Global Warming's Attack on Xam and Power Dog's City!

Hey guys,

I'm working on the city when I rendered this...

 

No, Xam and Power Dog don't live in Venice.  I was working on the streets of the city when I hid them to check something and forgot to un-hide them when I rendered the pic.

It was pretty funny so I thought I'd share.

Later!

Bridge... Done!

Hey guys,

The bridge is finally finished!

This was truly a labor of love.  I love modeling, and I love where the movie is going, but building this bridge was a tremendous labor.  In the end, it was all the tension lines that made this project not so much fun.

But, it's finally done and here it is...

And here it is added to the city...

All in all, moving right along.  I still have a lot to do on the city though.  I need to add street lights, signage and I need to texture the roads.

To the right of the bridge is the harbor.  This is where Xam and Power Dog's warehouse will be, right at the very end.  Consequentially, I need to make that entire pier look like a harbor.

So, I still have a lot to do.  I will, of course, keep you updated.

Later!

Yep, Still Building the Bridge...

Hey guys,

So, I'm still working on the bridge.

It was a very busy week, not movie wise, so I'm afraid I didn't get a whole lot done on the bridge.

I did, however, manage to begin the suspensions lines at the end of the bridge.  I only have the walkway left to build.

I know, it looks like I've lost parts of the bridge but don't worry about that.  I just had them hidden in the picture.  Trust me, both ends of the bride are finished.

As far as I know, I only have the suspension lines on the walkway.  Then I should be done with the bridge (famous last words).

So, I'll let you know how that goes.

Later!

Still Working on the Bridge...

Hey guys,

Man, I never, not for one second, thought it would be more difficult to build a bridge than to build an entire city... but it IS!

Here's what I have so far...

So, just when I thought I was done I realized I've still have a lot to do.

Specifically, I still have to connect the pedestrian and train bridges to the mainland, something I still don't know how I'm going to do it. Then I need to build the tension lines from the ends of the bridge to the anchors that run under the ramps.

I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'd rather build another city. 

Ugh, careful what you wish for.

Alright then, that it's for now.  Back to building a bridge.

Later!

Bridge Nearly Finished!

Hey everyone,

I'm getting close to being finished with the bridge!

As you can see, I finished the tension lines and I changed the colors of the bridge. I originally thought the blue would be cool but I like this version better. 

Now I need to add the ramps that lead to and from the bridge and I think I'll be done.

I'll let you know when that's done.

Later!

Bridge Update!

Hey guys,

Well, I started adding the tension lines to the bridge today...

It's starting to look like a tension bridge!  I only have the outside cables left to do.

Hopefully, I'll finish that up tomorrow.

Later!

Bridge Coming Along!

Hey everyone,

The bridge is coming along nicely...

As you can see, it will be a span bridge with separate roads consisting of two lanes in each direction.  It also allows pedestrians to walk on the top, middle level and a train track will be on the lower, middle level.

So far so good.  Hopefully, I will have more to show you tomorrow.

Later!

The Definitive Over World Clip!

Hey guys,

Got together with my brother over the weekend and showed him the Over World clip and I actually cringed.

Not that I don't like it.  It was just too long.  So much of the clip was redundant.  I don't know if I was trying to stretch the clip as long as I could or if I really just didn't notice that it needed further trimming.

Either way, I deiced to go Lucas one more time and re-cut the clip. What I ended up with was a clip that is just under 5 minutes and I feel it works better.

So, since it has changed up a little, I thought I'd put it on the blog just to explain the short delay in finishing my bridge...



Now, could this be better?  Of course.  Even watching it after editing it down I could see things I would like to change, but that's getting away from what the purpose of the project was.  I wanted to create simple characters, simple sets and a simple story all to see if I could pull off making a feature length Xam and Power Dog film and after this project I feel as though I can.

True.  Xam and Power Dog won't be Pixar or Dreamworks quality, but you've seen the character clips and it will be better than The Over World.  And since I think The Over World is decent enough to show people then I feel confident Xam and Power Dog will be just fine.

Anyway, back to building a bridge.

Talk to you all later!

City and a Bridge!

Hey guys,

Well, it's been another busy week and I thought I'd give you a quick update!

I've gotten to a  point that I'm feeling pretty good about the layout of the city...

 I thought I'd even show you a view from Main Street...

There is still a lot to do.  I have to add the texture to the street.  I need to add streetlights and mailboxes. I need to decide how wide I want the sidewalks to be and of course, I need to fill the city with people and cars!

I also grew restless this week.  I've been building a city for too long and it was starting to drive me nuts so I decided to take a break and work on the bridge that connects the island city with the mainland. It's not much, but this is what I got so far...

And that's about it.  Next week, I hope to finish up the bridge (as long as I don't run into any complications) and then it's back to the city.

Talk to you later!

It's Starting to Look Like a City!

Hey guys,

Sorry for the lack of updates, but really, how many times do you want to hear me say progress is slowly moving along?

What can I say?  I'm very busy lately and sadly, it's not my movie that is taking up so much of my time.  :(

But, the city is really starting to look like a city!

As you can see, it's filling in very nicely.  It is, however, apparent that I'm going to need more than just 4 non-unique buildings to fill up my city. 

How many more?  I don't know.  I'm going to try four more and see how that looks. 

I'll let you know.

Later!