This was a personal project, which I undertook in my spare time. It remained a work in progress for the better part of two years. Shocking, I know! I dusted it off recently, and over the course of two days, finished up the modeling, lit, textured and renderd it out in deliciously über high resolution. The idea was to keep her looking like a maquette, so I shied away from using real skin and cloth shaders.

A few reference photos of the physical maquette, created by Electric Tiki, based on a design by Tracy Mark Lee, and sculpted by Raffaello Vecchione, were used as my guide during the modeling process. Lightwave 3D was used, from start to finish.

This fan art is not affiliated with, authorised, endorsed or in anyway officially connected with the Walt Disney Company, Disney Enterprises, or Electric Tiki. No Copyright infringement intended. Visit www.electrictiki.com to see their amazing work.

What does a visual effects artist do in his spare time? Thats a trick question, cause there is no spare time to be had in this industry :) It would be more accurate to ask what one does when he should be sleeping!

Speed Modeling Challenges is the answer. The concept is a simple one. A time limit, usually an hour or two, and a theme are established at the start of each weeklong challenge, you’re then free to create what you want within those constraints. Its purely a modeling challenge, meaning that lighting and texturing are excluded from the time limit, aswell as the judging process. A simple render and wireframe are required for judging.

I tended to push the renders further than they needed to be pushed, but for me, the whole point of taking part in the challenges, was to polish my modeling aswell as my lighting and rendering skills.

Many of the topics were inspired by real life objects. I take no credit where it isn’t due for the design of some of the objects I recreated in 3d. When you’re pressed for time, its just easier to model from a reference image, than to either wing it, or sit and design something yourself.

A special note, and nod of appreciation to Lawrence Northey, the creator of Dave The Robot. (the robot at the top) That little personal project was not part of the Speed Modeling Challenge series. I love anything retro, and had stumbled upon Dave The Robot one evening while browsing. I thought he was definitely worth my spare time (err sleep) and decided to create a 3d version of him. With only a few reference photo’s of the original metal sculpture available on the internet, there are a few inaccuracies, but overall, I was really pleased with the end result. Take a few moments to visit Lawrence Northey’s website at http://robotart.homestead.com/gallery.html, and have a look at his other amazing work.

Dave the Robot – Still	Dave the Robot – Turnaround
Fridge	Shell Lights
Cocoon Lights	Green Radio
Clock Robot	Rocket Launch
Rocket Launch	Rocket Launch Wireframe

Bully Designs	Falcon Mascot Design
Kid Sketches	Kid Render
Kid Turnaround Animation	Falcon Sketches
Pinky Sketches	Pinky Sketches
Pinky Sketches	Layout for Character Design

Various Concepts, Character Designs, and Character Models that we have completed over the recent months. Credit goes to Qais M. Sedki at Pageflip Publishing for the design of the Kid character above.

Every so often it is nice to make a 3D model you can cuddle in the real world … if that’s your thing. The tactile experience can be a great selling tool for a pitch, or a keepsake from an awesome project. How do I get one, you ask? Through the power of fairy dust and possibly some technology, the 3D printer converts a CG model (or even photographs) into a real maquette. The result can either be full colour or a blank canvas for you to paint. Wicked!