Monday 31 October 2011

Unit 2: Space - Time Management

Hello Everyone,

I'm back, just in case anybody actually did miss me. Still a little jet lagged but I'm getting up to speed with everything so you may have to stay tuned for my next leaps and bounds.

Regardless, I am on the case and without any further ado, I give you the Unit 2 - Space, Task Board.

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Sorry about the blurriness of this shot, I took it and for some reason I did not notice the blur on it. Still you get the general idea, the tasks for Unit 2 are all present and will be crossed off day by day, post it by post it. This is the process I follow for everything (with the exception of flossing). I keep every single post it and number each one so I can keep the count active, its my little ritual and a way I record my progress, think of it as an in life "save point".

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Above is me, not so tanned but a little more lively then when I left (which was 6am). Orlando Florida was lovely, and gave me some perspective into the style I may take this project. I have been studying the brief intuitively but sadly due to time constraints did not get all the extracts printed before my departure. I have read 1 extract for my chosen folder "The Never Ending Story" that being "Fantastica in Danger", I will be reading "The Desert of Colours" & "The Silver City of Amarganth" tomorrow.

I will be posting quite a bit at an alarming rate (that's how fired up I am). You have seen the board and now I will be working my butt off for the green light review on November 08. Wish me luck, I may need it...

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Saturday 15 October 2011

Unit 1: Anatomy - Time Management - Deadline Complete

Hello Everyone

Well, this concludes Unit 1 Anatomy. I hope everyone has enjoyed the posts (more importantly my peers).

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Got to go now I have a flight to catch - Literally!!

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Anyway, take care & I'll see you when I return!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Unit 1 Anatomy - Red Light - Final Crit

Unit 1 - Anatomy - Redlight Final Crit

Unit 1: Anatomy - Head Studies

Hello Everyone,

Coming in with another update, the head studies. I did have a problem executing them to the level to which I am accustom to but I was told I have to stop being so precious and I agree.

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Study #1 I thought came close to looking like me (probably slightly thinner then me). I thought my biggest success was the upper lip as that has always evaded me in the past. Working in charcoal is more fun then I could have imagined, Moving on.

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Next (Study #2) I decided to try a thinking face, kind of wound up looking like a bored face and slightly Asian weirdly enough... What I like about it is again the lips and the cheek. The eyes are also interesting despite their slight inaccuracy. The hair is probably the most accurate to my own.

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For my final face charcoal sketch (Study #3) I decided to pull an angered face. I've always wanted to do grief in my concepts but never been able to convey it properly. What spoils this study a little is the fact that my bottom lip is totally missing, I went in after freezing it in place to try and rub it out but it wouldn't budge. Slightly gutted but I like the texture in my hair. And the face does actually look a bit more like me then the others.

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Next for Study #4 I decided to return to my formulas and get the study for the head down Primitively. As you can see using Davinci's method, I was able to plot the dimensions of the head from a side angle... very pleased with this method of thinking. It adds a new level so one can assume what to expect in a location which is confusing. The axis point is to allow one to justify the alignment of the head to eye level. If those lines on the top and bottom are flat the face is looking directly forward. I thought it was quite a cool thing to know about.

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Finally Study #5 was to plot the front perspective from the side angle, which is ideal particularly for 3D modelling and general character profiles. Aligning the features was quite fun but I think the width got a little muddled somewhere down the line as the front is a bit thinner then the side. The idea was to understand the formula and now I think I do.

Well that concludes the head studies, slightly rushed but they are better then nothing. I certainly have attained a greater accuracy when drawing at a pace, I suppose I have life class to thank for that.

Anyway, talk later people.

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Unit 1: Anatomy - Maya Exercises, Week 4 - Materials & Texturing

Hello Everyone,

Another post, really getting somewhere now. This is the conclusion of my Maya training. This week was looking into texturing and materials, something slightly difficult (namely the UVs) with something fun (creating cool shaders).

