gardnerwatts
10-01-2006, 05:10 AM
Hey everyone.
A little history for those of you who havent seen my W.I.P. thread: My name is Gardner Watts, and I am a student at the DAVE School.
A long time ago I had an idea of how cool a crossover between Kill Bill and Star Wars would be. I think it was right when the first Kill Bill movie came out. I remember the shot from the trailers when Uma was surrounded by the Crazy 88, and thought how cool that shot would be if everyone had a lightsaber. I was praying for something awesome like that in episode 3 (which was still like a year away at that point). That is when the seeds were planted for this whole project. I never expected it to be anything more than something in my head.
Then about a year and half later I started getting into 3D. I instantly fell in love with the medium and began to think that I finally found an outlet for all my kooky ideas. While looking at 3D schools, I found the DAVE School. I was impressed with the resumes of the faculty, and the overall vibe I got from the school. And I LOVED their minimate short Batman: New Times.
I wanted to do a minimate/lego short like that. And my Kill Vader idea seemed perfect for that style.
So I started the school in January and about mid-feburary I was able to start modeling. That lasted until late April. I would just do a model here and there after class and on weekends. Whenever I wasnt too busy.
Then I took about a two month break from it and concentrated just on school work. In July I got back on track and moving again. I did all the animation between mid-July and a week ago. I really wanted to get this finished by last week, because we just started our "block 4" group project, which I knew would command most (if not all) of my attention and free time.
It was alot of work, and I had to kind of rush some of the animation in the last few days, but overall I am very pleased with the way it turned out.
I made all the models and did all the texturing, lighting and animation myself. I had help with some of the more technical aspects (rigging, random trobleshooting) from fellow classmate Chris Peterson and grad/T.A. Ed McDonough. Also, I couldnt have done it if not for all of my instructors at the school. I came in having never touched lightwave, so anything I have done since, is a result of their training. So thanks to all of them, and everyone at the school who showed an interest while I was working on it (for helping to keep me motivated).
While I am dishing out thanks, thanks again to 'Proton' for helping me get these files online.
So without further adue (yeah, I know, I ramble sometimes), I present Kill Vader:
Large Version (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/kb/Kill_Vader_Large.mov)
Small Version (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/kb/Kill_Vader_small.mov)
Comparison Version (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/kb/KV_Comparision_LG.mov)
- a side-by-side comparison of the real Kill Bill trailer and my short. ** This has been very popular with people I've shown it to. Even moreso than the actual short.
Please let me know what you think. I appreciate any kind of feedback. Thanks in advance.
A little history for those of you who havent seen my W.I.P. thread: My name is Gardner Watts, and I am a student at the DAVE School.
A long time ago I had an idea of how cool a crossover between Kill Bill and Star Wars would be. I think it was right when the first Kill Bill movie came out. I remember the shot from the trailers when Uma was surrounded by the Crazy 88, and thought how cool that shot would be if everyone had a lightsaber. I was praying for something awesome like that in episode 3 (which was still like a year away at that point). That is when the seeds were planted for this whole project. I never expected it to be anything more than something in my head.
Then about a year and half later I started getting into 3D. I instantly fell in love with the medium and began to think that I finally found an outlet for all my kooky ideas. While looking at 3D schools, I found the DAVE School. I was impressed with the resumes of the faculty, and the overall vibe I got from the school. And I LOVED their minimate short Batman: New Times.
I wanted to do a minimate/lego short like that. And my Kill Vader idea seemed perfect for that style.
So I started the school in January and about mid-feburary I was able to start modeling. That lasted until late April. I would just do a model here and there after class and on weekends. Whenever I wasnt too busy.
Then I took about a two month break from it and concentrated just on school work. In July I got back on track and moving again. I did all the animation between mid-July and a week ago. I really wanted to get this finished by last week, because we just started our "block 4" group project, which I knew would command most (if not all) of my attention and free time.
It was alot of work, and I had to kind of rush some of the animation in the last few days, but overall I am very pleased with the way it turned out.
I made all the models and did all the texturing, lighting and animation myself. I had help with some of the more technical aspects (rigging, random trobleshooting) from fellow classmate Chris Peterson and grad/T.A. Ed McDonough. Also, I couldnt have done it if not for all of my instructors at the school. I came in having never touched lightwave, so anything I have done since, is a result of their training. So thanks to all of them, and everyone at the school who showed an interest while I was working on it (for helping to keep me motivated).
While I am dishing out thanks, thanks again to 'Proton' for helping me get these files online.
So without further adue (yeah, I know, I ramble sometimes), I present Kill Vader:
Large Version (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/kb/Kill_Vader_Large.mov)
Small Version (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/kb/Kill_Vader_small.mov)
Comparison Version (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/kb/KV_Comparision_LG.mov)
- a side-by-side comparison of the real Kill Bill trailer and my short. ** This has been very popular with people I've shown it to. Even moreso than the actual short.
Please let me know what you think. I appreciate any kind of feedback. Thanks in advance.