A super busy couple weeks as I keep pushing forward and honing my skills. So far, I've done 3 weeks of alumni tutoring, and results have been much better than expected. Far more students in attendance and classes go far in overtime, it's been a great experience. As well, the Werewolf shot evolves and somehow gets somewhat closer to completion but so much more work to do on it. I changed the ending since I didn't like him jumping down a cliff so now it's over a crevice. Since the whole thing is a quadraped body mechanics exercise, it's a little more suited, but I can't explain enough how much I've learned from doing this shot. More polish yet to comes, I stress THIS IS NOT FINAL:
As well I started working on a new shot for the Spline Doctors competition, and I have 6 days to whip that off. It's far more achievable so I'm sure I can do it, but still quite challenging. Basically it's a stylized walk, and there were many different themes to approach it with, I chose the 1970s theme and decided to go with a pimp strut. Lot of fun pimping up bishop and managed to get a pass done on the blocking, I'll see what I can do to finish it lickety-split.
More importantly though, I'm on a project!! Yea that's right, I am working for Bazley Films in the UK on a Kool project (The Kools) for the next little while. It involved learning Lightwave and so far so good. It's been and interesting experience, but I don't have too too much to report yet, and doubt I should release any WiPs from that so I won't. Progress! :D
Also super recently I was able to attend GDC Canada with an awesome press pass courtesy of VancouverAnimation and the work I do on the webcomic for that site. I guess I have somewhat of a fanbase but GDC was an amazing experience. I'd like to think I did a lot of good networking, but only time will tell, hehe.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Hello My Nugglets
So started P9oX last week, sticking with it and feeling great, exhausted but great. This is exactly what my sedentary lifestyle needed at the moment, I could literally feel my legs atrophying. If anything, it's entirely possible it's helped my focus a little more too, but maybe that's cuz i'm also eating healthier or seeing some things animationwise I hadnt seen before. Either way, it's progress baby! And that's all I can do at the moment, is really hone my skill.
With that said, I've decided to start working on my creature shot finally; now that I've managed to become solid on an idea. At best this is really a body mechanics test, but nothing beats a nice wolfie run through the forest. Some mild humanoid elements but I think they shall be minor as I learn some of the limitations of the rig. So in the blocking phase and really trying to understand the mechanics of quadrapeds, it's simply a fantastic exercise for that, if not daunting and occasionally mind bending, but I have good hope on my success with this.
Progress continues on the development of my new super live action/CG short film; I forgot how much the conceptual phase could be; and sooo thankful I actually decided to read McKee's "Story" book. I did my second proof of concept test simply to have a better understanding of the technical challenges I'll be needing to overcome, as I've never really done any live plate animation before. I can't thank my wonderful girlfriend enough for allowing me to shoot her and use her as the subject matter for this test. 3D matchmoving, marker removal and animating to a live camera... mostly successful.
And in other slightly related news, I had my first alumni tutor session last week... that's right, as a tutor! Yes, the powers that be deemed that I am mature enough to aid the students once a week via webcam with my own hour of awesome QnA, and all I can say is that it was a blast. It went on for 3 hours and there were 15-20 people that stayed for the whole length of time... who knew. Maybe the current students are just really really bored but I'm glad the alumni sessions are growing in popularity and it's definitely a nice way to give back to the community that helped me out so much. :D
With that said, I've decided to start working on my creature shot finally; now that I've managed to become solid on an idea. At best this is really a body mechanics test, but nothing beats a nice wolfie run through the forest. Some mild humanoid elements but I think they shall be minor as I learn some of the limitations of the rig. So in the blocking phase and really trying to understand the mechanics of quadrapeds, it's simply a fantastic exercise for that, if not daunting and occasionally mind bending, but I have good hope on my success with this.
Progress continues on the development of my new super live action/CG short film; I forgot how much the conceptual phase could be; and sooo thankful I actually decided to read McKee's "Story" book. I did my second proof of concept test simply to have a better understanding of the technical challenges I'll be needing to overcome, as I've never really done any live plate animation before. I can't thank my wonderful girlfriend enough for allowing me to shoot her and use her as the subject matter for this test. 3D matchmoving, marker removal and animating to a live camera... mostly successful.
And in other slightly related news, I had my first alumni tutor session last week... that's right, as a tutor! Yes, the powers that be deemed that I am mature enough to aid the students once a week via webcam with my own hour of awesome QnA, and all I can say is that it was a blast. It went on for 3 hours and there were 15-20 people that stayed for the whole length of time... who knew. Maybe the current students are just really really bored but I'm glad the alumni sessions are growing in popularity and it's definitely a nice way to give back to the community that helped me out so much. :D
Friday, April 16, 2010
The Cherry Blossoms Are Out!
