Struggling to Find Time!

Hey guys,

The good news is that last week I found a new job. I'm really gonna like my new gig and am very excited to be working again.

The bad news is that for the first time in over 3 years I am not working from home. Now, I never worked on the movie while I was working from home but I was able to work on it the second I got off of work. As of last week, I now have a 25 mile commute to the northern part of Dallas and it takes me on average 2 to 3 hours a day to drive back and forth. That said, by the time I get home I have very little energy and just haven't been working on the movie.

I'm not gonna say I'm giving up on making the movie but I just don't know how much time per week I'm gonna have to work on it. It honestly pains me to type this but I just don't know if I'm ever gonna finish this project.

Still, I will not quit. It may take me three times as long to work on the movie but as of today I refuse to throw in the towel. I just want to let you know why you are gonna see less and less updates.

When I have something worth reporting, I will report it.

Later!

Haven't Done Much These Last Few Weeks!

Hey guys,

Well, what can I say? I haven't really worked much on the movie these last couple of weeks. Halloween and Thanksgiving have really taken their toll on my time and energy and December doesn't look to be any different.

Of course, the holidays the last three months of the year probably take just as much of a toll on you so I'm sure you all understand what I'm talking about.

I promise that I will work on the movie some this month. I can't say how much I'll get done but I hope to at least finish up the re-working of the T-Boom model this month.

Of course, I'll keep you posted!

The 100th Post!!!

Hey guys,

Well, I've been putting off posting anything as this post marks the 100 post on the Xam and Power Blog and I really wanted to make is special, but it has been so long since I posted anything I was beginning to feel bad.

As I've mentioned, Halloween is a big holiday in my house and it pretty much took up all my free time on the movie (check out the Hollinger Hollow blog).

Now that Halloween is over I will once again be directing all my free time to making my little movie a reality so begin checking in on a regular basis as updates are going to start coming in on a more regular basis.

Talk to you soon!

Not Much... But It's a Start!

Hey guys,

Well, like I said, October is going to be a slow month for the movie and so far that has been the case.

Still, since I was feeling a little restless, I thought I'd start working on the updates to the T-Boom model.

Late last month I announced I would have to re-work the human models (Thomas, T-Boom and Rocky) in order to fix a rigging problem. If you look at previous posts you will see I'm referring to the rebuilding of the arms and putting them in a "T" shape in order to solve the "shoulder pad" problem as well as fix some other issues with how rigging affected the shape of the sleeves.

Well, since I finished with Thomas I thought I'd spend a couple of minutes and start on T-Boom. Since T-boom is an advanced model of Thomas it is a pretty easy start. I just need to add the vest, glasses and T-Boom logo to Thomas.

The vest will be a beast and adding the logo means I'll have to start over on the UV Texture (color mapping). All of those would require more of an effort on my part and since it's past midnight I'm a little tired.

So, I did the easiest thing and added T-Boom's glasses. That' is a simple matter of importing the glasses model I made months ago and fitting them to his face.

Walla...

I know. It's not much, but it's a start. When I finally get the Halloween decorations in the front yard set up, something I hope to do this weekend, I'll have more free time to work on the movie. Next step, build the vest and add the logo and then it will be on to the Rocky model.

Until then...

Our Love of Halloween!

Alright, I'm breaking my biggest rule with this blog.

The one thing I pledged when I started this blog was that this blog would only discuss the trials and joys of making a Xam and Power Dog movie.

That said, this blog, and the movie, is going to take a bit of a hit this month as my attention turns toward the greatest holiday of all time, Halloween! My family loves Halloween and every year we put up a display that people (people have personally told us this) come specifically down our block to see every year.

So, if you're checking in from time to time to see what's happening in the world of Xam and Power Dog and are disappointed by the lack of updates this month, head on over to www.hollingerhollow.blogspot.com and check out what is causing the hold-up.

Haven't Had Much Time To Work On Movie!

Hey guys,

What can I say? Halloween is taking up most of my free time these days.

That said, I haven't done much on the movie this last week. The only thing I can say I've done is I fixed the length of Thomas' arms.

Since I had to redo his model with his arms out in a "T" position I wasn't able to judge the length of his arms. Since I've rigged him I was able to put his arms down at his sides and I noticed his arms were a little short.

Case in point...



