RELINK to my PORTFOLIO SITE

CLICK HERE
RIGHT NOW! to view my fantastic compiled over this past year of 2012.
I've also managed to place a link to the portfolio site on the right side of the screen.

This should work interchangeably between this site and the portfolio. So if you like to see my works click on the link on the RIGHT SIDE.

4 Majors, 7 Finals

I recalled at an earlier point in my academic career, circa 4 years, talking to my coworker.

He told me how he was taking 4 majors at both our school and a small community college. His majors were in Electrical Engineering, Math, Mechanical, and Civil. To me, I felt he deserved to be written in the Guiness Book of World Records for having taken 7 finals in one day while working a 4 hour shift in graphic design. Never had combining two and two together seemed so daunting in relation to the way he could handle his academic studies and do some decent graphic designs, and pass all his classes. He even told me that by my young age he was able to complete all courses within Physics and proceed into the core requirements of his majors. I was completely baffled by his efforts.

It wasn't until one day in early spring where I had asked my other coworkers how this Renaissance man was able to pull it off. One of them told it was just because all the core foundations were all similar. That's when I had realized it that he couldn't have done all these majors if they were all completely different. Imagine taking Pyschology and Electrical Engineering. Though both may share some similar foundational courses, both diverge tremendously when the further they become specialized.

It was this sort of thinking that I had taken and had made an effort to strengthen my understanding within the arts. The field itself is composed of several specialized facets, Photography, 3D Modelling, Animation, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Transportation, etc. They all share common foundations that with the right amount of effort could be translated throughout. It is a form of language with several different accents and grammatical structures after all.

An End towards One's Means

It was always best for me keep this in mind, "There must always be an end towards one's means, without an end all means would be meaningless."

Over the course of a year my ends have been going through rapid changes. I found myself wanting to become highly skilled and technically crafted within the arts through line drawing. My strive had taken me many places throughout, and the means had led me from one end into another. From then on I realized that maybe my strive for becoming greater in drawing may actually serve as a means towards another end. The question then was, "What was it all for?"

Where was the purpose behind the investment fiscally, mentally, spiritually in achieving a high quality in drawing? What was I directing myself into, a job, a prestigious school, another form of consciousness? Where was this passion going to fit within the sphere of the social community? No matter how far I would drag myself away from the influence of the world, there would always be some stake I would have in participating within in it. What better way to participate than to form my own visual dialogue. In the end it would serve to form a cohesive bond of understanding between me and other individuals. After all we do have a vision and seek a means to convey that vision through any form of communication.

ATLOS Completed

Finally it is here, or not so much. In the coming days there are things to discuss amongst me and my peers about the release of my short film ATLOS Neon. I would like to open up about the project by first stating the synopsis as well as gracing some of the underlying themes. Through the past collection of brainstormed words I will try as best as I can to explain the piece.

First and foremost, ATLOS is the exploration of self in a time which society is ruled by a cold monotony. Although we are take through the perspective of the main character, Tho.TH3, much of the film acts as first person experience. This was done through the long traversal scenes from the time when you're initially brought into the ghost city. It's more direct however, with some of the first person shots I utilized in the film.

Tho.TH3 a machine, once thought everlasting has now ran near the end of his lifespan. He realizes that he must find a way to make meaning out of his mechanically routine life before his time runs out. But will he find a way to? More importantly what is the world that he lives in, and who exactly is Tho.TH3 as a character?

So is it a reality or some dream? Is it a commentary to the current situation or an escapist's paradise?

For the most part it's a fantasy world built within the conventions of modern industrial technology and urban architecture. The thing to always consider in the early phases of production are the questions what if? and why?

What leads to the events of ATLOS were the preceding wars and human cataclysms that nearly rendered the world uninhabitable. Of course this sort of theme is overly recurrent in major novels and films, however I committed to a personalized take on this theme. It was basically a mystery that eventually unravels itself the more time we spent living Tho.TH3's experiences. It becomes more deliberate during an important sequence in the film. My take however, upon this revelation was not to show how it affects Tho.TH3, for he already had known this, but to make it have an affect towards you. I would expect the reactions to vary, but this is what further emphasizes the first person experience of travel through the ATLOS both visually and within the perspectives of a character.

When the film is released, I plan on explaining more of the themes and symbolism. For now I've decided to leave it to this.

He Definitely Deserves Credit For His Commitment and Artistry

There's nothing better than living this life with a passion. It is definitely heart warming to see Gotye making a big break within the mainstream to open the minds of many curious souls. Can't wait to see what comes next.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_iuE_L2wys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=2ZXLyeatI0s&NR=1

The Update

So here I am standing today. Much has come to pass within the last 2 months or so. The accumulation of information and ideas have peeked at record high levels. I have come to experience some of the greatest moving events in recent years. All the while I have been keeping in check with the progress of my animated project.

