I don’t want to do a poster here, but I tried adding some text to a production still. “From the scrapbook of a b-movie robot impersonator” or “Memories of a b-movie robot actor” or something like it. What do you think of it? And of the handwritten font? Or should I try a typewriter effect?
Gotta say I prefer the black and white. Makes it all seem older. I think the handwriting is good but it doesnt seem old. Maybe smudge parts of it a bit so you can give it an aged look. If you are going for an aged look than also overlay a crinkled paper texture or folds onto it too. I think it would add to the story, just dont go overboard with em hah.
OK Ralph, I like what you have done. Can you smooth out the gradation banding in the cast light it’s apparent behind the Robot. Also some 2D softening of some of the light rays. And perhaps tone down the light behind the robot so he stands out better? Almost there!
Before I upload the black and white final I wanted to submit the colour version at least as a wip. So here you are.
Memories of a robot actor
A homage to b-movie robots, their designers and the actors insde the robots.
The last robot actor ballad
(after ‘The last gunfighter ballad’ as performed by Johnny Cash)
The old robot actor stood on the porch and stared into the sun
And relived all the old days back when he was acting in his suit
When silly films of science were shot, not caring for mistakes they made
And the thought of the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
The thought of the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
And it’s alway ‘keep your robot suit on’
And he can almost feel the weight of that thing
It’s slower than snails or a horse that is dead
But it’s a time for even slower men to die
His eyes get squinty and he’s straight as a log
And he points his ray gun at the dirty dog
And he’s hit by the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
He’s hit by the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
Now the alien robots are fully cg
And he’s back in his chair in front of the bar
And his suit’s rusting and the sweat’s all dried
The props are dust and the studio’s closed
So buy him a drink and lend him an ear
As an ex-killer robot he’s the only one here
Who remembers the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
Remembers the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
Said I played that robot before there was cg
I learned to finish all the shots before I had to pee
And I did it all for the money and the fame
Noble was nothing but feelin’ no shame
The wages were low but paying the bills
And all that I learned from long days at the set
Was to curse the smell in my old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that I had to chase
Curse the smell in my old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that I had to chase
Now he’s just an old man that nobody believes
Says he a robot actor, the last of his breed
And there are fans of his films not knowing his name
And he’s missing his old b-movie days
He’s down in the basement now watching his tapes
And he’s falling asleep as the first movie starts
And he dreams of the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
Dreams of the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
Software: 3ds max,GIMP,mental ray,Vue
Memories of a robot actor
A homage to b-movie robots, their designers and the actors insde the robots.
The last robot actor ballad
(after ‘The last gunfighter ballad’ as performed by Johnny Cash)
The old robot actor stood on the porch and stared into the sun
And relived all the old days back when he was acting in his suit
When silly films of science were shot, not caring for mistakes they made
And the thought of the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
The thought of the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
And it’s alway ‘keep your robot suit on’
And he can almost feel the weight of that thing
It’s slower than snails or a horse that is dead
But it’s a time for even slower men to die
His eyes get squinty and he’s straight as a log
And he points his ray gun at the dirty dog
And he’s hit by the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
He’s hit by the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
Now the alien robots are fully cg
And he’s back in his chair in front of the bar
And his suit’s rusting and the sweat’s all dried
The props are dust and the studio’s closed
So buy him a drink and lend him an ear
As an ex-killer robot he’s the only one here
Who remembers the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
Remembers the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
Said I played that robot before there was cg
I learned to finish all the shots before I had to pee
And I did it all for the money and the fame
Noble was nothing but feelin’ no shame
The wages were low but paying the bills
And all that I learned from long days at the set
Was to curse the smell in my old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that I had to chase
Curse the smell in my old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that I had to chase
Now he’s just an old man that nobody believes
Says he a robot actor, the last of his breed
And there are fans of his films not knowing his name
And he’s missing his old b-movie days
He’s down in the basement now watching his tapes
And he’s falling asleep as the first movie starts
And he dreams of the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
Dreams of the smell in his old robot suit
And the screams of the girls that he had to chase
Texture maps: Some images from cgtextures.com were modified, mixed and used in the textures for the graves, the mausoleum and the paper border. I used Vue for the ground and background maps.
Fonts: Free fonts Rabiohead and Times New Yorker were used for the grave inscriptions and the text beneath the image.
For the names on the graves please see post #35.
If you want to sing along or compare lyrics you can listen to Johnny Cash performing Last Gunfighter Ballad at last.fm
That’s great! really nice man. I love the black and white. It looks like a photo and the robot is very b-movie! Congratulations!
Hey Ralph,
Cool image, like the idea of the photo on B&W, puts a nostalgic touch on the concept, really nice.
The robot has a great B-Movie style for sure 
Congratulations for this nice work. Good luck! Cheers!! 
Thank you all very much!
I’m glad I finished this. It was a great learning experience, not only doing the image, but getting comments from others, reading other threads and watching the progress of all the great entries here.
@korendo: Now, after some sleep, I have my doubts about the written story. I hope at least some people know the orignal song or listen to it, otherwise my version doesn’t make much sense.
hehe, I love the ufo’s projecting their shadow in the sky paper, your image is full of that kind of cheesy details that make it completely on-topic! … I haven’t watched any full b movie, but your cemetery reminds me a lot to the one they have in Ed Wood (the movie by Tim Burton) …the cemetery mood just screams b-movie! 
I like it a lot. You’d have needed some more time, the same as we all. But it looks very good.
Congratulations.
Sorry I commented on your image too late 
I commented earlier when you had it in color and I’m happy to see you chose the B/W version. I love the shadow from the saucers hanging on a string on the backdrop.
I know it’s too late to change the image but I think it looks too clean. I think some graininess that is characteristic of an older photo or maybe even dirtied up - might have added a lot. Not too late to do it for your gallery 
Great image and idea. Good luck!!
@elmasfeo: Thanks! Making the stage and props this obvious was a main goal. And yes, Ed Wood’s cemetary in Plan 9 From Outer Space was the main inspiration here (I haven’t seen the Tim Burton movie, though, just the original).
@davidramonilustracion: Thanks! Yeah, more time would have been nice - on the other hand I my tired body was happy that the challenge was over
I still wanted to do a hand emerging from the grave next to the robot, grabbing his ankle for some extra drama. But I was glad that I hadn’t started to model something which I couldn’t finish or render in time.
@mdmodeler: Don’t worry and thanks for commenting! You’re probably right. I thought about grain and stains, but was afraid to overdo these effects, and there wasn’t enough time to experiment at leisure (and maybe get a good night’s sleep and look at it again before the deadline). So now it’s an old picture in prime condition (collectors take note!)
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