The Process Diary

Feedback Episode 12-09

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Feedback for December 2009!

Some news, some musings, an Amazon order comes early, and the feedback is very insightful advice on how to go about marketing the video releases of the tutorials!

Cheers to Rich Brown, Nixon, Kris, Jon and James for the emails, comments and suggestions!

Some inspiring books just came in the mail:

Stay tuned to the final WIP video for 2009 just after Xmas, but just before New Year. Until 2010, Merry Xmas, Happy Honnuka, may your Saturnalia yield an evil-doer to scapegoat successfully.. oh hell, just have a great time with your family, friends, and food. :D

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A conversation with Tom Dell'Aringa 12-09

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:00:00 +0000

This month's conversation is with creator and artist behind "Marooned: A Space Opera in the Wrong Key". I've released this a few days early because pre-orders for his first book, Out of Orbit, close on December 2nd. Details below.

Tom Dell'Aringa has been working on Marooned for about a year and a half, now. Throughout that time, he has experimented with various styles, story-telling techniques, and has even embraced the digital revolution to a small extent!

Tom gives some detailed information on his methods, goals and the ongoing process which he is discovering as he produces. He is certainly full of info for the beginning artist, and hearing about his trials and errors can't help but inspire.

You can find Tom's work at:

If you like his work, and wish to support Tom's efforts, why not pre-order a copy of the Out of Orbit today!

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Work in Progress November 2009

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:30:00 +0000

The first in a new series of tutorials which will outline the creation of three characters and two vehicles. In this video, I share my sketching process for three characters and two vehicles.

TPD - November 2009 from Paul Caggegi on Vimeo.

The following videos will focus on one character (Tholemo) and one vehicle (the biplane). I will produce tutorials on full-body modeling (including head), full-body and face rigging, vehicle modeling, and finally a special video on producing the look for the web comic (procedural texturing, lighting and rendering).

My aim is to wrap up these tutorials in time to release the first panels of the new web comic (some time around May). I have a game plan, and I'm hoping to stick to it. Know that I'll be recording the creation of the other two characters and the sandboat modeling as well, but at this stage, I plan to keep them aside for release on the full set as a DVD mid-next year.

This month, I offer a couple of test formats for you to download and view (right click, save file as):

Please let me know if these sizes work for you. I've exported presets out of both FCP and Compressor. I've tested each of them, and they look good to me. I'll be curious to know your experiences and which formats suit your needs best.

The formats which seem to work best will be the format I plan to put on the DVD release.

I look forward to the feedback!

PS: Do you watch these videos on an iPod video and can only see things in 4:3? Well I found a solution for you to see the whole image (if you didn't already know). In your root menu on your iPod, select Video>>Settings. There you'll see an option "Fit to Screen". If it's set to "On" set it to "Off". You will now automatically letterbox any 16:9 content.

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Feedback Episode 11-09

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to this month's feedback episode! On the whole, it was positive, and there was lots of it. I do have to give special mention to one or two good emails I received - one from Ignatio, and the other from David.

After the feedback, I rant a bit about the direction I'm taking with Character Development, and my reasons for doing so.

A couple of interesting books and a film which have inspired me this month:

I'm also interested in hearing your opinions on making my tutorials available in other forms. Have a listen to the podcast for details, and get back to me.

Worthy links to check out this month:

Michael J Dowswell
Wishtales
Marooned

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A Conversation with Matt Forcum 11-09

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Matt Forcum is a professional Motion Graphics artist. He currently works at the Iona Group, and lectures in 3D character animation at Bradley University, Illinois. In his spare time, he works on a web comic series called Robot Beach, all about a Robot who dreams of surfing, and his adventures with his friends, a crab and a seagull. We speak about the strip, his short film project, Anabelle's Bistro, and many more topics of common interest.

Matt's personal blog can be found at www.houseofmove.com

The Robot Beach strip can be found at www.robotbeach.com

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Work in Progress October 2009

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Work in Progress video for October 2009.

TPD WIP - October 2009 from Paul Caggegi on Vimeo.

Topics covered:

Camera Rig (kudos to Kris Wittig)
Asset creation and set up
Append/Link/Proxy
Create set using array modifiers

These techniques are simple in and of themselves, but together, provide the basis of a powerful workflow.

UPDATE: For Slightly Chaotic below, I've added a quick screen grab to illustrate the scene hierarchy.

Everyone can come up with their own, and it is dependent on your project. In this instance, a camera rig is something I'd use again. Each asset might be imported into another scene at some point. Below is one example of how to split up your library:

This works within the context on a single project. Later, you may want to put your camera rig - or any other assets - in a higher "universal" folder, much like a texture library you may use for multiple projects.

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Feedback Episode 10-09

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Thanks to the following for the feedback:

Glenn Horsely
Henrique
Shashwat
AMDBG
Richard
A2Z
DaveMac
BlendNZ
Phillip
Kris Wittig

Hopefully, I've answered your questions and comments in this show. Some links mentioned, and which you might find useful:

Finally, if you like the show, why not nominate the process diary in the 5th annual podcast awards?