Free Fall Interactive

The Common Material animation above shows various shader effects, from Blinns to Lambert's. This animation shows the range of these 2 shaders creating glows, reflective materials for silvers and golds. A very nice approach to working with CG Arts.

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Next we would put the fundamentals of texturing into practice namely on a bottle. The label texture was to be added via a 2D film form from a provided source image. The reflections of the glass were shader effects (please view the above animation cycle to see the shader in its sole form).

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We then moved on to put our lessons to this point into practice, modelling poker chips and UV texturing them. Above shows a snapshot of my model and the finished result. The chips were to be piled and placed naturally, the images for the chips were created in Photoshop.

Free Fall Interactive

Last but not least was the Detectives Desk, which had us create Layered render passes for a batched render. The resulting layers were then to be placed into Photoshop for combination into the Final Image which punches out better then the precursor Beauty Pass.

I found (and always have found) UV texturing a bit of a chore, but I am happy to be learning new and improved ways to make it less of a chore. The weeks ahead will be very interesting for Maya I can feel it.

Anyway, hope everyone has enjoyed everything thus far.

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Unit 1: Anatomy - Feet Studies

Hello Everyone,

I have spent the last few days researching the feet particularly for this post. The feet are particularly difficult for me right up there with the hands. I decided to break them down and while I couldn't do as many as I would have preferred I think these are a great start.

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I jumped straight into charcoal with study #1, I wanted to look at the concept of the foot from its shape as opposed to its detail. I thought this would be a nice basis to start from and while it had a rough start it ended showing the gesture that I meant it to.

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Next came study #2 (above) I am very proud of this, looks almost identical to my own foot, which was sat out in front of me the entire time. I like the lighting on the leg leading into the foot, I also had my big toe pulled back which is why the big toe is darker. This was probably my most favourite drawing.

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Study #3 (above) was a little more difficult to accomplish and still has a slight size issue in regard to the leg. As you can see I tried to compensate the size of the leg as I miscalculated the size of the foot on the page. I like the ankle, which I think redeems this picture somewhat.

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Study #4 (above) was based on a formula which was taught to me by a DVD set that I use entitled "The Structure Of Man" by Riven Phoenix. I may have mentioned this DVD on my hand studies post. Basically this was a dimensional grid that slowly became a perspective foot. I was very pleased with the outcome when I sat down to do this concept.

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Drawing 5 was another plan from "The Structure of Man" DVD set purely from a top down perspective. I have even labeled the primitive shapes which signify some of the relevant bones in the foot. Turning bones into primitives is one of the quicker ways to conceptualize a human being & these grids help with that.

With all of the above being said I am a little gutted that I couldn't have more of these done by D-Day, I think I could have brought about some more decent sketches in that time. Still I think what I have given above is a great start and I really cannot wait to do more with this technique.

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Unit 1: Anatomy - Life Class Week 4

Hello Everyone,

The first of many posts today, as this is the last day before the Orlando trip. You may have to bear with me but everything will be on here (some at 3am I bet). Anyway enough chatter.

This post is about week 4 of life class which had us looking into a lot of quick sketches before following into "pencil measuring" for accurate proportions on the page. The only issue I had was with space, it can get a little tight in the room and that made it rather difficult in this class.

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Fig 1 (above) was some of the quick sketches, it was rather difficult to get everything down. This kind of drawing challenges me on an entirely different level but I do understand its reasoning. Looking back I should have just began the exercise with charcoal.

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Next came Fig 2 (above) which was the final quick sketches of the day. These ones came a lot quicker causing me to kick myself for not using charcoal earlier. Pencil is just too slow for these 1-2 minute sketches.

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Next Fig 3 (above) which was the first of our measuring exercises. What made it rather difficult was foreshortening but everything was put in the correct place. I am happy with the proportions in this picture and I think it was a pretty decent attempt at measuring.

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The final drawing of the day was Fig 4, the model was practically head with my view which I think may have made the picture look a little less dimensional. Never the less the measuring system worked for this, I was able to get the body in the correct proportion to the head.

