Art of Andrew

Back to Traditional: The Ball Bounce

2011-07-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

I'm working on some traditional tests with some guys from work. We're starting from the very beginning: The Ball Bounce. The twist here is that after two bounces, the ball has to change into a cube:

This is my second pass (the first pass can be found here). It was done using Pencil (animating software), but I plan on doing my future tests traditionally (paper and pencil). Next up is another classic, the Flour Sac Walk cycle.

Kung Fu Panda 2

2011-06-19T00:42:00.001-07:00

"The cup you choose to fill has no bottom"

One More I Forgot To Add

2009-10-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

I did this over a week ago for Creation Engines, but I forgot to post it up here. I knew I wanted to do this character simply because I thought the name and visuals would be funny. I also wanted to attempt to create a comic book feel, as if you were reading a page from a longer story. I'm not a color expert, so it's a little gaudy there, and the layout feels a bit 90's but in the end I had fun.

You wouldn't like him when he's hungry...

Two More

2009-09-20T02:08:00.001-07:00

Mikelops

Captain Hookmerica

Marvel + Disney

2009-09-14T02:21:00.001-07:00

I've been pretty busy settling in to my new home and environment, that I haven't posted any art in a while. I've been having a lot of fun over at my friend's group blog Creation Engines where we've been combining Disney and Marvel characters because of the Disney aquisition of Marvel. Here's some of my stuff:

Ghost Jack

Pinocchio + Human Torch

Beasty and the Beast

In Progress

2009-09-02T22:51:00.000-07:00

IN PROGRESS:

I've decided to start the slow process of bringing all my new blog posts back to this blogspot. My other work and website will still be up and running, but the blog portion will stay here.

I appreicate your patience.

Thanks!

First Week

2009-06-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

The traffic isn’t so bad...

I don’t know why we’re green, but maybe Januel’s shirt has something to do with it...

I walk this path Monday through Friday

I still can’t believe I’m here. If someone would have said a year ago that I would be living in Los Angeles and working at DreamWorks, I would have laughed. Don’t get me wrong, I work very hard at what I do, I just didn’t think that I would be in the industry so soon. This first week has been exciting, amazing, and at times a little intimidating. Who wouldn’t be with all the talent around here? But everyone here has been so fantastic. I’m still in training and have a lot to learn, and I’m itching to get animating, but I know from experience that I have to be patient and good things will come from it. It’s been really helpful having an old friend here. Januel has always been welcoming and helpful in showing me around the beautiful campus and the surrounding city. The only thing left to do is to find permanent housing. Then I can settle in and start exploring the area some more. Wish me luck!

Graduated!

2009-05-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Click for more 2009 Graduation Pictures

Well that’s it! This is a picture with the people who made my graduation possible. Without them I wouldn’t be where I am today and I owe them much more than I can ever give them. If I ever find my way back up to the bay area, I will be sure to knock on their door and see if they need my teaching services so I can give back to the students some of what I was able to get from them. Thank you to all my professors and peers throughout my college career. Fire it up!

It’s Official!

2009-05-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

So I know it’s the worst kept secret out there, but I can officially say that I got a job at DreamWorks Animation!!! I don’t think it’s totally sunk in yet. It’s a truly amazing opportunity and I’m more than excited to be starting a new path in my life. Along with it, I will be moving to Glendale, CA to start the new job. I will keep everyone updated as things get underway!

Last Day of School

2009-05-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hangin' them up

Part way through my college career at San Jose State, I told my friend Januel that when I was done I would hang up my shoes in the lab. Today that became reality. The shoes I hung up were well loved and well worn and proudly bore the Shrunkenheadman logo. Before I hung them up I inscribed some words of wisdom that I want to pass on to future generations of Shrunkenheadman. On the left shoe, it says “Expect the best, but don’t expect it to come easy” and “Remember to have fun and sleep!”. On the right shoe it says “It’s all about the mileage”, “Squint!”, and “Remember your audience!” I should add one more, but we all know this one...Fire it up!

AWESOME

2009-05-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

I didn’t know how my “awesometastic” day could be topped, but it just was by today. Details to follow. All I can say is AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 :)

“Awesometastic” Day

2009-05-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

In a term coined by my friend, Scott “Guy” LaFleur, I had an “awesometastic” day. Just to be discrete about it, I had an interview with a major animation studio today and it went really well! In the end it amounted to three interviews with 7 amazing artists. This would be an “awesometastic” opportunity. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

Hippie Test Starting on Curves

2009-05-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

I’m just getting into curves now and I’ve been focusing on the timing of hippie’s entrance. I’d like to give the whole test a little more texture, and the entrance contrasting with the moment of pause will help with that.

