End of semester post.

Yay. We did it? I think so.

Here is a mandatory end of semester post about my thoughts.

I actually enjoyed tafe a lot. Despite my terrible habit of procrastinating I found myself still doing bits of works on various projects over time instead of rushing the night before. My favorite classes were probably 3D most likely because I'm not very good at drawing at the moment. Despite that I've actually practiced doing some 2d art and have got better over the past semester, still plenty of room for improvement.

Out of school I have been working and saving up for a new computer to help me do 3d work since this computer is fairly old and can't really handle it. So yeah. Expect some new 3d work later this year.

I'm also thinking on doing various tutorials over the holidays and making it a habit to do one everyday when I get the better computer.

That's about as much as I can squeeze out of the lemon that is my brain. Maybe I'll start doing more posts as project progress :).

Character Animation Project.

Character Animation Project:

http://www.fastswf.com/dku2arQ

End note: Could of made a lot more sense out of the lighting but ran out of time. Have issue using locked fills and transforming contour points. Super annoying to colour.

Unicorn Vector Tracing Project (Illustrator)

We had to pick 1 out of 4 pictures for a vector tracing and colouring in project. I chose the Unicorn.

Here are some progress screenshots and the final product.

 - Original Template

- Outline Vector traced using pen tool. Making anchors at the points roughly then using the Convert Anchor tool to curve them.

- Copied the vector in a separate layer, turned it into a Live Paint Object and filled in the base colours using the live paint bucket.

-Turned down the opacity down to %50 and traced more of the vectors, starting with the wing. Used both blob brush and pen tool.







- Vectors added to hair

-Opacity of the base colours set back from %50 to %100. Added vectors to the body.

- Vectors added to the tail.

- Finished Vector Work without Highlights.

- Finished Vector work with highlights (Made quickly using blob brush.


























- Finished Vector work with highlights (Blob Brush vectors with Gaussian blur.)



End Note: Tracing each vector with the pen tool on the wing and hair too forever to do but I really liked the outcome. The amount of time spent making the vectors alone was a bunch of practice that's really getting me into using Illustrator more for line-art. Highlights were insignificant, time-wise, took about 5-10 mins, tops to do.

Canyon Scene Assignment. (Making the Objects)

 Have 2 weeks off Tafe. Decided to go anyway and not waste it.

Here are some progress screens.

 - Created a box, made even dimensions (WxL). Removed the bottom faces. Added an "Edit Poly" & "Noise" Modifier. Then I shaped it using soft selection on the faces/vertexes and free-form brushes

 - Created a plane, same WxL dimensions as the box. Formed mountains around the pit on the box by hiding and showing the box every so often as I was forming to make sure they we're in the right place. Added a noise mod for a rough, rigged look.

- Both the plane and box shown in this screen. Notice how the plane is covering the pit.

- Change perspective and delete the faces cutting into and cover the pit leaving the mountains untouched.

- Looks much cleaner :)

- Now time to rock!

Start with a normal sphere. Dimensions shouldn't matter as long as it's smaller than the environment.

Put him into another layer for ease.

- Technically I made a boo-boo here.

It would of made more sense to not change the z-scale yet since I can I'm making a bunch of copies of this one anyway that change later after the modifiers. That way I can make it more variations of rocks.

- Continued anyway.

Added a noise modifier.

- Another screen.

It's good to note that if you make the scale too low some of the vertexes will clip through the faces.

That can cause problems while adding materials.

- Add that sucker.

Just made quick copies by alt-dragging the rock after placing it.

Then I went back and changed the seed value in the "Noise" modifier and changed the scale size on each rock to make variations.

- After adding the basic stuff and rotating and fitting it together.

Clearing the usual stuff gave me the idea of doing a sand canyon, so I added some pyramids, using the pyramid polygon, to reinforce the idea.

- Finished, Untextured product. Added some obelisks by making very short, small pyramids the extruding the bottoms using a "Edit Poly" modifier.

---End Note: I made a canyon earlier using a plane poly. but just found it terrible to work with. So I started again and found boxes are easier to work with for some reason. Really like what I ended up with. I might added a rocky arch/bridge over the pit later on as a separate poly.




All that's left is to add a matte painting, skydome, the space ship and to texture it all. Oh boy......

Flash CS6 Masking Practice.

-Early Stage

-Mask Layer with the pattern moving underneath in a

classic tween. Graphics put into a movie-clip symbol.

- Moved, Flipped and copied the symbols to form the
kaleidoscope effect.

Finished Product: http://www.fastswf.com/wi1WRps

I loving this technique. Might be my favourite effect in flash.

Definitely going to do more and see what other things I can do.
[EDITED NOTE]: Don't know how to turn .swfs into animated gifs. So this will have to do.

Regarding Fortnightly Updates...

I think I might scrap the fornightly update post and just do it when I feel like it.
This will probably be the last one since there wasn't a whole lot to talk about.

I'll probably be adding small notes to progress screenshots as updates but that's about it.
Look forward to it?

3D Building Composition

Opps! Apparently the scanner is broken. Have a new render I did today.

-3DS Max Render Without any other objects or effects.

 

 -3DS Max Matte Render

-3DS Max AO Render

 





-3DS Max Render With lights, camera and a box with a back-face cull and normals flipped for the background






 -Final Photoshop Composition with AO.

- Matte helped to change the brightness of the building itself without affecting the background.

- If you look closely, there is a checker material on the giant dark blue bits of the arms.


I definitely think my city is going to have a certain colour scheme, seeing as I've made most of my objects blue and silver chrome.

EVERYTHING IN THE FUTURE IS CHROME!!