Nominations close October 18th, so get nominating, and pass this on! Some categories which might be suitable are: Education, Cultural/Arts, or even just general. I don't expect to win, but seeing a nomination would be nice. Cheers, guys, and see you back here in a week or two for the WIP video.

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A Conversation with Steve Ogden 10-09

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:00:00 +0000

From Public Album

Steve Ogden is a professional 2d and 3d artist. He currently works at Firaxis games, but in his spare time he works on personal projects, such as Moon Town. It was originally planned as an animated web series, but Steve decided to switch mediums in order to get the story out in a much more effective and immediate way.

Steve happily discusses his inspirations, past work, and thoughts on storytelling.

Steve's personal blog can be found at www.steveogden.com
Moon Town is available at www.moon-town.com

In other news: my personal dot-com is now live! Head on over to paulcaggegi.com now and check it out. I'll still be keeping this blog up because it drives the podcast, but I shall be using the dot-com to host various files and extra content.

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Work in Progress August 2009

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:27:00 +0000

TPD WIP August 2009 from Paul Caggegi on Vimeo.

Welcome to this month's work in progress video. I offer a couple of tips this month, to enhance your rig, using action constraints, and set-driven shape-keys.

I like to use these techniques to enhance an already functional rig. They can add some extra deformation specific to the area you wish to control.

Action constraints can be assigned to multiple bones/objects, all driven by the property of a control bone. The example I show here is a simple hand pose, using the Y-scale of the hand controller as the driver.

You can build whole libraries of poses this way, so that your controls are alot more functional when animating a character.

Shape keys add specific deformations to areas where the armature is not deforming the bone adequately. One such area is the shoulder joint. By creating a shape key, and using a control bone to drive it, you can quickly fix problematic deformations around areas like the shoulders, driven only when the character is posed a certain way.

There are more applications of these two methods. I like to use them to allow brow furrows to appear when a character scowls, or biceps to flex when a character clutches his fists - the possibilities are limitless.

I hope you gain some insight into how to set these techniques up on a rig, and apply them to your own rigs in future.

REMINDER: I have to take the process diary on a necessary hiatus next month, so no updates will be posted during that time. However I will respond to any feedback, comments, or emails you care to send me.

Cheers, folks!

Paul C

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Feedback Episode 08-09

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:12:00 +0000

Feedback episode! I dip into my various mailbags and read some of your responses to the podcast and blog. I appreciate all the comments I've received, and rest assured I'm listening to your suggestions and requests.

I will keep this blogpost short and sweet, as I wish to get the episode out, but here are a few useful links mentioned in the podcast:

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

I will be taking the process diary on Hiatus through the month of September. Apologies all around, but stay tuned for my triumphant return. I shall bring boons and knowledge of enlightenment upon my epic return (or so my mentor tells me. I hope he's not a trickster in disguise)!

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Work in Progress July 2009

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:56:00 +0000

TPD WIP JULY 2009 from Paul Caggegi on Vimeo.

Rigging the face can be as difficult and as time-consuming as rigging an entire body. In this demonstration, I take two techniques I have seen used to great effect - bone and lattice deformations - to produce a very flexible and versatile rig for my character's face.

Credit should be given where credit is due. I highly recommend checking out the following videos available on facial rigging:

tp8000cfv's face rigging tutorials available on Youtube Part 1 available HERE. Find more videos by tp8000cfv HERE.

Of course, the ubiquitous ManCandy is the rig I most base my stuff on. While I highly recommend the DVDs, you can find the rig HERE.

Much of what I have done here is a rehashing of their excellent work, and I learned so much from watching these guys in order to rig my own character.

Of course, there are other ways to rig a face. One such way is shape keys. I like to use shape keys to enhance what is already a fine rig. Again, I shall make available the modified Marcus .blend file to anyone who wishes to email me for it. It will contain the updated mesh, and the completed rig. I shall be further adding some shape keys (which will not be available in the file I send you due to time constraints) to emphasize expressions: a furrow of the brow; a crease in the lips, etc. You may also note there is no tongue in the mesh as yet. This will be added shortly, and also be rigged.

I hope you enjoy this demonstration video. I've aimed to cover the more difficult parts at a slower pace, and deliberately repeated some techniques so you can get a better understanding of them. As always, please leave feedback in the comments section, or via email. Knowing how these free videos help you guys really helps me improve the quality of what I produce.

Cheers, folks!

Paul C

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Discussion Point - 07-09 The Miracle Element

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:44:00 +0000

Welcome to this month's discussion point post and podcast. As I have been writing, I've decided to relax on verifying all facts in order to concentrate on imbuing the script with more fun. I am apprehensive of relying too much on any miracle exceptions which may arise in my writing. In this week's podcast, I speak about miracle exceptions - when they go bad, and when they are acceptable. Perhaps the best examples of miracle exceptions can be found in this book:

Below are two examples of the author demonstrating exerpts from the book:

Just added: I had no idea he was consultant of Watchmen!

