What the man behind the curtain is up to.

Some really hi res images were released today from Disney.  Check ‘em out!  Yep, I have high expectations.  I give into the hype.  Not one to say that normally, but when the art is this good…

 

Still not as good as a 3d holographic?

Straight from the source: ILM Visual Effects posted on their Twitter something that is surely going to have people blogging up a storm tomorrow if not tonight–Starting 2012, all six, count ‘em, Star Wars films are going to be in 3D.  Un-effing-believable.  A major feat, yes, but surely there will be an outcry against it from the people in the industry already tired of 3D.  Also, what about the declining numbers of people going to see Stereoscopic movies these days??  Something has to be said as well about movies that acquire the 3D makeover and how cookie-cutter they look.  Maybe we should stay tuned to see if ILM is going to unveil something to improve the tiring experience of watching these, dare I use the term, films .

Read more

 

If you don’t know who Bernhard Haux is, read this interview.  I know of him but recently I got re-acquainted with his work via this interview.  If there is anyone I look up to as far as being a role-model for rigging, technical directing, and so forth, this person is on the top of the list.  Many, many others you’ll find will agree.  I really know the upper limits of what the software can do when I take a look at some of his rigging techniques.  It’s a little intimidating actually!

Oh, and Haux’s work is online I should add.  Just take a look at his “deformation grid” TD demo.  Sharing knowledge and information online helps with artist comradery and helps young artist like me find a way to become better on our own, or at least in this case what the possibilities are.  I’ve learned way more stuff being out of school than ever before because of the internet but it’s a shame more talented people don’t share their stuff online.

 

Keep in mind the is made by some STUDENTS in France!!  It is un-be-liev-able!  The rigging and animation are exquisite, magnificent–astounding!!  I love the acting, vivid envornment, and the smart combination of 2D and 3D animation elements.  The design is all very well done.  I honestly haven’t been excited for an animation like this in years.

Check out the artist’s websites, especially E Sousa Vincent’s rigging reel.

This is truly inspirational stuff.  I need to go where they went for school.  I am working on a similar reel myself and I need to research how to make some of the faces as deformable as the ones for their animations.

I can’t wait to see what’s next!  Looks like another short called Meet Buck.

Their awesome website and blog:

http://www.salesmanbuck.com/

http://www.salesman-pete.blogspot.com/

 

Do you smell what the rock is cookin'?

Halo Reach is finally out and i’ve been on it almost every day since it came out this week.  I am now a proud owner of the Legendary edition!  Flame-on!  Let’s hope I can keep up my work  Working on Halo even in a relatively limited fashion, not being on the Bungie team but Image Metrics, is quite satisfying.

Working a technical directing capacity on this game gave me a chance to further develop my pymel prowess and write some tools for me and another team member to use to integrate Reach scenes into our animation pipeline.  Doing this drastically cut down the amount of time to process what seemed like close to a hundred scenes.  Here are a couple of examples of pymel GUIs I put together to run the tools.

Check out these links on Reach:

CNN THR

 

via Hollywood Reporter – There’s a fantastic book coming out about the making of The Empire Strikes Back this October 12.  It looks like historical art and artifacts that were unearthed from the cavernous Lucasfilm libraries will be exposed in all their glory for film makers, fans, and young jedis to enjoy and learn.  What an exciting opportunity to learn of how the beauty of the film came about artistically with all of the unseen financial and logistical constraints that almost thwarted the film’s release.

 

Anatomy for rigging and modeling with Jeff Hesser was an event hosted online by Rigging Dojo just the other night. Improve your work and understanding of joint movement in the Human Body. A must see if you’re a TD, Animator, or Modeler.  Follow Rigging Dojo to find out about more events like this in the near future.

Vokle is a place for live webcasts and is very integrated with social media websites so it’s easy to share with your friends interesting events.  During this event Jeff had his rig that he created while at Rigging Dojo on the webcast showing people human motion and anatomy.  He has unbelievable depth of knowledge on what drives our bodies underneath the surface.  Seeing and learning anatomy like this is absolutely essential to creating believable animation and rigs that make creatures/characters move in a natural way.

Here are some links to what I think are major resources in learning anatomy traditionally and in a 3d atmosphere.

Books:

• Stephen Rogers Peck – Atlas Human Anatomy
• Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form – Eliot Goldfinger
• Master Class in Figure Drawing – Robert Beverly Hale, Terence Coyle
• Artistic Anatomy Dr. Paul Richer, Robert Beverly Hale

Web:

• scott-eaton.com
• 3D Anatomy Mentor
• http://www.zackpetroc.com/