CaMilesPhotography

Currently still on xmas break! Madness I know but I'm loving it and getting quite a lot done :D One thing I've been working is more web work, its like my new thing at the moment that i seem to be getting on quite well with. So I decided to re work my mums web site again after learning a few new tips and tricks.  Using the same components as I did for my own site I changed it up a little with a different xml banner. I'm currently having problems with the components of the site though as In different browsers the site works seamlessly and in others not so. In Firefox and Google chrome I get borders around the components even though the design is border less however in Internet Explorer it all works fine! so that's the browser I would recommend using ;) enjoy!   

Only basic sorry :/

Now having an up and running site I'm looking to venture out into the world of web development as i think its something I'm quite capable of achieving. So what I was working on last night was something that i thought would help me on my way to getting work. I created a kind of check list/ questionnaire for clients to fill out so I can get an understanding of what it is they want to see in new web designs for they're company, portfolio and so on. All created on a quick letter head design I mocked up, its only basic but I think it works with the theme of the website however it may possibly change in the near future. Check out the form and possibly let me know what you think! 

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B2Ia8umwCHsFZjRiMDk4NjUtMGVlYy00YjM3LTgyZmEtYzZmNTlkZTFlYTdm

Deadline time

Finally then after a few days or so, with some scripting nightmares I've now finished mt portfolio website! I know the contents a little low at the moment but I wanted to get the site online as soon as possible as i dont have anywhere showcasing my work at the moment. So here it is! click the image to check it out :)

Flickr update

Sound!

So this is what I submitted for my motion graphics, now with sound! Over the next 2weeks or so while I'm still off i plan on adding to it as I think it will make a good showreel piece if its cleared up and refined, more to some soon!

Self Modeling Fianle

Over the Xmas break we had to finnish our self portrait, 

looking back on my last post the last update was the 

grey scale model we had to hand in, since then we have 

had to submit a pencil sketch as well as our rigged fully 

textured and animated model. I really should have been 

posting over xmas but it was hard to not freak when it 

came to skinning the model as I could only take so 

much! but I'l try and break it down as much as possible.

Starting with the texturing then, the eyes were first on my list. For the eyes I tried to watch and gather as much reference, images and video tutorials on how to create a realistic eye because the eye is the key to the soul ooooo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVURsxuwy_E) So it was something that I wanted to get right. Thinking the eye would be just one circular squidgy ball was extremely wrong, after doing a bit of research and finding out about the different layers and components that make the eye I realized that I would have to break the eye down. From eye lashes to the wet shiny layer that gives the eye its wet gloss look I used eight components to get the best result trying to include as much detail as possible through the use of accurate texture maps down to each iris strand. This was more of a tedious task yet its one I wanted to get right so I didn't mind spending time on it. 

Next was the skin texturing. It was all pretty weird to look at once I had applied the texture to the model let alone how weird it was to essentially create what my skin would look like if i peeled it off and layed it out flat. All quite a strange task to do but looked quite good once I got it all lined up. You have to excuse the scribbles on the right of the image as I was trying to explain this wonder of a texture, the Sub Surface Scattering (sss) node to a class mate. Its used to create the effect that light gives when passing through objects, for example much like it does with skin. To Create this effect I had to create a 3 copies of my face map and adjust the hue and saturation of the images to get the best effect from the textre. ( For more on sss go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOfNNJQGmq8)

The next stage of the model was to bind the rig I earlier created. Using what was learnt in the skinning classes at uni this was.. ok? Skinning's not particularly my strongest subject however it all seemed to work well enough. after the binding of the mesh to the rig I had to create blend shapes for facial animations. Doing so through mudbox it was a fairly simple task yet it went of for a little while as there was a number of blend shapes to create. transferring this back to maya went well but there was pinching that resulted in endless tweaks for each blend shape yet the end result came out quite nice. 


And finally the animation, probably the shortest task of the project this was finished in a few hours. Now I know in the world of animation i would get shunned for saying finished in a few hours as no animation can possibly be finished that quickly. May I state, I am no animator :/ Having finished the project I think that I learnt a lot covering a range of tasks from modeling right through to animating learning about advance texturing and rigging covering a little animation at the end. All that aside though I don't think I've done particularly well as i still after weeks of still done see much of a resemblance. I think I got the functionality right but hey, thank god character design isn't where I want to head career wise!

BACK!

Im back! Though it be a few weeks, I've final began to pick up from where I left on before the xmas break. 


I was working on a website for my mum as she needed to showcase here work online, i would really liked to have script my own flash gallery in there but just had so many problems so I left it in the end. I tried working with dreamweaver to base the site on then added elements of flash to try and make it a little more.. cool? 
Well I dont think its going to win any awards but its done! i learnt quite a lot about hosting too, I imagined it to all be a one click job done kind of scenario yet after shopping around and working out how to use emailing functions as well as keeping track of all my files and making sure all liking and images files work, I think its fair to say i did'nt know what really goes into it all. I know all mentioned is the basic's and more of web 101, but ive learnt from it which is the main thing so when i come to create my own site it should all go a little smoother. anyway, the finished product >>>