Presentation Complete

Play the 2D beta version of 3Deception Studios' project game and let us know what you think! The downloadable version is available here.



It's been a busy week. I slept 14 hours Friday night in addition to taking it easy all weekend, and I'm still battling going back to bed right now. All of us at 3Deception Studios had our final presentation this past Friday, which we plan to post on our website ASAP and would love some critique on. We will also post the game trailer that premiered at the presentation, which deserves more views since Andrew put a lot of effort into making it.

In other news, I was pretty much finished with it before, but I finally got my first comic to a point I am happy with. Check it out!


Now all it needs is a storyline, a title, some supporting characters, a website to post it on, and years of improvement to make it worth reading. Ha... ha.......... Hooboy. Well, okay I have a few ideas about the story already sketched out. Does that squirt remind anyone of a fluffy, adorable kitten?


The good news is, what I hoped would happen did: when I get spare time or my mind wanders I draw ideas for this comic. Although... I should prolly start working on those sketches for that grad program.

Yeah, you heard me. I know I said I wasn't going to do it, but then I also said I would never to web/advertising art and I've already applied for some of those jobs. It turns out some grad programs don't sound half bad, especially those in video game art and illustration. In fact, some of these programs look really cool. Expensive, but cool.

I think that's about it. Still working on that post-graduation job/internship/project, so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Anne

Derp

I keep picturing sharks with human teeth. Derp! I don't think my brain survived the last two weeks intact.

The good news is, I started a personal project that I've been motivated to work on! It's a comic series about... well.... a zombie. I've got two comics sketched out so far, but I'm realizing that the non-linear thought process of my brain isn't conducive to a story with any sort of timeline. Haha! I'll need to work for a while to get all the introductory pages done, since I can't do them in order, but I think it's possible. Take a look!





I'm still working on the "how she died" part. Toilet seat-asteroids have been done before. I'm also considering giving the silhouette in the first page a serious Photoshop make over and adding some hatching to it. I really haven't decided what style I want to use for it, or even if I want to stick to one style. Just one more thing for me to think about.

I also did some artistic doodles for our Pecha Kucha presentation this past Monday. We did an "Industry Vs. Us" showdown theme. I was responsible for the pipeline comparison slides, which I think everyone got a kick out of.



Yeah, that's about right. Although amazingly enough, most people didn't actually notice the lack of sound or particles because they were so in to the game. Oh and check out the 3Deception Studios project site for a teaser of the game play. We should have the full game available for download soon, too. (If not, I'll ninja host it somewhere.)

Our final presentation for the game and research is Friday December 3rd, 2010 at 3:00 pm in Purdue University's Stewart Center, Room 314. This will also be available on UStream thanks to Voxee. We'd love to hear from anyone who wishes to comment on the presentation, and invite everyone to tune in.

Other than that I wish everyone a great Thanksgiving holiday! I've already seen the new Harry Potter, caught up with The Walking Dead, and finished Uncharted, so you know I'll be having a great time. At least until my group starts asking me about project work. Just kidding, guys!

Anne

More hours in the Day?

Unbelievably, in the past few days I've been able to do a few other things besides freaking out about the upcoming capstone class presentation, etc. I actually picked up the new Wheel of Time book (a great read if you like long descriptions and mental monologues) and have been face first in it most of the day. I also made time to make a lava punk concept. Take a look!


I took a break from reading my book to check out my favorite online comics (Machismo, Unsounded, Oots, and anything by these guys) which then lead me to some of the artist's blogs. Some of these guys draw all the time and will post all sorts of cool random stuff. So! I am resolving to post random drawings or something finished once a week. Here's this week's:

If I weren't so cold from the terrible weather, that's exactly what I would be eating now.

I've been really conscious about drawing "anime-style" stuff because people keep telling me I'll get stuck drawing like that. Honestly though, it's great for getting random doodlings out of my head and on paper. AND I know I can do realistic stuff if I'm feeling serious enough. I just miss the good feelings I get from drawing all the time.

Actually, I've been thinking of drawing a few scenes from the new WoT: Ituralde's battle with the Trollocs, or perhaps something with Egwene or Mat. I've also considered attempting one of the cities... but that will take some heavy thought and re-reading to get right.

Oh, and one last note of pride for this past week:


I finished my ring project! It may not be professional quality, but I love the thing, darn it, and I intend to wear it until it wears out. The class is a pain though.

-Anne

Mid-Semester Update

The one problem I have with these blogs is remembering to update them when I get busy; and am I ever busy! Creating a stereoscopic 3D game with 5 challenges from scratch in one semester, with a research project to go along with it is HARD. I've learned a lot from it though, including an important epiphany: I don't want to animate. Instead I'm going back to my drawing roots, with a hint of 3D modeling and texturing. Lighting also sounds interesting, but I'm not quite sure I'm qualified for a job as a lighter.

Anyway, here are just a couple pieces of concept art I've done for this game so far.

I've also got a portfolio site up and running (finally!) where more of my recent work can be viewed. Check it out!

And now back to drawing a zombie peace rally.

Back to 2D

Due to some "technical issues" with my 3D projects, I took a vacation back to 2D for a bit. I've found in the past few years that working in Illustrator actually relaxes me, unlike working in Maya which makes me want to cry half of the time. And who doesn't like sketching or coloring in Photoshop?

The first piece was a request from a friend of mine for a t-shirt design for America: The Series. These guys are still trying to get their show on the road for the senatorial elections this November, so any support--even a "like" on Facebook--is much appreciated. Check out all of the available t-shirt designs at http://www.freedomonlyrings.com/. (I don't think my design is up yet, actually.)


