So here I'm again with another script that involves some extraterestrial beings (or mutants). Clearly I must like them a lot. Before designing stage I thought of doing a research on some of the UFO/aliens movies.
Mars Needs Moms (2011) is a 3D animated movies that used motion capture technique. Made by ImageMovers Digital Studios (ImageMovers now) and released by Disney. I've watched this film recently, and although story wasn't that great, it had really good graphics. However motion capture and it's impact on final animation made me feel a bit uncomfortable - character expressions look unnatural (crossing uncanny valley).
Escape from Planet Earth (2013) Canadian 3D animated movie produced by Rainmaker Entertaiment. Again, not so great (basic story), but enjoyable. Had few good design ideas and was nicely animated.
Aliens vs Monsters (2009) 3D animated movie, produced by DreamWorks and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Probably my favourite from all three. Character designs are very cool, inspired by old alien B-movies, story interesting, animation smooth. Aliens vs Monsters was also nominated and won few animation awards.
Saturday, 12 October 2013
Friday, 11 October 2013
VFX production schedule|VFX
Action plan for the next few months of work (known also as VFX module schedule ;) ):
Pre-production stage:
- 4 - 11. 10.13 - brainstorming ideas;
- 11- 18.10.13 - decided on theme, script writing and beginning to create basic storyboards/concept art, consider possible actors and set availability;
16.10 - Premiere Induction (group A+B)
- 18-25.10.13 - continue drawing concepts, design iterations and storyboard; think and blog about VFX effects that are needed (research), take photos of what actual set would look like;
23.10 - DSLR Induction (group A+B)
- 25.10- 1.11.13 - storyboard finished, animatic created during this week, continue on researching VFX solutions, colour keys and set designs made during this week;
29.10 - green screen and lighting induction with Matt Burton. ask for portable
green screen availability and book it for a day (look at shooting footage dates)
- 1.11-8.11.13 - start creating 2D and 3D animation tests (in case of 2D make at least one walk cycle to test design, consider possible design iterations);
- 8-15.11.13 - enjoy BAF :) research sound options, model/paint set for green screen part of a film;
- 15-28.11.13 - finalize pre-production stage,complete any outstanding tasks;
- 29.11.13 - interim crit - all pre-production work (research, storyboards, animatic, concept art, tests, VFX solutions) have to be completed by this time and ready to present.
Production stage:
- 2.12-13.12.13 - shooting footage: using my own Hitachi camera, need to borrow portable green screen (booked in advance);
Post-production stage:
- 16.12-23.12.13 - animate 2D/3D part of the film;
- 24.12.13 - 2.1.2014 - christmas break, so take it easy :) take a break, watch movies and blog about them;
- 3 -10.1.2014 - finish animating, start editing whole footage in After Effects;
- 10- 16.1.2014 - continue on editing, add sound, title and credits.
- 17.01.2014 - Final crit session
- 17- 23.1.14 - check if all exercises required for submission are completed, write evaluation and blog posts (if needed), spent more time editing final film according to received crits.
- 24.01.2014 - Submission deadline - so, if you haven't followed above schedule or something horrible happened, it's too late to panic.. sorry.. proceed to plan B (time travel). But if you followed this mad schedule take a burnt disk (clearly labelled) to Tom between 4 and 4:30.
Introduction to Render Layers|VFX
As a part of our introduction to render layers in Maya we were asked to follow simple tutorial and created a video file in After Effects.
I might be not using Maya in making my final video, however I found today lesson useful when it comes to quick prototyping and checking how things will look like in the end.
Creating new render passes works very similar to layers in Photoshop. Keeping all those different effects separated makes editing effects in After Effects very easy (each pass will be rendered as a separated image sequence).
I've added my own images as a texture to cube.
Reflection pass - first render done with cube, second without, since the cube itself isn't needed in this pass (will be visible in colour pass).
Occlusion pass (that look like Pokoyo animation) is the only pass that doesn't need alpha channels and need to saved as a jpg (other passes need to be in .tiff, .targa or .png format). Self shadowing is only needed between those 2 objects and (same as any other pass) can be changed in After Effects.
After all passes were batch rendered I moved to After Effects to put image sequences together, played a bit with layer settings for each sequence (pass), added back plate and produced final exercise scene.
I might be not using Maya in making my final video, however I found today lesson useful when it comes to quick prototyping and checking how things will look like in the end.
Creating new render passes works very similar to layers in Photoshop. Keeping all those different effects separated makes editing effects in After Effects very easy (each pass will be rendered as a separated image sequence).
I've added my own images as a texture to cube.
Reflection pass - first render done with cube, second without, since the cube itself isn't needed in this pass (will be visible in colour pass).
