Steam Train in 3D, composite

A steam train engine, modeled and rendered in Maya. Original render composited in Photoshop.

Compare this image to the real thing from the Teton Valley, in Idaho.

Audi R8 Commercial

Below is the completed spec commercial for the Audi R8, more an opportunity to practice animation and rendering in Maya than anything else. The car is modeled in Maya 2008, using primarily NURBS surfaces, with the occasional polygon thrown in for good measure. Most of the textures are procedural textures that do not require a detailed texture map. The car itself was typically rendered in three passes in Maya:

1. Color / Beauty pass - mental ray with Final Gathering, etc. turned on.
2. Occlusion pass - mental ray default rendering layer.
3. Depth pass - different techniques depending on the shot.

Further animation was done in the Maya software renderer. All elements were then imported into After Effects, where some fine tuning took place, lens flares, etc. Final layback and export with audio was via Final Cut Pro.

Below is the 'HD' embedding, and below that, the normal embedding for slower connections.

Audi R8 Test Animation

More to come.  For now, the Audi R8 model is rigged and ready for animation.  Here is a test render with some simple animation.  The headlights still need some work for this particular shot.

Audi R8 Exterior Render

A final render comp of the Audi R8, modeled and textured in Maya using primarily NURBS for the model, and mostly procedural textures.  The exterior of the car is modeled to the detail necessary for a thirty second spec ad I am working on.  The above image gives a sense of the style.  Still to come:  rigging and car lights, and maybe a simple interior if necessary.

Below are two straightforward images of the front and rear of the R8.

And one more of the Audi R8 model, rendered in Maya using Mental Ray.

Audi R8 Front View Render

The 2007 Audi R8, a work in progress presented as a NURBS model in Maya.  The main body is modeled and textured.  Still to come:  side view mirrors, wheels and tires, real spoiler, non-functional interior.  I intend to rig the car for animation and create a :30 second spot highlighting the car.  Details to come.

The Passion of the McCain

To celebrate my short film "The Passion of the McCain" breaking 60,000 combined views across YouTube and Machinima.com, this post will mirror some of the design decisions and content for the film. The recent increase in views is largely due to the inclusion of the film in the 2008 Cambridge Film Festival, where "Passion" was invited to be screened as part of a special program on machinima styles and techniques. Reviews so far have been mostly positive.

It is interesting to read the comments on YouTube, et al where available. Those who approach the film from a typical machinima's viewer's perspective (i.e. a typical gamer) tend to not like it, because it hides the underlying video game characters and style. they tend to prefer films made wholly within a particular game's reality, which is nonsense, as most games tend to have a fairly boring and conformist world-view. Shoot this, dodge that, escape[ist] here. I, on the other hand, believe that because it hides the underlying game, it is inherently better than stock characters in stock situations. Halo's Master Chief doesn't event have a visible face, so how can he act?

Regardless, the film was fun to put together. Take a look for yourself here, here, here, or below:

Modeling and Texturing Pixar's Wall-E in Maya

A freelance animation project I am working on calls for a cameo from Pixar's Wall-E robot from the 2008 Pixar film. Here is the basic model, textured and rendered. Please read more about this project, including modeling, texturing, and rendering Wall-E in Maya.