We have been working on a proposal and sample work for an animated feature film. I have to say, it is one of the more crazy things we have done in the last year. We dropped alot of time putting together samples of our work and found that for better or worse, with time and funding we can kick out some excellent animation. Of course we aren't going to let the cat out of the bag, because number one we signed a non-disclosure agreement and number two if we get this gig, it's going to take a few years to produce. But I will drop an unfinished screen shot.
This image is still in the rough stages, but for now it's all your going to get. Things to pay attention to in these images are the hard edges of the models and the lack of fine detail. Additional time was given to the models and sets to smooth them out and make them less hard. Additional props were brought into the set and the lighting was modified.
If anyone is wondering what it takes, let me be frank, it's not easy. It's a labor of love and pride. Developing 3D characters, character rigging, sets, textures, lighting etc take alot of work. And once that part is done, making things animate correctly the first time is virtually impossible. We spent so much time smoothing things out, changing settings, and trying new techniques that a small company like ours wouldn't normally do. The magic in this kind of animation is equally spread out between the character models, animation, set design, lighting, sound design and music.
We expect to do many more fun things with animation in the near future. We will be turning in our sample to the producers in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully we have done enough to prove our worth. NM is the third largest film industry in the US and we offer some excellent tax incentives, and Adobe City Digital is currently the only animation house in the SW that offers animation comparable to Pixar, Illumination and Dreamworks.
Some upcoming projects include a 3D animated logo for Christopher Coppola, Animated intro for a TV series, Crash the Superbowl 2012, and a match move project which includes animation mixed with actual footage for Masks-Y-Mas.