Bear long tings

This is Eddy the teddy. hmm..name's subject to change. Unfortunaely this cute bear doesn't have a defining role in this film but it does serve as one of the characters props. This was modeled by Semir in maya and rendered with 3delight.

Storyboard progress!

I've storyboarded the first 30secs of the film, really doesnt sound like much but its exactly what i want which is rare. I'm far from finished and theres a very long way to go but i'm happy with the progress so far. I wanted to do a color script after i had finished the storyboards but i decided to incorporate it into panels to save time, i'm not sure if thats the right descision but i figured if they can achieve two things at once i'd be saving time. The above is the result of the groups input during our previous meeting, especially Tyrone Hemmings' contributions. Must apologise for dirty giant water marks, unfortunately my work has been stolen before and i've become hatefully paranoid :(

Character progress

A great amount of detail has been added to the characters face. Initially i had not intended to show the characters face (albeit 1-2 secs) but Semir's model would not only be a waste not to show it off but it posseses strange facial features which manages to capture a freakyness i didn't know i was looking for. It somehow looks like a teenager with a babies face.
In addition, displacement mapping and first pass fine skin details have been added.

If you've noticed, the characters vest no longer has the fold detail, this is because we're using maya's ncloth to simulate folds when the character moves.

Unwrapping.. but not presents

While i've been working on storyboards, Semir has made progress
with unwrapping the character in preparation for texturing.

Production Workflow

A production workflow is an essential part of any animation and film production, it gives us a clear chronological outline of what needs to be done. It also helps visualise the entirety of the project.
As you can see there's a lot to do, but an exciting journey lies ahead :)

I'm really shit at storyboarding..

..sooo, i've only done 3. I'm not even sure if this is how i want it to look. The idea is to get a sense of timing and feel for the film and at the moment its a got a long way to go.
Yesterday we had a group meeting where the majority of the discssion was about storyboards and how my shots lacked dynamics. So, Steve has suggested we all try our hand at it. This could be a great opportunity for us as a group to pool our ideas together to make up for the lack of bells and ribbons that mine don't have..yet.

Another other..

Finally! an update -_-" Theres been a huge posting gap due work commitments but heres another character board. I needed to help express the characters' character by amplifiying body language. Aside from the obvious color palette a different pose was needed to express that certain moodiness.

Modelling begins

Since the character board was posted, Semir has made super human progression with building the character in 3D. This handsome young fellow was modelled in maya and sculpted in Zbrush.

Anatomy and character accuracy are spot on, but adjustments to things like the mask are set to change. The characters mask needs some asthetics changes, its more of a personal preference but i would like the facial features to be quite androgenous. Although the characters are all boys with shaved heads, the masks androgeny would create a genderless mass. Having the characters with shaved heads was for the asthetics but it was also to avoid the complications of moving hair since alot of the scenes will see the characters moving their heads quite violently.
Details like the veins will be added over the coming week and hopefully a start on texturing the model.

strike a pose..

finally managed to get a character board done and this is the result. This is the 1st of 3 so hopefully there'll be more on the way. but now..sleeeeeeeeeep

Enter: (new) member

Semir Saleh has joined Lucky 13! (again) or was he ever gone? Semir was one of the orignal members when we first put together this idea during our 1st year at uni.

check out the talent.. http://eye-for-complexity.com/

once more with feeling..

shall we dance?

Set in stone

The screenplay for the production has been written and has gained a positive approval from the group. Feedback was given via our R'nD group on facebook and conversation went as followed:

Alex McCarthy wrote
at 15:02 on 07 October 2009

I read the screenplay and love it, I can't really think of any criticisms. I think it has all of things it needs to tell the story. Just one question, how old are the kids? The concept sketch Phil did shows them at late teens or early 20's, which in a way would be good because it will allow a more effective animation, the zombie style walk etc. But then I also like the idea that their a bit younger like in the first sketches of this group (in the Photos bit), because its more messed up, hehe. Also that would be better for the story I think, if they where younger. What does everyone else think?

Phil Paris Zarcilla wrote
at 16:00 on 07 October 2009

Thats great to hear Alex, much appreciated. In regards to the age of the kids, I wanted them to be around 12-15. Kids that age tend to vary in size but these aren't normal looking kids, features like their arms are longer then usual and since there head banging on a nightly basis muscles around there neck like the trapezius and sternocleidomastoid (neck muscle at the front) are well defined. But i will clarify this when it comes to the character concepts. muchos thanks for the input!