The science and entertainment exchange puts writers in touch with actual scientists who wish to verify the accuracy of the science they are portraying in their film. I came across it when scouring for accuracy in sci-fi. While not absolutely necessary, I find films which display a healthy respect for factual information a cut above the rest.

The progress of this pilot is finally rocketing ahead once again. I should be hitting storyboarding and animatic phase before too long, and I cannot wait to begin producing visuals. Thanks for reading, watching and listening this week, folks. I should be back before too long with a new brainstorm, and be sure to come back for the monthly work in progress at the end of the month.

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Andy Belenger Interview July 2009

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:39:00 +0000

Do you ever feel as if the task at hand is so overwhelming, you just know you're gonna suck? And suck HARD? Do you ever wish there could be something... I dunno, like a bottle... that could make you so awesome, that you would be like, the world's best at... whatever?!

Sounds like you need to listen to today's interview.

I recently caught up with professional Toronto illustrator: Andy Belanger, creator, writer and artist for Bottle of Awesome which you should all check out over at Zuda Comics.

Andy's career is diverse and extraordinary. Apart from drawing some killer comics of his own devising, he has created take-away comicbook storyboards for films, pitched children's comic ideas for kid's magazines, and even illustrated custom covers. You can see much of his work at: www.andybelanger.com or over at Transmission X which features Raising Hell.

Also in the podcast: feedback! You guys are awesome. I tried to address many of the issues folks emailed me about, as well as give thanks for all the praise.

Next week: the usual discussion point and project updates. Cheers for now, guys!

Download Lo Fi

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Work in Progress June 2009

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:00:00 +0000

TPD WIP - June 2009 from Paul Caggegi on Vimeo.

Welcome to this month's WIP video! I managed to finish it in time. To date, this has been the hardest to put together. Mainly because I'm not a great rigger. I did about two months research to present this video for you guys. I believe in producing the best possible example of work, even though I don't know the full scope of the area. In any case, I hope you enjoy it.

Marcus as the subject for this rigging demo. I outline some of the methods I use when setting up a character rig, some handy shortcuts, and how to split up your armature into neat sets on separate bone layers. After that, I give you a quick overview of putting those methods into practice, and then show you the completed body rig with some demo renders.

Much of the methodology here is not original. The main sources of research are:

The ManCandy FAQ

Bassam Kurdali, director of Elephant's Dream, put together over 7 hours of videos, demo files, and .blend files in this DVD. The mancandy rig is still one of the most versatile and efficient rigs out there for blender. I will mention here that you can legally download a torrent of this, and as far as I know, it is widely encouraged to share this torrent, but The link above is to the blender eStore. I highly recommend the purchase, if only to support an artist who deserves your money.

Big Buck Bunny Rigging Tutorial

Again, I urge you to purchase the Big Buck Bunny DVD, but the Rinky rigging tutorial is available free on Vimeo in the above link.

Eric McGee - Leg Rigging tutorials

I've linked the first of four parts. This tutorials demystifies the conventional leg rig. It helped me understand the relationships between each of the bones, and how to control the overall leg using the minimum amount of controls for maximum pose effects. Some great methods found in there.

As a bonus to this episode, anyone wanting a copy to play around with (blender only, of course) just email me at: flawedprefect@gmail.com with the request, and I'll email you back the .blend file. Any feedback would be most welcome. When the rig is completed, I'll make it freely available so you can see the completed version.

Cheers for now, folks, and see you again next month!

Bonus brainstorm 06-09

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:00:00 +0000

What a month for updates. I'll begin with my quick foray into the wonderful world of rigging. This past month, I have been deeply entrenched in blender rigging tutorials, trying to find that magical, elusive process which will render the most efficient rig. And efficiency is what it is all about. I've now fully-rigged Marcus Blair, and I have to say, putting him through some motions is making me SQUEEEEEE with joy. Can't wait to show you.

As this month's work in progress video is all about that process, I will go into more depth next week, suffice it to say there are some clever chaps out there in blender-land. I applaud you all, and you all get a big shout-out here, as well as references in the video.

Script writing has gotten a breakthrough. Marcello and I agree on most things! To his credit, 'Cello tempers my habit of being happy with early drafts and saves me from potential ridicule. Without him, my scripts would read much like any of the Star Wars films here Lucas himself wrote dialogue. :O

This brainstorm yeilded many surprises. The biggest of which was that we FINISHED THE F*CKER. Oh - and beeps a-plenty, so the story isn't totally given away.

