In the coming months I will be collaborating with a 2D character/animator to create a character who they have designed and animated in 2D, I will model and rig it and they will take back to animate.  As a matter of fact, the character has already been animated so we know where we’re headed.  We are attempting to reproduce some of the 2D animation, but plan on leveraging the possibilities afforded by going 3D.  For me, it’s a chance to do some work that rewards me by getting into a character that I know will work.  It also has the potential to get the attention of clients who might employ us to keep going.  Second only to having fun making stuff in 3D, making money at it is the goal.

So, as soon as we reveal our work to the potential client, I will begin posting our work.

- Modeling lesson - “Adding a door to the dungeon”

On Saturday, we had another full house. All eight seats were taken and the night was packed with “3D goodness”. This time I wasn’t surprised when the final hour rolled around and we hadn’t started talking about animation yet. Having learned from the first workshop back at the beginning of May, I decided to split up the topics a little so that we weren’t just talking about the UI most of the night, but instead coming back to it again and again as we delved into the other topics, modeling and animation.

There were some people we got stuck here and there and that was to be expected. Expecting to understand everything in just under four hours, even the basics, is a tall order. So if any of you that were there are reading this now, go easy on yourselves, you did well, considering. Still, I believe that the original goal of the workshop was met, that is, I wanted to introduce Maya to people who have never really sat done and tried to make something with it. And to those that have attempted to make sense of it, the workshops were meant to help them break through to the next level where they became truly capable of solving there own problems.

Having a tool whereby you can bring to reality (at least on screen) anything your imagination can conceive is truly a gift to behold.

The workshops being, far from perfect, I will still continue on to the final installment in two weeks time and strive to hone the lesson plan even further with the hopes that they can deliver on its promises.