A look at episode two

Here's a quick look at episode two of the Grim, now in production.

The Grim: part one, now on youtube

Episode one of the Grim is now on YouTube! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGTu4vO6RYI

The Grim on Youtube

The first episode of "The Grim" will show on Youtube Oct 31st at 7 p.m.  I hope you enjoy it!

Web series?

While sending the first Grim short to festivals and working on the second I've been wondering about different venues for this project. I think I'll look into making this a web-based series.

Grim morning test render

Just finished a test render of the first act of the Grim episode two.  The scene will have fog in the final render which shouldn't take much.  The grass however does take a lot of time but it looks great.  It's nice to see everything start to come together.

Morning scene with moving cloth

Last night I finished one of the first acts scene and completed the cloth simulation.  I had a bit of an issue when Gertrude's arm collided with her vest and caused some strange reactions, but a few adjustments later and I have it all cleared up.  Now on to the next!

All Kickstarter rewards have been sent

With all the Kickstarter rewards sent out, I'm now sending the film to as many festivals as I can.  I'm also checking festival requirements to figure out a time when I can post the film online for everyone to see.

Progress on Gertrude's morning

Continuing work on animating Gertrude's going about her morning in the Grim episode 2.

Need to update more

I'm constantly working on these projects, and because of that it's extremely easy to fall into them and lose track of time.  Because of this I tend to not update often, which I don't like.  I'm hoping to change that and try to work up a discipline to update with anything, even if it's just to say I'm still rendering a scene.  Here's hoping I can get into it!

Good Morning

As a scene from Suicide Friends renders, I'm animating scenes for the second Grim short.  The film opens early in the morning and I want the lighting to reflect that.  Here's a look at the progress of Gertrude from Act 1 of The Grim episode, Hunter.

Heading out

Production is moving fast, certainly faster than the last one.  I'm now animating on weekends and evenings while rendering during the day.  I believe I'm starting to work up a system.  Here's an image form the latest render.

Rendering continues

3 days of rendering 400 frames for one scene.  Ambient occlusion just finished.  Someday I hope to upgrade my system of rendering and animating.

light test

a few light test on the scene.  I like the first one the most.  I don't want to give too much story but she needs to want to go outside, and the house needs to feel quiet, almost dead.  The second feels very staged to me. like a cartoon, at least for inside.  I can see the second as exterior night time lighting.  While the third seems okay, but I'd like more depth in a night shot.  I believe the part of me that loves the night scenes in Batman the animated series is picking at these images.

now with clearer eyes

Making updates after some helpful suggestions. clear eyes

Gertrude lighting render

A render from a scene in the Grim.  I liked the first renders, but I felt like they could still be better, or at least look more solid.  Maybe it's because I'm use to stop motion, but I like CG to look like I can touch what's on screen.  I'm glad I messed with the lighting and rendering early on to get the look I want.  I love the eyes in this render and the ambiance makes me think of films like "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events", which is exactly what I wanted.

Episode two first animations

Here's a first look at animations being done for the second episode of the grim.  This time around Gertrude's hair is being animated through cloth so I just need to run a simulation after completing her body animation.  This is much better than the last model whose hair had to be animated along with the rest of the body through controls on the side.  I hope to post other scenes in progress later, so long as they don't give away anything.

New Grim animtation begins.

Just started animating and rendering scenes for the second Grim film.  After the first short I learned a lot about working with layers like master layers and ambient occlusion.  For this film I'm now using a larger series of render passes including ambient occlusion, depth of field, specular, reflections, and others.

Grim bedroom

The bed sheet cloth physics was an ordeal, but now that I finally got it I'm ready to animate. The first scene will be the ones with the bed sheet so I can get that out of the way.

Grim Props finished.

The last of the props have been made, including the crossbow which is very important in this film.  I'm honestly surprised by how it came out in the final render.  Now, it's time to stat animation.

A comfortable cabin

The cabin has been furnished and lighting has been set.  Now I just need to make 3 main props and Animation can begin.

New cabin interior images.

Some lighting tests in the cabin.

Furnishing the cabin

I just finished furnishing one room.  Now I'm on to the hallway and then the kitchen. After that, I'll do textures, and animation can begin.  This is moving along very fast.

