Art n Clan n Projections

Bit of a whatever I've been up to update.
I'm working on a short little pixel sequence at the moment and learning TVPaint animation software!
It's interesting to use it for pixel stuff, as it is a bitmap program, rather than vector, so you can actually animate at a true pixel level. Learning all the shortcuts for it and the interface has proved complicated, it's very unique in it's layout and shortcuts. Frustratingly unique.
I'm considering using it to colour my film.

Here is some concept art for a side project I am doing. Hammertrots!

I've been researching medieval architecture a little, as my house mate just bought a buncha castle and siege warfare books!

Hey, check out this awesome car mounted projection animation thing. Very very cool.

run by vjsuave from vjsuave on Vimeo.

Poster Finished (I believe)

It took a while (mostly me just lying around watching movies due to heat) to finish it.
I'm fairly happy with it. I will probably look at it in a weak and dislike the overlayie stuff. I'm starting to get into this incorporation if pixel aspects into standard cartoony stuff. I guess it should only be in there for a good reason though, like this being for a chiptune gig!

Click for full res
And for kicks here is a PIXEL VERSION.
Resizing an image using Nearest Neighbour does wonders.

Also, I am considering starting a video blog soon on the development of my Animation. I have to keep a journal for uni anyway, so I figure this might be a funner way to do that.

I've also been thinking, do I need an artist alias?! So many cool digital dudes have them... I wonder if my work would become more easily recognisable and rememberable if I did.
I don't know, I will think on it.

ALSO. Be sure to check out 2 player productions awesome proof of concept minecraft documentary.

Lava Level Shirt Store Live

I've finally gotten my little pixel shirt store live!
http://lavalevel.tshirt123.com/
So far there are 4 designs, I'll slowly flesh that number out.

I have no idea how to market this stuff, I guess I will just see what happens.

PIXEL - A pixel art documentary

Finally finished my documentary!



I hope somebody watches it!

animation exercises

I have a really great character acting class, where we do fairly basic animation exercises, such as inbetweening, breakdowns, facial acting and full body. I threw them together in this video.
This stuff is the not so good and the ugly! Don't expect much. None of these characters are my own. Well maybe the dialogue ones.


I'm also almost finished my documentary. It's running at around 11 minutes, which is the longest video I've ever done. I think it's flowing pretty well with some cool chiptune music.
I might try finish it today!
The real problem in my work life is currently Red Dead Redemption coming out friday. Oh damn...

Empty Labs and Crime Police

It's very late and I'm at uni and all the computer labs are empty. There are 2 reasons I am here right now. 1. I need to produce a spaz amount of art for a pre production pack due on Friday. 2. I am interviewing Jason Rohrer over Skype at 3:30 am for my Pixel doco and need to kill time.
Hey look! Spike and Mudley turn arounds! I always have so much trouble with the side views and I was going crazy singing total eclipse of the heart the whole time I was drawing.


Mouth shapes and EVERYTHING! (You may notice I cheated with the mouth shapes... CTRL+C(ity)... YEAH SO WHAT!? I TOOK A SHORTCUT! LITERALLY!)

I did a buncha other boring art. But it is... boring.

FINISHED - Rule

Woo! done. Here is my experimental animation made completely in Jason Rohrer's Sleep is Death.



youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czf4nvI-jTQ

logistical issues

I have spent some time now messing around with the editors seeing what kind of results I can get, I have discovered there are a few logistical complications I have to deal with.
For starters, it's going to be a challenge getting the footage I need at 1024 x 768 resolution, due to the nature of the game and interface. I also need to figure out a good system for capturing the footage, because currently the images I do capture are strangely dark. This might be as simple as tweaking the image settings in the final edit to make it more vibrant.

To capture the footage I think I'll need to do the following:
Run the game at a really high resolution on a computer that can support that, then capture the non widescreen footage of the game and interface and crop the footage just around a widescreen portion of the game window, cutting off some of the image. This means that when I create my sets I have to be aware of that cut off and mentally frame it with that in mind.
It's also going to be interesting creating the images themselves, as it isn't as simple as just drawing it in. Just to create a character you have to do it on multiple layers and combine them.

Here are some initial character style tests.

(I only made the characters)

This guy is made up of 7 elements. Head, chest, legs, shoes and 2 arms. You have to create these parts separately, so in a different window from the other parts. It's pretty cool though, because it means you can customise and easily recycle character pieces.

I get that I could get this result from an animation package (and probably more easily), but I enjoy the challenge of adapting software beyond it's initial intention. Also it's a neat way to get a video noticed!

How to do it

Ok! All systems go with this new animation, I have one week to do this thing and I'm generally excited to give it a shot.

As of now this is how I plan on creating it:
The animation style is going to be SUPER limited, if any movement at all. I will do some experimentation if I can get some actual animated character movement in, but at the moment it might be as simple as static shots.

So how can I make an animation using the indy game Sleep is Death? Within it I can:

• Create stylised pixel characters and backgrounds
  
• Music with a very simple editor
  
• Some degree of character movement and text

I will create sprite sets and characters that I can arrange shots and scenes with. The convenience is I can easily reuse and recycle them, like lego.
Here is a shot of the editor. I plan to use it to make much more visually interesting scenes than this...


It will probably make more sense when I start showing some of experimentation.
I've got a narrative idea, which is partly inspired by Jason Rohrer's Passage (he is also the creator of Sleep is death!) This is a play through of it:


And SuperBrother's Design Reboot HD (I'm a huge fan of his pixel style)


It will be a simple story chronicling the life and death of a King. I've always been interested in the concept of a nobody becoming King (ala Conan) and the weight of it. The actual themes present will be of attempting to achieve something in your life time, and ultimately how the overriding factor and importance (even being king) is living and dying. Here is a drawing of mine on the very subject! Click it for full resolution.


So imagine this but in an exciting stylized pixel form!

I always do this

So I was just watching a little tutorial video on using these graphic editors within this really neat little indy game called Sleep is Death by Jason Rohrer. It's basically a simple online interactive multiplayer story tool. What made my brain spasm was this tutorial on one of the graphical editors within the program.



I am a big pixel art fan. Last year I made a pixel art music video for the band The Model School|.

Check it out HERE! (Stupid thing can't be made small enough to fit into this tiny blog)

And I got thinking about experimental animation. It's user experimentation and medium experimentation. I must say I have been experimenting with this stop motion stuff, more as just an exercise in new mediums, but it wouldn't be experimental for the viewer. SO. What if I made a really experimental animation, using all the graphic editors within Sleep is Death? Captured digitally, then edited into an animated narrative? That would be experimental... It would be like a crazy retro pixel Machinima film. OK! I'm going to mull this over today. But I think it would be a really neat thing. Heck. I'm a digital baby. Who reads the paper anyway?