kusut-blogs

for Upin & Ipin fans!!

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:19:00 +0000

so.. i know lots of grown ups in malaysia are not into cartoons. if you are one of them, doesn't matter. just read on XD

what's this about? well theres this award coming up called the NEF-AWANI ICT Awards 2011 and UpinIpin is one of the finalists under Favourite E-Community category.

this year the organizers have made this poll voting system on facebook to choose the winner (that i think quite silly) and people are starting to vote. but not many people have voted though. that's what i think people dont know about the award.

so if u do have facebook, please do vote for your favourite (and if u like UpinIpin u know what to do lah ^^). it is free and it is not hard to do. a bit confusing yes but not too hard.

and spread the word ya. vote vote vote
thanks~!

hello, 2012!

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:50:00 +0000

a new year is here. i know everyone is aware of it by now. this is actually my '2011 recap and 2012 starts' post.. albeit it being very late.

yeah i've placed 'blogging' at a rather low priority lately.

so here -

2011

has been quite a year. finally got the chance to travel to europe, took lots of pic and visit my brother who's lived there for over 10 years. it was during the summer in edinburgh, but it was colder than winter in adelaide where i lived at the time @_@. the highlight of the trip - the lourve, the national history museum in london, stonehenge, and paris disneyland!!

in 2011 too we moved back home to malaysia, found a house in kajang and i got my old job back and trying my best to catch up (and improve even) after not working in animation for over 3 years. as icing on the cake, pada zaman dahulu, the project i worked on since i joined the company, premiered on tv al-hijrah (malaysian new tv channel, an islamic themed channel)

2011 too is the year all my family members celebrated raya in the same country after over 10 years. all my brothers and sister celebrated the first of syawal this year at our kampung in karak and it must have been awesome.as for me, i however was not there. doesn't matter.. at the very least, all of us are finally in the same country ^^

so 2011 have been quite exciting. i especially loved the 'getting my job back' part.

2012

the start of this year we went back to penang - my wife's kampung. her granma was ill so the family gathered there. although it might sound like not the best way to start the year, it is an opportunity for me to get to know the family on her dad's side better.. to get to know penang too. new year's eve we queued up in a long line for 'nasi kandar beratur'.

and the next day, 1/1/2012, while waiting at the hospital's tv room, 'geng' movie was on disney channel and we watched it till the end and we made a big deal about my name coming out in the credits. lol. but fun

and since coming back from australia, i've started playing basketball again. though we have not been playing for a few months, we did start playing again yesterday. the group was not a highly skilled, very serious kind.. so we had lots of fun and lots a great time playing basketball

so this year, i hope i'll spend more time playing basketball and be healthier.
and i hope the company will grow more and produce more (and better) products ^^
and i hope to improve my skill and knowledge in 3D this year
and i hope to not download too many stuff especially local products

so those are my resolutions.. kinda

owh.. and read those books i have (the ones i've not read lah) and get new ones

tentang Pada Zaman Dahulu.. teaser

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 11:25:00 +0000

wahh.. sashiburi da na, minna! i have a quick update. ^___^

Pada Zaman Dahulu,
aku rajin blogging
aku tak kerja
aku tinggal kat adelaide

hahah
all of those statements are true but only one i regret (though just slightly) to have happened. but anyhow, this post is dedicated to our (by that i mean the company i work for) new IP coming out next month. it is a new animation TV series called Pada Zaman Dahulu (or 'Once Upon a Time..' in english)

i wrote abt it before. but back then i was still jobless, living in the countryside ^^

the series will be aired on TV Al-Hijrah (that's a malaysian tv station) in november.
we just released a new teaser. enjoy!

did you enjoy it? hope you did. honestly.. how could you not? yeah maybe because it's a little brief. but hey.. it is after all a teaser.

and do leave comments/feedback here or on youtube or on pada zaman dahulu facebook page. we really appreciate your opinion ^^ .

owh btw..

and more pics available at the facebook page^^

p/s: a friend of mine asked 'so why do the kancil have fangs?' it's kinda funny to me too.. but they actually do have fangs. google it up. i saw this image and they have like a very long cured fang.. liek a birds' claws. freaky~ @_@

tentang Life and Some Depressing Things

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 07:23:00 +0000

oh wow it must have been quite a while since i last posted anything on my blog. the blogger editor is different now >_<

but anyway.. though it is a week overdue, i wish all my fellow muslim friends happy fasting and to others happy ramadhan. it is a very good month and lets concentrate harder to do (and spread) more good in our everyday life. in islam, during the month of ramadhan, the satan/devil is chained and prevented from influencing us human from being naughty.. unfortunately, trolls re not chained

