Birthday E-Card Finished!

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

Coming Soon!

E-Card Update

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

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

Animatable Andrew

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!

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

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

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

Pascual

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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.