Heels stuck request

Quick request from a frequent Sticky-Site visitor who goes by the name sticky-sims2. Also added some elements to make it look more compelling. ;)

3D Medusa update

Not too major of an update for some, but an update none the less. I, finally, got off my butt and made some textures for the tattoos that adorn Medusa's arms and added some makeup to her face, then made some test renders with varied lighting to see how things worked out in LuxRender v0.8. So far, so good! Now, I need to correct some of the clothing materials so that her outfit doesn't appear to be solid black and maybe do some more adjustments with her hair.

So, enjoy the test renders. ^_^

Summer OC Matchup 2010 DA Submission

Not much to this one, just something I worked on for a group OC art swap/trade. Sadly, I was pretty late with getting it done. >_<

You can also download, or checkout, the high res version on DA.


In other news, I'm still working out the problems I'm having with the outfit and character from my previous blog posts.

Minor update, if anyone is still watching...

I went and modeled the armbands and I am also experimenting with Lux Render for better rendering results. Next, I'm going to model a more accurate snake from the Soul Eater series that the character uses.

Also, I got an update for one of the game characters I wrote up for that long winded RPG I've been working on. 1 (technically 3, if you include Maya and Rad) full designs done, several more to go.

Benisato Dress release!

It's not much, but I managed to pack together an outfit I made recently for other Poser users to play with. More info can be seen on it over at My DA Gallery or on my ShareCG Page.

Other than that, not much else to report. Well, other than my Lux Render experiments which are still in process.

Medusa Final v.2

Version two of the previous render, now with better hair, textures (hair only) and lighting. Also added some effects in Photoshop.

Well, I went back and redid the ponytail and textures for it using Kozaburo's messy Jessi v1 hair textures, then spliced it to match the same hair. I also ended up reworking the hood to to cover the parts that were exposed or coming through. Other than that, better lighing and snake textures.

Medusa Outfit Final... Somewhat WIP 11

Well, I've finally managed to get the outfit to a point where it moves decently enough not to destroy the collar and the hood! WOOT! I stayed up almost two days trying to figure out where I was going wrong in Poser 7's cloth room and the book did not help very much. If there's one thing that needs work, it's the manual to the software. Oy...

Anyway, I had to adjust the collar, buttons, and hood to be constrained portions of the mesh since they were always in contact with either the hair or Miki2's head. While I lost some minor detail with the hood not moving a great deal, it kept it from messing up everything in the area and looking like it went through a meat grinder when it touched the hair. I also did the same thing for the thigh portion of the mesh as it saved a TON of time to calculate the dynamic mesh deformations. The tail was set as a soft decoration with the tip being included in the calculations so it wouldn't make contact with anything else.

The hair... well, not much has changed a great deal with the hair other than I managed to use the above techniques to make it move to match the bends of Miki2's body and to come over the outfit without making part of it explode. Later, I hope to have the hair fixed in a manner that looks faithful to the original character's hair. Though, the same could be said about making a fully original piece and render that entirely in Blender.

Let's see... other than that, there are some texture changes for her nails to match up the original character, eye color was altered, and two snakes were added from www.most-digital-creations.com for their Shadow Serpent object as it saved me some time in creating another mesh (I'll have to make a better one that's actually specific to the series though) with altered textures. I wished I could have added Medusa's vector arrows to better show her as a character, but I ran out of time and was really too tired to draw up additional textures. Maybe later... or next time. XD

Anyway, I think that's it for this one. Time for me to get back on schedule.

Medusa Outfit WIP 10

Well, I found out what was keeping the outfit from working as a dynamic cloth in Poser, mainly the lack of polygons and trying to add parts of it as constrained groups during the simulation tests. Though, I can't seem to keep the buttons from turning into malleable cloth like the rest of the outfit, so I may end up having to separate them to keep them from moving. Also added the finger and toe nail textures to Miki 2.

