Violin Render

Modeled and rendered Lou's violin. I worked with HDRI Lighting and Final Gather in Mental Ray. Turned out pretty well. Any comments are welcome.

Rigged and Violin

Well, I got Lou rigged. And I modeled a violin here. I was also playing around with post production ideas (hence the film grain). I ran into a bit of a problem, but I think I discovered a makeshift solution. I was actually going to lay all the UVs out by hand, but since my character was already rigged, i wasn't able to mirror them. I decided that was too much to do and I am going to use the pelting tool as it won't matter since i am painting the texture in zbrush. After I get all the UVs laid out, it's time to get into the fun stuff and start to sculpt details into Lou. Also, I am going to start creating some environments.

Revised Story, yes again, but this one is better

Lou is in a room vigorously playing violin as the camera pans through a wall of plaques and photos of the Atwater Mob’s menacing of the city. The camera then slowly pans through newspaper articles that notate Lou, and his violin Rita, winning several Atwater Classical festivals. The camera then finally settles on the intense passion of Lou’s face as he plucks away at Rita. Drifting away from Lou playing the title screen is shown.

Lou abruptly stops at the sound of a door slamming shut and the booming voices of those in the next room. Lou slowly sets down his violin next to his case and quickly heads over to the wall to place his ear upon. Lou over hears two voices, Big Boss and Lanky;

Lanky: Boss, I think that man saw the drugs we were smuggling. He for sure will turn us in. There's no doubt about it boss...
Big Boss: That was just Ester, Lou's old violin teacher. He's old and decrepit, We'll have Lou take him out before he squeals. We've been doing this business for years. We're the Atwater Mob, Lanky, we can never get caught smuggling these drugs. This town is just fish in a barrel.
Lanky: But Boss, are you sure I mean Ester could -
Big Boss: Lanky! Let Lou know, and make sure he does it.

Lou hears footsteps coming nearer and scrambles into the chair as the door opens. Lanky exclaims, "Lou, did you hear that? You know what you have to do." Lou nods as the door shuts behind Lanky. Lou is left beside himself. Painful flashbacks flush before Lou’s eyes on his relationship with Ester. Pushing the feelings aside, Lou slowly gets up and walks to a table that holds Rita (his violin), a violin case, and a Tommy gun. Lou opens the violin case and slowly reaches for the Tommy gun. He stops abruptly and begins to put the Tommy gun back in its place after some hesitation. Flashbacks flash behind his eyes and upon careful consideration, Lou picks up the Tommy Gun again. (Cut)

The next scene is Lou’s figure silhouetted on the floor in front of an open doorway with case in hand. He enters the hallway and down the hall. At the end of the hall sitting the shadows is Lanky:

Lanky: I see you have your instrument, huh Lou. [followed by a hoarse chuckle].

The chuckle fades as Lou heads down the stairs and into the streets. A Left here and a Right here and Lou finally arrives at "Ester's: A Violin Shop". Lou sets his his violin down on the table outside and unlatches the case. Lou knocks two times and waits for Ester. Cut to Lou reaching towards case, cut to door opening, cut to Lou's hand getting closer, cut to the door opening again, back to the case and finally to the door.

-CUT-

From Lou's POV, a newspaper is lifted into view with the headline "Local Violin Teacher Ester Eckleberry turns Big Boss of the Atwater Mob into the feds for smuggling drugs in the harbor". A hand then rests on Lou's shoulder, Lou looks up to Ester and then slowly out over the top of his newspaper.

The camera the pans up from Lous POV and put into focus is where Lou left the Tommy Gun. Zoom slowly into the Tommy Gun.
Roll Credits

My Graphic Novel is done!!!

So, I just finished my Graphic Novel, "Reassemble". My buddy, Peter Barlow wrote it and I illustrated it. I am currently awaiting a prototyped book to see if it prints correctly. So, don't purchase a print copy yet, but if you would like a copy now you can purchase a downloadable pdf at http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=1407249. I'll post when the print copy will be available. Thanks guys and let me know what you think!!!

Texturing a high res Lou

Started texturing Lou today. This is the high res version with the correct topology and uv layout. I also blocked in the body, really roughly in maya, but got bored with it and moved on to alpha detailing and texturing Lou's head. The hat I also remodeled to look like a proper gangster fedora and not a shitty attempt at it, lol. Haven't touched the eyes yet or textured the hat. Things seem to be going a little more smoothly right now and hopefully I will be done modeling Lou before the holidays.

