31 December, 2009

Alice in Wonderland



Saw this while watching "Avatar" over the holidays and found it to be interesting. Initially I thought it was a remake, but is quite new. In this story Alice returns to Wonderland to free the land from the Red Queen. I think any remake with the addition of larger grander battles is a good one, once I saw this, I figured, okay, combine this with Tim Burton visuals...this could be cool.

...and for a different take on the story, and in case you missed it, a miniseries premiered on Syfy called "Alice".

18 December, 2009

Panic Attack: Vis. FX Armageddon



Just watch this quick little movie (Attaque de Paniquo). It begins quietly but ends in a loud roar. There was a lot of work put into this piece, I think the background plates were beautifully shot, they show great compositions, and effective compositing, which means that the bad stuff you see happening all over the place is pretty convincing. Let us know what you think and enjoy!

Thanks for the heads up Mark!

Fire it up!

17 December, 2009

Iron Man 2: Trailer


Okay folks, this is looking pretty slick. Great to see the two suits together. Mickey Rourke looks excellent here as our villain, glad to know those "Wrestler" muscles can come in handy for something else. At about 2:09 we're wondering what's chasing Ironman.

Enjoy! This looks way cool if you liked the first one.

15 December, 2009

Dragon Age: Origins Trailer





"Dragon Age" premiered in the video game arena in early November '09. After watching this trailer, many of us were tempted to buy the game, its really nice to look at. Seriously - Sweet. There needs to be a movie done in this way. One thing to watch out for in this trailer, is the "walking bomb" let us know if you find it. It also has great fight sequences and creature animation to keep us salivating.

Fire it up and Enjoy!

13 December, 2009

Wrath of the Lich King Trailer





I realized that I had never logged this trailer on this blog. Here we go...brought to you by the magicians at Blizzard Entertainment. I love how the entire scene seems to grow not only in size but also in intensity. Enjoy!

Fire it Up!

11 December, 2009

Aisa: Lightsaber Kid





When my son Aisa was five, we caught him twirling a lightsaber around in our backyard. We had him trim the bushes shortly after, and was done trimming in about ten seconds. Good job son!

This animation was a test animation using Corel Painter IX's Glow Brush.

10 December, 2009

"Prep & Landing"




The other night, ABC premiered "Prep & Landing", a animated short about two elves whose job it is to prepare a house for Santa's arrival. Problems occur when one of the elves decides to think about himself and his ambitions, forgetting about the meaning of Christmas.


This animation was so fun to watch. It has got a nice Mission Impossible / James Bond feel to it and there is never a dull moment as there is always something cool (laser, electronic device) to see. I loved the modernization of Santa's equipment and the tools the elves use to get the job done...genius. You'll also like to see the different reindeer personalities and also...the "badass" reindeer Thrasher.

The animation overall I hope you enjoy and I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Also below is a short commercial for the "Prep & Landing" Kris Kringle Academy. When you get a chance, let us know your favorite part.

Pantural Modeling Demo Reel



This demo reel is showing off some mad mad skills...awesome lighting, command of the materials, lighting, and its also very entertaining. Not sure what he means by that subliminal stuff at the end, but that's okay. See if you catch it. Enjoy.

Rob A. Thanks for the link and for sharing.

Fire it Up.

07 December, 2009

Avatar: Featurette

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This is a nice featurette about the making of "Avatar" (Dec. 18, 2009). In it, you'll see more scenes, more creatures, more characters, more environments and James Cameron's personal view of the film, where he shares that he had to "shelve" the idea because the technology was not available to make his story come to life...lucky guy! Its great to see him back with what appears to be a strong movie on his plate. You can tell that he's really passionate about making these types of movies. Titanic?

We're all looking forward to the opening of the film which premieres Dec. 18. Save up your money and be sure to check this movie in 3D. I've seen the trailers in the 3D... the colors and sets were simply gorgeous. Oooooh can't wait. See you all at the theatres. 

Enjoy!

06 December, 2009

Ear Modeling Demo: Ryan Kittleson


Modeling the human ear can be daunting at first, but is perhaps the most forgiving of all the features on the human head, primarily because it is outranked by the eyes, nose and mouth. When modeling the ear, remember a few things.

  • The two loops that make up the ear (outside loop and inside loop).
  • The ear hole.
  • Ear thickness.
  • The ridge by the ear hole.
  • The angle of the ear.
  • Take your time in pushing and pulling the vertices to achieve an organic look and feel.

This tutorial shows a simple technique to achieve a good solid blockin of the ear, after that its up to you and your powers of observation to get a realistic ear model. This is a continuation from the previous demonstration that can be found here...

http://randolfs.blogspot.com/2009/11/head-modeling-demo-in-maya.html

This tutorial was produced by Ryan Kittleson. He is not only a talented modeler, but also has some mad illustration skills too. Ryan is a CG instructor based out of Florida. Visit his website below to learn more about him and his work...

http://www.erraticimagery.com

Ryan, we appreciate you posting such a simple and informative tutorial on such a complex subject. If you ever come across this post, let us know how you are doing and keep up the great work.

Fire It Up!

02 December, 2009

Gobelins School of Animation

Gobelins is a visual arts school based out of Paris France. The animations that are produced from the school are high quality, they show good timing, clever movement, they have a beautiful sense of design and texture and they are also very witty. "So Bon".

It makes me want to go there and to all you animation students out there, I hope these examples inspire you. If you look at the credits, five students work on these.

The animation gallery showcases the best their school of animation has to offer.

We will be watching these pieces below to begin one of my Background Design classes this week. These backgrounds tell a lot about the story and the character. They have a wimsical feel to them, but are so full of depth. This is done through layering, exaggerated angles, atmospheric perspective, handmade textures, sense of light, and in some of them, a nice merging between the 2D and CG elements. The ones below are great examples of this.







And my favorite one...