Occlusion pass (that look like Pokoyo animation) is the only pass that doesn't need alpha channels and need to saved as a jpg (other passes need to be in .tiff, .targa or .png format). Self shadowing is only needed between those 2 objects and (same as any other pass) can be changed in After Effects.
After all passes were batch rendered I moved to After Effects to put image sequences together, played a bit with layer settings for each sequence (pass), added back plate and produced final exercise scene.
Thursday, 10 October 2013
Responsive| searching for competition
For this module we were asked to search and participate in one competition or live brief and document our journey through blog posts.
As illustration, concept art and animation are my main interests I've search for competitions that are looking for work in those fields. Below is a list of competitions that I've found somehow interesting.
http://film.britishcouncil.org/festivals-directory?p=4&deadline=March
http://www.annecy.org/annecy-2014/festival/official-selection
http://www.berwickfilm-artsfest.com/
http://www.carmarthenbayfilmfestival.co.uk/page10.html
http://film.britishcouncil.org/online-short-film-festival-kinodot
http://kinodot.com/eng/
http://www.sapporoshortfest.jp/
http://cinematique.co.uk/
http://www.nowehoryzonty.pl/artykul.do?id=266
http://www.wimbledonshorts.com/
http://www.krakowfilmfestival.pl/en/festival/about_festival
http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/#/submit-films.html
http://www.awn.com/events/competitive-festivals
http://www.dandad.org/dandad/events?series=New%20Blood
http://www.zlinfest.cz/en/2014/submissions
There is also a website with a list of animation festivals, were you can find informations about various events around world. Unfortunately most of those websites doesn't have a revelant information for 2013/2014 submissions. I'm planning to come back and check them after few weeks.
There are also competitions on sites like threadless, deviantart, conceptart.org or cgsociety that are run on regular basis. Moreover Balistic Publishing started shipping Expose 11, so the submission call for issue 12 will be open soon.
I had a look at D&AD New Blood Awards for past 2 years and found some categories and briefs interesting and challenging. Personally, despite of my extensive research into animation festivals, I might be more into illustration/design related task as it would challenge me more and let me explore different ideas.
As I mentioned earlier, I'll check above listed websites again in the next few weeks and decide in which competition I want to participate.
As illustration, concept art and animation are my main interests I've search for competitions that are looking for work in those fields. Below is a list of competitions that I've found somehow interesting.
http://film.britishcouncil.org/festivals-directory?p=4&deadline=March
http://www.annecy.org/annecy-2014/festival/official-selection
http://www.berwickfilm-artsfest.com/
http://www.carmarthenbayfilmfestival.co.uk/page10.html
http://film.britishcouncil.org/online-short-film-festival-kinodot
http://kinodot.com/eng/
http://www.sapporoshortfest.jp/
http://cinematique.co.uk/
http://www.nowehoryzonty.pl/artykul.do?id=266
http://www.wimbledonshorts.com/
http://www.krakowfilmfestival.pl/en/festival/about_festival
http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/#/submit-films.html
http://www.awn.com/events/competitive-festivals
http://www.dandad.org/dandad/events?series=New%20Blood
http://www.zlinfest.cz/en/2014/submissions
There is also a website with a list of animation festivals, were you can find informations about various events around world. Unfortunately most of those websites doesn't have a revelant information for 2013/2014 submissions. I'm planning to come back and check them after few weeks.
There are also competitions on sites like threadless, deviantart, conceptart.org or cgsociety that are run on regular basis. Moreover Balistic Publishing started shipping Expose 11, so the submission call for issue 12 will be open soon.
I had a look at D&AD New Blood Awards for past 2 years and found some categories and briefs interesting and challenging. Personally, despite of my extensive research into animation festivals, I might be more into illustration/design related task as it would challenge me more and let me explore different ideas.
As I mentioned earlier, I'll check above listed websites again in the next few weeks and decide in which competition I want to participate.
Alice in Wonderland|VFX
Alice in Wonderland (2010) is a fantasy movie directed by Tim Burton, starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was inspired by fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll. Although it receiveda mixed reviews from critics and various websites, it was also nominated and won many awards, e.g. for visual effects or costume design.
Alice in Wonderland movie is a mixture of live action and computer animation, with heavy use of VFX and green screen. Above behind the scene footage shows how some of the scenes in the movie were shot and how many objects had to actually be added in post production stage by VFX crew. Moreover the Red Queen (played by Helena Bonham Carter) had to be 'created' digitally due to unnatural proportions - massive, funny head and quite small body. Another interesting fact is that the movie were originally shot in 2D (with one camera) and then converted into 3D.
As it action is set in fantasy world, the amount of CGI used shouldn't really be suprising. Still, even with that, Burton managed to keep it fairly realistic and believable. The interactions between human and animated characters seem natural thanks to great amount of CGI usead. Wired published an interesting article about visual challenges set by Alice in Wonderland.
