflected in the texture work and vertex painting that reveals layers of decomposed tissue and anatomy . I created variant decay textures for both the skin and the muscle based on real disease and gore reference . Those textures were then applied to a vertex painting material in Unreal Engine 4 so that there could be any number of uniquely zombified dinosaurs .
These masteries were chosen not only because they challenged and diversified my skillsets , but also because they reflected some popular enemies in videogames : dinosaurs , robots , and zombies .
12 ART CREATION