Steve Kimbrey wrote
at 11:16 on 08 October 2009

Still not had a chance to check the screenplay. Will do tonight.
My image of the kids is for them to be late teens early 20s. My original thought for this was because I think people that ages are more subjectable to influences from consumer products. But thinking about it, the younger they are the more subjectable they are. I think 12 might be a bit young. Some kids at 12 can still only be about 3 1/2 foot tall which I think will limit the characters a bit. I think 15-23 might be a bit better. Plus kids around that ages are starting to/already have jobs to buy things with their own money and they have more of a freedom in what they buy. Plus because its a relatively new experience to buy their own stuff at 15 I reckon kids are more likely to be reckless in what they buy so advertising etc is going to have more of an impact on them.
Let me know what you think about that idea.

Dan Grover wrote
at 02:00 yesterday

I just had a read, I really like it. (Sorry for the delay - it ended up in my Spam box, for some reason! Turns out I did get it the first time.)

I think it'll really, really sell the concept if we make the final shots breathtakingly beautiful. That is to say, that when the environment looks nice, the children aren't there. And by "nice" I don't mean all painted up like a baby's bedroom; I mean just as decrepit and horrible as before, but with the soft light, warm colour palette, mad detail and almost a sense of the unimpeedable power of nature to overcome even such a place with light and warmth - but again, the kids aren't there when it's like this, only when it's cold and dark. But I think we need that contrast to be there to really sell the concept, as opposed to it just being like mental-anguish porn.

I think? As a little example of what I mean above, take for example this lovely image:

http://www.interstation3d.com/maya/gallery/it_was_you.html

Dirty, gritty, yet beautiful.

Phil Paris Zarcilla wrote
at 13:45 yesterday

Completely agree. I was looking for the same picture you posted to post in the other feed but glad you found it! The image really conveys the lighting i'd like for the final shots and the detail is fantastic. Dirty, gritty, yet beautiful pretty much sums up the film and its something i'd like us all to keep in mind when making this short. After giving the age range a long think, i'm beginning to think 15-23 is a good age just for asthetics and animation purposes. So, i'm down for that, hopefully by late tonight i'll have some concepts finished to post up. Thanks for the feedback dudes

The conceptual stage is now on the way.. woop!

And then..

On the 26th of September a meeting took place to discuss the direction of this project. During the 1st year of university a small group of us made a short animation and miraculously made it in 1-2 weeks (render quality in more or less words: embrassing) but the concept behind it had a good enough premise for a short animation and it was decided that the idea had the potential to be refined into something visually amazing. Prior to the meeting, i prepared a quick concept sketch to get the feel of the film which is shown on the right.

To date, Lucky 13 consists of 8 active members and they are as follows:

Director/Writer/Concept art/Modeler/Texture artist/Animator/: Phil Paris Zarcilla
Character and hard surface modeler: Alex Mccarthy
Character Animator: Steve Kimbrey
Character Animator: Krissy Josephides
Character Rigger: Tyrone Hemmings
Lighting and Texture artist: Dan Grover
Conceptart/Hard surface modeler: William Cheng
Texture Artist/Editing: Matthew Walker

In the beginning..

This blog has been set up as a result of the facebook group 'Lets make a short animation'. The group was inspired by a similiar project which involved a bunch of dudes who decided to make a short film which ultimatley led to a Leciester Square screening. I was also been inspired to write this because recently I got fuggered by a freelance and i don't want to be no ones ho no mo :'( (for now) So it began as a call to arms to make something kickarse and it was an open invitation to anyone who was interested and to anyone who could relate and wanted to make something more than just showreel worthy.

Initially the idea was for anyone who was jobless i.e me, think about investing some time into a project that could ultimately get great exposure, festival entry's and all that jazz. It would a be a great opportunity to collaborate, hone your skills and most importantly to have some fun.

Short + Simple + (expert production values) = Awesome

Basically if a bunch of random dudes can get together to make a film of home video quality, AND get it shown at Leicester Sq, in comparison, a group of us could take over the world. Sooooo....

Lucky 13 is the current name of the group that has banded together to make a short animation and is the brainchild of Phil Paris Zarcilla. . We're a bunch of recent university grads that have decided to make this short and hopefully we're gona kick some arse.