Workflow

2011-12-16T11:01:00.000-08:00

Everything is easier on a team because a group of people is much more dynamic and can respond to needs quicker than anyone person, even if it is a small number of individuals. When we started Ellie and Olaf seven people were working on it, each doing different tasks accomplishing anything they could. But as time went by people who were looking for jobs got jobs and those that were looking to move did. While I was rigging I was hoping that all texturing of the assets would be completed but it didn't quite get there. Needless to say that because of my space agent nature, rigging was slow and I always over complicate things when working alone. All I have to do is rig three characters, but I wanted to write a mel script or a library of mel scripts that would auto-rig a character and this script would do the works. It would create the joint structure, all nodes for a working system, name everything, create controls, be able to capture poses or animation for a library, and export keys from an animation rig to a matching render rig. I'm sure that I could just use Maya's inherent full body IK, but I wanted to learn MEL and I got carried away with it. Well, I'm going to tell you that this armada of scripts will be put on hold and all remaining tasks will be prioritized to create a workflow for one person, until animation. Fuck it, for the sake of finishing, I may not use my rigging scripts and will use the Full Body IK.
Since this is so, I can start from scratch on the rigs and the full body IK can be done in speedy time. But the remaining tasks are going to be worked on in a structured order.

A little while ago I made a production flowchart based off the pipeline detailed out in Inspired : Short Film Production. Their flowchart covered all tasks, but the flow wasn't linear; elements seemed to be huddled around the final show reel and some elements had nothing leading into them, arbitrarily starting. So pretty much it is the exact same but with a flow of what starts and leads in to the next step. Have a look:

Also I should mention this was made as a pipeline to deliver products to a client, but the principles of workflow are here for the 3D artists. Currently in EO the models are for the most part done. The characters did have their UVs laid out and so that is why I jumped ahead on rigging. So I'm making the top priority now texturing. This is the one area of 3D that I don't really enjoy, but I will do my best. I am really inspired by the painterly texturing in Meet Buck. It seems to be a great merge between the painted look and a toon shader. Be on the lookout for more.

Reality

2011-11-29T11:39:00.001-08:00

So I thought an interesting part of me to incorporate into this site is the fact that I don't dream in color. This is actually more common than you think, and it seems to add that these works are apart of my dreams. It allows a simple backdrop to showcase my work. My completed work and any embeded or external links are the only elements in color on this site. What does it mean that I don't dream in color? Je ne sais pas, but I refuse to let it doesn't hold me down. I still look up into the sky and get the feeling that I may fall into it at any moment, hold on! This boiling up emotion I can not contain any longer and will use this site as a means of capturing my dreams. The reality of me is that I love being creative, and I enjoy bending the rules of what is possible.

The organization of this site is fairly simple and will improve as time passes. I will incorporate more functionality in terms of being able to search and leave comments for blog posts. This may be something that I eventually add as I learn JavaScript coding for Unity. Unity is the progam that I will learn and sharpen my skills as an artist. I see myself producing advanced interactive applications within 5 years. Currently I am planning on finishing an animated short film that is being produced with a team. Blog posts for the next year will be content related to the short film titled "Ellie and Olaf" and my first blog will be discontinued. Stay tuned.

Rooftop Animation Writen Blog

Workflow

Reality