The End

IndieGoGo.com - Fundraising

2011-06-05T15:39:00.007-04:00

What a big surprise, right?

It takes time and money to create something even as ambitious as a 5-7 minute animated film short.

Alas, career, family and life always seem to take priority over the things that really matter: Making cool stuff.

So, if you'd like to donate to the cause, just click on Morty right there, below.

Anyway, this is a project that has been dear to myself and my friend Joe Lalich when we originally brainstormed the idea back in '05. It just sits there in the attic of our atrophied brains, hoping to one day see the light of day. Every now and then, we'd peek into this dusty box, and let out a sigh of "if only we didn't have to sleep, we could finish this". Later, when I got to know Lee Ehlers, a screenwriter and comedian who can cut through BS like butter, he took a stab at writing a screenplay which added some new crucial elements, gags and characters that vaulted it to the next level. Like a ninja, he showed me how important this step is in developing even a non-verbal, gag-based animation by silently re-crafting the story, and chucking it into my frontal-lobe like a throwing-star.

That said, the silver-lining is that all of our collective talents, abilities and resources (software / hardware) at our disposal has grown exponentially over the last 5 years, and will only go into making this short much more feasible and better looking. All we need is a few bucks to buy some time for ourselves to finally put the lid on this thing, and let the world see what's been rattling around in our heads for so long. We really can't wait for everyone to see. We love this stuff, and only have bigger, more impossible ideas to haunt us afterwords.

If you'd like to give anything, your help would be invaluable.

Thank you,

-Kevin Capizzi

Who needs Viagra?

2010-09-08T11:43:00.003-04:00

Good news baby birds, Morty's back! After a brief three year hiatus, your favorite faux geriatric protagonist is ready for his time in the lime light. And he's brought a fresh face with him.

Award-winning screenwriter (and handsome lothario) Lee Ehlers, is joining "The End" team. Lee noticed a few holes in the script and has replaced them with hilarious action, whitty banter, and all around eye-popping gags. Believe me when I say that Lee is easily the most talented human being I have ever met. If I was a hot chick with giant cans I would want to bed wrestle him IMMEDIATELY.

More news later, but I just thought that our legion of fans would be excited to hear the new haps.

Do You Smell Urine?

2007-07-14T09:48:00.000-04:00

Yup. We're back. No more promises on progress, but I can tell you that I am no longer tethered to a day job, and have a good thing going working from home. I'm still as busy as hell, but maybe this will allow me to more easily find areas to work on The End.

What we have here is more progress on Morty's hospital room. I still need to model several props to fill his room up with, play with the somber lighting a little more, texture a little more and then I should be ready for some REAL animation. This clip is rendered at half resolution, and I've compromised some render quality for speed, so you'll see some flickering and all that, but rest assured, the final render will be lovely.

More to come soon, as I'm going to work some more right now.

I've Got Good News and Bad News...

2006-09-06T12:35:00.000-04:00

Which do you want first? The bad news? Good call.

Well, the bad news is that right now, at this very instant, the Sun is peeling off about a quazillion little nuclei known as cosmic radiation. Eight minutes later, after barreling at the speed-of-light through the inky depths of space, these so-called "cosmic rays" blow right through your body, like so much buckshot blowing through Harry Whittington's face from Dick Cheney's gun. So what, you say? I'll tell you so what: Right now these particles are trying to break free the nucleotides in your DNA and give you cancer, or turn you into the next evolutionary step. Go ahead, eat all the anti-oxidants you can... but these free-radicles are here, they're queer, so we better get used to them. Sure, it's OLD news... but it's still BAD news.

What's the good news you ask?
I'm gonna start production up on The End next week.

Have a nice day.

Welcome 3D Attack readers!

2006-08-22T15:48:00.000-04:00

Hey all, just wanted to thank you for stopping by. Of course you're free to look around, this IS the internet, after all... but I promise the best is yet to come. Ahhh, can you smell that? That's the winds of productivity, my friends, and they're a'blowin! It's either that, or I'm downwind from the water treatment plant, but I'm a wishful thinker. Anyway, stay tuned kids, cuz we're going to start production again, and we're gonna kick it into double-time.

Also, My very special thanks to Thomas over at 3D Attack, for the interview in THE premier Cinema4D magazine. Check it out, if you haven't already, cuz there's a little talk about the short in there, and it's a great issue otherwise... so GEEET!

Workin' on a Movie!

2006-05-03T20:17:00.000-04:00

Have to hang up the short film, yet again, for a few months to work on some visual effects for a movie. I'll stop by here every so often to let you know how it's going, but it will pretty much consume my time for the summer. The End is a very important project for Me and Joe, so it will always be here until we finish it or one of us, like Morty, buys the farm, so to speak.

I truly want to (visually) share what it is that will be taking up so much of my time, but that will have to wait just a bit. I am, however, bringing to life a talking goldfish. It's a great opportunity for a guy like me, and hopefully it'll only lead to some very cool things in the near future.

