Computer Animation Arts

Hey, When I plug in the created shapes into the base head and create a blendshapes deformer, that all goes well. But when I try and adjust the sliders, as well has pulling the facial expression, the base head actually moves to the position of the expression it's imitating. How do I lock the head in position?

More micro-biological/fractal abstractions to boggle and inspire, this time from Helmut Breineder . attractions from HELMUT BREINEDER on Vimeo . VACUUM CREATURES from HELMUT BREINEDER on Vimeo .

One of the big aesthetic challenges of Unit 6 is identifying exciting ways to convey the often abstract, highly organic interiors of the human body. Just take a look at these examples of marbled paper - and see how evocative they are of micro-biological imagery. For many more high-quality examples, go here . Some of these may be just the thing as the basis for a matte painting or texture.

A companion piece to Ollie's recent post re. fractals and another one-a-day with the up-close, erring-on-abstraction innerspaces of Unit 6 in mind: Surface Detail - a mesmeric animation from Tom Beddard - a laser physicist turned web developer with an interest in generative graphics programming. You'll want to check out the rest of Beddard's Vimeo showcase too, as there are a number of virus/bacteria-esque animations on there for your viewing pleasure... Surface detail from subBlue on Vimeo .

" Newell Convers Wyeth was born on October 22, 1882, in Needham, Massachusetts. Growing up on a farm, he developed a deep love of nature. His mother, the daughter of Swiss immigrants, encouraged his early artistic inclinations in the face of opposition from his father, a descendant of the first Wyeth to arrive in the New World in the mid-17th century. His father encouraged a more practical use of his talents, and young Convers attended Mechanic Arts High School in Boston through May 1899, concentrating on drafting. With his mother's support he transferred to Massachusetts Normal Art School and there instructor Richard Andrew urged him toward illustration. In 1911, the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons engaged Wyeth to illustrate Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, his first commission in Scribner's popular series of classic stories. The 17 paintings that make up the set are masterpieces of American illustration. Their size and scale, unusual in i...

Here is a great blog run by pixar, the blog is a great insight into the animation giant and how it works as a studio. Interveiws and up-and-coming features are all on here. I should also mention it is a dot blogspot address, always nice, enjoy. pixarblog.blogspot.com

Character Design Tutorials from Mark Molnar .

Lots of lovely production stuff from Tom McGrath's Megamind (2010) over at the Living Lines blog: go here for concept art , character design 1 & 2 , props and storyboards 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6

Using high-resolution electron microscopic images, Luke Jerram has created accurate glass scultptures of viruses and bacteria including HIV, E. Coli, SARS and H1N1 (Swine Flu). It is truly a sight to see these menacing and harmful subjects in 3D and they even have a documentary showing a making of the HIV glass sculpture. There is a documentary on the creation of the HIV virus sculpture found here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhWgq8622Mw&feature=player_embedded To take a look at more of his impressive work take a look at his website found here - http://www.lukejerram.com/projects/glass_microbiology

I was just wondering if anyone had heard of/looked at fractals. They're mathematically generated shapes, I read up on them once a while ago and just thought they could be of some use specifically for us first years looking for inspiration. Wikipedia page:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal Here's an example of a 3D fractal: There are some pretty psychedelic examples out there, some are confusing but a fair few are pretty inspirational :)

Some high-octane, hyper-slick and sexed-up CG from Charlex . Yep - it's one long car commercial, but Shapeshifter will leave you a little open-mouthed. ShapeShifter from Charlex on Vimeo .