My Long Project is Over, Pt. 2

So, we'd already built the huge and near-seam-splitting gargantuan-ness of the Gas Safety game, so the Electric game was much, much easier. We based the visuals on 1950s animation art. I've seen the latest incarnation of the game, and Volt's animation is perfect walking through these sets. Additionally, we got a small jazz ensemble to provide soundtrack, and this is, without a doubt, my favorite game.

This is level 1:


Level 2, complete with lounge and kitchen.


Level 3 contains a kind of "boss" room from the intro animation (gonna post that later!):


Level 4 takes Volt outside and the hazards that threaten us all... like big, green pad mount transformers:


And as if you haven't had enough, here's the cinematic that opens the game. This particular version was designed for Power Point presentations, so you may find the type a little small in places, but it's essentially the same as in the game, except there's no card at the end - that's where the game begins.
Volt is just a little nuts - you get to see it in the game, but you get a little taste of it here, too. Our animator, Trever Barger, really captured the flavor I wanted from the character model (posted below). The backgrounds were created by the rest of the team and myself.

Zealot-Crazy-Talking in Public

If you get a chance, come out and see me ramble on what little I know about storytelling in animation. I've spoken at SIGGRAPH twice - and always get enthusiastic feedback. If you're bopping around Indianapolis on September 10th... do stop by! And don't forget to register!

My Long Project is Over, Pt. 1

Programming is still going on, but art for the long and winding Vectren Project is finished. My star team of three artists included Trevor Barger (animation), Sean Winburn (painting), and Jackie Crofts (painting). They stuck it out like real pros, enduring 5 am shifts, repeated art direction from me, 13 hours of Enigma albums, and courage in the face of retainer boredom! Stand and Salute... BROTHAAAAAA!
Here's a sample of the first game teaching Gas Safety(with more to come soon):

Concrete World "Healed":

Concrete World Broken:


Grass World:


Grass World Broken:


Dirt World:


Dirt World Broken:


And finally, Water World - which, in terms of design, production, and budget was not unlike Kevin Costner's Water World:


Water World Broken:

Every day you don't get better is a day wasted. I expressed this on the fly (and whole-heartedly) to one of our fine artists working on the Vectren project, which concludes this coming Tuesday. On the downside, I put a little too much pressure on myself. But it's the kind of pressure I like. I'm looking for my own ability to see and conceptualize - I'm not looking for a freaking checkbox in a program that will be obsolete in 6 months...
We were trying to figure out backgrounds for an opening cinematic, and had settled on something relatively simple, when I started painting and getting some results that I liked. Though it's going to make us push our deadline to the last second, we're changing to the style posted above, or something like it. I hope it's worth it.
We still have thick woods to get through!

Untitled.

Late Night Bulldogs

It is late night, and I was trying to get a fix on some simple bulldog shapes. So with an image search and pencil in hand, I went to work.

Feels Like the First Time

I was working with the Vectren team tonight, when I tried to describe for them how good my collaborator, the Illustration Brothel, is. I go to the blog and see that many of the pages I drew are in gorgeous color. I mean, I can only say I was... in awe. The reason I work with the "Brothel" so much is that I actually feel compelled to better myself. I feel lazy, and I immediately crack open my sketchbook and dig my pen tip in.

There's been so much going on. Since March, I've finished drawing the book that you can see (in much more impressive display) over at the Brothel. Here's my contribution:


I like this page because of the interaction of the girls. They're doing the kinds of things my sisters used to do to me, messing in my stuff and generally interrupting my nerd buzz. I love them.


This one took some thought - the most important being the sleeping bags, then the wide-open area. I know this will sound pretentious, but I did think of Hitchcock. The largest object having the most story importance. I also got a lot of inspiration from James Joyce's "Ulysses". Not!


I'm really proud of this one. I really tried to send home a sense of doom - albeit a humorous one. The Brothel followed up with color choices exceeding these decisions.


This one I'm happy with the expressions and body language of the girls, but the foreground stuff was rushed in at the last moment. It was a... well, it was all about the flashlight.


On the Vectren front, the electricity game hero had to be developed. They had an older character design already,

that simply needed a little adaptation. So it wasn't like I was starting from scratch.

Volt, or "Plughead" as we like to call him, has to be happy. I mean, he is dealing with electricity! And he has to be a good example to his son,

which, depending on which one we pick could be named "Volt Jr." or "Lil Volt". Our Project Lead, Jennifer Stewart really seemed to like Lil Volt. We'll see what happens.
Anyways, the expressions are the Lil Volt Happy Meter. Everytime Volt successfully disarms an electric hazard, lil Volt gets happier until he's about to explode in a prozaic-ridden ecstasy.


