Life comes in waves...

As I have noted in the past personally, life and all that it brings with it tends to come in waves.  Sometimes literally.

I will not say that I have had the worst time, or even a really bad time, but I have had better.  And all these not so great things (and the great as well) have just taken time away from what I have been wanting to do: 3D art.  So a (really) quick run down of all I've been doing and all that's happened.

I went to SIGGRAPH as a volunteer in Vancouver last August.  Great fun, lots of cool people, worth the trip, but I hurt my foot pretty bad.  Then, I freelanced for a while and did the whole "looking for work" thing.  I wanted to keep working on the current file on this blog, but I was waiting for the new free Renderman to come out so I waited and worked on other things.  I will post some of it in a little while.

After a while, the freelancing ended up getting put on hold as my wife and I decided it was time to move to save money.  After all, student loans are starting to come in.  So the moving process started, and we ended up with a new place just down the road that will save us a pretty bundle every month.  I started working on a new demo reel you can find on my website, and went to the SCAD career fair in Savannah, where hurt my foot... again.

There, I got to talk with some really awesome people from Floyd County, Method, Primal Screen, Turner, and more.  Despite my foot, I had a great time and got some leads out of it.  As a result, I started to learn 3DS Max as was recommended to me.  Maya isn't the only 3D software package out there, and several companies use 3DS Max instead.

As I'm doing this, my actual move takes place.  Stressful.  Things get lost/broken/whatever as always happens during a move.  About two weeks later, I finally get my computer running again but didn't have the time to keep learning things.  Finally, Renderman comes out, I manage to download it, but got too busy with unpacking and setting things up that I didn't have time to play with it yet.

That brings me to this month.  Let's see, I volunteered for the Atlanta Film Festival, and while I had a great time, one of the patrons outright stole my jacket (the only one I have that isn't falling apart), my sunglasses (the only ones I have that weren't stolen or lost), my earphones, my car keys, my copy of my wife's car keys, my apartment key, and my mailbox key.  About $700 of replacement in all, right after the move which cost more than we planned for.  So as I am recovering from the theft, we decide to plan a house-warming party to help give us incentive to finish unpacking so we can get back to job hunting/freelancing/artwork.  We buy some new Ikea furniture for the unpacking just as I come down with a cold.  Immediately after that, I hurt my foot again.  Immediately after that... the wave literally hits.  My upstairs neighbor decides to flood her apartment, my apartment, and the apartment beneath mine.  Things are still being worked out, walls and ceiling being torn down, carpets being dried and replaced... but the real torrent of water poured like an ice-bucket challenge from a garbage bin onto my entire entertainment set up.  TV and all.  So now I've been dealing with that.  Another $5,000 bill.  Still have to work things out with her insurance.

However, I am getting fed up with all these distractions, intentional or not, major or minor.  I need to get back into things, and so I am going to make myself work on both this Renderman file (the Starbucks scene) AND learning 3DS Max (which could lead to a job).  I am going to stop letting things get in my way, and just do it!

So like I said, busy, bad luck, but not the worst by far, just distracting and time consuming.  I will be back!

Leaving

Well tomorrow (err... today) is the big day.  I get all my stuff together and head out to Vancouver Canada to attend SIGGRAPH as a student volunteer this year.  I managed to make it last year, and here I am again this year.  Since I just graduated, this will be my last time as an SV, but it is an honor and a privilege to donate my time to this.
I will be updating my blog every day during the trip, and updating my twitter feed with pictures and the like, so be sure to look out for @PixeloftheDay, and check back here often!  In the meantime, I have to finish lighting some scenes and packing... no rest for the wicked... or the artist.

New Year!

Hey all!  This will be a short post.
First, I wanted to say Happy New Year!  Also, This is my last year at SCAD, as I graduate in the spring quarter (if all goes well).  Now that it is getting down to it, it is time for me to get an internship, apprenticeship, and/or job out in the real world.  So I am going to be preparing a new portfolio site, and putting together the best work I can to show.  I am also going to be attending the various career fairs and other events.  I will also be attending SIGGRAPH this year.  I just submitted my application for a Team Leader position, so here's hoping it gets accepted!
This quarter is supposed to be easier on me, but helping so many other people with their films is proving to make up for the easier class-load and I am already staying up late on assignments and deadlines.  Oh well, back to the grindstone.
Check out my latest update on my senior film blog, Last Light.  Got some cool new stuff up there.  Sorry about having to password protect my animatic, from here on out it is going to be getting too close to the final and I need to keep it from the public so I can prepare for film festivals.
So stay tuned for more work!  I'll leave you with a Sub Surface Scattering test I just finished that I think came out pretty good.  Still needs work on the highlight and bump, but it is a good first step.

