April Update

Hey Everyone :)

A couple people have asked me why there are no updates! Well, since the last update we've changed the story a bit and had to re-assign responsibilities. But this doesn't mean that the work we've already done, like the characters or the hospital are no longer necessary. On the contrary! They are even a larger part of the story! I'll attach a couple things that illustrate where the project is headed.

This is a snapshot of the hospital layout. The room I had rendered previously is room 208 on the diagram below. Right now I am working through blueprints to make the modeling go a little smoother, but this gives the idea.

So we're stilling having spirited meetings every Wednesday to show off our progress and plan the next week. Right now our goal is to have all modeling finished on June 15th. I think we'll do it.

Also I had mentioned that the story had been reworked - this is essentially it.

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Sorry, I've had to remove the story until we're certain about festival rules.

Here is the most recent render test. Thanks to suggestions given to me by a SME, David (DJX), and the need to have a color render to show next week, I went ahead and started roughing the lighting and texturing out a bit more. This image uses physical sun and sky with a portal light. Both GI and FG are in use. The final render was tweaked in Lightroom.

Contour Shader Test on Organic Models

I am finished with the low-polygon versions of Maxwell and now the boy Michael James Chapman. In the next few weeks I will be in ZBrush creating Normal and Displacement maps for all of the above as well as some temporary textures to show off our project in April.

The contour shader I used to render the Wheelchair Turntable unfortunately it doesn't work as well for organic models because of the smooth curves. But it was worth trying. Stay posted.

Hospital Progress

The story opens with Max in his hospital room. Hospital Modeling is underway. Here's a render with basic lighting. Actual modeling is perhaps 25% completed.

Wheelchair Model

So one of the main characters in our story is a boy who is sick and confined to a wheelchair. I figured that a wheelchair model would be fairly easy, but took an approach that allowed me to replicate all the details of the fasteners, welding(s), and intricacies that actually make up a wheel chair.

The rendering style is one I have been wanting to experiment with for a while. It is a combo of Mental Ray interior lighting setup, Ambient Occlusion, and a Contour shader to add the Vector Stoke look. Pretty happy with it.





I have no idea what is up with Blogger's compression of video Mine is Quicktime H.264. Will look into it soon.

Maxwell Lostrum Low Poly Fin.

Finally an update right?! Say hello to Maxwell Lostrum. The "Old Man" in the story.

He was very easy to create from my friend Jason Smith's wonderful artwork.

I will post his art if he gives me permission.

My goal is to have Max Z-brushed by March 5th as well as the main boy character. So a lot to come up with!





Note: That his shovel and Hospital gown are also done. Having a bit of an issue with max cloth to shape the hospital gown better. Will switch to Maya for production anyway...

Story Synopsis

All,

Here is our story for the short: There is no need to try to change it for us. But this will give you an idea as to our theme and vision.

This story has been in the works for quite some time on my end, but edited by the whole group. The final scene was written by Ryan Wing. A contributor to this blog and member of our production team.

Our apologies for the length. The short we are hoping to have around 5 minutes.

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Sorry, I've had to remove the story until we're certain about festival rules.