This picture is a continuation of a previous work which is a continuation of another work. Why am I bothering? Well, first off, I'm unhappy. Don't ask. So my first thought was to not do JF Making Of. Well, I'm very determined. So I did the least that I could. What is different between this Jeep and the jeeps before? First off, it has seats. That's pretty important for even slightest semblance of realism. Secondly, this is smooth. I didn't know that a person has to clear the smoothing groups in order to get smooth shading with MilkShape. That was forty-nine days ago. What will JF be like in forty-nine days from now? Even smoother. My lesson for the day could be that a person should stick to the basics when s/he is angry, but I won't say that. I'll say that a simple set of lines and a box can make a fine texture when used properly. All I did was make a good 3d model and throw the lines where they ought to go and bingo. Add a circle, a curve and you can make a very powerful texture. Add anything else and you get crap. Stick with the basics for your texture. If your Sci-Fi flick requires a messy texture, you're better off skipping it. 3d models in themselves are far too complex to have complex paint on them. Just "keep it simple, stupid." Read below, it might help you make an informed decision about something very important that affects you.
Skip to the next paragraph if you're not a primate. My plan... Hmmm, my plan is to give Jav a better body. But as you can see or may not see, it isn't working very well. I actually have a friend who looks like this. Chuck has a goofy smile, big eyes, and a head that looks like a watermelon on a toothpick! Hehehe. I remember he had a size 10 hat. Man alive, what honking cranium. Ah, what can a guy do? Well, if he's a 3d character like Jav #40, he can shrink his head, stretch is arms and legs, etc. But I tried that. It doesn't seem to work. I actually stretched it to the exact dimensions of Jav #34 who is seen in Scene 3-5. However, #40 doesn't have the lanky appearance that #34 does.
If you're looking for a lesson or a long rant, forget it. Not tonight. Not the night before my Electromagnetism 2 Final. This picture will be found in one form or another in JF Scene 5 Page 3. He is running. There are two things to notice. The first is how well the pose looks. It looks just as good in motion. Running is a pretty easy animation to do if you remember two things: primary, secondary, and tertiary rotations and a body's movement is based on required by the movement. Primary rotations are what is actually happening. It's what you think of when you think punch. Secondary is the stuff that you see happening on the sidelines and is required by physics and anatomy. Tertiary rotations are the things that you don't see but people do just because they are not machines. Animations that lack useless but necessary tertiary animations are easy to spot because they look robotic. The second this is that you must remember why your character is moving at all. Is he trying to get somewhere? Then his legs ought to put their weight down on the front foot and bring the rear foot forward. The character swings his/her weight around the front foot and put the rear foot in front and repeats. It may seem simple, but animation editors without physics engines or inverse kinematics lose it often. What is the solution? Start with primary rotations, add physics and anatomy corrections, and then put fluid tertiary motions in. The second thing to notice is that the arms look thin. This is not a comment on the fact that the author has lost twenty pounds in eight months (although it is true that I am looking more and more like Kate Moss everyday). It is an error with the skeleton and mesh. You might have notice recently my war against this bad thing. But for now, Jav is going to keep his bad model. Page 3 doesn't need to be postponed much more. But who knows what we'll see for Scene 6, eh?
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This picture is different from a lot of the recent stuff. First off, it's made in Corel Draw. Secondly, it took about thirty minutes. Thirdly, it was rushed. Four is that it is a derivative of a work that I have on my walls. Five is that is possible that it either could or could not show up in Scene 5. So, why haven't I been using Corel Draw lately? Hmmm, well, it's usually good for making character skins. I really haven't been doing character skins lately. So I decided to get back into the rhythm. Not that it takes much time, but we all know what happens when you don't practice your mad skillz. Why did I rush it and only take thirty minutes? Well, I have two good reasons. The first is that I have four finals in the next three days. If I flunk any of them, I won't graduate college in June. Then I'll be fuxx0ring around this summer and next year trying to pass these easy classes (Physics Electromagnetics, Mathematical Methods of Physics, Modern Physics, and Applied Modern Physics). So the more I rush this shit, the less I'll rush my studying and the more work that I'll be able to do on JF this summer. Duh, the answer is clear. So why did I derive this from a picture that I have on my wall (specifically FFX's Titus)? Well, I was thinking that my Dojo Ambush people as well as Jav are all dressed far too warm for LA in the autumn. They are "businesspeople", but not Jav. Jav at least should wear t-shirts and shorts. So the picture on my wall of FFX's Titus looked like a good start. I took the concept of the long shorts with a symbol on it, hands on hips. I also emulated his hairstyle. *shrug* It's not technically a fan art, but it's a derivative. f(x) = d/dx( g(x) ). Yes, that is calculus. No, it is not even slightly related to art. Will this show up in Scene 5? I don't think so, but you never know. Sometimes I say "This is impossible," just to invigorate myself to try harder to make it possible.