Finally, I just started on this space background for the Node World game (which you've been seeing sketches of below). Here, the ship (based on a propane tank; Our main character, Thermy, is emitted by a bunson-burner-style-pilot's seat)

floats in front of this space vista which takes too much memory to move, so we had to find something that made sense being stationary. A galaxy seemed good enough.

I've been working on other projects as well. But they're not as visually interesting as the stuff I showed you. Nevertheless, enjoy this parting shot:

If Only.

It's been a most harrowing semester - and it's just 2 weeks short of being over. I just got finished grading some projects not too long ago, and I'm in a bit of a bad mood from seeing all the "not-trying". Another wasted moment in their college life. They should cry.
I've got big plans for the summer (not telling just now) and the hope is that I'll improve my digital painting skills. Something else I'd really like to do, but not sure if I will, is guitar lessons. We'll see.

Many Thanks

...to the folks keeping me real on this blog. When I finish some concept work, I want it to stand up to public flogging, and if that flogging is complimentary - well, then I'm workin' it right.

More Vectren. But You Knew It was Coming.

Lots of medical problems for my family, and my wife's family. Amongst all this, there's so much work to be done. I'm doing a third mouse book (which I legally can't post on this blog; only the rejected stuff), the Vectren game which includes the images above, and possibly further character design for Steampunk if I can squeeze it in.

Sometimes a drawing makes my future feel brighter.

Overloaded!

It is nice to be busy. It is also nice to relax once in a while! I've been working on Vectren, which you're sure to hear about for the next few months. This is Gaustin, our Gas-flame Astronaut, traveling the Galaxy in search of... Gas Leaks. Insert flatulence.
I also did a more heroic version - but I like the one above much more.

My Current Top 10.

Yep, it's always changing.
But my top 10 movies of all time
currently stand like this:

1) The Iron Giant
2) All About Eve
3) Amelie
4) The Passion of the Christ
5) V for Vendetta
6) The Fifth Element
7) The Incredibles
8) Gattaca
9) Casablanca
10)Unbreakable

Now, there's a lot of other movies I could put on there that are nothing less than brilliant: Notorious, Munich, Spiderman 2, Ironman, Kung Fu Panda, Ratatoille, The Third Man, Terminator 2, Anything from Pixar, Saving Private Ryan, Bladerunner, The Good The Bad and the Ugly, the list goes on. I placed these movies here because of their repeat watchability, their worldview, and their stance against time. "V for Vendetta" I just put on there 2 weekends ago, because since it's release in 2005 I've watched it 5 times. It remains potent. My suspension of disbelief is solid through it. That's just my way of doing things. I loved "Schindler's List", but it tore me up inside to watch it. So it may be awesome, but it's hard to watch more than a couple of times.

7 Days in 3 Photos

I've been cranking like crazy for the holidays. The first image is the ship from our "Broken" animation, as yet unharmed (I have to create further conceptuals of the damage it takes). It sports folding wings and a visible "arc reactor" ala Dr. Frankenstein's lab. The idea is that this is the first ship in space - and it is based on what an Earth-bound human already understands - birds and fish.


Next is our astronaut, our "Robinson Crusoe" if you will. I employed greek-inspired decoration for his suit. It just made him feel more mythical. I really dig this Steampunk stuff. It's fun to draw, it requires a lot of thought I wouldn't normally employ, and it takes a lot of time.


And lastly here's an image of what I do when I'm not working on this or Vectren:

Yep. Imagine straightening up your house during a tornado. Time has no meaning. The minutes warp by as if on crack, and you've no choice but to continue straightening. That's what tending to the pups is like. Except it's a little more funner than that.

Steampunk, "Broken"

Just 3 weeks ago, I asked a couple of people if they wanted to enter CGtalk's Steampunk: Myths and Legends Contest. I came up with an idea that seemed to be a good starting point, and Clint came up with a great title: Broken. I assembled an animatic in between all the other things I have to do, and we've been working from it ever since. Some students at the school are joining us in our quest for CG glory, and with only 7 weeks to produce the thing - well, we've got our work cut out for us.
I have to work on Steampunk at night; my Vectren stuff during the day if ADD doesn't take me down some crazy path.

A Worm with a Thought

I created these tiny web Animations for Mediasauce and then-art director Bryan Phillips (now with the Basement) a year ago. The idea was to engage viewers with a mascot personality using randomly loaded sequences. They created the Mediasauce worm, which would sit in the lower left-hand corner, below the main menu occupying itself. Though they only finished the first sequence, I felt the key/breakdown animation sans tweens showed the promise of a fun personality. At some point during the job, they kind of forgot I was working on this, and I didn't receive any communication from them. So I started messing with them at the end. Yes, aren't I a rascal?