I also want to make sure my hand poses and facial expressions are nailed down by this point, and those still need work before I get too far ahead.

The businessman has some minor but important tweaks giving him more focus during the test.

Revised Blocking Hippie Test

2009-05-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

So I spent yesterday reshooting some reference for the businessman because from others’ notes, he was attracting too much attention. The idea now is to get him offstage quickly and keep him within a single though process during that time. Before I was trying to add several changes in thought and it was killing the overall flow. Now I think it works better, but there’s still work to be done! I also roughed in the lip sync on the hippie, which I tried to play up since it’s quite small on the screen. I think it will be fun to play with the mouthshapes of this hippie as they will be very “surfer-bum like” with very exaggerated and relaxed shapes.

I also added the same test but with a photo background. I wanted to know how that would look or if it would be too distracting. I personally like the park background, but we’ll see what others say.

Star Trek AWESOMENESS (SPOILERS!)

2009-05-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

That’s right, I dressed up.

I can’t get over how entertaining this movie was! From the opening scene which had me close to tears, to the Enterprise blazing phasers coming out of hyperspace, it was an all around blast!! The casting was great, and I especially loved the way Karl Urban interpreted McCoy...“Are you our of your Vulcan mind?!” The integration of the alternate timeline into the plot did not seem manufactured at all, and it left the franchise open for interpretation down the road. And how cool is Red Matter?!

As you can see I wore my Spock costume that I had lying around from a few halloweens ago. I ended up being the only one dressed up! (yeah I know, nerdy!) But it’s ok, despite being made fun of by high school kids, it was worth it to spend time with friends and have a great time!

Amazing Acting Moment

2009-05-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

I love hockey. And I love animation. So when I happened across this clip I couldn’t help but smile. I smile every time I play it. The acting is so genuine and amazing, and the contrast set up by the hockey players and their actions is just inherently funny. I love all the little moments throughout this piece and I would love to get this honesty out of my acting and animation. It makes me wonder “why didn’t I think of that!” Enjoy!

I’m in the Paper!

2009-05-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

I found out I was in the paper the other day. It was part of an article for D-Day and this was the teaser photo they put on the front page! Good times with Spock ears. Now I’m debating whether to wear the costume for Thursday :)

Good News at the BFA Gallery Show!

2009-05-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

Too many smiles: Paul Abadilla, Don Ta, Rebbaz Royee, Corey Tom

The BFA Gallery Show this year looks amazing. Not only is the work amazing from all the students, but my good buddies Rebbaz Royee and Chris Palmer really put together a great show. While I was at the Gallery Opening night, I received some fantastic news! I don’t want to jinx anything, so I’ll share if and when the time is right...but trust me it’s good news :)

My New Website

2009-05-03T03:05:00.001-07:00

andrewharkins.com

I started a new web site with my newest 3D animation reel on it. It's still a work in progress, but please check it out. ~~I won't be updating this blog anymore, so all my newest stuff should be on my new site.~~

Update (2009.09.02): I've decided to start the slow process of bringing all my new blog posts back to this blogspot. My other work and website will still be up and running, but the blog portion will stay here.

Sarcastic Surgeon Revision

2009-05-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

So I took a break from the hippie test, and I went back to my “Sarcastic Surgeon” dialogue piece. It’s one of the tests that I think needs the most work to get it to polish. My main goal this time around was to get a better sense of mass and weight in the the movements, and to clean up actions. I think it’s getting better, but like any test, it still needs work.

D-Day

2009-05-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

photo by Anne Utter

Another year, another D-Day. This will be my last though, but it’s been fun. This year, I was Spock in Star Trek vs. Darth Vader. I recycled my Halloween costume from two years ago. Of course I cut my hair and wore the ears! I even did some last minute makeup in the setup room. Here’s a rundown of the D-Day skits I’ve been in:

2009 Star Trek Crew vs. Darth Vader

Kirk - Steve Hirt

Spock - Me

McCoy - Colin King-Bailey

Uhura - Renee Carty

Sulu - Michael Fong

Scotty - Craig Kitzman

Red Shirts - Jake Panian, Paul Nguyen, Jake Baker

Darth Vader - Phil Wanardi

2008 My Futurama Head vs Micah Sibert;s Futurama Head

2007 My Muppet Self and Januel Mercado’s Muppet Self vs. Jennifer Corker and Lauren Andrews’ Muppet Selves

2006 Brokeback Mountain with Januel Mercado vs. Andrea Rhodes (country girlfriend/wife) and Paul Abadilla (cow)

2005 Magician vs. Rabbit (Fumi Nakamura)

Professional Project Finished!

