VEF1 Project 2 (Steel Mill)

For this project I made three different effects, molten metal, fire, and sparks. I used an omni emitter for the molten metal and then used a directional field and gravity field to make the blobby surface particles flow realistically. The fire was made with cylindrical volume emitters and a directional field to to push it up. Then a turbulence field was added to change up the movement of the cloud particles. I made expressions and ramps for opacity, mass, lifespan, and color. The sparks are streak particles with a color ramp and gravity field. Everything was rendered in Mental Ray and composited in Nuke. I found some creative commons licensed sound effects and edited it all together in Final Cut Pro. I hope you enjoy it!

Visual Effects Project 1 (Rube Goldberg machine)

For this project I had to make a Rube Goldberg machine, where a series of different objects work together to do a simple task. I used eleven active rigid bodies in this scene, the hammer, pool ball, gear, dominoes, 6 sided die, see-saw, mallet, cup, 20 sided dice, pachinko machine doors, and roulette wheel. I had several passive bodies to interact with the active rigid bodies, such as the platforms, pachinko machine pegs and ramp. I added gravity and adjusted everything's weight to make sure it all behaved normally. After setting up the simulation and getting it the way I liked, I baked the animation and applied new Lamberts to everything. For most objects I added a simple singular color but a few objects required unique file textures (pool ball, die and roulette wheel which I made in Photoshop). I used a directional light for the majority of the scene and a spotlight on the roulette wheel since it was the finale. After rendering everything out with mental ray, I took my batch render into Nuke and composited it together, along with giving it a quick color correct for a more cinematic look. After it had been rendered out of Nuke, I took it to Final Cut Pro where I added some Creative Commons license sound effects that fit my scene. I tried to use realistic sounds (like dominoes falling over or dice hitting a table) but occasionally I had to improvise. I also added background noise like casino machines and people talking for more ambience. This is a sample of how I setup the sound effects.

The last thing I did was add a title and end credits with my name included and the programs I used. I then saved it out and my project was done!

Character Animation

This is my first playblast for the project I'm currently working on. I only have the contacts in this and the timing is very rough.

Here is the most recent playblast for this project. I've added, passing poses, ups, downs, and changed the timing some. It's still not where I want it yet but it's in the rough area. After this I am going to put it in Auto curves and add the foot roll and work in the graph editor.

Compare and Contrast

          I kept the teeth platter tutu from the original design, it was one of my favorite aspects of the piece and I feel it's one of the most significant as well. I also kept the the red flower and hairpiece because it gives sharp contrast with all of the yellow and black. I changed the arms to a more natural position and added hands. I also gave her legs and feet, as well as pointe shoes so she would look more like a ballerina. While I left out the entire skull that she is fused with, I replaced her head with a skull. I also tried to keep the same skull outline in white around the dancer for emphasis and to reinforce the macabre theme.

Work in Progress

My rough sketch for the changes I'm making to Ballerina in a Death's Head. I'm making the dancer extremely skinny and skeletal. Where there are lines around the dancer, I'm going to fill in with black.

Ballerina in a Death's Head by Salvador Dali

"Ballerina in a Death's Head"

By: Salvador Dali

Oil on canvas

1939

Subjective critique:

          When I first saw this piece, along with most Dali works, I felt a little uncomfortable. It's a very macabre piece and although I don't mind that, I just don't think it was put together very well.  The skull is too narrow and the eyes too close together. The only thing that led me to believe it was a skull were the teeth. Beneath the teeth looks like a strange mass of bone that didn't make sense to me. They are neither legs nor the base of a skull and to me it feels out of place. I assume the two pieces that curve outward from the skull are the jaw mandibles because that is the only thing that makes sense but even then, they're inaccurately placed. I also dislike the ballerina's arms, the placement does not make sense and is not visually interesting. 

          If I could change this piece I would start with giving the ballerina legs and proper arms. Those are both the main features of a dancer and what show grace and beauty so she is incomplete without them. I think it would make the piece more interesting to have the ballerina stand alone and replace her head with the skull. I'd make the skull features more accurate as well. I think the ballerina should be posed sous-sus en pointe with the arms in 5th position. This is a classic "ballerina pose" and would immediately convey the subject matter. 

Objective critique:

           Ballerina in a Death's Head is a surrealistic painting. It uses a monochromatic color scheme with the skull and ballerina both being the same pale yellow, all on a black background with other black elements. The only other color is the red flower on the ballerina's headpiece, which gives contrast against the yellow. The lines and forms are all organic, there are no harsh edges or geometric shapes. The skull takes up the majority of the image and extends from the very top of the piece to seemingly going beyond the bottom. The ballerina is positioned in front of the skull but she also appears to be fused with it, giving the illusion of one cohesive object. The dancer's platter tutu are shaped like teeth, as if it were the mouth of the skull. Her arms are bent up above her head, making the negative space in between them seem like eye sockets. The two large cracks on her chest are in the shape of the nose of a skull. The viewer's eye is drawn to the bright red flower on the ballerina's head and then moving down the lines on her body which all lead to the tutu, giving a feeling of movement.