Whatta Painter!

You must totally check out the Illustration Brothel, where my colorless scratches are converted to objects of real value.

Pictured above are my initial concepts for a kid's game with Vectren Natural Gas Company. Hold the fart jokes! Anyway, Professor Matt Powers enthusiastically envisioned a floating "Node World" which I was very skeptical about in the beginning - but now I'm sold. If we can pull this game off, we'll seek kudos from other gaming afficionados... problem is, we have another less impressive game that Vectren will probably go for - a real snoozefest of crossword puzzles and fill-in-the-blank that they probably experimented with in 1950. We can hope!

This page, finally tightened, is the first of many. Below, you can see the page in its layout stage following many incarnations (which I won't bore you with here).

Drawing is unappreciated these days, the alchemy of observation and vision. As much as I love animation, and as much as I enjoyed Animation Mentor, I missed the tenderness shared between my pencil and paper. Granted, it's digital paper, but it's no less magical. I also enjoy the problem-solving that goes into storytelling with a camera. I'm no Brad Bird - hell naw - but the puzzles of character against events and the camera that bears witness brings no end of fascination. I trade the machinations of medium for the tinkering of virtual dolls - but not with dismissal, only with favor.

Another children's book.

I'm am sure at some point you will see these popping up on the olde Illustration Brothel, but here's the first round of editing in what I hope to finish in 10 days or less. I busted the layouts out in just under 3 days, but the drawing isn't as impressive as I could've executed. Hopefully, on the second pass (where I really have to visually commit) I'll nail down some good work.

My New Doghouse

One day, my humans started takin all dey stuff outta da place which I rules - until it was empty and big enough to run around for real. I thoughts, "nice call, I like this betta". But then, we's come home to a differen place - where the stairs BE INSIDE. And guess what - I gets to run up and down dem! And by "run up and down dem", I means "all de time".

As it turns out: This is my HOUSE. The King has a HOUSE.

It has its own grass. Grass which I burns with my mazin speed. It has carpet, which burns my feets with my mazin speed. It has many windows - windows the King feels warm under. It has a neighborhood - which I keep out with my barks. It has many crannies - where I hides in ambush. It has a large park - where I unleash my charisma on many ladies (what can dey do? I's powerful). It has a new bed - which I claim underneath as my crib. Don't you doubt my power!
My humans can stay as long as I am well fed the way I likes.

Yet Another All-Nighter

I love the mess I'm in! That's not a facetious statement; I really mean it! Though I've pulled a string of all-nighters in the last 3 months I love the stuff I'm doing. It's back to the drawing board... er, tablet. As much as I enjoyed Animation Mentor I missed the steady scratching sounds of drawing. I'm a planner, thinker, and overall observer - not just motion, but the aesthetic sense of all that expresses narrative. I'm not really sure where I'll end up, but I hope it's a good place.

The Home Stretch

It's rather appropriate that "Slim" is running in this last pencil. I've got just a few more pages to go in this project, and it seems possible that another one is on the way. Iz is still bored with me.

Iz hates it when I work.

I saw Iz laying in front of the door, waiting for something - anything - to happen to give him a reason to get excited, bark, or generally jump around. So far, he's only been presented the opportunity to stay still. So I drew him, in an effort to capture the natural appeal his lines create.

I Rule On Vacation

My Humans took me on a long trip to the... um, "Beach". In my search for the perfect place to eliminates, I had my choice of the Eastern Unitey States during the drive. Not bad. Wherever we stops, I eliminates. My scent be on de whole half o de nation. Schnauzers bow to me!

We stop at a hotel, and my humans think I sleep in da bed wit dem, but dat's where I use my keen Schnauzer Noize Skillz. I hears a noize, I barks. I hears humans outside talkin I barks. I hears a cricket burp, and I barks. I'm bouncin da bed I's barkin' so loud! Den my humans put me in my comfy kennel - I likes it in dere, but I's not an effective Noize-Maker dere. I make sure I gets some deep growlin' in - jus to be sure them crickets keeps dere ground.

When we gets to our desty-nation, my Humans drop me off at this big kennel-type place - At first, I was mad, and I barks loud. Den, I sees I'm in de company of some righteous doggies. First we runs around like crazy and no one stop us. Den, we goes to our room which has a "toddler bed" - methinks it's a bed for righteous doggies. I has a TV, I has my own toys. Rocks.

