On The Lam

Plate Armor in Maya - WIP

2012-01-31T00:52:00.004-05:00

I just picked up a copy of the "Monster Hunters Illustrations" book from a local bookstore, and the material in it is unbelievable. I have never played the game, so I am unfamiliar with the lore, but I saw a rendering of a Kushana and I thought I'd try modeling it. What an exercise it was. I'm still working on it, but it's close to completion. Here's the progress so far, and more to come very soon...

Subdivision Surfaces in Maya.

Plate Armor in Max

2011-12-16T03:46:00.005-05:00

My attempt at modeling plate armor based out of the "Basic Plate" concept from "The Art of World of Warcraft" using 3ds Max. Here's a rough draft with the main details in place. In case you're wondering, it's a woman under all of that plate. More details coming, and a number of things I'd really like to improve on it. More on the way...

Modeled in 3ds Max using Subdivision Surfaces. (NURMS)

Sword

2011-11-08T02:52:00.010-05:00

*Update*

I added some materials to the sword. Overall I think I'm pretty happy with it now.

I tried modeling in 3DS Max and came up with this sword. I actually used one of the designs from "The Art of World of Warcraft". Supposedly this is a level 4 sword, according to the book. For a first serious attempt with this program, I'm pretty satisfied. Maybe I'll do something more with it, although I am still sticking with Maya in the end.

3DS Max; Subdivision Surfaces; Rendered with Mental Ray.

Mudbox Elf

2011-10-25T01:53:00.007-05:00

*Update*

I rendered this in Renderman (3Delight) and I was very impressed with the quality of this renderer! I posted it below to compare the two.

Rendered with Renderman (3Delight)

I just picked up Mudbox and started learning it for the first time. This is what I came up with after an hour. Everybody has a subject they obsess over when drawing or sculpting. For some it's cars, for others it's horses. For me, it's elves. I'm already loving this program! Let's see if I can make something really nice with it some time soon...

Modeled in Mudbox, rendered in Maya with Mental Ray. Subdivision surfaces.

Long John Silver

2011-10-11T02:09:00.007-05:00

*Update*

Who am I kidding? The clothing looks like $&*#. I'll definitely have to tweak it up some more, as soon as I get all these updates to my comp working properly. :D

*Update*

For those of you interested, I posted a turntable video of the model below. :)

I'll just call it done for now. There's more I should be adding to my portfolio, and of course the more you look at your work, the more you'll want to keep adding to it. So here he is - Long John Silver from "Treasure Planet", done in subdivision surfaces in Maya. Overall I like it. I'll probably tweak it when my mind bounces back to it, but I'll just show these rendered images for now. Enjoy!

Perspective View

Head Gear shot

Hand Gear Shot

Turntable Animation

All modeling done in Maya using Subdivision Surfaces. Original design property of Walt Disney Studios. Used without permission.

Long John Silver - Nearly Done...

2011-10-08T23:40:00.006-05:00

*Update*

Did a test render, so far I'm liking it...

*Update*

Going to see a movie tonight, and I had to help take care of some sick relatives, so didn't get to do much on the modeling today. Blah. Thought I'd post this just to show I'm *almost* done...

Still needs nips and tucks on his clothing, his coat and his left arm really needs some fixing. Almost there, though. I'm getting excited...

Perspective View

Long John Silver - The Hand Part 4

2011-10-04T01:00:00.003-05:00

Done...?

Perspective View

Put what I've got together, and what do you get?

Keep moving forward...

Long John Silver - The Hand Part 3

2011-10-02T14:01:00.003-05:00

Just wrapping it up. A couple more things to add and tweak and I'm done with this hunk of hardware...

Perspective view.

Long John Silver - The Hand Part 2

2011-09-30T03:03:00.002-05:00

*Update*

I realized I was doing the wrong hand, (supposed to be his right hand, not his left) so I reversed it, and now I'm adding the 'shell'.

Perspective view

Slow, (very slow) but steady progress. A few things to fix, a lot more things to make. Progress is progress, I suppose...

Perspective view

Long John Silver - The Hand Part 1

2011-09-28T05:53:00.005-05:00

So I'm starting on the hand now. This will really be fun. So many small parts involved here, but at least for me, I like modeling small parts. More on the way. Much, much more...

Perspective View

Also here's a portrait shot I took of the progress on his body/clothing.

Perspective view

Long John Silver - The Head Part 2

2011-09-24T19:25:00.007-05:00

* Update*

I forgot to add a close-up shot of the headgear, so I added it now.

OK, so I added the headgear and the laser eye. I need to redo the hat, add the wiring that connect the headgear to the neck and fix some of those anomalies on the face. It's progress, I guess. Back to work for me, but here they are for you to enjoy...