Drop me a line, if anyone has any questions, or anything really... and I hope to start this back up as soon as humanly possible.

Lie in the Bed I Made

2006-03-26T10:54:00.000-05:00

Okay, here's what I got so far. Just a bed. But soon it will become a full room. It's a process, but that's why you're here anyway, right? I fiddled with the lighting too, because we're going for a somber feel for this scene. I'm sure it will evolve greatly from this point, but this is where it stands now. I'm kinda feeling the greenish cast to it, but I think it needs to be dimmer. Anyway, we'll see... it depends on what it will look like once all the other props are in place.

Opening Sketch

2006-03-22T11:24:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick sketch Joe did while we were stuck in a lame meeting at work. Which should be a lesson to all you kids: Don't let the "man" keep ya down. Whether it be school, work, church, a funeral, you gotta make time for YOU. You think Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in his laboratory? Well, he did, but that's an exception to the rule. Most people of obsession find ways to work their passion when they should be doing something else, like paying attention in a meeting. We may never know what it is we were supposed to learn in that meeting, but who cares? We're all going to die of the bird flu anyway. Moot.

Where was I? Ahh yes. The opening shot sketch. This is now taking the place of the birthday scene we were going to do in his apartment. We've come up with what we think is a far more efficient introduction to the movie and bookends the short in a wonderfully symmetrical manner... Hey?! Are you listening to me? Pay attention dammit!

Dancing Shoes

2006-03-21T23:28:00.000-05:00

What is the sound of no hands clapping? I'm still working on that. In the mean time, enjoy Morty from all sides. I know, I know, from the back it looks like he's relieving himself. And for all we know, he is. I wouldn't put it past his senility or his incontinence. At least he can get around now, if he needs. I still need to stress that he is mostly un-textured, that's why he looks a little flat at this point.

Out With The Old...

2006-03-20T10:56:00.000-05:00

We've been busy, but we're back. It's been almost a year since any real work's been done, and now we are able to resume. The time we took off from the project, gave us a little time to reflect on the movie itself. While we are confident in our abilities, we realized some of the assets we had created thus far, have been found wanting. What does this mean? We're practically starting from scratch. In fact, we re-imagined the opening scene (our introduction to Morty). But this is a good thing. We both want what's best for the movie, and are willing to scrap any hard work we've already put in, and start over with a fresh outlook and an invigorated vibe.

When I use words like "we" and "us" and "our", I really mean "me". Because virtually all of Joe's work still stands. It's really my model work that was lacking (as opposed to Joe's illustrative work). To see what I mean, click on the first thumbnail image below. It'll show you a side-by-side comparison of the old mesh I've been using for Morty, and the fresh, new & improved, maximum strength Morty I built just this last weekend. See the difference? So do we. And now that my modeling skills have improved to a satisfactory degree, we both think it's time to move on. There is also a new rendering of the new Morty head below. He's still virtually un-textured at this point, but I'll be doing all the model building first, then move on to texturing later. Anyway, this new model will allow me more control over his expressions when the time comes to animate him. I also have most of his body built, but I'll save that for another posting. Expect to see some real progress from this point on...

Guess What?

2006-03-17T09:46:00.000-05:00

We're ramping up again. Expect to see some new stuff within a week. Is there an echo in here?

A Morty Poem, By Lexi Capizzi

2005-08-13T10:35:00.000-04:00

I like Morty.
I wish he was sporty.
His glasses are square, not round.
And he eats chocolate by the pound.
His clothes are cool.
But he goes with them on in the swimming pool!

-"The End," my friend.

(The above poem was written entirely by my incredibly smart, gifted and beautiful 7 year old daughter. Just thought I'd share her insight as to who this mysterious "Morty" is. If anything, it offers me inspiration to get MOVING again. So maybe expect something new before August is through. Heh. it rhymes.)

Wow.

2005-07-11T14:19:00.000-04:00

It's been over a month. And a lot has happened in between, unfortunately not on the short. I don't like sounding appologetic, but it has been an unusual time for both Joe and I, and we're both doing our best just to keep up, and in doing so, some things need to take a back seat. This project is one of those things that mean everything to me, and we hope to get back on track shortly, but we might need just a wee bit more time to set all our ducks up in a row. Please believe me when I say we WILL be back... you shouldn't have to wait too much longer either.

peace!

-kev

No, We're Still Here.

2005-06-05T19:08:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to duck in and say "Yo".

Joe and I still exist and are still planning on making regular updates. Unfortunately the last half of May got a little sticky for the both of us, thereby having to put the movie on that burner in the back, behind the big pot of simmering spaghetti sauce. Read into that what you will. The point being, there will be at least one update this week. Maybe we'll see some more detail on the fish. Who knows.

Anyway, thanks for checking back, you. We'll see ya in a bit.