Other notes: Seems as if no matter what setting I have enabled during the cloth simulation, the hood tends to go through the collar from time to time. On the other hand, since they are all pretty much the same color, it's barely noticeable. The hair textures are pretty much botched and need to be redone along with the UVs. Also, I need to choose a pose that does not force the hood to move so it stays in place and have it collide with the hair so it covers it as well. Oddly enough, doing that tends to result in many ugly messes as it touches the hair mesh, so I'm not sure what to do to cover the area. I also noticed that since the mesh was also colliding with the floor, it seemed to have pushed through her knee, but it was hard to tell prior to creating the render. Oy... I'll need to adjust the post to avoid that in the future.

Next up, better texture maps for the hair and either some of Medusa's tattoos for the arms or some sort of snake prop with dots!

Modeling updates

As you can see, I've gotten off my lazy bum to create something I had been planning for months! What's odd is that it's actually much better looking after I finished tweaking it in ZBrush, but Poser hates the rigging on it. Meh... I'm still trying to figure out where I messed up in regards to that, but at least I've made progress. Though, what's also silly is that Blender crashed out on me at least a dozen times when I tried to do things related to the underlying model, such as hiding it or using a higher subdivision setting. If anything else, those crashes reinforced several aspects of basic computer use: SAVE, and SAVE OFTEN! If I had headed those words more carefully, it wouldn't have taken me several hours to redo and fix things I had already done! But, I digress.

So, that's it for this update! Later!

Been a while

Ugh... seems like my text editor is conspiring against me! I couldn't even get the original text typed up before it crashed on me while spell checking the document. Major loss, so I'll just retype it to the best of my memory.

Anyway, it's been a while since I've posted much of anything here on my personal blog; two months to be exact. I've also had a thought that no one so much as glimpses at any of my pages (blog, personal website, and DA account), so I don't imagine there being much, if any, sort of response to this depressing drivel.

Moving on - no updates to any of my projects, image requests, or game project. Yup, that's right, no updates! This is really due to nothing more than me either being lazy or depressed, or a combination of both. Plus, everything I've attempted to do lately doesn't work out or has been lost when my external hard drive died - did get a working replacement though. Not that I expect anyone to care... no one reads this anyway.

Did post a couple of images on DA, Sticky-Site and QS Fans a while ago. They're not much and are not related to any of my projects, but you can expect to see them at the end of this posting. Hope whoever reads this enjoys them!

I'm still unemployed as ever and, as a result, have considered taking commissions to fill the money gap. The idea is/was to do some images for people with Poser or do photography shoots for people in my area. The Poser portion seems pretty straight forward and with a nice overhead; but, being that I have yet to sell any of my prints for photography in nearly ten years, I'm having my doubts about photography. Plus, I have yet to really do a photo spread for anyone. So, that entire idea is pretty much up in the are at the moment, but if people are willing to pay, then I could give it a shot.

And, what of my IT troubleshooting, repair, and administration job you ask? Well, it's not so much a job as it is a once in a blue moon deal that people seem to call me up for. Hardly, if ever, do I have any jobs constantly lined up to make a decent income to be considered self-employed. Seems that when I finish, everything is working in such a way that I never get a callback unless it's catastrophic; which is good and bad. You obviously know what it's bad, but the good thing is that I did great work. :) And apparently, having that much experience seems to be a problem in getting a more permanent job anywhere in the town I live in.
Which leads into my other recent problem: getting, but not getting a job selling stuff. Sure, I was called out of the blue due to posting my job information on Career Builder; but, it seems that my resume is probably telling employers that I'm overqualified for many jobs. Case and point with the call I received a couple of weeks ago, this marketing company needed people to fill a position that sells computers for HP. Sure, the job is right up my alley, great part-time hours per week, and with nice pay; yet, even after being pretty much guaranteed a job with this company, I somehow managed to not get it. When I pressed the issue to see what made them think this way, all I got from the recruiter was another guy had more experience since he was already doing the same thing for another company. Okay..? Somehow you want to say that makes sense; but, at the same time, I have salesman experience and an in depth knowledge of computers and how to fix them. Another clue that I should have picked up before was during my interview, the guy mentioned under his breath that I had a LOT of computer experience. AT first, I figured it was a good thing to be acknowledged for and, yet, here I am still unemployed! So, I figure that they were thinking that I would want more money for what I know - which is true, since I did ask about it during the interview - and they went with the cheaper choice. Oh yay... So happy that seems to be working out for them! *Heavy sarcasm*

And so, I'm also playing in a closed beta online MMO which has a pretty wacky NDA contract. Can't say much more than that, other than my computer is totally under spec for the game; but, I do my best to inform the developers what's good and bad about the game. I only wished I could afford a better rig to play it on. Sigh... and a better internet connection.

