Nicolas Cop-pola & The Knave Nic Brig

I finished The Viceroy with a few weeks left before The Nicolas Cage Party Los Angeles.  A friend suggested I should create a few more pieces  and I figured "why not?" So the next step was to think about what new Nic Cage ideas and personas to create.  I decided to simplify the technique for the new pieces, so The Viceroy was the main focus and the new pieces would be complimentary.  I ended up deciding to make a cop and a pirate version Nicolas Cage.  It's almost like I was creating a variation of the Village People. 

First, the cop.  I wanted to use the mug shot image from Raising Arizona and I thought it was humorous to turn that image into a cop, a bobby, a police officer.  An added bonus is the ability to play with Nicolas Cage's given name of Nicolas Coppola.

Nicolas Cop-pola

8"w x 11"h x .5"d

Mixed Media - charcoal, pastels, fabric, acrylic paint, metals, resin, on wood.

Next was the pirate.  After The Viceroy and the cop, I wasn't sure about the next persona, though I did want a long haired version.  I was doing a google search of Nicolas Cage images and movie posters and saw the poster for Zandalee (a movie I'm not familiar with).  I immediately thought a pirate would be the next piece I'd create.

The name "The Knave Nic Brig"  was a mixture of various searches, while talking with my roommate.  I tried going to pirate name generator websites for inspiration.  Many of the names had descriptions pegged on like " so-n-so the terrible," or "one-eyed so-n-so."  I liked the sound of "The Knave" and Brig is another word for "a place (as on a ship) for temporary confinement...."  Thank you Mariam-Webster.  So Brig was a good sea-worthy alternative name for Cage, thus The Knave Nic Brig was created.

The Knave Nic Brig

8"w x 10.75"h x .5"d

Mixed Media - charcoal, pastels, fabric, acrylic paint, metals, resin, on wood.

The art show is on Saturday and my excitement is growing.  The tickets have sold out and it's sounding like it'll be quite an entertaining evening.

http://www.nicolascageisgod.com/

https://www.facebook.com/events/1440194232892177/

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-nicolas-cage-party-los-angeles-tickets-11259530559

http://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/art/the-nicolas-cage-party

http://mashable.com/2014/04/09/nicolas-cage-art-show-party/

Nicolas Cage on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

They begin to talk about the Art Show around 3:30

Compilation of 3D Modeling Work

Examples of 3D models I created for various professional projects.

Resume

Shot Breakdown:

Mastodon - The Hunter

IronMan & LG

Personal project - Art Comes to Life

H8 - Load - comic book female

UL Kinect Demo

Kraft - Triscuits Thin Crisps

Total Immersion in house project - Monster Me - Devil

Simon & Schuster - Wondla - Bijou blimp

Chick-fil-A - Hero Cows - Decibel

Disney's Amazing Spider-Man - Spider-Man AR Book - spiders modeled based on the Spider-Man logo, Spider-Man mask

Ebay fashion - cateye glasses, groucho glasses

Stelara - pharmaceutical chart

Restasis - pharmaceutical chart

Staples Center - JumboTron

CocaCola - Cowboys & Aliens - Speeder

Avatar - I modeled Dr. Grace's journal and a flag

Tic Tac - Strawberry Fields - modeled a strawberry, a saw blade, a dirt pit, and a 'creampoline' marshmallow-like item

In-Style - ornament

Umi - demo

Tic Tac - Sleeping man - I modeled the murphy bed and the man

Yahoo - Fancouver - various hats and an olympics-inspired medal

The Viceroy

When I heard there was a Nicolas Cage themed art show in San Francisco and it was coming to LA, I knew I wanted to attend.  When the option to be IN the show was brought to my attention, I knew I had to create something!  It took a while for me to come up with an idea that really resonated.  I started out by creating a charcoal portrait of him on a piece of wood and then the idea unfolded.  I knew I had to add a hat AND a monocle - Steampunk Nic Cage was born - later known as The Viceroy.