No SSS (sub-surface scatter), lambert.

Adjusted SSS

ACM SIGGRAPH Student Chapter

Hi everyone!
As some of you may know, I am currently the Vice-Chair of the SCAD Atlanta ACM SIGGRAPH Student Chapter, and one of the things we are trying to do is peer-education.  As such, I am teaching a short workshop on Adobe Photoshop, specifically a brief introduction and then working with selection tools, masking, and layers.  With any luck, I'll briefly go over non-destructive workflow habits as well.  So for right now, I am posting a few images I found online that we will use for the workshop.  And for all the SIGGRAPH members joining for the first time, welcome!

So the first files here are all the images we used in the demo to go over making selections, masks, and working with layers and layer order.  I touched a little on the idea of adjustment layers, but there were so many things I would still have loved to show, I may need to do more demos later.

At the bottom you can see the final SPACE COW image.  I do not own the rights to any of these, I only found them on Google Images for use in learning Photoshop.  See if you can make a space cow...

Teapots and Ribs. Yum!

This quarter I have been taking a Renderman class.  Well, it is technically PR Renderman (Photo Real Renderman), which is really just a production ready and incredibly powerful rendering tool.  It is used by a lot of large studios, and developed by (surprise) Pixar.

Right now, we are programming in scene description files, known as "ribs", which is like coding a scene by hand, geometry, lights and all.  It is actually rather challenging, but fun when you get used to it.  But it is slow, not fast at all, but knowing how the codes work is really useful.

Our latest assignment was to make a scene with a teapot, and some of the student's works were spectacular!  And yes, these were all HAND CODED (although we did get to use Cutter to help).  I decided to use this year's Renderman Walking Teapot toy I got from SIGGRAPH 2013 as reference, but the shapes were too complicated for me to figure out in the short time we had.  So I used it as inspiration, and made it my own.

The concept I had for this piece was to make it look like a toy tea set, since I used a toy as inspiration.  There is more I would like to do to this, but for right now, I am rather happy with what I have.  Feel free to leave feedback or comments!

Fall 2013, SCAD

Well I took a bit of an hiatus during the summer, but I'm back, and ready to go!  The first day of classes started this week, and it is going to be an intense quarter.

First, I have actually been doing some work over the summer, collaborating with others and planning things out.  I did manage to finish one book, and start another (look at the Dresden Files), finished a slew of games, volunteered at SIGGRAPH 2013 as a Student Volunteer, visited Downtown Disney in Anaheim, and helped my brother move into a new house many states away.  I am currently working on putting together a collaborative short animation to do for fun, but the majority of the work will start next summer, since I now have a huge animation project to continue.

This quarter at SCAD, I am taking a Models and Shaders programming class, which teaches Pixar's Renderman, and i am super excited!  I also have a Photography class; always a good way to expand your horizons and get a different view of lighting and composition.  Finally, I am taking Senior I, which is actually the second out of 4 classes dedicated to working on the senior film at SCAD.  The first class was Concept development, followed by 2 quarters of production (Senior I and II), and finally finishing with Post-Production.  I am also helping a few others with their projects, trying to get more lighting and texturing/shading behind my belt.

Since we are starting actual production now, and I already have some people interested in helping with my project, I am using a free online tool called Trello to keep organized.  It works on any web browser, plus it has apps for my iPad and iPhone!  If you are ever working on a project, especially a collaborative one, check it out!  It even connects to Google Docs and Dropbox.  I am also creating a new blog to chronicle the development and production of the short.  I have added a new tab to my blog, but you can also check it out at LastLightFilm.blogspot.com.

So for now I will leave you with a picture of a lantern I've been working on for another senior project by Michelle Ionescu.  I'll post a link when I get one from her.  I mainly focused on the glass, getting a bumpy frosted glass feel.  Enjoy!

