Netfrost

Well, the OIAF just started selling tickets and announced the selections for this year’s festival. Can’t wait!

If anyone is interested in going, let me know, cause I’m hoping to be there everyday.

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So the day I ordered my Wacom Cintiq 21ux, I decided I’d get a training DVD for Zbrush 3.5… so I looked around. I thought of going with Digital Tutors… but since they went the streaming only option, I kind of avoid them… not that they don’t offer superb training, it’s just I like having the DVD or files to go back to when I want and not have to keep paying a subscription. Hmm… Gnomon? Well… they do have high caliber training, but unfortunately, I find their instructors boring… They are way too monotone, it honestly puts me to sleep.

That’s when I found Eat 3D. They had two Zbrush DVDs for sale… you can get either a DVD mailed to you, instantly download it, or stream it… NICE! Options!
So I looked at both, the first; “Zbrush 3.5 – A Comprehensive Introduction” where the instructor goes over the fundamentals of Zbrush 3.5… hmm sounds like just what I need… a refresher of what I know, and fundamentals of what’s new in this version vs the versions I knew. The other; “Zbrush 3.5 Character Production – High Res Sculpting, Polypainting, ZPlugins, and more” (now that’s one long ass title), Continues where the first DVD ends…

Ok, no brainer, get the first. So the first DVD has 4 1/2 Hours of video, led by Michael Pavlovich a Senior Character Artist at Sony Online Entertainment, and some files.

I downloaded it, and watched it and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Michael basically goes through the steps of sculpting a head and in the process describes most of the brushes and what they’re best used for.

I’ve done a quick once over of the DVD, now that I have the tablet, I think I’ll go through it once more, and follow along… once this is done, I’m DEFINITELY getting the second DVD. Hope they make more :)

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So my Wacom Cintiq 21ux tablet is finally ordered… so hopefully it will arrive in a week or so.
I’m so excited about getting this tablet to work on some Zbrush stuff.

Now to order some Smudgeguards :)

What to model first? hmm…

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Well, the deadline for the 9 contest has come and gone, I didn’t get a call, so I take it I didn’t qualify… today at noon, they’ll announce the 9 secondary prize winners… keeping my fingers crossed for a new laptop

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Clog, my character concept for the ’9′ contest… is complete and submitted…
I feel all anxious now… this is the first contest of this type I’ve entered… and the prize is insane… I think I’m going to be holding my breath all week… right now, I’m nervous that I did something wrong during the submission process or I sent the wrong file… or something… oh god…
 
Anyways, here he is…
Read the rest of this entry »

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So with 6 days left to the 9 character concept contest, I thought I was almost ready to submit my character… until I went out and saw the movie… it’s quite different from Shane’s original short… and there’s quite a few things I want to change on Clog before submitting him…
The story like is going to stay the same, but I’m going to change a bit of the look.

Wish me luck

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So with Shane Acker’s 9 being released in theaters yesterday. Dose.ca has a contest where you create a character concept for the movie 9 with a small bio of the character and you can win a 2 week internship at Starz, the animation studio that made the movie.

I’m always up for a challenge, so I started my own concept character. Clog!

Clog is a machine created by The Fabrication Machine. Clog is composed of a Magic 8 Ball, a brass toilet bobber, doll parts and various other scrap. Now, Clog has a few screws loose (literally) and doesn’t know how to be evil or kill, actually, he thinks he’s the real 8. Clog can not speak, as his mouth is actually riveted shut, so he uses the pyramid in the 8 ball to talk.

I’ve been working on him quite a bit and decided to post an early version of the model… this is far from complete, still alot of modeling left, not to mention the texturing.

Hope you like him.

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As Jennifer and Jack presented the Best Animated Picture, the best Oscar quote ever was done…

Jennifer Aniston: Do you have some special animation career strategy?
Jack Black: Oh yeah! Each year I do one DreamWorks project and I take all the money to the Oscars and bet it on Pixar!!!

Congrats Andrew and Pixar!!!

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Wow, what a weekend.
So, Saturday, which is supposed to be my course day… I worked and worked on the Alien’s rig… only realizing I busted it.
When ever I’d move the alien around, his head would pop out of shape, always at the same spot.
By this time, we had dinner plans for Valentine’s day and to celebrate my Sister’s 8th wedding anniversary.
 
Sunday, I started getting sick… some of the guys at work have had this cold/sinus infection for a while, and I finally caught it! I was run down most of the day, but after being cooped up all of Saturday, Ange wanted to go out… so, we did. When we got home, I tried to fix the rig, but got frustrated. Spent some more time yesterday and felt like I was on the brink of just giving up on 3D altogether.
 
After Ange went to bed, I just sat there in front of the PC and it came to me… I parented the Flexor base and not the Flexor Group!!! So I make the correct relationship and voila! everything is working… I’m actually quite proud of myself for figuring it out without asking anyone at 3D Buzz.

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Not that I have any chance in hell to win or even get accepted in, but I’ve set myself a personal goal to have either “Liars Bench’ or ‘The Search for Mate’ completed by June 1st, 2009. Which coincides with the deadline for the Ottawa Animation Festival…

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