Just a quick update; it's been a month of computer problems, sprained wrists, emergency family trips, apartment relocations and new girlfriend so I guess I got caught up with life. With that said, I did manage to enter my animation in the 11second club for March, though not quite as polished as I would ideally have hoped, but here it is;
Made the 22nd percentile, woowoo! Had I put a little more TLC into it who knows how much better it might have done. I've decided though, not to do the 11 second club this month and instead spend my time testing out new shorter acting pieces I've been wanting to try. First up is a Sammy Davis Jr. piece that's still in blocking.
Also, considerable work and development has begun on a new short film (I know, what about my old short film) but this will be a live action/CG hybrid in conjunction with an actor friend of mine. The nice part also is that I'll get to try a bunch of things I've never really done before like animating to a live plate, etc. Without going into detail, I've had some good fun doing some rudimentary concept sketches, here are but a few.
Made the 22nd percentile, woowoo! Had I put a little more TLC into it who knows how much better it might have done. I've decided though, not to do the 11 second club this month and instead spend my time testing out new shorter acting pieces I've been wanting to try. First up is a Sammy Davis Jr. piece that's still in blocking.
Also, considerable work and development has begun on a new short film (I know, what about my old short film) but this will be a live action/CG hybrid in conjunction with an actor friend of mine. The nice part also is that I'll get to try a bunch of things I've never really done before like animating to a live plate, etc. Without going into detail, I've had some good fun doing some rudimentary concept sketches, here are but a few.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Days Are Longer Again!
What an interesting couple weeks of ups and downs and not as much progress as I would like to have hoped for, but oh well, these things happen. I wiped out on my bicycle in some morning snow and sprained my wrist, not a serious sprain, but enough to hinder my animation progress to be sure. As well as suffering from a few computer related issues which will lead to a backup and reinstall as soon as this blog entry is done. So in terms of animation, I guess my greatest accomplishment was really hashing out, modelling and blocking my shot for the March 11 Second Club competition. I was able to give it a few passes and get a nice block-plus going and will begin splining early next week. If you're curious, feel free to check out the video below:
Other than that, I was able to experiment with the new werewolf creature rig and test it out to see it's limitations and how the controls really work. Basically just a run cycle but it was pretty eye-opening as to how to approach the real shot I want to do. So this is a gallop run done with the werewolf, admittedly it's meant for a lighter dog, but as I mentioned, it taught me an awful lot about the particulars of the rig and quadraped mechanics in general. I've been archiving footage from Twilight, Underworld, National Geographic etc to help narrow down a solid shot I want to do with this and I'm getting ever so close to finding the perfect one, will keep you updated.
This is the close to gallop test, and I stress it was primarily a test.
Game modding work has slowly picked up again, with the transition over to Unreal, I've finally gotten my hands on the rebuilt rigs and have been testing out their limitations as well. Also, due to my apartment being put up for sale by my landlords, I am moving into a quainter place across the bridge at the end of the month. As long as I can get my 11secondclub entry done, then I will be more than satisfied.
Other than that, I was able to experiment with the new werewolf creature rig and test it out to see it's limitations and how the controls really work. Basically just a run cycle but it was pretty eye-opening as to how to approach the real shot I want to do. So this is a gallop run done with the werewolf, admittedly it's meant for a lighter dog, but as I mentioned, it taught me an awful lot about the particulars of the rig and quadraped mechanics in general. I've been archiving footage from Twilight, Underworld, National Geographic etc to help narrow down a solid shot I want to do with this and I'm getting ever so close to finding the perfect one, will keep you updated.
This is the close to gallop test, and I stress it was primarily a test.
Game modding work has slowly picked up again, with the transition over to Unreal, I've finally gotten my hands on the rebuilt rigs and have been testing out their limitations as well. Also, due to my apartment being put up for sale by my landlords, I am moving into a quainter place across the bridge at the end of the month. As long as I can get my 11secondclub entry done, then I will be more than satisfied.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
February Schmebuary
Wow, pure insanity with the Olympics in Vancouver; it's been a very distracting couple of weeks. I haven't really done much Olympic persay except observe from a distance, I didn't feel like standing in really really long lines, but it was still pretty amazingly cool. I also just finished and submitted my 11second club entry, so I'll be interested in seeing how I do on it. I don't expect to win but it's not really about that anyways. I tried to go heavy on body mechanics with this one and learned alot from doing it. Not really sure if the idea makes sense, but hey, my gut told me to go with it. Here is what I submitted, if you vote, please still vote fairly and accordingly, I have the utmost respect for this competition.
