₦airaland Forum

sent raw files to e-mail addy.
its in .obj format.

just 2 re-confirm art style. should be done later today.
working on a mega slow machine.(took over 3 hours to get this done!)
i will upload the hi res version 4 d test animation. (will post to the secure email addy)

@ resichild
the purpose of testing with the hi res, fully textured model is to test our render times and see how our machines handle the heavier scenes. dig?
its okay if it takes time- we need that info.

if ur saving for the 'awe factor', well, u dont have to make the sample public yet. its actually 4 analytical purposes only.

kool, do ur max thing, i will roll with maya n motion builder- but like i said, u can start blocking the animation with any rig u have. we can retarget later, unless u'd rather wait, ur call.

@ maxani
this is just a 10 or 20 second test animation.
all we need is a ruff storyboard. we wont be dealing with speech just yet.
when we start for real, we will have the sound 'n all dealt with.

no education needed, u were quite right.

since we r good on the demigod, i will do a ruff model n post. i will not hit my workstation til the weekend, but if i can get my hands on Maya here, i will cook up sumthn b4 then.

tru, i am not thinking of awesome textures, but we need to have textures of some sort applied. greyish environs wont cut it.
we need to find out approx render times for our scenes so we can plan our project timing properly.

of course to assess the animation we dont need major textures, but we also need to determine rendering technique/software, we need textures to assess those.

the other project i am on is about to kick in majorly, and my time-noose will become even tighter. we have a february deadline to catch.

if u are feeling super creative tho, u can do ur sample animation with any biped rig u have. we can transfer n tweak it on the demigod when its set. that could save us a day or two.

lets end this year with some output of some sort! yes?

hey guys
back home.
should be back at my work station by the weekend, seems to be a lot of dust n cobwebs on the project at the mo.

my cuz (exfactor)was a bit lazy with the posts, took his sweet time abt them. my bad!
resichild, noted ur suggested amendments. pretty kool. will post em asap!


@ resichild
good job rallying the folks. think its the holiday thingy.
roll with the dudes present, the rest will eventually fall in line.

@ maxani
good job bro.
hope ur clear on ur output now.

if we r okay with working right thru this period, i think the three of us, at least can get a sample animation of any xter we choose, up n running by the end of the first week in Jan.

we need to find out the potential challenges we will face in that aspect of the project. (animation, rendering)

dude, post ur stuff in the thread called- 2D/3D Art Gallery.
thats why it was started.

nice work

@ yehmi
kool. clarification noted!
also welcome any positive contributions.

@ team
a bit tuff uploading the sketches.
will retry later today.

i s'pose this is the price one pays 4 working in a public forum.

guys, theres a 2D/3D gallery for posting ur work. this is a project-specific thread.

@ yehmi
i s'pose u mean well, so i'll curb my natural impulse for an acid response.
pls read the posts from the beginning, it will inform u.
dont go dishing 'advice' from an un-informed position- its kinda insulting to all of us.

if u have skills to bring to the table, then u're 'conditionally' welcome- otherwise the bulk of ur post is really unnecessary. (at least to me)
but like i said, u prolly mean well- so thanx, i guess.

@ team
uploading priest planes/more xter concept art later today.

@ resichild
ur detail is to modify n repost the kings face- as suggested.
good work.
i think tho, that good practice for u would be to create a detailed image plane of the face.
u tend to be minimal on the lines, its kool, but it leaves out details that make it a tad difficult to assess effectively the precise structure of the model.
dig?

@ neikid
u good?
demigod?
well done man.

@ kemji
while ur good intentions r noted, order, structure n discipline are essential to the success of this project.
if u intend to help, pls wait 4 instructions on the specific areas we need help- and the priest is not the short, fat, semi indian chap- thats the king, and he's still morphing.

we need textures, and village tribal art created for now. u know, the whorls, rings and abstract art painted on walls, carved in wood etc. thats kinda important now.
u interested?

@ neikid
good work. a few slight amendments tho.

our average xter is 7 heads high, the xter u modeled is a whopping 9+
unless we are going for a gigantic demigod, i suggest a slight reduction to, say, 8 heads( tho thats a little more than the 6foot height stipulated in our character profile)- see attached guidelines in the pix.

also, could the xter adopt a T-stance?
most software favor that pose for animating. at least mine do.
good job man, also, wots the overall poly count?

@ maxani
good job with the tree sketches. pls feel free to post ur recommended amendments on the king- they r good ideas.

@ all
my participation may be a bit erratic for a bit, have a prior project and we are having a series of review meetings this week n next.
will work on this one, every free window i can create.

@ resichild
u tha man! keep the gears turning.
we are testing the conceptualisation/modeling process and it seem to be working, albeit slowly.
we need to test the animation/texturing/rendering process real soon, to know the potential issues we will face- my thots

@ osasp
what level tutorials do u seek? beginner, intermediate or advanced?