Since then, I've lengthened his arms and now they are right...



All in all, it's a small modification but one I think people would have noticed over time so it was a necessary correction.

I'm still working on Halloween stuff this next week and I am expecting it to take up a lot of my time. Still, I will try harder to work on the movie this week and as always, I will post something when there is something to report.

Until then...

Still Rigging Thomas...No Walk Cycle Yet!

Hey guys,

Well, it's been a pretty busy week, and with Halloween getting closer (a very important holiday in my family with a huge, elaborate front yard cemetery that requires considerable building every year) it is only going to get busier.

Still, I will not stop working on the movie but may slow down a bit, as was the case this week. I'm still not working on a walk cycle yet because I'm ironing out the rough spots in the Thomas model rigging. This is very time consuming but once I get it finished it will be easier to position and pose the models.

I mentioned last week that by doing this I was able to improve upon the models. One of the things I mentioned is that I will be able to get rid of the "shoulder pads" on the models and below is an example of what I was talking about...




As you can see in the second picture, Thomas' shoulders look much more relaxed and natural. I was also able to fix his hands, which is something I was never happy with and was able to fix with the Rocky model. The hands in the second pic come from a separate model I created for the Rocky model and imported them into the Thomas model, then beefed them up to look like a boy's hands. A huge improvement in my opinion.

All I have left to finish rigging is his legs and feet and once I complete that I will finally be able to work on the walk cycle.

As soon as I have that finished I will post it.

Later!

So Far... So Good!

Well, I had a pretty productive day today.

I was able to fix the Thomas model by rebuilding his arms so they stick out in a "T" shape. Check out the before and after...

(Before)


(After)


As you can see, I was even able to redo the UV Textures which gives him his color. If you look closely you will see the pattern on his pants is a little different.

The other thing you will notice is that he no longer looks like he's wearing shoulder pads. This will be more noticeable after I rig him and put his arms down by his sides (something I will show you after I rig him) but for now, if you use your imagination, you will see what I'm talking about.

So, not bad for a days work. It actually only took me a couple of hours. The big thing will be rigging him, which I will hopefully be able to spend some time on tomorrow. I say "hopefully" because this weekend is going to be very busy and I'm not entirely sure I will have the time until next week.

As always, I will keep you posted.

Back to the Drawing Board on the Human Characters!

Well, I mentioned last week that I was certain I would find problems with the models when I started to animate them and I did...at least as far as the human models go.

To make a long story short, when I was building the human models I didn't have their arms out to the side (so when you look at them from front or behind they look like a "T").

Why is this a problem? Well, because they are wearing shirts and when I move the arms the shirt sleeves become deformed.

It's all pretty complicated if you're not familiar with the rigging process so I won't beat you down with the details. The bottom line is I have to rebuild the human models with their arms out, which will completely wipe out the color maps I've done taking me back at least another week to fix all three human models (Thomas, T-Boom and Rocky).

And I was in such a good mood last week.

The good news is that I believe this will only be a problem with the human models. As you know, Max and Gibson are wearing costumes when they are Xam and Power Dog, but because I built them standing on all four limbs they should be alright. At least I'm crossing my fingers that will be the case.

So, what does this mean? Well, it means if my estimation of a one week delay is accurate then it will be a couple of weeks until we see T-Boom in a walk cycle.

As always, I'll keep you posted.

Having Fun Rigging the T-Boom Model!

Hey guys!

Well, I still have a lot of work to do before I feel I'm done with rigging the T-Boom model, but I did have some fun working on posing him and thought I'd share.

First, Here is what it looks like to work with the rigging and then to render the image...



Second, I decided to have some fun with the rendered image and stick T-Boom on a statue of a Charging Bull that sits somewhere in NY City (where the movie is set)..



I plan on adding the rest of the characters to this pic as I finish them.

That said, I'm still not done with T-Boom. I'm going to try to animate him in a walk cycle to make sure I have everything right. I already can tell there are things still wrong with what I've done so far so I have no idea how long this will take. I suspect it will be another week until I have the walk cycle finished.

As always, I'll let you know how that goes!

Started Rigging T-Boom!

Hey guys!

Well, I said it would be a learning experience and I wasn't kidding.

