Flud's concepts 

Conceptualisationality

Here's those pics fluddy did. Nice one.
I finished the CG model of Sophie and I'm currently going through the rigorous task of rigging her for movement. Its a slow process... the hands take more time to do than the rest of the body. But I've spent this week constructing her in 3D studio max (5) and I'm surprised how fast she ended up looking back at me from the screen.

I've always found modelling in 3D to be a bit of a bitch. Luckily I came across this tutorial last year and it brought me up to a whole new level. I sneakily used it when I was teaching my CG class last year and everyone copped it really fast. So its good for newbies too.

Concept Painting of Brian & Sophie 

we is start

Currently working on the reference shoot, editing what we've got already, planning a party shoot on saturday with loads of extras plus pickups whenever the actors are available. They're busy bees.

Man I can see how pickups are so important. I hate like 30% of the edit. So I'm rewriting a bunch of lines and adding bits here and there. I think its mostly because I assumed that people would make assumptions about characters and situations but sometime you have to spell out certain things.

A very talented friend of mine Mark (whos currently a key animator on the new cartoon network series Fosters School for Imaginary friends- have u seen it? Its funny!) did a bunch of concept drawings for the character designs and I'm working off them to construct the actors. I'll stick an image of the finished characters when they're done, and a few of Marks deadly drawings when we buy a new scanner.

So much to do. A lot of CG building, character animation, rotoscoping and I dont even know how big the final compositions are going to be. I hosted a Q+A with these extremely talented architects turned animation collective 'Lynn Fox' for the Darklight Digital Film Festival on saturday and I probed their brains for info on how they make their videos so amazingly beautiful. Luckily enough, they answered any sort of question I had to ask.. They mentioned that they rarely used less than 60 layers in any shot- something you can well believe when u see their stuff. It was a pleasure hanging out with them.. sometimes it felt like a lecture but in a positive way.

I threw a wobbler at my producer last week but she doesn't seem to mind. Apparantly I'm allowed one hissy fit.

The film board asked for an image from the film for some brochure so I did up a quick concept painting. I'm going to put it on this blog so if I'm succesfull u should see it!

Processing...

I've been informed that the funding is being processed or transfered or whatever channels it has to go through. Just in time lioke I cant afford me rent n all. Reference footage for the animation will be shot post haste.

I've been working on other things for my company, and its good to leave the project for a little while only to come back and see whats wrong instantly. Scenes need to be cut and scenes need to be added.

Fluddy is doin some concept work for the character designs and they're looking sweet. I'll stick some up as soon as they're finished.