Time Out : a short film

This ride is coming to an end.

2008-09-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

I'm going to stop working on this short. Working in Max and Maya on the same day is just too much. I need to really focus on Max for my new crazy job. There are so many things I need to learn in Max - mainly Character Studio (Biped). I miss Maya :)

I'm going to put together what I've done. My Next post will be my short!

A shot in the Arm

2008-08-24T07:03:00.000-07:00

Eric Williams was the lead designer on God of War, he's consulting at BHG.
He's like a shot in the arm, his experience with animators and approach to design is just awesome -refreshing. He reminds me why I wanted to be in games instead of film.

Check out his Blog, good stuff!

Sorry nothing new on my short. Here are samples of my work to hold you guys over.

Samples -some good, some bad, some ugly.

What does not kill you will make you stronger!

2008-05-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

As the title suggests, I'm going through some rough times. It's a growing experience for me, really. My new job has been challenging and rewarding from a technical, artistic and personal level. I'm learning what it takes to be a leader and manager -learning what it means to lead by example. Yeah... you can be talented and do great work but how is your conduct? Do you work hard? Can you communicate your vision? Keep the team motivated with the changes that happen in production? These are things that I've been trying to figure out.
Man... I'll stop the complaining here (suck it up).
I have been busy but not as busy as I was my last year at Calarts. So there really is no reason why I can't finish my short right?

Here is a rough cut of scene 3. Some really rough animations and camera works. Just wanted to see things together for pacing and storytelling purpose. Watching this you have to use your imagination.

This one is the end of scene 3. There are two shots before this that I didn't show because... they're just not ready for primetime (not even posed just sliding the character around).

Hope you guys enjoy some of this.

I've haven't gotten into any more accidents or bought anymore crack. :)
Maryland is a beautiful state in the spring, I'll post some pictures next time.

My First Week in Maryland

2008-01-21T12:12:00.000-08:00

My first week has been... how should I say ridiculous. There are some kind of large black bird outside my apartment in the trees -no their not crows their huge beast from a forgotten era. I think their called TurkeyVulture.

I've gotten lost twice. I found myself in places that I think some might call the "ghetto". I stop to ask for directions but the guy wouldn't tell me anything unless I bought some "coke". I did. Now with directions and some coke I make it out of the ghetto.

The next day it snows. I'm at work, I look outside and turn to my office mate Bill "hey it's snowing that's kind of cool" I was a little excited. Bill says with no expression "yeah". It continues to snow. My excitement slowly goes away as I see my car being covered by 6 inches of snow. People are beginning to leave early "before things get bad" they said. None of the other leads are leaving -plus I didn't want to show them that I was scared of snow. I stayed. I continue to work but getting more nervous as everything that was white is turning brown and black because of cars leaving and the plows that are clearing the roads. It was time to leave. I went to my car started scraping snow off. In case you guys don’t remember what I drive –Scion XA a car that is fuel efficient and built for harsh conditions. I get into my car and feeling good. I can hear snow crunching under my all weather tires. Feeling good, getting close to home it was dark I see my street. I turn right but instead of turning my car keeps on going –going towards the minivan in the other lane. The only thing I see is the lady in the minivan with her mouth open and shaking her head “no!” I pump the breaks turning the wheel. The XA keeps on sliding… it stops about 4 inches away from hitting. We come out of the cars to see the damage. The lady was yelling at me. I show her my all weather tires.

“I’m going to call the cops on you for reckless driving”
“Come on lady, be fair is there anything I can do”
“Give me your information so I can call my insurance”
I go to my glove compartment and pull out my insurance, registration then the small plastic bag of “coke” falls out.
“Hey is that coke!” she says from behind me.
“Yeah, I had to buy it because…”
“Give me the coke and we’re good” she says
“Okay, Merry Christmas”

Friday I wake up. Leave the house wave to the black birds of death I call “the Jones”. Get into my undamaged XA. Go to work meet the Art director for THQ Thom Ang.
Company meeting… drank some beer. Played some pools.

