Cloud Age

Anyway, heres a test render of the scene. Everything takes place in the sky, see? The clouds are animatable, haven't rendered the whole 200 frames yet to test. No lights yet, the clouds have their own incandescence.



And a lighting test. Ignore the strange green bg.



Also, a sketch of Musa, with his nanoarmor

::NOTICE::

Please please (look what you've done, you've made me beg), if any of you got other stories or ideas, don't just say you got some stuff that you'd like me to hear and wait for a public forum. Just post it immediately in the SIDM forums, where I can see them and read, and others can too, and everyone can comment.

Please provide storyboards, character sheets, concepts, background texts if needed. Best if you could also do some models and rigs. Storyboards MUST be confirmed by MONDAY. I will not ask for extensions, because we only have 3 weeks left and this little fiasco has caused a major slowdown.

All preproduction (including models, rigs, textures, backgrounds) must be completed by end of IAP, maximum is before FY really starts. FY will be spent on animation, effects, rendering, editing and sound.

::Take note of the time we have left for this clip, please consider ALL technical aspects when you design a character and when you draw the storyboard ie, does the character need any special rigs, is it possible to shave off abit of work here and there, poly counts, (Preferable if the school computers can handle everything nicely, try to make everything as light as possible, I don't want the same laggy nightmare that was Safety at Work) special effects. If any special stuff is needed, make sure that someone can do it, best is if you go and look for tutorials and learn it yourself, like I did for the jet smoke and the clouds::

Please try to understand why I'm being so mean and stubborn, its because I don't want to wait for people, time is slipping through our fingers and I would prefer if people showed up with considerable material, enough to make up for 2+ months of hard work.


If you wish to flame me, please back up your claims, show me why you think you can do a better job. Make me look like 2+ months of my work is rubbish. Show me what you got.

Thank you all

-Jon




For the other tracks, please direct your inquiries to the correct person in charge. I've already got my hand full for the animation, as you can see :P

The Story for the Fusion Animation

The story, in Layman terms.


So one day, NIL suddenly appears and wipes out 80% of the entire human race. The humans decided to build an experimental weapon called MAX, and got him to fight with Nil. He loses horribly and is disheartened. The humans are sad too, so everyone gives up hope and stuff. Then they throw Max into the scrap heap where he lies there for a very long time till he gets discovered by MUSA and MAYA, 2 wanderers whos struggle for survival inspires him, and he gets invited to their party.

Then they had many adventures and stuff, fighting robots and things (maybe this can be like some mini series, or a comic or something, like a prequel bit) till they make their way high above the clouds, where Nil resides, protected by a million robot drones.

[The animation clip starts here]
So they fight and stuff, maya summons her robots (she can do that normally) to destroy the drones while Musa and Max(maybe in a lesser robot form, Normal Gazer? Still quite big though not as large as Nil) try to get to Nil himself. But unfortunately, Nil has this special forcefield, that only opens when he fires his main cannon, and only at a small spot, where the lazer shoots out. As Nil is about to fire his cannon at Max, Musa takes this opportunity and jumps into the hole, right into the path of the lazer, but not before managing to stab his sword into one of the focusing panels around the cannon, causing a huge explosion, revealing the heart of Nil(called The Core). Nil is like "hehehe, foolish human"

Then Max gets very emotional, he combines with Maya in this giant ball of light, and transforms into this giant robot, as big as Nil (FINAL GAZER), and and together they defeat Nil.

Then theres maybe like an epilogue, where they are high above the clouds (cus they can fly, see) and they remember some inspirational stuff about never gonna give up and never letting people down and some other wise stuff Musa used to say.
[end clip]


::in other news, my router burned out at home, so I only have net access at work. So updated during working hours now::

Layout of booths

Jacqueline's layout of our Fusion booths. Easy to navigate and find the specializations you want to take a look at.

Fusion 09 will be like the headquarters where the employers can come and pick out people they want to add to their league of heroes. Previously Trudy expressed the idea of having a room like that in X-man.

In this layout there's the employer in the middle with headphones and five screens with the different specializations shown. Also has a button on the platform should the employers want to search for people with specific skillsets, i.e. Concept Art, Lighting, 3D animation, Dynamic Web applications, Mobile Games Programming, Compositing and Post-Production etc, leading to another page.

Favourites will be placed in the league of superheroes book. Clicking on any of the five screens will open it up to show all the students in that specialization. Layout like when choosing a character to play with on games like smash brothers brawl or soul calibur.

Clicking on a person's thumbnail leads to more details on that graduate and also 4 of the person's best works displayed as a thumbnail within. Not sure if everyone should have a character designed and when the mouse rolls over reveals the face of the person.


~Theo

Ray turntable

right click save!

Now to continue work on Maya and Musa

Website Ideas

Some Concepts for the website layout.IDEA 1 – Chemicals OF Powers

You have shelf of chemicals to choose to add
- web design
- maya
- 3D max
- etcetc

Select designated “skills/powers”, add them into the huge flask or something….
Students who possessed the selected skills will be shown as a thumbnail list.

Clear layout is not out yet.


