First Modelling Steps

Here are some of the snapshots of my character model I've been working on. I realize that the floating hand is probably a bit creepy, but hey, you've got to start somewhere. It's not much, but these snap shots show the beginning stages of the modeling process.

The hand was more difficult to create than you'd think, and verytime consuming. Basically, I started with

a 3d dimensional cube using the program called Maya. I extruded one finger from the block, modeled and shaped it, and

then duplicated it to create four fingers. Finally, I created the thumb and slowly worked it into the rest of the hand.

The New Look

As you can see, my blog has undergone a much needed makeover. It now has a new title and banner along with a few other changes. Personally, I think it looks much better! Thanks to Komet Tails Designs for the awesome banner!

Sidenote: I was planning to post some character sketches but unfortunately I lost my sketchbook! (for those of you in my class, let me know if you see a yellow sketchbook laying around on campus somewhere). Despite the setback, I will publish some new updates on my character soon.

Strong Females Leads in Miyazaki's Anime

My last post was about the lack of leading female characters in Pixar films, but I'd like to point out that there actually are quite a few strong female leads in the animated world. Looking at studio Gibli in Japan, many all of the films created by Hayao Miyazaki feature strong women as the leads.

One of my favorite Miyazaki characters is Sophie from Howl's Moving castle. She perseveres, despite having a spell cast on her that turns her into an old woman, and fearlessly sets out into the unkown to confront the Wicked Witch of the Waste. The girl from Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind is another good example. At the end of the film she saves the world not through fighting but compassion, showing that strength in character can be shown without even picking up a sword.