Painfully Slow Progress

2005-05-16T13:54:00.000-04:00

I'm nearing the corner on roughing out the fish character. You can see the sketch that i'm going off of right here. Joe did that beauty back in February. Anyway, this will mark how a model evolves over time as I continue to add more detail, like a potter at the wheel... Think "Ghost". I'm Demi Moore and Joe would take the part of Patrick Swayze, gently guiding my hand over the wet, smooth clay... whooo, is it getting hot in here?!!

Alright, enough kidding around. Get back to work, y'all.

Look Out! I'm Movin' Here!

2005-05-10T10:25:00.000-04:00

Alright, kids. I've been a little preoccupied with selling my house, and finding a new one. We all know how tedious that can be, so I won't go into details. Needless to say, the production of the movie has taken a hit because of it, but do not fret: I am about to recommence.

I'll make no promises when I'll actually show something, only because I don't know when this house stuff is going to rear it's ugly head. So you'll just have to keep checking back like you do every day with bated breath. But I wouldn't be surprised if I had something up by tomorrow or Thursday.

ta ta, Teutell...

Mmmmmmm, Worms

2005-05-06T10:05:00.000-04:00

Since I don't have any new stuff to show off yet, here's one that goes back to August of twenty-aught-4. Joe and I first came up with the concept back in July of last year, and this was a test to see if we had the chops to bring some of our ideas to life. It's pretty lame actually, but it was cool to see (at least for me... Joe's eyes just sort of crossed, then he went back to watching Fear Factor or something). Anyway, take a gander, it's just Wormy sort of doing a little jig, but it's a very worm-like jig.

I REALLY want to start showing off some of the Fishy stuff, but I haven't even started yet. Maybe this weekend will smileth upon me, and maketh my hand turn steadfastly toward the computer. That way, I'd have some good stuff to show by Monday. Thanks for hanging in there with me, sometimes this stuff doesn't move as fast as I would like. And that goes double for Joe.

More of The Same.

2005-05-01T19:56:00.000-04:00

Just another facial animation test... but this time I've simplified his movements somewhat, less erratic eyeblinks, and he's not blowing this time around. What we need the character to do in this movie is act a little bewildered in his old age, so he's not too coherent to begin with. What you see him doing here is a lot like how he might be acting most of the time in his scene. But time will tell. On to more modeling now, the fishbowl awaits...

Bummer!

2005-04-28T18:52:00.000-04:00

Man, I was going to have a new render for you today. It would have been more of the same (Morty looking around and doing his thing), but unfortunately, we had a black-out on the computer. So the render quit and I lost all those precious frames. Ahhh well, I've re-started the render. So, we'll all get to see it tomorrow.

Also, I've had to focus a little more energy than normal onto other endeavors this week. Joe and I are also in the process of combining our "design and motion" capabilities under one web site. And as we all know, making something cool takes an extrodinary amount of time and effort. So. for the time being, I have to split my efforts between that and the movie... but it's all good. In no way will this mean Joe & I will stop posting here every week, we will continue to show our progress, but it means just that, we'll ONLY post our progress, which means progress advances only as fast as we do. Man?! What does that even mean? I'm not even making any sense... now I think I'M going senile.

ok. I just pee'd myself. Move over Morty...

Morty Blows

2005-04-25T09:53:00.000-04:00

I now have him partially rigged. Enough to do a mediocre test animation anyway. In this little test, he blinks a lot, moves his mouth randomly a lot, and lets out a blow in order to blow out a candle that isn't there yet. To be honest, I wouldn't have posted this had it not been over a week since my last content entry. But, I figured, it's fun to point and laugh at the animator as he painfully works out how he's going to make this guy move.

Over the next few weeks, I might try and do a couple more animation tests... try and narrow down his style... but in reality, I think we all need a break from Morty, and I might move on to other scenes within the film. There is a mountain of work to be done, and we've only just begun to chip away at it. I started with one of the more difficult scenes first, so I might move on to one of the more simpler parts: The Goldfish Scene.

We also want to get going on actual pre-visualization. With the Morty scene nearing completion (maybe 70-80% of the way there) we need to start working out the blocking and pacing of the film. This process is very important to the final result and should make for an efficient work-flow when it comes time to really start the animation process and locking down shots for final rendering.

We are trying to be as organized as possible in our approach, but sometimes it helps to break up the monotony and pull out the shotgun then start firing away to see if you hit anything. Not to mention, the shotgun can be fun. Once everyone's adrenalin is pumped back up, we'll move back to the sniper rifle, and start laying in the detail. But for now... lock and load.