IDEA 2– Professor X and its Cerebro (replaced with headphones)

A sphere environment, professor X will be in the middle..
Need to get him to wear the headphones which represents each Specialisations (DA, IM, GD, TD, GP).

Digitalized image of students (Superheroes) projected.
Click to go in..


IDEA 3– City/Islands of HEROES

The globe represents SIDM… our own universe.
Each island/city will represents each specialization.
When hover to each island/city, 3D-like buildings will extrude from surface.

Inside the city, you get to navigate left/right you find superheroes in different buildings?

Click and go in..


~Trudy and Cynthia

The Meaning of Things.

"Your world, It is naught but Dust before thine eyes. Your existence is but a Mere Speck in a Maelstrom of Chaos. A mote before the Infinite currents of Time. Futile. Obsolete. None shall Stand before the Void. It is Inevitable. You will Cease to be. And I Shall see to it." -Nil

"A true man never really dies, even when he's killed. A wise man told me that once. I've always wondered what it meant, but now I truly understand. Its to never back down, to never give up hope, even when everything around you crumbles. Nothing can stop you from accomplishing your goals, not even death..." -Musa

"Ever since that day I was cast out, I have never gotten back up. I failed before, and I thought it was the end. It was impossible for me to do anything. But I was wrong. It wasn't the end. Not yet, and never will be. Musa taught me to be strong, to never give up, to always look forward. My dreams and desires, no one will stop me from reaching them. I will do whatever it takes to protect my friends, my family!" -Max


Its not about being a hero, its about the qualities of being one. Its about the spirit, the passion, the never-say-die attitude! Its about not backing down, not giving up, not even in the face of crippling defeat! Its about the never-ending fight to accomplish your dreams! Your goals! To make it a reality! Its you against the world, and you're not going down without a fight! Thats what its all about!

This is what it all means.

-Jon




PS::Anyone speak japanese? It would be awesome if we did all the talking in jap and have english subs, ehehe. Anyone ever dream of being a seiyuu?

Fly, Rays, Fly!

One Mini Gazer, now known as a Ray, modelled and rigged today. Flight testing will commence in T minus 3... 2... 1...









Houston, We have liftoff!





Champagne. Gimme it.

update on story

uhm...for those who didnt see this on the forums..



The Story So Far

Nobody knows.

Nobody knows when did it appear. Or rather, of those who knew, their bones now lie in the dust and rubble of the past. Its body is a massive sea of inky darkness. Even the rays of the sun get lost in the seemingly infinite weave of black. Its head rides high, high, high above the tallest needles of skyscrapers , above the dusty clouds, above the icy peaks of lofty mountain ranges; into the thin, cold air of the troposphere.

Almost 20,000 metres above the ground.

It soon earned a terrible name, NIL. A name that explained nothing, a name that meant nothing, just like its owner.

------------------------------------------

Maya was found admist ruins of a forgotten city, fighting off rogue drones. The place was once a bold statement of Humanity's advancements in technology. Now it is nothing more than twisted metal and crumbling concrete, after NIL walked the the surface of the planet. She tries hard to fend off the attacks coming in from all sides. Then, suddenly, a loud BRAKKKKKKK, and a flash of steel. Several drones flopped to the ground; electricity arcs in the air.

"It's not safe, to be alone out here." The man called Musa muttered.

------------------------------------------

Max, an experimental robot prototype. The surviving Humans build him, as a final resort against NIL. But the very hope they had, failed in a offensive against NIL. From then on, there was little resistance to stop the black Void. Humanity staggered into hopelessness and despair. Max was forgotten, tossed out like yesterday's leftovers. It was a long, long time, before someone stumbled upon him----Maya.

" I'll believe in you....." she said, smiling warmly.

------------------------------------------





A tale of hope and perserverence, against what seems to be an impossible enemy. Musa is the embodiment of Passion and Hope, NIL stands for Despair and Discouragement.

Maya and Max, they believed in each other, and in themselves; from this they gained a strength they could not achieve alone....

Things to come

Click and read, kinda like a storyboard. Important notes for the story.

Brace for Impact

The nameless guy, now known as Musa. He's got nanotech now, designs inspired by Raiden, Master Chief and one of my friend's paintings, hahaha





Afew new designs for Max





A more grimdark version of Max, done by a member of the school community. Do you want your name mentioned? I'm jus gonna call you all 'friends' till i get approval, dun wanna let u get lynched :p


And this giant mecha I've dubbed 'Gazer' Next to it is a smaller model, summoned en masse by Maya. They can fly as well.



::VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE:: I plan to finish all modelling and hopefully rigging before my IAP is over, so please, if you want, post concepts and stuff on the school forum, time's running out and I'd prefer to focus all our 100% on animation and effects during FY period, rather than modelling and fixing rigs.

Even more superhero refs

Do we need any mnore? I dont really care, its fun!


Seikima 2! Ratsbane!




+++

anyway...




Perfect ass! 110%


2924 faces altogether, excluding fingers.



I think I went a little overboard with the fingers O.o All 5 fingers together is 2115 faces, Everything together (2 sets of 5 fingers + whole body) is 7154

Maya

Maya, at 1946 faces. Hair and arms not completed.





