Toy Thief 11- Sacrifice Week Day 7

I was crazy busy today putting the final touches on the Toy Thief model so that I could move onto the UV mapping phase of production. UV mapping is a tedious but necessary part of 3D art creation. In very simple terms, it involves "unfolding" the 3D model into a flat, 2D image, so that the 3D software understands how it should project textures onto the model's surface.

Take a look at my progress so far!

Toy Thief 10- Sacrifice Week Day 6

Today, I focused on putting the finishing touches on Thief's accessories and tool belt. I added a second strap onto the other side of his head so that his magnifying glass has something to clip onto. I'll have to research some techniques for creating a magnifying effect. Hopefully I can make it so the glass actually magnifies stuff.

Toy Thief 9- Sacrifice Week Day 5

I spent my time today developing the Thief's tool belt even further. I've added some more geometry to it, such as a clasp that attaches the lantern to the front, and a leather strap with studs to the holster on the side.

Toy Thief 8-Sacrifice Week Day 4

Just like yesterday, I spent my time today building and fine tuning the accessories that rest in the Thief's tool belt. I've added several jewelry screwdrivers and a AA battery, and I'm considering other items as well. The belt itself will be a dark leather material lined with metal studs.

Toy Thief 7- Sacrifice Week Day 3

Today, I decided to add a few accessories to the Thief's head mounted tool holster. I feel that more accessories would help to tell the story of the character in a subtle way. I've got much more that I'd like to add to him in the near future.

Toy Thief 6- Sacrifice Week Day 2

Day 2 of Sacrifice Week is here, so once again I've sacrificed several hours of my free time to the development of my newest 3D animated character, the Toy Thief. Today's job was a tedious one. I spent hours positioning the stitching around his many pockets. 

There are many ways to create 3D stitching; I chose to create the stitched look using many small thread-like shapes, and positioning them just right so that they cross one another. I could've drawn the stitching in as part of a texture, but I enjoy the depth the 3D stitches give to his overall look. It adds visual interest that just makes him more fun to look at.

Toy Thief 5-Sacrifice Week Day 1

In the spirit of progress and productivity, I hereby declare January 23rd-29th "Sacrifice Week" here on my blog. What this means is that I'll be sacrificing several hours of my free time every day this week to making progress on my Toy Thief character, while sharing my progress with the world here on my blog. Time to grind!

Take a look at the concept art for Toy Thief:

The Toy Thief is a human that was possessed by a demon and used as a puppet to sneak into peoples' houses and feed off of the good memories and energy contained within their possessions. There is much more to his story, and I'll reveal more of it at a later date, but for now just understand that he's kinda like a mummy from the 1800's.

He created most of his gear before he became emaciated; most of it is inspired by the clothing of the Victorian era.

As a part of Day 1 of Sacrifice Week, I decided to build him a chest underneath his clothing. I made this decision because I'm going to give his shirt dynamic physics, and as such, it will need a surface underneath it to fall against.

I also spent time tonight creating some of the laces that run down the middle of his shirt, and across the tears on his arms.

He won't have pupils. Instead, his eyes will look like two blood-filled sacks.