Long time no see!

Hey, what's up party people.  So it seems my weekly updates ceased for about two months, but I'm gonna get back to a regular regiment now (seems ideal since the summer is ending, haha).  Anyway, my past couple months have mainly consisted of working on concept sketches of things, starting an animatic for my senior thesis, and just doodling.  I was also part of a collaborative workshop with some French students from EESI (animation project involving some EESI students and a bunch of UArts folk).  That turned out well enough and took up three weeks of my life.

Sad enough to say I don't have that much really to post despite being gone for so long.  Here's a little doodle I posted up on the Facebook a little while ago.  Just wanted to practice some foreshortening and textures.

Here's a digi-piece I started working on for a friend of mine, based off Mario Bandstand.  It's still a sketch, but I intend to clean up and color it sometime in the near future.

I was inspired slightly by Portal for this one... this one is also not finished, but figured it might be worth posting anyway.

Anyway, that's all for now.  Expect rough storyboards next week for my senior film.  Adieu!

3D Modeling, some ideas

Hey it's Wednesday, so that means update!  Unfortunately, I don't have too much to update on.  I'm working on a 3D model of Espio right now, which I am hoping to have done by next week (at least modeling it; texturing will probably be the week after).

Here he is so far:

I also have been working out the script for my senior thesis.  I explained it before, but I plan on having that done by next week, as well as some rough boards for it.  I've been looking around for inspiration regarding medium.  I want to try my hand at some more toon shading, especially if I decide on doing 2D, flash based animation with CGI backgrounds.

Aside from that, not much else is going on.  It's been a bit of a slower week, as last week I was pulling together my reel.  I do have prototypes for a business card.

I have to put my email and such on to it, but that's what I want it to look like.

Well, I should have more to show next time.  Adios!

Demo Reel and other stuffs

Well, as I said I would, I put together my demo reel now.

http://vimeo.com/24533216

 I will continue to make revisions to it, but here is my first completed demo reel.  Hopefully I will have a 3D modeling reel up in the future (once I have more work to show) but this is just so I can show others what i can do as far as character animation and techniques.

Also, I figured I'd post some still artwork here.  Here are some turnarounds of my character Monsieur Craux (a crocodilian waiter).

Original Design

Winsor McCay Style

1930s Rubberhose Style

 1950s UPA Style

1990s "Rocko's Modern Life" Style

That's all for now.  Still working on pre-production work for my senior thesis, and seeing what internships (if any) I can still apply to.  Otherwise I'll just be doing work on the side and personal stuff.

So I think I will updated every Wednesday.  Does that sound cool?  It's hump day, so might as well.

As you can see, I made a new logo for my blog.  Let me know what you think (I do plan on going back and fixing it up, just got lazy towards the end).

I don't really have much new to post, but for those that have seen my Zombie Amish film, I used charcoal backgrounds for a little bit more of a gritty texture.  Here are some of the better ones, I feel.

Amish homes, etc.

Side of the road

In town

Tollbooth

Well, I think this will be a rather short post.  I plan to have my demo reel up and moving by next post, as well as a working logo for my work.  My goal is to have at least one finished piece of work every week, even if it's just a still drawing.  Here's a little cartoony drawing to end on.  Happy days!

Future projects

Hey all, just sharing my thoughts and ideas with the blogging front.  Probably in the next few days or a week, I'm going to start boarding an idea for my senior thesis.  It will involve two characters of mine, Pan and Callisto (brother and sister), and I plan on going for some trippy, psychological stuff in my piece (as well as a bit of dialogue).  Anyway, I'll pop it by periodically to see if I can get feedback.

As far as other things go, I'm working at the school, and hopefully in downtime, can work on other projects on the side.  Definitely plan on doing some test animation (2D and 3D), practicing modeling techniques, and general drawing/concept art.

Also, here's a link to my junior piece, if you care to look.  I'm not sure who all sees this page, but check it out!  I'll be posting up a demo reel soon as well, so that will be something else.
http://www.vimeo.com/23783518

New blog

Hey all.  My name is Sam Troyer and this is my first time having a blog of sorts (unless you count Xanga or any of those odd social networking sites from past times;  I guess they were ahead of their time).  I mainly just want to have an outlet to post my work, maybe reach out to fellow bloggers and share interesting stories of mine.  Hopefully I won't leave this by the wayside like I have so many other websites.

Here's a link to my vimeo account.  This is where I'll post most of my film and animation work, so I'll just link to this when something updates.   I just recently finished my junior animation piece called The Zombie Amish.  Anyway, you can check it out for yourself, it's all there!

In the meantime, while I wait to get more of my work up here, have a look at this bathroom I modeled in Maya.