As an aside, I came across the preview for this new mini-series called "Impact"

At first glance, I thought someone had taken my "moon is destroyed" idea and I'd have to give up the story, but then... well, just watch the trailer, and make up your own mind. I did find the uncanny resemblance of some of my previz shots in this trailer a tad unsettling. I hope this does not herald a whole spate of "moon is destroyed by impact scenario" movies, tho. My humble independent story will be caught in the avalanche of badly made sci-fi, and probably avoided by audiences who don't wish to see "yet another moon movie".

I hope you enjoy this month's brainstorm. Next week, the monthly vidcast will be available right here on the process diary. See you then.

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Backyard Astrophotography - 365 days of Astronomy special

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Hi folks - both fans of the the process diary, and fans of astronomy! In this very special podcast, I talk to Kynan Stephenson about his new hobby: backyard astrophotography.

The podcast can be downloaded by subscribing in iTunes to the excellent 365 Days of Astronomy podcast feed, or by going to the official blog: 365 days of Astronomy

Below are a few photos Kynan sent me. Here is Kynan's telescopic rig:

From astrophotography

If you're interested in setting something up to take pictures of night sky objects, there is a fantastic forum here: iceinspace.com.au mainly made up of Aussies! There, you'll find a supportive community eager to help you with your questions on how to get started.

Now for the mind-blowing bit. Below are some recent shots Kynan took from (practically) his backyard:

A sun spot

From astrophotography

Alpha Centauri

From astrophotography

Carina Nebula

From astrophotography

Omega Centauri

From astrophotography

Orion Nebula

From astrophotography

His camera is not that great: a Canon EOS 300D digital SLR which maxes out at only a 6 Megapixel resolution. I would be fascinated to see what a higher resolution capture would look like, but from what you see here, it's pretty clear that the optics and calibration are sufficient to get dazzling shots from the ground - and not too far from a major city!

Discussion Point 06-09 - extra-curricular work

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:00:00 +0000

I have been doing some exciting stuff other than Character Development recently. Stuff I have not been able to reveal up until now. Be it because ownership was not mine, or I had to keep it under wraps before its release, I can now talk about these works so you can all have a look at what else has been going on while working on my own project. I bring these up because they impact my work in ways that are creative, instructive, and they add to my ever expanding body of work in positive ways.

The first job was for Like-minded Studio in Surrey Hills. It was to produce a 30 second spot for Optus. The subject matter was pretty simple: promote a new phone deal as the monster creation of the "Optus Lab".

From Freelance Work

I worked with three other creatives, but ultimately took main ownership of the project, especially when it came to final edit and client tweaks. We just made the deadline on this, and I must say I'm pretty proud of it... even if the ad itself is kind of annoying and silly.

Another project most of you won't know about is issue 138 of the Heroes Web comic. It's process is well-documented over at Jason Badower's blog, 1000 words. Jason gave me a brief outline and layout of the room. He then gave me creative license on producing a clean, modern style apartment, furnished with trendy lamps, shelves, and things. It was done completely in Blender, and the final camera angles were rendered with the "edge" mode selected. I had aimed to help Jason out with the line work, giving him the basis to add his artwork to, but to his credit, I simply gave him a clear reference to overlay his own line-work.

From Freelance Work

Here is a short video I did to illustrate the layering process, and the 3D set behind it:

Heroes Web Comic breakdown from Paul Caggegi on Vimeo.

NBC just recently released the next issue - Rebellion Part 4 in which I was privileged enough to have modeled Building 26 - complete with hospital gurneys and human figures for Jason's perspective reference. The backgrounds are not so noticeable, but another breakdown video is in the works.

Overall, I have been proud with the results of this past work. There are a couple more jobs which are being worked on at the moment, of which I will speak of in weeks to come, once they are released to the general public. It really feels as though several months of networking, making contact and slaving away at trying to set myself up, are all beginning to pay off. Hopefully, Character development won't suffer greatly.

Finally, I am appearing on three other podcasts this month. The first will be accompanied with a post right here on June 6th. The 365 Days of Astronomy podcast has been set up to celebrate the international year of astronomy. I submitted a short interview with colleague, Kynan Stephenson, and we talked about his new hobby - backyard astrophotography. If you're interested in all things astronomical, why not check it out and subscribe via the iTunes music store, or by visiting the official website: 365 days of astronomy.

The second podcast I will be featured on can be found here: Starship Sofa: Aural delights episode 86 I have offered my voice talent to this podcast in the past, reading several short stories. This "issue" I read a Cory Doctorow article titled "Extreme Geek". This article is extremely relevant to what I do, and what I aim to do with my own story.

Lastly, I will be appearing on a future episode of Chris Oatley's Artcast. You might remember Chris from a couple of episodes ago. I was invited to speak on his show along with children's book illustrator, Dani Jones. We spoke a bit about how the internet affects us as artists - a topic close to my own heart. Subscribe to his podcast today, or check back to his website for this up-coming episode, which should be available soon.

