Computer Animation Arts

Last time it was obscure Ennio Morricone tracks from films that only Quentin Tarantino could possibly know about . I’d thought I’d update with some of the more popular and well known compositions that have made Ennio Morricone a house hold name and a film legend. Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo. (The Good, the Bad and Ugly) Main theme L’esatsi Dell’oro (The Ectasy of Gold) Per qualche dollaro in più (For a Few Dollars More) Main theme Per un pugno di dollari (A Fistful of Dollars) Main theme Once Upon a Time in America Main theme Deborah’s Theme Cinema Paradiso. Main Theme The Thing Main theme

I was thinking about getting to know a sculpting program while I get more familiar with Maya this summer and I wasn't sure which to have a go with. I read the post about Sculptris and that sounds pretty good (it's also free which is always a bonus!) but would it be better to get the hang of one of the bigger programs like zbrush or mudbox and if so, which one? I know virtually nothing about either so any help would but much appreciated! :D

So this is a band/musician I've been listening to lately and it has helped me relax and regain my tranquility. He was discovered after Phil posted a hand-drawn dance animation a while ago and I emediatly got stuck into it's music. So a bit of info: Parov Stelar aka Marcus Füreder (born November 27, 1974) is a musician who lives and works in Linz, Austria. He performs with his Band - the Parov Stelar Band - and as a DJ worldwide. Parov Stelar is the head of Etage Noir Recordings. fter experience as a DJ at nightclubs during the mid-late 1990s, Parov Stelar got involved in producing and publishing in 2000 for the first time. After early works under the pseudonym Plasma and his real name, and also being a partner of the label Bushido Recordings, in 2004 he started producing under the pseudonym Parov Stelar. In the same year he founded his own label: Etage Noir Recordings. His first release,for Etage Noir, "KissKiss EP" and the soon after released LP "Rough Cuts...

As there's bound to be fair amount of new 'Tunes' appearing thought I'd post this handy tip that lets you embed just the audio from Youtube. While some videos will be fine, this can be used in case you get a stupid stick figure animation playing out the song lyrics or something. The fix is: in the embed code change the height to 25 pixels. Like so: width="425" height=" 25 " src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/p4EVj76htYs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen and you get: Now you can put a tasteful image instead! Apologies if this is already widely known!

I've just finished watching Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds and had completely forgotten how good that soundtrack was.  The pieces that grabbed me the most were the orchestral pieces by Ennio Morricone, an Italian composer. " Since 1960, Morricone has scored over 400 films working with many Italian and international directors (among whom Sergio Leone, Gillo Pontecorvo, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Bernardo Bertolucci, Giuliano Montaldo, Lina Wertmuller, Giuseppe Tornatore, Brian De Palma, Roman Polanski, Warren Beatty, Adrian Lyne, Oliver Stone, Margarethe Von Trotta, Henry Verneuil, Pedro Almodovar and Roland Joffè). His most famous films include: The Battle Of Algiers; Sacco and Vanzetti; Cinema Paradiso; The Legend Of 1900, Malena; The Untouchables, Once Upon A Time In America; The Mission and U-Turn. In his long career, Ennio Morricone has received many awards other than the Golden Lion and the Honorary Oscar, among which 8 Nastri D’argento, 5 Baftas, 5 Oscar Nom...

Hello CGA! The day of the Invisible Cannibals from Beyond the Stars trailer - The Complete Edition, is finally finished. All the lost scenes were recovered from all the hard drives and painstakingly recreated digitally via a process called rendering. I'd like to thank the B3D restoration team (that is myself and Ruben) for filling in the gaps. And lets not forget Shahbir who worked with us too, for the first incarnation of the trailer. (including the rigging of 7 characters!!!) Note that the trailers animation has remained untouched. Instead, the new trailer has undergone some slight editing tweaks (including the sound), and includes any scenes that weren't rendered in time for the original deadline. For those who are interested to see how different it is, the original can be seen here . That's it from B3D studios.

Ok, well I guess I'll be the first to start posting some inspirational artists onto the blog :D Here's an amazing artist if your very much into instrumental/ambient/experimental types of music. I find this particular genre of music an excellent way to sink into a world of narrative based on your own interpretation of the sound, escaping lyrical confinements and allowing you to create with your mind :) 'At once uplifting and otherworldly, the music of Ulrich Schnauss combines multilayered synthesisers with beats and ethereal vocals, serving as an aural escape route from the trappings of reality. As Schnauss explains, ‘I’ve always used making and listening to music as a way to escape – putting on headphones is a great way to leave reality behind for a while, reminding yourself why it still makes sense to carry on...' Here's a few examples of his pieces: A Song About Hope For Good Enjoy!

Trying to render an ambient occlusion for a test comp, minds completely boggled and can not work out why my ambient occlusion is grey rather than white. Somebody help!

Okay, so my bags are packed and 2 weeks of internetless R & R awaits. I look forward to catching up with all things CGAA upon my return!

Okay, i need to texture my ground for this environment (which is pretty large as you can see compared to the building), and am not too sure what the best approach would be. Ive attempted to create a massive 6k and 4k UV Map, but when i load in a basic colour texture, with bump and spec, Maya crashes. So i guess that's out of the question. Would it best to create a lower res texture map, or use some other sort of methods, for example 3D layered textures in Maya with tillable textures? or is there any other methods out there? Help would be much appreciated.

