A documentary of excitement

Staircase

2012-01-26T17:45:00.001-08:00

More color scripts for Jordan Hess' film "Puppy Love". The concept is as wacky as the images imply...

Codex

2012-01-10T17:22:00.000-08:00

For my environmental look/development class. Model still needs a lot of work, but here's the geometry so far. This will be fully modeled, textured, lit, with a simple animated rotation.

One month, two weeks until SCAD's career fair. Bring on the preassure...

In Limbo

2012-01-08T10:31:00.001-08:00

Promotional piece in Photoshop to kick off the new quarter.

2012-01-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm back in Savannah I can finally get back to modelling. I started this last November but had to take a break while finals kicked my ass (and then I went home for a month). Still have a long way to go with this, but for my first car model I'm happy with it so far.

And it's based on my own 2005 Trailblazer.

There is a Light that Never Goes Out

2012-01-04T09:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas present of Morrissey (of The Smiths) for a good friend of mine. Graphite and pen on bristol board.

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

2011-12-16T10:29:00.000-08:00

Layout artwork for the ever talented
Bridget Underwood's thesis film "MOA".

Just to update...

Treefingers

2011-11-21T09:14:00.000-08:00

There's something very relaxing and almost therapeutic about modeling. Especially when you have a good reference to work from, and you don't have to obsess over trial and error and guesswork (a process I hit all the time when doing concept art). Just moving around polygons, and pressing the render button.

Anyways, this is a project I started over the summer and want to get back to now that my quarter is over. Work in progress of my 2005 Chevy Trailblazer (because there's already enough red Ferrari models out there).

Quartz

2011-11-15T12:54:00.000-08:00

Final character render (and original concept art I did this September). Even though I could keep working this up forever, I'm calling it complete for at least this quarter. Between all of the render issues, UV maps going crazy, and trying to animate with a broken rig, I'm very glad to be done. Despite all the problems, I've learned so much this quarter and can't wait to continue working on my film come winter break.

Nothing Ever Happened

2011-11-10T18:33:00.000-08:00

First test with Maya hair/fur. Not as hard as I thought it would be, but animating it is going to be a pain since I have no idea how to animate hair.

Will figure it out as I go...

Disorder

2011-11-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: I hate the ears. I will remodel them after my class ends. Also, the hair is temporary, and I need to fix the displacement over the eyebrow. All that aside, I've developed a love for texture painting. It's a nice middle-ground between my 2D roots and this whole 3D thing. After struggling with it for the first few weeks of this quarter, I'm finally hitting my stride, though there's still so much more to learn. The technique I've found best is to use a 3D paint program (Bodypaint 3D or Zbrush) to paint in the main textures (and paint over UV seams) and then do the rest in Photoshop (which is of course the most natural for me).

More work will be updated soon.

Calx

2011-11-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

Speedpaint in Photoshop, just to post something new.

Dashboard

2011-10-19T17:51:00.000-07:00

Another work in progress render. Despite all of the frustration in trying to get a displacement map to work properly, texturing is rather fun. More stuff soon...

Farewell Fire

2011-10-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

Sub-surface scattering test rendered in mental ray. Sub-surface scattering is what's responsible for the light penetrating the skin giving it that pink glow (obviously apparent on the ears). I still have to texture and do displacement maps, but I'm pleased with how this is coming so far. Except for the mesh on the ear... I will definitively be remodeling that sooner than later. The character will be finished in a couple weeks, as will the robot counterpart that I've posted a few times already.

The cliff image below is the final poster design for "Legacy", a thesis film at SCAD which will be completed sometime at the end of the year.

So much work, so little time...

Open the Light

2011-09-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Concept color script for a friend's film, depicting a tranquil yet subtly surreal world. Will be posting a few more of these at a later date.

Wash Away

2011-09-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

K Model nearly complete, bring on unwrapping/UVing (the most boring process ever) and then texturing! All this stuff is new to me, so we'll see how it turns out.

I have a bunch of new stuff I'll be posting over the next few days. Stay tuned...!

Sawdust & Diamonds

2011-08-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

Another work in progress render, although I'm wrapping up the modeling process soon. I redesigned the feet to make them compliment the "head" better. The hands I'm not satisfied with, and will probably redesign from scratch.

Ol' 55

2011-08-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

Work in progress. The hard part isn't modeling it, but modeling it knowing it's going to be rigged. While everything should be fine, I can't help but think that I'm going to run into tech problems later on. At least I'm starting this early...

Will post more once I'm finished with the entire mesh.

