brave – Animation with a moustache

September 26, 2012

Lord Macintosh (update)

I had already modeled Brave’s Lord Macintosh last year but working from a single concept art proved to be really tricky and I completely missed his nose and chin. Now that the movie is out and many trailers are available, I felt it was time to correct few things.

As you can see, I still wasn’t able to tackle the hair and didn’t want to use the old school textured cards. Most Maya based Animated Feature studios probably use Joe Alter’s Shave and Haircut plugin nowadays and I ordered a trial license to give it a go but I still haven’t received it so … proxy hair will do for now.

Here are some screenshots and wireframes for you.

If you know a ‘Shave and haircut’ expert willing to help me learn the software, please let me know. Cheers!

5

Cinematography / Education / Story

August 18, 2012

by Olivier Ladeuix

The 180 degree rule

Few weeks ago, Karim my younger brother from an other mum and dad, reminded me that Mark Andrews (aka Mandrews) and Ted Mathot had been interviewed by Andrew Gordon for a great Story Splinecast back in 2007.

I had completely forgotten about that one and was surprised to see that I even left a blurb in the comment section 😉

With the release of Brave which Mandrews directed, I HAD to listen to that interview again and I certainly had forgotten all the great gems it contained and how different Mandrews profile is compared to other Pixar directors. Well we didn’t know he would go on directing a Pixar movie in 2007 and I expected him to go on directing live action instead.

The little gem I wanted to shed light on today is the one where he talks about the “180 degree rule”. Some directors Mandrews worked with would never break it but others seem to be a bit more partial. Check it out

“Mark Andrews 180 degree rule”

I would recommend you to listen to the entire Spline cast.

Story Spline Cast with Mark Andrews and Ted Mathot

4

Animation

March 5, 2012

by Olivier Ladeuix

Pixar “Brave” Japanese trailer

[updated with higher quality trailer]

I’d better warn you, there are plenty of spoilers here but a Japanese “Brave” trailer just came out and it is very interesting how they edited it. Like most French kids, I always had a fascination for Japanese movies and culture in general I must admit, so this makes the movie even more exciting.

In that trailer, the movie looks way different with much less emphasis on the gags and the comedy. Instead, they brought forward all the elements we would normally find in a Miyazaki movie: a magical forrest, evanescent glowing figures…. That probably says a lot about the division between Eastern and Western taste. Anyway, check it out it is really sexy especially with those really deep Japanese voices and fancy Japanese titles.

Only watch if you don’t mind spoilers!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zzSqWUmlts[/youtube]

Related posts:
Princess Mononoke backstage
Blog search: “Brave”

0

Animation

February 23, 2012

by Olivier Ladeuix

Pixar Brave, sneak peek clip

Something new from Emeryville just came out and it is looking really nice. If you still needed to be convinced to go and watch Pixar’s next feature, Brave, you are in for a treat.

I like the sound they put at the end of the clip, reminds me of a “Lost” episode.

I am not too sure about the rendering/compositing though. I feel some reflected light and maybe some colours in the shadows are missing. The dark areas seem too bright in places and the green of the “straw like grass” seems a bit strange for such a rainy kingdom but this could be due to the Youtube compression and my taste for saturated colours 😉

Character design wise, I was worried Merida and Queen Elinor’s design would be too bland but they have some nice subtle wrinkles and sharp features that work very well in animation.

I can’t wait!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1SBjAuMN6A[/youtube]

2

Animation

February 4, 2012

by Olivier Ladeuix

Pixar “Brave” Disney world display

Ahah! something new to see!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRqpCeKTEKo&feature=share[/youtube]

4

Education / Modeling / Portfolio

January 14, 2012

by Olivier Ladeuix

3d Modeling portfolio

Since animation work is pretty scarce at the moment I have decided to put all my modeling work together just so I can apply to 3d modeling positions.

Those are props for a long overdue short film, personal work, professional work and character design studies. The work was done in Maya 2009 for the most recent pieces, 3ds Max 5 for the rest.

The Pixar related models are obviously fan art as I have never worked on Ratatouille or Brave. I only did those to get a better understanding of Pixar’s character designs, wireframe edge flow and rigging (articulations).

During a recent visit to French sculptor Bourdelle’s museum in Paris, I was reminded it is how the best artists learnt their art, by copying the masters. Michaelangelo was a great source of inspiration for Bourdelle, Daniel Lopez Munoz is mine.

Download the PDF version if you prefer Olivier_Ladeuix_modeling_2011.pdf or click the pictures below to zoom in.

You will probably find a timelapse video for most pieces in the “Related Posts” section at the end of the post and I would suggest their viewing to anyone wanting to learn about CG modeling and clean edge flow or just to see wireframes.

0

Animation

November 16, 2011

by Olivier Ladeuix

Pixar “Brave” November trailer

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEHWDA_6e3M[/youtube]

As announced few days ago, a new trailer just came out. That one is not a teaser but a proper trailer for Pixar forthcoming feature “Brave”. The movie, directed by “The Incredibles” Story supervisor and “One Man’s band” director, Mark Andrews, is set to be released June 22th 2012 in the US and around August in the UK.

It is good to finally see those character designs in motion. The three Lords have so much character, it is great! We still haven’t seen the Wise woman though, I can’t wait!

The accent is a bit strange I am finding, some of the characters seem more Irish I feel. Oh well.

If you want to see some high resolution pictures, check out my latest “Brave” post below.

Pixar “Brave” new pictures before trailer release

1

Animation / Character design

November 14, 2011

by Olivier Ladeuix

Pixar “Brave” new pictures before trailer release

A new “Brave” trailer should be hitting the theatres and our computer screens tomorrow. In the meantime, here is a series of shots from the movie.

Hit the following links for higher resolution pictures:

via Empire online
Via Bleeding cool

On a side note, I wasn’t too far off with my modeling and the hair on Lord Macintosh is looking really fun.

2

Animation

September 5, 2011

by Olivier Ladeuix

Pixar Brave D23, concept art part II

Youtube user SpecialSailorMiss just uploaded a second and final video showcasing some concept art and visual development from summer 2012’s Pixar movie “Brave”.

The previous revealed artworks are available at the links below that post.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHKKvBcVOOg[/youtube]