Introduction to Maya - Modeling Fundamentals Vol 1
This course will look at the fundamentals of modeling in Maya with an emphasis on creating good topology. We'll look at what makes a good model in Maya and why objects are modeled in the way they are.
# 1 28-02-2008 , 07:07 PM
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My showreel

Hello folks,

I'm approaching the end of my university course, part of which was to produce a showreel to send to prospective employers. If you want you can take a look at it in Youtube land, just follow the link......

CLICK THIS TO WATCH MY SHOWREEL

Also for anyone who missed it in my WIP thread here's a link to my final year animation.......

CLICK THIS TO WATCH DEATH:Nell

I hope you enjoy them and, as always, any thoughts are always appreciated.

Cheers,

Mat

# 2 28-02-2008 , 07:25 PM
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These are awesome!
I like the "war of the worlds" part in the showreel. user added image

# 3 28-02-2008 , 08:00 PM
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Looks cool man!

What area do you want to get into?


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# 4 28-02-2008 , 11:14 PM
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Thanks guys.

Steve: I want to get into animation really but there's some stiff competition out there.

At this stage I'll be happy if I'm employed shortly after I finish my course. I've been looking around at jobs but mostly employers are asking for experienced animators with a couple of titles under their belts. All I can do is send out my showreel and hope for the best I guess.

If you happen to spot anything that you think would suit, please let me know about it.

Cheers,

Mat.

# 5 29-02-2008 , 05:15 AM
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i like oyur intro thing, where the lamp gets crushed
i didnt know you were from bradford (or that they did a course in this for that matter)
thats a nice animation youre got therei like the maya live stuff in the showreel

# 6 29-02-2008 , 03:48 PM
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Thanks elephantic,

I'm in Sheffield but go to Bradford university, they do a BA (hons) course in computer animation (which I'm on) and a BSC (hons) equivalent called computer animation and special effects (CASFX for short).

The UFO shot in my showreel isn't Maya live, the original plate was a still camera shot so no match moving was required. I added the movement in After Effects when I had finished the compositing to make it a bit more dynamic..... it also hides some issues with the effect masks.

You can see the whole UFO animation by clicking the link to my site and going to the animation gallery.

Take it easy,

Mat.

# 7 04-03-2008 , 04:05 PM
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Hey Mat,

Looks absolutely great there mate, glad you finished the death; nell movie.
Good overall story, modeling and animation, there was one minor thing i personally would have liked better and that is that when the bug hits the window the camera stays in the same position for a while and death moves in looking at the dead bug while scrabbling in his notebook, but that's just personal taste.

Regarding your showreel;
- the intro starts off fine with a camera rotating around your name, but then it sort off jumps to the right and up, i personally didn't like that very much, i think it would be a lot better that you would zoom in and let your name dissolve or something like that, or just fade to black(simple is best mostly).
- It isn't entirely clear which job you want, your reel looks like that one off a studio or freelancer not as someone who wants a job in a specific area; modeler, animator, vfx artist etc.
If you have enough material for al of those area's i would make three separate reels.

And i wouldn't worry much about that they are asking people with titles under their belt, this is mostly to scare off people who don't believe they are cut out be in that position or just the ones with crappy reels, so once you refined your reel(s), i think it's save for you to apply for those jobs.....

Best regards,

Martin

# 8 05-03-2008 , 09:43 AM
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Martin,

thanks for the kind words.

I thought about having DEATH appear in the ward as the moth hit but upon trying it I wasn't happy with how it looked. Who knows, perhaps I'll go back and have another bash at it in the future.

I understand where you're coming from about my showreel not specifying one particular field. I probably do have enough work to make 3 seperate reels each showing their own specialty, unfortunately I'm pretty bogged under with the rest of my university work at the moment but once I've got everything handed in I'll set to and make them.

and

Thanks for the vote of confidence about not having to worry about previous experience, it's difficult not to be a bit apprehensive though.

Cheers again,

Mat.

# 9 06-03-2008 , 10:01 PM
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missed this one mat, looking good user added image
I like the morphing blob into the phone, very cool

Is this a general showreel or are you aiming it at a specific audience/job?

Simon


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# 10 07-03-2008 , 04:29 AM
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Cheers Si,

the phone thing is really a mango that turns into a media player but I'll let you off with that one! You can see the whole clip on my site under the animation gallery or in teeny tiny mode on the reddmango VX435 microsite......

HERE (click the "play video" button)

As for the showreel, it's a general one. Mastone suggested that I make seperate ones to highlight each area I'm capable in.... Animation, Modelling and Composite..... which seems like a very good idea.

Take it easy,

Mat.

# 11 07-03-2008 , 05:32 PM
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Hi Mat,

I saw your stills and your mango animations on your website.....
...trust me , you"ll find a decent job , probably at entry level at first.

I only suggest you remove a couple of the block -characters just to get an overall balance in your portfolio(keep the resevoir blocks thing though).

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# 12 08-03-2008 , 03:32 AM
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Thanks again for the positive feedback,

I have no misconceptions that I'll be starting at any other place than entry level when I do eventually find a job...... but even at entry level I'll still be getting more money than I am as a student!!

I'm redesigning my website at this very moment and will definately leave a couple of the cube people out of the new stills gallery, I've got plent of newer stuff to replace them with so it shouldn't be a problem.

Cheers,

Mat.

# 13 13-03-2008 , 04:11 AM
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happymat!! can't believe i missed this thread! really awesome work there mate - it's so cool to see all the stuff you've been working on for the last few years - very inspiring - i loved the bit where you showed the ufo being composited into the shot - the gorrliaz music fit well and all of the shots were well balanced, i didn't get the sense of it starting off good and getting weaker like you see in demo reels - it all looked good! user added image

ha! you are definitely going to find work - don't worry - they always say you need experience - it doesn't mean anything.

great job mate! looking forward to seeing what's next!
user added image user added image user added image


Last edited by arran; 13-03-2008 at 06:52 AM.
# 14 13-03-2008 , 06:16 AM
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your work is awesome, I just finally saw the death of nell video, I somehow missed it in your WIP thread, great job.

# 15 13-03-2008 , 06:31 AM
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haven't been able to see the video yet (can't watch youtube stuff <sigh> but if you do post it on your site i'll catch it there), but as far as the still images of the hospital interior, i get the sense that you're trying to set a mood with the lighting, and i was wondering if you could get a more eerie mood if you were to brighten the lights coming from the hospital equipment and have them add a slight glow to nearby things... i guess after seeing the model of death i couldn't help but think of the underworld in corpse bride, and the lighting on those dead dudes was pretty cool and sometimes foreboding...


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