Summer Project: '1 Becomes 2'

For the summer, we have been given the opportunity to engage in a project and further our creative development. The project is very open as we are to respond imaginatively to an allocated 'soundscape', be it a full CG animation or something more specific such as a story or gaming concept with character and environment design. This can then be readied to be professionally printed as an 'Art of...' book. Most interestingly, the project is to be treated as a competition where entries will be judged by an outside panel and prizes can be won.

Its big, bold and exciting - so lets get the project underway!

The soundtrack I received is 'Soundscape 17':



The track is very evocative beginning with soft sounds of the eerie night, continuing with an ominous drumming that escalates to a crescendo of chanting and singing. Immediately, images of a tribal ritual dance come to mind with a wild and exotic nature. Yet, despite these initial impressions, I don't want to go for the obvious but rather try for something more inventive. As such, I hope to capture the spirit of the track with an inventive twist that remains fresh and appealing.

The main idea along this trail of thought is a microcosm where the remnants of mankind seems all but lost and forgotten. With a small tribe of humans reduced to a wild and natural state, they occasionally discover artefacts and technologies of humanities past such as a cassette player or set of keys. Although with no knowledge of what they are, they simply use them as little more than objects of jewellery or attire, where larger artefacts have become symbols of worship or reverence invoking such rituals as ascribed by the soundscape.

In this way, a creative twist can be applied to some everyday objects in a world where man has seemingly reverted back to a previous state. Nature rules once more as man has forgotten his past. Its a quirky idea but something I hope I can pursue and develop further.

While I may not specifically create a final CG animation, I intend to start by creating the building blocks of this world from character design and environments, which will involve drawing, concept art, modelling, texturing and most likely many more. This will certainly give me the opportunity to further develop and refine my techniques both creatively and technically.

Any suggestions or comments are most welcome.

Toy Story 3

Saw Toy Story 3 the other day, which I'm glad to say did not disappoint with a perfect return to the big screen.



Andy's growing up and ready to set off for college. Yet before he leaves, he must determine the fate of his childhood friends. Its a touching plot as there all seemingly comes a time in our lives where we put down our toys in beckoning of the adult world.



The characters and cast are as brilliant as ever, with Woody, Buzz and playmates lighting up the big screen full of charm and character. Some notable new characters include Ken and Barbie who share some hilarious moments, the master of the theatrical arts hedgehog Mr Pricklepants and of course the dominating presence of Lotso - a pink, fluffy, huggable bear who also actually makes a cameo appearence in 'Up'.




The movie takes a journey of a myriad of emotional ups and downs that will leave you in laughter and well... tears. A particular scene at the zenith of the film is diabolically heart-wrenching that had me watering up. Overall, the story and pacing was exceptional, which kept me guessing on the edge of my seat particularly in the final resolution of the film.



With two universally acclaimed films both attaining a perfect score at critics Rotten Tomatoes, the third entry to the series definitely had a touch act to follow. Yet, Pixar have done it again with an engaging and emotional return that will undoubtedly stand the test of time.
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A worthy mention is the Pixar short that is revealed before the movie on the big screen, with the short Day & Night accompanying Toy Story 3. It is surprisingly clever combining 2D and 3D animation as two characters exhibit day and night life within their silhouettes. The way in which the imagery and sound personify each characters is simply charming and surprisingly effective. It benefited greatly in 3D, giving an enhanced sense of depth to the visuals in contrast to the character silhouettes that worked particularly well.

New Look

With the approach of the new academic year, I felt a fresh new look was in order. Hopefully, everything survived the transition, but if there are any bugs or dead links lurking around then please feel free to let me know.

Leo Tsang Design v.1

Short & Sweet 3D

Hope everyone's enjoying the summer so far! Recently, I went to the Short & Sweet 3D session at the Barbican on Friday evening. Host to the UK's very first stereoscopic short film festival! There was a great collection of short films on show, from narrative to experimental shorts that put 3D to good use.



It was certainly inspiring, so I've tried to find some for your viewing pleasure. If you have a pair of polarised red and blue glasses then put them on to enjoy 3D!

Tina Braun - Deconstruct

A stereoscopic film experimenting in how we perceive three dimensions. The footage is shot by one camera with one lens, where the depth is created afterwards.

