Comic-con 2017 recap / StarNight project

First stand at a convention. I choose Comic-con Montreal 2017. It was a great experience. I can definitely say I will do it again. I was there the three days from Friday to Sunday.

What a great week-end. I did met new friends and I was able to teach a bit about my art. I try to be original by selling Stressballs in Skull shapes. It was a succes, but I didnt plan it. 58 000 attendees and I did so little copies. It was a guess for me, so I'm happy it was not a failure. I could have produce too much and get stock with it.

So I did sell two size of skulls in 2 types of foam. A stressball like foam and a Larping type foam (more firm). I also offer 4 colors (red, blue, white, black) but all the red and blues got out on Friday and Saturday. By Sunday, only black and white remain. So I brought "fails" casting skulls: Those who did raise completely in the process. I was able to sell some, since it could be an accessory for a belt or a costume.

I also sold plastic skulls that came from an old purchase I did years old. And I sold few double-head clay tools.

Since, I couldnt have produce more during the weekend, by Sunday, the table start to be pretty empty. I decide to bring some old casteline sculpts to work a bit on those. Visually that bring a lot of people to my booth.

Be aware, that we plan to create a online shop for those who want skulls during the year. But we will be back next year.

In resume, I think originality sell more. I dont plan to sell fanart sculpt or something similar, Im too scare about to possible attack from the companies.

So next year, I took a 2 tables space (with a corner). That will offer me the space I need to split the stressballs and others produces from my main produce: Project StarNight. Im a creator of stories and I decide to start my own Sci-fi universe. I want to create shorts webepisodes, but I want to sell toys from my characters first. So a big portion of the booth will serve that purpose.

Plan to have a create backdrop and 2 big characters statues in display. But people will be able to buy smaller action figure version of them (1:9 in size so 8 inches height). two characters: a sci-fi knight and a regular Galactic soldier. Maybe I will have time to do a prototype of something else.

I really want to focus on that goal for next year, hoping that my stories will get followers. Stay tunes for more info.

Endoskull 1:1 from Chronicle Collectibles + Nikon d3200

Tata ta tata! tata ta tata! Hello guys, I think I didn't told you; last year, after working on the Terminator Genisys project at MPC Montreal, I decide to order a souvenir. Costy one but still a great souvenir. As a movie fan, I was a bit desappointed by the final result of the story, but style was better then T3 or Salvation.

I was planning to do a unboxing for my future Youtube channel, but I dont have the Me-1 microphone to do my review yet. So I was impatience to open it. Anyway, I can still do a review of the piece. Who wants to view an unboking and my reaction? I though it would be better to offer a review instead.

It's my first mail order for a collectible. Usually, I go in a convention or a store to buy my stuff. First because has a Canadian I save the shipping (That collectible cost me 80$CAD), second I'm able to see the piece itself, the details, the paintjob and the possible issues with it. I also can better judge the scale of it.

But as for the Endoskull 1:1 I didnt saw it at the Comiccon Montreal this year, So I order one before every pieces was sell. Got the number 561.

The Endoskull 1:1 has been produce by Chronicle Collectibles, a Texan company who took all the 3D files from my company to 3d print and mold the result. So Im sure it's accurate and they didnt change a thing. They even use Arnold CG version to do Conan on Throne version.

That Endo is of course different from the Terminator 1 or 2 version. At first, before order, I was underring if it was too dark. Because the Genisys movie has a future dark color mood but T2 doesnt. It's suppose to be chrome, but that Genisys Endo is not. Still look great and i'm not complain at the end. Just need to polish with a tissu and it will be fantastic in my geek space.

Nikon d3200

I found on Kijiji a lovely student who sold her d3200 for a fair price. So I'm now a owner of a d3200 of Nikon. It's a DX, so no full frame, but my old d200 is also one, so all my lenses work well. I'm still planning to by a better camera for movie making, but it will be an actual video camera not a photo camera who shoot videos as option.

Comiccon, Form 1+ & Darth Vader Bust WIP006

Form 1+ and Vader wip06 58mm first print test

Hey Guys! Whats up? Guess who's back and who has great news? Me!

After 3 months and a half, I will end my current contract at MPC Montreal for 4 months (I will be call back for more fun). It has been a great experience working on a great upcoming 2017 movie.

4 months off to do what? Finishing two university courses to have my diploma so I can teach multimedias at my old cegep (at lease, thats my goal). But it's not enough to keep me occupy.

I got myself an artist stand for the next Comiccon Montreal who will occur the weekend of July 7-8-9. Come see me! I will get a corner stand to have more visibility and I plan to show few of my mini sculpt but also a work-in-progress project call for now: STARNIGHT. Can't tell for now what it is but it will help me level up in life and hopefully become an entrepreneur like my father before me (sound like a star wars quote? no? lol).

But the great news is that I finally purchase my Form 1+ that I was dream of mine since 2015. And with it all my digital sculpt will come to life. Get ready :)

So, as you can see my first print was a failure (see the picture of my vader wip 006 58mm print). I did just a test with automatic supports setup. Didnt work well. But also my print was too thin so the resin had difficulty to keep the shape. But overall i'm still grad of my first result.

