Site of Natural Beauty - Conservation Project

It’s really only fair to future generations that I preserve my exquisite head in all its three dimensional glory. So I am.
...or maybe I’m just the nearest model to hand.
Either way, here’s a cropped screen shot (of a screen shot) showing a wee bit of my process.
That's a torboSmoothed version - so don't judge the topology (you're doing it! I can feel your judgment!)
I paint over (usually in a contrasting colour, I changed the hue for you, to show what I intend to hew....Hew) the model to give me a list of changes rather than pushing and pulling vertexes for hours - I’m modelling freehand (which I’m beginning to regret, my eyes are starting to strain due to my try to see half way around my own head) so lack of direction can be a bit of a time sink [insert awesome image of time travelling kitchen sink].
My aim it to use this delightful digital doppelganger for 3D tracking, mapping it over my own head and doing all kinds of crazy (or realistic) visual effects. Mostly just gonna melt my face off...or maybe I'll explode it.
STAND AND FACE, ME, BLOGOSPHERE!!!!
Time for a face off, blogosphere. 
What has one face and two thousand faces, Blogosphere?

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Ye Olde Mental Ray Render

Where we’re going...

Almost finished one of two train models I’ll be producing for an interactive video online adventure extravaganza, or, as I’ve catchly abbreviated it to: IVOAE.
Look at that lack of saturation, it’s gotta be from the past!
 The other will either be from the present or the future, I’ve got to do a bit of writing rather than just basing everything off the initial, vague concept. I've been working on this for about 3 months very casually. 3DS Max is great for casual mechanical modelling. I've mostly been twiddling sliders and tweaking modifiers.
Ferroequinologists among you will be able to tell me if I’m right in thinking that I’ve wrongly modelled an American train, I was going by multiple schematics and flickr photos as reference, I feel a fool since it'll be riding on British Rails...but then it will also be time travelling/flying so maybe I'll get away with a little historical/geographical discrepancy.  
Oh no! You've fallen behind the scenes, how ever will you get out?
 Going to texture the heck outta this...as soon as I stop humming the Thomas The Tank Engine tune (sans Mr Fiddy Cent).

...we don’t need roads, blogosphere.


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Babies First Particle Based Abstract 3D Render

For once in my short(ish) foray into 3D I’ve manage to create pretty much exactly the image I set out to make.


In case you want to have a go yourself:

The image I made (photoshop)

Just use that to generate the emission map for a PRT Volume based on geometry from a human head.

Lets get Animated blogosphere!

p.s -  I use to draw emission maps as a child...I called them stink lines.

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Imagination Station

Unfortunately the train has already left that particular station, I only got in it with 34 minutes to spare (and there’s no seats)… “What the hell are you talking about” you might well ask. I entered Adobe’s ‘Imagination Challenge’, I found out about the competition 34 minutes before the 23:59 deadline (fans of maths/time will be able to tell you the time I found out about it). You can vote come the 8th of October 2011 so follow this link to the Imagination Challenge Gallery and sit there for four days until they put mine up. In the mean time register to vote (I recommend using at least 4 different e-mail addresses to boost my votes).
I will be pushing this (even though my entry isn’t even that good) so expect lots of promotion and pestering. I’ll be throwing a massive party if I win and everyone who votes is invited (£10,000 buys a lot of party hats!)


Party Hats —powered by eHow.com
Why does she hate us? We just want to party. "I hate parties and I hate hats... and I hate people. I know! I'll work in a party hat shop and grind out all the fun of the place with my vaguely confrontation style. Also lets video tape it." Hardy ha ha at the 22 second mark.

*Update*
I was not chosen as a finalist so disregard everything you just read (maybe could just have put the update above the post to save you the time...or deleted the post entirely...too late now!) but I have just been shortlisted in another competition (one I actually put some effort into) so I'm not snapping pencils in frustration...yet (just gripping my wacom pen a little too tightly (the passive aggressive digital artist's choice for grinding out disappointment)). Post detailing the current competition to coming soon to a blog near you.

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Post, man.

Over summer (2011) I was working on my organic modelling, as you do. I was very ‘photorealistic’ focused last semester so I thought I’d try a bit of a more cartoony/caricature style. He’s got teeth and a tongue and everything! He’s going to be a ‘keep my basic skills sharp’ side project for the year so look forward to him popping up with textures and maybe even hair (I said LOOK FORWARD TO IT, DAMN IT!!!!).


In other modelling news. I’m making an olden-timey steam train and a perfect replica of my face, both of which will be used in visual effect pieces. Neither of which I find especially interesting to look at.
I’m all blogged out (spent ages designing and redesigning this pretty standard looking blog...I’m sure at one stage I had it, then “hey, make it yellow!” happened in my head) so that's it for now.

Bye bye blogosphere.

p.s – here’s what he looks like when I get bored and have access to mutagenic radiation.

I think I may like the ratty simpleton better. G!o. O!D  (that’s my impression of him)

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