Work in Progress July 2009

TPD WIP JULY 2009 from Paul Caggegi on Vimeo.

Rigging the face can be as difficult and as time-consuming as rigging an entire body. In this demonstration, I take two techniques I have seen used to great effect - bone and lattice deformations - to produce a very flexible and versatile rig for my character's face.

Credit should be given where credit is due. I highly recommend checking out the following videos available on facial rigging:

tp8000cfv's face rigging tutorials available on Youtube Part 1 available HERE. Find more videos by tp8000cfv HERE.

Of course, the ubiquitous ManCandy is the rig I most base my stuff on. While I highly recommend the DVDs, you can find the rig HERE.

Much of what I have done here is a rehashing of their excellent work, and I learned so much from watching these guys in order to rig my own character.

Of course, there are other ways to rig a face. One such way is shape keys. I like to use shape keys to enhance what is already a fine rig. Again, I shall make available the modified Marcus .blend file to anyone who wishes to email me for it. It will contain the updated mesh, and the completed rig. I shall be further adding some shape keys (which will not be available in the file I send you due to time constraints) to emphasize expressions: a furrow of the brow; a crease in the lips, etc. You may also note there is no tongue in the mesh as yet. This will be added shortly, and also be rigged.

I hope you enjoy this demonstration video. I've aimed to cover the more difficult parts at a slower pace, and deliberately repeated some techniques so you can get a better understanding of them. As always, please leave feedback in the comments section, or via email. Knowing how these free videos help you guys really helps me improve the quality of what I produce.

Cheers, folks!

Paul C


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Discussion Point - 07-09 The Miracle Element

Welcome to this month's discussion point post and podcast. As I have been writing, I've decided to relax on verifying all facts in order to concentrate on imbuing the script with more fun. I am apprehensive of relying too much on any miracle exceptions which may arise in my writing. In this week's podcast, I speak about miracle exceptions - when they go bad, and when they are acceptable. Perhaps the best examples of miracle exceptions can be found in this book:


Below are two examples of the author demonstrating exerpts from the book:






Just added: I had no idea he was consultant of Watchmen!





The science and entertainment exchange puts writers in touch with actual scientists who wish to verify the accuracy of the science they are portraying in their film. I came across it when scouring for accuracy in sci-fi. While not absolutely necessary, I find films which display a healthy respect for factual information a cut above the rest.




The progress of this pilot is finally rocketing ahead once again. I should be hitting storyboarding and animatic phase before too long, and I cannot wait to begin producing visuals. Thanks for reading, watching and listening this week, folks. I should be back before too long with a new brainstorm, and be sure to come back for the monthly work in progress at the end of the month.

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Andy Belenger Interview July 2009

Do you ever feel as if the task at hand is so overwhelming, you just know you're gonna suck? And suck HARD? Do you ever wish there could be something... I dunno, like a bottle... that could make you so awesome, that you would be like, the world's best at... whatever?!

Sounds like you need to listen to today's interview.

I recently caught up with professional Toronto illustrator: Andy Belanger, creator, writer and artist for Bottle of Awesome which you should all check out over at Zuda Comics.

Andy's career is diverse and extraordinary. Apart from drawing some killer comics of his own devising, he has created take-away comicbook storyboards for films, pitched children's comic ideas for kid's magazines, and even illustrated custom covers. You can see much of his work at: www.andybelanger.com or over at Transmission X which features Raising Hell.

Also in the podcast: feedback! You guys are awesome. I tried to address many of the issues folks emailed me about, as well as give thanks for all the praise.

Next week: the usual discussion point and project updates. Cheers for now, guys!

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