Should you as a student work of a conept image you like?

So i woke up rather early-ish for me today and saw a video on IGN about the Castle of Illusion remake coming to the ps3 and 360 (link at t he bottom) and it got me thinking about my current projects that i have going.

Most (ok, all of them) came from a piece of concept art from an existing game or upcoming one, or even movies. Mainly Disney. Now since i dont believe in secrets, heres 2.

1) Aladdin, The Mummy and Jurassic Park are the greatest movies ever made. for me at least, i love them.
2) Disney movies have timeless art and are for the most part solid movies, and i have practically all of them.

Now thats out of the way, ill get back on topic. Most of the stuff im working on (slowly, i might add) comes from someone elses mind. Now, if your a student, im guessing your teachers have told you and even forced you to draw stuff and come up with your own ideas, (ive been there) and its all totally valid, im not undermining that. Being able to draw and come up with ideas and concepts is a very important part of what we do, or at least are trying to do.

Heres the problem, and ill use me as the point in case. Im not a very good drawer. I know what i like, i know how it should be, i know what i want and i know how to make it. But the simple step of sitting down and drawing it, kills me.

When i was in college (2011 - 2012) i had a guy in my class that was very good at photoshop and drawing and painting in it and was a good concept artist for environments. Turns out, he was around 30 and went to university to do fine arts. Which means 2 things, he is trained and has experience. 2 things i dont have.

So what did i do? i googled concept art using key words of what i want to work on. In the case of the cottage shot i have (im sure its still on here), the house was modelled of a 2d illustration from a concept artist that worked on one of the Fable games.

So getting back on some sort of track, is this ok? is the idea of using someone elses concept art good for you as a student or even someone that just wants to do 3d? The answer is both yes.
According to Vincent Cirelli, Vice President/Head of Production at Luma Pictures (met him in a portfolio masterclass in June 2013), the use of concept art is a good thing. Being able to take a 2d image and flesh it out in 3d is essentially the skill they look for in the industry. Lets face it, as a 3d modeller, you wont be designing what your modelling, at least not in a major studio. Proving you can take a 2d concept, flesh it out, texture it, light it and renter it, gets you ahead of the class. You need to be able to produce the results that are needed for the production.

Now this doesnt mean to go into everything you like and rip everything off. I for one choose a concept image i like and model it, and by the time im done, the place looks totally different, not because of my modelling, but because at the end of the day, im doing an interpretation of that drawing.

Sometimes having a place to start helps so much, that by the time you finish, you end up with something cool and different.

The rule of thumb is to take something you find cool and to do your interpretation. Youl find that buy copying and image, regardless of what it is, youl start to understand why things were drawn that way, maybe youl decide to change something and take the idea to a cool new place. Not every student in the world has the ability to draw their ideas, i know i dont, the trick is to find something similar that you can use as a stepping stone to get your ideas out. Nothing in the games or movie industries is truly original any more.

Just remember, do your best to take something old and give it your own unique twist and identity. Thats what art is at the end of the day. Identity.

EDIT: I forgot to add this to the body of text above, always make an effort to reach out to the creator of the concept art you are using, if any. In most cases they will say its ok as long as its not for profit and you should be fine. If you cant get in touch, then make it clear in your reel that you used someone elses art as reference, never take credit for anything you didnt do.

Castle of Illusion BTS:
http://au.ign.com/videos/2013/07/22/venturing-back-to-the-castle-of-illusion

Cottage project:
http://vimeo.com/55010346

The dream to work in VFX and the sad reality...

Yes, this image is not very flattering, but ill use it anyway.

So I got up at 10 today (on a Saturday, i know) because i work nights. Nothing glamorous, stocking shelves. Your asking why I do this? (no? well ill tell you anyway) because it leaves my day free.

It leaves me with a whole lot of daylight to work on my 3d, ill admit, some days are harder to get motivated than others, and generally I do 3d on weekdays, but my current situation gives me the freedom to work towards getting a job.