Well that concludes life drawing for this uni. I look forward to getting back into that room to take a closer look at anatomy and speed up my drawing capability with quality & vigilance.

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Thursday 13 October 2011

Unit 1: Anatomy - DVD Case, Display & CD Design

Hello Everyone,

I'm here with the first update of many that I am attempting to get up before vacating on my holiday to Orlando, anyway lets get to it.

I have made a CD/DVD design a case design and finally a display (its using a ps3 case but I used it because it looks cool). The designs are below anyway, please enjoy.

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The item above in case you couldn't guess is my DVD design, this kind of stuff doesn't take me long. My design background is very vast, I'm rather happy with the final look.

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The image above is the design case, I like it... simplistic, does the job and kind of gets the idea across. It also has the advantage of having the creative assignment synopsis on the back. These designs also have the advantage of being to scale.

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The image above is the display version, I did this purely for me... I like how these cases look when you put them in a display fashion. The image was a reference image but It suited the title of "Anatomy".

Well that's that, I got another few little bits to go over the next few days. My sleeping pattern is going to be troublesome but I will find a way of getting it on there. There is always a way...

Have fun people...

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Unit 1 Anatomy - Review - Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010)



Figure 1. Black Swan Poster Art

Black Swan is the answer to a true in home operatic experience and what a part it plays with a story spanning a lifelong pursuit of perfection. But what is perfection when perfection itself is to in fact be “imperfect”. An amazing symbolic montage of life “behind the mirror” only in this case intertwined with the diabolical effects of schizophrenia. The road to perfecting the “Black Swan” of the fabled “Swan Lake” has many twists and turns, with most of which ending with poor Nina Sayers being pushed into another sexual conflict only to release her inner “Black” monster.

•Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
•Written by: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz & John McLaughlin
•Cast: Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers, Mila Kunis as Lily, Vincent Cassel as Thomas Leroy, Barbara Hershey as Erica Sayers, Winona Ryder as Beth Macintyre & Benjamin Millepied as David.
•Genre: Mystery, Suspense & Drama
•Duration: 108 Minutes (aprox)




Figure 2. "I have a little homework assignment for you, go home and touch yourself"

“Black Swan” follows the talented dancer Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), a young girl who never mentally matured but was merely manicured to follow in her mother’s footsteps, the perfect little girl a synonym of innocence. It is the onset of Swan Lake and influences from her forceful instructor Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel), to develop Nina into something less than perfect, namely “the opposite” of her psyche, her doppelganger & the imperfect “Black Swan”. Nina dives into her role physically but ranges into the mental-physical after rampant hallucinations of herself “letting go”, embracing her inner monster in a flurry of schizophrenic psychosis.

“Psychosis,” a common condition in schizophrenia, is a state of mental impairment marked by hallucinations, which are disturbances of sensory perception, and/or delusions, which are false yet strongly held personal beliefs that result from an inability to separate real from unreal experiences. Less obvious symptoms, such as social isolation or withdrawal, or unusual speech, thinking, or behavior, may precede, be seen along with, or follow the psychotic symptoms. (Schizophrenia.com, 2011)


Figure 3. "What happened to my sweet girl?”

Black Swan’s onset of mirrors one could call windows into the soul expressing Nina’s bottled up inner imperfections arising to the surface of her psyche. One could argue that this psyche was built purely from her interpretations of the laid back Lily (Mila Kunis) to which she observed and attempted to embody. Nina’s creative breakthrough inevitably fuses with the vulnerabilities in her adolescence to the levels of the psychiatric, fat stoked in the proverbial pan of her domineering mother Erica Sayers (Barbara Hershey) who is so vigorous with her little girl remaining the embodiment of perfection.