Bone to Pick

2005-04-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

There are things I like about this 3D stuff, some things I love. But setting up a character rig has got to be the down side. It can be rather challenging to get it to look and behave right. But alas, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (apropos for the sort of story we're telling). All of his major bodily movements have been successfully rigged (boned), so now I have to set up morph targets for his face. Setting up the face targets is much more fun and intuitive (for me anyway) than actually rigging a character to move. I WISH I had some stuff to post, but it's just not in a state that's presentable yet. What I might do is a character test and fully render it over the weekend, so you'll have a bright, shiny new movie to watch by Monday. Thanks for hanging in there folks... patience is a virtue.

Post-Weekend Update

2005-04-18T10:29:00.000-04:00

Every Monday we'll post stuff here to let you know what we've been doing and what we might have in store. I've been doing small, imperceptible improvements to the Morty model that just isn't worth posting here. We're at that part of the production where it slows down a bit, and there isn't much new stuff worth showing. We don't want to risk becoming repetitive, or boring... So we want to wait until we have something new or worthwhile to show. At the very least, we'll try and post something once a week.

Joe is working on designing a new parent site for the movie. It's main purpose will be a more traditional website. It'll have a Gallery (a more organized repository of images and animation clips), More in-depth content about the movie itself, and... of course... a merchandise store where one might want to get a bon-a-fide official The End t-shirt, or an official The End mouse pad, or an official The End speedo. All procedes will go directly into our pockets, where they will immediately combust upon the iron hull of our movie debt.

SO, we'll let you know when that site is up and running. I'd say expect something in mid-May, but you know how glacial these things can move sometimes.

In the meantime, sit tight and keep an eye on this site.

Details, Details, Details

2005-04-14T12:10:00.000-04:00

So what we have here is Morty with some new skin, new glasses, and a little hair. It was Joe's suggestion to make some new glasses, and I think we'll all agree that it's for the better. Joe has the unfortunate ability to always be right... it's unfortunate, because it usually means more work for me.

Anyway, take a nice close look... Morty's really come a LONG way, as you can tell from this early post. It won't be long now until we can finally deem him finished. Then we'll rig him, and it'll be time for some animation tests and some real movement.

And that's HD resolution you'll be looking at, so again, file size will be rather big for you people with smaller monitors.

Counting Bodies Like Cows To The Rhythm Of The War Drums.

2005-04-13T01:14:00.000-04:00

Man...this sucked...it might not look like much, but the interior structure was time-consuming. I think this will give Kev a decent jumping off point for his modeling exploits. Speaking of exploits, Kev's been jamming on wrapping up the texture for Morty's skin and let me tell you...it looks sweet. We are super pleased with the results. Maybe he'll have something to show later today.

To our six fans out there, don't comment all at once. You might break the internet.

This Week...

2005-04-11T09:36:00.000-04:00

Most people like to have fun, unwind...enjoy life a little. I mostly just get irritated by it. I continually want to push myself to do more, make more progress and get things done. A state of relaxation just doesn't seem to be possible for me. My mind races at light-speed all the time. So, with that being said, let's talk a little about what we want to get done over at 'THE END.' central this week. We want to get Morty's scene fully modeled and get him rigged so that we can start the animation process. That would be a huge step for us and get us feeling better about the process. From the art side of things, I am going to finish up the cow / barn scene artwork this evening and have a post for you later on that. One of my next goals is to start finalizing our storyboards so that Kev and I can start pre-visualizing this thing with rough shapes to get timing and the overall blueprint for the film set in stone.

So, you guys go enjoy your week and check back with us frequently. We'll have stuff to show. I'm the one in the corner getting irritated.

No Rest For The Truly Wicked.

2005-04-08T00:48:00.000-04:00

I know how you all like it rough out there in the ether, so, I thought I'd give you an early look at the cow / farm scene. It's super preliminary, so don't get on my ass about perspective this, cow anatomy that...It's a rough kids. Take a deep breath and enjoy life. It's 1:03 am in the east as I write this. I am in the basement, the heavy metal is cranked, I'm in a cloud of toxic marker vapor, the creativity is flowin' and I'm just getting warmed up. No rest for the wicked.

Happy Birthday Morty!

2005-04-06T13:41:00.001-04:00

Okay. This is really starting to get hard. But I knew that going in, I was just fishing for some pity. I've been blowing through iteration after iteration of different lighting, textures, props. This is where I currently am.

Things I know I'll be changing: Carpet; Table Cloth/Doily; Making the cake shorter; one way or another I'll be giving him hair and eyebrows; Texture on his cardigan.

Things I'll probably be tweaking: Lighting; Lighting; Table & wood textures; Lighting; Placement of various props, like the TV; Lighting; Skin texture on Morty; and last but not least... Lighting.

Things I'll be adding: Light switches; Electrical outlets; cords; a Grandmother Clock; Other Miscellaneous items.

Things I'll be doing to myself: Pulling what little hair I have left out; Mumbling to myself; Random bursts of hysterical laughter; Swatting at imaginary flies.

Don't worry about me though, I'll eventually get the hang of this... right Joe? JOE? JOE!!!?? Don't you die on me buddy!!!