I've also done some designs for a couple contests on Deviant Art in my spare time. They were something to do while I watched "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." I created a lifeline design and a dragonfly design. Oh, and don't ask about the user name or the nickname.

I did have a chance to rework an old 3D project before my luck went south. A link to that will be up as soon as I get my portfolio site up and running again.

SIGGRAPH 2010

July 27th and 28th I was in Los Angeles for SIGGRAPH 2010. Even though I only attended two days for the convention, it was a lot of fun and incredibly informative.
I spent most of my time between the Exhibition Hall, the Electronic Theater, and the Emerging Technology Room, all of which were incredible.

If you haven't seen it yet, check out Logorama. This was by far my favorite video shown at SIGGRAPH for the great idea, creative modeling and animation, and overall humor.

On the 28th I also attended two of the production sessions for The Last Airbender and Day & Night. Both were fantastic! The Last Airbender session was very heavy on VFX and the rendering technology used to create it. The Day and Night session contained a lot more artistic background in addition to the technical discussion of merging 2D and 3D animation.

There were also some special events at the Exhibition Hall. Dick van Dyke and William Shatner made a special appearance at the Lightwave 10 booth. Although neither are experts in CG, I enjoyed hearing the enthusiasm when they talked about 3D technology. It reminds me why I love this field- it's awesome!

In the emerging technology room people from all over the world displayed technology from synthesized touch to 3D LED displays. Sony showed off their new 3D technology: a cylinder with spinning LEDs that produced a 3D graphic. You can even interact with it by moving your hand close to the cylinder. At another booth, I put on a special glove, stuck my hand in some water, and when I put my hand under a certain color of light the glove synthesized different textures.

Like most students and ambitious attendees, I also check out the job fair. Unfortunately, as a student without experience in the industry I barely got a word from the big name companies. There were a few smaller companies present, but overall I was disappointed with the representation at the job fair. I did get one helpful tidbit from the job fair: get experience. While, each person I talked to made a point not to verbally say, "Graduate school is a waste of time," it was apparent from their reactions that prior experience has a much higher value in this industry.

That is not to say there aren't great graduate, undergraduate, and in between programs out there. I stopped at several booths including Vancouver Film School, Academy of Art University, SCAD, and Rochester Institute of Technology to name a few. Each program offers something different, and each program sounds incredible. If I had known about SIGGRAPH in high school, I may not even have gone to a four-year college, despite my love of Purdue's Technology college staff.

I could go on about SIGGRAPH for hours, so I'll just cut it off here. It's an expensive trip for a student if you're not a volunteer, but well worth every dime.

Anne

Completed Beetle Mesh

I just "finished" the mesh for my Scarabaeus sacer; I use finished loosely in this context. A more active walking position looked better to me, so I played around with some of the legs. I also went ahead and combined the two separate sections of each leg into one mesh for rendering purposes.


And for some reason Maya "lost" my front camera. I don't know what is up with this bug, but it's happened on two different projects now and I'm starting to get worried. For this project it wasn't a big deal since I didn't have a front view to work with, so I left it as is.

Oh, and the hairs on the legs and underside will come in later during the texturing process. Now I'm going to try out Mudbox. Wish me luck!

Anne

Beetles in 3D

I thought about doing this in January, but never got around to actually modeling insects in Maya. So I asked my friend which beetle I should create, and he recommended Scarabaeus sacer (the infamous Egyptian "Scarab" beetle). You know, unlike The Mummy and Prince of Persia would have you believe, these beetles are a type of dung beetle, not flesh eating terrors of the desert. In fact, I think they're cute.

This is my second attempt; the first time I neglected the angle of the back, which would have led to problems when I textured it. If it turns out nicely, I might try to pose it with some dung. XD

Any suggestions?

Reference images from: http://www.zin.ru/animalia/coleoptera/eng/scasacne.htm

I Think It Needs Work

I tried to finish this model, but I'm having a bit of trouble creating a good poly flow. I think I understand how to do the eyes, but the mouth and nose elude me. Every time I try this I also end up with more polys than I think I should for a "low-poly" first draft, but that's just me trying to be detailed when I shouldn't. The circled parts are those I'm a worried about.


Any suggestions for how this thing should wrap the face? Should I make the cheek less defined?

Bug Bowl

I spent about 4 hours yesterday volunteering with my Entomology 105 group at the Purdue Bug Bowl. In other words, I made meal worm stir fry most of the day. Yum! I recommend that everyone try eating meal worms at some point; they're surprisingly tasty!

Speaking of insects, I just barely finished my children's book in time for the contest entry last week. Here are a few pages from it:
I have to admit, I really enjoyed working on this book. My research also got me incredibly interested in beetles and beetle biology. I almost wish I had another full year of school to take more entomology courses. I think I'll be creating more insect art in the future.

Only a Few Weeks Left

A couple days ago Mike York came to our school to talk about working in the video game industry, and recommended having a blog. If nothing else, you can catalog your progress as a designer/animator/modeler/or any number of other things. So here I am, cataloging my progress so far.

At the moment, I'm working on illustrations for a children's book I wrote for Entomology 105, a piece of facial modeling for my portfolio, a few last attempts at an internship position this semester, and some projects for my travel grant to Japan from last semester. All of these are due within the month, along with various other final projects and assignments, but I like to think I work best under pressure.


This is the facial model I'm currently working on. I've only built a face with this strategy once before (and that was for a cartoon seal), so any suggestions are welcome. I'm trying to model with muscles in mind, but getting something that looks right has been difficult.