Photogrammetry R&D

Check out this photogrammetry test I made: https://vimeo.com/251919630

Photogrammetry is the process of programmatically converting a photo into a 3D model. 

For this test I had 200 photos taken of my co-workers bobble head toy. I ran the photos through Agisoft Photoscan to process the images. It took 6 hours of processing time.

I'm going to try running it through the software again using less photos and trying different setting to see if I can reduce some of the surface lumps. I'll give RealityCapture software a try too. Ultimately I'd like to physically build stop motion maquettes then using photogrammetry bring them into a 3D animated scene (set made from doll house furniture). The quality of the surface and imperfections should make a really interesting look. This is not a faster way to create 3D models because the mesh is incredibly dense and will have to be completely rebuilt before it can be used in production. I'm curious to see what a decimation tool like Simplygon can do for it. That'll be the next test.

Rendered in Redshift

Making a Tim Biskup Sculpture v02

I took another stab at trying to turn a Tim Biskup drawing into a sculpture. This time I did the modeling (after a quick lesson by Leon.) It was fun and challenging.

The reason it is made up of blocky shapes is because this is a step in a process. Later, the detailing and smoothing will happen when it is made of wax and you carve it away.

The first print turned out well enough.

After some experimentation the 3D print melted beyond repair. I won't do that again!

I made some tweaks on the computer, printed it 25% bigger and painted it yellow.

On second thought, I think Robin Egg blue looks better.

To see round one of this project, click here: http://kingsleyplease.blogspot.com/2016/02/bringing-tim-biskup-drawing-to-life.html

Titan Falls Commercial Stills

Rarely do I get to post about my day job. Like most people in the entertainment industry - everything I touch is covered by some non-disclosure agreement. But in this rare instance I am happy to present two stills from the Titan Falls campaign!

I know they are nothing amazing, but in the short time I had to do them, they were a lot of fun. You can see how I started with a bare model and then painted grime and dirt on top of it.

I hear the game is massively fun. Thanks for checking this out!

Shark Animation

This was the first project I had the privilege to art direct.
When the client proposed the idea, it was supposed to be a simple, 5 second intro for a toy commercial. The action opens on a shark swimming towards the camera. Jaws open wide. Right before he devours the screen a red cage engulfs him. Then it would cut to a live action toy shark being pulled out of the water.
The piece was short and simple. It seemed like a perfect moment to use stop motion animation! I love directing stop motion. It consumes me and is a really enjoyable process. I pulled out the crumply sketch paper and began figuring out the wire skeleton for the shark puppet. I built miniature models to test the tail and was experimenting on how to achieve practical caustics. These are all things that make stop motion so much fun - the problem solving.

The storyboards were simple and I was busy away figuring out the technical details. The client on the other hand was a little uneasy with the look and timing of the animation. We've only shown them rough storyboards. I didn't have much time before a phone meeting and I started getting nervous they weren't sold on the stop motion idea. I quickly animated a animatic to give the look and tone of the animation. We were thinking about using pieces of metal or ear rings for the small fish because we didn't want any other toy conflicting with the shark (legal stuff). Here's what I whipped together:

I know the bubbles are hideous, but quality had to suffer for the sake of speed. Thankfully it worked! The client was really happy, they took it to their meeting and everything was signed off on.

And then, like with every project, a wrench was thrown in. The client was so happy they wanted even more animation! The idea completely changed to a complex, 4 shot scene. The new scene included the toy playset as well. The action is of the shark inside of a water filled elevator. The elevator is falling down a shaft with a car driving in circles around the shaft. The shark bursts out of the elevator and eats the car.

Sadly, the new action was too much for a stop motion budget. The idea had to be abandoned. But! Adaptability is the name of the game. Just in case of this scenario, the shark was already being modeled in the computer for 3D animation.

Since this was the first project I was leading, I had the control to do dailies. I literally had a cut of the shark to show every morning in the studio. Everyone gave feedback, things I would never have thought of. Besides the fact I was working with such talented people executing their jobs to the best of their abilities, it was their input and ideas in the dailies that allowed us to keep packing in more and more to the scene.

I've talked it up way to much and it most likely won't seem impressive now, but I am proud of this one.

Lincoln Sculpt

Working on the bathroom

My place update

My place

This is a birds-eye view of my place so far.

"The Lifter"

I made this short animation in Maya:

Maya environment in progress

This is an environment I am building in Maya. This is my 1st time using textures. I love this program.

1st Maya models

My bedroom:


Airplane: