Busy Bee

Well it sure has been a while hasn't it?

As you have all read I recently moved to California a couple months ago to pursue a career in the Film and Game Industry. And with enough hard work and passion in art, I have done just that. 

Visual Effects?

I may have gotten my Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Animation and specialize in Setup Design, but I'm currently interning at a wonderful company called Skulley FX. It's a Visual Effects Studio specializing in Music Videos, Commercials, and Films; with wonderful artists at the helm and some amazing talent, it's been an honor to intern there. 

Now I will admit it's been a real transition from going to 3D to 2D, but I'm managing. Apparently I have a knack for Beauty Composition! I actually have recently worked on the new Disturbed Music Video! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LypjOTTH6E

Check it out!

Though I am definitely still working on my rigging by working for another company called Free Dominion Studios LLC. Which is an up and coming PC Game Studio based in Orlando Florida! There I'm one of the head Technical Artists on the team; responsible for creating functional and personal rigs for characters and props if need be.

All in all it's been a wonderful experience! Thank you all for your support!!

Calibraska

So I decided to pack up and go to California. I had come to realize that there really wasn't anything in Nebraska for me; except family and a couple friends, but if I wanted to do something in my field I needed to leave and start again. 

A total of 19 hours driving a stick shift mini cooper.

With one of my best friends.

Through several states.

One being Utah, which I discovered was hell to drive through! (There was literally NOTHING!)

And now it's been almost a week since I have arrived in California. I'm currently sleeping on a blow up mattress in the living room of my old roommate from college. I'm so blessed to have some amazing friends that have literally taken me in broke; basically living the artist lifestyle till I can find a permanent job! Though, luck has been on my side. I was recently hired to be a Technical Rigger at Free Dominion Studios for 3 years! It's part time and I'm very excited to be on the team, but I still need something permanent if I plan to eat more than Ramen for the rest of my life! 

Which to that I have met some pretty amazing people in the industry here. All of which have been helping me out and giving me possible opportunities. I'm trying to get all the interviews in before I permanently decide what I plan to do with my life. 

The Process

Practice, Practice, Practice...

I was always told to do this. In order to get better you nee to practice and push yourself. Come out of your comfort zone and do something extraordinary. Because in order to achieve you need to try. 

"But how do you do it?"

To do a lot of my traditional work there is a lot of math involved. 

I graph out the image I want to do (starting with 7 16ths); and whether I want to do something bigger or smaller I will either go up or down from there. Then on the actual drawing paper I will measure out exactly 1 inch square boxes. 

Then from there I start square by square and get to work. 

I have been asked this question a lot in my life when it came to my work. First, I always say that I have always wanted to be an artist since I was little. I was the first to put clothes on my stick figures for goodness sakes! Being serious though I have never wavered in my decision for my life long career. So I have been practicing all my life to be at the level that I am and I'm still pushing and practicing to do even more!

And you can do the same.

Just believe in yourself!

Aint That Sweet

I'm an official published Illustrator!

Aint that sweet?!

The book went to print on Monday, August 30th 2015. I will be kept up to date when the books are starting to hit the shelves, but I'm already so excited. The idea of going into a book store and going to the children's section then seeing the book in someone's arms is just exhilarating! The idea of bringing a bright smile to a child's face is what thrills me!

Now don't kill me, but I can't announce what the book is called...yet. Though like I said, once I know when the book is officially on shelves I shall let you all know! 

In other news...

In the meantime I have been preparing myself to moving to California. I'll be couch surfing on some of my really good friends sofa's while I look for a job in the industry.

It's time for this small town girl to go to the big city and give it all she's got! I want to be a Technical Artist for a living and I'm not letting anyone get in my way. I'll freelance, eat ramen, get coffee, start at the bottom of the totem pole if I have too. Because you have to start somewhere and where better to start then the bottom. It just gives you more drive to reach that top! 

So wish me luck, and maybe if your hiring me..you should really give me a shot as well! 

With that...

I'll leave you guys with a recent Graphite Piece I did while filling out Resumes. This is probably by far the biggest portrait I have done..for now. The smile is what really captivated me in drawing him (late to be found out as Charlie Hunnam from Son's of Anarchy). I hope you all enjoy..and please critiques are welcome!

Almost Done!

It's almost published!

This is definitely a time to celebrate. I have almost completed all the illustrations I have been hired for, for "Mitzi the Dishrag Dog" by Fransisco Figeuroa. 