***

so yeah i have been working. have been really busy. but i have to say i am enjoying my life as a professional again and doing what i love. yeah the stress and way too often stress waves is hard to enjoy but hey, no sacrifice no glory. *queue 'edge of glory' XD

ok enough abt work. i was starting to blabber abt stress which isnt the most fun thing to talk abt lah. heh

so last month, and even until this week really, i think my luck is on the bad side. fingers crossed that it will tilt to the other end soon.. and hope i will benefit from it! XD

i have been experiencing heaps of malfunctioning equipments and things i own lately. my ps3's BRD died. my wife's phone battery 'exploded'. my car's clutch paddle broke (on my way back home for berbuka, which i finally ended up having my proper break fast at 12am T_T), and my brand new basketball shoes' soles broke off (both sides!) the 2nd time i wore it, which was last night for a basketball session.

.. and one of the weeks, i was almost hit while driving 3 times. once while stopping at a red light, another while driving normally on a highway which an accident happened right beside me, and another was while driving late night and a speeding car came out of a junction, straight onto the left lane (slow lane) i was on, causing me to skid maybe 50 meters and on to the side of the road where i stopped, alhamdulillah, safely.

hmm.. all this talk is depressing.

***

however, lots of unexpected things have happened to me too. but more about that later. ima go buy some sayur from the shops. get ready for berbuka. i have no idea what to cook tonight.. now i know how hard it is for my wife to decide what to cook everyday. she's away for work at the moment lah. i had to look after myself which is something i have not done for quite some time now XD

tentang Hiatus!

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 01:34:00 +0000

i am back in malaysia ^^

but as i have been busy with moving since last month, and now im busy with work (yay i got a job now), i wont be able to blog.

do not want this blog to berabuk and die. i really dont want that to happen.

i promise i'll be back.

tentang New Domereel (2011)

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:48:00 +0000

finally done compiling my latest demoreel!
now ima write those cover letters and send out to all those company and hope i'll be employed soon. 11 days left till we board the plane back to KL! *excited*

as always, any comments are welcome. but im not really gonna change this reel because of the time constraints.

song : P!ATD - The Ballad of Mona Lisa

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Tue, 10 May 2011 05:11:00 +0000

been ages since i've written something in here. oh i do hope this blog will live on. but for now, ima finish up my new portfolio reel, send out applications, and hope i will find a job soon. in the mean time.. let the music play

^^

tentang Tales of the Ages

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:54:00 +0000

this is actually a reply to Rique's question. i realized what i wrote was way too long so i decided to post it as a blog post. (im being lazy so i copy-paste the whole thing i wrote)

hey i think i've seen that teaser before! dunno when but must've followed a link from some forum. neway..

i think it looks awesome. love the characters, love the colours, and especially love the editing. i don't think malaysia have a nice proper editing work like that in our animations. maybe u guys can be the first, congrats!

but the characters look a bit awkward when they walk/run (0:21 in the video especially). i suspect the kain batik causing some rigging or animating limitations. but maybe it's just me.

another thing that could improve the looks of both environment and character models.. normal maps. i think some of the 3D models could use a little bit more detailing (ie on the monster and rock cliff's models, in Timun Mas). but yeah.. it could be time consuming.

having said all that.. the videos are teasers after all. so maybe the full shorts will look heaps better? so.. will it be aired on tv or what? seriously, i am extremely curious about TOTA now.

lol im ranting. this reply should be a new blog post :P. neway thanks for ur comment Rique. best of luck to glue studios and hope to see ur works on tv or cinema soon! .. and perhaps break this lescopaque/animosta dominance in our animation industry before they become too big

so if anyone's curious what is the hujung pangkal of this Tales of the Ages animation, here's the video of Glue Studios's Bawang Putih Bawang Merah teaser trailer and Timun Mas teaser trailer.

award winning videos are property of Glue Studios (www.gluestudios.my)

i think i like Timun Mas a little bit more that the Bawangs :P

tentang Pada Zaman Dahulu

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 10:46:00 +0000

the creators of Upin&Ipin and Geng The Adventure Begins
revealed their new IP yesterday, a beautifully rendered and designed..

