Live Client Project - The Brief and Where I Am Now

I thought it has been too long since my last post about the Live Client Project (mostly because i've been really into the animation for PRP). So here is information on the new brief that Smoke & Mirrors set for me and my current developments up until now.


In August 2009, Smoke & Mirrors were asked by Telekom Austria (Austrian equivalent to BT) to create a short advert. They wanted it to illustrate and explain that they are at the forefront of communication and technology in Austria.


Part of the advert was to create a robotic dog, then animate and composite it onto live action footage. Under the time constraints Smoke & Mirrors were not happy with the result and have asked me to recreate the dog, animate it and composite onto the live action footage that they shot. The latter is a great challenge for me because I have little to no experience with compositing. However my friend Rob from Uni is becoming quite knowledgeable in this field so hopefully he'll be able to help me.

This is the concept design Smoke & Mirrors came up with for the robotic dog, which was approved by Telekom Austria:


Telekom Austria asked that the style of the dog be like the robots in the iRobot movie. They have a semi-transparent white outer shell in the shape of the creature (be it dog or human) and underneath there are cables, metal pipes and different mechanisms operating it.


So I have until 26th March to complete this to a professional standard so that hopefully, Smoke & Mirrors can use it!

Where am I at this point?
Well, to tell the truth i'm a little bit behind. According to my schedule I should already be rigging the dog and preparing for animation, however i'm modeling the final touches to make the dog more like the concept designs rather than my own imagination. Texturing won't be hard as i've already found a nice texture that i'm going to use. Rigging is going to take some time though, so I need to get a move on!

Here are a few quick renders...


I am going to London this Wednesday 10th and hopefully i'll be able to go into the studio to get some feedback at my current stage.

If anyone has any comments, or suggestions for rigging the quadruped dog, or anything to help me move along faster I will be really grateful.

Cheers!


Soundtrack: Hans Zimmer - The German Battlefront