To give you some insight I was hired to do some illustrations for an upcoming Children's Book back in November of 2014. It is now August 2015 and I'm almost finished. The sketches have been critiques, the publisher has bought the book, and I am finishing up with the color on each page. This is definitely a long awaited excitement! The book should be released in the next couple of months and I promise I shall keep you all updated. 

Along with that...

I have also been doing some freelance Character Rigging work on the side. I'm still planning on moving to California here soon and seeing what I can do out there. This is what I love to do and I believe I have a real talent for it; it's time to go where all the job opportunities are and show them what I have under my belt of experience!

So wish me luck! 

Be Beautiful

" Take criticism...SMASH it into dust...and use it to paint breathtaking images of unicorns frolicking through fields of greatness!" ~ Mathew Gray Gubler

I can not tell you how great these words are! Not only do they make me laugh (of course), but they make me move forward in this hard life and stay my up beat self!

Why?

It's been almost 2 months since I've graduated Full Sail University! I graduated not only the Valedictorian, but I also got high honors; such as the Academic Achievers Award and 5 Course Director Awards. I did so much better in school than I would of though, but I'm so proud of myself and thankful for all the people who have gotten me where I am today. I am still looking for job and I have met some great people along the way and have learned so many things!

So "Why?" you ask? Because just when I think that I might have failed, I learn that I need to take what I've learned and been told and make something so much beautiful!

Demo Reel

And I can finally breathe...

*GASP*

Well to all whom are reading this; it's official, I'm done with my Demo Reel. The long nights, blood, sweat, and tears have finally paid forward to this. Yes, I will admit that it is not perfect; but it is my first reel and I've very proud of it. 

I'd honestly like to say "Thank You," to everyone who has helped me or been there for me on this journey. It's been an absolute wild ride here at Full Sail. From meeting so much people who have changed my life to experiencing new technology that I wouldn't ever touch back home in Nebraska. 

Well enough tears and enough waiting...

Here we go!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NNKiK-QVnY&feature=youtu.be

And His Name Is...Birb

Let's see how fast we can go here...

I've been super busy trying to get a lot of my demo reel work done, along with rigging my friends models and packing to head back home. Yes, sadly if I do not get a job I will have to head back to good ole' Nebraska for a bit and hang out with my family; which all in all isn't a bad thing. But I will worry a lot about whether or not I'll be employed soon or not! 

Though I think every college kid worries about this...

Though I still have some time; so let's get as much done as I can and hope for the best!!

WHOOP WHOOP! :D

So here is the first asset I have rigged for my friend. She has named this little guy Birb; which is quite fitting, though he looks like a Mango....

I rigged this little guy in about an hour! I'm pretty impressed with myself; sure he isn't super complicated, but he has a squash and stretch system on him and custom controls (the wings icon controls his foot curls and his tail). She wanted a super simple rig to display her modeling skills and I think I did the job quite well!

Also check out the screen share I did!!

Let's Get The Ducks In Order Now....

Well hello to everyone reading this right now! 

As I come close to Graduation; June 5th, everything starts to pile up and hit me like a freight train. Time to get my ducks in order and get stuff done for graduation.

So that brings us to my Demo Reel...

The official Demo Reel will be released once I graduate June 5th; but for now I'll give you a little teaser on all of my assets. Now remember I'm a Setup Artist, which means I specialize in placing all of the joints within a 3D mesh and getting it up to a point where Animators can actually animate the mesh properly. 

So lets begin...

Body Builder

The focus of this asset is to show my knowledge of the Male Anatomy. Within this specific mesh is a fully functional Maya Muscle System; which mind is a pain in the butt to create, but oh so rewarding. These muscles scale, stretch, slide, and jiggle underneath the skin to give it more of a real life look when simulated in animation. 

Female

The second asset is to show my knowledge of the Female Anatomy. What people don't realize is how different Females and Males are on the inside; past the obvious differences of course. For example; when a Female breathes she breathes from the upper chest and breast area, while the male breathes from the side of the ribs.

Frenchie the French Bulldog

Frenchie's purpose is to show you that not only can I do more realistic Rigs and Effects, but I can also do cartoon, quadruped rigs as well. Like the others he has custom controls and are all easily manipulated for the Animators use. 

If you want to see his teaser trailer check my earlier post...