I decided last week to scrap everything I've rigged on Power Dog and start over. That said, I didn't find a lot of rigging tutorials for dogs but I found a fantastic tutorial for rigging a person so, after a week of research, I've finally started rigging T-Boom today!

Rigging looks pretty funny when editing and positioning. Here is what it looks like (click on the image for a larger pic)...



As you can see, T-Boom has little yellow bones and the dots represent his joints. This took me about an hour to do and it has it's challenges but so far it is really moving along.

Next I have to assign what bones move what part of the body. I think that is going to go fairly quickly but I am completely exhausted and think I will stop here for the day. It's gonna be a pretty busy day tomorrow, but I'll try to work on it some more in the evening and hopefully I'll have something new to post then.

For now, I'm pretty excited and I can't wait to work on this some more.

As always, I'll post if there's anything new to report!

What's New?

What's new? To tell the truth, nothing.

I've been a little under the weather this last week and haven't touched the movie.

Not to worry, next week I'll start it up again. I've decided to start over with the character rigging. I'm going to scrap what I've done so far and begin researching the process anew.

I'm doing this because if there's one thing I've learned from all the work I've done on the movie is that I can always do it better and more efficiently.

So, next week I'll start my research and I'll update you on how it's going.

See you then!

Rocky is "Finished"!

Well, I had a little time to work on the movie this evening and darned if I didn't get Rocky colored...





So, I now declare the Rocky model "finished"!

Of course, I put "finished" in quotes because I'm always tweaking the models a little here and there and because the only model that is rigged is the Power Dog model so really, none of the models are truly finished.

In case I haven't mentioned it before, "rigging" is basically giving the models bones so I can move and position them in various poses. It is essentially the thing that gives them life and movement and it is going to take me a while to figure that out.

So, what's next? Well, I need to experiment with the rigging of the models and see what I can do with them. It is what I was working on with Power Dog before I decided to take a break and make the rest of the models. Now I have the models done so it's back to where I was a couple of months ago...working on the animation of the characters.

Once I get that done I'll be able to work on the backgrounds. Once I get the hang of merging the backgrounds with the models then it will finally be time to start making the movie.

I still have a long way to go before that day arrives. As always, I will keep you posted. :)

Rocky Is Almost Finished!

Alright!

It's been another crazy, busy week. I promised to have the Rocky model finished by today and almost made it!

Here is what I've got so far...



As you can see, the model is arguably done. As far as the character design, she is finished. Now all she needs is a little color, which I will try to get to this weekend.

It's the last weekend of summer so it's gonna be pretty busy around here as we get the kiddo's settled for the new school year.

The bad news is the kids summer is coming to an end and I'm gonna miss having them around. The good news is that starting Monday I will be able to dedicate a lot more time to the movie. I know that's hard to believe. July was a busy month for the movie but August has been a nightmare. Now with a little more free time, I will be able to get back to making my vision a reality.

As soon as Rocky is completely done I will let you know!

Still Working on Rocky Model!

Hey everyone,

I have only spent about 30 minutes on the Rocky model this week. I'm really trying to get some things done around the house (things I've been putting off so I can work on the movie) and it is leaving me with little time to work on the movie.

Still, I feel the need to post what little progress I've done on the model...



As you can see, Rocky is doing a Venus de Milo impression (one with a top at least). Don't worry! I'm still working on the model and promise to have it done by this time next week.

I'll keep you posted!

Been Really Busy but Managed to do Some More Work!

Hey guys,

Well, I mentioned last week that I didn't think I'd have a whole lot of time this week to work on the model and that has been the case.

I did find a couple of hours to work on the Rocky model today and although it doesn't look like I've done much I really did get a lot accomplished.

The problem with this particular model is the hair. Thomas' hair was short and spikey and that was fairly easy to animate but because Rocky's hair is long and straight it was giving me some trouble.

The other thing throwing me for a loop was the eyelashes. Thomas doesn't have any because he's a boy but it looked weird not having them on Rocky. As you can see below, I have added eyelashes. I'm not sure that I'm done with them but at least they're there for now.

So, here's the pic of what I've done today.



Later this week I'm going to start working on her body. I'm sorry this is takng so long but I'm really trying to get some things done around the house (projects I've been putting off for far too long) and I have family in town this week (Hi Mom!) and I'm trying to spend time with them as well.

So for now, this is what I've got done. I'll keep you posted!

