Barney & the Men in Pink Animatic

The animatic for Barney and the Men in Pink.  I have a bit to add to the beginning and end, but after that it's time to get in front of the camera myself and do a video pitch so I can start a Kickstarter campaign to fund actually doing the short ... and writing & producing the second part (or the rest of the series).

An old project

Back in February I tried to land a local freelance gig that would have been ongoing.  I spent over sixty hours on this without getting paid anything.  I couldn't come any closer to what this guy's client wanted -- to reproduce a previous freelance 3D artists work.  I was working on something that had already been done.

The image on top is what I was given to match (along with the CAD file used to model it, an the sample images for texturing.)  The only thing I can figure is buddy had changed the colours of the textures, because I couldn't even reproduce his renders using his textures, model, lighting, and render settings!  The architect was a nice guy, I liked him and wanted to help him out.  But this was ridiculous.  Getting revisions of "it just doesn't feel the same" second hand.  I suppose it comes with working freelance.

I didn't sign an NDA, so I hope nobody takes offence to my posting this.

Spider Clown WIP #3

I finished up a base mesh, though I'm not happy with the legs.  I sculpted and painted the head, but haven't done the body yet.  I really should, though.  I'm having some issues with my render settings.  I cleared up the worst of it and swapped out the bug eyes for human eyes (we called them gnomon eyes in school because of the tutorial the instructor learned the technique from).  Maybe I'll even rig him up so I can at least put him in a better pose.

Spider Clown WIP #2

I spent a few more hours fixing up the base, played with the lighting set-up ... and this is what I have.  I separated the legs into segments, so in smooth preview you can see through them ... I'll have to fix that.  And then it's on to sculpting and painting in Zbrush!  Well ... I want to add hands where the claws should be, and a forked tongue just for fun.  And it's supposed to be a  clown, it needs clown hair!  And ... a bowtie?  Collar thing?  Polka dots?  I don't know....

Spider-Clown

It's been too long.  Every time I get started on something, someone comes along and asks me to do something else.  Usually it involves either money or helping someone who is providing free room and board, and since I'm unemployed ... well, my portfolio doesn't win.  So I'll have to post some WIPs, I guess.

So Halloween is coming up.  And I had this idea to combine the two things that get the biggest freak-out from my girlfriend: spiders and clowns.  Basically, the approach I decided to take is to put a clown head on a big spider.  Not exactly original, but oh well.  I haven't gotten to painting it up as I'm not even sure I'm happy with the base-mesh for the sculpt!

I just spent two and a half hours waiting on a render of a small camera move and lighting ... only to find that I rendered the wrong camera.  Damn.  So here's a playblast instead!

Wicked Fantastic

A quick (two hour...) character sketch and paint inspired by  conversation with someone I know only as wickedfantastic.  She is on the lookout for her nemesis, General Buzzkill!

wokflow example?

It's a workflow.  Or it's an adventuring party.  However you want to look at it.  Kria the Sorceress and Mick the Magician team up with Ba'Ruke and his grandmother to defeat evil.  That sort of thing.

Freelancing

I've been attempting freelance work for the past few months.  Nothing has worked out so far, but today I was inspired to do a quick sketch for one of the ads I looked at:

The Gang

I figured I might as well do something productive with all this free time I had, so I thought I'd fix my character's rigs. Then I decided while I was at it I might as well do some re-designing. A rough idea of colours and ideas, some proportions are frightening. Critiques? What do you think?

Lizard

This guy started as a doodle while trying to think.  Came out pretty good considering how little time he took.

Oh Maya, how I've missed you.

I'm not even close to done this.  It feels too fast, there's a bit more I want to add, and I need to do some modeling and rigging before I can animate half of it.  Just a rough blocking out because I'm not all that good at storyboarding.

I wish this were 3D

But it isn't.  It's a photograph I took last weekend.  It may have been tweaked a bit in Photoshop....

It's Been a While

This was pretty much the first thing I ever did in 3DS Max.  It took some getting used to, but I got the hang of it after.  Don't have any of the work from Gagetown to put up here though, that's why I've been quiet for so long.

New Demo Reels

I used the song Joy to the World by Three Dog Night in these reels.