The View

2011-08-06T18:18:00.000-07:00

Spent the weekend in San Francisco, and got to see the whole Lucasfilm facility. I can't even begin to express how impressed I was with all of it, and everyone was so good at everything! I hope to get back out west soon. Beats the 100+ degree days in Savannah, I'm surprised I haven't gotten heatstroke yet.

Quick Photoshop painting. Spent a little over an hour on it. Really need to start working in oils again.

Tuba

2011-07-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

I promise I have more existing work in Maya coming soon...

Tales of a Scorched Earth

2011-07-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

Concept art for my thesis film. Nearly finished with it. Modeling it is going to be a pain in the ass.

I have a lot more work that I'm going to be uploading over the next few days.

2011-07-09T17:04:00.000-07:00

Work in progress render for my modeling class. Just a watch for the first assignment, but these will progressively get more fun.

2011-06-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

Near final cliff design for "Legecy", heavily inspired by Taormina Sicily (one of my favorite places, ever). Next step is the model sheets...

2011-06-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

Some rough "mood sketches" for another senior film at SCAD just starting production. I'll refine some of these later today.

2011-06-08T18:09:00.001-07:00

Some quick-ish concept art for "Legacy", a senior film at Savannah College of Art and Design that's currently in production.

Missed the Boat

2011-06-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

If god existed, then he probably sculpted us with Zbrush.

Final render for class, will post more later.

From the Morning

2011-05-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

Yarn! from doug h on Vimeo.

Just thought I'd share this. From a rotoscopeing assignment I had a few weeks back. It was fun, though it took forever. Used my hands as reference.

...and the stars are projectors

2011-05-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

Summer in Savannah is right around the corner, the temperature is slowly rising, and the humidity is becoming more and more intense. Days of cliff jumping, hiking, and all that good outdoor stuff that I'd do in Connecticut are slowly turning to nostalgic times to look back upon. Not going to lie, I miss it. Still, I'm looking forward to spending the summer down here at the beach, taking fun classes, and hanging out with good people, exc

Anyways, here's more concept art for "Box". Design is slowly moving toward completion. The other unnamed character will be next. Both models will be completed by the summer's end, then textured/mapped in the "character look/development" class I'm taking in the fall. Animation will start next spring, and the film will hopefully be done at the end of next summer/fall. Though, that plan could all change, who knows! Either way, I love all the work I'm doing down here. SCAD's animation department is not perfect, but the amount I've learned in the past few months, and the people I've met make me realize that I'm in a great spot right now.

Heart Cooks Brain

2011-05-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

More character sketches, with plenty of visual inconsistencies. I'll fix it all later.

Hands Away

2011-05-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

Some concept sketches for "Box". Not sure how well this character will translate into a 3D model, but I'll find out this summer. I'm planning a complex facial rig for the unusual set of expressions this character will generate. We'll see how it all turns out...

Isolation Years

2011-05-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

Started as a speedpaint in Photoshop, ended up spending about two hours on it. Might keep rendering it up if I have the time. Not sure how I feel about the power-lines...

Alright

2011-05-10T05:33:00.000-07:00

Renders of finished model in Zbrush.

Sleepwalking

2011-05-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

Here's my second attempt at a finished model in Zbrush. I paid a lot more attention to ensuring the anatomy was accurate, and while the muscles still need a lot of tweaking, it's far superior to my first model two weeks ago. Still need to fix up some issues (hands, feet, and the ear especially). Will post more once completely done.

Life Like Weeds

2011-04-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

Skottie-Young inspired art for my thesis film which I'll be starting next fall. Can't wait to begin this thing...

A Touch Of...

2011-04-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

The complex user interface of Z-Brush is slowly becoming less and less intimidating the more I work with it. Though, it's still a (huge) headache sometimes... Anyways, here's a render of the model I'm working on. Going to be starting another one soon, which I hope to make a lot better.

Never did I think I'd enjoy 3D modeling/digital sculpting this much. I'll have more 2D work up soon though.

Styrofoam Boots

2011-04-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

Z-Brush test render for the body. Still working in detail.

Low Rising

2011-04-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

You don't appreciate how hard it is to cross the uncanny valley until you try modeling something realistically. And of course, animating it takes that appreciation one step further. I have no desire to rig/animate this, modeling is challenge enough (for now). Still, happy with how it's coming so far. One of the final test renders in Maya before Z-Brush and UV texturing begins.

Either/Or

2011-04-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

Due thursday for class. Final shot of the body mesh in Maya before unwrapping and UV texturing begins, then time for Z-Brush (the fun part).

