IPad drawing practice

Just did a quick digital painting of my eye. Wanted to practice as its been a long time since I've created anything like that, also this is my first iPad drawing! I've used Procreate as sketchbook Pro was too awkward and slow to manipulate. Procreate is definitely more user friendly, and with its quicker response time and more layers even in HD, cheaper of the two as well which is annoying but least I now have both. Anyway here is my first iPad drawing.

Witch Hagatha under the microscope - evaluation

So It all makes sense now as to why the animation evaluation didn't publish onto my blog, I just saved it, so it's a little late but that was just due to human error, here it is: With this project I spent a lot of time in the process and development of ideas and understanding the vital elements that make up a good animation. The final execution of the animation had gone through some changes, several in fact until I was satisfied. Had I had more time then the piece would maybe been able to include all the elements I wanted, but towards the end it was just having something produced to show that I understood the breakdown and process of character animation in 3ds max. I think I began to run out of time because I spent so much of it on the walk cycle. It was vital that I produced this well, I had put a lot of thought into the character of Witch Hagatha, I didn't want to have it ruined by poor animation. She couldn't have the standard walk because she was not built like other peoples in my class, she had character and she was big and heavy, she deserved to portrayed as such. I think I might have spent maybe a good month or so on her actual rig and walk cycle, perfecting it, showing her character. I thought about everything, down to the last detail, the bounce in her step the cocky swagger, the arms nearly lost beneath her shelf of a bossom. Every inch of her had a swing, from her shoulders to the individual fingers, I walked in front of the mirror hundreds of times taking notes sketching positions, I wanted her to look like a natural cartoon character. It didn't matter whether this was my first ever go at this, I had to get it right. Anyway Im really really happy with how she turned out, I may have added a little more bounce to her, but that is just me trying to be a perfectionist, I could haverobably spent forever on just that section. Another part of her character that needs some recognition is her facial reaction. I created her so she could have a whole range of expressions. Most of which I wasn't able to use in my short animation, but it deserved a mention due to the fact her face was modelled awkwardly, i didn't make life easy for myself at all in this project. She has one eye bigger than the other, her jawline is very slim which makes it difficult for the scream effect and 'o' shaped mouth expression, but I still accomplished all these feats. I really pushed her and my limits. She can wink, she can laugh, grimace, be thinking, confused, sly, feel rage, anger, sadness and all the subtle ones in between. The reason I created so many variations is because at first I might be able to use them all, but in the newer shortened version of the animation, I could only show a selection, for instance each time she flies screaming past the camera, each facial reaction is different. My most favourite bit of the piece though is when she is balancing just about ready to get onto the broom, breathing deep gaining the courage. I took so time on that section, from actually balancing her to the flicker of her fingers as she's about to get on. Then Hagatha's reaction to the broom unexpectedly shooting off with her. I might have sped up the actaully flying off up and away bit, but that Just me being picky. Although if there is one scene I would change it would be the close up of the finger wagging, it doesn't look natural enough, and I wished I didn't have to rush past it, time was very quickly running out. I also wished I could have shown more of the other elements rigs like the Broomstick and Hat, in the original version both of them were characters, but I had to just make the Broomstick a minor role and skip the hat all together. Overall I'm happy with the outcome, but the process to get there was difficult, I definitely challenged myself during this project and made many mistakes along the way, but I worked round all those limitation and produced something that I'm quite proud of. For instance I modelled Hagatha exactly how I drew it, and that was with bow legs. This made walking a bit of an issue as the knee was prone to weird twisting. Yet even though i made some pretty bad rookie mistakes, like her arms are a little short, the fact that fat characters are harder to animate, I had to create a neck for her as she doesn't have one in the drawings, or the fact she is has a wonderful oddly shaped body so rigging her was hell, I probably learnt so much more than what was intended, meaning my next animation will be so much better and I'll be able to push the limits even further creating better and better characters. Animations and cartoons are about pushing past the standard norms, blowing worldly limitations way out of the water and in this project I think Ive definitely started heading in the right direction in meeting those crucial requirements in becoming a good animation.

Location location written Whilst Flying

So right now I'm flying over the ocean to trondheim, Norway. The company Norwegian.no are awesome, inflight wifi, sooooooo useful and even better they have flight entertainment, like prank shows on the tvs. Anyway back to the main reason why Im writing this on an areoplane, the evaluation of my Location location project, which was created in 5 solid days of working. The reason why I had such little time creating this project is due to a backlog of the other projects because of flooding, anyway I had only been able to sketch and play around and practice a little volumetric lighting. Anyway when last week I was able to begin working solely on this environment piece, I'm actually really glad I only had five days to work on it, as it really pushed my limits. There was no time to make stupid mistakes, I really planned everything out, looking a the structures, and problem solving in a way I didn't know I could. This project completely smashed all my previously thought limitations. Im actually really happy with how all the modelling came out, the textures really make it. I'm also really glad I chose to model the inside of the Witchs house from Hansel and Gretel, I think it's not something that's really been done before, so I didn't have the issue of thinking I was perhaps going to be copying someone else. Everything was from my own research and thought process, which really shows in my sketches. Everything was planned down to the very last detail like the clay pottery on the table, and only a wooden spoon, as in that era the rural community didn't use knives and forks. I thought about the materials the witch would actually have considering she lived in the thick of the Black Forest, even to the type of oak and rock available to her. It was really important to me to keep it as natural and rustic as possible, I wanted to steer clear of the americanised version of the candy covered cottage that was colourful all over, and stick with how the Brothers Grimm probably envisioned it. The Walls made up of Bread and sugar windows, it being a rustic little cottage in the middle of the forest. I also took into consideration the Witchs character, she is described to be centuries old, so she'd be behind the current times of the 18th century when it was set. Plus she is almost completely blind, she uses her smell mostly, smelling the children before they even find the house. My great auntie is in a similar position and she rarely has any lights on, living in a small compact home, so everything she'd need is close by. So I put this knowledge into practice with my little old witch's house, keeping it dark and mysterious in, giving u a sense of how she sees the world. I find it always a little spooky when it's complete darkness in the corners and shadows everywhere. I also made a point of having the cages up high letting the coloured sugar window cast the bar like shadows across she walls. I also wanted to keep the cages hidden till you entered the house, like the children of the story, it didnt seem sinister till it was too late and they were trapped inside. Although in my 60 second walk through I don't think I did my oven place justice, its another important element to the story and I spent quite a bit of time modelling and texturing the organic clay oven. It's also hidden behind the table and cauldron, so I might go back to it later and create an image that makes it the primary focus. Along with all the modelling, I'm really happy with how the coloured foggy light from the window shines down onto the floor and cauldron, it to me helps hint to the outside that's covered in sweets and goodies that lure little children in. It was important to make the window the main source of light, it is the only symbol and suggestion of what the outside looks like. I have a few candles around just to help brighten it up a little and fool the children into they thing is a cosy little home. I think I've made it a little too dark but that's how I wanted it portrayed, if I had a little more time I may have added maybe a few more in, but it is not a must for me. Overall I'm really really happy with how it turned out, and especially as I did it in 5 days it's really amazing to see what one can accomplish in such a short amount of time. Well I must finish up here seems the plane is starting its descent.

Location, Location Complete

Welcome into the dark and eerie cottage of the witch, now you know what it looks like on the inside of the sweetie cake covered house from Hansel and Gretel.



In Just a few days we have This

So this just shows how my Location, Location project is coming along. I've taken the roof off so its possible to see the layout more cleary inside. I'm hopefully going to have finished the modelling by tonight, so tomorrow can be based on lighting. Hopefully Roma will be around to help a little. Then render the finished thing on wednesday and had it in, well maybe leave it to render over tuesday night so I can just hand it in sooner or sort out any problems that may occur. Really really wish I had more time, just to develop the models more and have a bit more of a play around, not quite sure why all the deadlines are sooo close together especially as we have a month left with only a small side project to do, but oh well, it is just the way it is. I havent done too bad considering I've only seriously begun modelling and building for a few days now.