Santiago Caicedo - Moving Still

Another stereoscopic experimentation viewing the world from a train window.

Red Star 3D Ben Smith - Dracula 4D (Trailer Only)

A CG animation utilising the benefits of 3D. The '4D' is there as it is meant to be played in theatres where the seats move about, with blasts of air an such to simulate the ride.

Unfortunately, I could only find the next two in 2D.

MIE - Faithless 'Not going home'

A funky music video using 3D for an enhanced sense of depth.

Bjork - "Wanderlust"

One of the first stereoscopic music videos, shot in 3D with a mix of live action, puppets, scale models and CG animation. Definitely my favourite of the night. The making of Wanderlust can be viewed here. Fascinating stuff - you can skip to the 3:18 mark if your more interested in the CGI.

Overall, it was a fun night out with hopefully more Short & Sweet 3D festivals to come!

Final Animation - Ling Zhi Mushroom Life Cycle

The final result for the last project of the first year here at UCA Rochester. The life cycle of a Ling Zhi mushroom.



HD is available at Vimeo!
Ling Zhi Mushroom Life Cycle from Leo Tsang on Vimeo.


Youtube HD also available!

I am pleased with the results with what I have managed to achieved in just 5 weeks. The days were short and the nights grew long, but everything came together in the end. Despite the evil projector throwing a blue screen of death during my animation (twice this has happened now!), I am glad it was well received and that our client, Dr Klappa, also seemed to like it.

I think a well earned break is in order, though I will pop back on here from time to time, as well as not forgetting that the summer project now rises on the horizon...

Art of Ling Zhi Mushroom Life Cycle

Additional pages to the 'Art of' book.

Update + Brand Identity

Its been a while since my last post as I've been a busy bee getting everything done. All the scenes are textured and rendered, and am now well into the stages of compositing. I would have liked to have updated here more but I guess I've been stretched with ever dwindling time. Here are some renders of scenes which are ready to go to compositing.

Opening

Basidiospores

Final Scene


Here are my designs for the DVD label, cover and brand identity. I've maintained the title of 'Leo Tsang Design' following the name of the blog, and tried to develop a simple yet recognisable icon with a my initials within the 'D' of design. As such, I settled on the use of the icon alone across my designs. With the DVD label and cover, I wanted the capture the world of my animation which I felt my original concepts portrayed best.

Basidiospores Scene Progress

Made some progress on the growth of basidiospores scene, I think I got the animation right now I just need to work on textures and lighting. I've also added the spore flight scene to the playblast below help establish the transition between the two scenes.





The UVs are now working correctly with the joints and blend shapes. As Alan pointed out earlier, be sure to lay out the UVs and clear the history BEFORE binding joints, otherwise the UVs will go quite mad.

Opening Scene Progress #2

I've been working away at various scenes of the animation, but here is an update on the opening scene.

Quick playblast of the scene so far:


I think I'll add some more texture variation to the grass, and hopefully the background will be blend better when compositing in after effects.

Mushroom Model


My photos taken of the Ling Zhi mushroom served well in creating the textures for the mushroom. I've also painted over the textures for a more stylised aesthetic similar to my earlier concepts.

Initial Renders


Some refinement is necessary as I am yet to establish the appropriate lighting which I'm having difficulty with. The scene is set during the day, perhaps afternoon - any pointers in lighting would be greatly appreciated. But I hope this begins to achieve the slightly painterly feel reminiscent to my earlier concept pieces.

Back to the pits!

After Effects Workshop

The results of some After Effects workshops, including a title screen created with several layers of clouds and 3D cameras, to compositing with various blending modes and effects with an example of the human lungs.





It was fun to learn, where I am certain this new understanding in After Effects will come of great use when compositing final animations.

Life Drawing #12

The penultimate life drawing session before the end of the first year, with two extended studies of a lying down figure wrought with foreshortening and a challenging perspective.

Spore Scene Progress

This particular scene covers panels 2:5 - 2:7 of my storyboard, involving the flight of spores. As the camera pans, we follow the central spore that will begin its growth. The movement and timing is aimed to fit the pace of the music.





For the spores, I intend to have a few hair like features protruding outwards similar to my previous concepts. I believe a fur could work but I wondered if this will animate subtlety to fit with the movements? Either way, its something I need to experiment with but any suggestions would be great.