The Viceroy
Mixed Media on Wood - charcoal, pastels, fabric, acrylic paint, metals, feathers, leather, resin
June 2014

12"w x 18.5"h x 4"d

The Viceroy Facebook Art Album
Melissa Fontanini Artist on Facebook

http://www.nicolascageisgod.com/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1440194232892177/
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-nicolas-cage-party-los-angeles-tickets-11259530559

http://laist.com/2014/06/19/photos_what_you_can_expect_from_the.php#photo-1
http://time.com/45297/nicolas-cage-art-show/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/17/nicolas-cage-art-show_n_4964643.html

More compositing, matchmove and integration projects

My Turn - Matchmove & Integration Project
The piece is a little out of context because the storyline isn't complete, but it's about an unfinished piece of art that has been waiting around to be finished.  When it gets fed up, it breaks free from the wood board and goes after the artist.

I shot all the footage using a Sony PMW EX1 camera, used PFTrack to do the 3D tracking of the footage, modeled, textured, rigged the 3D unfinished piece of art character, and animated in maya (animation refinement necessary, but class is in a half hour!)



Transformation - Compositing Project
This was the final assignment of my compositing class.  We were given the topic of 'transformation' and I chose to interpret the story of Daphne from Greek Mythology - female who turns into a Laurel Tree.
I shot myself in front of green screen, modeled a 3D figure in Maya to roughly match my form - used many masks in after effects to show the transition of the tree bark growing up my figure.


Red Riding Hood - Compositing Project
This was a homework assignment where we were given a still background plate, greenscreen footage of Red Riding Hood, and a movie of a 'sparkly ball'.  The task was to integrate everything together using After Effects - rotoscope Red Riding Hood's left hand so the sparkly ball passes behind it, a lot of color corrections, some fog, lighting changes, etc.

Busy Busy Busy!!

The last few weeks have blown by like a hurricane!  I started teaching 3D Character Rigging at the Art Institute of California, Los Angeles (I have never taught before).  I also started taking 2 courses at Gnomon School of Visual Effects to learn a few new skills as well as keep myself active in the digital world.  The downside is that it is pulling me away from creating my own art.  I'll find balance eventually, but for now I must get a handle on this new schedule.  Teaching is a ton of work.  I may only be in the classroom for 4 hours (which is a long time to be teaching one class), but I also spend so much time prepping for the class, while trying to squeeze in time for my homework assignments for Gnomon.  This leaves my social life a little non-existent as well.  I'll get a hold of it all eventually!

Disco Theme - After Effects assignment

I started taking an After Effects compositing course at Gnomon School of Visual Effects to freshen up my skills. This was one of our assignments dealing with parenting, nulls, precomps, and effects. Done in a few hours one afternoon. I did a lot of experimenting and testing out new techniques - color explosion, disco style.

The quality is a little crummy on here...also posted here:

https://vimeo.com/93310215
http://youtu.be/TQW6yDCeBC0

Using Masks - After Effects Assignment

I started taking an After Effects compositing course at Gnomon School of Visual Effects to freshen up my skills. This was one of our assignments dealing with masks and alpha and luma track mattes. Done in a few hours one afternoon.

https://vimeo.com/93313810
http://youtu.be/nrP53PdoI-I

First Art Show - in a decade!

I haven't displayed my own artwork since I graduated from undergrad at The Ohio State University.  A friend suggested The Chocolate & Art Show in Los Angeles, I had a few pieces complete, so I submitted them.

I submitted 6 pieces:
Vortex - mixed media on plexiglass (light box - glass stain, acrylic paint, sand, gold flakes, inks, resin)
Diana - "Moon" mixed media on wood (glass stain, acrylic paint, ink, steel piping, resin)
Apollo - "Sun" mixed media on wood (glass stain, acrylic paint, ink, copper piping, resin)
Magmatic - mixed media on wood (glass stain, acrylic paint, ink, sand, resin)
Absinthe - mixed media on wood (glass stain, acrylic paint, ink, resin)
Chimera - portrait - mixed media on wood (glass stain, acrylic paint, ink, resin, charcoal, pastels)

3D Artist & Animator Demo Reel

Here it is, a demo reel of my 3D work thus far!  All projects while working as a staff 3D artist at Total Immersion.

