Friday 29 April 2011

Project Update

Hello all!

Just a quick update - apologies for the lack of updates on the project of late, but I've been enjoying a few days holiday.  I'll be back to it as normal from Tuesday, but there are some really cool things in the pipeline which I can't wait to show you all!

Andy

Tuesday 26 April 2011

The Mars Robot: Test #1

Hello!

A quick late-night update; just rendered a test shot with the current robot model in the Mars colony.  There are lighting and texture issues with this render, but I wanted to fire it up here so you could see progress ;)

Enjoy!

Monday 25 April 2011

Mars Gantry: Walk Test

Hello!

Here's an animation of walking along the Mars gantry to test the lighting and texture setup.  A couple of issues have been spotted, and these will be resolved as work continues.

Enjoy!

Saturday 23 April 2011

Bo Frederiksen's Robot - test walk cycle - work in progress

Hello!

A quick update; I was blown away by the work that Bo has done on the Mars robot, and wanted to show you a quick walk cycle test.

This is very much work in progress; I animated the walk cycle quickly and there are errors in it, but as with everything else, these issues will be worked out as work progresses.

Enjoy!

Project update

Hello :)

Well, it's been about six or seven weeks since I started this project, and things have really been moving on apace.  I'm really thankful to have excellent people helping me on this as well, and to them a massive thanks for everything they've contributed so far - it really is becoming a collaborative effort.

Also, there might not be any updates for a day or two as it is my 30th birthday today.  However, there are some very exciting developments in the pipeline, so stay tuned for more news in the future ;)

Thanks again for your continued support and encouragement!

Andy Curry

Friday 22 April 2011

Unidentified Shuttle leaving Morimoto...(shuttle test #1)

Hello!

Earlier this morning, an unidentified shuttle was seen leaving the Morimoto Mars colony...

Actually, it's just a test of my first shuttle model ;)

Enjoy!

Thursday 21 April 2011

Mars Gantry: Progress Update 2

Hello!

Another progress update on the Mars Gantry; I've been focussing on the textures and lighting; refining the textures that were in the scene and adding new textures to the floor and ceiling.  As well as this I've revised the lighting setup, as well as adding a couple of effects in the compositor.

I think it's definitely getting towards photoreal, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Enjoy!

Mars Chase Animatic

Hello!

Here's the first test animatic of the Mars chase. I wanted to give this a go to see how the lighting would work on an expansive environment, as well as solving a few other issues.

Please bear in mind that this is the first animatic of this shot - this is in no way a production shot.

Enjoy!

Time's almost up...to enter the Sinclair Impressions Contest

Bryan's Gas Canister

Hello!

Here's a still shot of Bryan's Gas Canister model.  HDRI has been added, and I think this is the best yet.  Full animation will follow as soon as it has rendered - might take a while though ;)

Enjoy!

Wednesday 20 April 2011

Mars Gantry: Progress Update

Hello!

Further progress has been made on the Mars gantry - a lot more detail has been added to the supporting structure - landscape still to be added.

Enjoy!


Tuesday 19 April 2011

World Science Centre: Shape Study

Hello!

I carried out a study on the shapes of the walls and general layout of the WSC - image below.  This was a 30 minute study - a lot more work still to do on the final model.

Enjoy!

Monday 18 April 2011

Voice Over Samples

Hello!

I've got the good quality mic and recording setup sorted, so thought I'd have a stab at a couple of VO's. The first is the extended Global Transporter VO, minus the fly section, but including the planned transport sound effect - let me know what you think of this!

The second sample is the TSA Entry Door VO. Again, thoughts on this are appreciated!

Enjoy!



Sunday 17 April 2011

Global Transporter: Long Animation Test

Hello!

Further work on the Global Transporter.  I rendered this test out to check for issues with textures, animation, lighting etc.  Glad I did, because I found some :)  They'll all be worked out as part of ongoing development.

Please also note that I've only modelled one of the clamps; the other will be added shortly.

Enjoy!

Saturday 16 April 2011

Bryan's Global Transporter Card


Hello!

Final update of the day...here's a video of the Global Transporter card, modelled by Bryan. I think you'll agree that this is a fantastic model!

I added some HDR lighting and gave the numbers a fairly high reflectivity, and the card itself a very slight reflectivity. As well as this, vector blur was added in the compositor to give it the feeling of motion.

Enjoy!

Caldoria Heights Global Transporter Sample

Hello all,

Here's my version of the Caldoria Heights Global Transporter intro - let me know what you think! Vocal has audible popping - will be fixed by the use of a proper mic with pop shield!

Enjoy :)

Something a bit different...Chroma Key Test

Hello :)

Here's a test of the chroma key system in the compositor of Blender.  By using some readily available card from a local stationers, a digital camera and one of my gf's toy kittens, I produced the following test.