I also chose a werewolf rig from Arconyx as part of my prize from Kenny Roy, I'm bouncing through a few different ideas for that at the moment, but that's my next project, as well as getting back to work on my short film. My Hiatus from it was perfect to give me the fresh eyes I need. Age of Chivalry has decided to switch over to Unreal from Source, in the big picture I suppose it's worth it, but it also means the animations I did for them are useless. Ah well, new models have to be rigged so I get some time off from that. It's all about the best end product and this seems to be leading towards that.
I also chose a werewolf rig from Arconyx as part of my prize from Kenny Roy, I'm bouncing through a few different ideas for that at the moment, but that's my next project, as well as getting back to work on my short film. My Hiatus from it was perfect to give me the fresh eyes I need. Age of Chivalry has decided to switch over to Unreal from Source, in the big picture I suppose it's worth it, but it also means the animations I did for them are useless. Ah well, new models have to be rigged so I get some time off from that. It's all about the best end product and this seems to be leading towards that.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Vive l'animation!
The last two weeks, though officially graduated and currently looking for work, has been busy and hectic, so that's fantastic. I could use this, and I've been tempted believe me, as downtime for a job well done, but I refuse to let that happen for two reasons: a) I'm in a productive routine that might be hard to get back into if I get out of it and b) this animation stuff is really fun anyways. There seems to be lots to keep me busy and keep me working on my skills and the more practice I get in, the more refined my skills seem to get; I guess it's a testament to the never ending learning curve in this industry and I have to admit, nothing excites me more.
I spent the majority of last week working on the uber shot for Mass Animation, which constituted of 16 characters, a bus and 7 seconds, most of which was bullet time. The payoff for this was a substantial reward, but more importantly to be a shining portfolio piece. Sad to say, I didn't win, but that's ok, I won for a game cycle in Phase 2 and already a trailer shot in Phase 1, so it will still compliment my resume nicely. It's funny as the reason I did the game cycle was to have a taste of the gratification of having an animation in game that is used by players, and to be quite frank, I didn't think I'd win that one, so the world works in mysterious ways. Since the competition is officially over, I'll post my uber-shot that I grueled over, as I'm fairly pleased with it, and I imagine I must have been close to winning, hopefully I'll finish polishing this regardless.
It's also been a good week for busting out cycles for Age of Chivarly; I managed to get all my sprint cycles done for the crusader character wielding a flamberge as well as an idle cycle. I'm fairly happy with those too, but I will come back and polish those, for the meantime, it's something to test their functionality in game. Next up on the list is attacks and parries (woo woo!) should be interesting as they are torso only animations, but regardless should be alot of fun. I was hoping to start work on those already, but there was a lot of backend stuff I had to learn (even deconstruct and rewrite code) to get these animations to import into the game properly, a fun challenge to be sure.
And more recently, I've spent the past couple days on and off working on my entry for the 11 Second Club this month. The audio clip this time around is so... unique, it provides such an interesting challenge. I thought of a few different ideas, but I kept coming back to one in my head so I went with my gut instinct on it. At a glance it seems rather weird to me, but with refinement and a properly modelled set, I think it will all come together. Regardless, it is a chance for some super fun and polished animation, but here's my first pass blocking thus far. I plan to spend time this weekend going back and pushing the poses and checking my arcs to see they are on track.
I spent the majority of last week working on the uber shot for Mass Animation, which constituted of 16 characters, a bus and 7 seconds, most of which was bullet time. The payoff for this was a substantial reward, but more importantly to be a shining portfolio piece. Sad to say, I didn't win, but that's ok, I won for a game cycle in Phase 2 and already a trailer shot in Phase 1, so it will still compliment my resume nicely. It's funny as the reason I did the game cycle was to have a taste of the gratification of having an animation in game that is used by players, and to be quite frank, I didn't think I'd win that one, so the world works in mysterious ways. Since the competition is officially over, I'll post my uber-shot that I grueled over, as I'm fairly pleased with it, and I imagine I must have been close to winning, hopefully I'll finish polishing this regardless.
It's also been a good week for busting out cycles for Age of Chivarly; I managed to get all my sprint cycles done for the crusader character wielding a flamberge as well as an idle cycle. I'm fairly happy with those too, but I will come back and polish those, for the meantime, it's something to test their functionality in game. Next up on the list is attacks and parries (woo woo!) should be interesting as they are torso only animations, but regardless should be alot of fun. I was hoping to start work on those already, but there was a lot of backend stuff I had to learn (even deconstruct and rewrite code) to get these animations to import into the game properly, a fun challenge to be sure.
