Life of Pi Tribute

So I started this over a year ago. Way over a year ago. I’m submitting a final now… finally haha. So here it is. I hope anyone who’s come along for the ride likes the end point.

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I’m not sure if you know but the time around when Life of Pi movie was released and then later awarded an oscar for best visual effects was highly controversial. This is because the visual effects studio behind the making of Life of Pi (Rhythmn and Hues) went bankrupt around that time too. If you noticed anyone on social media sites changing their icons to a bright green square, it was their response to the irony of an oscar awarded vfx studio not being able to continue their work (and for the people who accepted the award and were then cut-off mid-speech on stage). Now just over a year later around the 2014 Academy awards, the memory and concern has been raised again. I urge you to watch this video made to help highlight just how it happened and how things stand currently. Only a half hour long but worth the watch: Life After Pi

As for this Life of Pi tribute… I’m finally closing doors on it and it’s bitter sweet. I hadn’t been drawing anything for myself for a long time before this and it took a lot for inspiration to walk my way. The Life of Pi film is one of those inspirations – enough so to make me want to waffle on about it. But yeah, bitter sweet that there is a lot of almost ugliness behind the success of the movie. I guess I hope that it will be the last time anything like this happens.

Enough waffle. Back to whatever’s next. Here’s a compilation of most of the steps in case it interests you:

Over and out, for a bit.

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Nothing quite like a bit of input

G’day,

Another LoPi update – this time with more dramatic changes. Why you ask? Well! This is because I sent the previous version to a friend of mine, who has a keen eye, and asked him for a critique. He pointed out things I’d missed and hadn’t even considered. His feedback challenged me to go further with the image than I would have on my own – hence the title of this post – there’s nothing quite like a bit of input. Thanks Albert!

Here are the points he brought up:

1. Work on the water – study what makes water look like water and apply. …ps are those fish?
2. Speaking of water, where are the caustics?
3. There are flatter areas than others – Pi’s belt, the bolts on the boat…
4. The edges (particularly around the top) of the characters are too hard. Try softening them like the torn pants.
5. Rim lighting – using it in there could be awesome.
6. There’s something wrong with Pi’s eyes.
7. The composition is a little uninteresting.

He wrote the points in far greater and awesome-er detail but I’ve short-cut them for this post. So here’s the new – and hopefully improved – Life of Pi pic to date:

[Click for larger image]

Next step will be colour, woohoo!

What stompy have we picked up this week? Feast your eyes on a beautifully illustrated poster detailing the importance of sitting correctly in front of the computer: Click-itty-click

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Referential Conundrum

Hullo!

Here’s a quick update on the LoPi pic. Face work… added more detail to Richard Parker (the tiger) and also a bit of reshaping and detailing of Pi’s face.

As for the monstrosity below… this was my attempt at creating my own reference for Pi using Sculptris.

Note the word attempt.

It’s something I failed to include in the previous post… completely slipped my mind – ___- completely. It wasn’t out of shame or anything like that noOOOooo.

Siigggghhhh I’m working on the whole 3D modeling thing okay!? It’s just going to take some time… and stuff. The point is that it did kind of help with the positioning of Pi’s character. This process is about learning right? RighT?!

Do you know what’s great though? Sculptris is a free tool to download and use! You can have a lot of fun with it too so have at it!

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Start the new year running – yo!

(Can you tell I’ve been watching Breaking Bad??)

Time for an update to LoPi (Life of Pi) pic I say! It’s a long way from finished but… I’ll get there.

I’m not quite getting the expression right on his face… and those legs… there’s so much to fix. Only later, when watching the movie again did I realise that the creatures in the water were not a lot of fish… but they were jellyfish. Sigh~

Interesting find of the week? …most probably that there’s a really nice medical center that’s really quite close to my place hahaha. But in terms of art? Aww man, I’m drawing a blank. I had a lovely holiday break and haven’t quite got all the gears working yet haha. Maybe I’ll have something next post?

ps one of the best people in my life is undertaking a huge challenge this year – she’ll be aiming to post at least 5 new drawings a week (whether they are completely new or just additions to existing pieces) and by post, I mean post online – go check her stuff out yo: The Da Imaginarium

Over and out!

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Christmas is nigh!

G’day! Christmas is just around the corner woohoo! Over the last few years I have had the pleasure of illustrating a Christmas card for the Scone Equine Hospital (NSW, Aus). It’s a ball of fun and I thought I’d share this year’s one:

The theme this year was not so much a theme but rather to base the illustration off a photo they’d sent. The photo depicted a couple of SEH vets nursing a newborn foal (with the aid of oxygen – which is apparently very necessary sometimes! Who knew?) while the mother horse looked on from the side. Hence the newborn reindeer being nursed by Santa and the presence of an oxygen tank in the picture. The elves are usually more naughty but this year they’re just pleased to meet the new little chap.