Alice in Wonderland movie is a mixture of live action and computer animation, with heavy use of VFX and green screen. Above behind the scene footage shows how some of the scenes in the movie were shot and how many objects had to actually be added in post production stage by VFX crew. Moreover the Red Queen (played by Helena Bonham Carter) had to be 'created' digitally due to unnatural proportions - massive, funny head and quite small body. Another interesting fact is that the movie were originally shot in 2D (with one camera) and then converted into 3D.
As it action is set in fantasy world, the amount of CGI used shouldn't really be suprising. Still, even with that, Burton managed to keep it fairly realistic and believable. The interactions between human and animated characters seem natural thanks to great amount of CGI usead. Wired published an interesting article about visual challenges set by Alice in Wonderland.
Wednesday, 9 October 2013
Mosaic Cafe Exhibition|PPP
Few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get exhibition space in Mosaic Cafe in Leeds College of Art.
I've got 10 different marker pieces on display for a good few weeks (possibly until Christmas).
I've to admit: I had a bit of trouble in choosing which pieces I want to show ;).
Putting show together is hard, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to present, a certain theme or type of media that will make all pieces work together. As it's my first ever solo 'show' I'm still very nervous how people will react to it, would they like it or hate it? Will see ;) One thing for sure: it's very exciting :)
I've got 10 different marker pieces on display for a good few weeks (possibly until Christmas).
I've to admit: I had a bit of trouble in choosing which pieces I want to show ;).
Putting show together is hard, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to present, a certain theme or type of media that will make all pieces work together. As it's my first ever solo 'show' I'm still very nervous how people will react to it, would they like it or hate it? Will see ;) One thing for sure: it's very exciting :)
Tuesday, 8 October 2013
Over summer break|PPP2
Summer break sure gone fast. When I was finishing first year in May I had so many ideas for things I had to try and draw. However I haven't manage to do everything I was planning to but overall I don't think I've wasted that much of my break time.I have a part-time job and as soon as my school break started I got asked to work extra days.Still I've managed to sketch on daily basis and travel a bit.
I tent to concentrate more on improving my drawings skills than anything else. I did few still life studies over summer to help me get better understanding of form and values. Such quick (max 40mins in my case) studies are very useful and I should be doing them more often.
I'm painting in b&w because I don't want to get distracted by colour, and just concentrate on values.
Below some studies I did few month ago, comparing how much I've improved:
I tent to concentrate more on improving my drawings skills than anything else. I did few still life studies over summer to help me get better understanding of form and values. Such quick (max 40mins in my case) studies are very useful and I should be doing them more often.
I'm painting in b&w because I don't want to get distracted by colour, and just concentrate on values.
Below some studies I did few month ago, comparing how much I've improved:
By looking at them I've realised that my earlier studies lacked a wide value range, ending up being too bright or too dark. Posting them in my conceptart.org SB thread got me needed crits and comments.
DFGA lvl 5 Goals|PPP2
Goals for 2013/2014 semester (aka year 2), digital film, games and animation.
Yes, summer break sure went fast. In few weeks I'll be back to usual mad uni routine, including tons of projects and written tasks. It's a hard work but I've enjoyed my first year way too much.
This time I've a clearer idea of what I want to achive, however this list may change when I actually get this year briefs and slowly go through them. So... Things I want to improve this year are:
- time management - I haven't missed a single deadline last year, however I had a massive pile of work to-do at some point and rushed few things (I'd probably do them better otherwise). This year counts to our degree mark so I need to work extra hard :)
- drawing skills - Oh yeah, I know.. it's my ultimate infinite goal, but hey, I really want to improve and become better artist. Hopefully I'll be brave enough to go for life drawing classes.
- 2D animation - play more with timelines in Photoshop and AfterEffects
- networking - I'm introvert and I love my peace. Networking is probably going to be the hardest challenge of all since meeting new people freaks me out, but I want get a studio job after college so badly I'm willing to do it! :)
- developing my own brand - or maybe more of a 'name', since the whole idea of 'branding' makes me think of graphic desiners not concept artists/animators. I've started it a while ago, slowly building online presence on various art related websites, but never really went all crazy and active. (I'm proud of my cghub and Behance portfolios.) Moreover, when I say 'brand' I also mean a coherent style that could be easy to recognise and will 'well present' my work. I may give a try and create a moodboard (or range of them) that will present my interests as an artist (inspired by StuckWithPins blog).
- spent more time working on personal projects - I got so many stories to tell stuck in my mind..