Portman has decisively moved out of the ugly duckling phase of her career with this tremendous performance as Nina, a hardworking corps member of a New York City ballet company who has low-level dieting and self-harm issues more or less under control. She lives with her difficult mother – an impressive and satisfyingly nasty performance from Barbara Hershey – who abandoned her own stagnant ballet career on being impregnated by some heartless, mercurial mogul or other, and channelled her rage and disappointment into coaching the resulting daughter, whom she has attempted to infantilise by filling her pink bedroom with gonks and installing a deplorable musical box that tinkles the theme from Swan Lake. (Bradshaw, 2011)


Figure 4. “You made her my Alternate?”

The final decision to make Lily Nina’s alternate for Swan Lake set astir a higher level of controversy between the two. One could argue that at that point Nina considered Lily her doppelganger (the darker side of herself) who at numerous points reflected Nina’s own sadistic smile (and face) back at her, creating the hallucinogenic mirror effect all over again. It is only until Nina wounds Lily that she is able to truly embrace that dark side of herself to the level that was asked of her from minute one, to truly accept her own metamorphosis as the imperfect “Black Swan”.

To define the definition of Alternate:

n. (-n t)
1. A person acting in the place of another; a substitute (Farlex, 2011)
But in relation with this analogy:

A double or identical replica of a person. The concept revolves around the belief that everyone has a doppelganger, an identical copy of themselves somewhere in the world. If the person is good then the doppelganger will be evil and vice versa. It is even said that if the two should meet then they will both perish. (Unexplained-Mysteries.com, 2011)


Figure 5. “I felt it. Perfect. I was perfect”

To Summarize

“Black Swan” is based on the parental issues reviewed in our previous film splice only in a more visceral way. Erica Sayers forced ballet life on her daughter Nina merely because she was not perfect herself, she had a child and decided to smother her, to mould & shape her into her own warped view of innocent perfection, a plan incomplete personified by a collage of incomplete paintings on her wall. One could argue that It was Nina’s need to be perfect, to satisfy that mind set instilled by her mother that ultimately made her create an alternate identity that was unbound by limitation. Nina had to let that frigid little girl go just so she could maintain her ideal, her illusion of true perfection.

The danger with this way of thinking is that whilst it’s great to feel good about yourself when you do well, if your confidence is so dependent on your success and achievements, what happens when you *don’t* do well? Your confidence becomes as unstable as a dandelion in the breeze, flying this way or that as the winds of success come and go. By handing over the control of your confidence to the winds of change, it leaves you vulnerable and fearful of failure. And when you do fail, as we all do sometimes, you feel worthless. The highs and lows that come with perfectionism are extreme. Who you are inside and how you feel inside is independent of external things. It is our thought processes that connect the external and internal worlds as if they were intrinsically connected. In fact they aren’t connected at all. The connection is just an illusion of the mind. (Or, 2011)
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List of Illustrations

Figure 1. Black Swan Poster Art. (com) [Online image]. At:
http://conradolson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/black_swan_ver7.jpg
(Accessed on: 12/10/11)

Figure 2. I have a little homework assignment for you, go home and touch yourself. (com) [Online image]. At:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OMHy_G6FX48/TIzW9gkmXYI/AAAAAAAAEck/efJFbjKfQgo/Black-Swan-2.jpg (Accessed on: 12/10/11)

Figure 3. What happened to my sweet girl? (com) [Online image]. At:
http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/23300000/Barbara-Hershey-as-Erica-Sayers-in-Black-Swan-barbara-hershey-23367085-1360-768.jpg (Accessed on: 12/10/11)

Figure 4. You made her my Alternate? (com) [Online image]. At:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh205llKLL6jdnjrQkmQGw-f119mthYVZKptDcBN51jiyL-mHqBrwnYHGby4Z_YnJYlOIPi0t8ZW5YsPHyg-vlDHzj_gsTq_raxzySzUpid_9TDel87tl3CxNsD7QYs6leEF25BhoAlcWQ/s1600/lily_black_swan-6859.png (Accessed on: 12/10/11)

Figure 5. I felt it. Perfect. I was perfect. (com) [Online image]. At:
http://vigilantcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/blackswan161.jpg
(Accessed on: 12/10/11)

