Halloween! Better late than never!

Okay, so it's a day late, but I felt like sharing. I actually finished this piece about a week ago, and it's been my profile pic on Facebook since then, but I figured, just in case there's anyone out there who still looks at this.... I'll post it here too!
So, without further ado...

Still on the hunt for a job... have I mentioned I'm still looking for a job?
Sometimes I feel like that's the only thing I can think about lately. But occasionally I manage to do a bit of personal work here and there to keep me fresh.
I should probably get back into modeling, but such projects are much bigger time commitments, so lately I've just taken to doodling.
The following is one of my recent doodles that I decided I liked enough to take it further. It's still a work in progress, but I am done for the night and ready to catch up on some sleep. Enjoy!

For some reason, I've taken a liking to drawing skulls, mainly the antlered kind. There's just something really pretty about the curves and shapes :)

Robot & Monster

     This is completely overdue, but I'm thinking it's high time I show some of the work I did for Robot & Monster! These have been on my website for a while now, but just in case you haven't seen them, voila!

One of my favorite assignments! Young Robot is simply adorable!

I'm really digging the hair! Headphones modeled by Stephanie Pate.

Ah, Goon. Beneath that snarly exterior is a fun and colorful guy!

This guy works in the factory with R&M. Gotta love his helmet!

Dame Lady Madame - Writer of High-Society page the "High Falutin Times"

My first character for the show! Also, my first time creating facial blendshapes!

     Working on this show was such an awesome experience! And I'm so proud of what we created! Also, excited to announce that you can now buy the complete series on Amazon!

Just another quick update with progress on my Kira project. Things are going a bit slower than I'd like, but that's to be expected since I'm only really getting in about 4 hours a day.. I'm nearly done with the model - I just have to model in her boots and gloves and then do an overall pass on the whole thing. Then it's on to UVs. At that point I'll probably render out some turns before taking it into UVs and blendshapes (which will get done eventually! but perhaps not for a while since the next couple of weeks promise to be super busy) Anyways, I'm posting up an image of my progress so far. There aren't any true textures yet. These are just plain ol' lamberts that I'm using as placeholders - just to get an idea of the color scheme :)

Kira Progress..

Update! I know that it has been forever since I posted - and especially terrible since, in my last post, I announced I would be updating more often. But, life intervenes as such things do, and I was set back for a bit, but I'm back to modeling. I admit I was a bit rusty at first - having just transitioned back to using my Mac after working with a PC for over a year (surprisingly annoying to switch back and forth!) and also because I took a small break - but I'm back into the swing of it and moving full speed once again. I have gotten a bit further in the "Kira" project as mentioned in numerous other posts. She finally has a body! It took me a few days to get thus far, and I basically had to relearn how to sculpt human parts again, and how to model feet altogether (I don't know how I managed to NOT sculpt feet for so long, but there you have it.) As you'll notice, based on the images I've posted below, I am still far from done. I still need to clean up the geo and attach the hands. I also need to figure out her costuming and hair which should take another day or so. After that, it's on to UV's and eventually moving into blendshapes, posing, and lighting for a final image. I may or may not take a stab at texturing after I've completed all else, but that will depend on time. I'm trying to stick to the deadlines I had at Nick - week for model, week for uvs, week for blends. Of course, I'll be adding a bit more time onto that since no one is going to conveniently texture or rig her for me. And then render time will most undoubtably prove to be a major time suck, but I'm hoping to get a portfolio piece from this, so it needs to be perfect! Next on my plate will be something completely different. I feel like I've done too many human female characters lately, so I need to branch out from that. I am thinking I may do a set of characters that can be posed together :) Perhaps the Hippo ballerina and alligator from Fantasia. I haven't really taken a stab at animal characters yet - except in my last few weeks of work, and that went horribly - so I definitely think it will be a good exercise for me. Anyways, enough with the chatter, and on to the images! Just wireframes for now, but more on the way.

Well, now that I have all this time.. I may as well get to work!

So, I've decided to pick an old project back up again. This was something that I had started just before I got the job at Nickelodeon, so I was never really able to finish, and a part of me is a bit happy about that. Why? Well, because knowing what I know now, I can probably do it about 10 time better and without a doubt 10 times faster than I would have a year ago. Already, I've made some changes here and there (still needs tweaking, but it's a work in progress).

The first image here, is the model as it looked when I first started it a year ago:


and this is what it looks like currently - Remodeled at a lower resolution. I still need to work out the ears, but I'm pretty happy with the way everything else is looking at the moment.


I'm most likely going to scrap the hair. I'm thinking I may want to simplify it a bit more, with just a few details cut in. Then it's on to modeling her body, and then a first pass on blendshapes. More to come in the weeks ahead - I'll definitely try to update this more frequently now that I can actually share what I'm working on :)

I am also working on two smaller projects that I made with the intent to get them printed as gifts. I'll be putting progress shots for those up sometime soon, and then hopefully some shots of the 3D prints. I'll be excited to see how they turn out!

Update - kira concepts and illustration

It's been a while since I updated this page, mainly because I've been working, but also because I've been working on updating my reel and finalizing the new website:
These are all from the same general project, based on an original story I began writing some years ago. First are some character sketches, followed by an illustration progression - from sketch to finish. Well, near finish.
Enjoy!

new portfolio website

My updated 3D portfolio can now be found at the following address:
http://www.wix.com/amrobbins/3dportfolio

new tablet! :D

SO, my tablet died yesterday. I mourned it last night, said my goodbyes... and then hopped on out to pick up a brand new Intuos 4!
I've only had it for a few hours, and I've only been playing with it for about one of those hours (couldn't miss the season finale of GLEE after all), but I must say, tis amazing! I love the new design, and I can get such a wider variety of results with the pressure sensitivity on this one than with the older model.
Anyways, I decided just to fix up the character design I'd started a few days ago since I still wasn't all too happy with it, and I still have a ways to go but I feel it's looking a lot more fleshed out :)

more to come! Trust me, with this baby, the sketching shall definitely continue!

when the mind is TOO full, it's time to draw!