Monday, 7 October 2013
VFX module - brainstorming ideas
For VFX Smoke& Mirrors brief we were asked to create a 1 minute long film (including titles) that will connote one of the following themes: Good Vs Evil; Triumph Over Adversity; Death as a Part of Life; Man/Woman Vs Nature.
I personally like the last theme most, it's a bit cliche, but it also gives enough room to explore different ideas. Moreover I'll be leaning more towards cartoony, less realistic approach. I'm also considering merging 2D animation with film footage. Also I need to remember that the final film need to have some live footage and green screen with 3D or 2D set in it.
As I want story circle around nature/animals I've brainstormed few possible scenarios:
- alien plant/creature vs man;
- cute baby octopus escaping from plate as it doesn't want to be eaten;
- forest, scene where a main character is running away from mutated plant/animal-creature;
- evil/alien plant growing in garden and attacking character.
I've
also got an idea for other theme (Death as a Part of Life); were the
character goes through all stages of life, from being newborn to teenager to elder person, aging as video progress. It could be along the lines of old xbox ad. However the difficulty with this theme is that I don't have any VFX experience and don't really know how to create something like that ;)
Next step in pre production process will be to create concept art, clean script, storyboards and animatic. I really like the first idea for Man vs Nature theme and will develop it futher in the next few days.
Next step in pre production process will be to create concept art, clean script, storyboards and animatic. I really like the first idea for Man vs Nature theme and will develop it futher in the next few days.
Saturday, 5 October 2013
Game of Thrones - scenes breakdowns | VFX
About year ago I've developed a habit of watching VFX breakdowns for various shows and movies (mostly because I was curious of how certain scenes where done). Therefore following post is just a beggining of what is about to start :).
Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama based on series of books by George R.R. Martin. As it action is set in fanatasy world, full of dragons, evil enemies and beautiful landscapes, this show rely heavily in visual effects. It also have a very interesting and extensive library of scenes breakdowns. Moreover there is a good number of companies involved in producing VFX.
Game of Thrones - SSVFX Breakdowns from Ed Bruce on Vimeo.
Screen Scene VFX completed over 350 shots for Game of Thrones, season 1. Here are a few breakdowns selects.
Spin VFX worked on over 200 shots for the third season. Video with breakdowns for selected scenes as well as few stills are also availble to few via their website.
Pixomondo helped in creating a believable dragons and shared they work in this 3 minutes long video.
A very interesting 3G tracking breakdown was uploaded to vimeo by PeanutFX.
Game of Thrones - BREAKDOWN from PEANUT on Vimeo.
The amount of work that goes into making each episode of the show can be suprising, however American drama series are usually very well created and get nominated to many awards. Also, budget of those shows is far from 'small' ;).
Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama based on series of books by George R.R. Martin. As it action is set in fanatasy world, full of dragons, evil enemies and beautiful landscapes, this show rely heavily in visual effects. It also have a very interesting and extensive library of scenes breakdowns. Moreover there is a good number of companies involved in producing VFX.
Game of Thrones - SSVFX Breakdowns from Ed Bruce on Vimeo.
Screen Scene VFX completed over 350 shots for Game of Thrones, season 1. Here are a few breakdowns selects.
Spin VFX worked on over 200 shots for the third season. Video with breakdowns for selected scenes as well as few stills are also availble to few via their website.
Pixomondo helped in creating a believable dragons and shared they work in this 3 minutes long video.
A very interesting 3G tracking breakdown was uploaded to vimeo by PeanutFX.
Game of Thrones - BREAKDOWN from PEANUT on Vimeo.
The amount of work that goes into making each episode of the show can be suprising, however American drama series are usually very well created and get nominated to many awards. Also, budget of those shows is far from 'small' ;).
Friday, 4 October 2013
Visual Effects and Animation for Film Production - checklist
Checklist for Visual Effects and Animation for Film Production module
main deadlines:
- 29.11.2013 - interim crit - 10 mins presentation of pre production research; storyboards, animatic, concept art are ready; look into different locations for shoot, actors, possible sound; research towards achieving specific visual effects also completed
-> production and post have to be done during this period (from end of Nov to mid
January);
-> shoot film on location;
-> animating and compositing;
- 17.01.2014 - final crit - 1min film is ready for presentation, but still could be slightly changed and improved
- 24.01.2014 - submission deadline : 1 min film submitted in two formats, shot breakdown, tutorial exercises, 15+ blog posts, 1500 evaluation or 5-8 mins podcast.
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Networking|PPP
During this year I've decided to push myself more and get out there, to the wild world of concept art and animation. I was publishing my work on forums and websites before, but never really paid much attention to it. However, since I've joined college, started taking it more seriously. I've started publishing my work often, joined few facebook groups and behance. Since then, I got lot of nice feedback and met many talented artists, who works already in the industry. I've also got myself twitter account which bean also very helpful, although not many people follow me there.
