The Life Cycle of the Mushroom - A New Short Film

In my first year as a CG student I made a short film about the life cycle of mushrooms. It was the first time I really started working on an animated narrative. It is still a short that I am very proud of, despite the lack of technical ability and art style, it remains something I find quite moving in spite of its subject matter. I have been thinking about remaking the short for a while now, and after some meetings with some other interested parties, I am happy to announce that in the next couple of months, I will be documenting my process of remaking the film.

Concept Art - Mushrooms in the Glow

Preproduction on the film is already underway and I am looking to really push the painterly, emotive quality of my texture painting. I am fortunate enough to be working alongside a very talented musician and project manager Laura Callaghan, who will be providing a the moving soundscape for the short. Whilst also conferring with Dr Peter Klappa from the University of Kent to make sure this is a short that will resonate within its educational role.

There are a few key goals for the project but a real focus is to push my directorial skills in making a successful short animation with a professional level of finish and technical ability. This is a piece of work that I've always felt had an impact, and it has always been a shame that it lacked the finish of my more recent works. This will be a filmic and intelligent remake of my original film, with far more attention paid on the cinematography, camera work and colour.

Concept Art - The Development of Mycelia

The concept art for this project demonstrates the new style I wish to follow. There is something very alien about the minutia of nature, and it is this concept that drives the art style. I wish for this film to be far more alien in it's microcosms and more bold in its use of colour, whilst maintaining the moonlit quality of my previous work. The landscapes need to feel both magical and mystical, which will be emphasised by the soundscape surrounding the world.

Concept Art - The Basidium Field

All of my student work lacked the cinamtic quality that feels so present naturally in film. This will be a chance to change that, with a very thought out approach to camera work that both captures the scene but also heightens the qualities therein. Use of colour will also play a vital role in aiding the narrative. The piece will have little or no text but must still be of use to educational outlets so it will be important to provide memorable and distinct environments.

Concept Art - Nuclei Fusion

Now that I've gotten my head around the project, and organisation has been put in place, production will begin. I will be forming an animatic / previs as I begin modelling etc, but things will start to kick off within the next week. The project will be produced over the next couple of months and distribution and showings announced as things fall into place. Keep checking back on my site as I document the process throughout.

A Letter to the Lost

Tomorrow will mark a deadline for many students, artists, designers and creatives. These deadlines are solid dates ingrained in minds, the last day in a calender that has a firm end. They represent the end of an era, when you worked like hell and tried to create something honest. It will have certainly involved passion, heartache, loss and joy, a spectrum of emotion in the attempt to create something. You may have quarms about your own work, it will not reach your high standards, it will not be perfect, but it will be the start of something. I'd like to address students and soon to be graduates of creative courses across the country. In particular, the students of CG Arts and Animation, UCA. This is a short piece about my year since graduation and how it may help you in some small way...

"All you have been doing for four years is look at this, like this close...you can't see anything else. You don't even see the mistakes any more." 

                                                           Phil Fish

Today, my graduate film "The Minor Key" was kindly featured on a great website devoted to animated shorts. Showmetheanimation.com regularly promotes and features the work of student and graduate artists, as well as featuring some of the most inspirational creatives in the industry. It is an honour to be featured on another site with such a love for the artform and it feels particularly poignant considering that the Minor Key project came to a close this time last year.

A lot has happened in the year since then, with freelance work and personal projects driving me forward, as well as working with some superbly talented students at the University for the Creative Arts as the Graduate Teaching Assistant. It's been a strange journey, but one that feels completely necessary. My work has evolved a lot since then. The year has largely consisted of a diverse set of freelance projects. From animated children in a sea of fire to photo realistic lemons and door handles  It's been a pleasure to work with such a great group of artists and designers, all of which have been kind and welcoming to a graduate animator. More importantly, it has inspired me to move forward as a film maker. The Minor Key represented my departure from the CG Arts and Animation course and in truth, it was a project of self discovery. It demonstrated that I could use the software correctly, I could tell moving narratives and that I could bring a world to life. It was of course limited by time, technical ability and confidence, but it was definitely the start of something interesting. It made me realise that if I keep doing this, I think one day, I could do something that could be fucking good.

After a year spent exploring new techniques and ideas, I'm ready to start something big. That "something" is currently a bit of a secret and I won't be revealing too much until after the summer. But it's safe to say that it will be the most interesting and exciting piece of work I have yet been a part of. My passion has always been film and film making. It is part of me that feels so deeply certain and concrete that there are no other options in my life. I love what I do, I love creating work that moves people. My graduate film was my first step to achieving that dream and now I'm ready to make the next big step along that path. For myself, this is an independent step. It is a scary thought but it feels like exactly what I need to do next.

I knew my graduate film had it's problems. You will be thinking the same about your own work. It can never live up to your own high standards or ideals, but it is the first step forward. You will worry about what others think and explain away the mistakes. But this graduate film is more important than glossy visuals and perfect renders. This is the first step towards something far more special. Part of that is finding a voice and a passion.

"Things that are personal have flaws, they have vulnerabilities."