Perspective View

Side View

Headgear - Close-up

Front View

Long John Silver - The Head Part 1

2011-09-18T13:54:00.006-05:00

I loved Long John Silver from "Treasure Planet" (as a character). and I love modeling (among other things) in Maya. So I thought I would love modeling Long John Silver in Maya...and I do! It's tough, but it's fun! I have the head structure done. Now I have to add the headgear and his prosthetic eye...more fun ahead. Here's my progress for now. I did these exclusively in Maya in Subdivision Surfaces in my spare time; no Zbrush or Mudbox or anything like that. Although I am aiming to get a tablet soon so I can start using them. But anyways, back to work. enjoy!

Perspective view

Side View

Front View. Original design © The Walt Disney Company. Used without permission.

Shrimp Slicer

2011-09-09T05:28:00.010-05:00

Yes, this is a shrimp slicer, or according to the plan I followed from the "Treasure Planet" art book I was flipping through.

This is just one of the many amazing tools that Long John Silver had in his mechanical right hand. Thought I'd give it a try and this was the result. Perhaps I will expand further on it soon. I can feel the urge to perfect it and model the full character growing strong. I'll have to make the time one day, but for now, enjoy! Modeled in subdivision surfaces in Maya.

Maya model preview.

Original plan from the book.

It really works...for now

2011-08-06T19:04:00.003-05:00

Busy. That's probably the best word to describe me right now. I'll probably get back to finishing the textures on the boat, but I got sidetracked by a fun animation project I did in my spare time. Here is the rough animation I did on some audio I got from the 11 Second Club. Working on tweaking and polishing right now. But I must discipline myself to get this thing rendered...anyway, enjoy!

My Dream Ship - wip

2010-06-29T23:09:00.008-05:00

*Update*

Added a basic color scheme. Painted textures are on the way, but I think this has a pretty good feel so far...

Rendered

Preview

Not sure which of these I like better...

*Update*

Adding ropes and pulleys. So tedious...

*Update*

Just added sails and started on the rigging. Ship building really is hard work...

Sorry about the delay in posting. So I was playing around with a bunch of cubes, cylinders and toruses. (is that a word?) This is the result so far. A lot more to be done still, but so far I'm pretty happy with it. Made with Subdivision Surfaces, for those who want to know. Well, back to work...

Autodesk Maya

The Best Years of My Life...

2010-05-08T05:41:00.003-05:00

...are now over.

Probably the most intense experience I ever had was getting into and making my way through the Bachelor of Applied Arts - Animation program at Sheridan. It wasn't easy, and there were many times I felt I couldn't make it through, but somehow I did...

I'll always consider myself lucky for having the experiences I did, and I'm hoping that I can carry them through the rest of my life as a professional animation artist. I sincerely wish everyone I encountered during my 4 years in the program the best of luck for success, and a long, happy life. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and I'm still alive after finishing the program.

I'll be starting a new blog soon, as my journey through school has come to an end. Now my journey through life begins. To celebrate, I modeled a cannon for a ship. It's going to be part of something bigger I'm working on for myself. But for now, enjoy. :) Please watch for my final post coming up when I create my new blog, as I'll be pointing it out to you once I have it set up.

Autodesk Maya - Subdivision Surfaces

Mr Cuddles - The Render

2010-04-13T18:04:00.001-05:00

SURPRISE!!!

Here's a sample render of what my film should look like in the end. Coming soon. Very soon...

Autodesk Maya

Mr Cuddles - The Modeling - Bust Exercise

2010-01-15T23:05:00.005-05:00

Shameful how much I've neglected my blog...anyway, I just got a new digital camera, and I thought I'd test it out on a bust I created with Super Sculpey a while back to work out character designs for my film. The final result is somewhat different, but I still liked how this turned out overall. New cameras are endless fun too!

Front View

Profile View

Side View

Back View

Mr. Cuddles - The Layout - Draft 2

2009-11-07T15:11:00.005-05:00

*UPDATE*

I added a basic shadow pass, and it seems to be helping a bit...but still much, much more to be done.

Trying a basic colour test to see what pattern I should go with before I finalize textures. This is going to be a long, painful process...but here's the start.

Rendered with Maya Software renderer.

Mr. Cuddles - The Layout - Draft 1

2009-11-06T15:02:00.001-05:00

Slowly, but surely...

Made in Maya

Mr. Cuddles - The Modeling - Props 6

2009-11-04T00:45:00.004-05:00

A trophy for our champ...

... and the football that he earned it with.

Modeled in Maya.

Mr. Cuddles - The Modeling - Props 5

2009-11-01T21:32:00.002-05:00

A power outlet. Cause every room has at least one.