Slight issue encountered as I had the toy kitten lying flat against the card, which caused some colour spill.  Final HD video recording wil be done at least 1' away from the card.

This is intender for use to recreate the TSA computer videos i.e. the background, theory etc and also the historical comparison logs.

Enjoy!

p.s.  special thanks to Marmaduke for lying still on the card

Competition: Sinclair Impressions

Hello!

A slightly different type of post today.

I'm running a competition over the next fortnight, giving you the opportunity to record and send me your best Elliot Sinclair impression.  The winner of the competition gets to step into the shoes of Dr. Sinclair, the father of time travel, for the remake.

I'd like you to use the following piece of dialogue in your impression.

"I know the one place in all of Sector Three with the best view of the Capitol Building.  And from that place, with a weapon of my own devising, I will assassinate the Cyrollan delegate myself."

Either comment on this post, or email me at AndrewCurry2 at googlemail dot com. Closing date for entries is Sunday 1 May at 12:00 midday GMT.

For inspiration, use the following video, time reference of 09:00. I did not create or upload this video.

Thursday 14 April 2011

Global Transporter: Model and Anim v1

Hello!

This is a very, very rough model and animation. I wanted to check for any mesh issues so far - there is one where the wider bottom part of the door intersects the narrow part - this will be resolved as part of the continued progress on the transporter.

Comments welcome on progress as always!

Enjoy :)

Wednesday 13 April 2011

TSA Entry Door: Access Denied VO

Hello!

I thought I might go for a slight change of pace this evening, and have been tinkering with a microphone and some effects...came up with the following. I don't know how many times I heard this...lost the manual and had to work it out by trial and error!

Enjoy!

Bryan's Antidote: render v2

Hello!

Here's the "fixed" render of the antidote.  I've added some HDR lighting to the scene, as well as altering the glow effect on the edges.  Rendered using the vSwarm network - total cpu rendertime for 96 frames: 83 hours!

Enjoy!

Historical Log Test v1

Hello!

Here's a test to try and get a good setup for replicating the surface of an optical disc.  While the result isn't ideal, I think it's a good starting point.  The TSA symbol needs to be added to the other side, as well as setting up HDRI lighting etc.

Comments and feedback are welcome as always!

Journeyman Key: V1

Hello!

Here's a render of the Journeyman Key model.  Rendered this out without antialiasing to keep the render time down to a friendly level.  All feedback is welcome; I've got an idea or two to modify the handle design to be more practical and stowable.

Enjoy!

Tuesday 12 April 2011

Bryan's Antidote: render v1

Hello!

Here's a render of Bryan's antidote model.  I just need to remove or amend the streaks in the glare; it didn't work as well as I'd hoped for the render.

HUD: Rough Mockup

Hello,

A late night update...I decided to have a quick look at a HUD mockup.  The message panel is too wide, but the energy light is working quite well.  Still need to find a good material for the main body of the HUD, and start on the detailing, cables etc.

Monday 11 April 2011

Biochip: Generic Chip Inventory Inspect clip V1

Hello!

Today's update is looking at the inventory inspection video clips, more specifically for a generic biochip.  The only detail missing is the letter and background plate to signify the type of chip i.e. Pegasus, Mapping, Optical etc.

Please let me know what you think!

Biosuit Generator: Very Early Test V0.1

Hello!

Here is a very early and fast test to work out a few lighting issues.  The model is extremely basic; this is purely a test to work out a few issues.

Saturday 9 April 2011

Caldoria: Model Production V1

Hello!

I've started modelling the base mesh for Caldoria i.e. main buildings etc.  In order to get a sense of scale and set the layout, I decided to go with Pegasus Prime as reference in this case, mainly because there is more reference from the dream sequence in PP than JMP.

A couple of reference shots are below, taken from PP.  These are, of course, copyright Presto Studios.  The third shot is the model I have been working on.  Nowhere near finished as yet; base material has been applied and no lighting has been implemented.  A main goal for this shot is to model all the grass using particles, and get the trees and shrubs in the scene as well.  Cloth simulation will run on all flags in the scene (all 8 of them) for variation.

Enjoy, and as always, comments are very much appreciated!


Friday 8 April 2011

Caldoria Dream Sequence Animatic: Brand New Music and sound effects!

Hello!

I'm really pleased to be able to bring you a taster of some of the new music that is being composed for the Journeyman remake.  It has been composed by a very good friend of mine, and I believe it fits both the style and imagery of the animatic.

I won't give too much away at this point, however I will say that I am very, VERY excited to hear the rest of the music as it arrives!

As always, please feel free to comment - let me know what you think of the imagery and the music!

Enjoy!

Pegasus Launch Test V1

Hey!

Here's an update looking at the Pegasus launch animatic, but rendered using everything except textures and shadows.  It gives a good impression of speed and the general feel of the shot, and it is a lot faster to render than the final production quality; 12 seconds per frame as opposed to 2 hours!