Pada Zaman Dahulu (Once Upon A Time) is a 3d animated series that brings to life the Malaysian folk stories of a clever mousedeer, Sang Kancil and other jungle creatures. Their fantastic adventures are told by a grandfather to his city-based grandchildren. Aris and Ara are sent to live with their grandparents, Aki and Wan, in the village when their parents have to go overseas. Every day Aki would tell them stories about Sang Kancil to entertain as well as to impart wisdom and advice on how to become responsible individuals.

today they revealed more about their new gem and provided us with this cute sneak peek video

i have to say, i am super excited with this announcement. a proper and significant progress for Les'Copaque. and honestly, to me, i think it's definitely a significant progress in our animation industry. congrats Les'Copaque!!

there is a Sang Kancil animation (series?) in the making (or is it done i am not sure) by aniotek. i cant remember exactly what it is.. if anyone can shed some light about this issue i'd be grateful. but i do wonder how they'll feel about this development in our animation industry. if it was me i'd feel threatened.

i do hope more local companies will speed up their production and air their animation series. i've seen lots of em online but have not seen them made their way on tv. it's tough i know.. but it seems doable. like LCP and Animonsta have done. and i little bit of me wish that someday i too can produce an animation tv series ^^

more about PZD at their blog - http://gengmovie.blogspot.com/search/label/PZD
and heaps of pics on their facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/padazamandahulu

tentang Lowpoly Character Model - Milo

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 13:35:00 +0000

my own design. when the base model was finished, it looked a lot like that neutron kid. but i think after texturing it it looks different. not too bad for 3 days' work. now i wanna alter the model and retexture it.. make another variation of the character, Milo in super mode XD

day 1 - no head

day 2 - no face

day 3 - ^_^

gotta work quick. i hope to start compiling the reel and finalize it by next weekend. i think i'll make it.

by april, i hope to have sent out my job applications. yosh!

tentang A House in the Sky

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 06:51:00 +0000

done! though i hoped i could've done this a little bit faster. but yeah it's not too bad. took me 1 week.

now i can start the next model.. my character ^^

tentang Next 3D Project - House In The Sky

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 01:13:00 +0000

a house in the sky
3d modeling project
by adi bahari (aka kusut)

ok this project is actually a part of a scene in that short animation (that i still hope i'll be able to make this year) but because my aim is to put it in my showreel, this house is decent enough (assuming i manage to model+texture+render+comp it the way i imagined) as a showreel material. so the rest of the scene, which consists of more ground, a bridge thing, a long wall and a gate; will be modeled when it is more appropriate to continue with the animation.

so here is the sketch of the house i drew in my notebook (hence the horizontal lines)

a very quick sketch

here's where im at. most of the modeling part is done. only the ground element is still in it's blocking stage. so i'm doing that today. try to make it look more 'rocky' and add details on it (grass, some vines hanging here and there, some roots).

with lighting work!

i enjoy working on this piece. it looks kinda like what i imagine. and the colour vibrant and fun. yeah i hope this one will look fun in the end.. somehow

hope i will finish this one early next week ^_^

tentang 3D Modeling Project update lagi se

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 13:49:00 +0000

not exactly final. but i'm moving on to the next 3D scene. this one looks ok. when i finish modeling some more 3D scenes.. i'll come back and do a video of this env. then compile it in a single showcase.

now on to the next one! time is of the essence!!!

yeah i worry that i dont couldn't make the showreel i plan to make in time. and that i have to send out a rushed work to apply for a job.

*freakin out!!!*

die >_<

tentang 3D Modeling Project update

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:58:00 +0000

just a quick update.

curtain, selimut, mattress and pillows need zbrushing

made the room. though nothing is textured but i decided put all the things in one scene file (the room) so that i could get an idea how it would look like. and what else do i need to model.

and i think i need to add :
- a stack of magazines
- an open book on the floor
- a pen under the bed
- a mug to put stationaries
- a few pens + pencils + markers
- 2 shelves mounted above the bed
- books to put on shelf
- a box under the bed (boxofprunes)

planning to finish all those things tonight and tomorrow i'll start texturing! ^_^

tentang 3D Modeling Project - The Room

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:08:00 +0000

these are 3D models i made for my 'Room' scene.

nothing really special. definitely not anything epic. tapi i do plan it to look good.
i'm modeling a room at the moment. kalau sempat, i wanna use it in an animated short. or it'll just be a 3D scene for my latest showreel.

ima need that to look for a job. very soon.

but anyway, most of the things have been modeled. im in my 2nd week modeling the room. the stuff i modeled have been UVW unwrapped. not yet textured. there's more models i made. i'll post more tomorrow.

next ima need to model the curtains (and a mirror! i just remembered this one). some models need zbrushing work.. and then texture all models. then make the room. set up lighting. render and composite.. done!