Modeled in Maya

Mr. Cuddles - The Modeling - Props 4

2009-10-31T05:42:00.005-05:00

The star of the show (no pun intended)

...and I just had to show him in colour too. Here is how he will probably look in the final film. You will see a bit of texture on him if you view him large:

Modeled, textured and rendered in Maya

Mr. Cuddles - The Modeling - Props 3

2009-10-30T13:22:00.001-05:00

More props from the shop...

Gym bag - modeled in Maya

Birds

2009-10-29T23:45:00.003-05:00

So I took a day off today and went to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) today to do some bird sketching. It was fun to just draw at my own pace and enjoy it, something I should probably be doing a lot more often. Anyway, here's my sketch page, after much unfortunate smudgery occurred when I got back home.

The bottom right one looks downright evil...anyway, back to work...

Pencil on sketchbook paper

Mr. Cuddles - The Modeling - Props 2

2009-10-28T20:51:00.005-05:00

Another reasonably productive day. Here are the new ones again in no particular order:

Suitcase

Bottle

Ceiling Light Fixture

Bed

All modeled today using Maya.

Mr. Cuddles - The Modeling - Props 1

2009-10-28T00:16:00.011-05:00

Sorry about the long delay in posting, as I have been working mostly on rigging and the leica reel for my film, both of which I'm not quite ready to show online yet. But just to keep my blog alive, I thought I'd show you some of the props I've been modeling for the film for the last couple of days. Here there are in no particular order:

Cardboard box

Bookshelf

Door

Computer Desk

Scissors

Roll of Tape

Fan

All modeled in Maya over the last 2 days. Much more to come soon, hopefully as soon as I would like them to...

Mr. Cuddles - The Beginning

2009-09-23T22:12:00.005-05:00

My time has come - the time for me to prove what I'm made of (and not made of) by producing my final fourth year film - my magnum opus.

The (working) title - Mr. Cuddles.

The idea - What if a tough football guy in his late teens had a secret soft side - he still loves his favorite musical stuffed toy from his childhood ... and his girlfriend discovers it?

In case you're wondering, my film will be done entirely in CG. I'm still 'boarding' out the fine details of my story, but here are some sample images from my pitch package that I used in my presentation.

Mr. Cuddles - Profile Page

Phil Profile - Page 1

Phil Profile - Page 2

Chelsea Profile - Page 1

Chelsea Profile - Page 2

More rigging stuff

2009-08-28T18:41:00.004-05:00

Here are some samples of more of my rigging work that I did over the summer. I feel like a mad scientist now, after doing this...enjoy!

Houdini Master 10.0.381

Rigging a rig

2009-07-11T12:04:00.006-05:00

I've been an intern at Side Effects Software for the past couple of months. They're the geniuses that make a program called Houdini, which is a major player in the 3D animation business. I chose to beef up my rigging and effects skills, and here's an early test animation that I did using a full body muscle rig that I've been developing for a while. This was actually done a month ago, but now I'm allowed to actually show it. Enjoy!

Front View

Back View

Houdini Master 10

50 steps to success in animation school

2009-05-12T23:26:00.004-05:00

What happened to me? So much I don't even remember half of it anymore...I worked on a group film for the whole year, spending inhuman amounts of time, effort and suffering on getting it done and trying to do a good job of it. In the end it worked out pretty well. Our film even took third place out of the ten films that were created by our year, so our group has a lot to be proud of. I did learn a lot this year. Not just about drawing and animation, but also about myself, and who I am and who I am not. More on that in a later post, but for now, I had an idea I meant to post for some time now.

I've been through a lot in this program and it made me think about what I've become after going through it for the last three years. I've survived so far and I'm grateful that I have, but I know that I made some mistakes along the way that prevented me from becoming a stronger artist, and even possibly a stronger person. I'd like to give some advice about how to succeed in this program based on what I've experienced. The only reason I'm giving it is because I've made some of these mistakes personally, and I'm sure that if I had avoided them, I would have found more of the success I was hoping for overall. So here we go - 50 steps to success in animation at Sheridan, though this may apply to other schools too:

1) Get everything you need to get your work done - animation paper, newsprint pads, pencils, gouache, pegbar, animation disc, etc.

2) Get a sketchbook or two or ten. Yes ten, because you'll probably be filling them up faster than you would imagine.

3) Draw. Whether it's homework or just practice, draw.

4) Draw some more.

5) Have fun!

6) Draw some more.

7) Sleep. You'll probably find yourself getting less and less of this as you continue your studies, but if you can budget your time well, you'll find that all-nighters may not be necessary at all.

8) Show up to class. How else are you going to know what to do for your assignments and how to do them?

9) Draw some more.

10) Don't give up.

11) Draw some more.

12) Have fun!

13) Draw some more.

