Scene to Blow up -Post 1-

Yes it will go boom...

    Yes I will be blowing this up. For my final in computer animation I have to blow up a scene. Instead of using my Bar model, I decided to use a whole new scene because my bar model is so complex. Here is the simple room model I came up with.

     I still have to model a few chairs, and the surprise that is going to come barreling through the window. 

Thanks for reading, 

     MELANIE S MESCHER

Family Tree

Something simple and appley...

     For my anthropology class we were required to create a family tree. I'm not too close to a lot of my family so I kept mine very simple with just first cousins. A lot of my cousins are 25+ years old and are married and have kids so I tried to used different elements to describe different type of family member, i.e. apples as cousins.

    This was a very quick piece, but even so it was good photoshop practice. I am however very proud of my decaying apple and leaves.

Thanks for reading,
    MELANIE S MESCHER

D4M Final: Reel Animation -Post 3-

I Have Everything "Reelized"...

     So this week I concentrated on figuring out the texture and beginning to rig my film strip for animating. I also played around with lighting and creating the text for my name.  

When I was texturing the film strip, I kept running into a problem with the transparency. I couldn't get the alpha to work in the transparency plug-in in the Mia Material X, because in this material the alpha needs to be plugged into the Cutout Opacity. When I figured this out I didn't have any problems with the transparency. 

This is before I figured out the problem

This is after I figured out the texture

    After I figured out the texture I began rigging the film strip. I decided I am going to use the rigging for the first half of the short and then use blend objects for the part when the film strip turns into an "s" shape.

Thanks for reading,

     MELANIE S MESCHER

D4M Final: Reel Animation -Post 2-

Finished Modeling...

      This week I finished modeling the film canister, and played around with the film strip texture. How I went about modeling the canister was working from a a plane rather than a box like I normally do. 

Finished plane of the canister shape

Another Progress shot

Canister with cleaned up geometry

   

        I'm feeling really good about this model, this reminded me just how much I do enjoy modeling. I'm exited for this whole project and to start experimenting with blend shapes, rigging, and just 3D animating in general.

Thanks for reading,

    MELANIE S MESCHER

Computer Animation: Bar Model -Post 14-

Final Lighting images...

A Warm Day

A Cool Night

A Nostalgic Look

A Creepy Sunset Setting

Party Time

     I'm not a big fan of the last two lighting, but we needed to have five moods. The party one was fun to create, and I really like the first three because they look like the bar to me.

Thanks for reading,
     MELANIE S MESCHER

Computer Animation: Bar Model -Post 13-

Some more lighting...

    I'm just messing around with different settings, everything is just trial and error at this point. I also added some colored lighting for a party lighting scene, I want to have.

Thanks for reading,
     MELANIE S MESCHER

   

Music Video

This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race...

This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race - Fall Out Boy from Melanie Mescher on Vimeo.

      I finished my music video using Final Cut Pro X. The song is This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race by Fall Out boy. I'd like to give a special thanks to my actors: Melissa Freeman, Kevin Harkness, and Brianna Parish.

Thanks for Reading,
     MELANIE S MESCHER

Random Progress Post

Have  a lot of projects going on...

     Okay so finals are closing in, and I have a lot of projects to do and to start! I decided to create a post dedicated to all the different projects I am currently working on.  I also created a timeline for the final weeks of this semester.

Here is a WIP shot of my Zombie Illustration Final

Here is what I most recently finished in my bar model: The ceiling

Here is a screenshot of my editing for my music video

    Keep watch for different work in progress for each project.

Thanks for reading,

     MELANIE S MESCHER

D4M Final: Reel Animation -Post 1-

FINALS ARE COMING..

     For my final project in Design For Media, I would like to do a short 10+ second 3D animation. Since I want to do something so short, I decided a animation for my name. I was inspired by Pixar's lamp animation, and how the lamp is part of the word.

 
      So I decided I want to do a classic movie real as the object i want to play around with. I chose a movie reel because I want something that can turn into an "S" and be descriptive of what I do and who I am as an artist. It is a littler predictable, but it is the perfect object for this project.

I also did a simple storyboard for the short, giving an idea of what I want the short to look like.

 Thanks for reading,

    MELANIE S MESCHER

Music Video Teaser

Coming to a blog near you...

    Alright, I am currently editing a music video for the song: "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" by Fall Out Boy. We took a whole day of filming, and I need to get all the edits done by Wednesday. Today, I got really into the editing, and it looks pretty sweet if I do say so myself. It helps when you have great actors: Brianna Parrish, Kevin Harkness, and Melissa Freeman, THANK YOU!

Here's the music video poster:

Thanks for reading,

     MELANIE S MESCHER

Computer Animation: Bar Model -Post 12-

Continued lighting...

     I tested out the final gather on some different shots, and I really liked the effect it had on my shots. Also I finally textured the lamp I had been neglecting. I messed around with the neon signs trying to get the right color and illumination. 

Thanks for Reading,

     MELANIE S MESCHER

Totoro Halloween Costume

Yes Totoro....

    For Halloween my mother, Azile Mescher, and I created my Totoro costume. It took many man hours and attempts to make him. Also to be honest my mother did a lot of the work, because she can sew and I cannot. ANND without further-a-do here is Totoro!

Pictures by Kevin Harkness

    So I hope you enjoyed my costume as much as I did wearing it. He has a permeant residence in my apartment, and he gives great "therapy hugs"

Thanks for reading,

     MELANIE S MESCHER

Computer Animation: Bar Model -Post 11-

Lighting...

    We talked about lighting today in class, so I messed around with it. This of course is just me getting the hang of lighting and seeing what it will do to my model. And let me say, I love what it did to the bar. Just the little lighting makes the bar have so much more life.

   We have to do 5 different lighting situations for this assignment, so I'm thinking I'll do a natural lighting, night lighting, creepy lighting, and studio lighting.

Thanks for reading,
    MELANIE S MESCHER

Project Yoakam Contribution -Post 5-

Final Week...


     Yes we are on our final week! We got a lot done in a little time. Everyone on this project should be proud of the progress they made, and the short we have! Currently the film is going through editing and final touches. Tuesday, for the class we are having a pre-screening of what is done of the final film, and to get final comments from everyone.

     As a personal contribution to the project, I sent out emails like always and made the credit list. I also filled everything out for film festival submissions. For both Flicks Film Festival, Columbus Film Festival and any other film festival we want to enter.

     For the film festival entry information, I used temporary pictures until we have our meeting to decide on our final poster and banner. Also on what would be the best screen shots to use. 

Don't forget to check out the project's blog, to see the final video when it is finished!

Thanks for reading,
    MELANIE S MESCHER