21 December, 2010

Tron Night by Sketchdroid Mafia


Sketchdroid Mafia, the Animation and Game Design Club of the Art Institute of Las Vegas will be meeting to watch "Tron: Legacy" tonight at the Regal Theatres inside of Fiesta Casino in Henderson NV. Won't you come  and hang out with us? See you there.

If you saw the movie how did you like it?

15 December, 2010

Thor: Trailer



In this trailer, they make Thor to be a troublemaker - don't be saying such mean stuff to your Dad, especially if he's the king of the Gods, what are you thinkin?. The movie looks pretty cool, I like how they make him look to be a well trained "battle tested" fighter - I didn't expect that. Well, for what its worth, here you go...I smell an Avengers movie....

Enjoy!


Batman: Arkham City 'Hugo Strange Trailer'



Wow, the animation and overall production of this game trailer is nice and tight. Something to look forward to in 2011. Somebody please make a movie of this quality!

Enjoy!

09 December, 2010

Tranformers 3: Dark of the Moon



Paul Debevec: Parthenon & Live 3D Teleconferencing


While I was studying to get my Masters in Computer Animation, I learned about the work of Academy Award winning animator Paul Debevec, who leads the Institute for Creative Technologies at USC in California. Two projects that interested me recently are featured below. One of his signature pieces, an animation he created with his students, reconstructs the Parthenon, a great example of using animation to teach and share. You can look at the video by clicking the link below:

The Parthenon

To this day, it is by far one of the most inspiring pieces of modeling, texturing and lighting that I have ever seen...a fantastic simple presentation. If you would like to learn more about the project, or if you haven't seen the movie yet, be sure to check it out.

Another piece you should look at his work on live 3D Teleconferencing, where you can talk to someone "real time" in a hollographic way. Way cool and it reminds me of the scene in Star Wars E4 where R2D2 projects Princess Leia's image to get things rolling. Check out the video below or to learn more click here >:




01 December, 2010

Space Battleship Yamato



When I was in elementary school, when I would come home, before I did homework, my friends and I would turn to Channel 36 to watch the latest episodes of Starblazers (but we also had to sit through He-Man and The Masters of the Universe animated cartoon too, that appeared right before it).

Its great to see revamped updated clips of the Yamato (the name of the ship in Starblazers), as well as clips from the live action version coming this month.



30 November, 2010

Spiderman: The Musical



Looks and sounds like a fantastic idea the first time I heard it. Music by U2, great stage visuals, awesome director...but it looks like it hit a few snags. Just keep going, this may turn out to be quite cool. Not sure about the $150 pricetag on seats, but its still too early to tell.

24 November, 2010

17 November, 2010

Mary the Braveheart



This is an animation for Sydney Children's Hospital. The animation has got a nice 2D/CG look to it. Its interesting and gave us some great ideas. Fire it up and enjoy!

Randolf

Be sure to check out the storyboard animatic for this project to see where pieces like this get made.



11 November, 2010

Tron 2 Legacy: Trailer 3




Here is the the third trailer from the movie, showing more environments, characters and story. Man, I can't wait.

09 November, 2010

Star Wars In Game Cinematics Better Than Prequals



Crazy right? But I rightfully agree. A good example is this trailer for Force Unleashed II. So sweet. The timing and camera angles of the fight scenes are better than any that I have scene in the movies. Check out the trailer below and see for yourself.



04 November, 2010

Samsung Galaxy Tab



If you are like me, an avid Apple user, the iPad is a great thing, but I haven't bought one just yet because of 1)the price, and 2)the size. I think its too big. I wish Apple was first to come out with a smaller, lesser priced version, but I think Samsung beat them to it. If you're an animation guy like me, having a device like this cool to bring along to look at work, and to also show potential employers or clients. Its way cool. Can you imagine rolling up in a convention and busting one of these out to showcase your work.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab (Not sure if they meant "Tablet" - I think they did), hits all the points I was concerned with - its cheaper, and smaller (nice palm size) than the iPad. Oh well, I'll bet the next versions of iPads will address this. If not, this looks good to me.

Hey if you have a tablet of any kind, chime in and let us know if you like using it. What do you use it for? How's typing on it?

Firing it Up!

Randolf

02 November, 2010

"Sucker Punch": Trailer


Finally a movie with tough girls in lingerie with guns, swords, ninjas, samurai, epic fight scenes, robots, and dragons in a cool cg package. Can't wait.