So... other than that, nothing else has been done! I'm a total loser... :(

Anyway, enjoy these images!

Two variations of the same character, only one has a real photo backdrop! These were posted at DA and the later at QSfans.
This last one is actually a re-render of an old piece, not that anyone has seen it anyway. <_<>_> Posted at Sticky-Site.

It's been a while

Yup, it's been several months since I've last posted anything here on my journal. Most of you have probably forgotten about me, and some may have not. Either way, it doesn't really matter, as I'm here now and giving updates.

First off, I've had my birthday and I'm currently 27 years old. Woo... I don't feel much different, but I am older and approaching 30.

Second, my family and I have moved out of our previous residence to one that's much, MUCH more livable and secure. The downside is that during the moving process, I've found that I'm in terrible shape and have begun a pretty brutal workout regimen to at least begin feeling better and stronger. So far, it's working! I just need to get my walk in sometime this afternoon.

Third, my plans in the game design space have been put on hold for the time being. Yeah, yeah, I know what I've said before; but, I've come to the sad realization that most people are not willing to help out someone in my position, regardless of how interesting the concept may be. Plus, I have yet to get any headway on the game engine needed to play the game in the manner I've envisioned.
So, for now, the super large scope game will be placed on hold and a simpler, already planned out game will take it's place until more work can be done with it. Once I've nailed down a couple of specifics, I'm going to get some characters designed and playing with the idea for it. More details to come!

Oh, lastly, I've come to the conclusion that it's best that I at least try to finish some of my outstanding requests and trades that I've somehow accumulated over the years. Some of them are really simple - which may be the reason they were skipped over, lol - and some require some real planning to get right. So, I'm going to be posting quite a few things over in my Deviant Art page and here on my blog as I finish them.

Next, I'm in the process of writing out a short sinking and sticky story/comic. You can see where it's going based off the initial render that sparked the idea below. Enjoy!

ARR! Thar be UPDATES!

I needed to get that out of my system! LOL

Anyway, I'm just letting everyone know what I'm still alive and still working on my projects, hence the quirky title. In this update, I'm posting a work in progress shot of what I'm currently modeling, in this case it's a dress for a request. Obviously, if the file name stays the same as it was while on my computer, you may have a hint at who the dress will end up being for and what it should end up looking like when everything is all said and done. Still need to get the hair done though. I'm not too sure if I'll upload it to my DA account page since it's fairly early in the modeling process, but as it currently stands, it's not a bad start.
Odd thing about modeling this outfit though - it's so much easier to do it in Shade (currently Shade 7.12 LE I believe) with the open/closed curves tool than with other applications I have installed. Really odd, but at the same time so much easier! Now, I just need to worry about how the rest will look like...

Oh, and for those that don't know and still care, my birthday is this Friday! I'll be 27!

Any who, that's it for this update. Stay tuned!

Yay! Updates!

YES! UPDATES and a portion of my projects on the way to completion! For chem-halo, the first in part of our image trade! Look above to see it n full. You can also view what he drew as part of our trade.

Moving Along...

I know, I know... I promised to update the blog in a more timely fashion; but, I just haven't done so as of late. BLARGH!

I've also been putting off other things, such as the requests, art trades, and game projects due to my unstable mood. I know I should not be doing things this way, but I have no idea on how to bring myself out of this rut. All I can do is move on and hope things get better.