Maya and Z-Brush work so well together...

Five Leaves Left

2011-04-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

Work in progress. Final model will be built low-poly in Maya, then finished off with Z-Brush. Model sheet by me.

Crow

2011-03-16T09:44:00.001-07:00

Still working this up. All Photoshop.

I need a computer that can run Maya/mental ray properly...

Parting of the Sensory

2011-03-10T12:38:00.000-08:00

Model is a work in progress, plan on rigging and animating sometime next month. I'll post more renders once the geometry is actually complete.

Cannot wait until finals end. So much work, so little (none) time.

8 AM Animation Thesis

2011-03-09T06:56:00.000-08:00

*yawn*

Spittin' Venom

2011-03-05T19:09:00.000-08:00

So the idea clouds for my thesis film next year are slowly forming and taking shape. The illustration I did last year (on the left) forms the basis for a character, and the whole mood.

Of course, with so much time between now, and pre-production, things could change. Still, I'm glad I have ideas forming. I'm excited for this.

Twenty Four Hours

2011-02-27T10:59:00.000-08:00

mental ray render for the base, painted in Photoshop. Might do a step by step one of these days. Might not.

March into the Sea

2011-02-23T22:48:00.000-08:00

Work in progress for class. Maya model, mental ray render, Photoshop painting on top of it all.

I love being able to go to the the beach in the middle of the winter.

Myxomatosis

2011-02-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

Just a preview.

Still Light

2011-02-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

Rone-Mesh WIP modeled in Maya, edited in Photoshop a little.

Raindance

2011-02-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

Concept art for another thesis film I'm working on. More on this as the things progress...

Search of Delicious

2011-01-31T18:47:00.000-08:00

First real attempt at (polygonal) modeling in Maya. So much more time consuming than Z-Brush, but I'm kinda getting fond of the slow process of moving vertexes around. Going to be doing a few faces, a T pose, and something environmental for my modeling class.

And on a side note, thank god for modern medicine...

Wallpaper

2011-01-26T16:26:00.000-08:00

Model sheet for modeling class. Going to probably mess this up...

I've Got it All (most)

2011-01-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

Not my usual drawing style, but this was fun. About an hour and a half on one of the Cintiq tablets at school.

Odal

2011-01-15T19:25:00.000-08:00

Not sure if I like this or not, but I'm posting it since I haven't drawn anything figurative in ages.

Photoshop, few hours of work. Canvas texture thrown on top to ~~hide my poor brush work~~ make it look more like an oil painting.

Dunno why Georgia is so fraking cold right now.

Gnash

2011-01-12T12:09:00.000-08:00

More renders.

YPR

2011-01-11T15:35:00.000-08:00

Model made entirely from NURBS primitives in Maya, rendered using mental ray.

Taking a modeling class this quarter, so expect a lot more of this.

Ascension Day

2011-01-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

Quick speedpaint on one of the Cintiq tablets at school. Can't tell if I like this or not. Little over an hour...

Mellothumb

2011-01-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

I struggle with every piece of artwork I do to one extent or another, especially with establishing a composition. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot... but not with this one. Started this at around 11 AM, finished at 4. Mostly finished, but I'll prob hit it with some more detail before I put it on my website.

Happy '11 to the few who actually read this blog. Bring on another new year.

The Beautiful Days

2011-01-04T12:59:00.000-08:00

Bring on 2011. This semester begins...

...Aesthetics in 3D animation
3D modeling
Working 2 student thesis films (both of which are going to be awesome)
A large commission doing 4 urban designs/illustrations, each fully rendered...

...and of course my day job, and still trying to go out and party at night.

And here's a quick lighting composition for one of the two films that I've been tweaking...

2nd Pass

2010-12-31T11:42:00.001-08:00

Rendering, and texturing. Still not done yet though.

The Unknown Guest

2010-12-30T09:29:00.000-08:00

Started off as a speedpaint of a robot, but ended up turning into (almost) fanart for Bioshock.

About an hour and a half - two hours in photoshop.

Burden of Tomorrow

2010-12-23T19:42:00.000-08:00

Band of the moment: Tallest Man on Earth (not technically a band, it's just one dude)

Art of the moment (which is very unfinished)

Temporary Fault

2010-12-19T22:28:00.000-08:00

Speedpaint, about an hour. Will fully render this if I have the time...

Drawn up using the same method as my last.

Whitewash

2010-12-18T08:47:00.001-08:00

My computer can run Maya 2011, but barely. No point trying to animate if the computer can't stop lagging. I need something more powerful...