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Bibliography

Schizophrenia.com. (2011) Overview of Schizophrenia At:
http://www.schizophrenia.com/family/sz.overview.htm (Accessed on: 12/10/11)

Bradshaw, Peter. (2011) Black Swan Review At:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jan/20/black-swan-review (Accessed on: 12/10/11)

Farlex, Dictionary. (2011) Dictionary Term for “Alternate” At:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/alternate (Accessed on: 12/10/11)

Unexplained-Mysteries.com. (2011) Modern Mysteries - Doppelganger At:
http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewarticle.php?id=201 (Accessed on: 12/10/11)

Li, Or. (2011) Perfectionism: Why do I want to be perfect? At:
http://www.saywhydoi.com/perfectionism-why-do-i-want-to-be-perfect/
(Accessed on: 12/10/11)

Monday 10 October 2011

Unit 1 Anatomy - Review - Vincenzo Natali's Splice (2010)



Figure 1. Spice Poster Art

A surreal film based on the Freudian interpretation of adolescence namely the Oedipus Complex. The central characters Clive Nicoli & Elsa Kast stumble from one bad situation to another adding an eighth sin to the already deadly seven. “Curiosity” - killed the cat, which normally would be used as a pun of sorts, except of course when you decide to play god, splice un-tested genes with human DNA & award your new pet with his/her own pet... and to think it started with the best of intentions.

•Directed by: Vincenzo Natali
•Written by: Vincenzo Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryant & DougTaylor
•Cast: Adrien Brody as Clive Nicoli, Sarah Polley as Elsa Kast, Delphine Chaneac as Dren, Brandon McGibbon as Gavin Nicoli, Simona Maicanescu as Joan Chorot & David Hewlett as William Barlow.
•Genre: Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy
•Duration: 104 Minutes (aprox)




Figure 2. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Splice” is the birth & fruition to the genetic level “Frankenstein’s monster” with its premise set at the heart of child rearing. Clive Nicoli (played by Adrien Brody) & Elsa Kast (played by Sarah Polley) are two top genetic engineers hell bent on curing the incurable diseases of man, so much so that they decide to break the law, defy the nature of the world and create a hybrid human being/lab rat with wings. What typically starts out as a science experiment adapts into a parental pursuit with their hybrid daughter Dren (played by Delphine Chineac) as she goes through instantaneous evolutionary changes with some more unbelievable then others.

“As we observe the strange creature (nicknamed 'Dren') that emerges from their endeavours and mutates from a helpless baby to a rebellious, sexually curious teen and then into a wholly different kind of adult, we also bear witness to the unfolding of a bizarre tragedy, in which the many flaws and foibles of the 'parents' are passed on to the child, with nurture playing at least as big a role as nature”. (Bitel, 2009)
Morality plays an even bigger role then one could initially think as Clive & Elsa dart from one hair brained idea to the next making one question how they ever got to the pinnacle of their career. The only morally incompetent is the monster Dren functioning purely on instinct with no reservation toward anything, only her primal feeling at that particular moment on that particular day. One could argue that Dren’s eventual evil was inspired by the actions of Elsa (her mother), who from her history did not know how to be a mother herself, trying to force her will on an unwilling child.



Figure 3. “You can’t always get what you want, that’s part of growing up too”

Splice atypically follows Freudian Philosophy at an alarming rate to the plateau of surrealism, raising the bar as Dren’s changes progress through the stages of her sexual development from Oral to Genital and then into a completely different gender. One could argue that Natali’s lean into Drens eventual Gender transmorphism originated from the notion that all of man are initially born genderless but are later differentiated by their gene structure be they XY or XX chromosome.

At eight weeks most of the features of the adult are visible, when it is referred to as a fetus. During the first few weeks, it is neither male nor female. However, a small group of cells, called the "indifferent gonads" begin to form, that are capable of becoming ovaries or testicles. At the same time, other internal features of both sexes develop, the Mullerian (female) ducts and the Wolffian (male) ducts. (Bland, 1998)


Figure 4. “We crossed the line” – yeah you sure did...

