Graphic Design & The Printing Process

And here is the second workshop that I am offering.

Computer Animation & Visual Effects

This just materialized in the last couple of days. I will be conducting a seminar on the 30th of this month to talk to potential students for this course as well. So... if anyone is interested drop by.

Time: Thursday, September 30 · 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Location: Kuch Khaas, House, 1, Margalla Road, F-6/3, Islamabad

Update!

Well... There is a reason why I have gone under. There is a new short film underway. The story is written by my good friend Bilal Tanweer. We are in the storyboarding phase nowadays. The screenplay is being polished and translated to Urdu. Yes... this one will be animated entirely in Urdu and will also have an English dubbed version. I will start sharing the preproduction material very very soon. Till then... have fun with I have on so far. :)

-hamza

Mehr Nigar

So... I was told that a princess does not dress up in such a vulgar fashion as what had been posted earlier... so I had to rework the clothes to go with a more modest Mughal theme. Well... here goes. Textures are currently being worked on.
I am also uploading screenshots of what the mesh looks like in the final phases of modeling. The face mesh is intentionally kept a bit heavy to cater for a more realistic set of facial deformations (Avatar inspired). Let's see how that goes.

I prefer a much simpler and a less dense mesh for more cartoony animation. You can practically get away with murder in that case. So... all in all... it really depends on what you want out of your mesh in the longer run.

Enjoy!

Mehr Nigar

Ok... almost done with Princess Mehr Nigar. Here are a couple of screen shots of what we have at the moment. Now the jewelry should make more sense to those who were wondering... "WHAT THE...???!!!???". Once the texturing is done, I will start putting up animation tests for Mehr Nigar.

Enjoy!

Teenage Spaceman v.1.0

This has to be the quickest model I have dished out... EVER! More renders of the same after texturing and rigging. This character has been created for a music video. Details to follow in the next few days.

Enjoy!

Rashidabad

I recently got a chance to visit Rashidabad, 30 minutes from Hyderabad, and I was blown away to see a fully functional mini-city (a free eye hospital, 2 subsidized/free secondary level schools, 1 public school, a hostel for students and orphans, an old people's home, a mosque, apartments for the teachers and administration, and a hospital under construction) in a place where the terrain is parched, the people are poorer than poor, children are undernourished and education is a distant priority.

I had heard a lot about Rashidabad before i visited it. And frankly my cynicism ruled my perception of the descriptions i was given. Well... there are few things in life that have changed my initial judgement of them... and Rashidabad has done just that. Rashidabad does provide the underprivileged of our country a new lease on life.

One visit and I can't stop thinking of how I can contribute to such a humane cause. I am a changed man.

More Jewelry

Well... Here is the almost finished necklace. The only thing left on this is the chain links and threads etc. Other than that, it is still not textured... that will happen once i am done with the entire set.

The base is all gold with rubies, emeralds and semi-precious gems and polki. Pearls and colored beads make up most of the links between the jewelry.

Enjoy!

The Dreaded Jewelry!!!

Ok... heres a high resolution render of one of the pieces of jewelry that I have been working on for the past week or so. Next step is to have a lowres version look exactly like this. This just has simple Blinns and Phongs slapped on to it. No fancy texturing at the moment.

42nd Street

Well, here's a WIP matte painting. Next post will definitely be a 3D one.

It's All in the Eyes

Name: Waheed

One of the most unsettling and thought-evoking experiences one can have is to look into the eyes of a person with special needs. It is at that time that the word handicapped does not apply to the person you are looking at... but rather is more apt for the reflection that one sees in his eyes.

A quick study on digitally painting skin. Undeniably one of the toughest thing to pull off convincingly given the subsurface scattering that occurs when light hits the skin.

Waheed... only God knows why you were chosen for such a heavy responsibility. The only thing I know is that you are truly a gift for this family... a mirror that shows everyone their real selves and makes them want to be better people. God bless you.