I also setup a youtube channel so you can follow my work easily. I plan to do it in english but also in french since I'm one. So always two videos for the same thing for both langages. It's call Scote's Lair and it will be use for multiples things: geek stuff related like Movies/bluray reviews, CG tutorials, life tutorials, products reviews, collectibles reviews, my own projects updates, etc. I only need to buy a camera :) I have my old Nikon d200 but it's doesnt do video. So I plan a small camera like the d3200 few cheap price but can do what I want: take video. But that camera is still super good and maybe better then my 10megapixels d200 camera since its a 24. ahah

I have a microphone already and everything else like lights, etc. I'm ready to podcast but I want to do video and editing lol

For those who didnt follow my progression on the vader model. Here's my last wip and it's actually the model that I 3d print with an height of 58mm.

Back to be an artist & Darth Vader Bust WIP 005

Hello guys, it's been months since I post. My life change a bit since then. After 2, almost 3, years I finally switch back to be an artist. Not coordination anymore. At MPC montreal, I was covering FX department on various movies: Xmen, Terminator: Genisys, Goosebump, Pirate of the Caribbeans, etc. But I grow a bit tired of redoing the same schedule on planning. As an artist at least it's new subject. So I'm now in 3ddmp for MPC. I sculpt environment :) Really hope the be on many movies in 2017 to grow my portfolio.

As for my personal projects, it's still going. My Nux character is on pause since I start a Darth Vader bust in CG but I plan to 3d print it and cast it for the next Montreal comic-con 2017. I have a stand there so I hope to have something to show and sell.

I plan a screen accurate Vader bust in 1:2 scale from Empire Strike Back (ESB). So mean I will have the helmet only. I don't plan the character inside even if we see i'm in the vader chamber in ESB. I will produce a very limited copy of the v1 bust and will move on to an other bust next. Here's my progress so far

Anatomic Study - Skull - 1:2 1:3 1:4 3D Print

I order two other scales: 1:3 and 1:4. I put two dies (2d6) to help judging the scale. I'm also done with printing skull. I plan to mold them next. I try to sand the 1:2 but I think I will create a mold from that current print, cast it in wax. It will be much easier the sand it and adding additionnal details and it will be a great mold base for all kind of skull.
 I will mold the 1:4 first.

Anatomic Study - Skull - 1:2 3D Print

Hey guys, I print my skull. Turn out very well. As a first try with his 3d printer my friend did a pretty good job. I plan to order few skull of various size (1:3-1:4) to be able to have a variety of skulls.

Now time to sand it and mold it to cast a variety of material.

I did it at first to get a good base for my 1:2 sculpted busts. I don't see a lot of character busts of that size around. So maybe I can be unique in a geek convention and sell few? who knows

Anatomic Study - Skull - WIP 003

I start the detail the skull. Trying to break the symmetry as well trying to keep it the some reusable as possible to be a generic skull for other projects. I think I will 3d print the skull in various size to use as a base for my tradionnal head modelling

Or use in it as a foam skull like the pressure ball that ergonomist offer.

Anatomic Study - Skull - WIP 002

Anatomic Study - Skull - WIP 001

It has been 7 years since I start study 3D. 3 years of school and 4 years in the arena. Not always as modeler, but I learn a lot and still am.

Proof of concept, I start to redo some basic stuffs. If you know me you know I like to display work-in-progress at a start level.

I plan to do a anatomic study from bones to skin. Starting with a simple skull (I actually never did one)

The Flight of the Dragons

Man! What a nostalgia when it come to talk about that 1982 animated movie. Don't judge the dvd cover because everything is wrong with that cover. Judge the film itself. That movie came out in the same year as the Last Unicorn. Less popular maybe, he didnt get a digitally remastered version.

Epic story evolve in the era where Science start to take over Magic. In crisis, the four magicians brothers reunite to come to a plan about the future: Building the last realm of magic. Ommadon, one of the four is not agree. And go by himself seek revenge on human kind. Because the Old Antiquity, the supremy being, doesn't allow the four brothers to fight each other. Coralinus, the green sorcerer, call for a quest to strike down Ommadon his evil brother. In that journey we count two dragons, a knight and a twenty century man to lead them. Curious fact, that man is a fantasy lover but he is also a scientific.

That adventure is just fantastic, dragons everywhere, good story, great voice acting. Only the drawing is poor. Draw for TV, it's in 4:3 ratio and badly animated. It came out in VHS format and we had to wait 20 years to get it in DVD format from Warner Bros (the current owner of the movie rights).

The DVD is just a poor rip off of what look like a VHS copy and the audio is mono! I really hope someday, someone will produce a decent quality bluray and bonus features.

The dragon Gorbash asleep

I did a screen grab of the DVD (toward the end) and paintover a HD picture format (1920x1080). For that, I resize the 4:3 format picture and reposition it to save the character in frame using the Action Safe framing.

I'm not a tradionnal painter, so everything that is background painted will be hard. 

My goal is to produce maybe few seconds of animation in HD format and to redo the ugly DVD cover who was also the VHS one. Because if you compare it, none of the characters on the picture match the actual character design from the movie. 

Any way a part of the quality and the cover, that movie is a must in your collection

Bird wings/Bat wings Drawing tutorial

I found a really good Bird wings/Bat wings tutorial that I would like to share

To prevent Tendonitis

I though it could be helpful for me and other to know how to prevent tendonitis when working with the graphic tablet.