Travis McCallum: Sketch #37

I chose cute for my VFX.

Here’s the final YouTube version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhkXpzqE09Y

Here’s latest GIF version:
ezgif.com-optimize (1)

Here’s my concept art I created:

I wanted to take on this sketch for a couple reasons:

  1. To prove to myself that I am passionate about this craft and I really want to turn it into a career.
  2. To learn some new skills that take me out of my comfort zone. New ones I’ve come across so far:
  • Building a character-specific workflow for effect making.
  • Modifying pre-existing animations to get better timing in effects.
  • Modifying character materials to communicate effect gameplay.
  • Adopt cinematics in my work because as it turns out I’m crazy for making movies.

I’m pretty satisfied with the work I did here and won’t be working much further. I’m open to any specific questions people might have on any of the materials, textures, particle systems, or sequences I did. I know I still struggle to hit triple AAA quality, but fun is what these contests are all about!!

Challenges I’ve faced:

  • Rigid body simulations in Blender don’t import as a single animation. I tried creating a ground cracking open on the hammer.
  • Finding affordable character meshes with animations that fit my vision. Hammer (Mallet) choices were $50+ so I settled for a cheaper alternative with the morningstar. I like the idea of supporting other artists by buying their assets for my effects. Will do more in the future.
  • Hours of work lost from frequent crashes. Stopped using 4.25 because anytime I opened the explorer the engine would crash. Defaulted to Cascade.
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