SIGGRAPH 2013 at an end

Well this is it, the end of SIGGRAPH 2013.  The last day was actually Thursday, and there were tons of last-minute attendees.  I was surprised to see so many interested people showing up at 2pm for a  convention that ended at 3:30.  The SVs had a final get-together or two after everything was said and done.  I was really amazing.  The entire conference was really impressive, and I learned and did a lot!  And yet, I didn't get to half the events I wanted to.  Still, this was one of those life-changing events, which I will always cherish.  I am definitely volunteering for SIGGRAPH 2014 in Vancouver.  Yesterday, my friend Eric and I went to Paramount studios on a tour, which was a real treat.  I also (finally) got to eat at In N Out Burger, which is my favorite burger joint in the world, and for good reason.

So now I have said goodbye to all my new friends, for now, and plan to keep in touch with as many as I can through twitter and Facebook and my blog.  I can't wait to see everyone again next year!  So here I am at LAX waiting for my flight.

PROUD TO BE SV!

SIGGRAPH 2013, Day 6 Morning

I didn't get up a post yesterday, but a lot happened. I got to talk with some recruiters at Disney who told me what work they'd like me to develop over the next year in order to get into the company's apprenticeship program.  I also got to explore more talks, including one for EPIC which I enjoyed. I also worked a shift and explored the exhibition hall.  Not to mention seeing a flying moon in the main lobby.  At the end I the day, the student volunteers got to see a demonstration of SIXENSE technology and had a fun party.  And of course there were tons of private party events we kept hearing about... I've fitting get an invite to one of these sometime!

And now today is the LAST DAY of SIGGRAPH 2013.  This is my only chance to get swag from the Pixar booth (sadly I don't have the time to get a teapot), and then pick up some books and maybe a shirt or DVD before I'm back on shift and then tearing down.  Keep an eye out for more twitter posts (found on the side of this page if you aren't using the mobile site).

Next year in Vancouver!

Day 4, SIGGRAPH 2013, Night

Another day comes to a close.  Today was the first day the exhibition hall at SIGGRAPH was open, and boy was it busy!  At first, I was asked to assist with registration, but since the registration area was so crowded, they decided to make a remote registration area for pre-registered users where they could get their badges quick and easy.  We were crowded for about 4 hours and helped countless people.  Immediately afterwards, I got to help out in the studio, where I was assigned to work with the Epson print station.  They had a table with computers on it where users could bring files they could print out on a variety of papers on several different printers, including large format printers that could handle canvas.  Ah... Just like the old days at National Geographic when I would often print on HP and Epson large format printers, using high quality papers and canvases.  Of course I was right at home, and loved that anyone can come up and print anything they want for free!!  I am totally taking advantage of this tomorrow, if I can get a hold of one of my larger files.

After that, I explored the exhibitors hall.  WOW is there a lot to do and look at.  I can't even go into it all, but I was very impressed with everything in the hall, and enjoyed talking to a lot of the exhibitors.  And of course there is the job fair.

This was a great day today, and I can't wait for tomorrow.  SIGGRAPH is going by too fast, can't I slow time down?

I will leave you with this one image.  While I was in the Studio hall, I witnessed a remote controlled robot talking to an AI controlled robot... I was indeed a Kodak moment.

Day 3, SIGGRAPH 2013, Morning

Hello again everyone!  Ready for day 2 of the convention??

I have to say this has Ben very exciting for me.  In the past, I never would have dreamed of actually meeting the people who make dreams into reality.  At my school, SCAD, I have a special opportunity to meet professional artists in the industry once or twice a quarter.  But at SIGGRAPH, every day is like that.  You never know who might be waiting in line for food begin you, who might be sitting next to you at a talk.  Everyday I have bee meeting amazing people, artists and programmers and dreamers, who all share the same vision, a love for computer graphics.  I feel that this convention is the most influential thing I have ever done, and it really gets me excited to be surrounded by such supportive and talented (and awesome) people, both professionals and students.

I is true what they say, we are the future of the industry, and I can't wait to get started!

That and Californian is so pretty I just love walking to the convention everyday!

Day 2, night

Hello again!

Well today has been jam packed at SIGGRAPH!  I got to check out the geek bar, where you can watch whatever presentations you want and switch between them on the fly, all live!  Great if there are several presentations you want to see or are undecided.  I also got to see a special presentation of Pixar's Blue umbrella.  To hear Saschka Unseld's speech about what inspired him to make the film is inspiring.  He makes me want to go out right now and start working on things that I've been wanting to work on... But first I have to finish the rest of the week here before I can work on something... Not that I'm complaining.

