Rigging

So I'd consider this my first real rigging project. The model of the "skywhale" was created by my classmate, Kevin Baker, who has some serious modeling skills. But the motion system and controls were created by me. Which means, I totally made that thing fly. 

I know it doesn't seem very artistic to just make joint chains and controls and put them in hierarchies, but it's strangely addicting... especially once you see them moving. I love it.

my latest obsession

So I don't know if it's just because it's another nice distraction from working on my senior project, or if it's because it's something I can do when my hand (and/or brain) hurts from too much CG rigging, but I have completely fallen in love with screenprinting. The whole process is mesmerizing. Similar to rigging, I can be in the print studio for hours at a time working on a print and not realize how much time has gone by until my back starts hurting or my stomach tells me I better find some sustenance soon or perish.

On the last project, my teacher showed me how to print a gradient (or degrade, as they called it at her school in Canada). Here are some of my results.

The first is a print from a photograph of my great grandpa Lee on his farm. I scanned it into Photoshop and applied a halftone filter to it so I could create a stencil from it. The quote is from an e.e. cummings poem called dive for dreams.

Here's an example of another gradient before I applied the second layer.

And here's the rest of the print. It's a photo of Lee's brother, my great great uncle Burt after he crashed his car.

And here's the last print I just finished which used the most layers so far. Four different straight colors and a two color gradient. It was a challenge to get all five layers registered, but I did pretty well. Not perfect. Meh.

screenprinting!

So I'm taking a screenprinting class this semester and once again, I'm totally loving it!

I'm starting to think maybe I should've been a printmaking major. Except that they smell bad and always look disheveled and I don't understand half the prints I see around campus... Take my typewriter for example. Sadly, it has no deeper meaning behind it. I like typewriters and bright colors. It's something I wouldn't mind looking at on a wall. It's obsolete and antiquated and has some nostalgic appeal, but no real underlying message.

Whereas other kids in my class printed things like a naked man and woman shooting their heads off with blood splatter. Or phallic playstation controllers. Um... thanks, but no thanks. When it comes to conceptual art that represents the deeper philosophical underpinnings of something like "ink on paper" and what it can say about femininity or consumerism... I just don't think I'll ever really get it. >sigh< C'est la vie.

 

Anyway, here's my print! In all its Technicolor fabulousness!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An I even tried putting it on a t-shirt... with mixed results. It's harder than it seems.

 

 

 

 



contour... blind contour

The other day in my senior project class for animation, we were waiting for the teacher to come around and talk to us individually about our projects and my friend David decided it would be fun to do some blind contours. A blind contour is when you draw something without looking at your paper or lifting your pen until the image is complete. It typically ends up looking like either your brain, your hand or maybe both are heavily medicated and have gone rogue on you. And it was a fantastic idea. We soon got tired of drawing each other, so we moved on to the interwebs, where we chose the theme of Bond actors. These are my results and I find them surprisingly entertaining. Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 



Sketches

These are a few sketches for character designs for a project I want to work on outside of school.

I know I should be working on my school assignments, but this is how my brain works!

 

 

 

Drawing buildings

So this break hasn't quite been the powerhouse of production that I had planned it to be... but I got in some good quality time with friends and fam and that's the important stuff, right?
In the meantime, here are some drawings of buildings. Fascinating stuff, I know.



 

 

 

Heller

My friend Heller was in town starring as George in a touring production of Of Mice and Men put on by The Acting Company so we tried to squeeze in some quality hang-out time while he was in California.

He liked the rotoscope piece I did and requested one for his fiance, Gisela.

Here's the finished product:

 

 

 

 

By the way, he was AMAZING in his performance. I know he's headed for some wonderful things in the future and I can't wait to see more of his acting!

Love you Heller and can't wait for the wedding!