14) Don't give up.

15) Make friends. They're your lifeline, and they'll be helping you with your studies when the teachers are not around.

16) Don't be afraid of criticism. You can't avoid it, and frankly, you learn the most from it. Like I mentioned earlier, it takes making mistakes sometimes to learn.

17) Draw some more.

18) Don't give up.

19) Draw some more.

20) Don't give up.

21) Look back at your progress once in a while. You'll think at first that you're not making any, but in reality you are, as long as you're working at it. There were times I felt like I throwing away all of my drawings, and when I looked back at the ones I did 6 months ago, I felt so much better after looking at the ones I just did.

22) Draw stuff that you like whenever you have the time and feel inspired to. Drawing should also be enjoyable, not just a job, otherwise you'll go nuts drawing stuff all the time that you don't really care for.

23) Draw some more.

24) Draw some more.

25) Don't give up.

26) Draw some more.

27) Don't give up.

28) Don't give up.

29) Watch some cool movies or TV shows, or play some games that inspire you. This is the stuff that you'll be working on once you graduate, so think about what gets you going when it comes to animation.

30) Draw some more.

31) Don't give up.

32) Relax. As much as you love drawing, there will come a time when you just want to put the pencil down for a while and get back to the things you had to put aside because of all that drawing. The mind and the hand both need some time out every now and then.

33) Pick that pencil back up and draw some more.

34) Draw some more.

35) Don't give up.

36) Draw some more.

37) Inspire yourself. This may sound repetitive, but I mean look around the web, or around the studio. You'll always find some great artists around that are enjoying the fruits of their labors and they're the ones that everyone aspires to be. Every artist needs a source of inspiration.

38) Draw some more.

39) Don't give up, please.

40) Check on your progress again. If you're still not happy with your progress, you're probably just being too hard on yourself. If you're completely happy with your work, you're probably being too easy on yourself.

41) Check around and see what studios you'd like to work for when you're done. Be realistic too, since almost everyone starts off at places they wouldn't call their dream job at first...although anything is still possible.

42) Draw some more.

43) Don't forget your friends. They're probably going to be working with you on that upcoming group film or you might have working relationships with them when you graduate, so keep healthy and happy relationships with your friends.

44) Draw some more.

45) Don't give up.

46) Maybe it's time to start thinking about what you want to focus your efforts on. Do you have a thing for animating? storyboarding? layout? character design? If you do, great! Make yourself a force to be reckoned with in the field. If not, relax. Many people graduate not being sure what their forte is.

47) Draw some more.

48) Get those last assignments done, as annoying as they may be. When they're done, you won't believe how wonderful it will feel.

49) Don't give up...you're almost there!

50) Now that you're done, celebrate, look back at your progress and be glad you made it this far.

This is by no means a guarantee of success, but it's the steps that I would have followed that would have most likely made me feel the best about myself, in terms of know that I gave it my absolute all. Meanwhile, how do I feel now about my progress?

Brutallo

2009-03-28T00:08:00.003-05:00

I haven't been able to update my blog in so long, since I've been so busy mostly with the group film I'm working on, also with being sick as I am while I'm writing this. :(

But this post is special.

A good friend of mine recently passed away. I didn't know him for very long, and I've never even seen him before, but all the same, in the short time I knew him, we were good friends. Adam Dellacecca, whom I knew as Brutallo when I played World of Warcraft with him, was someone I always enjoyed being with and talking to, even if it was always through a microphone in front of my computer. He mentioned to me that he liked my artwork, and that he wanted me to make a color caricature of him, but he couldn't send me his photo, so I made this drawing of his character instead, since it is the way I knew him best, anyway.

It's a shame that he won't be able to see this, but I know that this is something that he would have wanted. I sent the original drawing to his family as a sympathy gift, so now all I have is this digital scan. I hope you enjoy seeing it as much as I enjoyed making it, and may Adam rest in peace, knowing he is remembered very fondly.

Pencil crayon and pastel on cardboard.

Cupid

2009-02-09T05:02:00.005-05:00

...please take your aim at me...

Pencil linework, Adobe Photoshop CS3 color work

I, Draenei

2009-01-24T19:39:00.004-05:00

Pastels are fun. So is World of Warcraft (which I can't afford to play, due to time and money while I'm in school). I thought I'd try something out with my pastels sitting on my desk, and I tried draenei-ifying myself. Hopefully one day I'll become good at pastels, but for now, here it is for your amusement. Enjoy!

Nupastel on cardboard.

Animation - Help Me...

2009-01-17T22:55:00.005-05:00

So much to do, so much happening so fast...while I get my demo reel ready and pray for a decent internship this coming summer, here's an animation I did as an extra piece for my reel. The rigged character file was created by Chris Caufield, and I got the sound clip from "Talladega Nights". It's in playblast form at the moment, but I might polish it up with lighting, etc, if I have the time. Meanwhile, enjoy!

