Dark Knight - Batcave

Decided to work on a little project that would involve modelling something photorealistic, so I thought I'd start with something that involved relatively simple geometry, and the Batcave from Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" was the perfect candidate. I'm hoping to get it to a level where it looks basically identical to the set from the movie, right down to the hidden compartments and multi-screened computer system.

oh, and just found these lying around.... thought i'd throw them up here for ya all to see. they're all just sorta exercises really, lol.

Next Commission (cont.)

Just a quick addition to the work I've been doing. Moving a bit faster now. It's coming together pretty well. Once I've got him fully built and rigged, I'll be adding cloth simulation to parts of the robe and soft body stuff to the hair. It'll still feel a little cartoony, but it'll flow nicely enough, hehe.

The Next Commission

I was originally commissioned to do this animated intro piece and decided to do it as a Flash animation, as it'd be easier for me to do. But I got caught up in so much other junk, that I felt I owed the guy more than a cheapass Flash animation for his patience. So I've opted to do the whole thing in 3D, and it's looking better than I thought it might. Here's the little bit I've done so far. In the 6 or so hours I've worked on this, the file has corrupted twice, so I was forced to start from scratch. Lemme know what you think!

Superhero Fashion

Lately I've found myself being commissioned to design suits for dye-sublimation printing (the same method used to create the Spider-man movie costumes) building various superhero characters. Just thought I'd share some teaser pics of some of the designs I've made so far...

"That... IS his hand!"

Ok, so I've been working on this Hellboy bust sculpt, and thought, "what's Hellboy without his Right Hand of Doom?" So I started putting this thing together, using cardboard, plastic, elastic straps, and ALOT of masking tape, lol. Soon I'm planning to cover the whole thing in paper mache and texture it with acrylic paints. All the fingers work individually, and is very close in size and shape to screen-used hand.

"Hulk PIVOT!!"

Here's a lil something I've been working on to expand my modelling showreel... what do ya think?
I'm planning to add some extra detail using ZBrush, when I learn how to use it properly, lol.

give em hell

Here's another pic of my Hellboy sculpt in progress... all that's left now is the skin texture, then I can go ahead and get this beauty cast.

The Third Year Film

Ok, yeah, the storyline has changed.... alot....

I'm still anxious not to give too much away, but I will show you guys my finished character model. This poor sucker is still without a name, so feel free to make a suggestion.

I've also been working on a Hellboy costume, for which I've been sculpting my own mask, so here's a preview of the beautiful thing... I'll also be making copies of the mask and selling those on eBay, with any luck, so lemme know if you're interested.



So 'til my next post, cya!

Change

Sorry about not updating the blog, I've totally neglected the whole thing, but I'm gonna do my best to keep you all up to speed. I've TOTALLY changed the plot of my 3rd year animated film, so I'll be uploading new pics soonish. Keep your eyes peeled.

First draft complete

Ok, so I've been harping on about my third year animated short. Well now I've got a first draft of a "script"! I say script, but there's no dialogue or anything. If there's any speaking in this short, it'll be in a fantasy language, cos I wanna keep this piece internationally understandable, and having it be a fantasy film makes it that little bit easier. lol

The working title is "Taebus Key", and it's about two elves and an evil faun. I don't wanna give away too much cos alot of it's subject to change, but you're gonna see me learn ALOT of new things, like forests, water and clouds.

I've also got the two elf characters almost finished - I'm now just working on hands and clothes. But I've still gotta get started on the faun. He's a tall, shackled character and will be pretty cool to see once animated. No teaser images yet, but sooner or later, I'll add something pretty.

For the past few weeks, I've been in animation hell. I'm trying to install Softimage XSI (my lovely lil CG animation program) but it's designed for PC and I have a Macbook! So, I install Parallels on my mac to run pc software.... doesn't work. I install Boot Camp for my mac to do the same a different way... doesn't work cos it can't find the internet!! GRR!!!

I'm starting to wonder if this is gonna work.

I'll let you guys know how it goes...

Year 3 approacheth

Ok, I know it's a little early to be starting a new project, but this is preparing for next year's short. I'm not gonna give away the story yet, cos it's still in the works, but here's a taster of things to come. I've been learning some new techniques, like "subsurface scattering" - a trick used by Pixar and other CG studios to make skin look more realistic. Anyhoo, enjoy your present!

cafe set's done

Yay, I've learnt how to texture things (basically at least.... VERY basically). And now the set's looking pretty good. Shame it takes so long for the university computers to render.
Anyways, next step is to record the audio, key it, and animate. It'll take a while to do, but will look awesome when finished. I just hope they give me a grade that reflects the amount of work I've put into this baby! lol