The plan for summer is to improve my drawing skills as well as to do more animations. I'm planning on creating YouTube channel for my short 2D animations (that will be called 'few seconds animated' ;)). Summer definitely will be a busy period, filled with many exciting projects. For next year I'm hoping to get better at time management and make more quality work that I can add to my portfolio.
The plan for summer is to improve my drawing skills as well as to do more animations. I'm planning on creating YouTube channel for my short 2D animations (that will be called 'few seconds animated' ;)). Summer definitely will be a busy period, filled with many exciting projects. For next year I'm hoping to get better at time management and make more quality work that I can add to my portfolio.
2D animation experiments|PPP
2D animation is one of the things I want to do practice more over the summer. I had done few, very basic tests, below is one I did for PPP Reflect presentation:
It is only 24 frames, 8fps. I really enjoyed creating it, but wish I could have more time for creating it. I'm going to visit tutorial websites and learn AfterEffects more since it have many great tools and features.
Monday, 20 May 2013
Transformers Trilogy|PPP
Transformers trilogy is a series of action movies based on popular toy line, directed by Michael Bay and released in 2007, 2009 and 2011. All three movies were massive box office hits.
Although being very successful and lucrative productions, story line is really weak and simple. However, I think it's visuals that attract most viewers. Personally I like to re-watch those movies from time to time, just to see amazing robot animations that those VFX guys did. Getting more familiar with 3D software made me appreciate the work those people did even more, as it's very difficult and time consuming task. Also robots re-desings are very interesting and fresh, with great amount of little moving details.
polish concept artists|PPP
In this post I'll present few of polish concept artists (follow up to the post about polish animators).
Artur Sadlos - is a concept artist, who worked on projects like: Dead Island, Call of Jaruez , The Witcher.
What I really like about his work is the amount of little details he puts in, as well as cartoon-y feel of the illustrations. Bright colours and bold brush strokes are best visible in his personal work, although there're traces of them in his professional work.
Maciej Kuciara - is well known from working for Naughty Dogs (Uncharted, The Last of Us)
Kuciara blends photo textures extremely well in his work, both professional and personal. The quality of published artwork is great, very realistic.
Marek Okon - currently works for Naughty Dogs (The Last of Us), but also did some work for Crysis and many magazines.
His work is very dynamic, full of little flying particles and crazy explosions; mostly sci-fi or fantasy settings.
Artur Sadlos - is a concept artist, who worked on projects like: Dead Island, Call of Jaruez , The Witcher.
What I really like about his work is the amount of little details he puts in, as well as cartoon-y feel of the illustrations. Bright colours and bold brush strokes are best visible in his personal work, although there're traces of them in his professional work.
Maciej Kuciara - is well known from working for Naughty Dogs (Uncharted, The Last of Us)
Marek Okon - currently works for Naughty Dogs (The Last of Us), but also did some work for Crysis and many magazines.
His work is very dynamic, full of little flying particles and crazy explosions; mostly sci-fi or fantasy settings.
Ikuko Itoh|PPP
Ikuko Itoh is a Japanese animator and character designer, mostly known from the work on Princess Tutu and Sailor Moon. I believe it's good to know work of animators from different countries and styles.
Her animations are always very expressive, well - timed and beautiful. Same goes to characters. It is very easy to see, when comparing different seasons of Sailor Moon, as there was many different animators working. Episodes that she mostly worked on have characters very expressive and fluid, with amazing little details and emotions.
Her animations are always very expressive, well - timed and beautiful. Same goes to characters. It is very easy to see, when comparing different seasons of Sailor Moon, as there was many different animators working. Episodes that she mostly worked on have characters very expressive and fluid, with amazing little details and emotions.
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Lois van Baarle|PPP
Lois van Baarle is the freelance artist and animator, with unique sstyle based in Netherlands. I've been fan of her work for good few years and seeing her journey is very inspiring.
I've came across Lois work first through her deviantart account. Her styled changed slightly, techniques improved, but alway had the same 'feel'. I particulary like the line quality - thick and bold, very expressive, dynamic. Also colours are very bright and vivid. One of her favourite theme to draw are pin-u girls.
Lois worked on many projects, drawn graphics for games, graphic novels, did some animations. As she kept publishing a lot of her artwork online, unfortunately she had to deal with a lot of copyright fraud. It must be very difficult to deal with companies based in, for example, China. Luckily her followers are usually happy to help with law issues (how to get a lawyer, basic copyright laws) as well as reporting artwork theft (some of her work was used on sweater and other products).
I've came across Lois work first through her deviantart account. Her styled changed slightly, techniques improved, but alway had the same 'feel'. I particulary like the line quality - thick and bold, very expressive, dynamic. Also colours are very bright and vivid. One of her favourite theme to draw are pin-u girls.
