Lunar Academy’s Post

In my spare time, I delve into the world of character design for small-scale art projects, games, and animations. This process is surprisingly intricate! It goes beyond creating a cool visual – it's about imbuing the character with a story. Who is this character? I consider factors like: Personality: Are they quirky, stoic, or adventurous? Role: What's their function in the narrative? Representation: Should they be a human, animal, or even a robot? Certain choices evoke specific associations – foxes often symbolize cunning, while rabbits can imply studiousness. This link between character and symbolism goes back to Aesop's fables and remains a powerful storytelling tool. By thoughtfully crafting characters, I bring narratives to life, even in independent projects. You first have to understand people, their motivations, and personalities before you can make a good character.

𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐯𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲! 🎨✨ In the realm of creativity, where each moment brings new possibilities, let's embark on an exciting journey into the marvelous world where graphics and animation merge on the canvas of the human body. In this captivating art, unparalleled charms unfold: ⭐ 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠: Transforming the human body into an artistic canvas opens limitless possibilities to create vibrant, living art. Graphics and animation add dynamism and constant change to this canvas, crafting a unique spectacle. ⭐ 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Every movement becomes a stroke, and every gesture tells its own tale. Integrating graphics and animation on the human body allows for the creation of captivating and expressive narratives where emotions and stories come to life. ⭐ 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭: Whether on stage or screen, the fusion of graphics and animation with the human body creates an interactive and captivating experience. It blurs the lines between the digital and the physical, enchanting spectators. #UniqueCreativity #AnimationArtistry #EmotionalGraphics

Working on plans to start on Traversal again which it has been pretty much 2 years since work was last done on it and it means some of that work needs to be redone due to technical difficulties at the time and forgot how to work magic with it. At the moment I need to figure out what I need. I have a 2D Artist. Potentially a 3D Artist. A Kinda Game Designer. A really interesting note is do I try to make this multiplayer capable? Adds extra scope but also extra skills required. I have no current Contacts for the following: - Mechanics - Sounds - Story So, what makes a game fun? A game is fun because it gives you a reason to play, to explore. A Game is fun because there is a reason to keep pushing forward. Whereby you are trying to reach a high score, something that you find satisfactory, or if you are looking into the LORE!!! The Story, and understanding of the world and characters. We will need more things later but hey, here is the starting point for 1 days work I guess you can call it 😅

Character expression sheet for the previous design #characterdesign #characterexpressions #visualdevelopment #animationart

Putting my effort into this video has been quite rewarding. It definitely showcases how far I've come with Unreal and I feel, by far, so much more capable after learning more about animation. That was the skeleton key for me to unlock all the doors in the house, so to speak. Yet there's always more to learn and thankfully I'm endlessly curious. Though, I'll be taking a short pause from anything this extensive to heal. I'm 6 months post jaw surgery and now, unfortunately, recovering from a clumsy moment that led to 5 stitches in my upper lip and worrying about a lost cat who I have to routinely search for on and off the internet. Meanwhile, I'll be searching for my cat and searching for more inspiration. ✨ 🤞 Thanks for checking this out. 🙏 This partial remake of #childrenofmen in #unrealengine comes from a scene known for its extreme length, meticulous choreography, and natural light and real-time nature. Shot on 35mm using power slides and the Sparrow Head from Doggicam. Apparently, many scenes were shot using an 18mm lens, so this was my choice. For the sake of constant/stepped key poses and avoiding any hair flying headbanging-like distractions, I had to deactivate all hair physics. 😄 Facial poses are from the Metahuman pose library but sometimes tweaked by me and all poses and animations otherwise were my doing. Below are the assets I used for this. 🙏 #vcam #metahuman #ue5 #cinematics #cutscene #previz #blocking #previs #layout #womeninfilm #animation #filmandtv #gaming 🏍 https://lnkd.in/dcKbTWYK 🔥 M5 VFX Vol2. Fire and Flames(Niagara) by JeongukChoi 🚗 Vehicle Variety Pack by Switchboard Studios 🔍 Advanced Glass Material Pack by UB (Unreal Bucket)