Frenchie the French Bulldog

To the people viewing this right as I type...

Alright so I've been super busy lately with getting my demo reel all put together. As you know I'll be graduating in June and I'm very excited to release all of the hard work I've been up to those 3 months.

Just to give you a teaser of what I've been up too...

This month I rigged a small stylized French Bulldog as my second asset for my Final Demo Reel. Full IK leg system, IK Spline that follows the chest and hip controls when moved, and custom controls; along with a joint and blendshape driven facial setup. I also couldn't do this without my animator Zachary Gillespie​ and the modeler fishzombie. 

In all..

I enjoyed this rig very much and learned a lot. I've been studying a lot of human anatomy so it was a nice transition for me to start studying some animal anatomy. I also went home and played with my dog to see how she moved; in the end I had some great knowledge, but an upset dog! 

Screen Capture of the Controls for Frenchie

Rendered out preview of Frenchie

Now check out Frenchie's little trailer before his big debut...

Official Website Release

UPDATE!

So it's official!! I have my very own website with all of my work upon it. You can view a lot of my work ranging from Traditional to my current study, Setup Design.

So please keep following me on this journey; it's just about to take off and I'd love for you all to continue with me.

This just now makes it easier for you all...

                                                     http://www.savannahcudzilo.com/

Let's Not Explode!

Hello everyone...

So I have been just so busy working on my Setup Final that I just had to take some time and do some traditional art pieces; otherwise my head was going to explode!

We wouldn't want that would we?

I just recently completed two canvas pieces and a graphite piece just this weekend! Please leave your comments and give me some feedback!

Canvas piece done with Sharpies and Acrylic Paint!

Canvas piece done with Sharpies and Acrylic Paint!

Graphite piece.

Confused Yet?

Prepare yourselves...

As we come to the middle of the month I can reflect on what I have accomplished from the beginning of the month and determine how fast I'm moving with things. Honestly, I haven't moved as fast as I would like. Though, I do have some pretty good reasons as to why I have not finished rigging my first model and why I have not even started on the dynamics of the Maya Muscle System. The number one reason is I bought this specific model off of Creative Crash and the character is not in the traditional A-Pose or T-Pose. His arms are slightly bent which could potentially mess up the Pole Vectors set up in his elbows. I've been dreading this outcome; which is the reason I started with the legs first and finished rigging them up before I moved to the arms. Instead of my usual frustration with the possibility of changing my rig and wasting money, one of my old teachers (Ken Norman) took the model on and is going to change the stance of the character to make it easier for me to finish the IK/FK system in the arms. I'm very thankful that he has no problem with doing this, he basically saved me a lot of time. So by the next time I post something to my blog the whole body should be rigged in it's new position and I should be moving on to painting weights and playing with the Muscle System.

On another good note I was able to fix the textures and ask one of my friends, who just happens to work at MPC for Shading and Lighting, to shade and light my character to make the model look more presentable.

All in all I'm pretty happy with what I'm doing and even though I'd really like to be moving at a faster pace then I am right now I'm okay with where I'm at.

Custom Master Control for the Body Builder.

Body Builder at this point in time.

Textures and Displacement Map so far.

Where Have I Been...

So I'm just starting up Finals...

Well it sure has been a long time since I posted anything to my blog. The end of November was actually the last time I posted any progress here at Full Sail or life in general.

I'll try to get better...

The reason for the absence is because during the month of December I was taking my APR Class and the Art Evaluation. The Art Evaluation used to be a month long test here at Full Sail University that individual students would have to take in order to continue with the program. Well just recently that test was switched to a class because they realized it was a struggle for many students when they were taking two classes along with the test in one month.

I took it the last month before it became a class; which I am taking this month. Instead of using this class to do the Art Evaluation, I'm actually using this class to start on my Final Projects for my big Demo Reel before I graduate here in June.

So with that said I have actually collected my first Asset, which is a male Body Builder. My goal for this rig is to create a functional muscle system underneath the mesh of the character, along with the joint system of course. Since I was little I've been very interested in the anatomy and muscle system within a human. It's so intricately beautiful. And even though it looks the same, it's quite different. The reason I'm using a body builder is because they have such large muscles that you can see them clearly moving underneath the skin. That is the exact effect I want to create with my mesh.

I will need all the luck I can get!

As you can see I've already added the joint system.

Here is the shaded mesh figure I'm using.