Lois worked on many projects, drawn graphics for games, graphic novels, did some animations. As she kept publishing a lot of her artwork online, unfortunately she had to deal with a lot of copyright fraud. It must be very difficult to deal with companies based in, for example, China. Luckily her followers are usually happy to help with law issues (how to get a lawyer, basic copyright laws) as well as reporting artwork theft (some of her work was used on sweater and other products).
Atomhawk Design|PPP
Atomahawk Design is a visual design studio based in Newcastle, UK. Their specilise in delivering interface and motion graphics for games, film and online entertainment industries.
Some of the projects their worked on: Dead Island, Doctor Who, Enslaved, Pottermore, Wheelman. I've came across this studio thanks to Charlie Bowater, as she is one of the concept artists. Moreover, Atomhawk is trying the Kickstarter platform to crowd-fund their game project: The Realm. I've blogged a little bit more about this amazing project during game module. Futhermore, there is a very good artcile on guardian website.
Their portfolio of work is very rich and interesting. Projects have different styles, from realistic to cartoon-y. Since I'm considering concept art as my future path, it's good to know about many different studios based in UK.
Some of the projects their worked on: Dead Island, Doctor Who, Enslaved, Pottermore, Wheelman. I've came across this studio thanks to Charlie Bowater, as she is one of the concept artists. Moreover, Atomhawk is trying the Kickstarter platform to crowd-fund their game project: The Realm. I've blogged a little bit more about this amazing project during game module. Futhermore, there is a very good artcile on guardian website.
Their portfolio of work is very rich and interesting. Projects have different styles, from realistic to cartoon-y. Since I'm considering concept art as my future path, it's good to know about many different studios based in UK.
Templum Magazine Feature|PPP
Last February one of my traditional pieces was featured in issue 5 of digital Templum magazine.
Memory of Seashells was created during my time in Access course, for Memory brief. I've used range of different media to produce this piece, which include more organic materials, like sea salt and coffee.
As I want to break into creative industry, getting artwork published in a magazine is very important, since it's able to reach to wider audience.
It was my first time getting magazine feature and it was very positive experience, and I definately will try to submit more pieces to other mags in the near future.
Memory of Seashells was created during my time in Access course, for Memory brief. I've used range of different media to produce this piece, which include more organic materials, like sea salt and coffee.
As I want to break into creative industry, getting artwork published in a magazine is very important, since it's able to reach to wider audience.
It was my first time getting magazine feature and it was very positive experience, and I definately will try to submit more pieces to other mags in the near future.
Saturday, 18 May 2013
Basilisk Animation|PPP
Basilisk is a 2D animation created by Ami Thompson, student of Sheridan University.
It is very bright and dynamic piece, with a great humor and interesting character designs, also music complimates the mood. Story may be very simple, but presented in interesting way.
As I found from Ami's blog, she've already interned at Ghibli studio (and met Miyazaki, wow!), which influence can be seen in this short animation. Backgrounds, characters, creatures - everything is painted beautifully, each frame must took a lot of time to create.
Basilisk is pretty good example of what I would love to achive within next few years - vivid, dynamic piece, thats brings a smile :).
It is very bright and dynamic piece, with a great humor and interesting character designs, also music complimates the mood. Story may be very simple, but presented in interesting way.
As I found from Ami's blog, she've already interned at Ghibli studio (and met Miyazaki, wow!), which influence can be seen in this short animation. Backgrounds, characters, creatures - everything is painted beautifully, each frame must took a lot of time to create.
Basilisk is pretty good example of what I would love to achive within next few years - vivid, dynamic piece, thats brings a smile :).
Freelance game project|PPP
Couple months ago I was lucky enough to take part in wonderful project with Jakub Wydro. My task was to create graphics for the iOS game (backgrounds, objects). It was my first paid freelance job, and I've learnt a lot. As I had to work closely with a client and create visuals to cater specific needs, I had to change my approach to drawing. Being pushed outside of my comfort zone (not single character drawn, everything had to be without lineart) and work with tight deadlines also helped me improve - especially when it comes to technique and Photoshop workflow.
Above is a little example of what I did for this project, more pieces can be viewed here or there.
Above is a little example of what I did for this project, more pieces can be viewed here or there.
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Nest comics|PPP
Thanks to Sacha I was able to contribute to two issues of college magazine Nest. I enjoy working with them, as the themes where very funny and interesting to illustrate (and a bit challenging).
Working with different people on a project is a very rewarding experience, plus, usually you can learn a lot :)! As book/magazine illustration is something I would love to pursuit in the future, getting a chance to work along with editorial department, managing deadlines, and producing work to the high standart (also keeping in mind the given themes and target audience - students) was great.
