The struggLE in three dimensionS or is it four?
Since technique and pure aesthetics excite almost as much as moods and stories... I simply cannot create HSM without redefining my visual style...and by redefine I mean make it more complex ^ ^
I excel at creating super blocky raw looking paint splattered 3d characters like the one I used in the Rabbit Junk promo... or the dancing block man in the PnoK video I did... If I were to make HSM look like that the only thing I would be thinking about right now is the HSM story... but I like challenges and I love learning and trying new things... Soooooo... I've been studying and practicing to extend my 3d skillset and utilize techniques I have never done before...
I mean I could use a semi-toon shaded look like I did with "Blue" in WATS but there isn't enough dynamic range in the color space with that technique to get me excited...
Here's the thing... before I started creating the models and the like for WATS... I envisioned it being a very dark and serious film... So I started making the models and objects with that in mind but I did not have the technical skill at the time to make anything look "serious" it all came out childish looking... So i could have spent 3 years learning the tools and techniques until I could create the "serious" look I was going for...instead I just went where the material wanted to go and made it childish intentionally after that...cause thats really all I could do haha...
So now I'm at the same point... I've written this film and envisioned it as very dark and serious... do I have the skills now to make it so? Of course when starting a film you never feel like your ready...So of course the month before starting "construction" wherein I began making the objects for the film I've been scrambling to augment my 3d skillset...
So within Cinema 4d theres lots of new stuff for me to utilize...
Most of my emphasis/fear/hesitation has to do with the 3d models themselves... the character models.... I'm at odds as far as what style to go with... I love low poly but if they are too blocky that kills the "serious" aspect... but on the other hand I have no interest in photo realism and super high poly stuff...not to mention its a BiaTTCHH to work with....
Also the less "real" a character is the more freedom you have with hyper stylized animation which I have great fun with... the more realistic the character is the more realistic animation must be...
So before the month ends I will have to come up with a decision... or just start modeling next month and see where the mouse takes me...
I guess its not a bad problem to have... I'm VERY happy with the story, mood and characters... there's some powerful stuff in there...If I sit in the cafe and watch the animatic I have to hide my face cause several parts of the animatic actually starts to bring tears to my eyes...I'm not even joking... WATS barely did that for me... but nothing like this...
I have some CRAZY ideas on how to resolve this... just need to chew on it in my brain some more and decide what is best... but you can count on me to do my best... I'm dedicating all my time and energy for the next 1.5 -2 years on making this thing we'll just have to see how far I go with upping the aesthetic ante...
This month I'm teaching myself Zbrush ^ ^ I wonder if it will work its way into the production...hmmmmm......Brought to you by professional weirdo M dot Strange.