Enjoy, and please feel free to comment!

Thursday 7 April 2011

Thursday, April 07 Update

Hello everyone,

Just a quick update this evening - no new images to post; however I am currently rendering a test of the Pegasus "launch" sequence without textures or shadows, which has got the rendertime down to about 12 seconds per frame - certainly faster than the 2 hour rendertime at full quality and 720p!  This will be ready to post tomorrow - I'm really excited to see how it turns out.

I have also received some music from the composer on the project - I'm keeping this close to my chest for the moment though, but I can tell you that it's fantastic work, and I'm sure you won't be disappointed ;)

I'm also happy to announce that I've started collaborating with another Blender artist, who is looking at modelling and rigging the robots, starting with Ares.  Again I won't give much away at this point, but work is progressing well and looking really good!

All for now,

Andy

Wednesday 6 April 2011

Pegasus Launch Animatic V1

Another animatic test; this one of the Pegasus launch sequence.

Caldoria Dream Sequence Animatic V1

Hey everyone,

Here's a fast 30-minute look at the dream sequence at the start of JMP, up to the Caldoria explosion. City meshes in this are from the Dystopia collection on Daz 3D; currently in a 100% sale! Basic tiles used for layout; custom buildings i.e. Capitol Building will be modelled as well as the park in front and the Cyrollan ship.  Animatic used for pacing and scale purposes.

Enjoy!

Tuesday 5 April 2011

Fixed Title Sequence and the Blender Video Sequence Editor

Hiya,

A quick evening update!  Here's the fixed version of the Journeyman title screen, complete with original audio.  This was edited using the Video Sequence Editor in Blender.  The final version will have brand new music and sound effects.

Enjoy!

Pegasus: Compositing Push v1

Hey all :)

Ok, I've made progress with the compositor and have a fairly good handle on it.  I must admit, I also bought a copy of BlenderGuru's "The WOW Factor" which details effects you can achieve within the compositor.  I have found this absolutely invaluable and it's already saved my bacon a couple of times.

Anyway, here's today's update.  I apologise about the lack of Pegasus Alarm video, but there was an issue with the render.  I'll work on that asap.  In the meantime, I'm fixing the Journeyman title, as the previous version didn't have a curve to the text, so rendering that out as we speak!

Enjoy ;)

Mars Train Station: Preliminary Blocking

Hey hey,

Ok a late evening update here; just been looking at blocking in some of the detail in the Mars train station - results below.

I'm also currently rendering the Pegasus launch "alarm" on vswarm; 24 frame animation in the current modelling and texture configuration.  Should hopefully be finished by tomorrow morning so should have that online by lunchtime tomorrow :)

Enjoy!


Monday 4 April 2011

The Journeman Project: Animated Title V1

Hey!

Here's my first shot at recreating the title animation from The Journeyman Project.  Everything was done within Blender, including the compositing.

No music or sound effects as yet; music is in the pipeline ;)

Enjoy!

Sunday 3 April 2011

Timerip HD and vSwarm

Hey everyone,

I've just finished rendering the timerip concept in 720p using the vSwarm renderfarm service.  It's free and it's great!  The video is the same as in a previous post, but at 720p resolution.

Outside Pegasus: v2

Hiya,

Second update of the day...looking at the "front" of Pegasus with the current model, texture and lighting setup.

Enjoy!

Pegasus: Texturing Push v2

Hey!

After telling myself to take a break from Pegasus, I found inspiration yesterday after watching some of the tutorials on http://www.blenderguru.com/.  The mystery of the compositor was finally cleared up, and I've been working on specular passes, object IDs, you name it.

Here's today's update - total render time 1 hour 23 minutes.  As always, work is still in progress, and all comments gratefully received!!

Saturday 2 April 2011

Very Early Prehistoric test

Hello!

Here's a very, very early test of the prehistoric area.  I'm trying to get a good method of making a convincing rock wall that doesn't cost the Earth (in terms of vertices at least).  Lit purely using HDRI and a little bit of glow in the compositor.

There are issues with the tiling and the ground texture; I didn't have time to UV unwrap the mesh this evening and I wanted to get an update out there.  Will be progressing more tomorrow, as well as adding sparce vegitation, rocks and general interest.

Rock texture downloaded from cgtextures.com

Enjoy!

Friday 1 April 2011

Time Travel effects v3: HD Screenshot

Hey,

Quick screenshot here, rendered as a 1920x1080 straight from Blender.

Enjoy!

Temporal Rip Detected video v1

Hiya,

Ok, today's update is completely different :)  I decided to try and replicate the video sequence where the Chronolog Scanners detect a temporal rip.

As with everything else, this is still work in progress; posting it here for comments and feedback.

Enjoy!