2009-05-01T12:00:00.001-07:00

We finished the opening sequence for the “Imagination Station” PBS Show today. It still needs some minor tweaks, but for all intents and purposes, it’s done! It was such an amazing experience getting to work on a professional project before even leaving school, and it was a truly special experience getting to direct my first project. I learned a lot about management and I hope to apply it to future projects. All of this couldn’t have been done without a lot of hard work from my classmates. My friend and fellow animator extraordinaire, Corey Tom, was a trooper in getting all the animation done, and stayed up countless nights making sure it all went smoothly during the many, many renders. I wish I could show you the work, but for now, you’ll have to catch it on your local PBS station when it airs!

New Blocking Pass

2009-04-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

This is my latest blocking pass for the Hippie/Businessman pass. I wanted to clarify the characters a little bit more. One of my main concerns which I also tried to address was in keeping the characters’ actions distinct enough so as not to distract from one another. For that I tried to play with pacing and timing of the overall scene. I think I still have a ways to go in playing up the business man’s frustration. I will go back and reshoot reference for that soon. I hope to get this portfolio ready in the next few weeks (if not sooner!)

DreamWorks Q&A, Gallery Show

2009-04-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had a once in a lifetime opportunity thanks to my professors. DreamWorks is having a gallery show at school called “DreamWorlds: The Inspired Concept Art of DreamWorks Animation”. Tuesday night was the opening and I was given the chance to interview Production Designer Kendal Cronkhite and Head of Character Animation Rex Grignon from PDI/DreamWorks. It was so amazing! The interview took place in front of almost 500 people in a filled auditorium. I have to admit I was nervous, but I felt comfortable knowing that my friends were in the audience as well. I asked Kendal and Rex about their past and present in the industry and touched on their trip to Africa to research Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Overall it went well and I will never forget my experience.

Hippie and Businessman - Updated Pose Test

2009-04-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

So I got some great feedback on the last pass of my pose test and reshot some reference before going back to posing. I think it’s stronger but I know I can push it more. I was recently watching the Spline Doctors “Bale Contest” tests and I really saw the power of pushing poses. I would like to get that into this test before I move on. At the same time I’m also gearing up to work on my demo reel to polish up my current tests. With all the other projects going on it’s getting busy but also exciting!

Hippie and Businessman - New Pose Test

2009-04-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Back from London and back to work. After getting some good advice, I reshot some reference, and reblocked my characters (I’m also now using referenced characters which will make modification much easier later). I like the direction this is going in now. The businessman’s attitude is now in line with what I originally intended, and the hippie is more fleshed out. Right now I need to take step back and get more eyes to look at it to tell me if it’s going in the right direction.

Back Home

2009-03-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

Me looking serious in London

London was amazing! I just got back home I can’t wait to go back someday. I’m always amazed at how old London is and how much history and art are present in everyday life. They have everything figured out because it’s been there so long. Take the Tube for instance. You never wait more than 5 minutes for the next train and you’re always within a few minutes of a station by foot. Amazing. There’s so much to tell, but I won’t go into all the boring details. If you’d like to know, come talk to me.

Pose Tests - Hippie and Businessman

2009-03-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

So I thought before I head out to London, I would post an update on my new shot. These are a few early pose tests just trying to get the right timing and entertainment out of it. Right now the biggest note is that I’m playing the businessman out of character. He needs to be more angry and resistant to the hippie’s help. I have some video reference that my classmates and I shot which will help me play that up convincingly.

New Shot - Hippie and Businessman

2009-03-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

This new test is really exciting for me. I often gravitate toward more controlled acting in my animation, and I now have a chance to really amp up the physicality, as well as practice my dialogue. I’ve thumbnailed out my basic idea, and cut it to time. So far I think this could be a good character study, but I’d really like to make it more entertaining. There’s a chance to get some classic physical comedy here, and right now I’m just scratching the surface.

It’s pretty impossible to tell from the rough sketches, but the young man running up is a hippie, and the man in the foreground is a businessman who has just been stunned by the hippie’s frisbee (the ellipse in the foreground). I have to give credit to my friend Scott for coming up with this one.

One of my own self-imposed constraints is to keep from having too much dead air before and after the dialogue. I’d like to jump right in without wasting time at either end. Other than that, I’m all ears on amping this up!

Bar Scene - Curves Pass

2009-03-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here’s an update of the test I’ve been working on for BFA. All previous passes can be found ~~on my old blogspot sketchblog~~ here. This latest pass is at the curves stage, and I’m starting to get into polishing, with some areas working better than others. The man in the scene still needs a lot of work, as I’ve really been concentrating more on the girl. I got some great notes from ACME Transmission and of course from Rex and my classmates. In the coming weeks I’ll be fixing up this as well as some other tests to update my reel. Only two months left!