                                                                                 Jonathan Blow

You have had 3 years to learn new software, skillsets, artforms and a new lifestyle. That may seem like a long time but in reality it is such a small part of the whole. You are more developed and confident than when you started. You now know stuff that always seemed impossible. These are important steps in a long and difficult journey. What becomes important is that you still love what you do. You may feel lost in a world of business and career. But that is superficial. Many will wonder why they should listen to me. I have no real signs of success, whatever these are. I do not work for the best company in the world, nor do I own an loft apartment in Manhattan  Instead, I live in a grey industrial town and make animation. To many, that sounds kind of pathetic, but to me, that's kind of the fucking dream. All I can really say is, stay in love with what you do. Try to avoid ever ruining that. The world needs more people with ambition, you are most definitely one of those important people. Be honest in everything you do. If you do that, you can never really be ashamed about your choices.

"Say who you are! Really say it, in your life and in your work. Tell someone out there who is lost, someone not yet born, someone who won't be born for 500 years. Your writing will be a record of your time. It can't help but be. But more importantly, if you are honest about who you are, you will help that person be less lonely in their world. Because that person will recognise him or herself in you. And that will give them hope...Give that to the world, rather than selling something to the world."

                                                                                               Charlie Kaufman

Congratulations on making it, you've come a long way. You have a long way to go, but if you continue to work this hard and continue to care this much, you'll make a difference in the world. That is really what it is all about.

Zbrush Character Modelling

A week or so ago, I posted some images of a model I've been working on in my free time. Since then, I've taken the model into Zbrush and spent a lot of time trying to learn new techniques and get to grips with the workflow of the software. After some solid days of sculpting, polypainting and rendering, I now have some updates to show.

These renders show a fully sculpted and textured head. All renders are from Zbrush BPR rendering and really allowed me to play around with techniques that I have currently not had the chance to use. So far, I'm really happy with the progress. There is still plenty to do before I call this mini project complete, but so far my knowledge of the software and skill with new techniques has really leapt forward. The final model will be a fully rendered image of a soldier in shock. This will mean that dirt, blood and grime will be added, plus the addition of the accessories to complete the image.

Zbrush is a refreshing experience for the way I work. It's a relaxing process of artistic and creative thought. As though sculpting for hours with real clay, the software itself becomes very intuitive and fades away into the background, leaving just the model and toolset to work with. The basic process opens up into branches of different techniques. The initial sculpting stage includes masking, surface noise and multiple brush sets. Polypainting seems like a very simple stage, but in fact requires constant work, layering paint until a realistic effect is achieved. This can be done with photographic reference, but the struggle to find good images meant I had to paint all the textures from scratch using alpha's. A few extra stages helped bring more life to the character. These included very fine fibres to add stubble and hair, plus material adjustments for skin shaders etc. The hair and materials will be pushed further with the next iteration, but this study has so far allowed me to explore the basics of these extra tools.

It's been a great experience so far and a refreshing process compared to other techniques. I'll be pushing this forward when time allows and more Zbrush mini projects will definitely be in the future. It's a busy time, with a huge array of projects currently in the works, but it's good to be so invested in such a diverse range of work. I have a lot planned for the next year , so keep checking back for more updates from this and other work very soon.

Character Modelling Part I

In an attempt to learn new techniques and explore new areas of CG, I have started a new character model. This was all inspired by the work of Don McCullin, possibly the most recognised war photographer in the world and a man who seems completely honest and utterly haunted by his past.

I've wanted to do a character model with this sense of accuracy and detail for a while, and this provided the perfect opportunity to experiment with different modelling approaches. Normally, I use the box modelling method for this type of work. This technique starts with a large polygon cube, with topology slowly being added and adjusted, as if working with a large block of stone. However, this time I've decided to work with an edge to edge workflow. This uses a polygon plane as a starting point, then extruding edges outwards to form the face. This slight change in approach has actually been far better for me. It felt much easier to form correct topology from the very start and everything took shape fairly quickly.

This is the block out phase. Now that the character is modeled and UV'd he will be taken in to Zbrush and sculpted. The final image will be a still render with plenty of detail and atmosphere, attempting to explore the photographic potential of Maya. But for now, it's exciting to be working on new approaches and exploring different possibilities. More to come on this and other projects soon.

Sketchbook Update

I've been continuing my efforts to improve my 2d work, so here are some pieces from the last couple of weeks.

I've got a number of other pieces to post soon but currently they are all part of projects that remain under wraps. You can follow my CA.org sketchbook here.

Art for the Void

Last night I spent some time sketching out an idea for some animation tests which will enter the void of Maya. It's got strange suburban landscapes and a crow that looks odd.

Here's a mood / storyboard version which may explain a bit more. The art direction of this piece should be pretty interesting as I'd really like to push the lighting and keep the environment simple.

More on this to come soon, plus other work type things.