Autodesk Maya 2008

Life Drawing - End of Episode V

2008-12-08T00:32:00.007-05:00

Wow...we learned a lot about drawing this semester in life drawing class! I even became addicted to pastels after the course. Here are a few highlights from my class that I thought I'd post. Enjoy!

20 min - Nupastel

5 min - Conte

5 min - Nupastel

20 min - Nupastel

Animation - Someone as smart as you...

2008-11-25T02:10:00.014-05:00

Here's a little something I've been working on for a while now alongside my action analysis project. My Maya teacher, the incredible Mike Watters provided this rigged character for us to animate to a 10 sec audio clip. I chose the clip from the movie "Back to Gaya". Enjoy!

Action Analysis - Blocking

2008-10-30T11:42:00.003-05:00

Assignment: Create a 30 second story and animate 5 seconds of it using any medium you want. I chose to do my assignment in Maya (!) and I finished the modeling, rigging and lighting stages. Below is a "workbook" shot of my scene to indicate where everything is taking place. Much more on the way, so enjoy for now!

Autodesk Maya 2008

Life Drawing - Episode V

2008-10-20T01:33:00.010-05:00

My quest for improvement in life drawing continues. This time, I'm just posting up a few images that I liked enough to show here. Hopefully you guys will too. Anyway, enjoy! And my journey continues...

30 seconds - Blind Gesture
Nupastel on Newsprint

1 min - Nupastel on Newsprint

2 min - Conte on Newsprint

3 min - Nupastel on Newsprint

3 min - Nupastel on Newsprint

3 min - Nupastel on Newsprint

5 min - Nupastel on Newsprint

5 min - Nupastel on Newsprint

5 min - Nupastel on Newsprint

Animation - Walking Snob

2008-10-07T22:55:00.005-05:00

Just doing something a little different with a walk cycle assignment I had in one of my classes. The character was modeled and rigged by my teacher, Mike Watters, and I animated it. I'll probably tweak it a bit later, but enjoy!

Autodesk Maya 2008

Old School 3D

2008-09-21T12:26:00.006-05:00

*UPDATE*

Two and a half boxes of Super Sculpey later, I have the basic shapes done...

Oh yeah, I fixed the chin too...

-----------------------------------

Here's something I did partly for fun, and partly for a project I'm working on. I'm doing a character animation in Maya, and I figured that if I could work out the shape of the character in Sculpey, it will help solve some CG modeling problems later on. Anyway, here's the beginning stage for the head. I'll add the progress as I go along, and it should be rather fast, considering everything else I'll be working on. Enjoy!

Front View - Super Sculpey

Side View - Super Sculpey

Ball and Chain

2008-09-07T11:42:00.005-05:00

Just a couple of simple exercises I did in Houdini to animate. I've been spending the last while trying to translate the things I learn about animating in Maya to Houdini to see how well they will understand each other. So far it's not so bad, but it gets weirder with each step. Anyway, here's a bouncing ball:

Bouncing ball

And here's a swinging chain:

Swinging chain

Yours to behold...and hopefully enjoy!

Diamond in the Rough

2008-05-26T05:50:00.004-05:00

So, getting back to my dear old blog, which I've shamefully neglected again. I've been messing around in Houdini, a monster of a 3D program that kept my crazy mind busy for many sleepless nights...

Before I try to explain what I did and end up boring and confusing people, I'll just say I figured out how to make a diamond with all of its physical properties from scratch by writing my own 3D shader. Yes, I attempted to write my own shader. Here is the rendered turnaround animation of the diamond:

And here is an image below of the VEX network I created to make the shader, for those who care to know.

Why did I do this? Well, you never know when it will come in handy...anyway, enjoy!

Animation - We're All Lucky

2008-04-16T23:17:00.003-05:00

My final animation assignment for the year: take a character with a beak and animate it talking and acting to an audio track. I grabbed this sound clip from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". I had a lot of fun doing this, and despite that I rushed it and there are some things about it that I would fix, I still like this one. I hope you do too!

2 Figures 1 Page

2008-04-08T23:25:00.003-05:00

The name says it all. I kinda liked these, plus as this is my first time doing this, maybe when I do more in the future, I'll compare them to these as a starting point. Anyway, enjoy!

20 min

20 min

Rat Trapped

2008-04-02T11:39:00.003-05:00

Something I came up with in my Life Drawing class. I can't help but feel sorry for our little rodent friend. No rats were harmed in the making of this drawing.

Nupastel on Newsprint. 20 min.

