Another 3d conversion

I'm happy! No I'm not...or am I?

I have had several aborted attempts at getting this character into 3d. Each time it didn't work but it came a little closer. This time it got a lot closer. I tried to keep the geometry simple and controllable, with flat color. The goal is readable faces that render quickly and can be easily tweaked post render. I think it's working. He still doesn't look exactly like my sketches, but I like the way he looks. And he can make faces!

EDIT:
I tweaked this model a bit, took of the hair, and I think it is working pretty well now.

Smile

This is an untouched 3d render. I like the toony-ness that is coming out. It still lacks the spontaneity of a drawn image. I chose this style so I could seamlessly and easily retouch/modify after the render, so I think that can be overcome.

Another character

Another character. And he's not happy. 

Style comparison

I can really see why model sheets or style guides are so important! I have trouble keeping the same style, and I'm the only one working on this! As I go I'm learning what I have to keep and what I can drop to keep the faces as simple as possible and still convey emotions well. 

Making a get away

Many times the real world is far more interesting and varied than imagination. The tying of his sandals is based on real ones, and it is simpler, cleaner and looks better than what I tried to come up with on my own. Reference material: 1. Me: 0. 

Character study

I have been making variations of this character for a while, and I
think I am happy now. I finally got rid of his handlebar mustache
(which you can see in a post below) and I think he is much improved
for it. The previous version always looked forlorn. This face has much
more expressive range.

3D conversion

I am converting one of my drawn characters into 3d. I'm trying to keep the simplicity of the drawing in the 3d model. This is a real-time render with no textures.

Another color test

This is another test character. I think I can convey enough facial
information in colors and a few choice lines to emote. I like the flat
look. Render times will be awesome.

Scruffy Ninja

I'm trying to develops color style that I can use with 3d to be 1)
Quick to render 2) have a nice toon look. I like this so far. The hard
part is the face. I'm having a hard time defining the face without
lines.

K'Krukh 2

K'krukh...Jedi art

Alien critter

I recently scanned tons of old drawings and sketches to archive them digitally and get rid of the paper. This guy was hiding out there. I think I was inspired by designs for Planet 51, so there are some similarities. 

A Stuffed Dog

Inspired by Eugene Field's poem "The Duel." It was kind of tough--I haven't "painted" in a long time.

Another Dwarf

It's called a KILT.

Last December my wife bought me an iPad. I like it. I like it a lot. Determined for it to be a productive tool, I promptly downloaded Angry Birds. In an effort to turn my iPad back to it's full artistic potential, I tried dozens of drawing/notepad apps. I liked Wacom's Bamboo paper. It was fun  but a little too limited. I read a review of Procreate by Savage Interactive and liked what I saw. I determined to wait them out for a price drop. I finally broke down and and shelled out five whole dollars to buy it. Best five bucks I've spent in a long time! This Little fellow was my first real test run of Procreate. It really does make drawing on an iPad fun whether you use your finger or a stylus. And it is easily 10 times more responsive than even the simplest drawing apps I tried out. I highly recommend it. (BTW, feel free to download this guy if you want him to grace your desktop.)

iPad drawing

I got an iPad this week. I hope that it will help me do more drawing. I'm not one of those artists that loves the tactile feel and physical process of painting. But I am all about convenience. Once my stylus comes in it will be very handy to do some sketching and not have to deal with all the paper. This little mess was done with my finger in bamboo paper by Wacom.

Back-hoe operator

I did some sketching in Photoshop tonight, and I like what came out! These are some concepts for the supporting character in my backhoe story.

I really like the extreme characterization. I don't usually push things this far. If he stays this extreme, I'll have to re-work the dragon somewhat to fit this style. As I translate my characters into 3D, they invariably slide away from characterization into a more realistic style. I think this is an almost inevitable symptom of the "realness" of working in 3D. You can't cheat the same way as in a drawing--at least not without making your model a nightmare to work with!

RAWR again

This little guy was dreamed up by my son. You'll be seeing more of him, hopefully. He has a better chance of seeing daylight again, since I already have a solid story outlined for him. He was done in AM. Below is one of the iterations he went through. This one was done in Sculptris (a great free digital sculpting program). It has some appeal, but I was afraid it didn't have enough range of expression in the eyes.

shot 2 blocking B

extended the action for this shot.

Regular 'ol animation

I finally took a little time to play with PAP 4.0 today. It's pretty intuitive (for something as complicated as animation, anyway).