I am nearly finished with the coloring process. Only one more week before I move to the final stages.

Let's be frank though. This project was done through no one's accord but of mine. I was uncertain of what was to be attained through the completion of this process, but now the image of what I want has become clear. I wanted to tell a story, and give the audience a chance to make their own. My aim was never for the "success" of this film. It is important to remember that the height of our expectations must never exceeded the height of our standards. After all, I'm not a crowd pleaser and would never want to be. I merely am trying to build my own story with all the skills and knowledge I have accumulated over the years and reinvent them as I go.

Growth is to change as change is to reinvention. It doesn't have to cover such a grandiose scale, again that is what we typically "expect" of ourselves. However, it can always start small by finding our mistakes and forcing the blood, sweat, and tears to correct them.

It was never clear to me just what I wanted or how to phrase what I wanted, until I met him. I have so much credence to give towards Karl Gnass for opening my perception during this experience. I would've never wanted anything more than to gain this understanding.

Perhaps what strengthened my change was the ability to connect his ideas to the ideas of the other prominent people I have met. So they say, "nothing is more powerful than an idea." Here's what I got to answer that, "nothing is more powerful than to connect ideas."

I have much to answer for in the coming weeks, but for now I am content that I am on a good foot. Second trailer, crossing fingers would be due out late September. CURSE YOU CLOUD ATLAS!! NOW EVERYONE'S GOING TO CONFUSE MY 2 YEAR PROJECT TITLE WITH YOU!!! Well what's one to do anyway?

Enter the ATLOS

So this is the film I'm working on. I'm taking classes concurrently with the production of this film to further enhance my design skill set and broaden my shape library. Most of the concepts that I pick up along the way will be reflected through the 2d Animation for this piece. Trailer shows no 2d Animation as of yet for it is something that intend on keeping until the release of the current trailer.

This is my most personal project, in which I am taking up the direction and asserting full control over the production process. I seek to finish it all by this year's end. This has been one of the most joyful and thrilling experiences, just seeing how concepts become materialized into moving pictures. I hope it will captivate my audiences.

Here are some samples from the film. Of course they are all roughs. However, I'm in the process of clean up and color. These are only 4 of the 53 shots I had managed to create over the course of these past few months. My goal is to get these shots looking as clean as possible for going into color correction. Time to slave away!

In Rock in A Hard Place Other than a Pickle Jar

Up until recently had this resurgence in getting back to blogging. I know at one point these thoughts had made sense. Even recollecting my notes isn't helping the situation. All I know is I am enslaved to my will to get this project done. I'll go through with this, unnaming that which cannot be named temporarily. My expected time for completion would be at the beginning of June. As always, I stress to have this done with the highest of standards and accordingly to the deadline. Afterwards, my plans are to design the credit roll and sound elements, and as a bonus, the concept dev artbook.

When the dust clears I'd like to look at this and say, wow I did this only in my early 20s. I do this for no one, but for me. I do this as a way to find my most inner truth.

Thought Process Imba???

So getting back to what I had aforementioned in the previous blog, what is it? Should the direction I take be all for the how? Or should it be for the why? On the many sketch sessions I partake on I focus too much on delivering the wow factor. I mainly find ways to add extra spice to my drawings to pop them right of the page, giving little thought as to why they are there in the first place. However, given my past experience in the realm of academia, I was mainly taught about technique. The process is super mechanical and methodical, however lacks in the spirit of life. What was the idea behind drawing that I ask myself only to answer, "GET BETTER."

Looking in retrospect, what is it to get better at drawing? To attain a form of draftsmanship. Should my approach favor now the human/spiritual touch? This time I'd have to say, just express the feeling that you get out of drawing. What is it that we feel? What is the truth in regards to that certain moment we'd like to reflect in our drawing? Thinking about it now the reason I got into drawing was just because of how terrible my writing was. If I wanted to communicate something it had to be in the form of some really god awful sketch. But, hey, it got my message across. Now this was when I was just a tot in elementary. Taking it to middle school, I found motivation to change my directive into refining more towards technique. Finding established aesthetics and cycling through them for hours was one of my usual activities.

In the end though, I must ask did that help build what is called a visual library? Did it help me become inventive within design solutions? What did it do for me? For now I still find myself caught within a flux of becoming adept to technique, but what can I say. It's an all time fetish, for now ;)

What if? *Another Random Thought

"What if?" The question I ask almost every time in regards to the existence and the creation of our ingenious kind. One such idea I grativitate towards from time to time is our lineage tied to light. Practically anything and everything that yields a heartbeat must have some essence given from the sun in our sky. However, we are divided amongst all living forms by our levels of cognitive thinking and emotional depth. We have the power to harness the most advanced technology and turn the tides of nature to wherever we please.