Fortnightly Blog Entry/Update #3

Yo!

Just the regular fort-nightly update where I discuss concepts, ideas or anything that has been happening lately.

So far since the last update, I've had to do two presentations, one in a small class and one at the Thursday lecture. It's interesting to see how much more of the finer details of a presentation I have to learn. I guess it was good practice then.

I've posted some a compositions of some 3D models I did for my city project. The aim is to design an elaborate sci-fi, googie / popluxe inspired city using signature, building and vehicles models made by ourselves and the rest of the class. The setting is whatever we choose. I was thinking of maybe doing a city inside of large, hollowed out mountain? Eh, I'm sure I'll be making changes to my idea as I go along since it will be ages until we actually go full-on with the project.

I'm also doing a spaceship model for a canyon scene I have to make. I was looking back at the lesson/tutorial and was surprised to see a technique we haven't fully gone through despite us moving on. It's basically a way to put a gradient of materials and sediments onto a object that changes as they go up or down in values from the z-axis. I'll probably post some screenshots of the scene later next week.

I've been thinking of some ideas and projects that I could possibly do in my spare time to help tighten my grip, grasp and polish my production quality and speed.

Maybe an animation about a guitar playing cowboy, a ferret with a lute, a pale blonde woman with a harp, a heavy bear-built mustached gentleman with a small taiko drum and an autonomous knight. Something about them all coming together somehow. Geez what a mix.

Promise to post some ACTUAL scans later. We'll see.

First Flatting Project REVISITED

Pst. Hey remember that first assessment? Yeah, remember I forgot to put shadows for the house.
Also added a solar flare, fixed the sword and some of the other shadows. Added a few highlights to the tree.

Was a shame that I forgot to put shadows on a separate layer. Very destructive.

3D Vehicle Compostion

Here's a vehicle model I did for who 3d city render.

Wasn't designated to do one but did one anyway (Meant to do signature (which is finished))

 - Ambient Occlusion Render via material override.

- Matte Render.
- Used for easy masking and selection during composition.




- Final Render. With Shadows and Lights






- Final Render. Without Shadows and Lights
- Used for composition

- Final Composition (Done in Photoshop)

- Had Final Render on a Normal Blend and had the AO layer on Multiply to bring out the shadows.

- Matte layer hidden.

- Background made using simple Gradient tool in Photoshop.



*Note: The matte render was very different compared to the signature render. For some reason it wouldn't matte render the inside of the cockpit, but this didn't really pose a problem since it was just a simple eclipse to included later. If it was a small detail I probably would of ran into some trouble.

*This gave me more practice with making my own background in Photoshop. I also learned the importance of quads with rendering the model.

3D Sign Composition

 - Ambient Occlusion Render via material override.
 - Hidden Background




 - Matte Render
 - Used for easy masking and selection during composition.
 - Hidden Background




- Final Render
- With Background (Standard box with "Normal" modifier and Backface Cull [found in object properties])

- Final Composition (Done in Photoshop)

- Had Final Render on a Normal Blend and had the AO layer on Multiply to bring out the shadows.

- Matte layer hidden.




* A worthy note would be that you can have a dupe layer of the final, select the sign using the matte and then change the signs levels, hue etc to make it pop out more.

* Learned a lot about materials, rendering, mental ray and lighting with this model.

Fortnightly Blog Entry/Update #2

Hi! Welcome to the second fort-nightly update where I give an update on various things I'm working on and what's going on.

I've got pretty far ahead in some of my units at TAFE. I've started a second flatting project and started doing some more 3d work. I'm hoping to post some screens either today or tomorrow to show you.

I've got some ideas for some upcoming TAFE assessments as well as some projects I'm thinking of doing over the year to help develop my skills. Hopefully telling a story, maybe a short animation? Anyhow, I'll be giving regular updates on those, whether it be; scripts, screens or short brainstorms.

First Flatting Project.

- Still fairly new to flatting. Feel like there is something wrong with it.......oh well.

Fortnightly Blog Entry/Update #1

Hey! Welcome to my first ever blog post. I have created a blog to post updates, build a portfolio and help establish a network for myself and others. I will be posting various concepts, ideas, screenshots and finished work to this blog to help build it up for people to view.

These fortnightly updates will be written to just update on what I'm currently doing. Some will be more personal than others. Maybe even ranting. Pretty much general stuff.

Initially this blog was made as part of a TAFE assessment, but I guess there is no harm in keeping it and working on it for personal reasons.

Since I don't have much work to show off yet, I guess this blog post will be mainly a introduction to my experience of my first 4 weeks at eCentral Tafe as well as some background on who I am.

Daniel Robin Cherrin. My first name was given to me by my father, taken from the bible. I myself am not religious but acknowledge almost all religions. I attended Hillcrest Primary School and John Forrest Secondary College. I like to eat 24/7, especially if it's sweets. I have a flurry of friends with various personalities and backgrounds who I all care for. I'm now currently studying for a Diploma of Screen and Media (Animation) at Tafe.

In my first week, as anyone else at a new place, I was very shy and hesitant to talk to others. I'm known to be very shy towards people I barely know and the more mature atmosphere of tafe can be very intimidating. However, I found the lecturers and staff to be very friendly, which helped me (And I'm guessing many others) settles in comfortably, especially since it's my first year. They have a great sense of humor and make the school work seem less of a chore.

I've made a handful of friends and finished about 2 assessments so far in my first 4 weeks. My personal interests tie in so well with what I'm studying that I've found myself doing extra works and refining my new-found skills.

So far, I'm loving tafe. Which is a big change from High School.