Went to watch Cloverfield. Was surrounded by loud, hormone, crazy, dumb teenagers who talked throughout the movie; I kept calm because in the state of Maryland you can’t fight teenager or some crazy law like that. Met up with co-worker at a bar.

I’m going to stop writing because I’m running out of words I know.

The BIG HUGE Change

2007-12-24T14:00:00.000-08:00

I accepted a position at Big Huge Games!
That means that I will be going to the east coast. Maryland to be exact. I would have said something sooner but I didn't want to cause issues for anybody. I'm super excited about the move. The Game is going to be Awesome! I will get to animate some cool Characters, Creatures and Weapons (No more Guns, hyper real humans!). This is all that has been announced about the game. So I guess that's all I can say.

Big Huge Games RPG.

As for my short, I've made the tough decision to finish it earlier then later. I'm planning to slim down so the production value will not be as high :(

East Coast here I come!

Merry Christmas!

Old Painting.

Hex or Hexmor?

2007-12-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine (a great artist) is thinking of changing the way he signs his work. Hex or Hexmor?

I think Hex is better than Hexmor. I guess that is how I know him so I'm bias.

I've changed my name from Nhan to Young. Just because no one at work or any where can pronounce it correctly, the first time (neither could I).

I think Hex is the way to go Hugo.

But this is not the change that I was implying in my previous Post. I'll announce the change next Monday.

Change is in the Air!

2007-12-05T08:30:00.001-08:00

I’m making some big decisions right now. I’ll post what they are in the coming weeks.

Man, it has been a long time since I posted! I have not been working on the short because of all the things that are going on (my excuses) and probably will not until next year.

Here are some sketches I did during some meeting.

Rock on my fellow artists!

Animation

2007-09-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well... it has been a long time since I've posted any animation.
It's hard to show work in progress, you feel like you’re not putting your best foot forward but since it's only you guys. Here it goes:

http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/scn3s10.avi

http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/scn3s2.avi

http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/scn3s3.avi

Sorry I don't have a YouTube account.

I'm getting close. I can almost see some light at the end of this tunnel.

Hope you guys like it.

Sketches

2007-09-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here are old sketches. I'm planning to start posting new ones since my scanner is now working.

Hot Arizona!

2007-09-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

I'm in Arizona because of work. It's 6:30pm and it's 90 degrees! Crazy!

Here is a painting I did for my comic. I was trying to flush out the idea and how it relates to the original story. This is just concept not the actual cover.

Enjoy!

Here's a shot.

2007-08-28T07:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot I finished. Can't go back to it until i finish the next scene.

Click Here

This is a painting I'm reworking because it sucks.

When I say

2007-08-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of crazy stuff happening at work. When I say crazy I mean political- when I say political I mean management- when I say management I mean personality conflict- when I say personality conflicts I mean people being kids. Because of this there will be restructuring, people will be let go and people will quiet. This is just sad because people work so hard to see there work on the shelf and this happen. Sorry, I had to vent. I could say more but ...

I won't be able to work on my short as much as I would like. But I can still doodle.

Concepts for my comic.

Paintings

2007-08-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

I have officially taken over the shots that my friend was doing. I'm cleaning up the scene and will start animating soon. Here is the guy that's in the scene.

These are Concepts for my comic book. The witch and monkey I did awhile back never really liked it (still don't). I'm trying to do the character sheets during lunch at work because I should be working on my short at home.

Hope you guys like it.

Down But not Out

2007-07-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

Ok... what have i been doing?

I went to Paris for a week and a couple of days. I was burnt out at work and wanted to spend time with my life partner (my wife).

I'm the one on the left.

It was Awesome!
Charged up and ready to go!

What's happening with the short? It is still going on. Waiting on friends to finish up some stuff :(
I might have to step in to finish it up myself. I'll give it until Comic Con.
Speaking of Comic Con, while waiting for stuff, I have been working on my own comic book. Here is the image that inspired the comic book.

