Animation Project: Cassandra Dimitrescu

 Animation Project: Cassandra Dimitrescu

 January - February 2022

 

As a followup to the completion of the Dimitrescu sisters rigs, I had an idea to test them out in animation. Here I wanted to invoke the same style as the source material, where the character flies into the scene. While not based on any one particular scene, it felt fitting to have them take this almost swimming-like motion through the air to approach the viewer.

 So far, I've only done a few passes, and the result is still a bit rough. I hope to finish this out and eventually add in some scenery and perhaps even the swarming flies that accompany the character.

 

 

Animation Project: Hagah-nimations

Animation Project - Hagah-nimations

December 2021 - February 2022

 

Now that I have finished (for now) the rigs for the Hagah characters last year, I had to take the next step and try out some animations with the gang. Over the past few months, I have been posting my progress on video game-esque sequences and more for each of the characters. Very experimental, but also a fun way to stress-test the work I've basically made from scratch.

For all of the progress reports, check out my Twitter @Nickocng.

 

 

 I set out to make a set of 10 animation sequences: walk, run, jump, idle, attack, block, counter, dash, elemental, and stun. Additionally, I made a few establishing animations portraying the use of mask powers, which were structured more like cinematics. It was particularly challenging to think of how each of these six individuals would look doing the same actions. They need to have some sense of uniformity, but also need some personality of their own, otherwise they might as well all use the same animation.  Some move faster or slower than the rest. Some have more flair and finesse in their movements, while others are toned down and move with fluidity. All of this was really interesting to consider throughout the entire process. I had some sense of how they should act, but there was also a far few gaps to fill in with my own concepts of how they should act.

I am currently taking a break from this project, so stay tuned.

Test Test Test!

 Just testing with new admin account.

~ Nicholas C Ng

Modeling Project: The Android Sent By CyberLife

 Modeling Project: The Android Sent By CyberLife

 November 2021

 

After the first rigged low-poly models, I wanted to branch out and make more from other franchises and media. Next up is a character from the game Detroit: Become Human: Connor RK800. The android with a mission to hunt down deviants is another of my favorites, and they have a very distinct and iconic design. Using the same methods as the previous projects, I modeled out, rigged, and rendered some cool shots with a fairly functional final product. I set out to make these first three renders, with more to come. The first depicts the character under two lights representing the choice of what path to go down, and the two others depict each path taken.

This project has been in development for a while, and while still not done entirely, I feel like this is a good point to step off and regroup. I fully intend on returning for more. As a result, I can only recall the more recent developments (I'll hopefully do a full write-up later on). This portion, which includes the rigging, weight-painting, shading, and posing/rendering) took only a few sessions of work, ranging 10-12 hours spread across two weeks. Everything aside from the watermarks was composited in the main Blender file.

 

Contrasting the Daughters Dimitrescu, this character is much more conservative and clean-cut in silhouette. As a result, I was faced with different challenges such as forming hair, ears, and a formal suit and tie. The defining adornments for the character are very sleek and integrated. Everything fits together, so nothing hangs out or lays on its own. This project also helped me learn about lighting and emission shaders, which I made good use of for the armband and LED on the forehead.

 

 

I plan to return to this project with more renders and animations. For now I am happy to reach something of a goal point since I was struggling to get back into things. I would certainly like to test the boundaries of a low-poly model like this, and perhaps recreate some scenes from the source material with my own added flare. 

 

Until next time.

 

 

 

 

Modeling Project: UA Livestream Set

 Modeling Project -  UA Livestream Set

 November 2021

 

As tribute to a YouTube channel called Unus Annus, I wanted to recreate the setup for the finale livestream to the best of my abilities in Blender. The premise is fairly simple and achievable. Only a few props are set up and were easy to visualize and potentially replicate in 3D. This was a very fun passion project that provided the perfect balance of challenge to my modeling skills, and drive to succeed as a fan's piece of artwork.

This project only took a few days to complete, broken up across two weeks. Overall, I would estimate it took around 10 hours from start to finish. Each component was easy to define and build sequentially. The props of note were: the chairs(cushions as a single piece and the bar frame), the coffin (base, handles, and lid), the back spiral, the TV(with text), the table, the flower bouquets (with corresponding letter shapes), the top-hat, and the pocket-watches. Additionally, I tried to match the floor and back wall textures. All of the above were modeled from scratch by myself, and almost all textures were done by myself as well with the exception of the spiral design. This was a big teaching moment for how textures and lighting work.

With the final render finished, I think it turned out better than I could have hoped for. There is still a lot for me to learn about rendering and scene composition, but everything I wanted to get done was checked off the list.

Memento Mori

 

 

 

 

Full Project - Toa Hagah

 

 Full Project - Toa Hagah

August 2021

 

 

This project took me back to my roots of Lego and Bionicle characters. I once again put my skills to the test for modeling, rigging, and rendering. This time around, I had some new techniques to test out and plenty of new challenges to face along the way. This initially started out as a small fan project, but quickly evolved into a real piece of work I could not afford to leave out of my portfolio. So now I'm here to detail the work process.

This project took about two months to accomplish. However, I did take a brief break in between work periods. Overall, it was done in approximately a month and a half. With one to two hours (and possibly three later in the game) of progress daily for said work period, I feel that this project was much more lax in the beginning and ramped up towards the end as I was yearning to finish.

 

For the full write-up where I go in-depth about every step of the journey, please check out the project's landing page.

https://thenicholasng.blogspot.com/p/toa-hagah-full-project-synopsis.html

 

Full Project - Daughters Dimitrescu

 Full Project - Daughters Dimitrescu

July 2021

 

 

As part of a fan art initiative, I recreated the Dimitrescu daughters from the game Resident Evil: Village with my own style. I built these characters up from scratch, applying my skills in modeling, rigging, and animation. Many references were used from the official characters, but I largely wanted to take up the challenge of doing it all on my own.

This project as a whole took about two months, covering all three main components plus posing and rendering out individual photos for social media; taking around 2-3 hours of work per day. Modeling comprised about 3-4 weeks of the time, rigging took 1-2 weeks, and animation/rendering took 1-2 weeks.

This project was meant to test my skills as a 3D artist across many areas of expertise, helping me to realize what I am most confident in down to what I feel could use work or I would rather not do in a potential professional environment. 

For the full write-up where I go in-depth about every step of the journey, please check out the project's landing page.

https://thenicholasng.blogspot.com/p/the-daughters-dimitrescu-full-project.html