...to a theater near you!

Today was the submission deadline for thesis poster images. You were allowed to submit as many as you wanted for consideration, and even make images for postcards- but I put all my time into this one poster. I hope that it will be selected- if so, there will be a huge glossy poster in the SVA Computer Art building on one of the walls... so wish me luck!

This image makes me really happy, and I'm so pleased with how things came out... it's like, a symbol that I've accomplished something big so far... but of course, I've still got a long ways to go in this short time left. I want to see these guys moving on screen and beyond these still images in their final renders already!

HENSHIN!

Read

Yay. This is my first test render shot (just this single frame for now) that has this degree of finish with a completed background and completed character with completed animation all here. It's pretty much a shot that could be rendered out completely if not for the constant revisions that can always be made to things. It's just a test after all... doesn't feel super final or concrete but it's getting there.

A note on the books: I don't know who made those beautiful book spines but I give them credit for their wonderfulness... Those are taken from various stock images which I then adjusted as needed to fit my thesis' look and colors, and then applied to the polys... but for the most part they are intact from how the look in the original photos. And there you go- some kind of magic trick revealed... I guess??? (I just needed to say that because I'd feel a bit guilty if people thought I painted those one by one... oh no nooo....)

Keep working hard everyone we can do it. I really hope you like the look of this shot.

Thesis Love

This is for you guys. Let's work our hardest and our best in these final months. We can do it!

Edit: note this is a picture featuring Will Clark's thesis character "Warren", David Han's alien, and my character "Read".

-Eric!

catch the 3:10

today's lil' bit of progress. :) I hope the train station makes a cool impression with the graffiti.

ants in pants in rants

Working better and better as the mind sharpens towards the goal... blurry, but getting clearer. Concentration... need to level up in that. The age old battle between what one feels like doing (drawing cartoons) and what one should be doing (thesis) has been at it again but I will try my best to prioritize. After a better and slightly longer work day than yesterday, I ended it with a doodle (well, I need that outlet right?). The convoluted background is a slightly more updated render with shop signs! Don't mind my doodles all over the picture... I was actually trying out to see what colors and additional models/elements may be needed, like giant satellite dishes!... ???

p.s.- I still think some sort of 2d animation elements would be amazing for this thesis. But that's just a whiff of a thought- gotta focus on my 3d right now!

To arms!

Are you guys getting tired of my dolled up renders? I kind of am. With not so much as two months still left for thesis I am working on getting shaders and textures done so I can render the front animation portions while still being able to move forward with the animations. Since I am focusing on the environment for the time being I still won't show any animations yet- but I thank you guys who did get to see what I have in the labs and whom all gave kind feedback and constructive input! I am pretty much done with the animation of the civillian side of things (the whole intro being their everyday-sides first)- so it's up to the heroe-sides to finish the job now. Just Keith is left to be finished with blendshapes and weighting then the whole team is golden. And... an egg... one vicious alien-laser-spewing-egg is looming over me. After I complete the environment's textures I'll finish up the characters' textures too... gotta get to some test renders quick to debug if need be.

Anyhow- up there are three more further developed concept/renders to close in on just how exactly I want this intangible-amorphous thing to finally look. But- as we all know, the word "final" is nowhere near these images either, but it's certainly more than the starters I had when I first made this blog! Cheers to progress~ of any kind, big and small! Since these were just mock ups, I just used old renders of the characters and so those are not the latest of the models (sorry). Only the town is updated there.

Winter break was lovely- oh so lovely, but no more. To arms brothers~ let's go slay some monster theses! ("thesis" in plural form, I have just learned from dictionary.com, is "theses"... but I still like to blurt out thesisisiss or thesiIIiiii...)

-later all, lemme know what you think of the LOOK! W.I.P. look mind you~

sam keith & read...

...are rigged and ready to go~! They've been weighted to the tasks that will be needed of them and so that helped to make things quicker though I did face quite a few obstacles. The blendshapes for their expressions are also completed (I am so happy Read just needs eyebrow movements... that's all there is to it)! Here's just a little snapshot of them in poses. Unfortunately, you can't see from just this that Read has eyebrows (they're completely invisible here... that'll need shaders to help out) and if you notice, Sam's chewin' on a toothpick.

After I complete a rig I usually will show it to Dave and he'll test it out and pose it to see what works well or doesn't work well while having fun with the character. It's really cool being able to get feedback on the rigs like that. The first two neat poses there are actually his playing around with the rig... and then there is my wonderfully uninspired Read pose... haha. Hope you're liking the progress- I will do my best to animate the shots that have these "civilian" versions in them and get those completed.

In other news, thanks to Dae I finally got to see all of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan! Its such a mind blowing anime and its been a great big help in inspiring me for thesis. I'd really like to use some techniques for explosions, speed lines, backgrounds, and dust clouds that I've seen in the show, and maybe even convey a similar energy the show gives off in my final thesis through the fight scene that will take place. I already wanted to have a lot of dynamic energy in my thesis to begin with, and then there came along Gurren Lagan and it's now challenged me to push everything further!