Let There Be Toys! Part 1: CG Modeling

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Scene from "The Last Cookie"

Today we're going to give you a look into the process for creating a toy.  The first toy I'm attempting to make is a figure of the younger sister from Shiro Ninja's short film, "The Last Cookie".  The first step will be to create a computer generated 3-dimensional sculpture of our toy.

Below are a few work in progress images of the CG sculpture:

There are a few finishing touches still needed for this model.  Once done I can move on to the next step of prepping the model for a process called "Rapid Prototyping" or "RP".  RP allows us to quickly see how the character is going to look in its final toy form.  Look forward to part 2 where I will prepare the finished model for Rapid Prototyping!

-07-

Figure Drawing: Using Pixelovely

Ink Sketch by Shiro Ninja

Lately Zer07 and I have been on a gesture drawing kick.  Gesture drawing is a great method to develop the ability to quickly draw different poses, which is really helpful for animation.  We found a great website called Pixelovely, which has a huge archive of photos.  It allows you to have your own private figure drawing sessions.  You can customize nude or clothed models (or both), and you can set a timer for when you want the image to change.  There's even an option for animals!  The nice thing about using these photos is that you're sometimes given very dynamic shots like this jumping dancer guy, and animators definitely need to be able to draw dynamic poses!

Ink Sketch by Zer07

Below are some of our 1 minute gesture drawings:

Shiro Ninja Gestures

Zer07 Gestures

Now there are no excuses.  Get drawing!

nin nin

Giant Robot anime

Figure Drawing: Mountains of clothes

Hello friends!  Shiro Ninja here.  I hope you all had a nice Fourth of July.  This week Zer07 and I attended another Dr. Sketchy's figure drawing session.  As I mentioned in the last figure drawing post, the Dr. Sketchy models usually wear crazy costumes and gradually undress throughout the evening.  This session, the models started off wearing an insane amount of clothes!  The super voluminous skirts with tons of ruffles and wrinkles were especially challenging to draw, but we had lots of fun as usual.  Here are our sketches:

Shiro's gestures.  Top two: 1 min. Bottom three: 2 min

Shiro's 5 minute sketches

Shiro's 10 minute sketches

Zer07's gestures.  Left two: 1 min.  Right two: 2 min

Zer07's 5 minute sketches

Zer07's sketches.  Left: 10 min.  Right: 5 min

Adventures in Japan! Part 5: Tokyo

The final stop on our journey was Tokyo.  Our first mission was to check out the Ghibli Museum.  If you love Studio Ghibli films, then this is a very charming place to visit.  A life sized Totoro greets you at the entrance.  Inside, you can watch a Ghibli short film, exclusive only to visitors of the museum.  See concept art from your favorite Ghibli movies, sit inside a life sized cat bus, and stand next to a life sized robot from "Laputa: Castle in the Sky."

"Balse"

My favorite part of the museum is an amazing 3D zoetrope.  Tiny sculptures of Ghibli characters in a progression of poses are placed in a circle and then spun around quickly while a light strobes, giving the illusion of movement.  Girls are jumping rope while bats fly around and Totoro's friends disappear and reappear... it's quite amazing and I urge you to see it with your own eyes!

Our next stop was Akihabara, "The Electric City," and the Mecca for hardcore otaku.  We navigated through various anime themed stores and eventually found some great treasures.  Zer07 got himself some One Piece figurines and I got a One Piece stuffed animal that I've been wanting for a while:

Chopper!!  My favorite One Piece character.

After Akihabara, we met with some friends for shabu shabu in Shinjuku.  On our last day of fun, we met with some of my old friends from ninja animation school at Asakusa.

Kaminari Mon

Agemanjuu - Deep fried sweet bean pastries

Later, we explored Harajuku and were amused by the interesting use of English on shirts and signs:

Then we ended the evening with dinner in Shibuya.

What a fun adventure we had!!!  I can't wait to visit the homeland again soon.

If you missed them, be sure to check out the other parts in our Adventures in Japan series:
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Figure Drawing: Fun with Dr. Sketchy

Shiro Ninja, sanjou!  Earlier this week, Zer07 and I went to another productive figure drawing session.  Lately we've been going to "Dr. Sketchy's" figure drawing sessions, which is quite fun and at times a little risque.  The models are sometimes dressed in silly costumes ranging from bondage to chipmunk costumes, and are gradually encouraged by the Master of Ceremonies to undress.  There are contests like, "who can draw the best penis," with prizes given away throughout the night.  It's a relaxing and silly atmosphere.  The models are great, and I always feel inspired at these sessions.  Check out our sketches from this week:

Shiro Ninja:  Top left and bottom left - 5minute sketches.  Right - 10 minute sketch.

Shiro Ninja:  Top left - 10 min.  Top right - 15 min.  Bottom - 20 min.

Zer07:  Top left - 5 min.  Top right and bottom sketches - 2 min.

Zer07:  5 minute sketches

Until next time... Ninja smoke bomb!!!

3d to 2d workflow - "Use the Tools"

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Making of:

 

(For the previous post about this process click here)