Alehouse poly-count reduction update.

I've continued making a lower poly model of the Alehouse, I think I've got the count down enough.  Now I just need to adjust the textures and model the signs and lights and whatever else will make it look right.  And have three camera moves rendered off and cut into my new demo reel that is due next Friday.  I can do it.  The high poly image would look better if I hadn't forgotten to cut holes in my "mortar" plane that is only there to give the white between bricks in the textures I baked out.  And something weird is going on in the top right of the front in the low poly; that shouldn't be hard to fix though.  I've been learning lots.

 These two renders more accurately show the difference.  The first is 80 467 faces, while the second is 783 672 faces.  Now I just have to make the older textures match the new ones.

More on my 4K of my "party"

Some older renders, followed by an AO of the new poses.  A bit dark, but I like the way it looks on it's own.  This last one is where I'm at, I just forgot to put a stronger light on Mick's face.  The AO passes darken it up too much because of the brim of his hat.  I also am getting a shadow of the feather-cards hanging from Sancho's arm that doesn't look right, I might have to increase my raytracing settings.

4K Party

Another 4K I'm putting together for school.  There are a few problems I've noticed, luckily before I tried rendering it off at 4K instead of this 1K test.  It's already taking over three hours for the beauty shot.  Nine characters, some of whom aren't as far along as I thought.  Three more that I wanted to have in there as well, but I haven't even started rigging them yet.


I made some small changes, rendered it again.  Made took the feather cards out of the AO pass, adjusted the framing, moved my Royal Guard Stikfa riding the Eyebat....  Played with it a bit in post.  I have a couple poses to adjust and a lot of lighting work to do to get what I want.
















Some better posing and more lighting ... still not there yet though.

 Almost there!  Maybe light link my rim lights so that each character pops a bit more, add a light for Mick's face, and then I should be done, I think.

polycount reduction

Modeling individual bricks was a bad idea.  I've managed to make some good textures from it though.  If only I weren't about four weeks behind on finishing my environment model because I had to take the time to reduce the poly count so the scene is manageable.  I've learned quite a bit on this project, hopefully I can show it.

thinking

One of the final projects I have to do is a series of 4K renders, of whatever I want.  This is only 1K, but I'm still working out some issues with it.  So far I'm using a Beauty, Shadow, AO, and LightFog pass and putting it together in Photoshop.  I can't get the sub-surface scattering and light fog in the same render, so I need at least those two.

I'm thinking of making a board game.

“Mick's Magical Mazes” is a board game where the board is made up of hexagonal tiles with a 'door' on each side to guarantee that there is always a path between two tiles. The players work independently or in groups to clear each section of the maze, fighting it's denizens and collecting loot. When no more can be accomplished on the current 'map', simply exit the maze and lay out a new one! “Mick's Magical Mazes” are inhabited by zombies and minotaurs as well as guitar-stealing hipsters, near-sighted big-game hunters, and that annoying teenage girl who thinks you're her best friend. Throughout “Mick's Magical Mazes” you can find loot such as the Spoon of Super Strength, the Codpiece of Charming Wit, and the Glasses of Hidden Doors. Use these items to go further into the maze – and live to tell the tale.

The target consumer age group for “Mick's Magical Mazes” would have to be Mature, or 18+. Drugs, alcohol, nudity, violence, and coarse language will all make their appearances. To further define the target audience, university-aged people who could fall into the categories of 'nerd' or 'geek'.

“Mick's Magical Mazes” would be produced here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and sold online using Paypal with the possibility of a few local retail locations such as Strange Adventures carrying the game. Marketing would be a bit slow at first as it would rely more on word-of-mouth, the sharing of links that so often happens when someone finds something they find amusing (whether for good or bad reasons) online. But there would also be a series of short animations (possibly including live actors green-screened in) based on the game idea. Up to seventy-five seven minute episodes.

The funding to start Studio Pultimily, the creator of the game and the studio which would produce the promotional series, would be sought first through government grants (a quick search revealed the company is potentially eligible for up to $900 000 worth of such grants) and if they don't cover the necessary start-up costs and the cost of leasing a space to work in, other investors would need to be brought in.