To Summarize

The monster “Dren’s” eventual actions were defined by her upbringing; she was born an emotive clean slate with no reason to justify a good or bad persona. The actions of her parents became her influenced descent into evil by a mother who knew nothing about raising a child and a father who was emotionally subservient to his spouse. One could believe that this is why the male “Dren” thought he could kill his father believing he could establish dominance over a man who was weaker than his mother; in retrospect Freud’s interpretation (namely the Oedipus Complex) pertains the domineering thematic’s in this filmography.

In Freud's view, each stage focused on sexual activity and the pleasure received from a particular area of the body. In the oral phase, children are focused on the pleasures that they receive from sucking and biting with their mouth. In the Anal phase, this focus shifts to the anus as they begin toilet training and attempt to control their bowels. In the Phallic stage, the focus moves to genital stimulation and the sexual identification that comes with having or not having a penis. During this phase, Freud thought that children turn their interest and love toward their parent of the opposite sex and begin to strongly resent the parent of the same sex. He called this idea the Oedipus Complex as it closely mirrored the events of an ancient Greek tragic play in which a king named Oedipus manages to marry his mother and kill his father. The Phallic/Oedipus stage was thought to be followed by a period of Latency during which sexual urges and interest were temporarily nonexistent. Finally, children were thought to enter and remain in a final Genital stage in which adult sexual interests and activities come to dominate. (Oswalt, 2008)
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List of Illustrations

Figure 1. Spice Poster Art. (com) [Online image]. At:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rlNF2oHL5pwZSehdXvM1Aq9ZglHe0iA9Vn_JXA5hQEfamcbo88fKcN8rpkFWLlT2DB5EBwCcSfiUrZktc1iEJN6YZE6gFdPoiu3cmFQyBg1TV77AvAAonSRWbNn84IH0V37pFCNLHeAD/s1600/Poster.jpg (Accessed on: 11/10/11)

Figure 2. What’s the worst that could happen? (com) [Online image]. At:
http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/Splice-movie-image-41.jpg (Accessed on: 11/10/11)

Figure 3. You can’t always get what you want, that’s part of growing up too. (com) [Online image]. At:
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/39/2010/06/500x_splice_critical_mass.jpg (Accessed on: 11/10/11)

Figure 4. We crossed the line. (com) [Online image]. At:
http://static.moviefanatic.com/images/gallery/clive-and-elsa-in-the-woods_612x918.jpg (Accessed on: 11/10/11)

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Bibliography

Bitel, Anton. (2009) Film4 Splice Review At:
http://www.film4.com/reviews/2009/splice (Accessed on: 11/10/11)

Bland, Jed. (1998) Concept & Development of Gender At:
http://www.theaspectratio.net/theelephantman.htm (Accessed on: 11/10/11)

Oswalt, Angela. (2008) Sigmund Freud and Child Development At:
http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=7926&cn=28
(Accessed on: 11/10/11)

Sunday 9 October 2011

Unit 1: Anatomy - "Waldepeer" Development Final Day

Hello Everyone,

A final look at the development of Waldepeer this far. I have completely abandoned my old approach and am going for something much more humane... somewhat sad.

I developed the following ideas from initial silhouettes using "Photoshop Phil's" method. This time though I was more compelled to incorporate more human features. I knew I'd have to deal with fatty tissue etc, a concept I find a little terrifying. Never the less I had a look into it, and yeah it's been a bit of a challenge but I think It's getting there.

I have recorded my progress below, the final concept will follow my final silhouette. My development is below starting from a few "fatty" initial sketches.

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As you can see Figs 1 & 2 show the initial sketching stages after the green light feedback. I was completely foreign to the idea of creating flab, It wasn't easy but this stage was good for me to get an idea of creating a robust "larger" then life character. My earlier designs were slimmer, this shows the progression as I continued, waldepeer getting larger and larger. It was a ways away from where I ended up.

