3.21.2010

Art: Prince, Little Mermaid 02

Finally, my first full piece in months. For a competition. Wish me luck!

The first-produced-but-actually-third-chronologically piece for the "Little Mermaid" in the Prince project.


And just for my own personal reference (I'll probably forget otherwise) - the remaining pieces are the statue, the witch, the dance, and the foam.

3.18.2010

Art: 021/100 Themes - Vacation

"Satunea." - Vacation. 21/100 Themes.

Rivek's mother's home city is a gorgeous port town. One summer in their teen years, Rivek, Willow, and Bohren spent a good amount of time there. Originally, Willow had a huge crush on Bohren - and why not? He's good looking and incredibly sweet. (Actually, she couldn't even conceive of ever being attracted to Rivek, who she actually thought he was pretty awkward-looking.)

I can't draw feet.


She didn't want to tell him that she'd fallen on purpose, so that he would carry her back to the beach.

3.15.2010

Art: 020/100 Themes - Fortitude

"Fortea." - Fortitude. 20/100 Themes.

Originally during her teen years, Princess Willowren is engaged to Prince Fenne. The marriage is meant to unite their two countries, Brennan and Tyris, against invaders from the north. Unfortunately, an unlucky end befalls the prince before any alliance can be made.

Too much Dungeons and Dragons. All I could think of for this prompt was "Roll a fortitude save." Against poison.

3.04.2010

Writing: Job Application FAQ

Since I've landed a position, I don't have as much reason to keep quiet. But the worst thing about applying for jobs is that - if you're doing something wrong, you don't always know it. I've done maybe, ten on-site, first round job interviews (and messed up a lot of them), and three second-round, fly-out interviews. I've submitted demo reels and portfolios. I've collected lists of places I'd want to work. So, yes, I'd just like to try and put this advice together - since you have to present yourself as well as your reel.

Please comment on this entry (or e-mail me, or IM me, or whatever) if you have a question you'd like me to answer. It may take me a little while. Please bookmark this blog, under the "convention faq" tag. I'll add more entries if people ask me more questions.

Writing: College Applications FAQ

My adviser asked yesterday to have me look over portfolios for some applicants to my major. There are certain things that one keeps seeing over and over again - things that are good, things that are bad. I know I have at least a handful of followers who are younger than me, still in high school, so I figured I'd try and help them out. I mean, I had to get here somehow, right?

Please comment on this entry (or e-mail me, or IM me, or whatever) if you have a question you'd like me to answer. It may take me a little while. Please bookmark this blog, under the "convention faq" tag. I'll add more entries if people ask me more questions.

Writing: Convention FAQ, Call for Questions

I tried doing this once, and now I'm trying again. I've always wanted to help the Artist Alley community but collecting the vast business knowledge I've accrued from marketing classes and convention experience.

Please comment on this entry (or e-mail me, or IM me, or whatever) if you have a question you'd like me to answer. It may take me a little while. Please bookmark this blog, under the "convention faq" tag. I'll add more entries if people ask me more questions.

3.03.2010

Writing: Demo Reel FAQ II

Installment two. I had to help Kaitlin on something, and I think documenting it would be pretty helpful.

More questions? Ask away.

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Why do I run out of undos in Maya?

Maya is configured to only handle a certain number of undos (Ctrl-Zs). To adjust the number of undos you can do, go to Windows -> Setting/Preferences -> Preferences -> Undo. Change the "Queue Size" as you see fit.


Should I do snappy editing? Cut my reel at the end of an action?

There are actually different kinds of demo reels. Depending on what position you are applying for and to where, different things will work. Because this is so varied, you may want to have multiple demo reels.

Commonly, people who apply for technical director positions will have a cut between each project they are showing off. A common thing animators do is slice up various parts of the different pieces they have worked on and intersperse them so they flow together. It depends on what you are applying for and where. For example, Pixar doesn't particularly like sliced reels (thanks for the tip, Sam!).

If you intend to cater your reel to a specific place, look at the samples they have up or search people who already work there and look at their demo reels. But for a general reel, I would personally play it safe and just show work-by-work, best foot forward.

Should I edit my reel to music?

No. Unless you are a composer, music should not be essential to your reel. Your work must be able to stand on its own, music or not. Because we take so many mental cues from sound, some companies (I know, Pixar for a fact) will turn off the music while viewing a reel. The basic principle is that, even if the reviewer cannot hear what a character is saying, the reviewer can see what the character is saying.

If you have something where sound is essential, such as lip-synching or a music video, you should write on your title card that the viewer will require sound.

You may have music to make viewing a little more entertaining, but it shouldn't make or break your reel. Whatever you chose, try to pick something which is not too extreme but still reflects the style of your work. Personally, I'm partial to jazz, and I know a lot of people who use techno..


What's a turntable?

A turntable is a clip of a spinning 3d model. It's pretty essential for any modeler reel.

What renders do I need for a turntable?

There are three ways to show off a model: textured, shaded (Ambient Occlusion), and contour. If you don't have a texture model, or you are not interested in a texturing position, textures aren't essential (just like, if you didn't model your piece, you don't need to show off its wireframe). However, if you made your model, you will want to show off both a shaded version and a wireframe. The former shows your understanding of form, and the latter shows off your understanding of good mesh construction.