Nil, and main cannon, about 40% complete

+++

Started work on Maya, she looks abit like a monkey now, will rectify later. Failhair will be done properly later, now is just placeholder.



Full body sketch of Nil

::edit::



Change textures abit, now with plugsuit. Ignore baldness.

:0

exploring diff looks for MAX

-thomas


:EDIT: added front view. Hair can be changed, headgear cld be added.

MOAR

Max and Maya together!
flying off to fight evil baddie Nil


-thomas

Nil main cannon

Nil, with his main cannon, in closed and charge forms. Still working on the body, just a placeholder.

++terminate the spark of creativity++

Sketches of the baddie, Nil, along with some of the still unnamed guy. He represents PASSION and INSPIRATION, if you were wondering. The unnamed guy, not Nil.





This is a quick model of Nil. (haha i do 3d sketches nao) Doesnt look exactly the same as the sketch, but wth. Approximately 300km tall. Prepare for explosions and huge black pillars.

-Jon, nth level safeguard.

Max!

max is a one armed robot; he was severely damaged an accident, and was subsequently abandoned and left for dead....

only to be picked up by maya! after repairs hes now filled with vengeance and a dangerous tenacity. Boosted further by friendship and admiration for maya, his disability is nothing.

-thomas

HOW TO DESIGN THINGS...

DONT BE A PUSSY!

Update on Story

uhm..for those who didnt see this on the forums...



The Story So Far

Nobody knows.

Nobody knows when did it appear. Or rather, of those who knew, their bones now lie in the dust and rubble of the past. Its body is a massive sea of inky darkness. Even the rays of the sun get lost in the seemingly infinite weave of black. Its head rides high, high, high above the tallest needles of skyscrapers , above the dusty clouds, above the icy peaks of lofty mountain ranges; into the thin, cold air of the troposphere.

Almost 20,000 metres above the ground.

It soon earned a terrible name, NIL. A name that explained nothing, a name that meant nothing, just like its owner.

------------------------------------------

Maya was found admist ruins of a forgotten city, fighting off rogue drones. The place was once a bold statement of Humanity's advancements in technology. Now it is nothing more than twisted metal and crumbling concrete, after NIL walked the the surface of the planet. She tries hard to fend off the attacks coming in from all sides. Then, suddenly, a loud BRAKKKKKKK, and a flash of steel. Several drones flopped to the ground; electricity arcs in the air.

"It's not safe, to be alone out here." The man called Musa muttered.

------------------------------------------

Max, an experimental robot prototype. The surviving Humans build him, as a final resort against NIL. But the very hope they had, failed in a offensive against NIL. From then on, there was little resistance to stop the black Void. Humanity staggered into hopelessness and despair. Max was forgotten, tossed out like yesterday's leftovers. It was a long, long time, before someone stumbled upon him----Maya.

" I'll believe in you....." she said, smiling warmly.

------------------------------------------





A tale of hope and perserverence, against what seems to be an impossible enemy. Musa is the embodiment of Passion and Hope, NIL stands for Despair and Discouragement.

Maya and Max, they believed in each other, and in themselves; from this they gained a strength they could not achieve alone....

Moar!

A quick sketch of Maya, and...


... unnamed cool guy. May be hotblooded. Has attitude. Clothing? Extravagence! Who needs clothes when you have Attitude? ATTITUDE AND COOL LOOKS!!?


-Jon, Epic Win

::edit::

THIS!! IT WILL LOOK LIKE THIS!!!

NCH, I believe he graduated from this school. You all should recognise this. Follow him and make explosions and rage. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Max and Maya

Maya! A young girl with a high tech suit, can summon mechas out of thin air. Can also fly. Also has a personal powersuit mech, called...


MAX!

Can function alone or with a pilot. Basic weapons are twin autocannons. Working together, his targeting systems and power effenciency can reach to over 150% (because of friendship, you see) Also unlocks more powerful weapons, like FINAL GAZER and MENTAL RAYS. Needs shouting and courage to unlock. (Unfinished design for MAX, still working on more)



::edit:: Max might have 2 designs, one is this robot, or another one by thomas. If the other max gets approved, this one can be named something else, no worries.

more concepts

Just finished this. The artist(or in our case animators) breathes life into otherwise inanimate objects...its a power as well i guess....

Yea, I know, its a tad too safe and boring.....:o

will do more if there is time. have work tomorrow, so..yea :/

-thomas

oops

"2. Superheroes – Students are superheroes; employers are there to create a league. Powers are drawing or graphics or scripting or coding."

:x

doodling, the girl killed the giant evil robot. or she can be the pilot, ha!

-thomas

Some concepts

Been listening to Rammstein and reading american comics, no idea, jus spamming crap





The return! A master martial artist who was murdered by the Triad! His death was covered up, but now he has returned by the power of Justice to right what was wrong!





Eyesplosion! A small town greaser who suddenly discovers that he can make things explode by giving it a good hard stare!




::edit:: oh wait, the hero powers sposed to be something about our industry? Lol w/e