Digital Painting Test

Digital Painting tests today!
Here's my first attempt at a still life, using my Intuos Pro graphics tablet,  oil pastel Loish Brushes http://blog.loish.net/image/95581043273, and 3 values...

Critical Review - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button...

2 hours 45 minutes. A case of an edit that could easily have been half the time and told the same story.
Interestingly, I had no compassion whatsoever for the main characters and thought their relationship was particularly empty.
Personally I thought the idea behind the story was weak and felt that the emphasis on Benjamin Buttion naturally becoming more self centred, as he progressed through teenage years could have had some mileage and created some good heated moments, between him and his teenage daughter and wife.
However, the main emphasis of the film seemed to centre around CG imagery and the unique idea of someone becoming physically and mentally younger as the film progressed....

No matter how impressive the visual effects are, I believe if the foundation idea and story is shaky, then that will prevail and can never be disguised....

Dundee Design Festival - Reflective Practice - 'Hands of X'

Hands of X "If amputees could each specify their own prosthetic hand as bespoke digital fabrications..." A participatory workshop with Andrew Cook and Graham Pullin http://www.dundee.ac.uk/djcad/staff/grahampullin/

I attended the Pecha Kucha Volume 15 http://creativedundee.com/2016/04/pecha-kucha-volume-15/, at the West Ward Works in Dundee last night. noticed this exhibit, as part of the Dundee Design Festival exhibition.

It was during the break and there was some very uplifting piano music playing above the sound of chatter..

This piece was full of hope and compassion. Members of the public had completed the sheets 'Hands of X' either on behalf of someone else of their own personal preferences.

This one was completed by a man for his wife. I remember seeing Graham Pullin present a lecture about computer generated voices (Stephen Hawking) and how the choice of voice is currently very limited....and would people desire a choice in the voice they had?

These bespoke prosthetic hands reminded me of this idea....and that despite experiencing amputation, or loss, people could have the opportunity of creating something unique and special as a result....

This is the essence of the theme of my current project THAW.....

A need for transformation and hope....

Critical Review - The Jungle Book

Date night this week...a 'surprise' trip to the cinema. I didn't know what we were going to see, until the classification screen came up....'The Jungle Book'...

I had not seen any reviews. WOW!

Here's the 'making of' official trailer and the director sums it up, both from a technical viewpoint and a storytelling viewpoint..."What makes it possible to make this movie 'now' is the technology to make photo realistic animals animated.......Films have to be an emotional experience for the audience. You have to tell a good story. I wanted to hold that standard. If I am engaged emotionally with the characters, all the spectacle was worth it."

The technical expertise was incredible and the shot sequences were amazing. The opening sequence sees Mogli being chased by wolves....there is one particular shot where Mogli shoots along a tree branch away from the audience...instead of powering behind Mogli, the camera pulls with full force in the opposite direction, drawing us as the audience backwards with G force speed...the result is that Mogli seems to run even faster.

I was struck by how the animals were not only realistic in their appearance and movement, but that their inherent character wasn't diluted, made frothy or made simple in anyway.
I was completely convinced by the acting of all animals and their interaction with Mogli.
Other than a couple of shots, namely the Panther (Bagheera) running up a cliff, or slumping onto a tree branch) I couldn't tell at all what was CG and what wasn't.

I would love to be on a crew that created such a masterpiece. What a joy to experience.

TOY SCANDAL 'Hunny Bunny Stole My Money': 3D CG Animation

TOY SCANDAL 'Hunny Bunny Stole My Money': Going Live group project with Axis Animation, Glasgow. May 2016

   

TOY SCANDAL - Going Live Vimeo -Axis Animation from Andrea McSwan on Vimeo.

Going Live - TOY SCANDAL Report: Axis Animation.

In addition to screening our final film 'TOY SCANDAL - Hunny Bunny Stole My Money' to Axis Animation, we presented a report of our own individual contribution, within the project.

In Bruges - reflective practice

Whilst watching 'In Bruges' this week, I was struck by the opening title sequence, and the lighting on the buildings. The background was pitch black and only the architecture had minimal lighting.

I was putting together some early lighting tests in Maya at the time, to show ice figures being lit by light, and the images were very similar...

My final film THAW has a theme of transformation and hope, so the lighting will actually be dramatic sunlight pouring through back lit ice....and not dark...but interesting to see the effects, none the less...