Topology and UV Layout for Lou

Wow, If you ever get the chance to try and redo topology within Zbrush, don't. It took me about 6 hours or so to redo my topology and get correct edgeflow. Without going in gritty details, it is just way better to construct a base model within maya, LAYOUT THE UVs, then import into Zbrush. So anyway, I redid my topology within Zbrush, took it back into maya for clean up and laid out the UVs with the pelting tool. I lost a little bit of detail when i did so, but thats alright, i want to resculpt some things anyway. When I was first sculpting, i had a model that wasn't symmetric, but this time i decided i would try and cut my work in half by retaining symmetry. I wont have a tooth, but i think i may be able to add a subtool and import it into maya with some sort of constraint to where it would follow the mouth. Anyway, enough with the technical things, it seems like i wasted 6 hours or so retracing what i should have done in the first place. And the funny thing is I actually didn't really do anything to alter the appearance of lou, lol. But making sure i have the correct edgflow will make the rigging stage go a lot smoother.

Rough Script

FADE IN:

INT. SMALL STUFFY ROOM - MIDNIGHT

(slow camera pan on wall, Long Shot)
Lou is in a room vigorously playing violin as the camera pans through a wall of plaques and photos of the Atwater Mob’s menacing of the city. The camera then slowly pans through newspaper articles that notate Lou, and his violin Rita, winning several Atwater Classical festivals. The camera then finally settles on the intense passion of Lou’s face as he plucks away at Rita. Drifting away from Lou playing, the title screen is shown.

CUT - (Close-up):
Lou abruptly stops at the sound of a door slamming shut and the booming voices of those in the next room.

CUT - (Medium Shot):
Lou slowly sets down his violin next to his case and quickly heads over to the wall to place his ear upon.

CUT - (Close up, XCO)
Lou over hears his brother, Big Boss exclaiming that an old man nosing around the harbor saw something he shouldn’t have.

BIG BOSS (OS)

Some Old Man just saw something he shouldn't have!

LANKY (OS)

That was just Ester, a local violin teacher and he ain't nothing to worry about boss.

BIG BOSS (OS)

Well, tonight, Ester will be swimming with the fishes! Wasn’t that old man Lou’s violin teacher? Have Lou dispose of him. Lou has the connections to get the job done.


CUT - Medium Shot:
(Lou hears footsteps coming nearer and scrambles into the chair as the door opens. Lanky appears in the doorway as a silhouette)

LANKY (OS)

Lou, did you hear that? You know what you have to do

CUT - (Close-up)
(Lou nods as the door shuts behind Lanky. Lou is left beside himself.)

CUT - (XCO)
(Painful flashbacks flush before Lou’s eyes on his relationship with Ester.)

CUT - Long Shot
(Pushing the feelings aside, Lou slowly gets up and walks to a table that holds Rita (his violin), a violin case, and a Tommy gun.)

CUT - Close-up
Lou slowly reaches for the Tommy gun.

CUT - Medium Shot
He stops abruptly and begins to put the Tommy gun back in its place after some hesitation.

FADE CUT - Long Shot facing door
(Lou’s figure silhouetted on the floor in front of an open doorway with case in hand)

He enters the hallway and the camera pans to where the case once sat. On top of the Tommy gun is a police report signed by Ester and Lou with a photo attached of Big Boss smuggling drugs within the harbor. With a few seconds hesitation for the audience to read the police report, the paper is lit with the red and blue of the police car that resides outside. The police finally caught him.

FADE OUT:
(The animation fades as Lou is heard playing his violin upon the street below with a conversing different sounding violin assumed to be Ester. Credits begin to roll.)

Graphic Novel

I've been working on compiling a graphic novel since late August. My buddy, Peter Barlow wrote the story, but has yet to be revised. Currently, I am illustrating a few paragraphs at a time with one double page spread image. Each image takes anywhere from 6 hours to sometimes 10 hours. I have 8 right now. I plan on having 15 done and actually printing the book before the semester ends (Dec). So, anyway, this is what I have so far:

Lots of new things for the animation

So, I've been working a lot lately on getting things up and going. Currently, Lou is only in a blocked in state. I have a lot more of work to do with him. Just wanted to show some of the process through my modeling stages. The topology and edgeflow is completely wrong, which is why I am not showing a wireframe. I am hoping to use ZBrush's topology tools to redo the geometry when I am finised modeling. I hope this doesn't kick me in the ass later. Besides modeling, I did a lot of work on the story and I feel a little more confident on the direction it is heading. So, hopefully from now on it will only be small revisions. So, below is what I have been thinking lately:

Expanded Premise

"Lou" is a short, animated film for teens and young adults, about an awkward mobster that is asked to carry out a hit on his childhood violin teacher.