gogogo

tentang Zbrush Practice

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 12:35:00 +0000

last month i did that Birdman tutorial for zbrush and since then i've been practising that method and (hopefully) get better. i made a bust of malaysian 'superhero' (he's not so super actually) keluangman. i think i have kinda improved.

just a fanart

the one above is actually the 3rd try. i tried to model it 100% using the method in the birdman tutorial at first, but it didnt turn out ok. version 1 looked too realistic, too boring. too predictable. too batman. but above all, my sculpting skill was still too rough.

i made a mess around the eyes didn't i?

version 2 was a little better. but still did not have that comicbook look. proportion was all over the place. after making this one, i decided to not follow the tutorial too much. the eyes, the nose and the mouth region to be precise. it didn't look too bad.. but i think it still is pretty bad. bottom line, i wasn't satisfied with it.

straight into the uncanny valley >_<

next is my fav! well still can improve but i am pretty happy with version 3. proportion wise is nice.. simplified the mouth,nose and eyes area. made it simpler and more cartoonish. i was so happy with it i decided to try texturing it in zbrush.. which i have no idea how to. hence the very rough and very flat texture. but it looks decent.. i think

this is the model i used to make the 'poster' earlier in this post

and here's a turntable video i uploaded in youtube. the colour looked washed and dull. but yeah i just wanna see it rotating.

i'm ready to move on to the next tutorial in the book i bought.
excited!

tentang Superbowl Ads 2011

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 01:47:00 +0000

so superbowl had passed and it was that time of year when great ads premiered in the same night. yeah for around USD 3 mil per slot, the ads better be good huh?

so i made this list last week but didnt do the writeup till today. dont know why i didnt publish it straight away. procrastination >_<. but anyway, these are the ads that i like the most. i have to admit i haven't watched all the superbowl ads but there so many that made my favs list anyway.

lots of other good and interesting ads that other people like but i prefer these. i was not too amused by the Doritos Pug ad which lots of people seem to love. and the Pepsi Can Thrower wasn't too amusing to me either. maybe i'm getting old

but anyway, enjoy these ads. more ads, just search youtube for superbowl 2011 ads or superbowl XLV ads or anything similar.

Doritos - House Sitting

Audi - Darth Vader

Doritos - Finger Licker

Pepsi Max - First Date

Audi - Release The Hounds

tentang Transformers 3 Superbowl Ad

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 01:33:00 +0000

i love the 1st movie, the 2nd isnt too bad but definitely not better than the 1st. i do hope the 3rd will be the best and not follow the steps of spiderman3 and xmen3. why all those 3rd installments turn out to be so bad is beyond my comprehension. but fingers crossed michael bay will do an excellent job.

else, i'll wait for christopher nolan's 3rd batman movie and hope that one wont have the same fate.

any fans of transformers here?

tentang A Day After Shoutbox Removal

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 02:08:00 +0000

how does shoutboxes work?
1 - a blogger puts the shoutbox widget on their blog. the widget contains a link to the actual shoutbox's url
2 - visitors to the blog can view the shoutbox and post their shoutouts
3 - visitors who know the url to the shoutbox's actual page can also view the shoutbox and post a shoutout (without visiting the blog anymore)

i have suspected people doing that before. then all this kecoh about the fraud-blogwalk thing started to happen. after contemplating about it a bit i decided to remove my shoutbox. the shoutbox after all have been more like a free text ad space for most. and the ads are now written in good taste. pfft

but days after removing the shoutbox, new shouts are still coming in. (i removed the shoutbox on the 23rd btw)

screenshot from my shoutmix user account page. i may have removed the shoutbox but the account is still active.

the kawalebut link is a frequent. uses different names including 'ana raffali' or something like that. the 2nd link, internationalmesothelioma.com, goes to a site about a form of cancer. there's info there. not crap or anything. but i dont understand why using this dumb method to spread such information? maybe the webmaster is only after money from ads and have no interest at all in health. and that gives me reason to doubt the site's informations.

now my still active shoutbox has become some sort of trap to those fakers. lol.

tentang Anti Cheaters

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 13:30:00 +0000

this issue has been kinda big a deal lately in the malaysian bloggers circle. a lot of titles or names or titles coined by the many bloggers. if it was up to me i'd name it the

ANTI FRAUDULENT BLOGWALKERS

but it's not up to me so everyone may call whatever thay wanna call it :P

what is it? some bloggers have not been sincere or honest about their blogwalking activities. blogwalking or blog-hopping is when a person hops from one blog to the other and just saying a simple 'hello' in a blog's shoutbox and not trying to sound like and ass.

