Thursday, November 13, 2008

The Northern Pass

One of the reasons I have been trying to learn Maya is so I can make 2.5d backgrounds for my projects.  I have been playing around with this a lot in the last few weeks with little success.  I usually run into trouble with transperancy and alpha channel issues on my projection maps.  Nothing ever seems to work but I'll get it here at some point.

Bellow I have posted a rough background plate of the great norther pass overlooking the city of Wu which I hope to use for this, my second attempt at 2.5d.  I painted everything in layers.  There are about 20 in all.  So I should have a lot to play with.  I'll post my progress as I go.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

The little CG Hut

I have been ripping my brains out trying to learn Maya.  Below is a simple set that I built following the learning maya tutorial book.  I elaborated on the lesson and came up with this little camera move bellow. Baby steps.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Muddy boots

Here is a fun little sequence I found in my sketchbook from a few weeks back. I'm in the process of trying to scan everything so there should be a lot of new art up in the next few days.

Monday, October 20, 2008

"Error"

Nothing is more frustrating than following a maya tutorial and not having anything work. Instinctually I think I am too blame and out of habit start the tutorial over from the beginning whenever I get some sort of error message. Then, after failing again, and again to get some basic function to work I do the unthinkable. I break down and call someone for help.

I am humbled as they calmly stride over to the computer and kindly explain to me what is going wrong. Magically they dig through hidden pull down windows, use complex key commands and preform what can only be described as some type of digital alchemy. I am in awe hovering over their shoulder. And then it happen.

"Error". Cooly, they try again. "Error". and again. "Error. Error. Error. Error". In frustration and rage my help transforms into some sort of Mr. Hyde type beast. They growl at the screen and bang at the keys. I step back and take a deep breath. its ok. It's not me this time. Its Maya.

Maya sucks.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

ALIEN EVOLUTION THEORY


Digging though some old files I stumbled across a document explaining my character design ideas for the Space Chimp Aliens.


A QUICK OVERVIEW: 9/15/06

At first observation biological classification on the Planet wazoo appears chaotic, irrational and non-sequidor in nature, on closer inspection though one will find a clear distinct set of rules and laws at play.
Life on the planet Wazoo can be categorized into three major kingdoms:  Vegetables, Fruits, and Nuts.

MACRO VIEW: All life on the planet wazoohas evolved from plants.


VEGETABLES:
  •  General overview: low on the evolutionary ladder, characters of the Vegetable kingdom tend to be background/environmental elements that generally interact out of reflex and instinct.  Vegetables can be distinct individual structures but often tend to clump or organize into larger symbiotic communities.  Vegetables, though possessing the capacity for mobility have not evolved any sort of conscious behavior and therefore if left to themselves will generally be content to do nothing.  Instinctually lazy they will always choose the path of least resistance.
  • Design: relatively simple and primitive, very organic, curves, branching structures, etc.
  •  Locomotion:  vegetables are limited to simple, non-efficient, rudimentary form of locomonition, for example; crawling, pulling, pushing, sliding, blobbing, pooling.  For survival reasons they generally tend to flock together in large migratory herds.
  • Color: their lazy nature, lack of individual identity and conservative ideals has led the vegetables to lean towards pastels and more muted colors.
  • Diet: The rich mineral makeup of the planet wazoo
  • Vocalization: none
  • Senses: mainly touch, occasionally ocular and smell.  In general vegetables have only a single sensory organ.
  • Cognitive Skills:  Vegetables are only able to do simple functions. Though incapable of complex actions their symbiotic relationships with each other is often capable of achieving complex results.


FRUITS:
  • General overview: These are distinct characters with an ability to reason, the range of their mental abilities is relative to the phylum and class to which they belong. There are four main Phylum omnipedal, aerfuga(flying), quadrapedal and bipedal.  Bipedal being the most intelligent and omnipedal the least. Fruits have distinct and complex communal organization traits.  They tend to share strong bonds with their collective environments and tend to suppress selfish ideals.  Curious and docile by nature, the fruits tend to be open, creative, sensitive and forgiving.  Unfortunatly for the fruits the higher their mental skills the greater their sense of self doubt, hence the general trend of communal rather than individual identity. Fruits tend to look before the leap.  Actually they are often so involved with looking and thinking about the various possibilities, variations, reasons for and against leaping that they never get around to leaping at all.
  • Design: Fruits are made from a gelatinous clear medium and range from the simple to the almost simple, omnipedal being the simplest, followed by aerfuga , quadripedals and then bipedal.  Organic smooth, rounded shapes keep the fruits relatively easy on the eye. Smooth and shiny.
  • Locomotion: Their strong cognitive skills have allowed the fruits to evolve the ability to manipulate their gelatinous structures into many distinct forms of locomotion.
  • Colors: happy bright colors
  • Diet: Herbivores
  • Vocalization: relative to mental capacities
  • Senses: all
  • Cognitive Skills: Generally bright, generally put others before themselves
  • Common descriptors: elegant, bright, fragile, tidy, friendly, radiant, rhythmic


    NUTS:
    • General overview: These are distinct characters with a strong inclination towards action and impatient repetitive activity. Millions of years of thoughtless activity have led the Nuts to evolve into asymmetric, bulky, inefficient, clumsy, awkward, poorly balanced creatures who live in the now.  A lack of foresight, hindsight and common sense, compounded with a generally good work ethic has led them to being the dominant species on the planet Wazoo.  It is difficult to categorize the nuts into distinct Phylum for their erratic rather infunctional evolutionary track is absurd and therefore indefinable.  The fate of their species is ruled by “the survival of the luckiest” They tend to leap before they look.  In the words of their most famous leader, “we are gathered hear today..….hey look a cloud!”
    • Design: The most complex on the planet but least thought out.  Impractical, non-symmetric, tacky, gaudy and awkward, with a flare for flamboyant wastefulness.
    • Locomotion: Currently the trend has been bipedal motion even though it is awkward for many who have more or less appendages.
    • Colors: Tacky, bright, intense clashing
    • Diet: Omnivores, know to eat rocks, sharp sticks, poisoned fruit punch and discarded gum on occasion.
    • Vocalization: Talk a lot, very opinionated and expresses.  Enjoy complimenting each other and themselves.
    • Senses: all but common sense
    • Cognitive Skills: Slow, forgetful attracted to shinny things.  It has been theorized that they have a very strong collective subconscious
    • Common Descriptors: Funny, Funny looking, comic, strange, odd, lost, theatric, over the top, #*%&!, awkward, off-beat

      Sunday, September 7, 2008

      "Post"tramatic stress

      After getting bumped from story and character design there wasn't much for me to do around the office. Still I tried to be productive and help the art department out as much as I could, but it was very uncomfortable. I was no longer welcomed in the Space Chimps universe. For the next month I mainly just waited around for my contract to end. Here are a few of the loose ends.