To to learn more, visit the official movie website here >>

28 October, 2010

21 October, 2010

Sintel



Be sure to check this out, its quite inspiring. Sintel is an open movie project created entirely in Blender. Blender is a popular open source 3D software package that can do just about anything, even compositing, film editing and digital sculpting. Sintel really shows off Blender's dynamics and camera capabilities the best.

The project was created by an international group of 14 artists and took a little over a year to develop. Kudos to all of you for an outstanding and inspiring piece. Learn learn more about this project and support it, to do so, be sure to visit the Sintel.org site.

And to learn more about Blender, and where you can download the program for free, be sure you check out the Blender.org site.

Happy blending everyone!

Fire it up!

20 October, 2010

IRON BABY



A sweet, well crafted, cute and highly entertaining piece from Patrick Boivin - Oh, did I mention that this piece is very cute. Patrick was also responsible for crafting the piece "Iron Man Vs. Bruce Lee". Hey Patrick, keep doing the good work, we love your stuff.

Fire it Up!

Randolf

14 October, 2010

Omar Fernandez: VFS Modeling Reel



And yet another outstanding VFS Modeling Reel from Omar Fernandez. A reel you should definitely check out, this displays great renders, and a subtle casual handling of the camera that makes for a a believable scene that is followed by a crisp clean wireframe presentation. Also pay attention to his variety in subject matter.

Fire it up!
Randolf

13 October, 2010

"Skyline" Trailer - 11:12:10



The more I see of this movie, the more intriguing it gets. Hmmm, "Independence Day" meets "2012"? Looks cool to you? Or would you wait for this on Blu Ray?

Fire it up!
Randolf

05 October, 2010

Designing "Toy Story": Featurette



As we start another exciting quarter here at (place your animation school name here), we must not forget the movie which started it all. This "making of" featurette can be found on many versions of the Toy Story DVD and I'm thankful that it was produced. It gives you a short introductory glimpse into what was needed to put the animation together, especially back in those days, when computer animation was new, when all that was available was a monitor, mouse and some tape.

For those of you animating now, you have vast computer processing power, advanced controls and slicker renders to make the entire process easier, just remember that it wasn't always this way.

Enjoy the quick history lesson. Hopefully it inspires you and puts things into perspective.

Fire it up! - Randolf

...and some behind the scenes animation footage from Toy Story 3.




04 October, 2010

Halo Reach: Live Action Extended Trailer


The flavor of the trailer is well done - understated, quiet but still very beautiful to look at. Nice work guys! Enjoy and fire it up!

21 September, 2010

Shrunkenheadman 15 Year Reunion

Just recently, I had the pleasure of attending the 15 year reunion for the Shrunkenheadman Illustration/Animation Club of San Jose State University. The first night, a formal dinner and retrospective presentation was held at the Corinthian Event Center, and day 2, was held on campus. Current students attended the second day and it was great to meet them and to reconnect with old friends and colleagues. To this day, I'm proud to have been part of that club. The training, work ethic and the notion of helping each other continues to fuel me today. I'm posting the pictures from my tour for inspiration.

Keep up the great work guys, and fire it up!
Visit the Animation/Illustration Shrunkenheadman Club website here >>

Let's start by showing you where our famous logo came from...















and a shot from the formal event Saturday night, 500 Shrunkenheads in one room - lots of fun.







16 September, 2010

God of War III: Making Chimera



Chimera in Greek mythology is a creature that is part lion, goat and part snake, and is featured as one of the main obstacles in the Playstation's God of War III video game. This featurette is something that you will enjoy and learn a lot from. It features various interviews from all of the designers who contributed to the creature and it takes you through the many cool stages of development from conceptual development, modeling, animation and even fighting strategy - something you don't see very much these days.

Very nice and inspiring! Those of you who got a feeling for this conceptual art stuff, this is what you got to do, can you match this stuff? Yes, of course you can...just don't stop.

Fire it up and keep going! See ya'll at the top.

Ali - thanks for the heads up, and congrats on graduating.

Randolf

15 September, 2010

Gatchaman: 2011





In the 80's, the show show was called G-Force. Well, we all know that the name was taken over by a bunch of hampsters, which is okay by me. Gatchaman is a little more catchy wouldn't you say. If you are big fans of the TV show from back in the day, I'm sure you'll enjoy this when it comes out.