Upon the harbor, Big Boss and his henchmen have menaced the city of Atwater for quite sometime. International drug mules have permeated the city walls. The city has lost all control. Lou is looking for a way to pursue his passion of playing violin without being chastised, or worse, killed by his fellow mobsters. Lou is left with a decision between good and bad, passion and family, and ultimately a choice to de-crown the mob and their utter dominance.

Computer Animated, wonderfully modeled, and intelligently textured, the production of "Lou" captivates an audience in pure suspense and is beautifully accompanied with a score from a true violinist.

Why feel any discontent for your passion? "Lou" exemplifies the power of choice. Without a solid continuation of passion, the world is left empty in the hands of the irrational. "Lou" carries the audience through a vivid showcase and the simple truth; the persistence of a passion.

A Character Description: Lou

Lou is the mobster brother of the Big Boss and is unwillingly in the family business. Being tall, skinny and unsocial, Lou has become very socially awkward and speaks very little. Lou is decked out in an expensive suit that he wears with the sleeves rolled up with a sly fedora resting upon his crown. He has but one love in his life; playing his violin named Rita. He was given Rita as an heirloom of the Great William Jenkins from his childhood violin teacher, Ester. Unfortunately, he unwillingly participates in the family endeavors to stay alive. If he would neglect his duties, he would no longer be able to play Rita. So, he does so in fear of parting from Rita.

A Character Description: Ester

Ester is a charismatic violin teacher that has an absolute love for spreading his passion. With such a love for music, he obtained a Rita, a violin from the great William Jenkins, an elite composer from years before. Feeling that his end is near he lives his dreams through a talented young musician, Lou. He gives Rita to him in hopes that it’ll take him further than where he has been. Now that Lou is grown up, Ester spends his days visualizing what could have been and hopes Lou will accomplish what he did not.

A Character Description: Big Boss
Big Boss is the older brother of Lou and is the head of the mob. He is an absolute dictator and will stop at nothing. He is power hungry and will do anything to stay on top. He admitted Lou into the mob because it has become a family tradition. Even though he feels Lou is one concrete block away from drowning a man, Big Boss keeps him around to tie up his loose ends.

Story in Paragraph form

Lou is in a room vigorously playing violin as the camera pans through a wall of plaques and photos of the Atwater Mob’s menacing of the city. The camera then slowly pans through newspaper articles that notate Lou, and his violin Rita, winning several Atwater Classical festivals. The camera then finally settles on the intense passion of Lou’s face as he plucks away at Rita. Drifting away from Lou playing the title screen is shown.

Lou abruptly stops at the sound of a door slamming shut and the booming voices of those in the next room. Lou slowly sets down his violin next to his case and quickly heads over to the wall to place his ear upon. Lou over hears his brother, Big Boss exclaiming that an old man nosing around the harbor saw something he shouldn’t have. Another mobster, Lanky, exclaims that was just Ester, a local violin teacher and that he shouldn’t be anything to worry about. Big Boss insists that Ester must be taken care of in order to preserve the status that the Atwater mob has obtained. Big Boss notes, "Wasn’t that old man Lou’s violin teacher? Have Lou dispose of him. Lou has the connections to get the job done". Lou hears footsteps coming nearer and scrambles into the chair as the door opens.

Lanky exclaims, "Lou, did you hear that? You know what you have to do." Lou nods as the door shuts behind Lanky. Lou is left beside himself. Painful flashbacks flush before Lou’s eyes on his relationship with Ester. Pushing the feelings aside, Lou slowly gets up and walks to a table that holds Rita (his violin), a violin case, and a Tommy gun. Lou slowly reaches for the Tommy gun as a tear rolls down his cheek. He stops abruptly and begins to put the Tommy gun back in its place after some hesitation.

The next scene is Lou’s figure silhouetted on the floor in front of an open doorway with case in hand. He enters the hallway and the camera pans to where the case once sat. On top of the Tommy gun is a police report signed by Ester and Lou with a photo attached of Big Boss smuggling drugs within the harbor. With a few seconds hesitation for the audience to read the police report, the paper is lit with the red and blue of the police car that resides outside. The police finally caught him. The animation fades as Lou is heard playing his violin upon the street below with a conversing different sounding violin (assumed to be Ester). Credits begin to roll.

Lou - The Face Block in

Just a quick block in of Lou's face. I haven't really done anything with edge flow, but that is my next step. I'll redo the topology in ZBrush (hopefully, if not then in maya) and begin to sculpt Lou further. At least he looks like the concept drawing, lol. Also, I have changed my story again...I still haven't found something that works, but once i do it'll be on here.

Another Animation Test

This is another animation test. This one was a jump test. Its not too bad, I think at a later time that I will go in and refine it. But its done for now. For those viewing this on facebook, the video only shows up on blogger. To see the video go to http://silasi.blogspot.com.