LONDON!

2009-03-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone, ~~this is my first real blog post on my new web site (not counting the link to the old blog)!~~ I’m excited to start it off with a life event.

On Wednesday, I’ll be going to London for 9 days! I’m going with the school, and we’ll get to visit several commercial production houses there that specialize in animation. I was able to go on the trip a few years ago and I’m so excited to be able to go again.

Last time we were able to visit Framestore CFC, Double Negative, and Studio AKA among other studios. It was so fantastic to see smaller studios producing such great work! I’m so ready to go again...well besides the packing...

A Bar Scene

2009-02-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

So I've been working on a new shot this semester, and I wanted to show my progress so far. I won't get into any of the details, other than I'm really trying to nail the emotion and keep the personality consistent within the girl. I'm having fun with this test, and it's really pushing me to know my characters. Here's some video showing my latest pass, along with some videos of my progress up til now:

Here's my latest pass, where I've taken it into curves (it's still rough):

An earlier refined blocking pass:

An even earlier blocking pass:

One of my initial posing passes:

Fall 2008 End of the Semester Wrap-Up (Part 2)

2008-12-22T00:23:00.000-08:00

What a fantastic semester. Not only have I seen my work improve, but I've also been fortunate to meet and work with a number of great animators throughout this semester. One of those great animators was my animation instructor, Rex Grignon. With his guidance, I learned so much and felt myself making breakthroughs each week. I learned how to properly shoot reference, block, refine, and polish my animation. I learned the finer points of lip sync, and subtleties of acting. I learned the importance of good mechanics. Rex was also able to give me and my classmates key advice on how to control curves once we passed the blocking stage. Even now during the winter holiday I'm still distilling a lot of the information I learned this semester. As per Rex's advice, I'm taking a week off, but I'll be back soon to get things ready for my reel. For now, here are my tests from the BFA class.

Object Interaction Test

Mechanics/Chair Test

Object/Phone Reaction Test

Fall 2008 End of the Semester Wrap-Up (Part 1)

2008-12-21T23:52:00.000-08:00

My 3D animation class was chock full of animation tests, which was great in getting mileage. My instructor, Primo Navidad was super helpful in working one-on-one with me, and in helping me improve my tests along the way. We had a wide range of tests, all the way from a humble ball bounce to a dialogue test. Some are more finished than others, but I wanted to put them all up for display, the good, the bad, and the ugly. What I like about showing each test is that you can see different levels of finish in each test. Each test bears the scars of days and weeks of work, and while there's some I'd like to move on from and never see again, I'm proud of each of them in their own small ways. Eventually I'd like to take some of them to polish for my reel.

Dialogue Test

Expression Test

Mechanics Test

Walk Cycle

Sack Pantomime

Ball Bounce

Acting Test

2008-10-06T15:17:00.000-07:00

In the senior class, we're so fortunate to be working with Rex Grignon, a world class senior animator from PDI/DreamWorks. He has been nothing less than amazing and incredibly helpful. Over the past few weeks he's given us a challenging test to take on. In brief, we have a boss-type character who responds to some news on the phone. At the same time, he reveals part of his character through idle action with an object. The whole test must be 5 to 6 seconds in length. Here's my take on it. I can see that a lot of my motions are still looking mechanical rather than natural, so I need to figure out what's going on there. After that, my next step is to start polishing and getting in the subtleties and details. As usual I'm open to any advice or comments to help me improve this.

Biomechanics/Weight Test

2008-10-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

We've been working on biomechanics in my 3D animation class, where the goal is to get a sense of weight with our character. Here's what I've been working on this week. It has a couple different elements to it, some of which I'm still working on. I think the basics are there though. Lately I've been working on getting my overall pacing and timing better by returning to my reference with an eye on more realistic timing. Any comments/advice is always appreciated.

3D Animation Class

2008-09-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

This semester is really exciting for both the San Jose State and myself. With an increased focus and commitment to improving the animation at San Jose State, the department has set up world class partnerships which brings us a world class education. I just wanted to highlight a couple projects we're starting in those classes.

In order to get better at 3D animation, I'm taking a couple different classes. The first is focused just on 3D mechanics and animation itself. We're starting with basic tests but ramping up quickly. We'll have the chance to go back and fix up the test to get them portfolio ready at the end of the semester which is great because our animation eye will be more tuned by then.

The first job was the classic ball bounce:

I like how this turned out, but the staging makes it hard to see because I had to zoom out so far to see it all.