Did you know that Unreal Engine has specific shaders for cloth? I see many creators make the mistake of importing their Marvelous Designer or CLO Virtual Fashion Inc. garments into Unreal Engine without taking the time to build the appropriate shaders. If you are simply hooking up your textures into the corresponding nodes, you are creating plastics and not cloth! Luckily, Unreal’s cloth shading mode takes you halfway there; but it is not enough alone. You also need to generate the appropriate cloth mask textures, create the fuzz effect, and add a sheen effect with careful fresnel controls. Comment down below to let me know if you’d like me to share my shader setup for beautiful looking clothes, and follow me for more insights on Digital Humans Unreal Engine. On a side note, if you or your studio are looking for someone to consult on realtime cinematics, digital humans, or digital fashion, you can reach out and book a consultation at: https://lnkd.in/ejfdH5Km #UE5 #cinematic #unrealengine #digitalhumans #fashion #digitalfashion #renderzone #nvidia #quixel #megascans #metahumans #cgartist #animation #nvidiacreators #realtime #vfx #cinematography #lumen #nanite #cgi #realtimerendering #unrealengine5

Between 2019 and 2021 I was hired to Art Direct a trilogy of CG films with games coming later, for a huge client. I was flown around the world for research into the project. Hired and Directed 30 artists including interns. Developed the look of the world from scratch. Concepted 100 characters myself, 20 environments. Art Directed a further 30 environments from artists all over the world. Oversaw 3d previz and 3d models. This company which I cant name ( heavy nda ) put a huge amount of faith in me. Huge amount of resources. Alas the films fell by the wayside due to Covid restrictions, as I was meant to fly back and to each month from the Uk to other side of the world to oversee a further 100 artists overseas, that experience will always stay with me. Despite all this.....the vast amount of games companies I have come across have no idea how to evaluate a persons worth and their potential. They wont even take a first interview with me! I am not qualified enough! So from time to time we need to look back in order to look forward as many of us should do. Shake off the stench of the current industry and keep pushing forward, remind ourselves that its not our skills or experience holding us back, or our imagination. Its the state of the Industry right now. Try not to get too biter from the idiocracy of the entire thing, got to shake that off or it will eat you alive. You have worth, your are an incredible person and artist. Keep positive, which is very dificult but key to your mental health. Positive energy to you all. You are not alone in this struggle, keep your mind active and dive into something else while the industry slowy rebuilds.

There is a amazing GDC Talk about how create stylized VFX without the need for hand drawn animations or fancy simulations. Here some quotes that made me understand a bit more of this subject. "A lot of people think of stylization as a spectrum from Cartoony to Realistic." "To fully understand stylization we need to look at the art hollistically." Start from the point of view of principles and elements of: - Art - Design - Animation. "Think of stylization more like a Design Space instead of a Linear Spectrum." A better definition to stylization: "Stylization is the abstraction of realism." "With Realism you're forced to make your things look as realistic as possible while enhancing the visual language a litte bit." "With stylization you're free to play with shapes, color, forms, motion." List of Shader Concepts: Shader 1: Scrolling Texture Along UVs Example: Flowing water. Shader 2: Alpha Erosion Example: Smoke from a explosion being erod away. Shader 3: UV Distortion Example: Fire movement. Shader 4: Vertex Offset Example: Flowing liquid inside a glass. These techniques can be used as part of a foundational shader library to easily integrate into stylized VFX assets. #unity #vfx #art

When I design a character, I start off by figuring out the overall shape I want the character to have. How can I make them recognizable? What kind of shapes do I want them to have? Once I have some shapes I like, I start filling in details little by little. Next, refining those details. Stay tuned! #openforworkanimation #characterdesign

🏃 NFT Art: Try Again 🏃 Introducing "Try Again", an NFT artwork that delves into the relentless pursuit of life. Set in the same surreal, tunnel-like environment as "GUILT," this piece features a man running forward, symbolizing the ceaseless effort to keep moving, despite the obstacles life presents. The art captures the essence of resilience and the human spirit’s determination to persevere. 🔍 Technical Highlights: Concept: Exploration of life's continuous challenges, represented by the act of running in an endless tunnel. Environment Design: Continuation of the surreal, tunnel-like setting to create a sense of infinite struggle. Simulation & Rendering: Developed using Houdini FX and rendered with Arnold for realistic, high-quality visuals. 💼 Interested in Collaboration? For project discussions or collaboration opportunities, please reach out to me at [email protected]. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/d5GAMsrT #DigitalArt #3DArt #HoudiniFX #ArnoldRendering #VisualEffects #CreativeTechnology #ArtInMotion #NFTArt #Resilience #3DAnimation #ArtTech #DigitalArtist #VisualArt #Animation #CGI #CreativeIndustry #InteractiveArt