Well, I Said I'd Keep You Posted!

Hey guys,

I know. I just posted that I hadn't got much done on the Rocky model this week but I had a couple of hours to work on her since posting and I thought I'd share what I got...



Obviously, I have a lot more to do, but since I went a week without posting anything I thought I'd at least put out what I got so far.

I'll keep you posted.

Haven't Been Working on the Movie This Last Week!

Hey guys!

Well, it has been a crazy week. I've been doing a lot of work around the house and have had little time to work on the movie.

This next week doesn't look any better as far as free time goes so I'm not sure how much time I'll have to work on the Rocky model but I will do as much as I can and I will keep you all posted!

Don't worry. I'm still working on the movie! :)

Starting Over on Rocky Model!

Well, it is as I feared...

I'm starting over on the Rocky model.

To be honest, I really don't mind. There were certain aspects of what I had done that I wasn't completely happy with but too hesitant to start over.

Perhaps this is a higher power's way of telling me to do what I should have done already...scrap it and begin anew.

I'll keep you posted.

May Have to Start Over on Rocky Model!

Hey guys,

Well, it's been a couple of days since I posted and that is because I seem to have hit a serious snag with the Rocky model.

After a couple of days of everything going great it seems something has happened to corrupt both the primary and backup models of the Rocky character. I am completely caught off guard.

I've had models corrupt before. The first time it happened it was with the Power Dog model. I learned then to keep backup copies. Since then, I've had the occasional problem but my backup copy always pulled my butt out of the fire. For the first time ever, both my files have something wrong with them!

I'm trying to salvage what I can but so far it isn't going well. I'll spend another day messing with the salvage attempt and if the model is still not working then I'll have no choice but to start over.

To give you an idea of how complex these models are, I usually have to compress them and they're still around 4G in size. Right now, the Rocky models are over 10G and that's compressed! That is usually the first indicator that something is wrong.

So, like I said, I'll give it one more day before I start over.

I'll keep you posted.

Think I Got the Hair Figured Out!

Hey guys,

After a couple hours and a completely different approach to Rocky's hair I think I got it figured out...



As you can see, I've started moving on to her body. I'm gonna call it a day and work on it some more tomorrow.

I'll let you know how that goes.

Can't Tell, but I've Been Working Hard on the Rocky Model!

Well, I don't know that it shows, but I've been busting my butt on the Rocky model.

I've spent the last day working on the shape of her face and her hair. The reason the shape of the face is so important is I do want it to look like her (in case you didn't know Rocky and Thomas are my kids) but she also has to look like she comes from the same world as the other characters who are all characterchers of themselves. I think I'm getting pretty close so I don't mind sharing.



The other problem has been her hair. I'm still not happy with it but I think it's getting better. Unlike Thomas, who had short, spiky hair, Rocky's hair is long and flowing. Believe it or not, that's harder to animate.

So, I'll continue to bust my butt on this model that is only in the movie for one minute. It'll be worth it though since her character has a bigger part in the sequel.

That is, if I ever get done with this movie!

Working on Rocky Model!

Hey guys,

Been kinda busy these last couple of days so I haven't had much time to work on the Rocky model.

I have been able to start her head so I thought I'd show it to you...



Like I said, I'm still working on it but it's a real good start. I'm hoping to work on it some more later today so if I get anything worth posting I'll share.

Later!

Now I'm Finished with Jacko the Terrier!

Alright,

I was looking over the Jacko model and I noticed that I hadn't quite finished him. He was still a little sharp around the edges so I needed to soften him up a little.

So, that is what I did...



Now I am finished (until I discover something else) and I can start the Rocky model.

Jacko the Terrier Finished!

Hey everyone!

Well, I finished the Jacko model. This one was just plain fun to make. It's the craziest looking character of all of the ones I've made and he was so easy to put together.

Take a look...





Now I have to make the Rocky model. She has a very small part in this movie but will play a major role in the sequel. Once I'm done with her it's time to start animating!!!

I'll post pics as I go.

Started Jacko the Terrier!

Hey guys!

I spent the last hour working on Jacko the Terrier.

It's not much but I thought I'd show you what I've got so far...



I'm taking the next couple of days off from the movie so I'll post more later.

T-Boom Model Done!

Alright!!!

