Update on the Project

Hey Everyone

Not much progress on finding someone with both the modeling talent and time available for the assessment of the base mesh. I have a couple of new people lined up that may have the time soon though. (fingers crossed). I am hopeful that someone will shake loose in a couple of weeks.

A few helpful modeler types have looked at Morphy's base mesh briefly and commented that there are some optimization things that can be done with the palms and backs of the hands. It looks like there is also a need for more detail in the mesh around the shoulder area. It's just a matter of finding someone to do it.

Talked with Andrew S. this afternoon and he had some great ideas that came out of a discussion he had with a lady in the marketing group at Ex'pression: draw on outside professional concept artists by offering a way for people to submit costume concepts for future consideration in the project. That way folks have a chance to get stuff built for their personal projects and the students have a way to interact with people in the industry. I'm very keen on this new facet for the project and I can move forward with this idea independent of any modeling work. Great potential here for interacting with fashion and design type artists as well.

Andrew says there is also a possibility that I will be able to work on E.C.M.W.P. as a group project for 2nd term at Ex'pression. It's contingent on whether a prior approved project goes forward or not. (again fingers crossed)

Not as much forward movement as I would like overall, especially with AAU semester starting next Monday; Which means I will be swamped until May 21st.

That's all for now.

Dave

Next Step, Model and Texture the First Concept - any volunteers?

Great work getting the first concept out the door, Jayna (not to mention setting up a lovely template for us!) Many thanks and Kudos.

Now I need to find someone with superb modeling and painting skills to build this costume for us. Rodney, you're busy at the moment. Olivier, are you still following the blog? Who out there in Ex'pression land has the time to build out the shirt and pants concept? I'm thinking 20k poly count max for best balance of interactivity and visual fidelity. Can we keep the shirt, pants and shoes as separate geometry for modularity? On the texture side, I'm thinking a 2k texture for the whole outfit (is that a reasonable budget?) Share your thoughts on any of this.

If you're out there and have the modeling or painting time and skills (or know someone who does), give a shout in the comments and we can go to the next step.

I'm working on an animation file to test range of motion and blend shape sliders. As soon as we have the costume built we can test it out.

new template

here is the new template revised based on feedback with a rear view as well.

template

So I have started the first template, a male.... sort of like a ken doll, so that clothes can be built on top of it. I will expand the variety of templates as time goes on. Clothing can be built on top of the templates for any others that want to demonstrate some ideas. I will do more later for the female and additional body types and ethnicities.

I can also make the photoshop files available for project members.

Additional Costume Ideas (from google working doc)

ADDITIONAL IDEAS	HAT, GEAR, PROPS	Other notes
Clown	rainbow wig, red ball nose
Mime
Rock Star	spiked mohawk, tatoos
Sports Jersey	ball cap
Witch	broomstick, cauldron, wand
Caveman	club, big bone
Hobo	bindle, worn shoes and hat
Roman Legionnaire	gladius, shield, galea
Zombie		how do we remove flesh and expose bones?
Dracula
Mummy
Frankenstein’s Monster
Wolf Man
Tiki Doll/ Witch Doctor	Spear, Face Mask	think “Trilogy of Terror”

Welcome to The Project

Here are the basic goals of the project.:

1. On the Ex'pression College website, create a persistant downloadable library of costumes for use with Josh Burtons "Morphy" rig. Additional costumes will be created, expanding the wardrobe on a regular basis.

2. The costumes will be modeled and textured by students of Ex'pression College, giving them a venue to showcase their talents and receive credit for the use of their work. Incusion in the wardrobe will require that the costume is built and textured to a high and consistant visual style and technical standard.

3. Everything will be free for use for any non-profit venture. Terms of use will require credit to Josh Burton for the rig, Ex'pression College and the student(s) who models/textures the particular outfit(s) used. For-profit use will require written permission.

4. The wardrobe would have tutorial videos and worksheets to guide users through the process of adding a costume to a fresh "Morphy" Rig or to a "Morphy" animation file already in progress.

If you're just joining the project, please familiarize yourself with the following links:

Download the Morpheus or "Morphy" Rig here:
http://www.joshburton.com/projects/morpheus.asp
test out the the morphing controls. Our costumes will morph and blend along with them.

Josh Burton's Tutorial Videos:
http://http//vimeo.com/user612213/videos/page:1/sort:newest
check out morpheus 102,103 and 104 - they cover the functionality of the Morphy rig.

First Pass of Wardrobe List

CHARACTER COSTUME	HAT, GEAR, PROPS	Other notes
Shirt/Pants, casual	jeans, t-shirt, running shoes	alt textures?
Shirt/Pants, dress	khakis, collared shirt, dress shoes	tie as prop?
Shirt/Pants, young	hoodie, jeans, running shoes	re-use casual shoes
Shirt/Pants, old	high waist, sweater vest,	re-use dress shoes
Blouse/Skirt	hemline above knee, flat shoes	alt textures?
Blouse/Skirt	high heels, sleeveless blouse	how to deal with heels?
Fancy dress	heels, v neckline, low back
Tuxedo/Suit	fedora, suitcase,	James Bond
Pirate	tripoint hat, cutlass, flintlock pistol	think Jack Sparrow
Ninja	mask, sword, shuriken
Superhero	Utility Belt, Mask (2 variations)	no I.P. infringement.
Supervillian	Ray gun, sci-fi helmet	wide open to ideas
Cowboy	stetson, six-shooter, gun-belt	black/white hat versions?
Soldier, WWII	helmet, backpack, rifle
Knight	helm, sword, shield	articulated visor?
Viking	horned helm, axe
Princess	crown, scepter, ponytail (rigged)	how to deal with dress?
Police Officer	hat, utility belt, pistol, baton	nypd
Biker Gang Thug	switchblade, “hun” style helmet	50’s era
Firefighter	hat, axe	fdny
Astronaut	helmet,
Doctor	stethoscope, glasses	lab coat scientist
Nurse	clipboard, surgical mask	scrubs
Farmer	bib coveralls, Straw hat
Angel	halo, harp, dove wings	rigging for wings?
Devil	horns, pitchfork, tail (rigged), bat wings	rigging for tail and wings?
Jumpsuit (alt textures)	hard hat, tool belt,	mechanic, prisoner
Robot	similar approach as knight
Hazmat suit	geiger counter, tongs	headmask follows chest.
Safari/Explorer Suit	pith helmet, machete, pick-axe	shorts, short sleeve shirt
Generic Monster	horns, scales, fangs, barbs, spines, warts?	re-use devil tail
Swim trunks, male	sunglasses, surf board, beach ball	bare chest could be an issue. fitted t-shirt?
Swim suit, female	sunglasses, sun hat	2 piece

How it Began

A came across Josh Burton's very excellent Morpheus ("Morphy") rig in September of 2010. I was impressed by how elegant and versatile the rig was. I was even more impressed by the remarkable generosity of spirit that Josh possessed; offering this rig free to anyone who wanted to use it.

I recommended "Morphy" to all my animation students as a very robust alternative to the venerable "Norman" rig from 1991. This new rig had far better facial controls, a wider and more articulate range of blend shapes and the ability to be morphed into vastly different body types, both male and female! The only complaint I heard was that the "Morphy" rig had no clothing, dressed only in a dark gray leotard. On Josh's website he said "...See a hole, fill a hole". At that moment, the Ex'pression College Morpheus Wardrobe Project was born.