but as time passes, more people joined in the world of blogging and, hoping to direct traffic to their own blog, the blogwalking (or hopping.. whichever method of travel you prefer) culture have been manipulated and tarnished by people driven by their desire for 'quick cash'. they did not really visit your blog but only uses the shoutbox as their own advertising space.

some call them fraudsters, some call them cheaters. bottom line, they are assholes. or a n00b. their choice.

hence, starting today, i have removed the shoutbox in this blog. if anyone wants to say hello they'll have to do an off-topic comment in my entries. and being off-topic, it has a high possibility to be deleted by the owner of this blog (that would be me).

and finally, i would like to stress here that the shoutbox is not at fault. it is made a tool by assholes to send dishonest 'friendly' shououts. dont blame the shoutbox. it has served me well

read 'Kempen Atasi Blogwalking Tipu' at 100penulis.com

read 'Badge ANTI FRAUD BLOGWALKING for Free' at wansteddy tales

(tq Wansteddy for the banner)

happy blogging ^^

tentang Zbrush Exercise Update January 23

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 09:59:00 +0000

another 2 + hours doing the birdman tutorial. having fun!!!

i think i did not get some of the skin to look good. especially the chest. pfft. but well im not gonna try to fix it anymore.. but i'll make it right in my next sculpt. but it does look ok overall i think.

maybe not so bad for a first sculpt

tentang Zbrush Exercise Update January 20

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:11:00 +0000

yeah this is a late entry.

just an update. had a few hours to work on the birdman tutorial again.

still in med-res stage.

i was watching guy ritchie's lock,stock, and two smoking barrels today and found myself observing the skin texture of the 3 characters in one of the scenes.. how the oldest man have lots of deep wrinkles that i would think i looked fake if i did that in zbrush. another man who is a little younger had wrinkles all over his face too but not as harsh. and the young guy does not have much wrinkles on his face.

it made me realize how my character now look like an old person. lol

anyway, here's the progress screenie that i posted before. in case anyone's interested.

tentang Kungfu Bunny (animation)

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 02:16:00 +0000

not mine. saw this online and reallllllyyyyyyy enjoyed it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJc2KExUQsw

(images from chinasmack.com)

Directed by Zhiyong LI, produced by COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF CHINA, Producer Weihua GAO. Year of Production 2009. Technique used 2D Computer. Durée / Duration: 06 min
Synopsis: Something's brewing on the desk. Battle is commencing. Will Kungfu Bunny always be invincible?
Il se trame quelque chose sur le bureau. Une bataille se prépare. Kungfu Bunny sera-t-il éternellement invincible ?

tentang Zbrush Exercise January 18

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 05:51:00 +0000

i bought this magbook Zbrush Essentials last month. just wanted to learn more about that program and improve my skillz. everything i know abt Zbrush before i only learn from blogs and youtube tutorials. so i hope this one will make things more proper

so i started the basic tutorial this month. only managed to spend 3 days so far but i'm enjoying it.

here's where i at so far. doing the birdman tutorial..

progressive screenie. day 1 to day 3 :D

too bad the DVD is a little problematic. my laptop DVD drive cant read the disc properly. i cant unzip the part2 of the tutorial. sigh. but there's lots of other tutorials in there to compensate anyway. im still happy with it ^^

tentang The Depressing Form

noreply@blogger.com (kusut) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 01:44:00 +0000

uh.. filling up forms and paperworks for that PTPTN Ujrah thing has left me feeling down and somewhat depressed.

i went to an IPTS for my bachelor's degree. spend a great (with extension) 7 years doing my film & animation degree (which i spent most of my time gaming) and in the end, other than proudly holding that degree in my hand, i also have a huge hutang to pay. sigh

the amount that i got was massive (yeah.. private college costs a lot) so i have to pay that back. + the service charges per year of the loan not being settled. they changed the agreement now where i agree to pay the loan back in 16.5 years and i agree that the total amount of 'service charge' as stated in the agreement. this means, if i somehow became a billionaire overnight and can afford to pay off the loan tomorrow, i'll still have to pay the total mount of service charge agreed in the new agreement. sighhhhhhh

but anyway.. if i look at the service charges per year, it's a lot but not a ridiculous amount of money. so i think there's no use cursing and saying things about them and just have to accept that i made that loan and now i have to pay them back.. in 16.5 years X(

sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!