And It Keeps On Going...

And so the shading and environment modeling phase begins. IN PRODUCTION. I did a quick test of some shaders for thesis. It's a WIP really. I modeled this prop, and shaded it today.. well, tonight. I'm nocturnal now. So it's 6:50 am, and I think I'll go to sleep soon. I'm really enjoying this thesis project. It's not just a huge senior project we have to get jobs. This is really a story I want to tell, and I am putting all of my best efforts into making this an awesome piece. There's something about creating this world from scratch and developing the characters that really gets me motivated to work constantly. I am loving this.

Steampunk plant:

Concept design by the very talented Zach Brunner.

Shading Test!

Here's a test of my first pass at Brother's shading.

Back to School/Thesis is Production

Well, being at Pixar for the summer exceeded my expectations. It was probably the most incredible summer of my life. I love computer art even more now, which I didn't think was possible. I met the most amazing people, and I am so grateful that I was apart of PUPs 2011 =]. As for school, it's my senior year. Brother is now exiting the pre-pro phase and entering production. This is it! A new story, new previz(which is currently rendering) and new character. There's just something about being able to develop a character from concept to the final rig/animation. Seeing Brother(the name of the character) on screen when my film is finished will be an awesome experience. I'm excited, but nervous to really get into the work. There are only about 190 days left until the due date of thesis, but that is pretty much zero time. Looks like I will have to bust my ass this year.

Brother's base rig/with no pants on



-Sari

Main Character IP

Here's some shots of the main character of Brother. My story direction changed, so now my senior thesis film will be completely 3D animation. As interesting as my live action idea was, I have really grown to love 3D art and that's what I want to focus on. I have my model almost finished. I think the most challenging part of this thesis will be rigging this character, but I'm determined! I am also in the process of drawing story boards and working with the amazing Zach Brunner to develop the environment. Being at Pixar for the summer is incredible, and I'm learning so much. Regardless of the very busy schedule, I really want to work on my thesis as much as possible. So HOPEFULLY by the end of the summer, I will have a previz and animatic of this new story at the least. We will see. Anyway, this model still needs a heart rig in his chest, and some more "brain" gears, but thanks to Zach's awesome concept of "The Humanoid", the model is looking pretty good =]. Although, it did take a while to model and UV. Next up, texture tests!

Internship in California!

SO just an update.

After applying for a few internships this spring, I received an acceptance into the Pixar Undergraduate Program! This is very exciting, not only because it's Pixar, but I get to experience the ultimate creative environment of the Computer Art field. I leave for California in about a week and a half. But, I still need to try to work on thesis as much as possible on my down time. Welp, bye east coast, see you in ten weeks! =]

Also, congrats to a wonderful thesis film called Rabbitkadabra that came out of SVA this year, which made it to the vimeo staff picks page. They worked extremely hard, and it shows. You guys are awesome!



-Sari

Updated 2011 Demo Reel

I re-did my demo reel yesterday, just in time for the end of the school year. Enjoy!



-Sari

Room Composite

I am finally learning how to comp 3D passes in Nuke!



-Sari