Surprisingly, all this extra work has not detracted from Character Development! In fact, between the promotional advantage of appearing on other podcasts, and the opportunity to keep my skills well practiced, it has only helped in seeing new options for what I need to do in future on this project. To drive home the points: I got to practice some animation withthe Optus ad; I got to create sets in the quickest, most efficient way I could think of with the Heroes work (not to mention I practiced taking direction, which only helped me become a better director); and I got the chance to put my thoughts into concise and punchy soundbites when self-promoting.

All these are vital to becoming a better storyteller. It is no secret that today, the writers that thrive are the ones who learn a bit about PR, and how to bend social media networks to your will.

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Work in Progress - May 2009

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:26:00 +0000

TPD WIP - May 2009 from Paul Caggegi on Vimeo.

May 2009 WIP video features a quick demo on how to use an existing mesh as a basis for a new character. The tools I use are nothing grand or advanced: simply enable your proportional fall-off tool, and grab (G-KEY), scale (S-KEY) and rotate (R-KEY) away.

From Public Album

The biggest thing you should get out of this tutorial is workflow. Sketching an outline based on an existing mesh is a great idea if you want to see where you're coming from and where you're going to. The new sketch will be accurate enough to model over. Secondly - you'll notice the time spent on the head is much greater than the time spent on the body.

There is much more detail in the head area, because ultimately, it will be the part most photographed, and the focus on about 90% of the animation.

The texturing and rigging will be the next task for these characters. They will probably share a similar skeleton structure, and because they share a similar topology, it should be pretty easy to rig one character based on the first skeleton created and tested... but that's a topic for another video! So stay tuned.

In other news - I've been doing some extra curricular stuff which you will be hearing about in the next couple of weeks. Some I can tell you about are a few up-coming podcast appearances. I'll be appearing on the following:

Chris Oatley's Artcast

It was so cool having Chris on the process diary, he invited me onto his own podcast to continue our chat on new media and the working artist.

365 Days of Astronomy official podcast

As you are well aware, there is a fair amount of science in my fiction. I decided to join in on the fun for the official International Year of Astronomy podcast, and record a special episode (which the full version will be put on this feed) with Kynan Stephenson about terrestrial deep space astronomy and scientific accuracy in science fiction.

Starship Sofa

I often lend my voice to stories on this podcast. For the past months, I have been reading several Cory Doctorow essays. This next one is especially pertinent to anyone who wishes to know about how to turn your geeky social media networking obsession into something tangible.

I will put up the relevant links to these shows when they become available on their respective feeds, but please google these now and find out all about them before hand!

Also - Marcello and I are working on a timeline, now. We're both collecting lots of ideas and tasks to get done, and while we've been getting through much, we're finding we want to do MORE. So next month, the discussion point and brainstorm is going to be dedicated to nailing forseeable dates for hitting milestones. End of this month - we're hoping to sign off on all models and sets.

Thanks for watching this month, and don't forget, iTunes listeners - keep those comments coming!

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Bonus Brainstorm 05-09

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:32:00 +0000

Bonus Brainstorm for May, 2009.

Cello and I are STILL writing! Today, you get to be a fly on the wall for a script re-drafting session. We discuss what we like, don't like, what we're happy with, and what is just failing to get there.

This writing session is a tad spoilery, but illustrated beautifully just what happens when you discuss ideas that have been tosses around for a little while, and how they finally collapse into an agreed-upon outline. I've beeped out the REALLY spoilery stuff, never fear. I left this session with a copy of the synopsis which I wrote as we went, and left Cello one. We're now both working on our own versions of the script, and will reconvene in a week to flesh it out.

On a technical note, I apologize for last week's episode. I've had several emails, iChat comments and voices from the Ether tell me that the episode is doing strange things. One is: it appears to be 2hours and 20 minutes. The other, is that on some players (only confirmed on gPodder for linux, so far) it repeats.

I am happy to say that I've fixed last week's episode. I've tried to keep the file size down, so 65Mb for an hour and ten minutes is pretty good (and the quality is damn fine, I must say). If you would like to re-download that episode, it might be friendlier to your iPod/Zune/mp3 playing device.

Please let me know of any anomalies like this. I really do appreciate it, and it helps me keep an eye on what goes out, as well as how you guys are digesting the show.

Finally, in other news, I am happy to say that the two lead characters have been modeled. The DVNR-1 is deep in design/modeling phase, but already, Cello is showing me some GREAT designs. Just a couple rudimentary sketches below:

From Public Album

Next week, I'll be putting up the usual May WIP video - this one is on re-modeling an existing mesh to create a new character. I hope you guys get some good knowledge out of this one.

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Discussion Point 05-09

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:49:00 +0000

Welcome to this month's discussion point for May, 2009.

Progress this week had been focused on modeling. Marcello has taken the initiative on redesigning the DVNR-1 vehicle. I have focused, instead, on the creation of the main characters. I have taken the template of Kynan's original models, and have extrapolated the topology of Winfield's mesh, and produced a "new" gestalt Marcus.

