I am alive, but I can't say that for everyone else :(

It's been a little while since I last posted something on here. So before people start worrying, I am in fact still alive.

I am still unemployed. We're hitting an epic (personal) record in failed job applications. In this week alone (2 days so far) I've had 6 rejections. Though I'm slightly hopefully about Septemeber, two school boards have acknowledged receiving my applications.

My car died on the weekend. It still hasn't been repaired, which restricts my movements a bit. "Fortunately", the modern job market is one of pure online applications, in person visits and phone calls to places are forbidden!

Topping off everything my grandmother passed away yesterday. This is sad, but was not unexpected. She was 101, and had a really good run. Still just one more thing to add to the not happy pile.

To fight off depression and my slowly (but steadily) lowering self esteem, I've dove into a number of art projects.
`
You get a preview of this one:
It's my feathered Tyrannosaur. Only now I'm posing her.

Not just in a random pose. She needs to match this skeleton precisely. Why is a secret for now, all I'll tell you is that it is for a big joint project on ART Evolved.

With my T-Rex matching the skeleton closely, I decided I need to make somewhere for her to live. This is my progress with a Cretaceous landscape over the course of the last week+.

First I tried a generic forest. I didn't like this on a number of levels. I'm sure had I played with the tree density it would have gotten better. However I had a different idea...

Since my Rex lined up perfectly with the skeleton everywhere BUT the legs (in particular the feet) I decided to cover this up. With what else but water!

I also wanted the mountain range I'd put in the background to be visible.

Well okay, the trees covered up the mountains. Something I still have to fix, but there is room for them.

However yet again the trees were to few. My ginko trees leaves are too bright, and look plastic now (which is annoying as they are textured with a macro photo of a ginko leaf I took in New Zealand!!!). I also found the riverbank colour to be too cartoony. The biggest problem of all was the ground was too sparse.

Okay getting closer. Most of the elements are now present, it is just a matter of tweaking them.

There needs to be splashes at her feet, and I've already constructed these. I just need to add them (which might be a pain in the neck!). I also want to add some horsetail in the water.

I'm also vowing here to start getting some Traumador posts up (it is just so hard when I'm down. Traum is the embodiment of my happiness, and at moment he is starving. Poor guy. So I'm going to force myself to "Traumitize", and get some posts up darn it!).

Into the Deep

You know for a very unemployed teacher, I still get up to a lot!

In good news I had a job interview this weekend! Its for a summer day camp gig, and I'm optimistic (I have worked 8 years worth of summer camps!). Immediately after that interview I attended Leonard Nimoy's "last" public appearance (so they claim anyways). Instead of waiting in the Olympic sized line ups to see Mr. Spock, I instead met the very very VERY nice William Stout (more on this encounter on ART Evolved soon!).

In bad news still no leads on teaching, that alone any interviews... It doesn't help that the local skool board requires a million references (those I have) AND a million reference letters! New Zealanders typically aren't into or wanting reference letters, so producing (and acquiring) these has proven a real barrier. Working on a solution today.

Anyways with that out of the way (this is supposed to be an art post... but since I haven't updated the blog in over a week, thought you might like a snap shot into where I'm at) now for the topic at hand!

Now I'll be the first to admit, this particular round of live blogging has been pretty sad. My life (and Lady R's) just hasn't been stable enough for me to sit down and dedicate the time to properly documenting the construction of my Ichthyosaur. Hopefully by the next gallery I'll be able to make a better go of it.

Anyways I've managed to not only rig my Shonisaurus, but pose a small pod of them. I'm onto the crucial step of lighting, which when you're underwater can be 80% of the piece's success.

I am aiming for something a little different than my usual pieces. Since most Ichthyosaurs are thought to have eaten cephelopods (aka squid, octopus, and several extinct tentacled relatives of theirs) I wanted a scene that matched the most likely time or place you'd see a fish lizard hunt.

As most modern cephelopods tend to operate in environments with little or no light, I envision my Shonisaurs having to either dive really deep or at night time to catch their calamari. As of such I wanted a very dark water background.

Here are the current variants I have (squid not included). I have combined them in thumbnail versions as sometimes this small format can be quite enlightening. When rendering I often can't zoom out. Rather I'm right up close. So shrinking these all to their web browswer thumbnail size helps me see what a stranger googling might see them as.

The differences are:

• A. Has a minimalist lighting suit, aka 1 light source and thus very true to life)
  
• B. Having an additional creature light. This light only illuminates the Ichthyosaurs (and squid when they are present). Thus keeping the nice dark watery abyss of the background.

• C. Has a maximized lighting suit. In this case I've turned on the "light cone" (aka rays) of the second creature light which now brightens up the water background colour.

In thumbnail version I think C is the most effective. However it also looks exactly the same as my usual water scenes. Personally C is my least favourite (for this project), and I'd very much like to avoid it if I can.

Take a look at the bigger versions to see my thinking...