Speedpaint from last night, about 30 minutes.

Where are you going?

2010-12-07T20:19:00.000-08:00

Totally botched this by saving the reduced sized, flattened image over the PSD file which contained all the individual layers and paths... don't you hate when that happens?

Logo for the band Medicine Lake from Baltimoar Maryland, check them out.

White Light

2010-12-05T18:25:00.000-08:00

Concept art for a friend (and very skilled animator)'s film HEPHAESTUS, currently in production. I'm going to be doing various environmental designs. This is the first, with many to come.

Film's gonna be awesome...

Sloop John B

2010-11-28T20:52:00.000-08:00

Started teaching myself ZBrush today for the first time, and this is what I ended up with (after I painted it in Photoshop, of course).

ZBrush is an incredible program, I've completely fallen in love with it, and even grown accustom to it's odd interface (odd compared to Maya at least).

Planning on doing a few character portraits in this style, this one not included.

Time to sleep.

The Watcher's Monolith

2010-11-24T11:20:00.000-08:00

Autumn has finally arrived in Savannah Georgia, two months later then I'm used to, but the temperatures are finally bearable (to me anyways).

Started listening to the new Agalloch album... then this happened. Still pushing/pulling values on it though, but I plan on finishing it completely.

Mind/Body/Light/Sound

2010-11-21T22:18:00.000-08:00

First quarter of grad school is finished. I've never learned so much in such a short amount of time. I plan on making a post summing it all up within the next week or so, and will also be announcing a big project of mine I'm about to start with two classmates shortly afterwards (worth nothing, seriously).

In the meantime, here's a sample of another thing I'm working on. I cropped it cause I haven't rendered anything else. 70 degrees and sunny in late November. I love it.

Show of Shows

2010-11-10T12:19:00.000-08:00

This year's Animated Show of Shows, a collection of animated shorts, was fantastic. Thank you Ron Diamond for coming to Savannah!

The adaption of Shaun Tan's "The Lost Thing" I found especially amazing. A film like that done by three people? Crazy.

What Happened?

2010-11-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

Even if you're painting realistically, if it does not work on an abstract level, then it does not work. Period.

Same goes for animation.

I've known this for a while, but one of those things I always need to remind myself.

...suddenly Georgia got cold.

Badger

2010-11-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

Band of the moment, This Town Needs Guns. Check them out.

Rows of Houses

2010-10-31T19:18:00.000-07:00

SKATE!

10+ hours of animating for 10 seconds of film. All emphasis on weight and movement. I'm a n00b at this still, gimme 2+ years to master it.

Long day. Bye.

Rivers Dancing

2010-10-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

Two hour portrait, no references. Drawing hot girls is such a challenge, since any wrong brushwork will ruin the whole face... as opposed to drawing say, a wrinkly old man.

...yeah.

Pretty happy with this though. I am gonna try to do a few simple character portraits a week.

Fantastic Beasts and where to Find Them.

2010-10-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Savannah

Found the biggest spider I've ever seen on my car this morning. Thinking of drawing up some sketches of it?

Skate!

2010-10-27T20:37:00.001-07:00

Demonstrates a modified version of the Bloke 1.0 character riding a skateboard. Besides the character base, everything else was done by myself, including modeling, rigging, animating, and recording audio.

This will be online in a few days on my Vimeo page. I'll link to it once up.

The Great Annihilator

2010-10-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

Work in progress animation for my character rigging class.

I love Maya. It is such an astounding piece of software. Highly intricate, powerful, yet simple at the same time. Complex yet intuitive. While a lot of amazing work has been crafted with it, the construction of the actual application is what I find the most fascinating.

The program is, in itself, a work of art.

Animus

2010-10-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

Started this tonight, going to try to get it done (as well as another piece I'm working on) by the end of the week. I wish there were 36 hours in a day, instead of 24.

Once the semester ends in mid November I'm going to publish a long post documenting my first quarter of grad school.

Peace out from Georgia.

To Here Knows When

2010-10-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

To the few that read this blog, I'll have updates resuming in a little bit. I'm currently overwhelmed with schoolwork and my job, but I haven't forgot about this.

As a real quick update, I'm getting my portfolio ready to apply for some big internships...

Jim

2010-09-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

Went back into an old piece to update it... a lot happier with it now.

Michael Gira is a God Amongst Men

2010-09-22T17:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't purchased an album in over five years, but I couldn't help but order a hard copy of My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky by Swans from Young God Records. Ever since discovering them, Swans became one of my favorite bands of all time, and I can't wait to hear what they have to show after their 14 year hiatus.