The second job was a sack pantomime. We used a rig off of highend3D and it was pretty good for the most part once we removed the dynamics which tried to animate parts for us. The knees bulge quite a bit and that's a product of poor knee controls, but the general feel is still there. Here's my take on the sack pantomime:

There are a lot of funny shapes going on in the turn and the run which I need to address. I've also gotten a critique on ACME (www.acmeanimation.org) about the weight shift being off so I will address that when I address the other issues.

That's all for now, I'll talk about the other class in the next post where we're working on a 5 week project.

Birthday E-Card Finished!

2008-05-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

While the top secret project is still in the works, I wanted to share with you the E-Card that I've been working on for my flash class, and been posting about for the past few weeks. Here's the finished work. Enjoy! (Music: "The Incredits" by Michael Giacchino)

Top Secret Project

2008-05-17T02:46:00.000-07:00

Coming Soon!

E-Card Update

2008-05-14T03:23:00.000-07:00

I realized I haven't posted the backgrounds for my e-card yet, so here they are! I'm about halfway done with the animation and I'm really having fun with it so far. I'll try to post it up when I'm done. I also added a few more head shapes to the main character to help flesh out some animation.

Fired Up

2008-05-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

As the school year is about to end and I prepare myself for an awesome summer in Kansas City as a Hallmark intern, I can't help but get excited.

Of the many things I want to do before I head out there, seeing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is near the top of the list. I've been watching the trilogy as finish up some school projects and and it's really getting me fired up. My favorite one out of the three would have to be Last Crusade. The writing is excellent and the on screen chemistry between all the characters, and especially Connery and Ford is amazing. The subtle expressions and dialog is perfect and do a great job convincing me that there's a father-son history behind all their interactions.

The sets are great too. There are way too many to show, but I thought a Indiana's office was testament to great visual development.

I can't wait to see the newest one!

Flash Girlfriend

2008-04-16T01:34:00.001-07:00

Animatable Andrew

2008-04-12T03:30:00.001-07:00

This is part of a flash project in which we took a character design and broke it up into animatable parts (is animatable even word? it should be). This little guy is a self portrait which I'll use pretty soon in a birthday eCard project for class. I added some accessories that I might use:

Gibby Goat!

2008-04-12T03:18:00.000-07:00

Flash cleanup of an older animation. It still needs work on some overlapping action. Then I plan on editing it together with the original sound and visual effects.

Personality and Character in Animation

2008-03-20T02:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNaSroGJPVc&feature=related

I've been working on a 3D animation test involving and old man walking with a cane who reacts to an approaching figure. At the blocking stage I was relatively satisfied with the movements that I had, but I knew I was lacking all the personality and character that makes the figure on screen real. In other words I had motion, not emotion.

So I posted it up on The Acme Network and recieved feedback from two professionals (I'll keep them anonymous, but they are fantastic animators). One of the pros recommended I check out the lawyer character, George Hautecourt, from The Aristocats. Now I haven't gotten around to watching the whole movie, but I found this utterly amazing and mind-blowing scene that shows true character animation at its finest. I could instantly see what I was missing. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it (for instance, how did they reconcile his quick movements with his shaky movements and still keep it believable and convincing???!!!). I'd like to know who animated this character, but I have suspicions that it might be the great Milt Kahl himself, but if anyone knows for sure please let me know!

I don't know the legality of this clip, so it may not be up forever, but if you get the chance or have the movie itself, watch this scene! I promise you won't be disappointed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNaSroGJPVc&feature=related

With Respect

2008-03-17T05:21:00.001-07:00

A concept piece for a short film idea. The short would be mostly dialogue-based with a fitting end.

Pascual

2008-03-16T04:46:00.001-07:00

Pascual is a tough little guy with a big heart. He's also French-Canadian and plays hockey, which is somewhat redundant. Every Saturday morning he's the first guy out on the ice ready to play the game he loves. What he lacks in skill and coordination he makes up for in moxie. He's always willing to give his team a piece of his heart and the other team a piece of his mind. Play on, Pascual, play on.

Character Concepts

2008-02-08T01:07:00.000-08:00

So here are some character concepts for my film idea. I know you may not know the story yet, but to be honest, I'm not 100% on the story yet either. Doing concept work is helping me hone it down though (I'm working somewhat backwards, but always keeping in mind the power of story). The designs still need work, but I like the direction they're going. I'd actually like any crits (in terms of design or "animatability") if you guys have time.