Animation - It's Not Your Fault

2008-03-13T06:19:00.004-05:00

It is my fault for not posting for so long, however. :( Anyway, here's another pencil test animation assignment I did. I had to take a character with a muzzle and animate it to a sound clip from a movie. I got this one from "Good Will Hunting". Here is the result:

Animation - I Will Not Apologize

2008-02-18T21:46:00.004-05:00

Assignment: Take a line from a movie and animate a character acting out the line. I snagged this quote from the movie "Magnolia". I went through a lot of pain and anguish trying to get this as close as possible to the way I hoped it would look. So here it is to behold in all of its oddity. Enjoy!

The Motorcycle, Boy

2008-02-01T22:30:00.001-05:00

*UPDATE*

I've created a 360 degree rotation movie of the motorcycle. I hope you enjoy looking at it as I did making it, which was a lot. :D

*UPDATE*

I've added some colour and texture to the motorcycle. Phew! On to the rest of my projects...

My first assignment in my Maya modeling class - a hard-surfaced model (no characters, etc). This was based somewhat on an image I found of a Yamaha YZF-R1 cycle. Hours and hours later, this is the result. I'll throw up a full turn-around movie as soon as I can. I also hope I can add textures soon. But for now, enjoy!

Side View

Front View

Back View

Autodesk Maya 2008 - Polygons only

Life Drawing - Episode IV

2008-01-28T23:17:00.000-05:00

A new semester, a new set of drawings of naked people. The story continues, the battle rages on. My strive for improvement continues...enjoy! By the way, the last couple of images are from the muscle test I did recently. One of them was the one I submitted. Can you guess which one?

30 sec

30 sec

1 min

1 min

2 min

2 min

3 min

3 min

5 min

5 min

10 min

15 min

15 min

25 min

25 min

Talk Glad

2008-01-22T20:29:00.001-05:00

Here's my lip sync animation assignment where I had to animate lips talking to a line from "Toy Story". Lips are flapping and sound is coming out...but does it make sense?

Walk Mad

2008-01-18T11:17:00.000-05:00

Here's a simple loop animation of an angry walk. I kinda liked this one, and most of my classmates did. I hope you do too...

Christmas Elf Gift - in 3D

2007-12-27T13:24:00.000-05:00

*UPDATE*

I think I'm done! I added the hair, gave him a belt and a box to hold...so now the way he's standing makes more sense. Anyway, here's my other gift to you guys. Sorry about the delay. :)

*UPDATE*

I've added colour and textures to my model, but unfortunately my computer here can't handle hair when I try to add it. (arg!) So until I get back to my good computer, here's my elf so far in all his bald wonderment...

I thought I'd post my progress I make on my elf model in Maya as it comes along. Here's the base model without textures and hair. I'll keep you posted as more details develop. Too bad I couldn't get this done for Christmas day. Oh well...enjoy!

Maya 7.0 PLE

Christmas Elf Gift

2007-12-21T00:34:00.000-05:00

Here's a little something extra I did for Christmas. I had hoped to make a 3D model of this idea, but I won't have enough time to get it all done, so I'll post this. Anyway, happy Christmas to all!

Pencil scan, coloured in Photoshop.

Goodbye to gouache...?

2007-12-10T02:59:00.000-05:00

In the 1.5 years I got to know gouache, there's still so much about it I don't know, so much we could learn about each other...oh well, time to move on, I guess. Here are the tonal studies and colour thumbnails for my final painting assignment for the semester. Maybe gouache and I will work with each other again in the future...

Pencil on paper.

Gouache on watercolour paper.

Gouache on watercolour paper.

Alive and Empty - Colourized Version

2007-12-09T17:05:00.000-05:00

Quick colour sketches of my kitchen layout in a previous post. I think gouache is starting to warm up to me, but my class will soon be going digital (Photoshop). Just when gouache and I were starting to get to know each other...

Gouache on Watercolour paper.

Everyone else is doing it, so...

2007-12-07T12:48:00.000-05:00

...why shouldn't I post my animations on my blog too? :) Here's the first one I did this semester - a flour sack riding water waves in a small boat. Everything about animation I learned about in first year...but was afraid to show.

Life Drawing - End of Episode III

2007-12-03T17:07:00.000-05:00

This is how much I would say I have improved in life drawing over the semester. Is it a lot? Is it a little? Is it not at all? I'll let you, my audience decide. I hope you approve. :D

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Alive and Empty

2007-11-19T21:18:00.001-05:00

Yet another set of layout tonal sketches for my painting class. This one was an interior study, so I thought I'd do something a bit more...comfortable. Anyway, here they are to behold and enjoy. More to follow...

Pencil on printer paper

The birds and the beasts were there...