@ kemjisuper sojioguns
u could actually channel ur creativity to good use for the project. resichild can give u a rundown of areas we still need help and u can 'play' around in those areas. u may just come up with something awesome we can use both 2D, 3D or even just ideas. wot say ye?

we are open to constructive ideas/criticism, people.

good going everyone.

wouldnt rate, not for fear of attack but cos it doesnt achieve anything 4 me.
am done with this particular conversation tho, have made all my contributions to it.

cheers man

dude, if u say ur overall rating for the work uve seen is 30%- thats like saying the graphics suck- and thats precisely why u r being attacked.
u even expanded further by calling the works boring- thats like calling everyone to battle, the one useful thing uve said tho is 'anyways, whateva', cos thats the general attitude.
u just expressed ur opinion, u dont have to defend it!

i think some entries r crappy, have even posted a few of those myself.
like i said, one mans exciting is anotha mans boring.

my thots:

be nasty, nice, rate, encourage, critique even insult- bottomline, its just an opinion/statement NOT necessarily fact/truth!

one mans 'crappy' is another mans 'genius', so who cares anyway?
Picasso cant draw to save his life- (my opinion!) i am sure over 2 billion people disagree,

like uve all said, this is a public forum- expecting people to act the way u approve of is an unrealistic thing 2 do.

@ neo
if u think the graphics here suck, go ahead n say it! its called freedom of speech.

on the 'boring' thing, its highly subjective. what defines 'exciting' and 'boring' 4 u?
was surprised everyone seemed to just go along with it, like the statement was fact- i personally dont think the section is boring.

however, if the statement were to be true, then the section would be boring cos the people are boring, as are their lives- cos for a true graphic artist, his art is his life.

, and there u have it!

@ gamine
is it the feather or the body paint thats giving u red indian vibes?

anyway, the actual tribal art to be painted on is yet to be developed, the ruff sketch is just 2 gauge feel.
we also need help with the general wardrobe/ costumes.

@ tunslike
nice work with the gates, just a few things-

its a bit too uniform/ symmetrical.
try and vary the heights a bit, also, the sticks would most likely be held together by some kind of twine or wood.
u could model something along those lines- we are not going for very realistic, but we want something creative and eye-catching.

i will attach a sketch showing my suggestions.
good work man

comments?

okay, here goes.

@ maxani
great concept for the king, i think to over come the art style thing- i will modify him slightly to conform to our mould.
will upload the modifications 4 approval/critique.

i dig the tree, nice job.
u can work on tribal art for the various props we will have, that is- carvings on knife heads, marks on shields etc. u can do?

@ resichild
i assume theres been no feedback from neikid, i thot he may have sent to the email addy (which i still dont have access to!)
pls confirm.

been a bit outta the loop, so where are we generally?

@ dams & jemit
wb bros- but y'all dont leave again!!

guys i have 2 days after which i have to vanish 4 a bit.

hi all.

did an unscheduled outta- towner, deployed a pal to upload the pix- obviously he failed. my bad!
please find planes attached.

will review the posts so far and post any relevant inputs in a bit.

good job guys.

@ resichild
hilarious 'joke' on the delay tactics thing- why on earth would anyone wanta do that? ur either in on our terms or ure out on urs!

hi guys
hit a busy spell, trying to stretch 24 hrs n it aint working well.
having probs uploading planes for the priest, will give anotha shot - as a last resort may send to the e-mail addy resichild provided( still havent gotten my password tho)

@ maxani
nice trees. like the first better, the second is a mite too swampy for me.
i like the form of the tree, was thinking of some gnarled old thing with no leaves. the trunk twisted into a grotesque form.
a slight modification of wot u have will fly- good job.

waiting on ur output on the xters.

tunslike was taking about using planes textured with hi res pics of the trees for the distant background/environment.
its a 3d technique for reducing the number of models needed in a scene by replacing them with 'pictures'.
it works for backdrops n objects distant from the camera

@kemji
theres always use/room for someone with talent- ud be suprised where u may fit in.
the only catch, tho, is the level of commitment required.
good job

Q: r we portraying Nigerian culture, or a fictitious african tribe? need clarification pls.

@ all
know we r all busy with other interests, probably- but if this is going to work, 2 days is the max time limit to deliver on any output, i think.
its tight n inconvenient but it tests our drive n commitment. we have to sacrifice, people!

do we adopt that? (2 day policy on output)

@ tunslike/ neikid
why the hold up guys?
pls let us know ur issues if any.

@ maxani
kool. waiting,

@ A2J
wotsup? saw ur post- r u out of this project?


i am working on image planes for the priest, i assume its a go 'as is'. should upload later tonite or early tomorrow.