However, it is important to note that although we are blessed by such capability we are still connected to this world and everything else around us. There are forces in existence that we cannot comprehend nor seek to level with. It's arguable that we are nothing more than the result of biological reactions between molecular compounds, which in turn constantly synthesize energy. If we are nothing more than just that why is it that we feel? Why is it that we are engaged emotionally with others around us? It is certain that we are speckles within a sandbox, and our messages send a ripple across several tides. How far our message travels is merely determined by friction among other speckles of sand.

With that jumbled mess said, I'd only like to look back on these thoughts for later reference in so that I could form a narrative out of them. Along with ideas and philosophies I will likely come across the perfect analogy would be for me to throw fruits in a blender and see what substances pour out. Who are the characters and what is the (geographical, sociopolitical, cultural, ethnically, ideological) environment. More than ever, I'd like to stress how much thought I'd give into a design. After it is the why, not the how that matters.

Prototyping the World

On Tuesday March 14th  the 5d Flux conference had commenced delivering a such an insightful vision of future technologies and ideation processes. The first night had covered much of the advances and possibilities within our rapidly developing technologies. Questions had remained within my thoughts, what is there to do with this technology and why do we even need it? As way of moving forward and answering that question, the focus was centered on taking ideas and prototyping them to see where they would fit within a narrative space. Within recent years, the process of prototyping had broken the linearity of the production pipeline allowing for more fluidity between different departments.

The key terms that were repeatedly iterated were narrative, real-time, and play, all of which makes for the core of prototyping. Within the prototyping phase there are prominent realms that ideas are passed through. They are the analysis of core elements, the production, the motif, the stylization, and the research. Before committing to such an extensive process it is important understand the functions of the proposed idea. Form follows function, as they say. Next is to consider the limitations that encircle the pipeline, whether it be money, time or resources. The motif is what gives context to the idea. It could be either fictional or historical but ties the audience back to the story. The stylization is the fun part in which certain aspects or proportions are pushed to fit within the narrative space. The research is what drives the development and the evolution of the places and characters involved within the story. Process is the teaching and learning that revolves around prototyping. The design is what infects and empowers its holders. Though this scaling of this process has the potential to vary phenomenally, it is always the story that we must always be tied to.

No matter how massive the scale of the sandbox, ideas fluidly transfer from one end to another. It was amazing to see how rapid visualization enacted itself as a catalyst in evolving the production pipeline. These technologies enable us to bring our story driven imaginations to the forefront of our physical reality.

A Night of Inception and Worldbuilding

I must admit it has been a while since my last post. So much has taken place over the course of these last few but short weeks. To start things of, I would like to recap on this night's event, the 5d Flux Conference. It was truly an amazing night showcasing the melting pot of ideas and the future of interactive design. Nearly decades ago it was mere magic to have objects materialize out of thin air. However, within recent years we have witnessed a large influx of technology within a personable sector. Hardware capable of out-computing the NASA JPL supercomputers of the 60s or the 80s are now available at our fingertips with smartphones and tablet machines. Software used to conceive and composite the high end special effects of 90s blockbusters are now within the reach of the public. We are granted the access to a digitized reality, high fidelity simulation and rapid fabrication. Here's a crazy fact, there were millions more transitors produced than individual grains of rice globally within just this past year.

With the shortening of our attention spans as one of the trade offs, we have witnessed this change within less than 10 years. In short what it means is that things on the technology sector are exponentially skyrocketing and will never cease. The industry and our creativity run concurrently with technology at different wavelengths, but always forward. Much like a double edged sword, it can be argued that while technology serves to compensate some of the short comings of our human abilities at the same time it limits our creativity, and vice versa. Same thing can be argued with the "industry" being called VUCA. However, one of the most extraordinary examples showcased was 3D printing.

I recall during the Spring of 2009, I had purchased a copy of Exodessey from the Steambot Studios. I came across a page that featured a 1/3 scale model of the Main character Harry Vicard. I had the opportunity to meet with one of the concept artists behind the book, and I asked him how they created this model. Basically the character was visuallized within Zbrush and then printed through a 3D printer. The process sounded simple, yet I never imagined how far many deviously talented individuals would take the technology. It covered everything, complex sustainable architecture, extremely fuel efficient vehicle chassis,  Nike shoes, bone replacements, even human tissue. It is such a wierd thought to ponder around a liver being printed out of a machine. The printer isn't intimidated by such daunting complexity, it only reads complexity as a binary command.

What was learnt from today was that these issues aren't such a hindrance in our ability for world-building and Inception. The process in which the ideas come to be realized within the space of our reality has met the age of rapid fabrication. Although we may be telling the same story repeatedly throughout the course of our history, we learn to build better metaphors and meanings for ourselves. The connect we bear is constructed by the same metaphors we share and tell amongst ourselves.