A Man I Know

Name: Umar

Alias: Bro

Age: 32

Occupation: Child Psychiatrist

This is the very same person who has countlessly asked me to market his blogs:

dreamstream grime

and

everything mental

So... here goes... to the 1 Follower that I have on this blog... Please check out these blogs for an absolutely refreshing doze of paranoia and mental masochism.

All your money back if by the end of reading a post you don't feel the urge to pick up the cushiest pillow in the room, lie on the bed, place the pillow on your face and press till your eyes pop out and your legs make like a chicken's. THERE... Marketed.

For the craziest guy I know... My love... My brother.

BEWARE!!!

Name: Momina

Alias: Bobbin, Zhokin

Age: 1.5

Heres a super quick sketch of a devil that I know. DO NOT BE DECEIVED by the extremely docile look towards the horizon. Think Puss-in-boots in Shrek. She has just woken up and is eying the house parrot.

No toy will live to see tomorrow. No person will go dry.

This is probably my last one for tonight. Too much sketching never did anyone any good.

Latest Sketch

Well... given that I am sketching A LOT nowadays owing to my lectures on Advanced Drawing, it only makes logical sense that I digress from my regular subjects slightly. Here's a random anatomy study on my Wacom... :) No 3D going on at the moment due the fact that my laptop decided to pack up on me. Sketching is all I can do on it now.

Lots of hatching and cross hatching on here. Enjoy!

Progress

And finally my laptop has shown me the proverbial middle finger and gone into a state of amnesia... yes... i am referring to the memory getting messed up. Given the circumstances... progress isn't much... but oh well... figured i'd still post this.

This is NOT a render... just merely a Print Screen... so don't start about the very strange edges and stuff.

On with our work then...

Plenty of slumbering, catching up on quality family time and lots of day dreaming seems to have gotten to me (about time). I have just started a new sculpt. This is a test for a new short film that I have just started working on.

Things are fairly hush-hush at this point... but as soon as the script and the characters get finalized... I shall share more. Till then... its this sculpt and plenty of sleepless nights... WOOOOHOOOO!!!!

www.headbumped.com

After ages of inactivity on here... i have something to show for this absence... http://www.headbumped.com and http://www.shatranj-thefilm.com
One is headbumped's personal site... and the other is for the latest short film. enjoy!!! and drop me random comments... :P

-h

Project Hollyweird

Ok... after months of inactivity on this blog... i finally have something that is not related to Shatranj. This is Dracula... and as much as i would want to flaunt things... this is not my design... designed by a friend (Hassani) for his final thesis (Hollyweird)... i just happened to model it. For everything awesome related to Dracula visit: http://hcmcintosh.blogspot.com/

Next up... Dracula all rigged and counting... :P

Project "Nani": Phase V

Nani's first animation test. Considering that i haven't been very regular in uploading stuff... I figured it is only fair to share this with you guys. Not to forget... Nani has been wanting to get up and walk for a while now... As far as you animation experts are concerned... which technically i should eventually become if all goes as planned... this was strictly a rig test and i agree isn't even half done. Either ways... Enjoy!!! Nani finally walks and jumps and stuff... :P

Project Human Anatomy: 101

Ok... i agree that i've been slacking off lately... but all for good reason... i've been wanting to learn more about the human muscle system and Zbrush for a while now... so rather than dishing out a few quick posts...

i decided to combine the two studies and apply all that i keep learning about the body into sculpting in Zbrush. Almost done with my first model... this guy has been modeled keeping Meb Keflezighi (2004 Olympic runner for 10,000 meters) as a reference. The ears and the final details for the whole body are up next. hopefully in a day...

Project "Nani": Phase IV

A little about "Nani": An 82 year old mother to 5, grandmother to 9 and great grandmother to 2, abandoned by everyone including the husband who took "till death do us part" quite seriously. She now lives alone in her old apartment.

Setting: A broken down apartment in an old building that frowns at the grandeur of the mosque that is visible from its rooftop.
Location: Anarkali, Lahore, Pakistan. Once a very well to do area, has developed the reputation, with no less help from the very liberal business community that resides herein, of harboring the rejects of the society.

