Just got back from Wall-e. Pixar doesn't fail to disappoint, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I think it could have moved along a little faster, and the live action inserts (abomination!) kind of offended me, but it was still a great film.
Anna fell asleep on the way home. When Mom asked about it, she said "I wasn't sleeping! I was just resting my eyes...".
Miles likes to sing a special song. He sings happily, "S - T - E - L - L!! I wee wee love to spell!!". Cracks me up every time. The kid is just so cute!
PS. Florida is HOT. I seriously get a heat stroke every time I mow the lawn...
I've been missing 3D lately, so I started a new project. Well, more like revived an old one. The very first character I created in 3d was a Frogman, and I've always wanted to recreate him in a manner befitting his coolness. I also need to practice!
Not much went into concept, since he is mostly designed. However, I should probably do some artwork. I got excited and jumped into modeling the head already. It's really rough, but the shape is mostly there, so I guess I could count it as an exploratory digital maquette.
I first modeled a super rough shape in Wings3D, then took it into ZBrush for gestural sculpting, not worrying about the topology. Then I took the model into Maya and resurfaced it for ideal topology, but didn't finish out the mouth. I wanted to play more with the model in ZBrush with nice topology, but my computer sucks. I rendered out a turntable anyway, because it's so easy to do from ZBrush. Basically it is what came out of Maya, smoothed in Zbrush and nothing else.
My next step is to do more detailed concept work on exactly what I want this character to look like. I've got a good head shape, now I need to figure out the body and the all the details of the face. I found some really cool frog reference photos on the Interweb, so stay tuned for some frog studies!
I love being a Dad. There's nothing quite like seeing the joy in your kids' faces after a long day at work, or hearing them squeal like little piglets. I am quite good at the Tickle Game.... Being a parent is a huge responsibility, and I'm learning a lot about patience. My wife spends all day with them, so I can only thank her for that sacrifice - the sacrifice of her sanity. Please, no sharp instruments!
Also, Dad = Jungle Gym. They climb and do acrobatics off of my limbs. Sometimes I get them to walk on my back, which is nice until they decide to jump when then get to my head. I remember doing some of those things with my Dad, too.
Dads mow the lawn. That is, until they have a teenage son. I have invested in two of them, and they better not let me down! I'm all about child labor. I'm about ready to get myself a riding mower until then, though. This heat is killing me...
I am grateful for my Dad and realize now how hard it must have been. We kids sure were nuts...
