Flying in a kilt

I made this little guy for the iPhone app I'm working on. I used Sculptris to quickly sculpt his basic forms, then made a low-res mesh in Maya where I also rigged and am animating him.

A New MacProject

Here is an unfinished page from a little introductory comic for an app I'm designing. I put my RoboTroll animated short on hold for a bit to shift focus. I plan to start it back up after I get some other things out of my system. I thought it would be fun to try developing some iPhone\iPad apps. So far it's been a nice challenge to learn some of the technical things and I'm excited to see how it goes.

RoboTroll Foot Rework

I'm rebuilding the RoboTroll's ankles as they would not be able to animate the way I'd like. The old setup is on the left, which side will also be surrounded by extra armor. This really only rotates around 1 axis, but my new socket joint on the right will give me full rotation around 3 axes.

I did like the look of the 3 metatarsals on the old setup, but the new setup will function the way I need it to and I still like it. The combined metatarsus has the same curvature as the split metatarsals but isn't really visible from this angle.

Old hinge joint ankle on left - new socket ankle on right.

He's Aliiiiive, or I am anyway (maybe)

I really don't like those posts where people say, "Sorry I haven't posted in a while", but since this is called "Nate's Plate" I will say I've had some other stuff on my plate like a new baby (very tasty), selling and finding a house, getting a new basement finished, and busy times at work (still).

But I am happy to start back up on this project. Here I've started to model the major forms for the RoboTroll. I'm mostly happy with it, but it still needs some detail work and I'd like to rough him up quite a bit. I haven't decided on the rendering style yet so I won't take the surfacing/texturing too far until I figure that out.

Scout Master Herbert

Scout Master Herbert likes his new phone

Sandy's Stuff

Things have been busy trying to sell our house and find another. I thought I'd post some more old stuff. I wrote and did rough illustrations for a kid's book a while ago and submitted it to publishers. I've been thinking of updating it, finishing the illustrations and just posting it online. Below is the first stanza - which may explain why I didn't hear much back from publishers. :)

Meet Sandy, a kid who had tons of fun stuff

So much that his room wasn’t quite big enough

He had mountains of games, and a million fun things

Like dinosaurs, robots, and shiny machines

Sketch & Thoughts: Asleep on the Couch

Found this old sketch somewhere, not even sure when I did it, or who it is, but they look comfortable. :)

Things are moving frustratingly slow on the Heavy Toll short. Sometimes it's overwhelming to think of the amount of work I need to do, but I guess it's good to figure out what I do and don't like to do as much. Maybe when I'm an old(er) man I'll finally figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

SoJo Daybreak Pre Development

Before the South Jordan Daybreak community was developed, I used to take a camera with me when I went running around the area. October 2005.

RoboTroll Advertisment

Are you tired of humans crossing your rightfully commandeered bridge and laughing at your meager toll requests as they tower over you and swat you aside? The Unicorps of Grengineers announces rental and plan licensing of their new and indestructible* RoboTrolls to help you turn the tables and squeeze ever higher toll-revenues from the travelers entering your domain.

Our deluxe model, the n8-a04 is packed with features to get you up and running in no time. With our flexible partial-construction operating option, you can build in stages and still get the coin you deserve. Lure travelers in with the illusion of an uninhabited bridge, while your RoboTroll hangs out of sight with folding legs and Strongrip hands (and/or hooks)! But still get a full picture of the situation with your RoboTroll’s telescoping neck and ClearCam Eye. Surprise them before they can escape with your RoboTroll’s spring-step quick moves and clearly demand your due with the built in ReelToll Meter. Shakedown the cheapskates with a fully articulated hand that can grab travelers of any size. And best of all, control your RoboTroll from a safe distance with the reinforced data & control cable bundle.

Scott Pigrim

A Scott Pilgrim homage for the dueling banjo pigs blog, banjopigs.blogspot.com
With apologies to Bryan Lee O'Malley and everyone else ;)

More Sketchbookery July 2010

Some more sketchbook doodles, featuring The Unhappy Stewardess with Strawberry Hair

Bike Lady Memory Sketch

Lady I saw on the way into work.

Sketchy Faces

Some faces from my sketchbook

A Heavy Toll: RoboTroll Head Shapes WIP

I'm starting to model the RoboTroll's head. Here I'm just blocking out the major shapes with plans to give more asymmetry to much of it.

A Heavy Toll: Grengineer initial sculpt test

Starting some sculpt tests of the Grengineer. Just working on getting the major forms in place.

A Heavy Toll: Carriage Concept Ideas

My incredibly talented brother-in-law, Steve Christensen, has taken some time out of his crazy schedule to help me work on the carriage. He's done the 3D models here and I've done the sketches as we've worked back and forth to find the right design. The bottom image shows a number of Steve's designs with mine at the top combining my favorite elements. The top image shows another model by Steve with those elements and some stylization sketch ideas by me.

Heavy Toll Color Script first pass

Here's a very first attempt at color script. I'm not too happy with it, but it was a good exercise. I may end up going in a completely different direction, but I wanted to give it a try to start wrapping my brain around it.

A color script is tool to plan the tone and emotional flow for a film at a glance. For some more info and an example of a masterful color script by Lou Romano for Pixar's UP, check this out:
http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/06/02/cool-stuff-lou-romanos-color-script-for-pixars-up/

S'more Dog Studies

Still trying to figure out what kind of dog I want for the troll short. Just doing some quick structural studies.

At first I liked a pug, but now I'm not sure. I think I'll move on to some other tasks for now and come back to the dog in a bit.

Dog Studies

Dog Studies, originally uploaded by juggernate.

Some exploration for the dog in A Heavy Toll.

Grann Concept Sketch

Grann Concept, originally uploaded by juggernate.

Concept Sketch for Grann. She who gets plucked up by the Robotroll. Why she has two Ns I can't say - maybe she likes it better that way.