But the sad reality is that most people never make it. Here in Sydney alone, i counted 5 schools with 3d courses, whether it be for film or games. And since i went to one (i graduated 2012) i know that we had about 3 or 4 art classes (for artists, not programmers) of roughly 30 people. So lets assume that each of those schools puts out 3 graduating classes a year, thats around 450 fresh faces competing with each other for work in a country were VFX studios can be counted with 2 hands.

On average, Animal Logic has about 10 - 15 openings at any given time. When a student graduates, not only do they have to compete with their fellow alumni, but also the slew of working professionals out there already, and if a whole year passes by then the following year they have to compete with another 450 students.

Couple this with the state of the industry, with studios undercutting each other and not being able to support their staff and thus shutting their doors, the situation doesn't look promising, not to mention the take 22, where in order to get work you need experience, and experience only comes from working.

So where do i sit in all this?, well i work as a freelance sound recordist, production assistant and sometimes editor on corporate projects, i havent had the fortune of getting in with many companies but have a steady client that swings one or two jobs a month my way. not ideal, but at least im working.

The whole 3d thing is a little more promising, a few weeks ago i had the fortune of attending a portfolio review with the head of recruitment from Animal and Luma Pictures, the information i walked away with can be found in multiple places, just google "what i need on my reel" or something like that, no matter how many times people ask what do i need to get a job, the answers are always the same.

Although the specific information i got regarding my reel was far more valuable. The guy from Luma Pictures basically said, use realistic textures and render in vray, for all the stuff thats just ambient occlusion on my reel, and to relight the cottage scene and render it better.

The Animal Logic lady, Patricia Kung i believe? Basically pushed me towards projections and matte work.

So why do i fing this information valuable? well, its basically a cheat sheet, do this and focus on that and ill be more competitive, now im not saying that if i do all this ill get a job right out of the gate, but i have a goal and a path that will get me to where i want to be. And thats far more valuable than the vague information you get in most sites.

So here i am, with a goal and direction, lets see where we go from here yes?

for those that are curious, here is the link to what i showed them.

https://vimeo.com/54896525

How to Train You're Dragon 2 teaser

So the HTTYD2 (yes i know) teaser has been released. Let the happy dance ensue.
Ill be the first to admit that when i when to see this movie, i thought it was a Pixar film, until the dream works logo came on.

For those that dont know, which is the world at large, ever since i started (and have as of Dec 2012, finished) my 3d Animation course, i have been collecting Disney dvds, and i mean the animated movies from Disney Feature Animation, not the crappy sequals and dvd releases, although the Aladdin trilogy gets a pass because its Aladdin.

HTTYD proved that theres more to animation than just Disney and Pixar, at least in my eyes.

heres the youtube link for the teaser trailer. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68AqHwgk2s8

Does a name matter in regards to quality?

Hi there dear reader (assuming this is even being read, i currently am not even reading what im typing),

So having recently woken up, at least by the way my hair is currently sitting, i decided to have a look at the daily news. And by news, i mean log on to IGN.

On of the feature articles was about Pacific Rim being considered a flop by studios for raking in, somewhere in the ballpark of $35,000,000.00 on opening w/e in the US, and people having harsh things to say about the IGN reviewer and the quality of the talent behind the film. This got me thinking, does big budget equal quality? more so, does a name equal quality?

The answer is no by the way. So here i was, sitting there at 4am and came to the conclusion that a name means more in entertainment than quality. In this case Del Toro. He made some great movies, ill admit ive only seen Hellboy 1 and 2 and Pans Labyrinth, and that spanish horror movie in the house that came out years ago (orphanage? which he produced), so having seen these, im sure it would have been easy for the studios to invest the $200m it took to make this "flop" and it would have also been easier to see why people would like it.

