Daily Sketch: Self portrait

Jeebus... How hard was that!? Never realised how hard self portraits are, spent ages trying to figure out where my eyes were on my own head!! I'm done staring at myself, not the most vain person as it is, can be occasionally but fed up of it today. Anyway realised the more I challenge myself with different facial features and characters the better I become.

 

This one has been quite difficult, I knew My main features like the button nose and huge lips and big eyes, did not know how out of proportion it ll made it though!

Anyway it came together better when I started looking at it as a whole, with the hair and ears neck and shoulders. Also a big challenge was the 3/4 view not done that in ages and ages! I'm really getting into owning an iPad especially to draw with, best alternative I've got to one of those fancy big computer ones, once I've got a job and money then I'll start doing more fancy things

Daily sketch Le Chef

So my other half is doing a patisserie course this year, and every Tuesday keeps bringing home lots of fattening goodies, then we eat them while watching The Great British Bake Off. Well I was a little inspired to draw my very of a chef.

Here is the outline, and then I did a coloured version on my iPad using the Procreate app.

Only annoying thing about my daily sketch is his stupid squinty eye! I've forgotten how to draw them, will keep at it though! I like it apart from that I think, I like my little random daily sketches thing I've got going on though.

Daily Sketch: Beethoven

Just practicing my drawing skills, practice makes perfect. Anyway thought I'd have a go at a caricature and chose to do the famous Beethoven. Did not realise how big his forehead and hair was till I studied his pictures. Anyway here's my version of him done on iPad using Procreate and a Alupen.

not bad for a first time go, anyway I might add more detail later, just kept it simple with block colours and basic shadows. His hair could do with being a bit more fly away and messy though I reckon, anyway daily sketch done!

 

Slight Change

So I've looked at the bearded man so much I don't know how to improve it, I think I'm going to have to give it a break for a whole.

So with that in mind I've started my essay properly, not just the research and quotations for it. Forgot how hard writing was, spent nearly all day just doing the introduction, September I hope is going to be a long month. 4000 words here I come!

 

This is my mood and inspiration board for my essay. I'm going to get it done!

Bearded Man update

So I'm going to call it a night on this drawing, come back to it in the morning with fresh eyes. Not sure what more I should do, but that's why I'm going to leave it a while, refresh my brain. Don't think I'm doing too badly with my first go at a background!

Also client project going really well. Got a logo and design can now just play with colours! Will begin that this week, going to be ready for my September 16th deadline!

 

Background painting

So I am getting there, my first real go with a background and scenery painting, something I always seem to avoid for some reason. Its taken me forever to get just to this point since yesterday!

Hopefully it's starting to get a little more depth to it

 

 

Ok bit naughty but... He's got a BEARD!

Ok I know I've got like a billion and one different projects going on, but this idea struck me and theres nothing else out there like it. I have started my essay, and getting all my research together, to be honest I've got the answer and what I want to study in my final year, but it's how to best word the question, so I get to add all the things I want to study into it. Also my client project is coming on, but uni systems are being updated so I can't use them at the minute so it will have to wait.

Oh my chicken animation has come to a stand still BUT... Yesterday someone contacted me asking if it was possible to use it, a video company wanted to use it in a wedding video they were doing. How good is that?? So later today I'm going to get back on it, especially if someone thinks it good enough just from the 6second walk cycle.

Anyway back to the present this bearded fellow, just started the background, something I still haven't got my head around taking me an entire day to get the courage and begin drawing it. I didn't know how to start it what setting would best suit him, I was thinking indoors but then lighting became an issue. Then I thought about him on water almost meditating like, but that too became a bit too complex. I'm only a little beginner so that I'd start a little easier and do it in a forest setting. So here is the base, I might change the colouring, I'm going to add little light orbs around him, make it more mystical. Just have a play. Hopefully the base is a good enough start for me to get my head around scenery painting.

Practice makes perfect!

