Wednesday, September 11, 2013

BFA Contract

Of the many types and genres of digital art to use for my BFA piece, I will make a 3D-animated short. I feel that an animation would best show the story I want to tell, as there is much movement between characters and transitions between scenes. Of course, being an animation, there is only one part in the piece.

The story of this animation tells of a man who, looking for refuge from life, visits an enigmatic merchant in the middle of a barren desert. The merchant agrees to give the man such refuge, but only in exchange for the light the man holds, of which is from his heart. But before the exchange is made, the merchant warns the man that once the exchange is made, there "are no refunds." The merchant then shows the man previous events involving people who were in the same situation as the man, and what became of them. The power of choice and the value of life are what will ultimately decide the man's fate.

The animation will be done using 3D software, such as Autodesk Maya. The style, however, will be that of a comic book or graphic novel, such as cross-hatching for shadows, the merchant character's use of panels and borders to show the man past experiences, and possibly cel-shade-like outlines. And as with certain comics, the animation will be in black and white. Narrative-wise, the story will be told in a poetic style. The voice-acting will only be the narrator, as the characters will only "speak" by what the narrator reads in the poem.

The final format of the exhibition will include the animation on DVD and to be played through projector onto the wall. The reason for this being that the projection would be an emulation of the "light" that the man character has from his heart. The projector will be mounted on a table with a black-colored cloth. There will also be an additional, larger table with another black-colored cloth for my production bible, of which will have the face of the merchant on its front cover. This set-up will emulate the scenario as if the people in the audience are visiting the merchant themselves.

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR PRODUCTION:
- Autodesk Maya 2013/14
- Adobe Photoshop CS5/6
- Adobe After Effects CS5/6
- Wacom Tablet

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR POST-PRODUCTION:
- Option for Projector
- Option for Monitor
- DVD for Animation
- 1 Table
- 1 Sheets Black Tablecloth
- Speakers for Audio

MISCELANEOUS:
-Access to MacLab and PC Lab

LAYOUT

And the audience will be seated in the diagonal row of seats.

UPDATE: There will not be a "production bible," nor a table for it.

Happy drawing!

-Aaron Martin


PROGRESS CALENDER


Thursday, September 5, 2013

To my viewers,

I would like to tell you a little bit more of what I do with the art I make...

Of all areas in digital arts, I consider digital imaging to be my primary medium. I have grown more familiar to the Photoshop program then I have any other program, mostly due to having worked on images both in-class and on my free-time. I have made mostly solitary images of characters and comic pages, and will continue to do so.



However, I have, from time to time, ventured into other mediums, such as glass and alternative-surface prints.







My style features a variety of different attributes, depending on which "story" I work on. Some are stylized characters with more lighthearted personalities, while others are darker and more realistic. I do not just draw my characters for show, though. Even with solitary pieces, I tend to give the piece a specific theme or idea behind it, whether it be through the use of color and or the expressions of characters and scenery alike.





An artist whose works I find to be similar, in a sense, to what I make is Bobby Chiu. Though his pieces pay more attention to detail, he uses his style and content to make each piece and its contents either light-hearted or dark. From odd creatures with goofy expressions to shadowy monsters, Chiu's style can go either direction and still fit the tone.

This is only a little taste of what is to come! Or may I make a piece or two unlike what I have done before?

Happy drawing!

-Aaron Martin 

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

WELCOME One and All!

Hello! My name is Aaron Martin. I am currently attending Bowling Green State University, majoring in Digital Arts. In my time in college thus far, I have taken a liking to multiple forms of art, including Digital Imaging, 3D Modeling and animation as well as, to a certain extent, traditional animation.

Career-wise, I have been aiming to work on comic books and graphic novels. I even have my own cast of characters ready to show their stuff in many different adventures! Inspired by the movies, shows, video games and other forms of entertainment I have experienced during my childhood, I strive to tell my own stories that many would want me to tell again. I ultimately want to give newer generations
stories and characters that they will hold dear to them for years to come, and then to pass it on to their children.

To all artists new and old, my story of art here will unfold.

Happy drawing (or sculpting, modeling, painting, etc.)!

-Aaron Martin