Sunday 30 October 2016

Everything's better with pictures - blog update

Hi! I thought that my Express Tales page was in need of a little refreshment, so now I matched the link to each story with a little portrait of that story's protagonist. Be sure to check them out right at the top, or here. Oh and I did the picture-intervention for my Games Page too, and that's here. See you around!

Tales From The Express - Encounter 8: Broken Advisor

I know I am there for others. Whenever they need that specific information, important phone number or directions to the centre's nearest bathroom, I am incredibly happy to help. But even in that fulfilment, I still remember how long it's been since I stopped helping Myself. I know I am not in the best shape and my health keeps getting worse by the day, but I have that same fear... I am afraid that if I start taking personal matters seriously, I might become too selfish to help those around me. Can that be true? Or as long as I found my lost stash of self-esteem in my job I should just keep at it? Should I focus on giving or having? Contribution or Survival? I don't master those questions yet, but I know I can get you a quick appointment with the marketing executive on the 4th floor, ok sweetie?
 

Tuesday 25 October 2016

College Sketching Session: 6 kinds of "Tadaaa"

Since we were looking at the structures of character poses, I tried making my 6 interpretations of Felix The Cat's pose be as wacky as possible. Still, one thing I wanted to have in my sketches was more volume, I wanted to feel how that pose actually curves in space instead of just replicating its shapes. But with no further ado, here they are:
Aand the original:

Saturday 22 October 2016

Tales From The Express - Encounter 7: The Old Model



I was sure that my time had passed. I felt like nothing but a staircase that newcomers trampled on their way to progress. A tool. And maybe that's what I am after all... These circuits, however glitchy they are, still understand that we all have a time to be glorious and a time to get used to the mark we left behind... And my mark is huge, so huge that it echoes in the making of all these new fellows with their thin black monitors and wireless connections...
I am indeed a staircase, but the materials this silly old staircase is made of are making the entire structure taller everyday.
Youth is inside of the Hard-drive. (I always wanted to display that)

Support Andreas' stories on Patreon

Friday 21 October 2016

College Sketching session: Mobster Dog and Pig

The session's theme was to draw characters in a 1920's cartooney style... And what does me do to make sure those characters radiate with the 20' vibe? Well, Me decides to involve a little North-American cliche that might have not even happened in that period (but it felt 'vintage'). In conclusion, next time you wash your dog's little vest, make sure no guns will get in the washing machine...



Wednesday 19 October 2016

Tuesday 18 October 2016

A big step for me: Patreon page progress

For quite a while, I really considered making a Patreon profile. I think it's a fantastic idea to expose creations on a place of the web where people can actually support your work in a trustful, tangible way...And since I liked it so much, the last couple of days went into putting together my Patreon page, which I am going to launch tonight...As soon as that is done, I'll make sure to put a link on the next post, so you would be able to check it out. *Subtle Excitement Screams*

Saturday 15 October 2016

Tales From The Express - encounter 6: Why a Soldier

I wanted to be a soldier. Why? They wanted me to be one. Being a soldier meant being the best, as if all things good in life would blend inside this status. It had an importance, a value. So I enrolled. I went there and trained hard, got infused with the atmosphere of the dusty camp and canned fruits and noisy mates, and became that appropriate kind of soldier. But then I never saw things the same.

That importance and value I heard of was covered in the hard work and realness of it. It was a role of strength and glory..But beyond that, it was a role of heaviness and bearing the next day. A role of leg-aches and regret, of mud over wounds and loud bangs followed by endless smoke...It was a real role.

They wanted me to become a soldier. Why? Because in a world where every single role you take can be the best one, this was the very first they saw.


Friday 14 October 2016

final vfx animation

In order to make a visual effects project that will match the main theme of the unit better than the interactive piece, the last couple sessions were spent on working on an After-Effects animation featuring a more slick version of the previously used crystal monsters.

Tuesday 11 October 2016

Blog Upgrade: Express Tales collection

After I released the newest episode of Tales From The Express, I knew I wanted all of the previous ones to be more accessible somewhere, instead of leaving them buried in blog logs and timelines...
For that reason, I created the Express Tales page on the blog, with links to each of the stories and the characters telling them...
I also made the social media page, putting there all the other places on the web where you can stay in touch with the stories as soon as they appear... :)


Monday 10 October 2016

Compositing test: Big city and Bigger trees

In the 3d silhouette test we did in after-effects, although I carefully followed the steps to doing things right, I knew I wanted one thing with the cityscape and the trees.... Colour them!
In my mission, the project's appearance went from bland:


To not so bland:


To this!
I also switched to the idea of making one of the trees huge and further back in the landscape, because it adds that extra-variety.



Sunday 9 October 2016

Tales From The Express - encounter 5: The Junkineer


'Everything is useful. When I stopped seeing the objects of this world as wrappers and protection cases for the more important ones, I realised that every junk and left-over has its role. One example? You know what's the most ordered object in today's market? The box! And when I finally embraced the whole value of this so called "junk"... It became part of me..'

Saturday 8 October 2016

Andreas Express + Inktober = Luv

I recently got involved in the Inktober movement, which means that I will post an ink doodle each day for the rest of October, each based on the official inktober themes...Below are the Inktober entries from the 3rd (the day I was sure what Inktober actually is), up to today.
If you'd like to see the entries for the rest of the month (as well as the Expressy stories behind them), they will be on my Twitter, as well as my Instagram.
But until the end of the month, I can still show you these folks:





Monday 3 October 2016

visual effects project: Dice monsters

For my personal interactive vfx piece, I needed to fill the scroll-able panoramic photos I made with a bunch of strange crystal entities... I gave them the code name "dice" because I used photos of tabletop rpg 20d's as inspiration... They were technically prepared since the beginning of the project, but since the landscape still felt too empty, I created 3 more...And for all of these reasons, this almost individual piece was formed:

Saturday 1 October 2016

Tales From The Express - encounter 4: Iceberg tip


Try and smile. Even if your insides might be melting down, (from climate change or whatever cause), you have to believe you can keep it cool. A happy look on life is indeed just the tip of the Iceberg, but it's that little tip that will change everything...