How do I transition from textured to shaded to wireframe?

Truth be told, you can't do it in Maya. This is a video editing technique. Render out a sequence of images from Maya. Then import them into AfterEffects/Premiere/Final Cut Pro and keyframe their opacity.

How do I make a turntable?

I'm only go over the easiest way possible. In Maya 2008 and later, there is a turntable button. First, change the mode drop-down menu in the Status Line to "Rendering." Then select all the items you wish to rotate around. Finally, go to Animate -> Turntable and enter the number of frames long you wish your turntable to be. Then render from the created turntable camera.

My shadows look funny. How do I parent the lights to my camera?

If you parent your lights to your camera, then your lights will revolve with your model. That means, when your model's back faces you, your light will be on his other side.
  • Turntable cameras are automatically invisible. Set it to visible by selecting it. Then go to Display -> Show -> Show Selection. (Or you can use the hypergraph, which will list the camera.)
  • Select the lights in your scene.
  • Select your (now visible) turntable camera.
  • Hit 'P' on the keyboard.

3.02.2010

Writing: Demo Reel FAQ I

For the past week or so, people at my school have been preparing their demo reels, and rather than answer everyone individually, it'd a better idea to just collect my knowledge here. I'll openly admit I'm not the foremost expert on reels - I mean, I didn't have an internship, but I did land a job in the animation field. So, ask away! Note, this is mostly geared toward people in my program looking for technical director positions.

Please comment on this entry (or e-mail me, or IM me, or whatever) if you have a question you'd like me to answer. It may take me a little while. Please bookmark this blog. I'll add more entries if people ask me more questions.

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What is Ambient Occlusion? Where is it in Maya?

Assuming you know what raytracing is, Ambient Occlusion is where the camera sends out a ray for a pixel. When the ray hits a surface, it sends out a hemisphere of more rays. These rays find out how far away surfaces are from each other. Therefore, if a surface isn't close to another in an Ambient Occlusion render, it shows up white. Ambient Occlusions shows how close objects are to one another. Often, in games, artists bake Ambient Occlusion into textures to show how things layer on top of one another - adding shadows without using lights, thus saving computation.

You don't need Ambient Occlusion for your demo reel. The reason people show Ambient Occlusion renders of their models on their demo reel is to showcase the strength of their modeling. A plain render shows that the model is strong without textures. You can just as easily achieve the same point with a white Lambert and a light above your object. You may even get more control.

There are two things you need to set in order to turn on Ambient Occlusion: the shader and the renderer.
  • Apply a basic Mental Ray shader to your desired object. It doesn't matter which. Ambient Occlusion will over-write its render callback.
  • Go into its material properties (the tab with its name when viewing it in the Attribute Editor).
  • Scroll down to Ambient Occlusion dropdown.
  • Adjust parameters and enable.
  • Maya Software doesn't have Ambient Occlusion. You must go to the Render Settings and switch to Mental Ray.
  • Turning on Ambient Occlusion in the renderer depends on what version of Maya you are using:
  • In 2008, under multi-pixel filtering, switch from the default "Box" filter to "Lanczos."
  • In 2009 and 2010, under Features, there should be an Ambient Occlusion menu or checkbox, check "Enable Ambient Occlusion."


What is Contour Rendering? Where is it in Maya?

Contour rendering renders the mesh of the model, allowing the viewer to see where faces are.

If you are any modeler worth your salt, you should have contour renders of all your models on your reel. Contour renders are essential in proving that you can make a mesh which doesn't just look good but can be textured and animated. A good mesh will have even spacing and quadrilaterals which are close to squares. You should be able to tell where the model's features are just from looking at the contour render.

There are two things you need to set in order to turn on Contour Rendering: the shader and the renderer.
  • Apply a basic Mental Ray shader to your desired object. It doesn't matter which. Contour shading will over-write its render callback.
  • Go into its shading group properties (the tab with its name and "SG" when viewing it in the Attribute Editor).
  • Scroll down to Contour Render dropdown.
  • Adjust parameters and enable.
  • Maya Software doesn't have Contour Rendering. You must go to the Render Settings and switch to Mental Ray.
  • Scroll down in the Mental Ray options to Contours (in Maya 2009 and on, this is under the "Features" tab). Check "Enable Contour Rendering."
  • Very important! Don't forget to check what you want rendered, or contour shading will not activate. Under the contour menu, check "Around all poly faces" or whatever you would like to draw contours around.
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Hope this helps!

3.01.2010

Art: 018/100 Themes - Gray

"Grei." - Gray. 19/100 Themes.

Sorian, prior to actually meeting Rivek in person under ceasefire, considers the dark-mage to be nothing but a pest to be hunted down. It shames him that his opponent would even resort to guerrilla tactics and hiring dark-mage mercenaries.


Even the sound of thunder could not deter Sorian from the hunt. He saw the thick fog more like nature's personal challenge than anything else. The young prince wiped the rainwater from his eyes and looked up. However, the gray skies offered no hint towards his quarry. How could one man defeat his precious invention? No, a bird as much as a man.

He touched the emblem of a lion on the clasp of his cloak - solid proof he was a better hunter than even his elder brother. Sorian, the lion, had never before lost his prey, and he certainly was not about to let some foolish bird outwit him.