For the Spring of 2021, I was blessed to be the 3D producer of a crew of 18 students to create "Ghost to Coast" a bumper reel short directed by Cole Touchton.
In the first week I helped collaborate with the design of the main character dubbed informally as "Bone Daddy" due to his fatherly relationship with the main character. We wanted something challenging to rig as he'd be designed for 3D interpretation, but also easy for a beginner to rig and animate.
The sketch was provided by Cole Touchton as a base for what he might have wanted. That sketch was then simplified to be converted into a possible reference for 3D modelers by me.
Illustration. Adobe Photoshop
When the final design for Bone Daddy came to a close I provided some possible color combinations for the clothing's pallet.
Base provided by my co-producer and illustrator Brooke Heishman.
Coloring provided by me.
Adobe Photoshop
Using the chapel that was 3D modeled by Isabella McMillan, I painted a variation of the real life chapel that can be located in Savannah: Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.
Adobe Photoshop
Using the gate of the Savannah cemetery that was 3D modeled by Isabella McMillan, I painted the stone work in the same fashion as the Cathedral. Other things in the composition include textures from trees provided by Lucas Merritt, the layout and objects within it, modeled and textured by Isabella McMillan with light provided by me.
Adobe Photoshop. Maya
Using the truck that was 3D modeled by Isabella McMillan, I referenced various paint jobs of vintage cars to create an older aesthetic for the truck that would be parked in our Broughton scene.
Adobe Photoshop
That Broughton scene can be found here, with the textured paint of the truck and lighting having been done by me. Other elements in the composition were 3D modeled by Isabella McMillan and painted by the joint effort of Isabella McMillan and Adriana Santiago
Adobe Photoshop
The same lighting practices were used here to light the park within the lamps. Models provided by Isabella McMillan with textures done by the joint of effort of Adriana Santiago and Lucas Merritt.
Maya
In a collaborative effort to provide a backdrop for the Cathedral, the 2D producer Brooke Heishman, and I mashed together illustration with illusion by strategic layering and opacity mapping within Maya. My process of turning a 2D illustration provided by her, into a 3D layout can be shown below.
Maya
We started out with an illustration both done and colored by Brooke Heishman on a single layer.
I tasked her with cutting out the cluster of homes by similarity and then providing me with a second version where she would paint the backdrop black, and flood the home with white.
When imported into Maya, I was then able to stack transparent backgrounds to create the illusion of depth that can be found in pop up storybooks.
The end result provided us with a 3D stacking effect that brought a touch more dimension. I believe by using this method to layer, we created a highly unique environment using unconventional means for a 3D program. Perhaps in the future I can explore this concept further to create even more complex settings.
Textures were a joint effort by myself and Lucas Merrit. 2D illustrated backgrounds were the property of Brooke Heishman. Lighting was done by me.
Maya. Adobe Photoshop
I was also tasked with texturing the Bone Daddy model using the burgundy color from the color study that can be located further up the page. Model created by Hannah Banana
Adobe Photoshop
And as I love this crew, I'll provide a very dear memory where I threw a surprise party for one of our texture artist and illustrators: Mari. Happy Birthday kid!