Aside from that, I've updated the art trade I've been working on! They're test renders for the most part, but it shows that I'm on the right track. If nothing else, it's been keeping my spirits up just working on it. So, without any further delay, take a look at the 3 shots below.


So, when it's finished, it should prove to be an interesting image, or set of images.

Next, I previously stated that I would be building my game project using the Blender Game engine, which is part of the recent version of Blender. I've been thinking hard about that and may experiment with either Blender or Neverwinter Night's Aurora game building engine. The case of using NWN's game building engine would allow me to test out the branching storyline I want to create for the finished product, get a general view of where and how the game world would look like, and even test out some of the gameplay elements in a similar regards to how RPG Maker XP does. Granted, I haven't booted up NWN in a couple of years; but it does give me a reason to reload it on my laptop. lol! Plus, I've been playing Bioware's Jade Empire for the past week or so and how found a new found appreciation for how the developers craft their stories. That, and I've read in a recent Game Informer that their next game, Dragon Age, used the same game builder for a similar purpose of fleshing out the story for that game. It makes sense, so that may be a possible route for me to take.

So, I think this is it for the time being and I'll make another post soon!

Later!

Random Musings

Well, I don't a whole lot to talk about here. Never been much of one to post a blog. lol

Aside from that, I will be using this blog to report the status of some of my projects. Some of them are requests to create images via renderings in Poser, an art trade, and a video game project!

On the side with the image projects:

1. one set is partially done or should I say 1 of 4 are done. The characters have been created and properly textured, I just need to setup the rest of the actions to accommodate the request itself. Bleh! I think I'm just being lazy or depressed since I could have done it sooner.
2. The second request requires a rendering of a female centaur caught up in an odd situation. I believe it's more on the bondage side of things, but I'll need to finish some tests to see how to make one from scratch or via DAZ's V4 and their Millennium Horse. Some sort of weird morph may be in order.
3. An art trade with a gifted artist, you can see his web page on Deviant Art. This one is really intriguing as the request is along the lines of some of my older works; which is VERY cool to begin with. Also, I've finished about half of it (look just below for a sample) or so. I think all that's left is the need to work on a character and add SLIME! BWAHAHA! *cough* Anyway, so that's on it's way.
   

On the side for my other projects:

1. GAMES! Well, playing some of the ones that I have yet to finish are on my to do list as well. I just have WAY to many to list here at a time. So, next game up is probably Shin Megami Tensi: Nocturne and Person 3/FES. Awesome games and great study material, especially Nocturne for it's ways of using the story and game play elements to change varying outcomes with your enemies and random encounters.
2. My video game project! Technically, it's #1 on this list, but they are both related since I'm in the process of making a Role Playing Game (RPG) in a similar vein. Well, to some degree anyway. What I really am shooting for is something close to Kingdom Hearts as for game play and Jade Empire, or Mass Effect, for story and/or branching process. The reason for this is I want a more combat focused rpg with a great story. I'm not knocking the great stuff that has come out over the years, but I feel that the standard way of rpg gaming needs a boost, or change of pace. Granted, the test run of the game I'm working on is planned for a 2 dimensional version to workout various areas of the game, like characters, enemies, plot, overall story, and so forth; it's the goal I want to reach with making this game. And, in another journal posting on Deviant Art here, the game and story development will more than likely be done solely by me. It's not because I am some sort of arrogant bastard that wants to alienate people, it's due to people usually not wanting to work with me. A wide variety of reasons can be given, but at the end of the day, I'm usually alone on how to approach the idea. I'd love to work with other people, and I may, or should, be contracting out some of the character and enemy artwork with some artists that do commissions. It sounds silly to suggest this line of thinking, but who the hell is going to do any work for someone that's usually broke or for free? The answer is that NO ONE really will! The same will be said for the music, which I may just pull out my sister's digital synthesiser and make something usable or contract out for. Meh... not much else to say about this, until my next posting. That should contain some sneak peeks on some of the characters.

So, that's all I think I have for the moment. Like I said about, be on the lookout for some upcoming details on some of the characters for my game project and the other things I'm working on.

Till next time, I'm out!
Ayane Matrix