Off My Game.

2005-04-05T13:14:00.000-04:00

I tried to come up with something witty for this post. None of it was dark enough or cynical enough for my liking, so...just check out the production art for the 'bathroom' scene and let us know what you think... [Click for larger images]

Feel the Loss...

2005-04-01T09:36:00.001-05:00

Mitch Hedberg, awesome comedian, died yesterday. We couldn't be more bummed about it. He was truly talented and on the rise. Died at the age of 37. Check out his comedy, you'll not be disappointed.

Anyway, we still have the pots boiling over here. I'm finishing up the cake model for Morty, and after that I'll start finalizing the textures on Morty's skin, clothes, and add his hair.

So stay tuned this weekend. Maybe Joe will post some cool stuff for you to peruse?

So long, Mitch:

"I think Bigfoot is blurry, that's the problem. It's not the photographer's fault. Bigfoot is blurry. And that's extra scary to me, because there's a large, out-of-focus monster roaming the countryside. Run. He's fuzzy. Get outta here."

"I saw a human pyramid once. It was totally unnecessary."

"I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long."

"I bought a doughnut and they gave me a receipt for the doughnut... I don't need a receipt for the doughnut. I give you money and you give me the doughnut, end of transaction. Do we need to bring ink and paper into this? I can't imagine a scenario that I would have to prove that I bought a doughnut. To some skeptical friend, Don't even act like I didn't buy a doughnut, I've got the documentation right here... It's in my file at home. ...Under "D"."

"I used to do drugs. I still do drugs. But I used to, too."

Where's Joe?!??! He's Knee-Deep In Bacteria.

2005-03-30T11:00:00.001-05:00

Believe it or not, I'm still lurking about. But check it. I have been researching and starting to get the pencil fired up on bacteria. Yeh, that's right, bacteria. Do you have any idea how small those things are and how many of them I have to draw before you guys can see anything? Man, cut me some slack. There's about a TRILLION little bacterium on everything you touch and now I've been tasked with drawing 'em. Maybe this is Kev's passive-aggressive way of getting back at me for the production art for Morty's room and the crack about it taking him 467 hours to model a cake that took me an hour to draw? Either way, here I go...back to the microscope, i mean, drawing board...rendering bacteria.....one, two, three....four billion, two hundred million....four billion, two hundred million and one......

Soo-Prize! Soo-Prize!

2005-03-28T14:51:00.000-05:00

Well, I figured I'd add a little sumpin' sumpin' today. Here is a render of Morty in his natural setting. The usual disclaimer applies: Not fully textured; Not fully lit; Not fully finished. (but it IS getting there)

This is a render at HD resolution (1280x720), so if you're on a small, antiquated monitor, go out and get yerself a biggun' already... yeeesh. And while you're at it, pick up a dang TiVo... they're giving these things away in Happy Meals already... what's the hold up?

Getting Close

2005-03-28T11:04:00.000-05:00

Joe and I have been tweaking the lighting and textures on the living room set in trying to get it ready for prime production. We've definitely made some progress, and once we add various sundries to his home, it'll be almost there. We will have to spend some time gathering real-world textures for things such as the wainscoting and carpet and other décor. Once we are both happy with the mood that is set by the lighting, I'll post some more images... things are really coming along, and looking good. We're both excited to finally see it come together, and can't wait to show you our progress, especially since what we've shown so far isn't even close to what we want for the end result.

Look for an image or two in a day or two.

Living Room Fly-Thru

2005-03-23T19:57:00.000-05:00

It's not finished or lit, but I figured I'd render a fly-thru because I'm just too impatient to wait until I'm done. Yes, it's true, I have Tourette-like work habits, but the advantages are you get to see incomplete stuff in the mean time.

Fun Fact: I forgot to resize the ceiling in this animation, so you can say Morty has a convertible living room.

Enjoy. [3.5 MB]

What's In Store

2005-03-22T09:37:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know the posting of actual movie content has been kind of sparse this past week, but rest assured, we're going as strong as ever. Joe's about to begin his next great piece of production art, and I've been plugging away at building Morty's living room set. I have a lot of the main props built (those that you see in this production sketch), but we might need to add a few more items to make it look more lived in. Right now, my computer is chugging away at a fly through of the unfinished room. That should be done in the next day or so. I will post that as soon as it's done.

cya then, then.

It's That Time of Year...

2005-03-21T10:35:00.000-05:00

...When the earth crosses the part of it's orbit that hurtles us toward warmer weather (at least for the lucky few in the northern hemisphere), and for those of us in Michigan, that's a big deal. Yes, spring. It's still cold as a corpse outside. Raining like a mug. But spring will bring us good things. We're talking three good months of solid production. It just gets me all tingly to think of the stuff we have in store. Spring? I LOVE ya!

Okay, Joe will be along shortly to tell you all why spring sucks. Until then, enjoy the love while it lasts.

Living Room Test

2005-03-19T09:16:00.000-05:00

It's still coming together, but here is a test render of my progress so far. The curtains still need a lot of work, and I need to build a lot of the decor and furniture yet. But you can get the basic gist of what's going on here. Some of the textures are probably temporary for now, and the lighting might change appreciably in the future. And I still have to figure out how to do carpet. I'll keep ya posted...

Relax, it's coming.

2005-03-18T14:56:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I didn't get as much done on the set as I hoped I would. But I will post some props that I made tonight. Not that I made them tonight, but that I'll post them tonight. I'll see if I can get a complete set render by Sat or Sun. Thanks for checking back, tho... now GEEEET!

Kev's Day Off

2005-03-17T08:57:00.000-05:00

Nothing to exactly show today, but I do have the day off, And you know what that means? That's right. I get to work almost non-stop on the Living Room Set for Morty's apartment. And do you know what that means? That's right, again. I'll have something to show you, patient audience, tomorrow. And you know what that means? No, that's not what THAT means, you should be ashamed of yourself. Anyway, where was I? Ahh yes. Knowing what something means. Umm. I lost my train of thought.

P.S. You guys rule. Thanks for all the support and kind words over the last month or so... Joe really needs the attention. See ya tomorrow!

I Worked This Weekend. What Did You Do?

2005-03-13T17:11:00.000-05:00

More production art for you...Well, really it's for us, but you get to take a look as well. Cheer up. In the end, it's all for you to ravenously consume. Bon appétit...[Click for larger image]

FAQ posted

2005-03-11T10:47:00.000-05:00

HEY! In case none of you noticed, we threw up a FAQ over in the light brown column to the right. For now it has a few questions in all, but we'll add to it as soon as we feel there are actual questions to be answered. So stop sending questions such as: Why is Joe such a Jerk? or: Does Joe need a hug? or: Is Joe real, or just an existential manifestation of my inner aggressions? Because the answer to all those questions are an emphatic and resounding: 42.

ok, so I stole that one from Douglas Adams. But it works.

Hey, Kev? Good Luck With All That...

2005-03-09T14:46:00.001-05:00

I take pride in breaking kevin's balls. To that end, i created this piece just to turn the knife a bit. He told me it was time to start developing the look for morty's living quarters. We argued about it for an hour like we always do, but then gleefully, i chained myself to the drawing board for 9 hours in order to churn out this set piece. I'm sure you know by now that i am the surly, unmanageable one in this odd couple pairing and because of that, you're probably asking yourself, "why is joe, of all people, gleeful?"...Well, it's simple. Every pencil stroke, every move of the paintbrush and every swath of color i lay down with a marker exponentially increases the amount of work kevin has to do and, not so secretly, that makes me happy...in a dark sort of way. hey, kev? you wanted a set? You got one...good luck working for the next 467 hours on modeling the cake....I'm gonna go relax until the middle of April...[Click for larger image]

Is He Wearing Pants?

2005-03-09T00:06:00.000-05:00

I like to think that he isn't, but that's just me.

One day, in the not-so-distant future, we'll all be traveling by pneumatic tubes AND I'll have finished this Morty model. Then I could get started on texturing this guy AND shoot on over to Joe's (via Toob Technology™) in a matter of seconds to pick-up the set design plans for his apartment. (Donny thinks, "Vacuum!")

Ahhh, the future looks bright. But for now, it's dark out, and I think I'll hit the sack.

Oh, by the way, I'll be moving his arms above the blanket tomorrow. Not sure what's going on under there right now, so I'll just leave him be.

Get Off Us, Already...

2005-03-08T17:40:00.000-05:00

Alright, so...we're working....ALRIGHT?!!?!? WE'RE WORKING. It's been a couple of days since we've posted anything of substance, but we've been in the heat of crankin' out some great stuff for you to eyeball shortly. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek at the storyboard for infamous shot #22. Now, stop clamoring for more....(all three of you). [Click for larger image].

State of the Union

2005-03-07T09:26:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to keep you people posted. Joe's currently doing an elaborate illustration of Morty's surroundings in his assisted-living apartment. It will help me tremendously recreate the set inside the computer. And I'm currently dragging my butt in trying to finish the Morty character himself... complete with wheelchair, hair and an old worn out blanket. Please keep checking back, we should have some very cool stuff to show off this week... maybe even as soon as tomorrow.

ALSO, feel free to use this spot as a sounding board as well... tell us what you like, don't like... is there a way for us to improve on the project, the site... anything! Lay it all out, you're not gonna hurt our feelings. Well, you might hurt mine, but certainly not Joe's. So let him have it.