A. Here my Ichthyosaurs are mere silhouettes for the most part, against a ever slightly lighter background.

It is not the easiest piece to discern, but I like the mysterious quality it lends my subject matter. Shonisaurs have long baffled people through its sheer size (it was as big as a medium sized balleen whale!), its lack of teeth (how did it eat?), and being from so long ago.

At the same time I did put enough effort into the model, especially the anatomical proportions, I'd like people to be able to see that work.

So A is not my favourite configuration, but as you'll see not my least favourite either.

B. Here my Shonisaurs are caustically lite by water ripple highlights.

Frankly I feel this version is the best. I captures most of the mystery from above, while giving you a fleeting idea of what the big silhouettes vaguely look like. It also keeps my deep sea scene looking deep. Probably best of all the light shafts give this a slightly painted quality.

Its only flaw is that reduced in size it gets hard to tell what the piece is.

C. Differs from the other two, in that the lighter background makes the Shonisaurs stick out in crystal clarity.

While this might on face value be a good thing I didn't want yet another identical water piece to all the others I've done.

Though Shonisaurs C is set on a darker background then my Anomalocaris here, they aren't that drastically different either. Compare especially piece B to this, and you'll see what I mean.

So what are your thoughts, as I setup the squid for the final render.

Which of the three lighting suits should I use?

Last art post for a while

We're very close to T-Minus 1 week from the leaving New Zealand forever!
`

As of such things start happening here quick, fast, and hard... To quote my favourite teenage space opera (which one is it, you geeks out there?)
`

Meaning there won't be much time for either making my art and/or posting about it. The goal after this post is that I get my 4-5 pieces done for ART Evolved (a series set in the same time and place... one of the advantages of using CG), so I don't have to worry about working on them immediately after heading over to Australia.
`

Here is your slight sneak peak of what they're going to be...

I got Kaiwhekea skeletoned, rigged, and roaring to go.

My next big obstacle is creating some prey for him.

There is a chance Dr. Fordyce will be interested in using this fellow now that I've got it. So that could be exciting.

The biggest news of all is that my Squalodon passed its final inspection by the good doctor, and has only a few very minor tweaks. Essentially I got a 90% (with the chin area being the only absolutely major concern). More on this story coming to ART Evolved in my Flukes series.

`

He'll be making an appearance in Jan along with the Kaiwhekea (among other critters!) at ART Evolved. Hopefully in even more public venues later in 2010!

`

As I've been taking a lot of Traum related photos for his own big finale with NZ, I was inspired to start work on somethings for his future here too...

`

Thought you'd seen the end of his interactions with Mythology and Maori Legends... Think again!

`

This is the start of one of several new Mythological inspired denizens to be appearing on the Chronicles next year...

`

Note it is too scale!

`

I'm also trying to make sure I keep Traum's current adventure going and conclude able by Feb... as there is a HUGE surprise in store for you all then!

The next two Dinosaurs are presents as it were for two old and dear friends of mine, who were gracious enough to put up with my insanity and appear in Traum in the next few posts.

Why and how they are presents will make sense with the post themselves.

The question I have for you all, can anyone successful guess what types of Dinosaurs these two are? I'll give you one key clue, they are both native to Alberta...

Head in the Game

Having shown my Kaiwhekea to Dr. Fordyce I was interested to hear that there was no definitive stance on exactly how this animal's skull was supposed to go together in life.

That's not to say we don't know what its skull looked like. Kaiwhekea is known from a fairly complete skeleton (in fact the MOST complete of any known marine vertebrate from New Zealand), but it is badly crushed. So the skull is distorted, and as of such it leaves a few questions as to how it would have been pre-burial.

This was my initial version. You'll notice the nearly 200 needle teeth. They were a "lot" of fun to put in... especially as you'll see, I ended up having to place them all a few times *groan*

`

As he was unconvinced one way or the other as to what the animal might have looked like, Dr. Fordyce did not venture much of an opinion on the skull (though the neck needs a bit of work).

This is the Kaiwhekea skull (courtesy of the University of Otago's page on the animal). Despite its crushed nature, people with some knowledge of typical Plesiosaur skulls will see how this animal differs greatly from other Cretaceous Plesiosaurs. However the details are lost, and as of such I was trying to recreate this skull with as few "details" as I could.

This ran in the face of the one common restoration of Kaiwhekea out there on Wikipedia, by Dmitry Bogdanov. You'll notice there is a lot more definition and "detailing" in the forehead and chin then is present in the skull. Additionally the mouth has a discernible U slope under the eye, again not present in the skull.

`

I was wondering where Mr. Bogdanov was getting the ideas for this. It looked kind of cool, but at the same time I got the impression he was working off a skull reference of some sort. It certainly wasn't the fossil skull, as I'd been using that, and it wasn't anywhere near as "interesting" in its details.

Till I came across the skull restoration available on Plesiosaur Directory. There was no question this was Dmitry Bogdanov's basis for his restoration. I decided to follow suit, though not exactly as he had done.

