6 Monsters

So HERE is a test of our water fountain. It’s still pretty rough, but this is where we are at with the simulation. All of the action in our segment takes place at the water fountain, so it’s important to make it look just right.

As always, let us know what you think!
-Floyd

Here’s a rendered revolve of Buck.

There are some slight tweaks since the stills we uploaded. We adjusted some of the shapes near the eyes and the overall shape of the nose. We also moved the ears more forward.

Let us know what you think…

-Floyd

So here is where we are at with Buck. He’s modeled in a default pose so that we have room to put in all of his animation controls. He won’t appear this stiff in the short!

His front view.
[Read more…]

So here is what the start of a 3D character looks like. We’ve loaded the drawings of Buck (front and side) into Maya. We line them up so they are the same height, and then start modeling away.

In 3D space, you define a surface with three coordinates. Once the computer has these three locations in space, it can put a surface between them. We do this over and over, building up the shape we want. You have to pay special attention to make sure the model is subdivided in the right areas, so that later on it will deform and bend correctly. For example, if the mesh is not segmented enough, the arms will collapse on themselves like a hose when you bend the elbows. Each division and poly placement must be carefully thought out. It is a lot more fun than it sounds.

-Floyd

So here is what we start with in the computer when we begin a new project. Nothing. It’s the same as the 2D guys and gals, but our paper has depth, which is another dimension, thus the 2D (X,Y) and 3D (X,Y, & Z) terms. What do you get for that whole extra “D”? Hopefully something cool. That’s our plan anyhow.

Our model turn arounds have been approved, so we’ll start modeling this week. I plan on showing every step in the process here, in the hopes of shedding light on how we get from the 2D drawings to the final short segment of finished film.

Hopefully, by the time we’re done with the project and the blog, you’ll all know more about how we do what we do. For the 2D crowd, it may be something new. For the 3D crowd, maybe you’ll get bored. At any rate, I hope you [Read more…]

So here is Gailard the Ghost. All we did was kill off Gailard the Scallion.

He’ll be somewhat transparent on the edges, but not in the center (which everyone knows is where the ectoplasm is the thickest). One cool thing in the design (but something that may prove tough for the model/rig) is the way the hands work. We kind of see them as long bits of material, but they can be posed like fingers and hands when they need to be.

What do you think?
-Floyd

This was the quickest way for us to turn Gailard from a scallion to a ghost. It was quick and painless, as scallions feel no pain.

-Floyd

So here’s where we’re headed with Gailard. These were drawn by our guy J Chad Erekson. We tried to keep the proportions of the characters from the sketches we were given, but also add in some more details in the face. All we had to go on was the Post-It note looking sketch which was posted here not too long ago. While we’re putting our own spin on the characters, we don’t want to lose the design elements that made the sketches look so appealing.

[Read more…]

GAILARD – the ghost, or the scallion, or whatever he is – has the most undeserved sense of confidence and courage. While the others might worry about getting caught in some restricted area, or having their monster status found out, Gailard believes they will always wriggle out of any tight jam.

So far he is right.

He thinks great on his feet, or whatever those things are. He knows the six monsters don’t blend in. But somehow his confidence makes them blend in, like professional gate crashers who manage to go undiscovered, usually by adopting the presence of someone who is checking everyone else’s ID. His good cheer is infectious, and when you are in the dumps he will do an amazing impression of someone who actually cares about you and wants you to feel better.

You know he’s full of crap – but you still actually feel better.

WHAT [Read more…]

Hey everyone. Here’s the next fur/effects test for our section of “Six Monsters”.

When dry, soft, wispy fur gets wet, a few different things are happening that change it’s appearance:

·Water gets into the spaces between the fur and makes the color look a bit darker.

·The fur clumps together, making the fur look a bit spikey.

·The fur tends to cling to the surface it is growing from.

·The softness of the ends of the fur disappears, leaving hard looking ends.

Check it out and let us know what you think. The clip is playing slower than normal so that we can see the transition from dry fur to wet fur better. When Buck gets water on him in our boards, it happens much faster than this, and the transition goes by in the blink of an eye.

Dry fur gets wet.

-Floyd