I had some previous experience with game and college magazines years ago, when I was still living in Poland. I think that made me more aware of how hectic and crazy deadlines can be (basically, can you draw it now ;)).
Working with different people on a project is a very rewarding experience, plus, usually you can learn a lot :)! As book/magazine illustration is something I would love to pursuit in the future, getting a chance to work along with editorial department, managing deadlines, and producing work to the high standart (also keeping in mind the given themes and target audience - students) was great.
I had some previous experience with game and college magazines years ago, when I was still living in Poland. I think that made me more aware of how hectic and crazy deadlines can be (basically, can you draw it now ;)).
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Game Module| Knack
During the GDC Sony annouced PlayStation 4 and Knack is set to be one of the launch titles
As a fan of colorful platform games, Knack definitely got my attention. It's bright, funny and interesting. Particle animations look very good, same goes to neat textures that gave this cartoon-y look. Characters also look very nice, especially little robot creature :). So now I just have to wait for it to be released.
As a fan of colorful platform games, Knack definitely got my attention. It's bright, funny and interesting. Particle animations look very good, same goes to neat textures that gave this cartoon-y look. Characters also look very nice, especially little robot creature :). So now I just have to wait for it to be released.
Unreal Engine 4 Tech Demo
As the next generation consoles are soon to be released (PS4 and Xbox, possibly called Infinity) the new technologies and engines are developed. During Game Developers Conference technical demo of Unreal Engine 4 (developed by Epic Games) was presented.
First demo is called 'Infiltrator' and have amazing textures, great lighting and multiple, complex effects (particles). It look very realistic and dynamic. Even for the technical demo, story of this video is very interesting and I wish it could be made into a real game in the future.
Both of those demos were made specially to show Unreal 4 potencial. First one was run on computer, second one presents the Playstation 4 power and it's ability to deal with complex particle animations.
First demo is called 'Infiltrator' and have amazing textures, great lighting and multiple, complex effects (particles). It look very realistic and dynamic. Even for the technical demo, story of this video is very interesting and I wish it could be made into a real game in the future.
Game Module| Rigging Introduction
During one of the sessions we were introduced to the basics of rigging.
Below is a very basic basic leg rig:
From video guides I've learned about joints and different types of handles, invert kinematics and how they can be use. It was a very important lesson which will be very useful in future projects.
For the level I will need to model and rig fabrics hanged and decorating shells. As I've found rigging a quite relaxing task, and basically enjoying animating, this exercise went quite smoothly. Below screenshots of flag and fabric I've made for my level.
Below is a very basic basic leg rig:
For the level I will need to model and rig fabrics hanged and decorating shells. As I've found rigging a quite relaxing task, and basically enjoying animating, this exercise went quite smoothly. Below screenshots of flag and fabric I've made for my level.
Game Module| Shell House UV Mapping
From the beginning I've knew that shell houses would be a massive challenge for me. Modelling them was pretty difficult. When it came to UV mapping I've decided to use the method I've learnt from 'tree tutorial' made by Mat. I used 'unfold' tool along with cut UV edges, shell spikes were treated like tree branches. It was quite complicated task but I've done it.
Another difficulty that came along was the problem with displaying inside faces of shell houses (as I wanted player to go inside). I've duplicated model, scaled it down and reversed textures to be displayed from inside (I've also changed the inside texture). For the future I've learnt that I need to model a simple inside object.
Another difficulty that came along was the problem with displaying inside faces of shell houses (as I wanted player to go inside). I've duplicated model, scaled it down and reversed textures to be displayed from inside (I've also changed the inside texture). For the future I've learnt that I need to model a simple inside object.
Monday, 13 May 2013
Game Module| Sound Research
So again I'm back to findsounds.com. I've used this site in my previous modules and found it very useful.
Which sounds I need:
water/ wave/splash
seagulls/other birds
wind/wind chimes (bells)
seashell sounds.
After a long research session, I've picked quite a few sound files, which I've then edited and imported as an asset into Unity. I've mostly used scripts to make sounds be designated to certain places in my level.
Which sounds I need:
water/ wave/splash
seagulls/other birds
wind/wind chimes (bells)
seashell sounds.
After a long research session, I've picked quite a few sound files, which I've then edited and imported as an asset into Unity. I've mostly used scripts to make sounds be designated to certain places in my level.
Game Module| Barrels
Finished barrels for studio tasks.
I've made a quite generic fantasy barrel, again using hand-drawn textures. It was a very good exercise before texturing objects for my level.
I'm really proud of futuristic barrel asset I've created in Maya. Although I had some problems at the start (example below), I've manage to over come them :) Lesson for the future - 'keep face together' box selected!