If you don't know Swans, check them out.

Song for Dead Time

2010-09-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

Done with this.

Oxygen

2010-09-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

If determinism exists, and free will (in the traditional sense) does not, then things as they are *now* could not be any other way.

And this would make life... perfect.

A simple little animation I did, practicing squash n' stretch. Word.

Re-Re-Hash

2010-09-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

Sitting in room 304 of Montgomery Hall, Savannah Georgia waiting for my first grad school class to start. Hate not having internet at my place, feel as if I'm living under a rock.

Anyways, threw some texture on this. Going to keep working it up until it's finished. Also gonna punch up the colors and add more variation to it.

My Father will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky

2010-09-10T17:06:00.000-07:00

I'm a diehard SWANS fan, ignore my silly headlines. Another piece I started early today, going to fully render this once I can fix all the perspective errors. Will post more soon...

The heat down here is killing me. Being a true New England-er, 95 degree, humid Georgia weather is taking it's toll... but at least I'm finally outta Hartford. Life is good. :)

The Walls of Eden Prison

2010-09-08T16:44:00.000-07:00

New piece I'm working on. Completely painted from my imagination (subtle textures aside). Trying to emphasize form and shape, so modeling the imagery in Maya will require less guess-work. Very happy with this one so far, but I got a bit of rendering to do on it before it's officially done.

One week until I get the internet at my house... can't wait. Moving to Savannah Georgia is, so far, the best choice I've ever made in life. I love it down here, so inspiring...

Let all them hounds off of their leashes...

2010-09-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

Maya practice. Simple and blocky for now, I'll have more interesting work up once I actually start the intro to Maya class in the next two weeks...

Still without internet at my house, so updates won't be as frequent as I'd like.

Tomorrow Comes Today

2010-09-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

First sketch in Georgia. I love Savannah, such a beautiful city... will definitely post some pictures soon.

Also, I'm without internet (posting this from Panera's cafe in downtown) so I may not be updating as much as I'd like to, but that'll be fixed sooner then later.

Caught

2010-08-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

Quick doodle... Taking a short break from Maya, which is giving me a headache. The complexity of it is mind boggling...

Late Summer Blues

2010-08-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

First attempt at actually making something in Maya other then basic shapes... gesture is horrible, but I'm slowly getting the hang of this whole 3D modeling thing.

Autodesk Maya

2010-08-03T11:21:00.001-07:00

After studying enough of Blender, I've decided to jump straight into Maya... learning this will keep me busy for the rest of the summer.

Rout 84 Re-Visited

2010-08-02T20:45:00.000-07:00

It's a weird feeling that I have three more weeks of living in Connecticut, then I move away for good. But...

More on that later, here's a doodle before I go to bed.

A Thanatopsis

2010-07-28T21:32:00.000-07:00

Speedpaint before bed, took no more then 75 minutes. Been playing with a texturing technique where I'll copy the entire image onto a new layer, and set the opacity to 10-35%, then reshape the new layer to use it as a texture to increase visual noise. Speeds up the painting process, and you can get some neat effects with it...

It's nice to do an environment piece, after all the character studies I've been forcing myself to do.

Thieves Like Us

2010-07-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

Another doodle in Photoshop. I can't help myself, texturing images is too fun...

Loveless

2010-07-06T13:14:00.001-07:00

I didn't like them at first, but the early 90's shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine gets better and better every time I listen to them. Check out their album Loveless

The Final Sacrifice

2010-07-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

Completely vacant today. Too hot to think clearly, and too much to think about. Did this in Photoshop, started last night, finished this afternoon.

You've got a friend in me...

2010-06-22T18:57:00.001-07:00

I've never once cried during a movie... but I almost did during the final scene of Toy Story 3. The people of Pixar truly are gods amongst men. I can't wait to start school next fall!

Cliff Jumping

2010-06-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

Black Mirror

2010-06-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

Exactly 20 minute speedpaint before bed.

Hours of Wealth

2010-06-11T14:23:00.001-07:00

To hell with anti-consumerism: I love my new 300 dollar pair of headphones from Bose.

I'm still a sucker for shiny new technology.

Image Check (Gravity)

2010-06-10T15:37:00.000-07:00

Inspired by At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft. Not based on any one creature though, more like a highly refined doodle.

Steampunk Chick

2010-06-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

Doodle for tonight. Taking a break from the gnarly monsters I've been drawing as of late.

New toy.

2010-06-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

Just bought a new HD camera. Expect plenty of cool video this summer.