@ resichild
nice going with the palace thing.
on the others, the rule is u post ya ref pix b4 u model- no xceptions pal.

if that falls apart, u will lose control of ur art style n u end up with an unfocused workforce, not to mention duplicate work.

i bet we all have input(s) to make at the concept art level.
i am thinking, (just my thots, mind) that we create very distinct items for our world. everything from the knives, swords to foliage will be our distinct creation/style- for instance, interestingly curved blades with grotesque handles for the weapons. u know the kinda creative stuff that gets attention.

do a search of different african weapons and develop something that fits our style.
theres something of the massai in our xters, and a bit of the egyptian influence- lets ties it all in.
u get?

@ all
no one else commented/critiqued the priest concept! what zat mean?

gamine, where u @?
observers? critics?
we need feedback here pls!

will proceed with image planes by the close of biz today if no amendments.

@ maxani
looking forward to output from u.
u can start with concept art for trees, i am thinking of a unique tree around which the village meetings hold.
something with presence, rememba the tree from Tim Burtons 'Sleepy Hollow'.

@ neikid
todays the day bro.

@ tunslike
good work. waiting!

good going people.

@ maxani
welcome aboard mate!
nah. ure not late, in fact ur just in time to dive right in.

uve read the thread so far, i assume, so u know all about our commitment n drive.
if u slack, ure cut!

resichild, who spearheads this, will probl'y bring u up to speed on where we r @.
but til he does, a quick summary is that, we r currently developing the xters for the story n modeling them.

we have the demigod model n a proposed priest.
resichild will forward the full cast/ character sheet to u, so u can work on concept art for the others as inspired.

@ neikid
tunslike nailed it. any otha probs?

@ tunslike
well said. MAYA 4 LIFE! lol

guys this weekend is about work- we better have major output by monday!

oops. sorry. wrong pic!
lol

attached is the priest concept art.
just to gauge the feel. the colors arent final.
if this passes, i can post the image planes.

@ neikid
still need to know the status with the demigod.

@ tunslike
will cook up something on the palace, but u still got ya hands full on the huts n other props.
we need to see posts of what u have so far.
all the objects in our world have to be distinctly our creation- same goes for the trees, plants, rocks etc.
they all have to fit our art style.

i think it will also be a good idea to also post the raw files of our actual output to a secure e-mail addy to facilitate the work process.
i, for example would have posted the wireframe of the demigod if i had the files.
wot say we?

good job guys.

@ NEIKID
is the problem getting the wireframes to show in ur scene, or rendering and getting the wireframes to show?

u can capture the image from ur scene using an app like corel capture, or alternatively- save the model as an -obj file n mail/post it to me/here.
i will upload the wireframe version. my cinema4d is quite rusty. Maya RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@ tunslike
good work on the huts. we still need concept art for the palace, and a few more variations on the huts.
like resichild pointed out, we will assess the textures u have to confirm whether it fits our style. u know our models arent very realistic, so everything has to match.
good going bro!

having probs attaching the priest pix. will keep trying tho

no, not frustrated.
just a desire to see things done properly.

anyway, guys u get the point.

@ neikid
pls kindly post the demigod model with the wireframes showing.
had asked for this 3 days earlier, wotsup?

also, no info update as to where u r work-wise. we need that info bro!
what do u mean, u need a job?- this is a job!!
look at the bigga picture, n think outta the box.

@ tunslike
whats with the huts bro?

@ all
this isnt an indefinite project. personally, i am squeezing out 'non-existent' time to function on it.
we have to appreciate deadlines and communication channels at least, or i will be unable to participate.

i think we have to set ground rules concerning this.
as the project advances and the level of inter-dependency increases, one mans delay can wreck the whole pipeline.
that, to me, is unacceptable.

if u take on a task and u cant deliver pronto, then post ur estimated delivery date from the onset n let the team decide if they can accomodate it.
n STICK TO ANY DEADLINES!!!

no animation is completely/perfectly done by its release date, theres always room 4 improvement and 'errors' the artists woulda loved to correct- but there is a greater commitment to time deadlines, so the picture is released anyways.
same here people! we have to tighten ship!

sorri to sound so steamed, but it really bugs me- n in project terms, this kinda sloppiness WILL kill the project!

will post concept art for the priest later today.

having probs attaching

demi robe final, yes?

suggested priest.
comments?

@ neikid
good going.
what software are u using?

please post a version showing the wireframes on the model, my major concern is the vertice count and ensuring the flow-lines will complement animating.
i assume this is the hi res version?

@ resichild
ok. so get cracking on the huts!

will post updates later today on the sketches.
just rehit civilization, need some shut-eye.

@ maxani
nice. where y'all been hiding. theres a project next door thats needs u man!

why dont u check it out.