We have also been dissecting the script. It's mainly fine-tuning sections so that our environment speaks to the points we wish to hit. Marcus has got to seem as tho he knows the land, and give an accurate answer to the mission's objective. Winfield, on the other hand, needs to see some sense in what Marcus is saying, but also needs to show that he is in control. Ultimately, the environment must betray both of them, and cause our climax.

The major point of redraft at this stage is to create an environment upon which we can stage all our scenes and be consistent to all these concerns.

As a special bonus, this week, I present to you a candid talk with Illustrator, Chris Oatley. I think you'll agree that he's an inspiring guy. We talked about a great many things - both in this interview and then immediately after. Most interviews, once they get past the niceties and back-slapping, just... keep on going down more back-slapping. Chris got right into the meat-and-potatoes of the discussion. We managed to fit in such interesting topics as inspiration, the benefits (if any) of having an internet presence, and some really great stuff about other artists out there.

Images used with permission of Chris Oatley.

I couldn't believe I'd forgotten I was a Jim Henson fan, until Chris listed him as his main inspiration. I will be appearing on Chris' own podcast this month: Chris Oatley's Artcast. Don't forget to check me out there, as well as just check out his website in general. He also offers thoughts and feelings about being an illustrator, and about working in LA. As part of his "artcast" he offers videos on how he paints his artwork in photoshop. He dedicates alot of time not only creating the content, but also editing the audio to go with the video. I certainly have to give props to his dedication at producing such a quality piece of media - for FREE.

I hope you listeners get a lot of out of this. At about an hour, this is definitely one to have in the background while performing some mundane task, or on the iPod for that long commute to work.

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Work in Progress - April 2009

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:00:00 +0000

Work in Progress - April 2009 from Paul Caggegi on Vimeo.

Welcome to the work in progress/tutorial for April 2009.

As requested - a video tutorial on landscape modeling, and how to cheat the render at the end of the process using a normal map.

I will be posting extra links and screen grabs here on the blog, so you can follow along. While I cover some basic topology sketching in GIMP, I only get as far as the final model in this tutorial. I will return with a texturing tutorial in the near future, as well as compositing for large scale scenes.

Please find the 2D map I created in GIMP:

From Public Album

The methodology is fairly straight forward:

Sketch out the terrain of your environment
Import that as reference into Blender
Create a plane, subdivide adequately, and begin to sculpt using the grab/draw tools
UV Unwrap
Duplicate mesh, and add Multi-res modifier to duplicated mesh (as high as your machine can handle without crying)
Spend LOTS of time with the draw tool and custom textures drawing your rocky features.
Apply multi-res modifier to mesh, then bake a normal map out and save.
Import normal map as texture and apply to the lower-res mesh
Render

The video goes more into detail, but here are some screen shots of settings:

When you switch to sculpt mode, you automatically get extra tabs in your edit pane. You can add any textures you have already loaded into blender, and they will function as brushes.

From Public Album

When you are about to bake out the normal map, note the settings below:

From Public Album

The results speak for themselves: click the image to get a higher-res version so you can see the side-by-side comparison:

From Public Album

Here is one indispensable tool I highly recommend:

Blender Newbies toolbar. This is a one-stop shop for all blender links. It includes up-to-date texture libraries, tutorials, lists of useful links, and even a list of RSS feeds on projects using blender (um, Hello, Blender Newbies? Care to add me?)

The texture site I featured in the video was: www.textureking.com

Apart from the tutorial, I have included up-to-date test renders of David Winfield. The head may look simple, but it took a week to model. I was not satisfied with the first modeling attempt, so I subjected the mesh to rigorous revisions in its topology.

From Public Album

The result is more satisfactory.

Oh finally - iTunes users! What's the deal? I know you're out there. Next time you fire up iTunes, head on over the the music store, type in "the process diary" in your search pane, and get commenting! Comments and high ratings help the placement of the podcast in the iTunes listing within the appropriate categories. If you like what I'm doing here, help spread the word to folks who might be searching for this sort of podcast.

See you next month, y'all!

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Bonus Brainstorm 04-09

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 03:51:00 +0000

Another month, another brainstorming session over a couple of beers. Marcello and I have lost count of the drafts we've been writing - he thinks it's around 5, I think it may be higher. It has been an explosion of activity, which includes some extra-curricular storyboards (on Marcello's part) and some random concept art by his extremely talented flatmate, Paul Jason Young:

From Public Album

In the mean time, I've been slaving over the head mesh for David Winfield. It will feature in a bit more detail in a couple of weeks for the WIP video, but here it is fresh out of blender:

From Public Album

So overall, we're ready to proceed with the next step in the development from script to screen. We have been happy with the basic plot of the first episode, and we've mainly split up the tasks of visual scene scripting and dialogue between us, always working in the boundaries of the script format.