Back in the Game

Getting to animate again was definitely a refresher for me this weekend. Having dug through the neuro memory network, it took several hours for me to remember some of the neat things anyone could do with Animate Pro.
Below is the model sheet I had constructed for my main character. The project unveiling should be due sometime in February with final touches being made in March. The goal I have set for myself is to meet ambitious conceptions within a timely manner. I have embarked on this project which I had initially started last January with a couple of rough sketches and written material. All seemed to form several different stories, but luckily I had some great advice from talented mentors. With everything set into place I started all the builds within last September, and this is as far as I have gone. It's only a matter of time now before I meet full circle.

The process itself may seem complicated and too technical. This aside, let's just say, "I know what I want and I know what to do."

Color Swatches, NOLA

The sweet sights of the French Quarter, there's nothing else quite like it anywhere in the U.S., given its historic architecture being situated in such a warm humid area. Walking around this place, my eyes were overwhelmed by the feel of French colonialism. I would like to return some day to do some plein air sketches of the area.

NOLA

As I lay my schedule for the upcoming week forward I sit and contemplate about my past trip to New Orleans. From the time I had landed on the airstrip at Houston to travelling to the inner city of New Orleans, I have been blessed with an experience that I'll never forget. It is astounding to me knowing that I myself have traveled across the Midwest onto the South within the early years of my 20s. I would have absolutely no problem in doing it again. Aside from that I had acquired an idea, "Think positive and deal with the handful of cards you're given." That was what I came for, to embrace that idea and relate to the cultural experience I had endured within my stay. Some of the things that would stay with me were the attitudes of the local folks. It was pretty assuring to be able to start a conversation out of the air and to discover a couple of things about the human condition. It makes you realize how much of a bubble we live in compared to the world around us.

I would never trade anything for the experience I had here. I would love to come back and spend as much time here crafting on my own life and profession. They say there are some places out here in the world that have the power to transform a person, and I believe I have found it. I know now what I want to do.

3d Modelling

There's nothing like firing up the old Mental Ray.

Soo what is it that I'm up to...

For a great amount of time it has been running through my head as to how I would wound up structuring myself.    For while as well I have put many plans on hold, due to the many priorities I had to fulfill. Finally with those aside I have taken it upon myself come up to finally establish the body of work I have longing to complete. In order for me to get there I must, number one, have a very keen sense of drawing in volumetric form. This includes but is not limited to cars, planes, castles, interiors, spaceships, more interiors, tanks, etc. etc. Having to get to this point requires the (yes*) unsexy cube/elipses exercises done in deliberative repetition for hours long. In short, I NEED to think and draw in 3 dimensions. The X, The Y, and The Z. Basically having a wiring meshing plugin installed to my forebrain. It's just one of those things on my to do list. Once I have a mastery within that it's on to the next step.

Mind Melting in 3 Dimensions

As far back as I can remember, I was always enthusiastic about conveying volumetric forms within a 2d flat surface. I found myself committing countless hours into tightening my perspective as well as experimenting with different views. However, much of these ideas were done through simple line work. On top of that, the technical mistakes I made outnumbered much my successful takes. Nevertheless I still kept forward drawing from different inspirations.

Mecha design had been the peak of my design interest since watching steam punk anime as a teenager. I had fallen in love with the vehicle and character designs from shows such as Outlaw Star and Gundam series and movies like Appleseed. This had lead to my transitioning from just simply drawing dinosaurs to drawing more cityscapes and vehicles. The character Briarios, from Appleseed, was this all around tough action hero confined to a a metallic shell due to his severe injuries. The feature I found distinguishable about him than most other animes were his audio attachments, which were in the form of rabbit ears. I have been longing to try out 3d modeling programs so when I was given the chance there was no holding back. After the long hours of the week this is had been conceived.

Work Under Way

So yes, it has been a while since I have posted any progress revolving my works and growth. I have taken the time wrap up loose ends while keeping up a good learning curve. Interestingly these past weeks I have dug through my video archives and came across a drawing foundation tutorial. After only spending a few hours I had reviewed the key necessary steps to achieving good line quality and accuracy. During this time however, I had innately drawn parallels between 3 dimensional form and simple mathematical arithmetic. My methods were devised under this sequence Multiplication, Addition, Division, Subtraction. As I drew for a few days onward I had begun varying the steps to find different solutions towards the design process. Each of these construction painstakingly had taken it's time. Nevertheless, I still had to channel my patience in relearning some of these forgotten concepts.

With the time that I have made for myself, as well as my New Year's resolution I have clear confidence that I will eventually master these forms. Of course, I just got leave room for the sketch work.