Sometime ago I started a new animation project. In the beginning I thought about doing a very simple exercise, but I could not resist to the temptation of making something a bit more elaborated.
The starting point was when I was still on vacation, november 26th to be very precise. Now, nearly two months later I'm happy to say that I reached the exact middle of it. That's why I found it interesting to talk about the short, since some of you could think I gave up on it for the lack of updates.
Today the short have exactly 41 seconds. If I keep going like this, I'll probably be finishing it in mid April. I must say that I'm not in a hurry to finish this up, since my main intention is to end up with something good, not only something 'done'.
I'm trying to exercise some things with this short: timing, camera use, acting, weight, composition, creation of a logo and some additional graphics.
I didn't want to spend time on creating another rigged character, so I chose the great ManCandy and Ludwig to be my stars. =)
All tools I'm using are open source: in addition to Blender, I'm using Gimp and Inkscape a lot, and Audacity for audio editing. Along with the short, I'll release the production files for download (that's right, my own "open movie"). I'm already saving for making an upgrade on my hosting plan.
For now, I'll show you just some screenshots and let the videos for later on, to keep the surprise.
As you can probably notice, I'm trying to achieve visuals that are a bit different from the uber-clean "traditional 3D". I hope I can give it some kind of a 2D touch, but avoiding cel shading.
Well... basically its all I can tell you today. Soon I'll bring you more updates on this.
Now... back to work! =)
That is a great look you've achieved there. Very much like the cartoons of Tom and Jerry we all know and love. I can't wait to see the finished project.
I love the look!
Have you thought about making the "tv overlay" look more like the style of everything else? Right now, it looks like two different realities competing (new 3d graphics vs. classic cartoons). I think the classic cartoon look should win :)). Maybe even remove the "overlays" completely, if they aren't integral to the storyline. I'm just trying to think about how this would have been approached from a total classic cartoon style. Maybe they wouldn't have even used the extra graphics but instead, have it implied by the audio that the viewer is watching a televised event.
I love how you've done the backgrounds, they definitely have that classic cartoon feel to them.
With the exception of the overlays and being familiar with mancandy, it's mostly hard to tell the 3D from the 2D artwork!
Since I'm here going on and on (sorry), on the scoreboard, there's some color changes between the scenes, some are grayish while the closeup is almost completely black. I would say that the one in the closeup is 3d, too perfect and clear.
This will be a knockout if everything follows the classic cartoon look. I've never seen that in a 3D animation and certainly not done in Blender.
However, I'm sure it'll be great whatever final decisions are made. I look forward to seeing the finished piece and especially those blend files. Good Luck!
Hey, guys!
Thanks a lot for your feedback!! I'm really happy to see that you liked it. =)
@Kernon: Man, I really have a lot of doubts on the TV overlay. This is actually the third test I did to see if it fits nicely, but I'm still not satisfied with how it looks. Maybe you're right, and I could rely only on the audio. =)
About the scoreboards, actually they're all 2D. Thanks a lot for pointing that out, I have already made corrections on the colors.
Cheers!
hey this might be terrible news, or you might not care, but it looks like an AnimationMentor kid named Arne Kaupang already did a short like yours. Just judging by the title poster
http://www.arne3d.com/world_record_1080p.zip
Hi, some guy.
First of all, thanks a lot for pointing me to that cool short.
Well... at first I got really scared by your post, thinking: "no way someone else made a short exactly like mine! I can't believe I have to throw it all away". It was a looooong wait for the download to complete until I watch it... =)
Fortunately I felt relieved after I saw it: the story I came up with is different, also the visual gags, so I guess the similarities will end up there.
But I found it really interesting that someone else has made a short (a good one, by the way) with weightlifting and a fly. I think we both got our inspiration (at least I did) from this Goofy classic short:
http://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/4121-Goofy_Gymnastics.html
=)
Cheers!
Oh, Good,
I was worried about telling you, not sure that I should. But I thought that I would like to know before I invested a lot of time. I'm glad it didn't throw you off track
Ficamos todos na expectativa de ver este grande trabalho! E espero que já esteja pensando em renderizar de forma a poder enviar para Siggraph2008 para todos verem o que o talento brasileiro é capaz! Grande abraço... ;)
Pô! Muito bacana esse post.
Parabens pela iniciativa e que venha logo esse mes de abril para contemplarmos mais essa obra prima do grande Virgilio!
Ps.: Não teria uma vaga de estagiario ou "ouvinte" nesse processo não, teria? rsrs
Abração cara.
Flows