Announcing the winner of the recent blog icon competition - Domantas Lukošius. The CGAA community was obviously much too busy doing other exciting, creative things to inundate me with alternate designs, but many thanks to Dom for his submission. So, if you want to profile a composer (film or otherwise), musician, song-writer, music video etc., then preface your showcase with this icon. I look forward to some new aural adventures...

More great production art selections here from Disney's Aladdin (1992) - courtesy of Living Lines .

There is something extraordinarily unsettling about the mask photographs of Ralph Eugene Meatyard . For me at least, they cut down to the bone of half-remembered childhood anxieties; about waking up to find the world horribly altered somehow or finding your parents transformed or vanished or strange. It's not just the cheap Halloween masks - it's the ordinariness of the settings. Even the sunlight chills me a little bit. " Ralph Eugene Meatyard (1925-1972) attended Williams College as part of the Navy's V12 program in World War II. Following the war, he married, became a licensed optician, and moved to Lexington, Kentucky. When the first of his three children was born, Meatyard bought a camera to make pictures of the baby. Quickly, photography became a consuming interest. He joined the Lexington Camera Club, where he met Van Deren Coke , under whose encouragement he soon developed into a powerfully original photographer. Meatyard used still images to record thing...

Go here for a selection of development drawings from Disney's Aladdin (1992) - with thanks to Living Lines.

I've set up controls for a vehicle's wheel speed by creating an expression, but it doesn't work exactly how it needs to. On keying 0 to ##, the wheels speed up as they should, but on keying ## to 0, they reverse their direction instead of slowing down to a stop. I can sort of understand why this is happening, but I can't think of a fix. Example, where the speed is keyed like so: 0 - 50 - 50 - 0 This is my expression. Rear_Rim_1.rotateX = (time * Wheel_Speed_Control.RearWheelSpeed); Rear_Rim_2.rotateX = (time * Wheel_Speed_Control.RearWheelSpeed); Front_Rim_1.rotateX = (time * Wheel_Speed_Control.FrontWheelSpeed); Front_Rim_2.rotateX = (time * Wheel_Speed_Control.FrontWheelSpeed); Does anyone have any idea how I should rewrite the expression?

The steampunk motif continues with Adam Pespane's charming stop-motion animation, The Deep , commissioned for the US Showtime network - home of entertaining serial killer drama, Dexter. "The selections in “Short Stories” are certainly closer to the worlds of art and cinema than to the usual content of television (or TV Web sites). Among the most striking is “The Deep” by PES, the working name of the New York-based animator Adam Pesapane , known for his “Human Skateboard” shoe commercial, shorts like “Western Spaghetti” and “KaBoom!” and his fireplace screen saver featuring oscillating candy corn . In “The Deep” Mr. Pesapane uses stop-motion animation to create a dreamlike, hypnotic facsimile of the ocean depths in which old metal objects — pocket knives, calipers, keys, a mesh purse, a cartridge belt — stand in for slowly moving sea creatures." from nytimes.com

Another short film from Jim Lo Scalzo - Twilight in New Orleans , in which Lo Scalzo documents the post-Katrina abandonment of New Orleans. Twilight in New Orleans from Jim Lo Scalzo on Vimeo .

Ghosts in the Hollow is an atmospheric short film by author and photojournalist, Jim Lo Scalzo , which documents the abandoned coal towns of Appalachia. The imagery here pressed pretty much all of my buttons. These forlorn places are creepy, filmic and elegiac. Ghosts in the Hollow from Jim Lo Scalzo on Vimeo .

Go here for a selection of character design and production drawings from Robots (2005), courtesy of Living Lines .

On internet, I came across something interesting. Have you ever wondered how is a day in the life of one of the most famous CG animators/ Directors John Lasseter. The following documentary explains how John Lasseter, tackles his days.   I have to say how impressive is the amount of work he can fit in 1 day. Hope it inspires !

For a great collection of concept art, character design and storyboards from Studio Ghibli , go here .

A smorgasbord of charm and artistry from Disney's back catalogue - courtesy of Andreas Deja @ Deja View.

Directed by Rimantas Lukavicius and with VFX by KORB , this music video for I'll Be Gone by MARIO BASANOV & VIDIS feat JAZZU is an exemplar of minimalist, understated cool. I found it rather mesmeric - and the editing is expert. See what you think. I'll be gone from KORB on Vimeo .

This trailer is a ridiculous amount of fun and if it doesn't make you smile while watching it then the song will fix that! It looks like another absolute treat from Aardman so it's definitely something to look forward to! There's a higher quality video here on The Guardian's website.

Daniel Proulx makes wire-wrapped 'Steampunk' jewellery with brass, copper and gemstones. I include some examples here, as I suspect their intricacy and pulpish, retro-charms will appeal. "I always was very interested in fantasy imaginary worlds, such as Dungeons & Dragons, Lord of the Rings and science fiction. I’m also inspired by the mix of mechanical, organic shapes and contrast between ancient and futuristic designs..." from danielproulx.blogspot.com