Animation Test

Here is an animation exercise that I have been working on. It is far from done, more so in a blocking stage. Still haven't added any secondary motion, keep alive, or polish. Simply put, I am long way from done. He is standing in line and then notices a 100 dollar bill on the floor and goes to pick it up.

Revised Model Sheet

I worked out a few more details on Lou. I think this is good enough to start modeling him. I think I am planning to try and change the mesh on an existing rig and set up more own facial rig. Or maybe theres a way I can use the existing mesh to drive my mesh...I guess i'll just have to do some experimenting and figure out what we'll make my life easier. Anyway, just thought I'd show the revised model sheet.

Revised Story and Character Concept

Lou

1. Lou, a mobster that just finished a job down the street, sits in his chair in his small one-bedroom apartment swatting flies.
2. As Lou polishes and slips his gun into his holder, Police lights shine through the open window.
3. Lou prepares to make his last stand and walks to the window where 6 or 7 violin cases are stacked and peaks out past the curtain.
4. Lou reaches to open a case, but hesitates and choses another that contains a violin.
5. The crackle of a megaphone telling him that "this is it" sounds as Lou starts to play the violin beautifully.
6. The music elevates and Lou plays even more vigorously until the strings break.
7. A rustle of bullets outside the window are heard as the credits begin to roll.
   

I revised my story and surprising enough it has nothing to do with a toothbrush. I feel that this story is a bit stronger, and as always crits are welcome. The model sheet is an early version of my character, but i still have a lot of work to do before I really figure him out.

Mind Map

A mind map is a tool to helping your thoughts, more so a stream of conscious, out onto a piece of paper. I started out with a toothbrush in the middle due to what my premise is about and just let the ideas flow. After considering my 7 sentence story, I think I may try and change some things around. More info about mind maps can be found here. We were asked to make a mind map for our animation class and heres the outcome:

..::And the Animation Begins::..

There comes a time in every modeler's life that he must take a break from modeling (feels like i just got started and now i have to switch gears). Anyway, this year is devoted to my animation. I'll be doing modeling and imaging on the side, but the animation takes priority. So, I am currently in the Story Development of my animation now. So far, this is what I have been thinking:

The young husband swallows his toothbrush – My Premise

1. Guy brushes teeth in the mirror of his bathroom.
2. An attractive female wife dressed in sexy lingerie walks by and then drops her night grown in front of the bathroom door.
3. Guy gets excited of what is to come and accidentally swallows his toothbrush
4. Guy tries to get toothbrush out with hand, but doesn’t manage to get it out
5. He resorts to desperate measures and uses odd bathroom items to fish out the toothbrush
6. He goes into a panic and irrationally begins to bounce around the bathroom until he hits a towel rack knocking him unconscious. The impact sends the toothbrush flying.
7. Next scene is in a dimly lit bedroom and the wife is asleep in bed. The guy crawls in and smiles huge revealing brilliant white teeth that illuminate the room and the scene cuts.

So, Obviously this needs a lot of work, but I have a whole semester to develop it. Any ideas or suggestions are gladly welcomed at this point. I wanted to keep it simple and do a comedic animation so that we I can concentrate on Character Design, Story, and Animation rather the drudging over a "unique concept". Oh, and on a side note, my friend Jacob Gardner got an animation job with Dreamworks and is moving out to Cali in a couple of weeks. He graduated in May from BG. So, I just wanted to extend a congratulations to him. I'll write more about my animation soon...

It's 5 o'clock somewhere...

Added some hair in photoshop and a 5 o'clock shadow. Cleaned up the skin a little and I think I am calling the "bust finished for now".

Further Detail and Texturing

Not a lot to say, just put some eyes in. Learned how to apply different materials to different subtools. It was actually quite easy. I started adding some wrinkles and began trying to make the skin not look so much like plastic. Still have a little while to go...as usual...

Texturing the bust

I started texturing the face in ZBrush 3. I've been playing a little with material settings to get a semi-realistic skin shader. I don't think i can get the results that mental ray would, but its not too bad. I need to learn a lot more about the material section and metCap features that ZBrush has to offer. Lighting needs a lot of work, but i won't start playing with that until its time for my final render. I found a little trick too with rendering which gets rid of the aliasing around my object, it has come in pretty handy. So, It's getting there and I'm learning tons right now. I need to learn how to assign different materials to different sub tools. so, I'm off to figure that out now. Let me know what you guys think...

Concept Sketch

Heres the concept sketch I should have posted much earlier in this process...I had it drawn, just havn't gotten around to scanning it in...anyway, here it is.