 

The Butterfly Walk

So I'm taking a bit of a break from my animation, going to save it for my long journey back to the UK tomorrow. Trying to figure out to best do the background to my chicken walk, I've got all the ray ideas but getting it into the animation is going to be a bit tedious and complex. I've got a 14hr journey ahead of me so plenty of time to kill. So today went on a walk and came across this little fella. My sister though he was adorable and I manage to capture his fantastic little expression, definitely something I'm going to give a go at drawing.

Anyway this walk primarily was a butterfly hunt, haven't been on one of those since I was a child, can barely remember the names of most of them. I managed to capture three decent pictures of this very pretty little things. I think it's important that even though I'm on holiday and taking a break from my animation to still keep the creative juices flowing.

I spotted this Gate Keeper on my mums flowers. He sat there a little while just long enough for me to take the picture of him against the pink.

Then we saw this large White fluttering across to some flowers, spent ages chasing him, only find that these guys are fluttering all over the place.

And finally I saw this beautiful creature just chilling on some nettles. Such a lovely juxtaposition, I couldn't have asked for more. He didn't even move when he had my giant iPad in his face. The Admiral, one of my favourite butterflies as a child, he kept wings perfectly still so I could see all the detail!

I thought I might save this one till last, definitely my favourite of the three, and thats including the goat.

Anyway I've also been commissioned to create a logo for a website, similar to Groupon but for Gay men. Having a meeting with the creator next week. Hopefully I will be able to create something to his liking, as I definitely do need the money!

 

I ain't no Chicken

Well since I've started blogging again, I've actually drawn something, rather than sat there thinking about it! It was a good idea to start again, and in France I have complete peace of mind. Anyway I've been drawing away on the Procreate app and have come up with these 6 designs:

After asking others opinions, number 3 was clearly out of the running, it was also my least favourite of the bunch, but it was my first attempt at a chicken, as I designed the others I got better and better until I finally finished with number 4 /5, my favourite is number 4 with four and 2 being a close 2nd and 3rd. Although he only reason why others liked number 2 was for the beak so I might transfer that over to number 4. I liked number 5 until someone said it looked too much like a cockerel, which is true, a fat one at that.

I think number four is the one I'm definitely going for, it's a cartoon without being too over the top, but there is still some humour there in the design. It also resembles the Magic flute (my real chicken). I'm going to start animating it today, just the walk cycle see if I can get the hang of their walk.

It won't be in colour in the actual animation, I'm keeping it simple!

Long time Avoiding

So while I've been on holiday, I seem to have lost motivation, or more likely I burnt myself out , especially towards the end of term. I think I needed a good break from it give my mind a bit of a reboot, so I can come back to it refreshed. Although that's not saying I haven't been thinking creatively I think I'm ready to get back on it, ideas and the to do list is getting bigger and bigger each week. So I think i shall begin again. I've set up my iPad so I can blog regularly so no more excuses. I'm using an app called Blogsy, really good interface, just figured out how to upload photos as well which is going to be useful. Plus I can upload videos so all my hand drawn animations which i'll be creating using Animation Desk (awesome app by the way).

I think it's this photo I took of a giant carpenter bee that may have sprung me back into action, along with my mums chickens. I never realised how funny a chickens walk is, so I've begun designing my own chicken and will be animating its walk cycle. Then I'm hoping to make little animations based upon this chicken using Animation Desk. I've got some ideas of how my chicken should look, I'm hoping this little exercise will help understand and appreciate the animation style of Tex Avery. As that is what my enter next years essay and project is on. Although Andy emailed me just to tweak the question a little as I've managed to make it a little difficult for myself, AGAIN!!

Currently I am in France, it's the one place where my mind is completely at ease, I think it's because my mum and dad take control and I don't have to be an adult or responsible for a few weeks. Well that's the conclusion I've come to. Oh these are the chickens that have inspired me, they're Sussex chickens or something I'm not quite sure, anyway here they are. They make the most oddest noise, and when they run I find it hilarious, so hopefully I can figure out how it's legs actually move, as the knee is bent opposite to ours and the balance of things I Think is off.

Once I have figured out the mechanics of the creatures I can then animate it correctly, I've video them, watched them and still can't figure it out. So I think I'm going to have to watch Chicken Run and some YouTube videos just to help grasp how they move. I will be uploading some designs of my chicken today and maybe even a outline walk through too.