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Next came some pose research, I didn't want to upload all of the pictures I took on here, lets just say I'm rather sensitive about my gut and do not wish to display a multitude of pictures of it on here. Needless to say this was the pose I chose... I liked the intensity but funnily enough I didn't end up using it at all. I liked the position of the shoulders and the direction of the face for the final pose...

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The new "Waldepeer Original" (above) was a block painting, just to quickly run through some decent angles, I knew I couldn't animate him too much sitting in a wheelchair. The best thing to do is just to show him in all of his deformed glory. I decided to work on the obesity of the Walrus elongate the teeth and shape the head with some puffy cheeks to match... It was beginning to come alive. The "Wald Polaroid" was to showcase a form of photograph incorporating an element of design into the final project.

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Next came the "Waldepeer Tone Paint" (above) I found a Victorian photograph and took the lightest and darkest colours as my 2 tones (Light vs Dark). I then knocked up another concept showing even more of a blubbery Waldepeer, I fine tweaked the face which I felt was quite human but still probably too Walrus, with not too many features of me in there. The background was to explore an olden day photo shoot, this was just for some simple tones. Never the less I liked it being there.

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The third concept (above - Wheelchair Near Final & Invert I rather liked but something still wasn't right (the wheelchair, the arms, the face, some of the depth, etc). I liked the direction he was sitting and how it conveyed the folds of his flab. This is where I could see the design unfolding, the wear on the edges were very effective for this concept. I even utilized Phil's method of flipping the image to see its flaws, this is what helped me narrow some of the obvious problems.

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Finally, the point I am at now, the final "Waldepeer" Silhouette is in place. I have even fine tweaked the wheel chair which feels much better to me now. I like freedom with the arms, much less constricted then the other images above. The blubber is well placed and the legs look much more fin like (which I thought would be a nice little topper) didn't want to go too human. The empty Polaroid shows the layout where I will set the final image, its simple block shapes but I will fashion something nice for the end scene.

That concludes this little update for "Waldepeer" the next post I make should be the finished piece, as polished as I can get. Wish me luck for the upcoming battle, I hope this is more of what the brief had in mind.

Anyway, take it easy people.

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Friday 7 October 2011

Unit 1: Anatomy - Maya Exercises, Week 3 - Lighting

Hello Everyone,

Just updating my Maya Progress, got it neatly laid out too which is always the part that comes a little easy to me. Anyway I have enclosed a little animation at the bottom as opposed to posting multiple light passes. I think it shows a decent contrast between the light types and colour hues.

Anyway, I wont waffle, the images are as follows:

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The Image above (Front Light Directionality) shows the use of 1 point lighting with an image overlay. This is to convey a cinema screen reflecting onto its audience. The arrow depicts the directionality of light.

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The Image above (Back Light Directionality) shows the use of 1 point lighting from behind with an intense green glow. This is to convey an outdoor (alien) light overwhelming an interior door. The arrow depicts the directionality of light.

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The Image above (Lighting 2 Point) shows the use of 2 conflicting light sources - one directional and one ambient. This is to convey a beach scene at night (a theme I thought perfectly irregular). The arrows depict the conflicting light sources (blue vs white).

Photobucket
The Image above (Lighting 3 Point) shows the use of 3 conflicting light sources - 3 spot lights in strategic locations. This is to convey a lighted statuette in a museum or local event. The arrows depict the strategic spots (conflicting light sources) primary yellow vs. secondary blue vs. Tertiary red.

FFIL
The image above (Early Morn - Fire Light) shows multiple uses of Spot/Ambient & Directional lights for the same scene. This is to convey the Dynamic "Mood" or "Nature" that can be attained by any scene via simple lighting changes (time of day/situational/etc). The arrows and anagrams depict the lights and colour in that particular render.

Well that does it for Week 3 of Maya, please let me know if any of you need help with Maya. I know one person in particular that has been having issues. I like to think I understand it somewhat after my limited use. Anyway just let me know if anybody needs help.

Stay cool people.

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx