Evolving
Hey everyone!
Welcome to 2024!
Last year, my blog felt like a never-ending showcase of spheres, but this year, I'm ready to branch out.
From Spheres to the Unknown
You know when you have so many ideas that they keep you up at night? That's been me lately. I've decided to let those ideas flow freely here, transforming this blog from a simple sketchbook into a canvas for all my concepts.
The Big Six
Currently, I'm playing around with six different concepts. The order's still up in the air, but the journey of bringing each concept to life has been shaping up to be exciting.
A New Chapter with Unreal and Houdini
I've been getting into Unreal Engine and Houdini, using Houdini Engine, as I’m sure you already know … it's been a game-changer. Transferring my concept art into these platforms breathes new life into my ideas, giving them a whole new dimension.
Amping Up My Workflow
I've also been incorporating some new tools into my workflow. ChatGPT/Bard/Hugging Face have been like my new team of coworkers, offering fresh perspectives. Then there's Skycreator in my Unreal scenes – they've been making my creations more vibrant and detailed. And don't get me started on the Nuke Bridge to Unreal; it's like the missing piece I never knew I needed.
This blog isn't just a showcase of finished pieces; it's a documentary of my creative process. I want to share the highs, the lows, and everything in between. So here's to a year of new challenges, learning, and hopefully, some interesting lessons!
FLOODED SUBWAY CAR
(UNREAL ENGINE & HOUDINI)
NYC SUBWAY circa early 2000s
CONCEPT ART/STYLEFRAME
This started as an excuse to use a Niagara water system in Unreal/Houdini. I was really stuck on why I would care. obviously one day I’m on the subway and … The Skycreator plugin for Unreal gives you the ability to play with different weather conditions and so it all started funneling into this project. Ha!
WORK IN PROGRESS > RETEXTURE RELIGHT NIAGARA UE
Subway Model from UE Marketplace > Dekagon Studios
OLD WEST /NORTHWOOD
(UNREAL ENGINE & HOUDINI)
CONCEPT ART/STYLEFRAME
Pretty straightforward this is taking a western town and play with some references from Sergio Leone Spaghetti western movies then seeing how far I can push the look and feel. After studying “Once upon a time in the west” I really enjoyed the close and long shots. SO, the plan is to play with that and find excuses to exaggerate the lighting.
(Above) ROUGH WALK THROUGH OF CAMERAS > UNREAL ENGINE 5.3
(Above) WIP RENDERS FROM UNREAL ENGINE 5.3
Scene from UE Marketplace - DEKOGON Studios
SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE
CITY BUILDING IN HOUDINI - REBELWAY
(HOUDINI PROCEDURAL MODEL) (HOUSE/CITY)
CONCEPT ART/STYLEFRAME
HOUDINI PROCEDURAL WORKFLOW
I’ve been taking a procedural modeling class with Rebelway called “City building”. Its been a great class and I’ve learned a hell of a lot more of way to build and approach proceduralism in Houdini. Why does a lighting artist need to take a modeling class. Procedural approaches can be used all across Houdini and knowing more of the pipeline just makes me a stronger artist.
ALIEN PLANTS/JELLY CREATURES
(HOUDINI)
Morphing Alien sea creatures in an old growth forest.
CONCEPT ART/STYLE FRAMES
This concept evolved over time as like half concept half dream half stew. I had a series of style frames with Jellyfish since I really want to work with translucent characters in Houdini and USD. So I was also interested in forests and old growth forests so I pull it all in the stew. I brought the concepts together in Midjourney and I’m digging how they look. The plan is to make one or three and create variants of those to populate the forest in different ways.
BEETLE VIVARIUM
(HOUDINI)
CONCEPT / STYLEFRAMES
Who doesn’t love the Beatles, I mean the Beetles. I’m obsessed with Entomology but from a distance. I wanted to build a virtual habitat and have an excuse to use TOPS in Houdini to add variation to a Beetle model. So with the addition of PDG and PCG in Houdini/UNREAL I think this could be an interesting project. I really like the short video below but I found it weird the artist created an amazingly elaborate stage with no actors. So the actors I’m interested are the Beetles.
REFERENCE BELOW OF A SHORT CALLED VIRTUAL RAIN GARDEN
PLANTS & MUSHROOMS
PLANTS & MUSHROOMS CONCEPT ART
Midjourney/Photoshop
I recently saw a documentary by the author Michael Pollen about mushrooms and mycelium. I’ve been reading about L-Systems in Houdini to build plant life. At the same time I was watching Junichiro Horikawa discuss the art of Algorithmic Design and the “Space Colonization Algorithm” which is like an amazing way to represent organic structures. I’m excited to work more in 2024 with organic structures in Houdini 20.
Thank you for visiting this page and Happy New Year!