We have a chubbier chicken and a more stream line one, I think I'm going to be basing my ideas on the fatter one as she genuinely has more personality and we have nicknamed her the Magic Flute as she never shuts up and makes the most bizarre noise, our chickens don't cluck and they have no fear either, well until you suddenly move and the leap away.

Anyway here she is, hopefully I can d her some justice in my designs as it is all down to her that I've wanted to start animating again. I think my mojo is coming back, my mind is more relaxed, France has taken off the pressure. I'll be here a few more weeks, so hopefully I'll have something worth while.

Also today I'll upload some videos I've taken of them walking around and just doing chicken things, like scratching the floor, pecking at insects and flapping their wings.

Wish me luck on my quest for motivation and getting back on the animation trail.

Posted with Blogsy

The Rhino Warrior

The nCloth Dynamic

Just a quick update on another Dynamic I now understand. Also understand how useful expressions are, been tweaking that too. Did look into other things but think they were getting to advance for me, so scaled it back and stuck with what I knew and created this:

I may have went overboard with the holes, but with the theme I'm going with it would be torn to shreds, I've also included the Black Spot, just to hail the great book and film Treasure Island. This is also the 1st time using materials, did a quick crash course just to get the basics down.

Sorry...

Hey sorry its been over a week since my last posting, I had to take some time out for a few days, I basically just worked myself into the ground. Anyway back on it now, and with the Maya deadline looming I've been researching and studying Proceedural Animation, I don't want to just create a scene from a tutorial I want to understand it. Its an awesome thing, with some really awesome effects. The more I learn and understand it the more I can utilise it, and add it to my own Pirate scene, when the time comes to building it. I want to grasp the process 1st before building anything. I've an idea in mind, well two, one easy the other a more advance version which I could do over summer. The fancy advance one is a space Pirate scene, but to do it justice I want to practice a little more 1st, the other is a deserted island, with the remenant of a single pirate. Oh and a flag with the black spot, which used to mean death, remember that from the old Treasure Island film as a kid. Loved that film!! Anyway I'm going to make it into a small animation like the beginning of a film, I've been looking at fluid effects for the past few days, creating a stormy sea. Well I'm not gonna give too much away yet, just incase I change my mind again. Here is a shot of my stormy waters:

Pretty good huh?

A Palm Tree

I know it looks like lego, but this is completely made in Maya. The trunk is just a cylinder with a bend deformer and extruded faces. I'm starting to get used to the Maya interface now, and work is progressing quicker. I think I'm going to try and make everything in Maya, practice makes perfect!

I taat I saw a Putty Cat

Just a recent character design I've started fixing up. Just thought i'd share before I finsih up here.

Pflow Test

I created this yesterday while learning about particle flow, with the effects of wind and drag too. This was created from a tutorial by Chandan Kumar. It was really helpful. I still need to play around a lot more, but I have realised that it is the wind that really determines the whole thing. Anyway this weekend I'll be drawing, keeping on top of and improving my skills. Will upload the sketches I do as soon as I can promise.

Morning Play

Just been playing around with a tutorial by Andrew Kramer, it taught me about subtle ligthing and shadows.Still in the playing stage of the producion logo. Mini projects keep me learning new things. Especially the shadows I can use within a scene. Anyway I might do another. Will keep you updated

Little ol' me

Yes this is what I used to look like as a kid, always wore tshirts that were way to big for me, along with my my scraggly hair my poor mother used to have to try and tackle every morning. I was a rough and tumble kind of kid, I think this quick sketch somes me up quite nicely.
Could do with some tweaking, but I started to take too long on it, took me an hour as I kept getting distracted.

Practice practice

This was another sketch I did and just finished off, yep this is what I looked like as a kid. I was a scraggly little thing at 5yr

Morning practice

Just some mid morning practice, 30mins from that poor photographed sketch below. I'm practicing to speed paint basically, and half an hour to have it sketched out in photoshop and coloured isnt too bad. Just trying to build up my portfolio I guess.