If your curious, these are the main reasons PR works and fails according to everyone (ive yet to see it):

the Cons: acting, story  and character. Apparently it wasn't good across the board.

the Pros: Big robots smashing Big monsters. A big WIN.

So how does a directors name matter to a production? Well the answer to that is simple, Star power.
for examply Steven Speilberg's name alone will make sure the movie makes its monies back. Sudios and producers bank on a given artists name (in this case, directors or writers), because it will simply make money. Kind of like Nintendos seal of quality from the NES - SNES era of gaming.

If you put a bankable name on a project, you will have 2 things, a bigger budget and a way to easily market your project. In most cases its well deserved, you cant argue Speilberg's mark on cinematic history, in others, not so much.

Which leads me in a round about and pointless way to my little rant on names and quality. I think its dumb and almost redundant. But you cant argue the results. Take transformers as an example, Michael Bay's name gave that movie enough power to be what it is, had he not directed  it, the budget would have been less, thats garanteed, does this mean it was quality? well, hat depends who you ask,i like the movies solely for the pretty pictures, so for me they are a huge WIN, others call it a loud pointless explosion movie.

People put so much faith on a name, that they loose sight of the bigger picture. Im a glass full kinda guy, as much as i love The Mummy, i am well aware that its a simple popcorn flick, and those that know me know my stance on Jurassic Park (greatest movie ever made, BTW).

I guess before i continue ranting or typing, im just going to say this, a NAME does not matter, RESULTS matter. So next time you get excited about something, whether it be a movie or a game, think back on the pedigree of results from a particular person or studio and dont ridicule people for actually having an informed opinion.

Ill end this post by saying that, i have yet to see the film, and can almost garantee based of the trailer that i will like it. And here is the link for the ign review.

http://au.ign.com/articles/2013/07/09/pacific-rim-review

WIP - Epic Mickey conept Art

So a little while back i was looking around for something to do, yes, i realise i have a lot of WIP's, but none the less i saw a cool piece from the Epic Mickey conceprt art book.

The image (which for legal reasons i wont post here, although im sure you can find it) is of some spooky gates from one of the games environments, this is where the model is at the moment, and im trying to incorporate Zbrush into my workflow, i still dont know how to use it, haha.

lets see what we end up with.

WIP - Living Room

This here is a model i did for another short that will eventually see the light of day.

Either way, im gunna texture this too look like a set from a Tim Burton movie. Should be sweet once completed.

The concept art piece was created by Brian Carlin from http://bcart.carbonmade.com/

WIP - Hospital Room

This her is a WIP model for a short film, i cant tell anyone the specifics of it or what its for or even when it will be released, but here is a sneak peek at the environment i built for it.

The design was a Wallace and Gromit inspired hospital room.

I wish them well with the whole project, and ill texture and render this for my purposes later.

WIP - My Bedroom

I had a thought that it would be cool to do a 3d version of my room. Currently a WIP but at some point in time it will look awesome. At least thats the plan.

WIP - Inhouse garden.

This here is a project similar to the Jar Room. This was modeled of an image from a contemporary house.

Since i migrated and backed up my files, i actually managed to delete the source files for this project, so if i choose to revisit it, ill have to model it again. Which isn't too bad, the model wasn't to dense to begin with.

Video link:
http://vimeo.com/55010347

WIP - Jar Room project

This here is a current WIP (Work in Progress). I saw an Image in google and thought it would be cool to interperate into 3d.

I actually showed this to the head of recruitment at Luma Pictures here in Australia. He said that it is good for an artist to take the models he or she makes and texture with a realistic style.

The idea is to make a fantasy location look real, technically, hats what we want to do isn't it? take the fantastic and make it seen like a real place.

So ill pass on the tip he gave me, texture your models in a realistic fashion and render it it V-Ray.

I still have to finish UV mapping the model and have since decided that there wasn't enough detail in there, so im adding more to it.

Video link:
http://vimeo.com/55010348