Aaraiz

My younger brother's band - Aaraiz (pronc.- aa-raise(n): leader) has released its first video in Pakistan and is currently being aired on The Music, Aag, Play and will soon be on MTV and Channel V. The song is called Aarzoo (Wish, Desire). Catch the video online on www.aaraiz.com

Project "Nani": Phase III

Here goes... Nani... finally decent enough for public viewing. The standard Shalwar Kameez was a must. I still have to work on the accessories; bangles, earing, nose pin, slippers. Also the Dopatta (sash) still needs more work.
Am trying to decide between a standard strip one... the one that is on right now... OR a heavy one. hmmm... Don't take these renders as the final thing. This is merely the the 3rd Phase. :P

The Football

I figured i'd put this textured football up too... since "Nani" in her clothes keeps crashing on me during render. update on "Nani".... soon. In the meantime... 20 points for anyone who can figure out the biggest problem with this football pic (no... it is actually this bashed up).

Project "Nani": The Faithful Steed

No story is complete without the faithful pet... in this case the extremely intimidating, fearless, attic dwelling World War II series lightening fast steed that has kept Nani company through many lonely and at times scary adventures in the God awful basements of "The House". No one remembers its name anymore. Nani suffering from severe amnesia from her war days, does not remember it either. After reading the fading letters on the side we could make out "HotRod", based on which we (Nani and myself) have decided to call him "Shera (Punjabi for Lion)". Be Scared!!!

Project "Nani": Phase II

Ok... here goes... Nani's proposed hairstyle. Anyone who has any issues with it... speak now or hold your peace forever. Makes the system quite slow though... sad... such is life.
The hair have been modeled using Maya's Hair dynamics. Not exactly what i would call a joy ride. uggghhhh... working on a slow system with hair sux. Next phase... riggggggiinnnnngggggg!!! yay!!!

Project "Nani": Phase I

Just got done modeling my latest character "Nani". Still have to work on the clothes, hair and accessories though. The detailed character description will follow in a couple of days... as soon as i can make her decent enough for public viewing... :P

The General

General Parvez Musharraf has very quickly become a very popular political figure in the past 2 years. The self-proclaimed President of Pakistan was the target of a few suicide bombing attempts when he came to power. Mostly by jackasses who started hallucinating of lounging with 70 virgins in the afterlife even before they attempted anything (The Pakistani Police, which is saying alot, got tipped off by just watching these idiots drive while dodging these 70 virgins - on the roads). that wasn't even promised to jackasses in the first place. This video is a speech that the President made right after the attempt.

Medium: Clay

Sound: This is one of two clips done by a group of very talented yet anonymous individuals. If you guys read this... please contact me for acknowledgment. Have been waiting for you guys to come up with a new one ever since your second clip.

Self Portrait

This is who I am. "Complexly Simple". Loads of simple pieces meshed together to make a complex arrangement, both anatomically as well as psychologically. By far one of the most honest and important pieces of my work.

The model at the top center is a modular origami piece created using the Sonobe's module. The model has approx. 540 pieces. There is a bulb inside the piece that gives it the radiating effect.

The Chess Set

My first attempt at modeling in NURBS. Developed a chess set as my first assignment which i eventually ended up using in my final project for the class. All modeling, texturing and animation done in Maya v. 8.5

Theme: Terrorist vs. Anti-Terrorist (very apt for the current global political scene)

Modeling: All NURBS. Modeled out 12 different pieces, along with their accessories. The chess board and the gun rack came later on in the final animation piece.

Animation: The final clip was just a piece demonstrating the physics of falling objects. Animating all the different tiny elements took some time. Sound still has to be added (eventually).

The Bottle

Mental Ray is the stuff!!! A very simple Revolve for the bottle and bit of tweaking of the vertices to give a bit of detail for the refraction and reflections to give a nicer feel for the bottom of the bottle.

Rigged up the color and transparency of a Ramp Shader with Anisotropic shaders.