For added clarification of each project, the various clips contain reference images and/or videos of that project being implemented in the actual augmented reality scenario.

Also found on Vimeo 

Resume

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Demo Reel Shot Breakdown simplified:

Mastodon:    modeled, textured, rigged, and animated

Iron Man:    modeled, textured, rigged, and animated Iron Man; modeled and textured the desert environment he flies through in during the game

Disney - Tinkerbell:    animated

Avatar - Leonopteryx:    animated

Avatar - Prolemuris:    rigged and animated

TicTac - Pick Up Lines Beaver:    modeled and textured the hole; updated/adjusted the beaver texture, rigged and animated the beaver

Avatar - Direhorse:    animated

Cheerios - Buzz:    rigged, and animated

H8 Society - Load:    modeled, textured, rigged, and animated

Monster Me - Devil:    modeled and textured

Avatar - Sturmbeest and Secops soldiers:    rigged and animated

Avatar - Hellfire Wasps:    rigged and animated

Chik-fil-A - Decibel:    modeled and textured the cape and galoshes; textured, rigged, and animated the cow

Google - Taxi:    animated the taxi

AMD - Jetbike Driver:    modeled, textured, rigged, and animated the driver

BP - Pump:    modeled, textured, and animated

Avatar - Stingbat:    rigged and animated

3D Artist & Animator Resume - 2013

Click on the image to enlarge it.

3D Artist - Project List to Date

This is a list of all the projects I worked on while at Total Immersion.  I've included when they were completed and a quick description of what I did for the project.

Click on each image to enlarge them.

List of Projects from 2009

List of Projects from 2010

List of Projects from 2011

List of Projects from 2012

List of Projects from 2013

My Work for the Spider-Man AR Book App

There was an iPhone/iPad AR Book application created to coincide with the release of The Amazing Spider-Man.  For the app I modeled, textured, and animated 3D spiders inspired by the 2D logo, modeled Spider-Man's mask, and create other elements to help with the games: a jar to catch the spiders in, web, various colors of spiders, etc.

Previous Blog Entry about the Spider-Man AR Book

Spider-Man AR Book App for iPhone

Augmented Staples Center

I worked on a project creating an augmented reality version of the Staples Center where the roof was removable and you could peer inside to see a King's hockey game, a Lakers basketball game, or a concert (as well as the respectable locker rooms).  I animated the basketball scene and modeled the Jumbotron scoreboard.  I also modeled and textured each locker room.  This application was only viewable at the Staples Center, using a scaled model of the building as the tracker/activation of the app.

My Work for an AMD Racing Game

I textured and animated the driver and jet bike used in this racing game that implements augmented reality.  Show your tablet to the coffee table tracker and activate a racing game.  Shown at CES 2013

Breaking Through Walls

For an event for Google, we created 3D walls that (that tracked over top of the actual walls of the space), when tapped on the device, would be broken down by a wrecking ball, a taxi cab, or an "Android of Liberty" character revealing the exterior skyline.  I animated the wrecking ball and the taxi cab.

Comic Book Brought to LIfe

Comic book brought to life - H8 - Load

I was given an image of a character named Load.  From that I modeled, textured, rigged and animated her (The model was worked on by me and one other person, bouncing between the both of us, so I don't take all the credit).  Load is a character from a comic book who has a super powerful fart.  She screams when she doesn't hear music, so you tap on her head which activates the song.  She begins dancing and when you tap on her again, she releases her powerfully resounding fart.

Project from September 2011

My Work for Wendy's and Animal Planet's Augmented Reality Campaign

Wendy's kidsmeals released animal planet toys that each had their own Augmented Reality game (created for iPhone and the web):  a cat in a living room that chased mice and a ball of yarn; a black lab going after frisbees on a beach; a yellow lab going after tennis balls in a back yard, a chameleon going after crickets in a terrarium; a bird in a cage 'memory' game; and a fish in a tank going after food....  I created the terrarium, living room, beach, and part of the backyard environments, as well as rigged and animated the dogs.  The upper left corner is a video of the games being played on iPhone.