My humans pick me up on day 3 and take me to dis place what has a lot of sand and a huge freakin' pool that taste nasty - like salt. I din like it. Then, they take me to meet all dees people. They seem cool enough, but not for dis awesome Schnauzer. I got my Righteous Doggies waitin fo me.

When I returns to de "toddler bed" place, we get da party started again. But this time, I gots 3 other Schnauzers joinin me. Two hot ladies, and a righteous whitey Schnauz! I laid down de "wild" like Lassie laid down the goody-goody. Wasn't pretty, which made it awesome. We had a howlin contest and nobody could stop us. Then we raise cain in the pen, then on the floor, then in the yard, then all over! Barkin and howlin and clawin and bitin. One dog started yelling, "Tear up our beds! Tear up our beds!!! Now!!!" I toe up my bed till de springs was showin. Dere are many tings I regret. Dere are many tings I plan to do again - namely the tings I regret. Humans bow to me!

When my humans pick me up, I pretend to be sane. They did looks at me funny when de naive man handed dem a yellow paper (remember to tear up later). Dey know nothin.
Now we home, and everythin like normal. Sucks. So I makin a plan to escape and run to this "Beach". Dere, my Righteous Doggies wait for me. Next time, we gon desecrate the reputation of Lassie like never be-foe.

Lata, Human. Move along!

Keep on Rolling.

I think I'll leave the design on the blog alone for a while. This will do until the day I have time to kick it in design gear.

Curse you Illustration Brothel!

The diligence of the Illustration Brothel is putting to shame the lax posting of the Zealot. Here's my attempt to catch up!

Sappy Alert

I'm tightening today's drawing,

and I end up taking a break and talking to an old friend from college - with whom I worked for about 3 years in a little town called Tifton. It was truly a magical time; I was drawing and writing 4 hours a night. I was improving by leaps and bounds! But best of all, I had great friends.

Matt was the very picture of the meticulous craftsman, specializing in mediums like pencil that work in tiny areas and build up in layers:

We often got together to play computer games and the like, or catch a movie, and we lifted weights until I moved from there.

Richard got Matt the job above, because he was a regular with Beckett magazine for a while:


Richard was meticulous like Matt, but his personality was easy, slow, and understated, which made him hilarious as hell. We all worked at a billboard company called Tri-State Systems, in an art department during the early 90s recession. I felt inspired to draw and get better. The fact that Richard shared his regular gig with Matt was so cool - I was offered, too but I wasn't a huge football fanatic like him and I didn't have a lot of confidence in my illustration skill then.

I am slowly getting back to that lifestyle of drawing, and I'm more driven and happier. I loved Animation Mentor, such classic knowledge and such advanced technique with the most cutting-edge of software. I think I enjoy the drawing more, though.

This is an older set, but I've taken to drawing our dog Izzy (who sometimes writes in this blog, paws-to-keys) as a character:

This Layout Sucks.

Okay, my blog has a new look. But not for long!
I committed a design sin: I designed on the computer with no sketching or planning to back it up. Now I'm reaping the rewards of that sin: A crappy-looking blog. I just went in willy-nilly and screwed with my promotional website docs. Re-workings are already on order. (the layout you see up on the blog now is not what I'm talking about).

On the bright side, here's a little illo project I'm working on with Mr. Baldwin (The Illustration Brothel) : a Japanese children's book that teaches English. Talk about having clear storytelling! It's got to be spot-on! Here's my first layout:


That's a fun one. Lots of fun perspective distortion and everything.
Please refrain from looking at the blog - but look at the drawings as much as you like. Here's the female mouse character Martha:

Animation Mentor, Session 2

Well, it was a hair-raising quarter in session 2. I started off with a really horrible 180º turnaround, then got a little better, and a little better. There was only 4 days between the end of Winter, and the beginning of Spring. 3 days before Winter session ended, I got really sick. I was sore all over, and even talking on the phone made me take a nap afterwords. I was coughing horrendously, too - a freaking, coughing, movie-watching, nap-taking zombie. By Sunday (day before Animation mentor Spring Session 3) my condition was worse. I went to the doctor on Monday cause I ached all over. Bronchitis/Sinusitis. 6 days strict bedrest.

This led to a horrible decision: I had to take a leave of absence for session 3, which I now take in the summer. Man, I hated having to do that, but knowing how much I fight to keep up (and by 'keep up' I mean 'figure out why the rig is behaving this way'), it just seemed sane. Now, all my buds are a class ahead of me - which I'm happy for them, but it makes me feel a little left out.