Progression Pictures: Week 1
Hello there! My name is Sarah, and it’s nice to see you interested in this little project of mine. It’s called “Progression Pictures,” and over the next few months, this odd collection of sketches and screenshots are going to come together to make something pretty special: a display of videos, 3D-printed models, and time-lapse images designed to entertain as well as educate on the work that goes into making some stellar examples of digital media. I’m extremely excited about this gallery, as not only does it give me a chance to show some of my best work over the past year in a unique way, but I get to talk about my experiences collaborating with a handful of supremely talented digital artists — one of which I’ll be introducing later in this update!
Thus far, I’ve had two examples ready for preliminary display (one of which can be seen above), but they were assembled into frame-by-frame GIFs for the sake of concision; they will be compiled as a video in the future so the quality of the original images won’t be lost to image compression. For the gallery, it’s important that each of the pieces are displayed at their very best for the viewing pleasure of the audience.
Other than that, this past week has been dedicated to pinning down ideas for one of the 3D models I plan to develop. One of the most important things to keep in mind for this project is that, unlike most other representations of an artist’s modeling prowess, my models will be 3D printed instead of staying entirely in digital space. The model, before being printed, can’t have too many pieces floating in mid-air, but needs to be detailed enough so the final product doesn’t just look like a lump of undefined plastic. It also needs to be relatively large (3–4 inches in height) so no pieces are accidentally broken off while cleaning up the printed model.
Luckily, I have the benefit of working with someone well-versed in creature concept and 3D modeling — Alice Steneker was kind enough to provide me with sketches of one of her many, many monsters. This beast (who’s name is Henri, by the by) will be modeled in Autodesk MAYA, and eventually modified to make that model adaptable for a 3D printer. Henri was picked specifically for his design; he’s a sturdy critter and consists mostly of simple shapes — shapes which are easy to print — but his features are defined enough, and his unique silhouette is unique enough, so as to not put the fidelity of his printed version at risk.
By next week, I should have two new updates: the first redraw of an older drawing of mine, and at least the beginnings of Henri’s 3D model.