Film Concept Sketch

2008-01-17T04:10:00.001-08:00

I had a film idea that I had planned to do for my Masters. The film would have been way too long as is, so recently I've been trying to rework it, although I may have to just start from scratch to keep it doable within the amount of time I have. I'm still very excited about the idea.

I'd like to keep the specifics secret for now so I can talk them over with some of my peers.

Suitcase Present

2007-12-29T01:02:00.001-08:00

I promised I would post these up. I thought my Christmas present for Shandel wasn't personal enough, so to make up for it, I wanted to wrap it in something more personal. She loves vintage suitcases so there I found my idea. Of course, like any good artist, I started with thumbnail plans:

Here's what it looked like still under construction. You can see how it's built (cardboard and stick glue!):

Here it is ready for paint, still cardboard (and some illustration board for the trim!):

I coated it with gesso to give me a more uniform paint surface and then got to work painting:

Here's the paint all done, you can really see how much of a mess my room is (is that the IT book?!):

Of course, the actual present inside (inside was lined with tissue paper):

Presentation is everything:

In the end Shandel said the present was personal, so I guess I didn't need to do this after all! But I'm glad I did, I had fun doing it and it was well recieved.

Bountiful Birds, Barren Birch, Beautiful Beach

2007-12-22T02:44:00.000-08:00

I was trying to help my brother come up with an art-deco concept painting for something he wanted to paint. I grabbed some things off google images and got to work. Long story short, I got carried away and totally missed the mark on what he was looking for, but I ended up with something pretty cool. I put the images that I used below the sketch.

EA Concept Workshop

2007-12-21T01:17:00.000-08:00

I just completed a 5 week concept workshop with EA Games with 11 of my peers. It's been while since I had the chance to do some visual development, but I had a blast! I learned some great photoshop techniques and it was really interesting learning about the games process as opposed to the feature or tv industry. Things move at a different pace, and a lot of the work tends to be "photochopped" where painting is combined with photographic elements. In the end, the message is that it's all about visual communication and getting that point across. I wanted to post all the work I did good and bad, just to see what strengths I have and what weaknesses I need to work on.

The overall project was that each of us would create one level of our own video game concept based on certain character mechanic constraints. I really enjoyed the creative freedom of creating my own game and world regardless of how it would sell in the real world.

My game was called "Anna and the Queen" and was based in Victorian Era London. Queen V has become sick with power and has let the industrial revolution take over her country and her life. She employs the use of industial robots to patrol and control her people. She intends to rule the nation forever and is slowly becoming more machine than human in order to do so. Meanwhile, the main character Anna learns that she is the rightful heir to the throne. With royal blood, she is able to control the 4 elements of nature through the use of an ancient amulet. With the great power, she realizes that it is her duty to save London from the evil despot and restore honor to the throne and the country that once held such high and righteous ideals.

Week One was about establishing the look and world of our game and capturing it in a single photoshop concept piece. Here, the robot minions spot Anna as she enters Westminster Abbey which has been converted into am industrial factory.
Week Two was about characters. We had to design the hero, the boss and the boss' minions. My main character was basically an answer to most video games today which either have a male hero or a big-chested uber-heroine. I chose a strong willed young girl as my hero character. My minions are broken down into the Bobbies which are drone-like and easy to dispense, and the Queen's Guard who are more difficult to bring down. My one regret was that I never got to fully develop my main boss character, Queen V.

Week Three was about the space within the level. Here we see a cutaway view of a cathedral that acts as a gate to the inner-kingdom. The cathedral is based loosly off of Westminster Abbey and works within the original concept piece from week one. The red lines indicate the "Alpha Path" which is unique to the game industry. An "Alpha Path" can be thought of as an ideal path for the main character within a level.
Week Four was about storyboarding out a IGC sequence to introduce a boss character. IGC stands for "In Game Cinematic" and is a short movie that usually advances plot within a game where the player stops controlling the main character. This sequence introduces a mid-boss Big Ben and occurs after you get through the cathedral gate into the inner kingdom.
In class, we worked on creating an environment using photographic elements.
Week Five was about creating an object within the world of the game. I chose my amulet as my object since it plays such an important role for Anna. I wanted something that looked solid but somewhat natural and mystical. I used a technique they showed us involving 3D. I modeled a rough version of the amulet in maya, and then painted over the top to get the final result.
That's it! Next semester, EA Games has invited us all back to enter into an internship, and I'm really looking forward to improving my overall skill set.

iPortfolio

2007-09-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

This isn't an art post, but it is (sort of) art related and I just had to write about it. I went to the local Apple store today and played around with an iPhone for the first time. I thought I would test it out and look at my new online portfolio. Let me tell you, there's nothing like seeing your work on an iPhone! Everyone should try it!