I spent a few hours in the Studio hall where I got to check out 3D printers and scanners, art, really innovative technology from Exo-skeletons suits to haptic technology.  I even made a holographic keychain with my friends.

Finally I got to look at a presentation showing off all the talks this week, and WOW!  I wish I could see them all, they are so fascinating, now I need to decide what to watch.

Tonight is a big SV Alumni reunion, time to mingle!  Tomorrow... I work bright and early!

Day 2, SIGGRAPH 2013, SV, morning

David Hixon

Senior BFA, SCAD Atlanta

 

Today is the FIRST Official day of SIGGRAPH!!  Welcome to all the attendees!!  We student volunteers are really excited to see you all here, and it looks like good turn out!

So today is my one day off, and I am planning to have a lot of fun today, and going to many events as I can.  First, I'm kicking off the day with a presentation of PIXAR'S Blue Umbrella!

The lights are dimming... Lets get the show on the road!

SIGGRAPH 2013, SV Dat 1, night

Well the first day is over, for volunteers that is.  For me, I had an early shift, which lasted several hours and involved lots of bag-stuffing, but I got to meet a lot of cool people, mostly fellow volunteers.  Later in the day, we had orientation and a tour.  Finally we had a special treat, where we got to listen to the stories of several industry professionals who told us about how they made it intothe industry   themselves.  It was really a great pep talk not just for the conference, but for our futures.  They talked about several topics I really care about, such as older students entering the field, and tips on networking, among other things.  A few lucky students walked away from the presentation with some cool prizes, like a computer and awesome graphics cards, but for me to hear the presentation and get their stories really excited me more than any graphics card would (although they were pretty sweet).  After that, we all posed for a group photo, even though it was starting to get dark out, and had free pizza and drinks afterwards.

But the best thing about today was getting to meet with and talk to so many talented and interesting people, all with similar passions.  Even though they aren't professionals yet, every one of these student volunteers could become a friend, a partner, a boss, or an important asset for networking.

For now, I'm off to bed.  I get the day off tomorrow and I don't want to miss anything the conference has to offer!

SIGGRAPH 2013, Day 1, morning

Hi everyone!  For those who don't know me, my name is David Hixon, I am a senior at Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta (SCAD), where I am majoring in a BFA in animation, although I already have anBA in Digital Art from George Mason University (GMU).

So today is day one of SIGGRAPH, at least for student volunteers.  We have to get trained and signed in you know.  So after doing all the online training and such, I'm here for the real thing.  I am super excited to meet people for the first time and eager to get started.  I have a lot to do, so I will post more later tonight!

SIGGRAPH 2013, Here I Come!

So for those who don't know, I will be heading off to SIGGRAPH 2013 (Special Interest Group for Computer Graphics and Interactivity), as a Student Volunteer (SV), which starts tomorrow!  Well actually it starts Sunday, but I am arriving Friday so I can volunteer in their bing on Saturday followed by training on Saturday.  This conference is an entire week long, and with all the post conference events for SVs, I won't get back till Saturday.  So I will be checking in on here every single day to give a rundown of everything happening at SIGGRAPH, or at least from my perspective.  I look forward to meeting all the fun cool people, both professionals and volunteers, and can't wait to get started!  There are butterflies in my stomach, or maybe that's the pizza I ate...

Stay tuned for more!

Mushroom Madness!

Hey everyone,

Big news today!  I applied to be a student volunteer at SIGGRAPH 2013, and they accepted me!  Not only did they accept me, but they  are going to cover my housing!  This is great news, as this is a perfect opportunity for networking with professionals from all the major and influential companies in animation and visual effects.  The conference will be this July, and will last about a week, in Anaheim, California.

In other news...

Today I have a new project for you, and this one moves... sort of.  It animates at least.  The entire project was about using Autodesk Maya to render out Primary and Secondary passes, and then composite and animation them, post-production style, in Nuke.  Sounds like a bunch of fancy words I'm sure.  In short I am telling my 3D software to render out my scene in pieces, and then I put them back together and make changes to them in the composting software.
So this exercise involved taking existing models of mushrooms and applying up to 3 textures to them, and then adding my own background.  I decided to use an existing background I made before for a different class, and manipulated it for the scene.  I then rendered it in passes, brought it into Nuke, and make the colors change.  I also added the camera move and the depth of field as well in post as well.
While this is a "finished" project, it is not actually finished.  I will be reworking this to fix a bug or two and to enhance some of the effects.  Until then...

Enjoy!