11 September, 2010

Dragon Age 2: Trailer & Interview



Dragon fans, here's something coming down the firepit...can't stop watching this one. Its got great character design, animation, fight choreography and action packed editing that rivals film. Pay close attention to the camera movement. Nice work Dragon Age 2 .Crew. Can't wait for this game to come out - March 2011. To learn more about Dragon Age 2, click here >>.

And for something a little extra: Mike Laidlaw is a lead designer for Dragon Age 2, and in this interview, he gives insight into story structure, and unique programming concepts (2:55) new to the game. Enjoy.



07 September, 2010

Disko Studio

Redbull BC-one re-uploaded from Disko Animation on Vimeo.


Got an email from Ferdi, a 3D illustrator and animator based out of South Africa - Always a pleasure to get notes from abroad. His group is called Disko, he's got a great sense of storytelling, and a unique take on CG that is unique and aesthetically pleasing. I really like the Red Bull BC animations.

Check out his site by clicking this link here >>

01 September, 2010

Coyote Falls: WB 3D Animation

Really nice CG animation that captures the flair, exaggeration and spirit of the original Warner Bros. Road Runner cartoons that we all grew up with. Great to see that Mr. Coyote has never given up.

Keep an eye out for more of these animations in the theatres, each episode will be about 3 minutes in length...super geeeniusss.

Click here to learn more >>

Enjoy and Fire it Up!

Randolf

31 August, 2010

Sketch Theatre


Sketch Theatre is a website that features the industry's best conceptual designers, by featuring their work and video demos set to cool music. Leave it up to former students of mine who are always on the lookout for cool things that help us become more powerful. This comes from Char all the way from Minnesota...thanks Char for the heads up!

Check out Sketch Theatre by clicking here >>

Fire it up and enjoy. Be sure to check out Peter Han guys, he's the bomb. We'll learn about him next.

Randolf

26 August, 2010

Gen Arts: VFX Demo Reel



Gen Arts is a software group that creates high octane programs used for animation and visual effects for companies like Autodesk, ILM and Adobe. See how many commercials you can recognize in their robust demo reel. Hopefully, it'll spur some ideas in you too. Fire it up Ya'll! - Randolf

Be sure to check their site by clicking their link below:

http://www.genarts.com >>

22 August, 2010

8 Bit Strange: Porta Ops



A funny simple animation, simple characters, clever idea and funny...had to post, couldn't help myself.

13 August, 2010

VAN ARTS: Demo Reels



Saw these demo reels and thought they would be helpful giving students who are putting their demo reels ideas for presentation, layout and overall design. Check these out to get some ideas.









03 August, 2010

Video Games Live: Concert Trailer



Music plays a big part in the video games that we enjoy, it helps sets the tone, storytelling, and some become engrained in our psyche. It is simply impossible to imagine a video game without any music. This program was inspiring, it features many of the songs we know and love in the video games we play performed by a full symphonic orchestra. Simply inspiring and engaging. Personally, I'm particularly attracted to the World of Warcraft compositions. So be sure to check your local PBS station for its next appearance and enjoy.

28 July, 2010

DC Universe Online: Trailer



A well crafted, dark and brutal brawl / city cage match of everyone we know DC. Thanks Manuel for the heads up. This was awesome.

27 July, 2010

SIGGRAPH 2010: Animation Festival Reel



Lots of people I know were able to make it to SIGGRAPH this year, the Mecca for all and everything CG animated. Lemme know how things went.

22 July, 2010

Tron 2: Trailer 3



13 July, 2010

AT-AT Day Afternoon



Clever and amusing. Well worth a minute of your time. Nice work!

07 July, 2010

Serious Bouncing Balls



As an animation instuctor, we do lots and lots of bouncing balls, and lots of compositing, but you've never seen animated bouncing balls like these, these are brutal.

Can anyone though say the name of the car..."QASHAI"?

29 June, 2010

E3: What's Hot in Video Games

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


What's hot in video games this year? How bout more 3D (across all platforms), Project Natal, Sony Move & 3D HDTV's.

28 June, 2010

Super Mario Beatbox

Simpy amazing to see how many sounds come out of this guy.

18 June, 2010

Adidas - Star Wars Cantina


Snoop Dog with a lightsaber? Hell Yeah Foo!

The work on this clip, the blending of the new shots over the original Cantina footage is simply amazing and utterly mesmerizing. Be sure you keep an eye out for other cameos in the Cantina.

Force Unleashed 2 Trailer



Very nice trailer guys - the action is superb! This really should be a movie folks - it looks like one already



For some added enjoyment and puzzle work, be sure you check out the official Force Unleashed 2 Website here >>