Sept 30

I spent most of this week fixing the existing model, replacing parts with higher quality ones, creating new parts to fit the current story, etc. Basically just getting things ready for rigging. The first rig and animation test will be done by next week, barring any major disasters.

Replaced upper arm with higher quality model (original on left)

Replaced finger tip with higher quality model (original on left)

Added elbow joint with broken half for end sequence

Modeled that goddamn screw

Taking some inspiration from the shitty model kits I have around my desk, I added lines/ridges to the Old Robot model to make him look a little more 'put together'. Some of the parts just barely fit together, leaving pretty noticeable gaps between pieces.

To contrast this is a nicer model kit, where most of the visible lines are a part of the character design and not a consequence of lazy/cheap toy design.

animatic v4

moar thumbnails

I've continued to make changes to the base story this week, amalgamating scenes to (hopefully) cut down on run time and asset creation/rendering time. That cafeteria scene was going to take, like, three weeks to render if I actually went through with it.

The walls of this factory/facility/building/whatever will have rectangular holes at the bottom of each wall panel, acting like vents or some such, The screw is kicked accidentally into one of these vents, causing the beginning of the end. Starting from the last set of thumbnails, the rest of the film will be largely the same. I'll be tightening it up, changing camera angles to be more exciting, etc. I'm really hoping for an eventual run time of four minutes (down from five and a half), but I might have to become much more brutal in my editing if I want that to be a reality.

how does i blog

So I did some stuff over the break...

UVs are laid out for the main body but I am still tinkering with the fingers and head. 

The big thing I'll be working on in the next few weeks will be a revised story board. This includes the new opening, a portion of which is shown above, the probable elimination of the cafeteria scene and new camera angles and better pacing for the ending. The goal is to have a shorter, more compact film that will hopefully be more dramatic than then first iterations.