Igor Live is an idea I had a couple of years ago after I first made Igor. It’s good to finally get it done. After Midnight With Marilyn, I wanted to do something quickly. I spent 2 and a half days only, creating the set and doing all the animation. The rest was leaving the computers to render it for 3 weeks. This clip is available for download in HD. The HD version is not big, only around 184mb, I recommend you watch the HD version for the extra detail.

This clip is little more than a way for me to get more experience animating Igor, especially his hands, but also animating his mouth. There are things I’d change if I had to. I’m not happy with the way Igor drops towards the floor a couple of times when singing descending notes. It was a nice idea, but I don’t think it works, or at least I didn’t do it well enough. Also, Igor’s mouth should blink for every syllable of his words, not just be lit whenever there is sound. I tried it both ways, and it definitely looks better when the mouth blinks for each syllable. So there’s a couple of things I have learned for animating Igor in the future. It’s not worth fixing them in this clip, I need to keep moving forward.

I am happy with the animation of the curtain. I’m pleased I worked out how to get it moving like cloth.

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It’s done, but BEFORE you go clicking on the video READ THIS:

A HUGE thank you to Kris Macken for helping me with the music. I put the music from Mozart’s Don Giovanni overture (or the start of it anyway) into my sheet music software and exported the music as midi files. Kris was then able to convert the crappy midi sounds to real instrument sounds. This way the music sounds quite realistic, yet it was created by a computer….

Below is a low resolution internet version of Midnight with Marilyn. The original is more than 2GB in file size, and has been compressed to a web size of around 30mb for viewing below. You don’t throw away that much data without a big sacrifice in image quality, so be prepared. If first impressions count, then I’m screwed.

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Yesterday I posted “Meet Meline”, which is a short film with incredible detail. It would have taken forever to make all the stuff in the garage, and get the lighting and animation to look right. After trying to do 3d modeling myself, I can appreciate that it is a masterpiece.

However, it has one problem, and that is that it is French. This means it is kind of arty-farty and limited in it’s real entertainment value. I don’t care who that offends.

I’d prefer to see an animation that might be rough around the edges in comparison, but gives me a good time. It’s hard to beat Australian creativity, it is second to none. That’s why I present Kajimba!

An interesting thing about Kajimba is that it is made using Blender. Blender is software much like 3Ds Max and Maya, except it has a lot less features. BUT! It is free. Anyone is welcome to download the software free of charge, learn how to use it, then create entertaining masterpieces like Kajimba. It can be downloaded from http://www.blender.org/ . People often put Blender down, but if you go to the Blender website and see the gallery of things people have made, you’ll be like me and see nothing wrong with it. Since the code is open source, you can bet that Blender will improve a lot more in the coming years and eventually become a genuine competitor to 3ds Max and Maya.

Ok, made with Blender, but unlike Meet Meline, you’ll want to watch this over and over again.

Kajimba – snippets from Kajimba on Vimeo.

I’ve been pretty busy lately, but I’ll be updating a lot more regularly. Here is a link to an amazing short video I’ve been meaning to highlight for a while, but am only getting around to it now. Most people who are into 3d stuff would have seen this by now.

This video is called Meet Meline, and it is really incredible, especially as it was created by just two people, with no budget at all. Without exaggerating, it would have to rank along with the best of Pixar’s short films, for it’s great detail. It took two years to make. Anyone who knows how young children look around with their eyes would appreciate the great level of detail in this animation. It also has great lighting effects, and some interesting camera angles.

Here it is, for those who haven’t seen it:

MEET MELINE : THE 3D ANIMATED SHORT FILM (by Sebastien Laban & Virginie Goyons) from Sebastien LABAN on Vimeo.

This is a montage of behind the scenes footage which gives some idea of how the videos are put together. Make sure you have seen the first four episodes first to avoid spoiling the story lines.

The music was not composed by me. It is distraction-free, royalty-free music that will do the job.

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Mad Violinist receives a gift from his friend Reaper to help make the place look better, while Igor has to deal with the mice problem.

This one is pretty long, the entire clip goes for a whopping 5 minutes. Better get your popcorn!

Please, if you don’t have decent speakers, use headphones. Laptop speakers in particular, are horrible for playing good bass sounds in these video clips.

Press play on the player below to start the video. There may be a slight delay as the video downloads the buffer. After that, all will be right.

Please don’t forget to comment, it’s good to get some feedback.

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Mad Violinist shows a cannon made in 1871 and explains why it was made, while Igor tries to light it. (30mb)

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In this episode, Mad Violinist talks more about the box and reveals what’s inside it. (24mb)

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Here is the first episode of “Mad Violinist”. Igor is feeling a little flat. (24mb)

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Igor, my servant, makes his first appearance on my blog in the video clip below.

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