New character!

Been working on a new character model in my spare time, hoping to use this little guy as my first character rig so I can try out some bits and pieces. So far he's coming along great! Still very early, but you can kinda see some of his personality shining through. He's a little adventurer.

Designs were done by my pal, Jesse Oldershaw.

Installing PyQT on OSX

Here are two websites I found very helpful with installing PyQT on my Mac.

http://www.oak-tree.us/blog/index.php/2009/05/12/pyqt-mac

This tutorial would seem like the installation is pretty straight forward... however I ran into some trouble where I couldn't install PyQT4 in the terminal due to an annoying error. I eventually came across this site:

http://www.pythonsummerschool.net/mac_pyqt.html

...and it worked! Here is a link to a forum post I made which has a lot more information on what was happening and what platform I was using.

EDIT:
Or... you could head over here and read this post:
http://www.justinfx.com/2011/11/09/installing-pyqt4-for-maya-2012-osx/

Inside is a fantastic little package that does everything for you from one install! Awesome.

D'aww, my first script.

I've been learning Python for a few months now and have been really enjoying it. To start off this new section of my blog, here is my first script I've written here at home! It's written in Python, using the PyMEL module.

This script will take what ever you have selected, group and add a '_Group' suffix. Very simple, but I use it often.

import pymel.core as pm
import maya.OpenMaya as om
 
# List our selection
sel = pm.ls(sl=1)
 
# Check to see if you have objects selected or not.
if len(sel) < 1:
    # No objects selected? Display this message.
    om.MGlobal.displayError("No objects selected.")
else:
    # 1 or more objects selected? Group all of them and 
    # add  '_Group' suffix
    for item in sel:
        pm.group(item, n=str(item) + "_Group")

It took me a while to get that Syntax Highlighter script working, but it was worth it. Click the little question mark in the top right of the code to find out more. Fantastic!

Update!

Oh man it's been a while since I've written here, oops!

I've been living in Auckland for a few months now and really enjoying rigging. At first, like with most new things, it was very frustrating getting settled in and having to learn a new job. But now, I can happily say that I've found my new passion. Animation was fun, but there's something about the problem solving side of rigging and working alongside animators to make beautiful user friendly rigs that makes this so much more satisfying to me.

I spend each day setting up props, both small and large for Penguins of Madagascar and Robot and Monster, two shows that air on Nickelodeon. This usually involves simple tasks like wire deformers, lattices, FK setups, squash and bend deformers too. Sometimes, I'll get to rig a stretchy IK spline with secondary deformers... oh boy, what a treat! Now and then we have to setup entire sets too, which involves a lot of making new proxy geo, testing UVs and adding in rigs where needed.

During my spare time, I've been focusing on learning Python as much as I can. I do a little bit of MEL now and then, but mostly Python as I find it's a more interesting language to read/write. So far I've written  a few of my own scripts which I'll be uploading to my scripts page when I get around to it. They aren't very complicated and often tailored directly to how I work, but using these scripts has sped up my workflow by an enormous amount. I've been trying to get into programming best I can as I can see how beneficial (if not essential) it is going to be further down my career path.

I haven't really given up animation, I still do some 2D stuff now and then with my flatmate on projects we share. I sometimes make little 3D tests with my rigs, but just haven't done too much more with it. Oh yeah, speaking of animation, I got my Wotwot's - Season 2 footage sent to me in the mail! It's so great to see my old work, especially since it was my first 3D job and over a year ago. I loved working on that show! Met so many cool people and learned an enormous amount.

My goals over the next few months is to get some of my scripts online and start planning out some character rigs. Hell, I'd love to release a free rig to the community one day! Hopefully when I'm a better.

Feb update

I've been freelancing for the past 6 weeks working on a few projects in Aussie. One was a couple of lip sync exercises for a small studio in Sydney and the other is an ad campaign in Bunubry, Western Aussie for a company called Weathersafe. I've been busy with making 4 new TV ads for them and so far I'm really enjoying it. It's basically made just like the Hamish and Andy toon I did a while ago, but with a bit more screen activity and vibrant colours.

Also moving up to Auckland in two weeks! Got a new job as a set/prop rigger at Oktobor working on various shows for Nickelodeon which is pretty rad, perfect for me as I want to take my career slightly away from animation and work more towards learning rigging, ultimately ending in pre-vis or layout. Animation is fun, but I can manage that in my own time while learning new things in a professional environment.

I'll post up the TV ads when I finish them all and the boss is happy with them. Hopefully in the new few months, they take a wee while to make! The best thing about getting a new job is finally having the willpower and time to make more personal stuff in my spare time. I have been waiting to make new Hamish and Andy toons and so many short films are sitting ready in my secret ideas book waiting to be made. 2011 is gonna be a busy year, I can't wait to share things with you again, internet (L).