Futuristc barrel was heavily inspired by games like Jak & Daxter and Rachet and Clank as they're full of nice, electric crates and barrels :)
I've made a quite generic fantasy barrel, again using hand-drawn textures. It was a very good exercise before texturing objects for my level.
I'm really proud of futuristic barrel asset I've created in Maya. Although I had some problems at the start (example below), I've manage to over come them :) Lesson for the future - 'keep face together' box selected!
Futuristc barrel was heavily inspired by games like Jak & Daxter and Rachet and Clank as they're full of nice, electric crates and barrels :)
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Game Module| The Realm Game
The Realm is a game project, created by Atomhawk Design and Latern Interactive. The Kickstarter campain was started in late April in order to fund this wonderful looking point&click adventure game. I found out about it through Charlie Bowater tweets (as she is one of the amazing concept artists).
Game is set in fantasy world, beautifully crafted and magical. Story might seems to be quite simple, however characters are very charming and interesting.
Visually it look stunning, with great attention to detail and great color palette.
What also made me really interested in this project is the fact, that they use Unity to put all the levels together. As we are currently working in same engine it gave another idea of how it could be used. Moreover, it could develop into the over-summer game project.
Game is set in fantasy world, beautifully crafted and magical. Story might seems to be quite simple, however characters are very charming and interesting.
Visually it look stunning, with great attention to detail and great color palette.
What also made me really interested in this project is the fact, that they use Unity to put all the levels together. As we are currently working in same engine it gave another idea of how it could be used. Moreover, it could develop into the over-summer game project.
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
12-step process|PPP
As I'm constantly trying to improve my drawing skills, it is somehow normal for me to search for new techniques and tutorials. I've created a list of different referance sources, tutorials and got few anatomy books.
Recently I've came across a wonderful blog post by Devin Platts (texahol) about 12-step program, where he explains his workflow. I find this break down process very helpful.
I don't really want to go into too much detail, just to summarise main points (however, I might talk a bit more about this process after trying it out on myself ;)).
First, you have to create a rough sketch, then draw a cleaner version, iterations, and repeat until succesfull with yours final design. Second part of tutorial explains coloring techniques as well as look at silhouettes. The last part is about adding rim-light and making few more adjustments to help character pop-out. Devin also talks about good layer management and sketching process.
Recently I've came across a wonderful blog post by Devin Platts (texahol) about 12-step program, where he explains his workflow. I find this break down process very helpful.
I don't really want to go into too much detail, just to summarise main points (however, I might talk a bit more about this process after trying it out on myself ;)).
First, you have to create a rough sketch, then draw a cleaner version, iterations, and repeat until succesfull with yours final design. Second part of tutorial explains coloring techniques as well as look at silhouettes. The last part is about adding rim-light and making few more adjustments to help character pop-out. Devin also talks about good layer management and sketching process.
Game Module| Enslaved
Enslaved:Odyssey to the West is an action adventure platform game, developed by Ninja Theory (guys that made Heavenly Sword) and released on Xbox360 and PS3 in 2010.
I'm a casual gamer, prefer to play colorful platformers or jRPGs rather than scary shooting games. Enslaved is very beautiful, magical, with a nice story and charming characters (Trip does remind me a little bit of Nariko from Heavenly Sword). Story is loosely based on old chinese tale - Journey to the West (which many people can connect with Dragon Ball).
Action of Enslaved is set in future post-apocaliptic world, which makes designs very interesting and fresh. Also, it isn't yours typical post-apocaliptic scenery (like in Fallout games) - instead is very colorful, bright, almost friendly. Designs of ships, robots and houses are very organic and functional, made from many different materials.
The only problem with this title was a gamelay, few annoying problems, but overall Enslaved is such a beautiful game and definately worth playing :).
I'm a casual gamer, prefer to play colorful platformers or jRPGs rather than scary shooting games. Enslaved is very beautiful, magical, with a nice story and charming characters (Trip does remind me a little bit of Nariko from Heavenly Sword). Story is loosely based on old chinese tale - Journey to the West (which many people can connect with Dragon Ball).
Action of Enslaved is set in future post-apocaliptic world, which makes designs very interesting and fresh. Also, it isn't yours typical post-apocaliptic scenery (like in Fallout games) - instead is very colorful, bright, almost friendly. Designs of ships, robots and houses are very organic and functional, made from many different materials.
The only problem with this title was a gamelay, few annoying problems, but overall Enslaved is such a beautiful game and definately worth playing :).
Monday, 6 May 2013
Game Module| Shell House - Texture
So, I've got my shell houses modelled, the next step on my to do list was to get them UV mapped and textured. As I'm still green when it comes to Maya (or Unity) this task was very challenging and I've spent good few hours on creating UV map just for one house. But also I've learnt A LOT ;).
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