Gamma Quadrant 2

2007-06-20T02:58:00.000-07:00

Ok ok, so here's the real design I did for the Space Cowboy blog:

Dash Cavalier - Dash is a brazen, headstrong space cowboy whose righteousness knows no bounds. Either do right by the law or get out of Gamma Quadrant 2. However, Dash's intentions are greater than his ability to realize those intentions. This is due to his one true weakness: pride. It is pride which clouds his mind and lets enemies gain advantage over him. Luckily, a chance meeting at the local Hometown Buffet put him in contact with a certain Chalmers Butterfield.

Chalmers Butterfield - You may be thinking Chalmers Butterfield...the mid-century photographer? No, not that Chalmers Butterfield. This Chalmers Butterfield comes from a race of turban wearing space monkeys, whose goal in life is to bring good upon the Universe. They are humble to a fault and will take no credit for being a hero. Chalmers Butterfield helps Dash beat the wrongdoers of the Universe, although Dash is unwilling to accept that a monkey is saving his butt day in and day out. Without Chalmers Butterfield, Dash would not be able to beat his greatest nemesis, Vincent Billingsley.

Vincent Billingsley - Vincent was born into a wealthy family who provided for all he could ever want...except love. Because of this, Vincent never understood real love, and displaced these feelings and desires towards material posessions and wealth. And so, Vincent grew to be a shrewd and calculating businessman who is always looking to profit through any means necessary. No amount of wealth will ever be enough to fill the void in his heart.

Woody Lightyear

2007-06-17T03:02:00.000-07:00

My friends and I decided to design a Space Cowboy for a blog, so I though I'd do both in one!...and it's an original creation, like Rickey Rouse, or Monald Muck!

Nature and Films

2007-06-16T17:43:00.001-07:00

I went sketching with my friend Chris Palmer in his hometown of Morgan Hill. We took a little drive and went hiking up in the hills. It was nice to get out in nature again and I could have hiked all day. We stopped at one point and sketched by a bridge. Later on we met up with some friends at Borders in Santana Row. I decided to try and capture some of the faces I was seeing around me.

The next day we all went to TGIF to celebrate the wrap and sending off of two of our films to the Ottawa International Animation Festival. We always have fun working together to make films and these were no exception. So keep a lookout for "T.N.E.I.T." and "The Princess and the P."

Wild Sushi and More!

2007-06-15T05:08:00.000-07:00

Instead of drawing underwater creatures, I went scuba diving and brought along my underwater polaroid camera. I went in search of the real rarities, things you don't see in science journals, encyclopaedias, or any other kind of reputable source. Here's a list:

1. Whuppy - You might think whales are easy to spot, but not when they're the size of guppies! A Whuppy is a cross between a whale and a guppy making them the smallest whale species.

2. Armored Shark - A shark with lobster armor! It has, like, 4 fins! Cool!

3. Wild Sushi - Just slice and serve fresh!

4. Cela (see-lah) - The Cela are simlar to mermaids, but with a squid-like tentacle instead of a fish tail. Unlike their mermaid cousins, the Cela are not spiteful but instead a curious and inquisitive race.

The 'Zoo

2007-06-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, myself and four friends got a chance to go to Kalamzoo to compete in the Kalamazoo Animation Festival International (KAFI) Cartoon Challenge. The challenge is to produce an animated 30 second PSA in only 3 days!!. It was a blast! We didn't take home the prize but we were extremely happy with our end result and more importantly we exceeded our own goal to have fun! We met some great friends and competitors and KAFI took really good care of us. We also ran into our old friends from Pratt that we met out in Ottawa last year and our ACME peers in southern California from Laguna. It was nice to see some familiar faces. Here's just a few pages from that trip.

The sketch on the left was a lot of fun. It was at a place called Bell's Bar where a live band was playing. I decided to do some blind contour of the band and I loved how it came out. I've been trying to work in some blind contour to practice my line quality and really get that genuine feel. The sketch on the right was of the SJSU team before we left. You can see out five faces and the airplane on the bottom (more blind contour).

Cave Troll!

2007-06-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

Well the semester's over and for our intermediate 3D class we got to model the Cave Troll from Lord of the Rings. I spent the semester honing my modeling skills, learning how to texture better, learning the basics of rigging, and capping it off with animation! At the beginning of the semester it would have been hard to believe that I would be able to get to this stage in 3D. But with great teaching and hard work I was able to get here. To showcase it, I have both a posed model (based on a WETA maquette) and a walk cycle. (I'll try to get better resolution videos up soon, right now they're pixely)

I've learned so much and have been asked to teach the intro Maya class this Summer! (It's funny how much you learn by teaching!)