Another thing that will keep me busy is getting a second puppy.

I will post more stuff next week from my comic book or short, depending on what I finish.

I'm Down

2007-02-03T23:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not posting for so long. My computer is down. I will be back up in about a couple of weeks. I will be bigger and stronger.

Paintings and sounds

2006-12-05T21:53:00.000-08:00

I went to LA last weekend for work. It was for Gnomon Workshop Live. I saw some amazing artist. Dan Milligan and Iain Mccaig, I think were the best presenters. I learned a lot about digital art and how to use it. Here are my attempts at applying what they taught. I definitely made some mistakes but I feel that I’ve learned so much in the attempt. One is of a co-worker the other a scene from the Hobbit.

Now... Are there any sound designers out there? My friend that was going to do the sound effects for my film is unable to help... anybody?

Turkey power

2006-11-28T22:19:00.000-08:00

I tried to work as much as I can during the holiday but the power of the turkey was overwhelming but I will prevail. Here are some shots from scene two.

The Long road of animation.

2006-11-10T18:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I am half way through blocking out my scene. I'm making key poses and breakdowns, that's it. To make them look good and have the right feel for the shot. Well, it takes time (alot). Unfortunately between work and family that does not leave too much time (you can only fall asleep at your desk so many times before your wife says something). I wish I could spend a week on a shot... really sink my teeth into it. One of the reasons... I'm blocking the whole scene is to see what shots to spend time on. I do love animating and the process of making a short. At least I think I do? No, really!

This is from a shot that I'm blocking out and a drawing from a meeting at work.

Management

2006-10-29T22:44:00.000-08:00

Been busy organizing tasks and dates. I'm planning to finish by February. It's been hard getting things together for people to work on and find time to animate.

Here is a saying that has kept me sane " happy is the person who knows his limitations and refuses to accept another responsibility unless he completes the one for which he is presently accountable." This is hard to live by when you have so many things you want to do or try. One thing at a time right?

Thanks everybody for the comments and emails. I really appreciate the compliments and critiques.

Well here are some drawings and a screen grab from a shot I 'm blocking out.

Stuff

2006-10-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

Here are two shots. These are both first passes. I plan to do two more passes before rendering it. Any critque or comments are welcomed. Thanks in advance.

SHOT1

SHOT2

Here are some pics I did this week.

I'm Back

2006-10-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm back working on the film. I should have some animation to show this coming week.

I'm re-boarding scene 2, the pacing feels off. I would show you my boards but their too ugly for human viewing (no joke). Also choreographing the fight scene is a little hard (style and camera position).

Here are some drawings until then.

A higher Power

2006-09-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

I'm Blocking out scene 2 but I can't work on it for another week. I need to finish a painting that I promise my wife (the higher Power). I should have something in 2 weeks. If the power that be will permit.

I worked alittle on,
Scene 2 shot 1 (right click and save) best to play it in media player or quicktime.
I still need to work on the timing.

Here is a lighting comp for the kitchen that my friend did for me. My lighting version I felt was flat.

Click on the picture and zoom in. What do you think?

Here are some picture from my sketchbook. One day I'll paint one of these, if the higher power permits.

One shot

2006-09-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

Long time no post. Well here is the first shot from scene two. Let me set it up. The kid sneaks in gets caught and sent to the corner. Then...

Scene 2 shot 1 (right click and save) best to play it in media player or quicktime.

Critques are welcome and encourage.

Here are some drawing from from work.

Next scene

2006-08-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

I finished the first scene and starting the next one. I'll show a shot from scene one later this week. Busy trying to organize, what I have to do and what other people are doing for me. Manage and organizing things is not my strong suit but so necessary.

Here is a drawing... I did during a meeting today. No, it's not a co-worker.

We are topless but we do wear pants.