Experiments in the Void

In the past, I've always had a certain sense of anxiety when it comes to using Maya. It is a software that looks scary, a huge toolbox with endless panels and menus, all with rules and principles to follow. My confidence with trying new things has always been limited. However, the more freelance work I am a part of, the more I forget about all this. So, why am I going on about why Maya is a big, scary beast? Well, essentially, I've come to a stage in my learning where by I want to try new things. I want to get away from my old styles, explore new possibilities and in short, piss about with 3d software. I want to see what happens when I make stuff without all the stress, rather than always worrying about the rules and regulations.

This is a huge turning point in my work. A point at which I start to enjoy the process more and more, embrace the polygons and just see what happens when I give less of a shit about getting everything perfect. I've always loved the narrative aspect of animation. It is a medium unlike any other, allowing for artists to create anything, unlimited by any physical aspects of film making. This is something I want to embrace and explore. 

Thus, I am starting a new ongoing project, titled "Experiments in the Void." This will be an ever evolving look at how I can use Maya and other CG software to simply explore. I will be using the software like a sketchbook, experimenting and working out new methodologies. Some of these will be inane and dumb,  others will be more practical works. But all of them will help my work progress. So, I'd like to start by presenting this first piece of something, created on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Louis C.K - Character Model

After spending yesterday afternoon messing around with Maya, this was the result. A fully textured, characterised render of the great comedian and director Louis C.K. The time spent on the piece was rather minimal in comparison to my usual characters, but despite this I'm really chuffed with the result. The style and simplicity of the model is revelatory, it has charm and character but also seems perfect for animation. This was the first time I've created a character without following the checkbox of rules. No orthographs, no worrying about perfect topology or smooth skin. I wanted it to get away from everything I worried about during my degree. I created a primitive cube and just started moving points around. I'm a big fan of animator David O'reilly and the aesthetic of indie games like Kentucky Route Zero. These inspirations helped me move away from my usual methods and just create stuff that I found interesting. The final model actually is far more practical than I expected. It could be worked with, rigged and animated if needed. This lower polycount approach not only provides a style that is matches my state of mind regarding CG, but also provides an asset that can be animated in a really interesting way. More tests on this type of animation in the future.

It still took time, but forgetting about the worries of perfecting a model really has opened my eyes. I want to create short animated films. This approach allows for me to create characters that are just as expressive but far easier and possibly more fulfilling than my previous methods. It is relaxed and experimental, with results that seem more exciting than anything I've done before.

ACT Project - Thank you!

The first stage of the ACT CGAA community project has now come to an end and after 10 days of speed painting, the results are already looking very exciting. The staff and students of CG Arts and Animation, UCA, have responded with a diverse and powerful array of abstract paintings in response to 16 minutes of music, split into 10 sequences.

So, firstly, I wish to simply say a big thank you to everyone who has taken part, or will take part, in creating paintings and works to inspire, influence and propel the project forward. It has been a pleasure to see such a vivid array of works, ranging from simplistic abstraction to emerging landscapes. Each distinct and all exciting. The daily upload of work has demonstrated yet again, that the CGAA community inspire and motivate those within the community itself, and for this reason, the course is truly an exciting place to be. Thanks of course, also go to Tom Begg and Phil Gomm for organising and collecting the huge list of works together, each day gathering paintings to display for all.

In terms of my own experience so far, I have been thrilled to work on such a strange but unique project. The abstract response that I often found to the music was a delight and a genuine chance to lose some of my inhibitions. The last few weeks have been busy, with painting, modeling and freelance projects taking up time. But this daily ritual of simply responding became a meditative retreat. It has allowed me to take some time away from more formalised studies and embrace the artsy world of abstract reaction.

Above I've compiled all 20 images I created during the 10 day period. I hope they are all diverse in their own way, but also that they respond in a creative way to the sound. Either way, I'm looking forward hugely to developing animation from the large archive of paintings we now have. The abstract impressionism of this speed paint challenge lends itself perfectly to creating unique visuals. The next stage of the project will be the magical moment when still images start to take on life. I am very confident that we can create something utterly enthralling. Animation at it's simplest but most powerful.

So, again, thank you to everyone involved. Keep updated as the project moves forward. You can find out more (as well as view the complete compilation of speed paintings) at the ACT blog.

ACT - Speed Painting Abstract Day 10

The final two abstract speed paintings from Day 10 of the ACT project. This has been a superb experience, just being able to lose some of the sensibilities and constraints that I often impose on myself was a great feeling.

I also created another speed painting in response to Day 07. This was partly because I only had the chance to create one earlier this week, but also because it would give me an opportunity to revisit the music with a fresh mind.

I will post a recap tomorrow, showing all 20 paintings together and give my impressions on how this first stage of the project has gone. To find out more about the project as a whole, visit the ACT blog.

ACT - Speed Painting Abstract Day 09

The penultimate set of speed paintings for the ACT project. Another upbeat section of music which caused this outburst of colour.

The final set of paintings will be posted tomorrow, along with some reflections on the past two weeks.

ACT - Speed Painting Abstract Day 08

The paintings from day 08 of ACT, now that we are almost reaching the end point of the speed paintings it is great to see such a broad range of work. I'll be posting some impressions and thanks on everyone's input soon.

I'm already starting to see how parts of this animation could play out, so it's definitely an exciting time. More paintings from a new sequence of music coming tonight.