I've found myself switching gears a lot this week. I'm struggling with so many different ideas for things that I want to do and have wanted to do for a while.. I wanted to get some new 3d work done before Comic-con in July (I feel like I've said this a lot already!) but I'm struggling to decide exactly WHAT to do. I would ideally like to collect three new pieces for my portfolio: an environment, a stylized character, and a realistic character.. I just can't decide which I should do first! as for the realistic character, I'm going to attempt to retrieve the tooth fairy from the now-dead computer, but if that doesn't work I may try to flesh out the guard character a bit more. As for the more 'cartoony' character, I've been trying to come up with a concept that I like well enough to work on (which is difficult since I rarely make something that I'm completely happy with). I want to do something fairly simple in terms of the model, and then spend a good deal of time taking it to a refined finish.
On the side, I'm still working on that illustration and taking laborious notes and plotting out a novel that will probably never be ready, but it's one of my goals to at least complete one. Anyways, with all this back and forth decision-making business, I decided to take a break and draw something up for fun... I MAY model this at some point, just because all this indecision is bad for me and I may as well start something, but regardless, it was a quick fun project :)
I started with a full-body sketch, but I'm still not happy with the lower half.. no harm in sharing though:

Just a quick update on the previous post. Not sure when I'll actually get around to finishing this, but hopefully when things cool down with this other project, I'll have plenty of time :)

Have been super busy lately, but got the chance to do a bit of rough doodling tonight! So, I present to you (my favorite) three thumbnails that resulted from this creative brainstorm.



more to come...
someday, I promise ;)

*hugs*

just a quick doodle. Jeff was having a bad day, so I sent him a hug :)

Royal Guard -2

So, I've taken my initial sketch and created another that's a bit more fleshed out. I never really decided whether I wanted these characters to look more human or slightly alien, so I may be changing this again soon, we shall see.
As usual, I'm still not 100% happy with this, but I feel like it's at least a bit closer to what I wanted. It may be a while before I get back to this character again, so I wanted to at least share it's current incarnation before (in essence) killing the re-doing it :)

Edit: made a few adjustments to legs and elsewhere, and am now experimenting with new PS brushes! Still just the beginning stages - I'll post again when/if I get further along :)

So, I'm going to be super busy over the next couple of days, but I wanted to post this up, perhaps get feedback!
This is based on a story I started writing a while back, and while I never got very far with it, I did become attached to the idea of some of the characters. This is Amia and she is a member of the royal guard. I was inspired by Egyptian themes mainly because I envisioned this race as being sun-worshipers and a culture of prestige and tradition. They are a fairly peaceful culture, so their armor is mainly a decoration and symbol of status and wealth. Anyways, before I bore you any further with my descriptions, I'm including the original sketch as well as some initial color comps. Enjoy!


As always, comments are loved!
Hopefully I'll be able to post this weekend's project up sometime next week ;)

Just a quick update. Sorry I haven't had the time to post anything lately, but I've been dealing with major technology issues lately.. which is the main reason for the update. Unfortunately, the computer upon which I was modeling the Tooth Fairy is now dead. I may eventually drag it in to retrieve some of my files, but for the moment, all projects done on that computer shall not be completed. I'm a bit depressed about it, but was rather itching to switch gears anyways, so perhaps this is a good thing - Which brings me to the good news! I finally updated my Mac! (yes. this should have been done ages ago.) and now Zbrush works on my computer! Of course, I should probably get an updated version of Zbrush, but for now I'm just happy that I have at least ONE computer that is capable of doing anything.
That's all for the moment, but because it seems strange to not include an image of some sort... I present to you, my (yawning) Buddy!

more graffiti!

sketch done from a photo I took a while back at the Academy of Science in San Francisco. I rather like the way it turned out, despite not managing to finish it, but sometimes you just have to stop.. especially with graffitti since I figured it would probably crash if I took a break and left it to its own devices.
Enjoy!

Vector Turn

Just another update on the tooth fairy. Not much was accomplished today, but the model is pretty much finished. Tomorrow I'll hopefully get far enough to take this into z-brush for a first pass.
That's all for now!

Sneak Peek

Just a quick sneak peek of the Tooth Fairy as he looks at the end of today..

Tooth Fairy - as seen in Hellboy 2

the model! as seen in it's static T-pose... pose will come later!

Unfortunately, Maya sabotaged the other images I took, so this will have to do for now. I'm excited to start UV mapping and then getting it into Z-brush! The only modeling left to do is his teeth (which are a pretty prominent feature, and pretty massive) which will probably be kept simple and then sculpted in Z-brush. I'm really looking forward to finishing something new, and excited to see what I can do with Z-brush - all practice for the upcoming Dominance War V! Ah, the excitement!

"Waiting" re-hash

More practice using Illustrator. This is an illustration I did a decent while ago, but I felt that it wasn't as clean as I had wanted it to be based on the style I was trying out. So, here is take 2!

"Waiting..."

I'm nearly done with the low-poly model for the Tooth Fairy. All that remains is to add nostrils, ears, and it's wings. Hopefully I'll be able to post a few renders of the wireframe tomorrow, just to update my progress. Until then, that's that!