Studio Pultimily could also produce another version of the game, to be played on devices such as the iPhone. This venture would involve fewer risks and has the potential of being more lucrative. It needn't take up physical space in the studio and can be distributed digitally, instead of needing to ship. and once the game is finished, there is very little cost to reproducing it, unlike with the board game which needs hundreds of pieces to be printed and sorted. Also, additional content can be added quickly and easily.

A next-generation console version of the game could be produced as well, or even a Massively-Multiplayer-Online version. These versions would require immensely more detailed graphics, sounds, and storyline, increasing the production time and cost to be too risky a venture to start at this time.

If a reader is familiar with board games, they may have picked up a similarity to Steve Jackson's Munchkin games. Or maybe there hasn't been enough detail laid out yet. In either case, the concept for this game first sparked in my head after playing Munchkin Cthulhu and Settlers of Catan (possibly in the same night). That was five or six years ago now, and it's evolved somewhat, though it's evolution seems to be somewhat circular.

I've forgotten most of the ideas I've had for the creature or encounter cards, but here is a list of the rather generic ideas I jotted down the other day:

Orcs Goblins Fairies Elves Brownies Pixies Gnomes Sprites Dwarves Kobalds Gnolls Ogres Giants Minotaurs Satyrs Nymphs Dryads Centaurs Firbolg Trolls Zombies

Ghosts Wraiths Banshees Ghouls Skeletons Vampires Werewolves

Imps Demons Angels Leprechauns Dragons Wyverns Drakes

Lich Witch Wizard Mage Magician Warlock Cultist

Priest Cleric Monk Thieves Thugs Rogues Knights

Bandits Pirates Ninjas Cowboys Druids Minions Gryphons

Unicorns Will-o-wisps Gremlins Hippogryphs Mermaids Warriors Barbarians

Sorcerers Bard Minstrel Sphinx Manticore Chimera Golems

Elementals Naga Pegasus Seer Prophet Fortune-Teller Poltergeist

Archer Ranger Hunter Swordsman Brawler Pike-man Musketeers

Assassins Robots Aliens Bounty Hunter Scout Smuggler

Farmer Peasant Noble Sailor Soldier Shaman Witch-doctor

Slave Succubus Mummy Halfling Human Scholar Princess

Prince King Queen Jester Trapper Trader Merchant

Fence Cyborg Marine Bear Wolf Rat Spider

Cat Fox Rabit Dog Deer Moose Snake

Crow Vulture Hawk Pigeon Elephant Crocodile Turtle

Ape Rhino Hippo Raven Spy Messenger Explorer

Gladiator Poet Prisoner Cow Bull Chicken Pig

Horse Goat Sheep

As for the 'setting' of the tiles, I had the idea of starting with a generic stone wall and cobblestones, and then a list of ideas for 'expansions'.

Hedge Maze Gardens Dark Forest Swamp Badlands

Desert Islands Glaciers Crypts Ghost Town Haunted Castle

Dungeons Sewers Bathroom Caves Volcano

Office Building Cruise Ship Ancient Ruins Library Zoo

Mall Spaceship/station Laboratory Warehouse

A device similar to an Abacus would be used for keeping track of a player's attributes, meaning there would be no need for pencil and paper. Some loot cards can be 'equipped' to adjust the 'available' beads, while others 'used' to change the 'current' number of beads.

A physical attack = 1d6 * current Strength

A magical attack = 1d6 * current Magic

Charm opponent = 1d6 * current Wit

A retreat = 1d6 * current Speed

Sneak Past = 1d6 * current Volume

An attack succeeds if greater than the corresponding 'defend' attribute on the target creature.

If attack succeeds (1d6)

stun < 3 > kill

If attack fails (1d6)

Stunned (miss turn) > 3 < loose 1 available Health

A player can perform up to six actions per turn, the number determined by a die roll for each successive action. A failed roll ends the turn.

1^st action: roll > 1

2^nd action: roll > 2

3^rd action: roll > 3

4^th action: roll > 4

5^th action: roll > 5

6^th action: roll = 6

And this is an example of what a board might look like. The tiles would need some work, but you this is the general idea.