2007-11-06T22:32:00.000-05:00

So I went to the animals...errr...the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, and as usual it was a lot of fun and frustration getting some drawings to be proud of. My quest for improvement never ends, as it should, but sometimes you wish it could be just a bit easier. Anyway, here are a few quickies and longer ones I liked more than the others. More to come...

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Behind abandoned lines...

2007-10-31T02:40:00.001-05:00

Quickie doodle I did of my idea of being at the front lines of an abandoned fortress...or at least it's supposed to be one. Basic story is it's been overtaken quite a while ago, but it's left there to rot (as it already is), and nobody bothered to either rebuild it or demolish it. Hopefully, somebody will... anyway, in theory, this will be turned into a revised final layout. More on that later, as details develop...

Pencil on animation paper.

In faded colour...

2007-10-07T20:23:00.000-05:00

More progress on my background design stuff. These are simple colour ideas I had for my design that I'll decide from for the final look. Colour is faded, but they gave me a few ideas. Someday we'll get along, gouache...

Gouache on watercolour paper.

Life Drawing - Episode III

2007-09-28T18:33:00.000-05:00

Sometimes when you think you haven't learned anything, or you think you didn't improve in your work, you look back a bit at your old stuff and think, "oh...yeah, I guess I did." Funny, isn't it? Anyway, here are some life drawings from the beginning of this school year that I will compare to some others I'll do much later in the year. Enjoy!

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Dare to enter...

2007-09-23T17:04:00.000-05:00

Four different looks, all the same layout design. Somehow they looked better before they were scanned...is it the scanner, or is it me? oh well. Here's the progress on my ideas for the background. Painting coming soon...

Pencil on Inkjet Paper.

Into the mouth of the beast...

2007-09-11T10:22:00.000-05:00

Rough background design I did for my painting class, soon to be shaded and painted in gouache. Maybe I'll refine it a bit too, but so far here's the progress. Let's see how far this can go...

Col-erase pencil

Summer sC.O.R.E

2007-09-05T14:29:00.000-05:00

Guilty...that's how I feel about neglecting my blog for so long...but now I'm back in school, there will be a lot more happening around here.

Anyway, I worked as an intern at C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures over the summer (woohoo!) and I got some experience working on a show now airing on PBS called Super Why. It was a great experience, and the show itself is a lot of fun! Here's the link to the info site about the show:

http://pbskids.org/superwhy/

Here's to an awesome start of a new school year!

She's changing my life...

2007-07-22T20:57:00.000-05:00

This one seems more appealing to me than some of my other ones for some reason. Quick caricature of a character from a movie. Gotta keep working at it for sure, but I get the feeling that progress is being made...for a change...

Pencil on crappy sketchbook paper

Blockheads!

2007-07-04T20:27:00.000-05:00

Man, it's been a while! Been busy with my summer job, but shame on me for not posting in so long! So I'm playing around with using almost exclusively squares and boxes in my doodling. I ended up with these boxy characters. I'm still trying to get the hang of this, but these will do for now. Meanwhile, I'll just keep working at it...

Pencil on sketchbook paper

Like a candle burning bright...

2007-06-03T15:20:00.001-05:00

Here's something I whipped up while teaching myself lighting and texture design in Maya. Simple, but I think I like it. I hope to make it a habit to add at least one Maya rendered image and one character design exercise every week. Enjoy!

Maya PLE 7.0, Maya Renderer

Wireframe render

Four Poses and a Bird...

2007-05-27T17:28:00.000-05:00

Here's my forage into the wacky world of Preston Blair. I whipped up a bird character and made a little story. Bored, he's walking along and kicks a stone. Then he sees something he thinks is valuable. He picks up, gets disappointed, then tosses it aside as he walks on. Three things I really need to get asap - a better sketchbook, a better scanner, and better drawing skills. Let's see how many I can get by the end of the summer...

Pencil on somewhat rotted sketchbook paper

Practice, Practice, Practice...

2007-05-13T03:03:00.000-05:00

Couldn't sleep. Thought I'd make use of my insomniac hours by doodling a bit. When you have no extra life drawing and your family won't let you draw them at all, all you're left with is...yourself. Don't worry, no nude drawings of me ever here, I promise. lol. Anyway, I drew a self-portrait sketch, then cartoonized myself, then tried a cartoon animal interpretation of myself. Hey, I'm trying...sorry about the bad scan, too...

Pencil on sketchbook paper

quickie doodlez

2007-05-09T02:01:00.000-05:00

I'm putting these up just to give myself a starting point to show my development in character design skills as I work on them over the summer. I did these while watching a movie one night. Can anyone guess the movie? No, it's not "The Hobbit"...

pencil on sketchbook paper

Not exactly a drawing, but...

