More Sphinx

Messing around in Zbrush, getting reaccustomed to my workflow, re-learning how to transpose....

Forest/ Altar Updates

(Why do these pictures upload in reverse order?!)

Anyways:

The Pedestal for the 4th diorama (with wired light:

The Archway (will be casted 4 times) for the 4th diorama:

Forest with paper mache base in some places:

Big shot of the whole diorama:

Sphinx - Base Mesh

Got some work done tonight on the physical forest and the digitally created critter that will help populate it. Pictures of the base mesh after going from zspheres in Zbrush to Maya, then back to zbrush....

Finally, we don't have morning practice this week. Which means I could work a little later up on North Campus without fear of fatigue's swift retribution the next day. A teaser of how much differently I could/ would structure my life without gymnastics (but do I even want that? Not really, not yet.)

Sketches

A refresher image of Diorama 3 ('Lost Forest' or something like that):

And a quick color study of number 4 ('Prophecy'):

The challenge with number 4 will be combining the serene/ grand/ awe-inspiring nature of the pillars and lighted fountain while creating an aura of anger around the main character. At this stage in the narrative he is very angry and overburdened (note that he himself appears in the central arc).

The Woods begin...

All Student Show

I got the diorama inside the wall, lit, and running off the Arduino program! It will be in the Slusser Gallery on North Campus as part of the All Student Exhibition until December 18th.

Inside the wall (I learned a lot about the installing process with this)

Inside the wall (you can see all the wiring)

Finished piece looking in from the gallery

Gallery Installation in Progress....

Sorry for the lack of updates, but I have nothing to show recently (but will very, very soon).

I'm Figuring out the Arduino, slowly but surely. My issue now is when I have multiple lights plugged in and on at the same time, they get way too dim, as if the power is spread too thinly among them....

The code I wrote for my bedroom lights:

(This code keeps one light one, one light flickering every 10 seconds, and one light flashing every 10 seconds)

int Pin13 = 13;

int Pin12 = 12;

int Pin11 = 11;

// The setup() method runs once, when the sketch starts

void setup() {

// initialize the digital pin as an output:

pinMode(Pin13, OUTPUT);

pinMode(Pin12, OUTPUT);

pinMode(Pin11, OUTPUT);

}

// the loop() method runs over and over again,

// as long as the Arduino has power

void loop(){

digitalWrite(Pin13, HIGH);

while (digitalRead (Pin13) == HIGH) {

digitalWrite(Pin12, HIGH);

delay(10000);

digitalWrite(Pin12, LOW);

delay(50);

digitalWrite(Pin12, HIGH);

delay(150);

digitalWrite(Pin12, LOW);

delay(200);

digitalWrite(Pin12, HIGH);

delay(200);

digitalWrite(Pin11, HIGH);

delay(500);

digitalWrite(Pin11, LOW);

}

}

Arduino

Oh man, just had the most awesome IPiphany (as Kimmy Lennex would say).

I messed around with the Arduino microcontroller and learned that it can function as both a programming system and a straight up battery. My electrical wiring woes are over! Ontop of the fact that I can now just buy a 9V power adapter and not have to worry about wiring it to a 3V LED, I can also, with a little more programming/ circuit knowledge, wire up to 13 LEDS onto this one controller and program them to all do different things. I've gone enough of the tutorials now to understand how to wire 1 light, program it to flash at differing intervals, and wire it through a breadboard with a resistor.

Just wait till I start wiring lights into trees that fade/ flicker/ flash. Epic-ness coming real soon.

3D Sketches

Quick Maya rough mockups of Diorama 4. Dioramas 5-7 will probably come later today (at least number 6) but I am still making some content choices on 5 and 7. These 3D sketches will probably help with that, though....

My two biggest obstacles with my two current dioramas in progress are:

1: Lighting. I still need a better understanding of electricity, wiring a circuit in parallel rather than in series, and a knowledge of resistors so that I can hook a 3V LED to a 12V circuit and not destroy the light.

2: Side panels: With the staircase and the forest, I have a pretty clear vision of the background panel and what that painting looks like to blend in with the 3D environment. But I don't know what to do with the side panels... do I treat it like a stage and just leave them out or paint them a solid color? Do I paint an extension of the environment into them as well? Since they aren't primarily seen when viewing the dioramas, and since perspective can get wacky when viewing 3D and 2D elements from a strange angle, I'm still struggling with how to handle them....

Doorway

Pretty happy with the result... now I have to find a way to give the opening between the two doors an illuminated space. I'm thinking a thin white tissue paper (or something similar) with a small dowel support. How should the doors open to reveal the light on the other side? Slide apart? Swing forward? Swing inward?

And, off topic, but this picture below shows why the University of Michigan is awesome. This is a prescription anti-inflammatory package that I had shipped to me from Missouri. The pharmacist (who I don't know at all) must be a Maize and Blue fan:

Pictures

Pictures (boring and unpainted):

Floor with cracks/ stone carving

Staircase setup with extended piece and backboard

November is freakishly intimidating

My goals:

1. First Diorama finished and presented at student show (Nov 16th).
2. Second Diorama ("Forgotten Door") finished (without case) by Monday, November 9th (currently, I would call it 30% done)
3. Third Diorama ("Wandering Woods") finished (without case) by December 1st
4. Sketches of remaining dioramas presented at faculty reviews.

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I have plaster-sculpted the floor, stairs, stair extension, and door pieces for the second diorama. Main staircase is fully painted. I would have pictures, but I forgot to take my camera into studio. Tomorrow....