And more recently, I've spent the past couple days on and off working on my entry for the 11 Second Club this month. The audio clip this time around is so... unique, it provides such an interesting challenge. I thought of a few different ideas, but I kept coming back to one in my head so I went with my gut instinct on it. At a glance it seems rather weird to me, but with refinement and a properly modelled set, I think it will all come together. Regardless, it is a chance for some super fun and polished animation, but here's my first pass blocking thus far. I plan to spend time this weekend going back and pushing the poses and checking my arcs to see they are on track.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Graduation Blues? Hardly
Well Graduation just happened this last weekend and the only word for it really is... speechless! So many elements of it was fantastic and surreal it's hard to know where to start. The actual ceremony itself was creative and entertaining, done in the style that only Animation Mentor could pull off, but on top of that, meeting most people for the first time that I've only met before through webcam or even text was an amazing experience. Especially being harnessed as such a global community and knowing how far people travelled, just... wow! There was also a career fair the day before in which I was able to introduce myself to numerous recruiters, I consider that to be the most important element rather than simply prospects of finding work, though that plays into it as well. And being able to do all the touristy things that San Francisco offers with friends from literally around the world was just as exciting. 5 days was not long enough.
Although I was nominated for 2 student choice awards, I didn't end up winning either, but I wasn't disappointed, as both people who won them were entirely deserving of those awards. I did however, get to meet up with my last mentor, Kenny Roy who's an awe inspiring individual, but having won his class award, I received a 3D maquette of one of my film characters. All I had to do was send him a pose in a maya file and the rest was his; I plan on painting it, but it was an honor to receive it.
So I guess it's official, I'm now a full fledged alumni, but the work doesn't stop there. After graduation, a group of us got tours of ILM and PDI Dreamworks and both places were just amazing. So many good vibes that I definitely feel rejuvenated on finishing my short film, even sooner than later. So I've begun work on that as well as continued to bust away work for the Age of Chivalry mod I'm part of now. Mostly working on Sprint cycles at the moment, and I'm realizing how challenging cycles can actually be. It is definitely a good test of... well darn near everything and a really good learning experience. Hopefully I'll post something soon.
Also, one of my shots for the new Mass Animation contest was chosen as a finalist and I had a skype call with the director Yair Landau earlier today. Offering me some feedback on how to improve it and getting me set up for working with ReelFX to push it up to finalized production quality. It's a very exciting prospect and I can't wait to start to finish it (sounds ironic I know). I've decided to do one more entry for the DCUO contest, this time a game cycle. If it gets chosen, it would be an interesting sense of achievement seeing some of my animation in game being used by players and NPCs alike.
So all in all, even tho becoming alumni would seem like a bit of a denouement, the animation wheel keeps on turning, and I'm glad I have enough to keep my plate full until the next studio job comes my way. :D
Although I was nominated for 2 student choice awards, I didn't end up winning either, but I wasn't disappointed, as both people who won them were entirely deserving of those awards. I did however, get to meet up with my last mentor, Kenny Roy who's an awe inspiring individual, but having won his class award, I received a 3D maquette of one of my film characters. All I had to do was send him a pose in a maya file and the rest was his; I plan on painting it, but it was an honor to receive it.
So I guess it's official, I'm now a full fledged alumni, but the work doesn't stop there. After graduation, a group of us got tours of ILM and PDI Dreamworks and both places were just amazing. So many good vibes that I definitely feel rejuvenated on finishing my short film, even sooner than later. So I've begun work on that as well as continued to bust away work for the Age of Chivalry mod I'm part of now. Mostly working on Sprint cycles at the moment, and I'm realizing how challenging cycles can actually be. It is definitely a good test of... well darn near everything and a really good learning experience. Hopefully I'll post something soon.
Also, one of my shots for the new Mass Animation contest was chosen as a finalist and I had a skype call with the director Yair Landau earlier today. Offering me some feedback on how to improve it and getting me set up for working with ReelFX to push it up to finalized production quality. It's a very exciting prospect and I can't wait to start to finish it (sounds ironic I know). I've decided to do one more entry for the DCUO contest, this time a game cycle. If it gets chosen, it would be an interesting sense of achievement seeing some of my animation in game being used by players and NPCs alike.
So all in all, even tho becoming alumni would seem like a bit of a denouement, the animation wheel keeps on turning, and I'm glad I have enough to keep my plate full until the next studio job comes my way. :D
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