with the intro to the reel i decided to do some work in AfterEffects, a very recently aquired skill.

i have to say that i really love AE CS4.  while the program can be a little unstable at times when it is jammed full of settings, effects, and un-precomposed comps. the results are absolutely beautiful.  (besides, when you hit ctrl+s every 5-10 minutes that’s how you know you’re a creative ‘vet’ right?)

the results are a little nod to two styles of animation that i love very much: old school rotoscoping and the new school of motion graphics.

check out my ‘inspiration’ for the reel for some more details.

We created several environments using CryEngine and were able to introduce architects to a brand new level of interactivity.  For the first time they were able to see their designs in real time and on site.  Opinions on design could easily be made as they saw different proportions, perspectives, and skylines.  This dramatically helped architects communicate with clients as they were able to tour clients through spaces and demonstrate their design beyond explanations and static renderings.

As the technical artist, my main priorities were maintaining proportions and assets as they were brought in from the SketchUpm, into 3D software, and finally into the game engine.  I was also integral in taking advantage of the engine’s capabilities and implementing assets such as driveable cars and scripting.

As GPS and Web 2.0 continue to become standard features, we can also begin to take advantage of all these inputs as graphics and processing power also continue to become more readily available. This UI was an artistic approach to the concept of what information is coming to us via our devices.

The device’s core was represented as a pulsing cloud of energy. Based on the level of its activity, running apps, music, etc… it would fluctuate and respond.  Likewise things like battery power and alerts would be tied to the environment and state of the device.  The 3D environment and avatar of the phone can also begin to relate to things such as whether or not you’re in a public WIFI cloud or if the phone is being charged, synced, or being pinged by other devices.

With data streaming, connecting ourselves to ‘Web 2.0′ with Twitter, facebook feeds, and status updates become important forms of our communication.  Here data is being ‘beamed’ to our phones and I represented them as blocks that were arriving and being integrated into our device.  (an homage to old school defragging) Important data could be streamed into your UI as you select what kind of notices you’d like to be updated with.

One of the final UI elements integrates live GPS data as it represents points of interest related to your location.  As the next generation of devices become better integrated we can begin to see live devices surrounding us or avatars of other people or places. Coffee shops or marked locations on your map could be pinned and related information (such as store hours or services) could be delivered.  Status updates from approved friends could be posted or be integrated into Alternate Reality Games that allow us to take advantage of the next level of digital integration.

Another piece of concept work for a mobile device.  As movie player’s are snuck onto more smart phones and future devices, multi-tasking becomes an important luxury of our next gen toys.  Being able to send texts or chat while we watch our movies (much like how we do on our computers) makes our lives more convenient without having to disconnect and switch between apps.

This may span into other forums as we integrate multiple UI’s and overlays into our apps.  Music while we read our blogs, type on pictures, or even SMS chat overlays while we look at directions.  What if we could live chat while watching flicks at B-rated movie theaters? MST3K iPhone apps anyone?

I had the pleasure to work on several projects while I was at Liquid Development in Portland, OR.   After some various tasks I was lucky enought to step onto the effects team and learned how to work SFX in the amazing Unreal 3 Engine with their tool Cascade.  Cascade was great to work with because of its similarities to 3D packages such as Maya.  Pretty soon I was making explosions, impacts, and water effects for projects such as Damanation and Borderlands.

Currently in my reel I have a fight scene that I animated for a short film that we were producing. It features the genetically altered and technologically enhanced brute, the Pneumatic Soldier against several disease ridden mutated monsters known as the Wretched.

I’m very lucky to be good friends with one of my favorite galleries in Portland, the Compound Gallery. For years, Compound has been the center of Portland’s sneaker and street wear culture.  They’ve also been bringing some of the best art shows and openings and are a flagship amongst the First Thursday art scene.  Through the years I’ve been asked to help with various projects from creating remodeling renders, designing furniture pieces, and even helping out with side projects such as the A.N.Other Project.

In the reel I’ve featured the first of three phases of remodeling.  In the render we were going to rearrange the shop, add suspended shelving, and create some shoe racks that I designed for them.  It also features an exclusive shoe that Compound Gallery collaborated with Adidas in the AZX Project for the letter ‘J’.  This also features work that I was involved with in the Tokyo Rose event that was collaborated with A.N.Other Project.

Here are some various websites or web deliverables that I’ve worked on. Several of these projects were with several web/interactive design studios around Portland, OR.  For the most part, my work in these sections was mainly as a Flash Developer implementing interactivity or flash video deliverables.