My Tf2 project begins!

I was able to figure out extracting the models from SourceSDK into Maya. Took some work, though luckily there are some nifty tools to help with extracting the SourceSDK. Still it involved many little steps.. I got the models and their skeletons now.


I have two goals in this project. 1. Automate my rigging process 2. create new animations for my personal portfolio.

I've been rigging/animating for the past 4 years, but never found the time to work on scripting. Which I know I can do, but I've never given time too. Now I have some time and I have 9 characters to rig! I'll be approaching this as if I was a TA in charge of TF2's Character setup process! I'd like to start with one character and create new scripts to speed up my rigging. Once I get familiar with my scripting again, I'll move onto the next step.

I'd like to bring new animations back into the TF2 Source engine. So I'm gonna aim to create a new workflow to get my animations from my new rigs onto the old TF2 skeletons. Then hopefully get these back into Source. I'm hoping to automate the process along the way and get a new workflow going between the two. In this way, I'll be in the position of a TA trying to automate the character animation process. :)

Of course in between all this, I'll start creating new animations!

Woot I'm excited!

New Demo Reel for 2011 :)

Christian Orlando Mendoza Demo Reel 2010

As part of my plans for new animations this year, I'm reworking my website as well.. For now its just one page with a new demo reel.. Check it out here..

Give me critique if you see fit. I'm always looking for it :)

I really hate website design, so updating the site is gonna take awhile :P Don't expect anything spectacular either.. I rather spend my time on my animations :)

updates!

As always, I don't attend to this blog as I should. and then when I do, I have a shitload to report!

Life moving along. My contract with EA has ended and I'm currently looking for next big thing. I'm going at a rather slow pace though. With the holiday season, its kinda hard to find a job.. Everything kinda freezes up this time of year.

At least though I'm starting to move along with my portfolio work.. or at least planning on it :)

I still have to finish up my star wars models.. I want to at least UV them. I probably won't put much more work into them until I get some new animations done. I want to improve my portfolio in the early part of this new year. Yet I have not decided where to take my portfolio.. so for now I'm gonna finish UVing these babies while I sit at home waiting for christmas to come.. well in the daytime at least.. At night I go out with fam and friends :) Enjoying my time with them while I can..

i've got some ideas for my new portfolio pieces, but this weekend I'll figureo out where I'll start.

potential animation ideas...
Deadpool animations for a fight game...
TF2 Character animations... involves me manhandling the source engine to do my bidding...
Creating new rigs tackling specific problems and not a "do everything" rig...
Action scene involving a character my friend Pam did a while back... involves her a "danger room" type setting...

The Secret of Kells

Anyone and everyone should see "The Secret of Kells." Its an amazing animated film. The art is beautiful, drawing on celtic themes and illuminated manuscripts. I'll have a more thoughtful commentary on it later, but I just needed to say that. but to keep you interested, watch this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbFMFjUjiPs&feature=related

Some animation exercises

I've started working on these little animation exercises. They are more like mini exercises. I don't want to work on a big animation scene just yet.. Don't have the time to commit to something big, so I'm doing these smaller pieces. Maybe in a month or two I'll start a big animation. Plus I really need to focus on my principles of animation. :)

I'm back to animating!!

I've put the modeling projects on the backburner for now. I've got some new animations coming down the pipeline and I hope to share them very soon.

X-wing update!

Hey I forgot to post this last weekend! I finished the x-wing! I'm still renaming the various pieces, but the modeling is done. I added more detail to the machinery on top. Also added the armor plating and torpedo launch tubes on the side of the chip. I also have the wing setup to open and close. Right now its jsut groups.. Later I'll actually make a quick little rig. I also modeled out simple cockpit pieces that I'll have normal and glow maps. :)

As I said before I won't start quite UVing and texturing them yet. Frankly it is cause I'm a little intimidated by them. What I will do is model a quick Star Wars turret tommow. Its gonna consist of like a couple of blocks and the cannon. Model that out and then UV/texture it. I figure start with something small to get me back in the groove of painting in Photoshop. Then I'll start the ships up next week.

I've also been thinking up an animation that I'll start soon with my fellow animator Gerard Pianta. Nodetails yet as we're still in the planning stages but I'll post something about it later this weekend.