2007-05-03T23:03:00.000-05:00

...it's something that keeps me inspired. I was lucky to meet Steve some years ago, (yes, the same guy who worked on "The Mask", "Jurassic Park", etc) and here's the clever letter he wrote in my sketchbook. And it worked! I'm still drawing today, so one day if I end up working for him, I won't get it from him...

Pen on sketchbook cartridge paper.

Tall, lanky and...weird

2007-05-02T01:05:00.000-05:00

The program crashed on me, (ack!) so I re-did the entire thing from scratch. That's why it looks so different this time. That, and I had a little less patience this time. haha. Anyway, before my computer crashes again, I'll just post this and hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I did making it! CGI model.

Returning to my roots...

2007-05-01T02:59:00.000-05:00

Man, I haven't done 3D modeling in a while. Here's a quickie I did in like 2 hours. Don't worry, I'll refine it. ;) Good to be back home...

Final Drawing of 2006/2007

2007-04-19T20:29:00.000-05:00

Here it is - the final life drawing I did for the year. I thought I'd post it for sentimental reasons. *sniff*. Enjoy!

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Froggy went a-drivin'...

2007-04-17T21:50:00.000-05:00

Here's a cute little design I did for a car. The assignment was to design a car and add a character inside, so here is the result.

I'm gonna get medieval on your kitchen...

2007-04-04T02:25:00.000-05:00

The assignment was to create a kitchen design for a layout. The bottom right looks empty cause the overlay props are still to be scanned in. Keep tuned to this post if you want to see the finished layout. I liked how it was looking so far, so here it is for your viewing pleasure...

(Not Quite) Master Copy

2007-04-03T04:36:00.000-05:00

As the painting is, I kinda liked it. I'll probably come back to it later and add to it, but given the time I have to do my other stuff, I'll settle with this stuff for now. Gouache on Peterboro 79 illustration board.

Guess who!

2007-04-02T23:36:00.000-05:00

For those of you who know who this is, you gotta love him. Well, I tried. :D Quickie I did in my history class.

Here's looking at...

2007-03-23T03:40:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple of quick portrait studies of one of the models in my life drawing class. To protect the innocent model, his name will not be mentioned. 5 min each drawing.

More Life Drawings...

2007-03-17T16:35:00.000-05:00

A few life drawings I did in the last couple of days that I liked. Thought I'd show them here.

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R is for Rhino, T is for Tapir...

2007-03-16T22:05:00.000-05:00

As awkward as it is for me to draw animals on the spot, I love it. Here are a couple of studies I did from a trip to the zoo. First, a rhino...(20 min)

...and a tapir. No, not the same thing as an anteater...(20 min, I think...)

Pimp my wireframe

2007-03-14T23:41:00.000-05:00

The beginning of a car model. Gotta fix some of the design details, but I liked what I saw from the wireframe snapshot, so I thought I'd post it. Enjoy!

A Warm Welcome

2007-03-11T13:53:00.000-05:00

Anyone remember Softimage? Here's a rendering I did using XSI some time ago. I liked how this one turned out a lot. enjoy! Modeled in Softimage XSI EXP 3.0, rendered in Mental Ray.

Wireframe view.

Looks like it, feels like it...

2007-02-23T01:58:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple of samples of texture studies I did in gouache for my painting class. My teacher liked these ones, as did I, so I hope you do too!

Wood Grain

Cobblestone (in gloomy weather)

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Tree Bark

New Perspectives

2007-02-20T23:56:00.000-05:00

Here's a rendering I did of an office space in Maya. I love this program...

An Easy, Pink Day

2007-02-18T02:45:00.000-05:00

Oh, the beloved Pink Panther. Here he is just taking an easy stroll through the park. My first animation project for the second semester. Animated on paper, then coloured in Toon Boom Solo, then finally composited in After Effects, and edited in Premiere Pro.

Desert Planet

2007-02-16T02:13:00.000-05:00

Trapped, all alone on a desolate world with no one to turn to, and no sign of hope in sight, what will our little blue friend do? (gouache on Peterboro PK5 Illustration Board)

Night fast approaches...

Life Drawings...blah

2007-02-12T14:38:00.000-05:00

1 min. (Sorry about the bad scans)

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"They look like good, strong hands..."

2007-02-11T16:30:00.000-05:00

Sorry, got "The Neverending Story" on the brain. Anyway, my teacher seemed to like these, so I thought I'd show them here too. Enjoy!

...is this thing on?

2007-02-11T16:05:00.000-05:00

Hello world! I'm a student in the Bachelor of Applied Arts - Animation program at Sheridan College in Canada. I'll do my best to keep the content here as interesting as possible by pouring my heart and soul into my work that I do in school and posting it all here. Thanks for stopping by, and watch your head on the way out.