It took me a couple more hours than I figured but that was because I had to build the sunglasses and I decided at the last minute to change the color of T-Boom's vest from black leather to a green army jacket with the sleeves cut off.

I changed the vest because you honestly couldn't see the black vest on top of T-Boom's back shirt. I tried several variations of black to make it work but in the end the green vest just looked better. It's a perfect example of what works in one medium doesn't necessarily mean it will work in another.

So, whithout further ado, here's T-Boom!





So, now what?

Well, believe it or not I'm still not done modeling. I need to create a model for Jacko the Terrier, a small role but a pivotal one, and then I need to make a model for a character named Rocky who is only on screen for 30 seconds but who also has a very important role.

Once that is done I will once again tackle test animation. I will have no choice but to do that because I will then be completely out of anyone or anything to model...at least as far as I can tell.

I'll keep you posted!

Thomas Model Done!

Alright!

I had a couple hours to kill so I spent it finishing up the Thomas model...





Now it's time to start on the T-Boom model! That shouldn't take but a couple of hours because the only difference between the two is that T-Boom has a logo on his shirt, a leather vest and some sunglasses. OK, maybe more than a couple of hours since I have to build the vest and sunglasses, but it shouldn't be too much more than that.

I'll post pics when I have them!

Small Update to Thomas Model!

Hey guys,

Had a couple of hours to work on the Thomas model today. I finished the body (feet, arms and hands) and set the proportions. Here's what I got...



Not too bad if I do say so myself. Now I need to color him up a bit and I'll be done.

I'll post that as soon as I have it.

Still Working on the Thomas!

Hey everyone!

I'm still working on the Thomas model but I wanted to show you the progress so far...



So, now it's back to work! I'll post more later!!

Working on the Thomas Model!

Hey guys,

Spent a good portion of the day working on the Thomas model!

So far, I only have the head. Tomorrow I will continue with the rest but I wanted to show you what I have so far...




Not too bad in my humble opinion. I'll post more when there's more to post!

Finished Willow Model!

Alright! I "finished" the Willow model!

Again, "finished" is in quotes because I'm always changing something weather it's for aesthetic reasons or because something is wrong and I don't discover it until I try to animate the character, but as far as I can tell at this moment she is done.

Take a look...





Now I have to start the Thomas/T-Boom models. This will take longer as he is the only human in the movie (well, main character at least) and I just know I'm gonna run into an entire host of new and interesting problems.

I'll try to keep you update as I progress!

Wish me luck!

Working on Willow Model!

Hey guys!

Spent a couple of hours working on the Willow model. Like I said, it should be pretty easy since Willow would be a modified Max model.

Here's a pic of what I got so far...



I'll work on this some more tomorrow.

Updated Max and Finished Xam!

Alright!!!

I "finished" the Xam model! I say "finished" because just like Gibson was "finished" and in fact wasn't, I think I've done everything I need to do to Max/Xam.

As I was working on Xam I realised I didn't put whiskers on Max. So, below are the images of the Xam model and one image of Max with whiskers!






Now, it's on to Willow. That should be pretty easy since all Willow will be is a modified version of Max and she doesn't have a super hero alter ego so I will only need the one model.

I'll let you know how that goes!

Finishing Up Max Model!

Hey guys!

I've spent the last day working on the Max model and I am close to finishing.

I say "close" because I still have to rig him and give him a final look over before I decide if he's done. This should only take another day or so and then I'll start the Xam model.

Until then, here are some pics!

Enjoy!

Haven't Had Much Time to Work on Max Model!

Hey guys,

Not much new on the Max model. I've been working on painting a room in my house and have had little time to work on the movie.

Still, I have improved the head and started the body so I thought I'd let you have a look.



That's all for now. I'll post again when there's something new!

Max Model is Coming Along!

Hey guys,

I posted yesterday (or the day before) that I was going to put animating Power Dog on hold to start working on the Max model. I was doing this because my brain was fried from trying to animate PD.

Anyway, I've spent a couple of hours, and deleted one model of Max I'd started because I didn't like the way it was going, and this is what I've got so far...





I know, it's not much, and it doesn't exactly look like a cat, but believe it or not this is the way Gibson started out so I think I'm on to something.

Of course, I'll post more picks as I move forward.

I just wanted to show you guys what I've been working on.