Crazy few weeks!

Well the past few weeks have been slightly interesting to say the least. I have been working on a reviewing a couple different concepts and trying to experiment with a few projects. I wish I could say I got the skeleton to work on the model from below but I ran into some issues. I also ran into some issues with my project that I was trying to experiment with in Houdini. Failures can only lead to success right! So I ended up spending a good amount of time reading up on subjects. I enjoyed some video tutorials on an introduction to particles, read up on animation movements, and reviewed an introduction to renderman. I really look forward to exploring renderman a bit further this term with my modeling class and animation 2.

About two weeks ago I ran into a few issues that set me back a bit. First and foremost I was held back by 36" of snow that decided to hit the east coast. That was a blast! We spent a few days shoveling and also just trying to get out. Lets just say a lovely public works contract dispute held us from getting out for several days. It was a blast. After an enjoyable New Years Eve I ended up getting sick when I returned to school this past week. I'm still trying to kick the cold but I'm hoping it's on its way out in the next day or two!



As stated above, I started my second semester at Drexel this past week and I can not wait to dive back in! This term I will be taking Animation 2, CG Modeling, and a Flash Vector Development course focusing on Action Script 3. All these courses are going to be a great opportunity to explore things that I have learned in the past a bit further. I'm also looking forward to have my feet on the ground this time with the programs. I plan on taking some challenges and risks to really push my animation and modeling experience a bit further.

On that note, I'm off to take a shot of Robitussin and get some sleep to hopefully kick this cold and share some new stuff over the next two weeks!

Some Winter Break Fun

Hello everyone!
Winter break has been treating me well. I have been spending time enjoying sleeping in and also catching up on a lot of freelance work. I have also been spending time focusing on catching up on some subject matter that we learned briefly at the end of our first term. I reviewed a basic particle tutorial and an introduction to renderman thus far. Also, I wanted to spend some time focusing on the basics of rigging a character. So I figure what a better model to use than an artist wooden mannequin. I did a quick model this evening. It was actually refreshing to do a quick model and see how things turn out. So after this Im going to play around with rigging the character and doing some basic animation movements. Should be fun!

Final Animation Project

Sorry I have been gone for the past five weeks. Things have been a little crazy with my final project and pulling things together. I learned quite a bit of information over the past few weeks and I can truly say that I really love learning this medium. There is so much that can be done to add to several storytelling factors. First off, I created a rough cut and pulled some of the motions and timing together. That can be seen below.



After the rough cut I decided to work on a couple camera angles and the timing of some of the actions of the main characters. There are several things I need to work on over the break before I begin Animation 2. One of the main things that I need to focus on is lighting. It is such a crazy art form in itself. I look forward to my CG modeling class this winter to explore those facets. Also, I would like to focus on procedural textures. I believe this will help with my render times big time.

So with that. Below is my final animation project. I look forward to sharing with you some of the project over break and also getting ready for animation 2 in January. Have a great holiday and a happy new year!