`

It was tricky getting a match. Especially on the thin "lips" at the end of the snout... So Dmitry Bogdanov's restoration once more for comparison. I use his, as again it is the only other (accurate) restoration out there. Geoffory Cox and Chris Gaskin have both done supposed Kaiwhekeas, but their heads were clearly modelled on the more typical Elasmosaurid design.

Mine version is not an exact match it should be noted. Partially as I couldn't be bothered to match the skull 100% (as likely this skull restoration isn't 100% correct itself), and as I wanted mine to be a little different this is where I got it too.

My Kaiwhekea on its own.


With its mouth open it demonstrates just how truly bizarre and unique its family of Gondwannaian Plesisosaurs are, in comparison to the more familiar Elasmosaurids of the northern hemisphere.

Where did it all go?

It is hard to believe, but I only have 2 more weeks left in this country... Frankly I can't wait to go.

The epic soap opera that is packing and wrapping up have begun with a vengence. I've also done such a good job of seeing all the sights once more, that there isn't much left on the agenda to do that is fun (which is good, as there is no time for it anymore!).

I have so, oh so, many projects to try and wrap up.

Despite my co-creator of the kids book being something of a whinny git about trying to publish it (he has waited till the literal last minute of the 3 *BEEP*ing years!) I've given up on it, but he is forcing me to use up a precious day to work on it again (though I'm not going to be happy about it!!!)... I need to finish prepping my whale skull for Dr. Fordyce, and try and complete my 3D whale. Though the Palaeo-art whale at this stage is likely to have to be completed through email correspondence.

With ART Evolved's big "Blog of Note" break through yesterday, I'm also forced to redouble my efforts on my pieces. I'm being smart and trying to get the whale done for it, plus my Kiwi marine reptiles.

As I got some feedback from Dr. Fordyce on my Kaiwhekea the other day, I thought I should try and complete it here today. Apart from rigging I think it is ready for use in a final piece or two...

Way TOO much on the go!!!

Man what a week...

This was officially the busiest week I've had in months!!! Between work (2 days at regular and two late days at the daycare), trying to get rid of the old car, arrange the borrowed car, taking the last of Germ-man Traum photos, a farewell dinner for said German as he and his wife leave for good in 3 days *tear*, and finally a pretty full on migraine my week has completely disappeared!

There was next to no time for blogging, 3Ding, or anything else overly productive (other then principle Traum photography... which I guess is a big deal. I just haven't been doing a lot of them this year, and so they feel out of place).

Last weekend during my Peter phone call, I did get to starting the prey for my Mosasaur. This Kiwi fossil here, the Aristonectidae Kaiwhekea. It is a fairly specialized and unique form of Plesiosaur. I'll be going into my detail on this once I get to the serious work on the model.

Here's where I have gotten too. The big "breakthrough" (more like smart use of a simple process... 90% of art is use of common sense I'm finding) is the display of my references in 3D space. It is simplistic, it isn't really interact able, but it is handy when tweaking proportions and limb placements to have my references floating there.

I will do a proper post on how to do this later. Hopefully this weekend I can reclaim some of my time... but I have to start packing soon, and have a farewell a week till we depart (resulting in our own big farewell) so I'm not expecting any earth shattering artistic developments.

I think we're onto a winner here...

As all Mark 5 models must now include a skeletal rig for posing (why I'd do the hard, long, and inaccurate old fashion posing anymore is beyond me!) I added a skeleton to the Tylosaur today.

This is one of 3 models I've ever built that I do not hate (though looking back on one of them today might have that revised to just this model now...). In fact I'm so proud of this model, that after a few more tweaks I'm considering firing off a few shots to Mike Everhart (Mosasaur guru extrodinare) for his opinion!

Was I complaining about Mark: 5's before?

Okay, so officially I've blown myself away. When the Tylosaur only had its body shader it looked like any of my other models. By the time I'd textured up the head and lower jaw it was becoming clear this wasn't one of my typical models...

I seriously can not believe I built this. Of course the kicker is, we've all seen this model throughout the week, but with the new Mark: 5 shading, it looks like a something completely different!

That and I think I managed to capture the Monitor Lizard feel I was aiming for!

I also feel I'm closing the gap between myself and Dinoraul, a 3D modeller on Renderosity whom I respect, and frankly envy the models of... Though I have to say apart from his more detailed modelling and shading, I have actually outdone him a Prehistoric critter. This is more due to his lack of correctness on the anatomy, everything from the skull back on this guy is dead wrong!

Though I would like to be able to match his modelling detail and shading. At least I've outdone him on something :P

Next step with the Tylosaur is to skeletonize him, and add my own details... once I learn to Vertex.

Now We're Talking

Good progress on the Tylosaur today.

Sadly I had to replace the blue undercoat. It just wasn't looking real, or Monitor Lizard. Replace it with a brown of the same style and...

I think I've nailed it pretty much on the head!

Here is the original Julius Csotonyi that inspired me to take it this way... I think I'm nailing the idea in my own way!