Black Friday Sale on Anime Studio Pro - $99.99

There is Currently a Black Friday Sale on Anime Studio Pro for $99.99

Anime Studio 2D Animation Software - Sale

This doesn't really benefit me as I would prefer to upgrade from9.5 for cheaper but thought it might be useful knowledge for others.

Simple Avatar Creator - Free Graphics

I Created this simple Avatar generator selecting hair, eyes and mouth I have been working on. There are many more this does not include any female hair or face shapes or alternates mouths noses and facial hair. 

Download link for facial components:

Avatar Graphics Collection

Buttons created in MS PowerPoint (dead easy to do and these were the most basic). Vector art done in Anime studio.

Sorry for the poor record quality, really need to sort out some good screen capture software.

War Mammoth - Basic Rig test

Got the Vector work done for the basic Mammoth (no saddle and armor yet). Still need to sort smart bones and constraints but fairly pleased so far.



Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

War Mammoth Anime Model

The next model I have just started work on is a bit random. I have a  story in development which involves Orc warbands roaming steppe and tundra like plains. So what sort of mounts would Orcs living in such an environment have? Mammoths of course! It does seem to be a concept already conceived in WOW and Warhammer (damn it!). But the idea of large roving bands of Orcs with Mammoths for pack animals/war mounts is fairly scary.
 

Here is the initial sketch and a start to the vector work for the Mammoth without armor and saddle (Those will be added after more detailed sketches).

Next project poll

Can't decide what to do for my next project. I'm really loving high fantasy steam-punk influences at the moment (see comic reviews for my reasons). But really want to produce something that will be of benefit to people.

Movember - Started as a Nomo'Sapien

Growing a moostache for movember. Helping spread the word about testicular cancer and men's health in general. Good cause.

This is my mobro Movember Page

Thanks for any who donate.

Animation Tips - Camera Angles and Story Boarding

Wanted to share this page from Empire regarding camera angles. I found it really informative when thinking up the story board flow for animations.

THE 30 CAMERA SHOTS EVERY FILM FAN NEEDS TO KNOW

I story board in power point of all things. I find you can pull in resources from almost anywhere, add text, add captions etc etc. You can save as PDF which is handy or print with notes which is also good for rehashing or scripts with visual prompts.

I also found it worked really well with my surface pro as I could sketch in the frames with the stylus (super handy!).

With the Story boards I just reference the camera angles from the 30 Basics and add further detail if required. I think there is probably industry standard short hand but I just invented my own (i.e. LS for Long Shot).

Let me know if you have any story boarding tips or techniques.

Game Graphics Collection

Game graphics package intnded for a combination of card game and/or side scroller. I started the game as a golden axe style (faux 3d) which was working rather well. There was then a card matching section to the game like chess.
Orc and Warrior characters with walk, block and 2 attack animations. Menu button and icons and Cards for card matching game. Would be good for a Might and Magic card game style.

Over 20 different Buttons and Card in the following styles:


Collection download available here:

Fantasy Game Graphics Collection