Weighted Companion Cube

"GLaDOS: The Enrichment Center is required to remind you that the Weighted Companion Cube cannot talk. In the event that it does talk The Enrichment Centre asks you to ignore its advice. "


So here is something I have been working on which will be practice for future projects. As a fan of Portal I thought this would be a nice little test. I modelled it last year but never got around to doing anything with it.The idea behind this is mainly to get a better understanding of shaders, using HDRi's, and eventually putting it into footage for Tracking and Compositing practice and eventually... there will be cake.

The Waiter

Here it is! The final image 'The Waiter' mini-project. I've hung up on it far too long and I want to get other projects under the way. I have learnt a great deal from this but I want to move on and create more characters and delve into more depth with material creation and rigging.

I hope you like it, and there will be more to come soon!
Click for larger image.

Owwww!

Another oldie I've decided to breath life into. Once again, not really sure how this came about. Just one of those ideas you get in your head, put down on paper and think... what did I just draw? Either way... enjoy!

Click for larger image.

Ancient.

Here's a quick one I decided to add some colour too before bed. I did this year's ago whilst I was still in confusion as to what I wanted to do with my life. I envied my friend's who knew what they wanted to do from a young age... 

Click for larger version.

He sure does love his bike...

Here is another old bit of artwork that I have only just got round to giving some life too - my homage to Full Throttle - an old Point & click by LucasArts. My inspiration to do this came from my good friends Kev and Dan who did a 'Let's Play' of the game. Click HERE to go ahead and begin the journey to watch them play through it. 

I loved how Ben would always state the obvious when observing an object, and this became the idea behind this picture. 
Click to enlarge image. 

Everyone's got a Dark Side...

Just in case you couldn't understand what the previous post was about... here is the final image.  Bet you didn't see that one coming! My first attempt to get back into Digital Painting (not that I have ever been... but I've given it a go in the past). 

I'm not entirely sure why, or how this idea even came about... 
Click for larger version.

Can you guess what it is yet?

So today I revisited an old drawing of mine to do some digital painting on. I haven't practiced at all and I need to get into it more, as well as getting used to a tablet. The drawing is about 2 and a half years old, and I just never got round to doing anything with it. Here is a snippet of whats to come! I will post the full image in a couple of days time!

Another Panoramic Test

I wanted to upload this on the previous post but couldn't figure out why it wouldn't allow it as it kept giving me an error message saying 'Image too big'. I thought it meant the file size, I then realised the image was 21438 x 4940... that probably explains it. It literally was too big. Anyway, here is a panoramic from a mountain we drove up. 

Panoramic Tests

I've always loved Panoramic photos, so I thought I would give them a go. These are a couple I've compiled together from Italy and I am fairly pleased how they have turned out. Will definitely be doing more of these in future.

Click for larger images.

London 2012 Olympics

Having been away for for the final days of the Olympics, I felt rather saddened to come back knowing that the flame had been put out, and that I had missed out on so many events. 

All I can say is that I am glad that so much positive has come from the Olympics. I believe that they have inspired not just the younger generation, but the nation as a whole. I felt so proud to watch the athletes step onto the podium to receive their reward for all the hard work and dedication they have put in over the years, and to watch their faces light up after finally reaching that goal. It was truly inspiring. I only wish that I could have been there in person to witness some of it.

To all involved, they should be proud of this huge accomplishment. I had no idea what to expect, and it was overwhelming what they managed to achieve. The athletes, workers, builders, volunteers and everyone else, you did the country proud. I take my hypothetical hat off to you.

Bring on Rio 2016!

It may not be much, but I decided to knock up a little tribute to the Olympics.

Circles - Band Practice

So the other week I went along to my friend's band practice to do some filming and photography as a kind gesture. There was many a laugh and the group shot took a while. With a bit more footage the hope is to compile a promo video together. Here are a few of my favourite snaps from the evening.

Go and download their FREE EP here and give their facebook a like here. 
You will not regret it. 

Strat - Update

I wanted to post these before I went on holiday but I did not have time unfortunately. Anyhoo... here is are some renders of the finalised model with a quick lighting setup. This is an ongoing project which I will continue to add to, so I shall begin unwrapping soon. 

Click for larger versions.

The Waiter - Composition Test

Just a quick composition test before I begin packing... what he eventually will be holding up will be a metal platter, and there will be a cloth draped over his left arm. Would love to hear any critique/feedback.

Waiter - Texture Update

So before I go on holiday to Italy tomorrow I wanted to upload some form of progress. I've been playing around with some Mudbox texturing with my 'Waiter' character and here are the results. I'm fairly happy with how it's turned out although I'm already looking forward to starting a new character and applying the skills I've learnt from this project onto that... next step will be to pose him, give him props and get some nice beauty renders! 1st of September is my personal deadline. 

Click for larger images