Jack Le Sack

Hey all

Busy doing the first rigging and animation with camera work at college. No one is really here today on account on people down and out with sickness. Just thought i'd show some shots of the animation. 

The storyboard really, it's simple but been quite challenging and a lot of fun.  So here's the general idea and when the animation is completely finished i'll post it up :D

Hope you enjoy

Regards

Francis

SPOILER

THERE WILL BE SPIKES

ORIGINAL CHARACTER DO NOT STEAL

You know, i've noticed a rather startling trend.

On websites such as the ever-popular Deviantart there seems to be ample amounts of false praise and ass-kissing to such degrees that I begin to worry about the oral-hygiene of most of the users there.

(Note: I am in no way trying to insinuate I am better than artists on deviantart, there are many talented artists there much better than I am now *insert apology for the impending rant*)

One thing stands out, above the awful anthromorphic drawings and  the plagiarized characters to hell and back (I'm looking at you  X The hedgehog #1235125135)  it's the remarkable lack of ability to take criticism  or critique I should say.  If someone critiques your work and finds something out of place it seems to be common knowledge that they are immediately worse than Satan and want to kill your firstborn, it also seems customary that you immediately have to disregard what they are trying to tell you by using the forbidden words:

"It's my style."

Now there are many, many, MANY things about this statement that make me want to stab my groin with a broken beer bottle. First and foremost being that 9 times out of 10 people completely disregard the advice given to them and continue to make the same BAD mistakes and cover it up under pretense of style. I myself have done this in the past, as much as it pains me to realize and only fairly recently have I figured out something quite simple.

Animation / cartoons = Exaggerated normality

Therefore if one is to get better at cartoons they should first learn the basics of realism;aldskdnga;sdkngsadg

Sorry about that I lost interest in what I was saying.

In short

Know the rules so you can break them properly and also remember if you want critique and someone finds many things out with your precious drawing. They are not trying to harm you, only help.

In retrospect after reading what I just wrote I really do need to learn to follow my own advice, maybe then i'd improve faster. ... That's for another time, now to make some coffee

Happy 1st of May Day

Regards

Francis

Army Compound Bump Mapping

Howdy

Today I started on Bump Mapping.

From the information and instructions they gave me the goal of the assignment was:

•Applying a basic material to change an object’s color or shininess (the oil tanks and the fence piping)
•Applying a 3D procedural map to create a patterned material (the generators and the sentry bar)
•Applying a Diffuse or “texture” map to give an object a photorealistic pattern (the ammunition canister, the terrain, and almost all of the building surfaces)
•Using the UVW Map modifier to control the projection, orientation, and scale of texture mapping
We also showed how to copy UVW Map from one object to another when the objects share the same material.

•Using bump mapping to give a 3D appearance to a textured material (most of the materials on the buildings)
•Using opacity mapping to make a material partially transparent (the chain-link fence)
•Using the object-space Mapscaler modifier to project a map onto a complicated shape (the roof of the house)


I think I did pretty well. Was a fun excercise, attached are the before and after pictures.

What they gave me to start off with and what I ended up producing:

Getting used to the program is coming along smoothly and I can't wait to start the actual course, almost finished the bunch of tutorials they gave me.

See ya later

-Francis

___________________________________________________

Music: Two Steps from Hell - Black Blade

More Animation

 Well, Started on bipedal motion today! (on 2 hours worth of sleep) A fun task but quite a mouthful to handle :D

The two videos that I uploaded are basic walking motion with some added sway to the hips and some bouncing of the knees to add a more natural feel as well as some arm motion. All in all, it was great fun and an educational experience.







Trying to get a headstart before I start the course on February 7th. Also got a few sketches coming up, and doing some sketches for my friend David's stories over at Insane Amok

See ya tomorrow


________

Music: Celldweller -Tainted 

Bouncy Ball

I did an animation! How about that.





And here's a picture of the work in progress:

Helmets and Girlfriends

Got some pictures for you! 

Been trying my hand at 3d, and while I've only just started, I figured you might want to see this viking helmet.

And as a special bonus, a picture of my lovely girlfriend, Meg. 

A 'Steamy' Update

So....

Things are going to be a little rough with me of late, been battling to get everything up and going with the entire blogging thing. With the exclusion of much of my previous work I'm afraid I don't have much to show and I won't have much to show for a few weeks yet. You see I'm moving from Durban (South Africa) To Johannesburg. (same country just 9 hours drive).

Busy organizing my affairs and putting everything in order proves to be quite challenging as well as scary.

In the end, it's my one and only shot to follow my dreams and become a 3d designer and animator, it's the one and only shot that I have. It's either this or study another course that I hate for 3 years, finish it, find a job (That I hate), drive a car (That I hate), to the same workplace with the same people (That I hate) and go home to a house (That I hate) and most probably to a family (That at that point i'd hate as well).

It's not easy, full time student during the day time and waitering / odd jobs to pay rent at night.

In other news, I bought myself a spiffy A5 sketchpad :D  So I can sketch around and draw easier, just because it's small doesn't mean it can't be good.

Now that I've fascinated you with a thrilling life story i'll take me leave. But first, a screenshot of 3ds max and the fabled teapot. Starting to learn my way around the program before the course. Seems only logical that if I have the time beforehand and the tools at my disposal. I might as well learn to use it.