IV Bag

2005-03-03T14:59:00.000-05:00

Welp. Here she is in all her glory. looks like a bag of urine if you ask me. Gives me the creeps. To me, IV bags have always been unsettling in a bodily fluid sort of way. Now I'm gonna take in my fluids the old-fashoined way... extrovenously. [cracks open a can of Pepsi]

More Production Art

2005-03-03T11:37:00.000-05:00

I've been spending time figuring out establishing shots for various parts of the film. Here's a work in progress on where Morty lives. It's real rough. I'm sort-of thrashing about here, striving for the right look. The next step on this piece wil be to tighten it up, maybe add some color and the detail that Kev needs to model accurately. As always, there's more to come...(click for larger image)

Prepare to be WOW'd

2005-03-02T09:35:00.000-05:00

I'm finishing up a model of an incredibly exciting IV bag, to go with our wheelchair. It'll amaze you... it'll amaze your friends. So watch this spot for some updates, folks. Wouldn't want ya to miss all the excitement.

Happy? No. Not Really...

2005-02-28T23:26:00.000-05:00

so...i'm not in this for the fun. i'm in it for the suffering. my suffering, my personal angst and especially kevin's suffering. i, for one, do not think we should be having "fun" while doing this. it should hurt. we should suffer for our art. we should be anguishing over every frame of this film. but, clearly kev has too much time on his hands. instead of making progress on morty or, um...doing whatever else it is that he does...he thought it would be "fun" to make morty's wheelchair do a "wheelie" with canned smoke coming off the chair...he's enjoying himslef, and if i have anything to say about it, the suffering and the gnashing of teeth will commence forthwith. less "cutesy" and more wringing of the hands, huh?

Happy NOW?!

2005-02-28T17:31:00.000-05:00

I'm a very suggestible person. So here's your stoopid wheelchair, doing it's stoopid wheelie. It wasn't all a complete waste, though... I was able to construct an Xpresso script that allowed me to only have to move the body of the chair and the wheels would automatically rotate according to the position of the body. Nice!

Alright, everybody back to work. No more fun & games. Ya hear?

Wheelchair Test

2005-02-26T23:13:00.000-05:00

So, here's a little test I did for myself. From this I can see that some of the shaders aren't behaving in the way I want them to (note the grainy effect I'm getting, especially on the seat & seatback), and now I can spend time tweaking to get it right.

enjoy.

Wheels

2005-02-26T08:43:00.000-05:00

I took a break from organic modeling to create something a little more straightforward. Still needs some texturing details on the tire treads and maybe a few bolts and minor stuff, but for the most part, it's complete. Might dirty up the chrome a bit too. This one took me about 6-7 hours to model. I was able to use a little creative license and reduce the actual complexity of a real wheelchair because the look of the film will be stylized. Next up will be an IV stand and heart monitor.

I'm also rendering a simple camera move on this. Why? Because I can. That's why...

...stay tuned.

Guess Who... AGAIN...

2005-02-22T19:39:00.000-05:00

There is more to this movie than this old guy. Really. But this is a process, so suck it in and enjoy it already. I KNOW I AM! **sigh**

Anyway, I threw some wrinkles on his face, and decided that it still needs a lot more work. And who better to do the work than my good friend Joe? He tells me he can illustrate a wrinkle pattern using something called "ink". mm hmm. Whatever this miracle substance is, i'm skeptical. But I digress. He assures me that his process called "drawing" will do the trick. I'm a little incredulous if it doesn't involve a mouse or stylus, so more power to him. Take a look at the wrinkled Morty... NO! his body isn't done yet, that's why his "arms" look like they're sticking out of his head... but trust me, it's a process. Oh, and i threw a photo of a living room behind him to add atmosphere and to get a feeling for his soon-to-be setting. Which I still have to model. After I finish Morty. And his Wheelchair. It's a process.

We're Back! We're BROKE!??!?!?!?!?

2005-02-21T22:31:00.000-05:00

We did it. We're broke. We're idiots. All we have left are our dreams and even those are obscured by the sea of red ink we now wallow in. Ah well, Kev needed a real machine to crank out these new, processor-intensive renders. Couldn't have him be patient or anything, NAW...let's go buy the top-of-the-line G5, he says, the REALLY COOL ONE. Why do we need that video card? "Cause it's the COOL ONE!!!! and it'll be killer for all the video games I'll play...I mean...All the renders I need to do"....The killer G5...that's the investment we should make. No, really it's fine...Excuse me while I throw up in the want-ads section of the Free Press. I am looking there now for a couple of night jobs for guys with no brains. The really good news is that we'll have to land a ton of freelance to pay for the new member of 'THE END' render farm. I HATE FREELANCE. Good thing Kevin doesn't need more than 14 hours of sleep a night or I'd be worried...Anybody have $5k they wanna loan us?

Health Alert! Update

2005-02-18T10:41:00.000-05:00

Well, Joe's pretty much back to the land o' the living, and I appear to have at least 3 kidney stones (say hallelujah!). After 7 hours of an agony I have never known, the first seems to be almost near the end of it's journey. I still have two more up the the ol' kidneys.