Kitchen

2006-08-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some rendered pics. My friend Rhiz and Jason (fish) started the modeling and texturing. I lit the scene and redid some UV maps and modeling. It took a long time to get it here. Lighting is not as straight forward as live action or 2D. There are alot of buttons in 3D (lots). I'm rendering an animation test. I hope that goes well.
Enjoy!

Gamefest

2006-08-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

I’ve been in Seattle at gamefest for work. I didn't do too much on the short but I'll share some of my sketches I did there.

The first picture is an amazing relief on the way to the conference. The next two are speakers of some of the classes. I can't really explain the last one.

Animation Tests

2006-08-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some animation tests.

This one is for the face rig. I wanted to see if the face would deform correctly and if shapes are clear. You be the judge.

Face Test

It takes a couple of seconds to load.

This one is the body test. Here I wanted to see how much I can twist and turn the rig before it breaks.

Body Test

The Robot test, I really had some problems. The design I thought would be easy to move around but the proportions were hard to work with. Like having the hands touch for example was not easy, I had to cheat alittle bit to make it work. Tell me, what you think?

Robot Test

here is another drawing from the short.

3D Models

2006-08-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

Here are the 3D versions of my characters. They are about 90% done. I'll make changes once I put then in the scene and light then. I guess what I'm doing is the equivalent to creating the model sheets and coloring the cells in 2D. The Technical side of this process is definitely taxing. It is so much easier to just draw the way I want it to look. Then again, I would have to draw it 24 times a second. Pros and Cons ... I'll show some animation tests next time.

Concept stuff

2006-08-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

Some concept stuff for my short.

Environments-

These are done with water base oils on cardboard. Why water base oils? I like them a lot more than regular oils, they dry quicker then oils and stay wet longer then acrylic.

The kitchen is where the kid gets in trouble and his time out. The temple scene I had to take out. I couldn't find any body to help me with it. The rooftop one is going well. I have another environment but never finish the painting.

The boy.

The guy playing the mom.

The robot.

The Characters were drawn in pencil or pen then scanned and colored in Photoshop. I'm trying to learn how to digitally paint.

Enjoy!

Baxton Benefit

2006-08-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

"There really are people in this world who give & give, never asking for anything in return. Martha Baxton is one of those people, and she has helped countless character animators start their careers. Martha did not give us art instructions, but what she gave us all was maybe more important: love, support and friendship. For countless students, there is simply no way we could have made it through CalArts without her.

Now, after doing so much for us, our friend needs help. Through our auction we hope to raise funds to help her pay off her husband's mounting hospital bills. Be prepared to dig into your wallets to give what you can. It's payback time for Larry & Martha!"

This is a quote from the website.

I Think that says it all. Help out if you can. I will be there. I'm going to be donating some art work from TimeOut.

As usual, I welcome any comments.

Thanks.

The Idea

2006-08-01T22:28:00.000-07:00

How did I come up with the idea? You can thank this girl. This is my niece and she was bad. I don’t want to get into what she did. No, I really can't.

I gave her a time out. She stood there for about a minute then she started to sing and dance. At first I thought she had gone mad. Then I realized she was just using her imagination and talking to herself. At first I was scared then my imagination took over. Then I really got scared... hence the idea.

Of course, at Calart's producer show there is at least one film with this theme. But like my story teachers said it is not the story but the way you tell it. Hopefully this will be fun for people to watch.

These are some of the characters. I will go over the other characters next time.

First Post

2006-07-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

Well, here I go. Ever since leaving Calarts I missed doing shorts. That was my favorite part of school. I graduated early because I got married. Amazing, I know some one out there actually wanted to marry me. It was a small wedding because I had no money while going to school. This was how broke I was during my last semester at school--I couldn’t afford the dorm anymore so I had to sleep in my car and shower in the bathroom next to the mail room.

I'm the one on the right.

Where was I going with this? Oh yeah… I am trying to make my fourth year film. I feel that this is a good place to share my pain.