I will hopefully have more time to work on the Life of Pi pic now. However, I am moving in the next few weeks so that will take priority. Packing… it’s amazing what you collect over time.

No useful random find to share today but I can tell you what I’ve learned from moving within Sydney so far: need boxes? Don’t want to pay for them? Go to Coles man. Coles is great… or at least the one in Broadway Sydney has helped me heaps. The trick is to go in when they’re restocking the shelves – around 9:30pm to 10:30pm each evening. Then you just scour the isles looking for the empty boxes they’re piling up and ask if you can dig in. Everyone I asked was super happy for me to help myself. You get a nice variation of sizes (mostly smaller ones though – but that was what I was looking for anyway). I even had one of the unpacker chaps offer to unload a bigger box while I waited so I could take it. Cheers! It really can make your day when someone gives a bit of a damn 🙂 Oh! and always buy twice as much packaging tape… you’ll run out and it sucks when you’re on a packaging roll and then have to stop because of lack of tape >_<

Righto, enough of my random (probably entirely inconsequential) life trips. Off to pack more… stuff… ugh all my stuffffff.

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LoPi update

Just a quick update on the Life of Pi. A few things have come up on the side so I may not update as regularly as I’d like. Never the less it will happen.

Recently found my way to this blog post listing many really talented women artists. Check it out if you have the time.

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Long time no see yeah?

Well! Let’s be honest. I’ve been a bad sketch blogger and have not updated in a very, very long time. The problem is… I haven’t made any personal art for ages. I’ve been expending painterly juices mostly at work. So much so, I have forgotten the fun one can have making art for oneself. However, I’ve been inspired somewhat of late and so let’s try again.

Earlier this year (much earlier… or was it even last year?) I watched the movie Life of Pi and it stuck into my braaaaain (I enjoyed it a lot). So I did a random sketch with the intention of painting it up into a nice pic at some point. THAT POINT IS NOOOOOW! Here’s the sketch:

Here’s the first of many rounds of fixing:

More updates to come later! Usually I try to have some useful thing to share but I think the world should know about Batdad. Go and experience BATDAD!

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Sketches – Alien Expressions

Well! Been a while aye! I’ve been having a busy time of late but hopefully back on the drawing train again soon yay!

Did a quick DSG sketch:

DSG 1569: Creature • NON-HUMANESQUE ALIEN EXPRESSION COMPARISON PICS

My aims and possible results:

(1 – standard alien for comparison)
2 – a good laugh (but from another angle… he could be choking?)
3 – surprise (but from another angle… calling out with enthusiasm?)
4 – conniving/plotting (but from yet that other angle again… wise old guy/cool dude?)

After last night there’s a story about this pic! There must have been something about this prawn thing that twinged in my brain because I had a ‘wake me up out of fear’ nightmare last night involving a creature that had great similarities to the head of this alien (pictured below from what I can remember). I was exploring an abandoned house with my Dad in the dream. The room we were in had a slanted ceiling and I was sitting on a bed with my Dad standing close to the opposite end. Suddenly! This creature, about the size of my palm starts scattering across the ceiling with a loud takka takka takka noise and proceeds to move above my Dad before dropping off the ceiling with the intention of landing on him! As the creature was unknown and clearing trying to get at my Dad for something I panicked calling to Dad to look out! Luckily he side-stepped the thing before it could land on him… but, oh so happily lands on the end of the bed, swivells around and comes scattering my way and proceeds to run over my stomache before the shear horror woke me. It was so fast that I couldn’t sweep fast enough to get it off me! FREAKY MAN!

Yeah! Imagine THAT at the size of your palm running towards you at super speed and you having no idea why O_______O

I need to work on expressions more…

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Rock-a-bye

You know those days when you just gotta draw something? Today’s one of ’em! I guess I’ve been overworking Adobe Illustrator and just needed a good session with pencil and paper! (and photoshop 8D).

Why such a depressing kind of picture? Well, it’s not based on a story or anything really that’s meant to be depressing. I’ve been thinking of Mother’s Day and the whole ‘what mother’s go through’ thing. Combine that with a recent read through the prison and torture section of the book, “Shantaram” and bam! Depressing picture! W00T!

Oh oh! And I stumbled upon a pretty nifty tutorial! Been a while since I’ve found one to post 8D:

IFX Strike a Pose Tutorial by Warren Louw (A South African chap who openly talks about the Law of Attraction =D First one I’ve come across!)

Time for bed!

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Can you see the cat?

Allo! Quick picture dump 8D

Theme – Fairy Quest.

Question is: Did you see the cat first or at all?

Why? Because I’ve looked at it too long and know the cat is there but don’t know if others can see it 8-<

Ah… to bed… to dream… to be in happy tomorrows.

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