Inside the Cabin

I just finished building the interior of the cabin.  Now I just need to furnish it. Put in some shelves.  Maybe some curtains.  Building these sets remind me of when I was a kid, making houses in my room from foamcore and cardboard.  I don't mean like doll houses, I once made the neighborhood from the peanuts, and another time built Gotham city which included a crime alley between a dresser and a cardboard building, Wayne Tower, and a batcave that I made under my bed.  The city and neighborhood were crude, but I was like 8.  I loved building little worlds and I guess I'm still doing the same thing today.  The only real difference is now I'm not taking up all the walking space in a bedroom to make them.

last detail on the cabin

The last detail of the Cabin has been added (at least the last until I find something I need to add).  A series of trinkets decorate the fence, small animal skulls, crosses and teeth.  These items become important later on in the story.  Now to create the interior.

foggy cabin

Here's the cabin with the fog and depth layer.  Now I just need to add something to the fence (Hanging trinkets that become very important in the storyline).  Otherwise, I believe this is a fair look at how the second short of the Grim will look.  I want the environment to feel cold as winter is coming.  I believe this set has achieved that look.  Also makes me think of Return to Oz (a very good film that i highly recommend), and the color scheme reminds me of Lemony Snicket A series of Unfortunate Events (another good film I highly recommend).

Cabin with background

I rendered out the cabin with the grass and painted a quick background.  this may be a very close look at what the final model will look like.  the background in the final model will most likely be a painted dome as my current computer setup would probably freak out if I attempted to model a huge grassy field and a distant forest.

Grim Cabin, with grass

Using layers and a mask for the grass, I can work on and render the grass without causing too much of a strain on my computer.  I really want to see how far I can take this set.

Cabin test depth and fog

After spending a whole day reviewing rendering and compositing videos, I decided to do more test renders of the cabin.  As I don't have the space to build miniatures this time around, I want to get the digital sets as close to the first shorts miniature as I can.  For this I tried some depth passes and also added fog to simulate the fogged room we used to film the sets for the first film.  There's still more to be built like ground debris and trees, and other render layers will be added to bring the set to life, but I like the results so far.

set building continues

The set for the second short of the Grim continues and the exterior is close to being done. Grass is still needed, but the computer I'm working on is starting to slow from the detail.  I plan to get some upgrades for my computer to create the quality film I'm imagining.  Once the music for the first short is completed, I can add that to the finished short, get all the rewards out with the dvd, and create a campaign to get the upgrades to continue on this set.  I'd use my own money but at this time I'm currently looking for work (preferably full time).  My last contract job ended last month and after trying to catch up with student loans and paying taxes I'm now just bleeding money.  Hopefully I'll find something new soon or I'll get the music for the first short and I can start a new campaign.  The life of a starving artist is something that needs great patience.

Patrick Byrnes

This is the first render of Patrick Byrnes, the father of the main character Gertrude Byrnes.  The model is fully rigged and ready for animation.  the second Grim short will show how protective Patrick is of Gertrude due to the dangerous environment and events from the first short.

Gertrude and Dana

Having some fun with renders and I thought I'd do one with Gertrude from the Grim along with Dana from Suicide Friends.

Gertrude Poses

Here are more poses of the Grim's red riding hood, Gertude Byrnes. The cloth physics of her cloak and skirt are following her moves with no issues so far. Now it's on to co starring characters and then props.

New Gertrude model complete.

The model for the second Grim short is complete.  I've been testing the rig by posing her.  I believe I've ironed out all the issues the last model had.  This one is simpler to move and I've also changed her hand controls from being buttons on the side to controls attached to the finger joints.  This way I can get up close to the fingers to get them in position much like a stop motion puppet, which I'm far more used to.  It also gives me a wider range of hand position (she can make shadow puppets...maybe I'll render a photo of that).

sound effects completed

Sound effects have been completed by Clemens Wijers and applied to the first short of the Grim.  Now all that's needed is music!  a copy of the film with completed sound effects has been sent to composer Ego Plum.

gertrude texture test

testing out subsurface scattering on Gertrude's skin.

Gertrude clothing test

A quick test of cloth dynamics on Gertrude's clothing and to see if it can follow her movements.

Grim sounds underway!

The first Grim short is moving along wonderfully! I received this message from sound designer Clemens Wijers:

I got things going pretty well - already have a good basic
wind sound consisting of three different layers.
I also worked on footsteps of Gertrude and the fox.

Textured cabin

A look at the cabin with textures.  Some work still needs to be done but it's on its way.  taking the time of season the story takes place, I plan to add a little frost to the windows.

First short is nearly to completion

Clemens Wijers has started work on the sound for the first Grim short today!

There's no place like home.

Here's a look at the cabin set (Gertrude's home) for the second Grim short.  A lot of care has been taken to make this set look functional.  There are even hinges on the door.

Gertrude clothing models completed

With the completion of the cloak model, Gertrude's clothing only needs texture and she's ready for animation.  after this it's on to secondary characters (or at least characters that don't need separate models and clothing changes) sets, and props.