The general consensus is that together, we're going to begin storyboarding key scenes, and compare notes on the motivation of characters and meaning of composition. Marcello is excited by lots of shots, lots of angles, and getting expressions from the best angle possible; I prefer static shots from one angle, which push in or frame elements of the master shot - a technique which hearkens back to earlier days of film making.

Somewhere in the middle, we'll reach a compromise which will benefit the story in the end, I'm sure.

A couple of links this week, sent from listeners via the feedback I've been receiving:

I hope you enjoyed hearing this discussion. The next Work In Progress video will be due out within the next week or so. I've decided to showcase a quick run down of some of my favorite techniques for modeling rocky environments. If you have any suggestions for what kind of modeling or techniques you'd like to see in the future, feel free to comment right here on the blog, or email at: flawedprefect@gmail.com.

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Discussion Point 04-09

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:29:00 +0000

Welcome to April's Discussion point for 2009. A quick update on the script progress this week, and the methods which have been employed in drafting the script.

I don't use any formatting software, in case you're wondering. I simply type the format out as I go. This has made it really easy to push it backwards and forwards over email with Marcello.

An example of where Marcello has improved the script:

SCENE 2: DVNR-1 – INT – DAY

Inside the vehicle, MARCUS BLAIR sits at the pilot seat. He is a large, bulky man with a shaved head and a serious expression. DAVID WINFIELD sits behind him, facing a bank of monitors. WINFIELD is smaller, with a slight build, and short, neat blond hair.

MARCUS stands, pulls the goggles down over his eyes and picks up a portable screen.

And with his additions:

SCENE 2: DVNR-1 – INT – DAY

Inside the vehicle, MARCUS BLAIR sits at the pilot seat. He is of average height, but a stocky man with a shaved (bald?) head and a serious expression. DAVID WINFIELD sits behind him with a vacant smile, facing a bank of monitors. WINFIELD is taller, with a slight build, and short, neat blond hair. MARCUS walks over to where WINFIELD is sitting. Slow up/left to low/right pan of Monitors that show various overlays of the outside terrain. A corporate logo is emblazoned on every monitor screen, centered in shot when pan finishes as MARCUS’ shoulder comes into view.

As you can see, the revision has got much more detail which engages the audience with what is going on. It also shows I'm a bit weak when it comes to this department.

We are due for one final draft session in the next fortnight, but we're currently trying to make our schedules meet. Since we're both freelancers, our work is sporadic right now. I'm involved in a pitch where I get to exercise some digital painting skills. It is something I hope to one day reveal here, but as yet have not got the permission to reveal anything. Even revealing that I shouldn't be revealing it might be too much information. Marcello is also working.

If we have to meet at 2AM in some secret location in trench coats and fedoras...

I address some of the feedback I've been getting in the podcast this week. It seems as tho the new format for the WIP video is a winner! I've been given a direction for the next vidcast via the blog comment, and I'll be happy to take you guys through some landscape tips and tricks.

Two things have happened between recording and releasing this episode, which have gotten me all excited. Steve Jasmine - aka: MR HOLLYWOOD found my blog and decided to have a listen. He left a nice enough message in the comments section:

"I enjoyed listening to this recording of myself as I don't often hear my own voice. I swore a bit and I will reduce that in the future. I hope you got value out of the process and have movie success."

In reply, I have to say Steve: I did learn a lot from the pitching session. You didn't know me from Adam, so the idea should have stood or fallen purely on its own merit. And it fell. But to quote a cheesy movie c0-starring Michael Caine: "Why do we fall down? So we can learn how to pick ourselves up again". Thanks for experience.

Secondly: I've finally been published on Blender Nation! I drew their attention to last month's video tutorial, and I got the welcome reply that they would publish an article on the blog and on my project. So head on over there and show them some lurve-sweet-lurve for all the awesome work they do at getting the Blender community noticed.

Finally: I know there are a couple of glowing reviews on the US iTunes apple iStore page (Thanks to John and Steve). The Australian one - while my stats show a steady increase in an Australian audience - currently looks like THIS:

From Public Album

Does your country's iTunes listing for The Process Diary look like that? If you like this blog and podcast, why not leave a comment on iTunes ? It helps the listing, makes apple aware that the podcast exists, and a better listing means more people can find this stuff. It can only expand a network of artists like me, and like you.

If you have a podcast, let me know! I would love to make other listeners aware of it. If there is an audio promo - I'll swap you, and play yours on my show. As time winds down to the pilot episode's completion, it would be great to begin to spread the word (and the love - who doesn't wanna spread some love?) around a bit.

To those who have found me via Blender Nation - I'll be posting more videos REALLY soon so watch this space!

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Work in Progress - March 2009

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:29:00 +0000

TPD WIP March 2009 from Paul Caggegi on Vimeo.

This WIP features the first in what I hope is a continuing format. I've recorded the process of modeling David Winfield, and have supplied it with commentary. I've ended it with some pertinent models, including the set for the pilot episode.