Wendy's and Animal Planet Team Up

In the App Store


My other blog post about Wendy's and Animal Planet

A video compilation of clips from each game being played on the web.





The next video is similar to the last, but it's just a longer compilation of clips from each game being played on the web.

CMAB Cows App - Accessorize Your...Cow Self?

This was a project for CMAB using Augmented Reality to have a cow head track on top of yours and you get to choose different accessories to adorn the cow's head.  I did a few 3D elements for this app...after you line your face up in the guide, a cow head pops on top of your shoulders.  You are then able to add different elements to the cow head like a beard, a nose ring, a top hat, etc.



I created the red lip texture, a pink bow, a top hat, a monocle, retextured a cowboy hat, created a bull nose ring, earrings, cateye glasses, and 'hipster' glasses.


CMAB Cows App

Tic Tac Strawberry Fields

In association with the new Strawberry Fields Tic Tac flavor:  iPhone game where you bounce a strawberry from one "creampoline" to the next without falling in the dirt hole.  I modeled and textured all the pieces.  This was one game in a series of different games created for Tic Tac

Link to my other Tic Tac blog entry

My work for the TicTac Augmented Reality Campaign

February 2012
I rigged and animated the Beaver in a few different flirty animation cycles for an iphone/ipad application (and tweaked his textures). As you press a button, he filters through different pick up lines.


February 2012
I modeled, textured, rigged, and animated the man on the bed. I modeled, textured, and animated the murphy bed as well. This is for an iphone/ipad application where the user rolls the man from one side of the bed to the other in order to avoid falling objects. I have the man animated in place, rolling to the left and rolling to the right because the character will be translated left or right on the engineering side of the game. The character also has an animation of him as if he was hit in the stomach, for when one of the obstacles/objects falling around him does end up hitting him.



February 2012
This is part of the "Most Americans Spend 13 Years of Their Lives Watching TV" experience: Why, you might be able to walk around the globe 3 times.
I rigged and animated this sequence; the shoes walking around a rotating globe.


In order of appearance in video:

Most Americans Spend 13 Years of Their Lives Watching TV: I worked on the text backdrops/frames, animated the helicopter (there's also a mortar board and dunce cap that I modeled, but those weren't in the video)

84% of People Always Sleep on the Same Side of Bed: modeled, textured, animated the murphy bed; modeled, textured, rigged, animated the man in bed

Most People Use the Same Old Pick-Up Lines: modeled, textured, animated the dirt hole; rigged and animated the beaver, and adjusted its texture

Tic Tac Tibby: created the tic tac box registration screen; modeled, textured, and animated the conveyor belt at the bottom of the screen.




Tic Tac Viewr

Total Immersion Blog Article

My Work for the Strawberry Fields AR game

My work for Mastodon's Augmented Reality campaign

Based on reference photographs, I modeled, textured, rigged, animated, and created particles for the Creature Head that dons the cover of the latest album released by the Heavy Metal band Mastodon.



September 2011

In the video: the top left is the album cover for "The Hunter" and the bottom left is the Creature Head being implemented in the augmented reality scenario.

When you buy the album, you use it to unlock an augmented reality experience, with the help of your webcam, where you are able to 'wear' the creature head yourself.

Previous blog entry about the Mastodon project - 01

Previous blog entry about the Mastodon project - 02

Mastodon Partners with Total Immersion

"The Hunter" - Coming for you in Augmented Reality

Wireframe turnaround view of the Creature Head

My work for Iron Man 2 & LG Augmented Reality game

I created a low poly Iron Man, textured, rigged, and animated him in cycles for game play...as well as created the desert environment.
IronMan stops to check his LG phone for directions when he gets lost ;)



April 2010

In the video: the top left is the implementation of the Iron Man 2 game scenario.

The animation is a sequence of cycles outputted altogether (an idle, turn left, turn right, dive, etc. and everything returns to a neutral position in between each action). The engineering side breaks the sequences apart to make it game play ready.

Previous blog entry about IronMan 2