Portal Apertures FX test

FX tests for Alex Zemke's upcoming short "Companionship". The goal was to keep the apertures looking as similar as possible to the actual game. To achieve this, I used a combination of various techniques to create a fairly complicated shader network. Another goal was to make it fully rigged, so that the Animators could use the same effect wherever they wished from scene to scene completely in shot. I'm still rigging it, but once it's complete the animators will be able to control Position, Start-up, Color Change, Open or Close Apertures, and Aperture Collapse.

2D Explosion Test

2D Hero Blasting Test

Just testing out some of the Animation and FX for my 2D Hero Rig. I'm having a lot of fun with this character! Very easy to control, animate, and super fun to play with, especially when blowing up stuff!

2D Hero Rig Demo

This is a basic overview of my new 2D rig I've been working on in Maya. Very happy with the results so far, but I've still got some things I'd like to fix and add.

I used Maya instead of Flash because for this style Flash does it nested, which if you've ever done nested animation you'll know it's a pain. It's a very unnatural way to animate. I've always called it Inception Animation, because it's animation inside animation, layer inside a layer. Confusing. Using this method is far more intuitive, for me at least.

2D Hero Rig

Version 1.0 of my new 2D Hero Rig. I used Maya's joints and IK handles to piece it all together, along with a bunch of other handy features. I love 2D, but using Flash to do it has been a major pain. I'm very happy with the results so far, and I have some more modifications in mind for v.2

Planet Study

I've been feeling a bit spacey, scifi-ish, lately, so I thought I'd do a quick study. This went from a quick starfield doodle, to a full planet with a moon.

Working on this was really relaxing. I'd let my mind wander off and try to imagine how not so different an alien world might look. I kept it fairly simple, maybe I'll go crazier with my next one.

Starship sketch using 3DCoat