Marcello has supplied a rendering of the trader lair, so I am happy to show this concept art and model. Marcello's background in architectural visualization comes in handy when designing these habitats. He's got a good stock library of textures, and as you can see from the renders, he has managed to get a quick render out.

I've been working on the more "organic" looking environments such as the West-Cadian ridge. I have relied on Blender's multi-res and sculpting tools. This toolset is extremely powerful. There is always a trade-off in 3D, and that is: what I can very quickly sculpt an environment, it soon becomes very detailed, and the poly-count rises. The trick is to keep all the levels, then export a Z-map of the high-resolution version, then reimport it as a displacement map for the low res mesh.

There is a peculiar optical effect which is difficult to overcome when using procedural textures: when you zoom out, they soon become patterned and look like noise. For this reason, I have duplicated the mesh and enlarged the duplicate, re-textured it, and even done a little re-sculpting. This larger mesh will become the plate for the close ups, and the smaller one for wide angles.

In other news: I recently got a warning from facebook, when I attempted to post some life drawings in a new album. Here is the warning:

Hello,

You uploaded a photo that violates our Terms of Use, and this photo has been removed. Facebook does not allow photos that attack an individual or group, or that contain nudity, drug use, violence, or other violations of the Terms of Use. These policies are designed to ensure Facebook remains a safe, secure and trusted environment for all users, including the many children who use the site.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can visit our FAQ page at http://www.facebook.com/help.php?topic=wphotos.

The Facebook Team

I'm guessing it was cos it was nude. I post here a link to the public life-drawing album just so you guys can see a bit of what I've been doing in terms of practice. Here is the one picture which was removed from my facebook album:

From Life Drawings

To date, this is the one I've felt most comfortable with. I've been getting into shading more than just using lines.

But I feel like such a rebel! Am I sad for getting a buzz outa this? Maybe. What next? Should I try shoplifting lipstick? Ok, that's just wierd...

I am genuinely looking forward to the following month. The script is now in its second draft, and Marcello and I are feverishly editing to get to a storyboard ASAP. We might be splitting up the tasks to speed up to the next animatic - part of which you might end up seeing. So the process is all on again! We hope to bring you solid progress until the episode and trailer are complete.

A shout-out to a reader and listener of the process diary: James Wadsworth. His blog - http://brickblender.blogspot.com/ - is currently showing the trailer for his Star Wars Lego fan-film Fall from Grace. I am a fan on both LEGO and Star Wars. That it is totally done in Blender, and pretty much handled by one person (James) is just the icing on the cake. Swing by, take a look, and comment on his blog. You won't be disappointed.

Finally, I am responding to a post recently made on Phil Plait's Bad Astronomer Blog - Phil: hi, I know you're SUCH a fan of The Process Diary (hahahaha) . I am spreading the word about his blog right here. If you're into all things Star-Stuff and space-scienc-y, check out the links in the above paragraph, so he sees that I sent y'all over there. Apparently he's got some plan that involves being linked to.

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Bonus Brainstorm 03-09

flawedprefect@gmail.com (Paul Caggegi) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:34:00 +0000

A bonus episode this month. I got together with Marcello and continued to throw around some concepts and ideas. This is a real brainstorm session, so while there is a thread of trying to get an idea of creating the pilot episode, we delve into a bit of world-building, thoughts on the altruistic hero, and what might make a good first conflict.

This discussion touches on many of the previous points from last month's session, but it is full of ADDED NEWNESS!

It is difficult to bring the progress we are making in forms beyond these audio recordings, so I enjoy supplementing the blog with artwork which is being produced as we talk.

Some of the world-building discussion is to solidify the placement of the story. We're both in agreement to keep it set in central Turkey -around the region of Cappadocia, and the dormant volcano, Erciyes.

We introduce Sven Sandrasagra - penciler and novelist. We were privileged to have Sven pitch his "meathook circus" concept to us, but also manage to get his scholarly insight on our plot. Sven has some interesting things to say on the subject, and joins in whole-heartedly in discussing the pilot creation.

As we brainstormed, Marcello got the inspiration to come up with some concept art for the trader's lair:

From Public Album

We discussed the evolution of this lair in regards to the environment, and even how we might add something of this concept to the set of Market - both of which appear later on in the series.

Later on, and more in line with the pilot, I drew some rough blueprints of a thermal vent station:

From Public Album

Some links of note this week:

The promo this episode is for The Skeptic Zone. This is a fun podcast dedicated to science and reason. The hosts are led by Richard Saunders - Vice President of the Australian Skeptics, NSW. If you love discussion on the paranormal, spoon bending, and assorted woo... then tune into their show where they utterly smash and debunk such nonsense every week.

Actually, I just love them cos they organize a drinking session once a month, and invite anyone to come along for a beer. Mr Saunders et al - I hope to see you at one very soon!

Hope you'll tune in next week for the Monthly WIP video. Some very cool stuff to showcase including some work from Marcello! So exciting, I really must get back to getting the models I am promising built...

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