London Sketches

2007-06-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

Over Spring Break I was able to go to London through the school. It was a total blast! We visited all sorts of museums and small studios. It's great seeing a differet type of working environment in the smaller studios (Double Negative, AKA, and others!). I have a few sketches from the V&A Museum that I found in my sketchbook (and a sketch from the Royal Academy of Arts on the bottom right) The center sketch was from a sculpture called "Athelete Struggling with a Python" by Lord Leighton Fredric. It was one of the most intense sculptures I've ever seen, and was very much masuline. In contrast, the museum had feminine sculptures nearby. The sketches at the top right are from the sculpture "The Bather" by Toft (i think). The sketches at left are from one of the most beautiful and feminine sculptures I've ever seen, calles "Eve" by Thomas Brock.

2006-09-20T02:49:00.000-07:00

Back Torso and Drapery Studies

Some more studies much like the front torso studies, but these are of the back. Again, based off of Rubens paintings with different lay-in techniques for each. I like doing these a lot. I usually have trouble taking a figure from gesture and construction to anatomy. This exercise has helped me practice. Below is a drapery study in charcoal. It needs some work, but I like the direction it's going.

2006-09-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Igor: Cruel but Fair

A sketch and color study of a russian town leader. He is a fair man but you don't want to be on his bad side for he can be incredibly cruel. His concern is for his people. He will protect them at all costs. He is judge, jury and executioner and he has no mercy for the accused.

2006-09-18T02:11:00.000-07:00

Tie Interceptor

I started taking a Maya class this semester and it's really fun! So far we've worked on tutorials which mainly involve modeling and limited animation. I've been working on a Tie Interceptor just for fun and I thought I would share it. It's still a work in progress, but I'm learning a lot and I think it's coming out really well.

2006-09-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

Torso Studies

These are long torso studies based off of 3 Rubens paintings. I really had fun with them. I used a different lay-in for each pose and then went in after and worked on the torso.

2006-09-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

The Flash

A random and completely silly sketch i did for my friend, done with a mouse in about 1 minute. Probably my finest work to date =P

2006-09-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

An Arrogant Character

Just a sketch of an arrogant character for a story idea.

2006-08-30T02:23:00.000-07:00

Goats!

For my advanced animation class, we were asked to design a character which could be animated in various tests throughout the year. In the past, my character designs have lacked vitality, so I wanted to go with something more lively. Towards that goal, I started thinking about the early days of animation, pulling heavily from Disney/Iwerks and Fleischer cartoons from the late 20s and early 30s. After several versions and animals later, I found pleasing shapes with a goat sketch I had done. In order to increase the versatility of the design towards animation, I worked with proportions closer to that of Warner Brothers characters of the 40s.

Designing this character was fun because I imagined the world in which he lived and the various situations and gags he would encounter. As a depression-era goat, his schtick is being terribly hungry and endlessly searching for food and ways to get it. Goats are known to eat anything, so gags can be written around that theme.

2006-08-29T03:11:00.000-07:00

A Summer Recap

What a great summer! I started off by finishing the "Tube" film I had started during the semester for Intermediate Animation. My goal was to get it into Ottawa (OIAF). Unfortunately it was not to be. But summer had bigger and better things in store for me.

Working on my own film was fun but stressful. I had complete control over all aspects of the film, but that also meant I was responsible for the completion of every square millimeter of it as well. Despite being well prepared and devoting myself full time to the project, the home stretch was riddled with all nighters and culminated in an obligatory mad rush to the post office. I definitely learned a LOT from that experience, which helped me immensely while working on a second film back at school.

After working feverishly to finish off my own film for Ottawa, it was back to school (of all places) to help Dave Chai work on his next film. I didn't realize how much fun hard work could be. (I wish I could explian all the crazy things that happened during production like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, dragonforce, nerf basketball, and the infamous quote wall, but that would be a whole new blog which I'll probably never have time to write!)

If this experience taught me nothing else it's that I enjoy working in a group environment. Nothing beats the camaraderie (and the instant feedback!) of a large group of good hard working peers. I know I'm making it sound sugary and sweet, but it really was a great environment in which to work. We all worked hard, but we all played hard at the same time. I miss it already.

The tubby Superman sketch above right was just one of the many fun images that came out of that very environment. Here's a more traditional Superman at bottom left.

The group experience has shown me that what I strive for in this line of work is a combination of individual self drive and peer support. I'm hoping that one day I will be able to find such an environment in which to work. As for now, school has started and it's on to (yep!) another film!

2006-03-28T23:24:00.000-08:00

Hello world!