All that said, don't expect too much until Monday. Then we'll get right back to it.

Mama!

2005-02-16T09:23:00.000-05:00

Joe is deatlhy sick, and I'm trying to pass a kidney stone. God help us all.

Will update when we decide to be healthy, again... Honest.

-kev

Like Cows To The Slaughter

2005-02-12T23:27:00.000-05:00

It's funny. Really. Trust us.

Kevin Is Not A Free Thinker...

2005-02-11T11:30:00.000-05:00

As Kevin and I have been developing the film, I have noticed some trends emerging (aside from the fact that I am the dark, grizzled, moody, eternal pessimist and he's the cheery, hopeful, annoying optimist). Kev, as he's modeling seems to want EVERY detail spelled out. Our conversation will go something like this: Joe: "Hey, Kev...I just finsihed some model sheets for Morty, why don't you check them out...". Kevin: "Yeh, Joe, great...but I need to know how many hairs there will be on the 4th largest age spot on Mort's right temple. I can't model until you have that all figured out, y'know..." OY. All kidding aside (kind-of) we have gone through great lengths to design and develop our characters and you'll get a glimpse of all that hard work and effort as we move along...This group of sketches show Morty without his ears. Why?, you ask...Cause Kevin needed to know what his neck looked like (you thought I was kidding). By, the way...there are 14 hairs on Morty's fourth largest age spot...

Morty In Action

2005-02-10T16:06:00.000-05:00

Well, here alas, is Morty in motion. Nothing special, just a morph target test. The reason why his movements look completely unatural, at this point, is because this is only meant to show me what the various expressions look like. In other words, there is no real rhyme or reason yet as to why he's moving the way he is moving. Tonight, I'll be working on the rest of his body some more, so expect some clothes next time. I might even work out some more texturing...

Oh, and if you don't already have Quicktime installed (***sigh***), you'll need it to watch. You can get it from here

He brought his glasses, so he'll have them

2005-02-09T16:06:00.000-05:00

I know this isn't video, as promised, but it shows where we're at so far with Morty. I've adjusted his brow a little bit so it can be more expressive, added some age spots, and i've finally given him his glasses. He's still got some work left to do before he's ready for prime time (a lot more texturing, hair, etc... ), but I have added some facial morphing targets only to see if he's headed in the right direction... and because it's cool. Unfortunately these kinds of things take time to render, so i won't be able to put up anything until tomorrow AM. All that said, click above to check him out looking a little disjointed... or maybe he's passing a kidney stone?

Thanks, Universe!

2005-02-07T22:24:00.000-05:00

It appears that the universe decided to tell me my future by way of a Jones Green Apple Soda bottle cap. This is good news because I have everything riding on this short, if only I could figure out who this "friend" is?

Another bottle cap told me to Learn About Bugs... but hey, they can't all be winners.

Anyway, I'll have some motion tests of Morty making facial expressions up here in a day or two, so keep your eyes peeled. He'll have his glasses on and some texture work as well, maybe even clothes, but don't hold yer breath. punk.

A Goldfish, MAN?!?

2005-02-07T14:23:00.000-05:00

So, a goldfish somehow plays an integral part in our story. Over the last few days I started working on what 'The End' goldfish would look like. Here's a couple of renderings and a finished production marker sketch. Please know that I am not at all happy about drawing something so chipper and bright...(click for larger images)

-JOE

Morty Model WIP

2005-02-05T12:33:00.000-05:00

Here is our current WIP (work in progress) on the head for Morty. Below are three renditions of the model: Wire Mesh, Subdivision, and Final Render. For those of you not in the know, usually a modeler will work on a rough wire mesh (aka poly cage) that can be further subdivided on the fly by the computer. It will parse the vertices of the cage into a smoother more detailed version of the model. So, after an entire epoch of tweaking the poly cage so the Subdivision gives you the results you were looking for, you can then go on to texturing, clothing, and adding other external details to your model. This is why (at this stage) Morty is naked, bald, glassesless, and frankly, ugly. Keep checking back as we add layers of detail to the Model, to make him look more and more like Joe's production sketch. Kind of like Extreme Makeover, but without all the whining, crying and screaming. Well, maybe a little screaming. (click for larger images)

-kev

Morty Sketch

2005-02-04T13:46:00.000-05:00

Here's a small production sketch Joe did of our main character Morty. He's currently being modeled (Cinema4D 9), and we'll post the progress of that very soon. (click for larger image)

-kev

Blog Customization

2005-02-01T14:51:00.000-05:00

In the process of customizing this blog. Please bear with us.

The Beginning of The End

2005-01-28T10:41:00.000-05:00

This is the start of hopefully something good. Eventually this spot will be filled with content, images, and video of the short CG film Joe & I are about to produce. We'd like to share as much of the grueling process as possible with you, so join us, and we'll try to keep things fresh.

-kev