Kate McFadden's Portfolio

Shenanigans

katemcfadden — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 07:26:57 +0000

I’ve missed blogging! Going to try to get it going again! Keeping this entry short and visual

I have been proud to be a member of the amazing Moonbot Studios team for nearly seven months now. In July I moved 1,500 miles from Fairport, New York to Shreveport, Louisiana to begin working as a TD Generalist. This studio is bursting with cool ideas and it’s an honor to contribute to them!

My primary project has been Diggs Nightcrawler, a Sony Wonderbook title about a suave bookworm detective. I’ve been able to model, texture, and light on this project, and have worked on many environments and several characters. Playing the build and seeing it gradually come to life has been really exciting.

As asset production begins to wrap on Diggs, I’m shifting onto new projects. One of these (that I can actually share!) is Golem, an ambitious and beautiful game concept we’ve just launched on Kickstarter.

So, lots of exciting things happening at Moonbot! I hope to update this blog with more work stuff when I can, as well as personal art. Mostly I’ve been doodling! But I have a few 3D projects I’m working on as well.

That’s all for now!

Wireframe Maker Script Release

katemcfadden — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 12:31:03 +0000

Sick of using viewport screenshots to show off your wireframes? Use this easy script instead for nice, neat wireframes!

Here is a script I’ve written to make setting up wireframe renders very simple. Run the script and it will create a new render layer and add a mental ray wireframe shader to all renderable objects. In addition, a simple UI provides options for changing wireframe color, width, and masking. I think this script would be nifty as a shelf button.

I used MEL for this one because I usually use python and wanted to practice MEL’s syntax. Python is still my go-to

The script follows Ayan Ray’s first method in “The Best Way to Render Wireframe in Maya”

Enjoy the script and please give suggestions for features!

Download WireframeMaker

The Statesman, continued

katemcfadden — Sun, 20 May 2012 05:42:22 +0000

In the midst of all my not-at-all-artistic finals, I needed a break today and came back to this guy for a few hours. I softened up some of his features, added a slight expression, and blocked out his clothing a bit more in Mudbox, then brought him into Maya. I began to mess around with shaders and added livelier eyes. Finally, I started to experiment with a funky hair system. Hopefully you can tell that each curl is a stylized little spiral of hair. I think it looks pretty cool. He was a redhead for a little while and I liked it a bit more, but I think grey hair will better suit his personality once I get the color down.

I finished writing my graduation speech a few days ago and picked up my cap and gown today. If my speech makes it to youtube I’ll be sure to post it here! I am really excited. I can’t believe how close I am to graduating. Time can really fly.

Sorry for the dead blog! It always tends to drop off around my finals, but hopefully I’ll be posting more soon

The Grecian WIP

katemcfadden — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 04:54:00 +0000

I missed working on characters lately so I started a sculpt in Mudbox today. This quick sketch still has work to be done, especially in the ears, hair, and clothing. But it was a nice break from demo reeling. Got to try to sculpt more often!

Timeline Header

katemcfadden — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:13:01 +0000

I accidentally ‘upgraded’ my Facebook to Timeline today, and wanted to whip up a quick picture for the top of my profile. Although I only spent an hour on it and 3d text has a bit of a cheese factor to it, I still like how it turned out.

Works in Progress

katemcfadden — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:52:29 +0000

I haven’t written to this blog in a few weeks, but I have been keeping busy! Mostly I have been revisiting old projects and updating my demo reel. It’s been a nice quarter for choosing my own projects, since my classes are pretty flexible. Sometime I’ll have to post some work from Tangible Media – I’m learning basic circuitry and how to use an Arduino and programming for some fun little projects. Hoping to tie it in to Maya or the Unity engine somehow for the next project.

In addition to updating my general reel, I am also creating reels specific to Shading and Character TD work. A draft-ish version of the shading reel is now up here. I’m working on a new intro/title card that I’m pretty excited about with a record player. Sneak peek render below.

Also, I found out recently that I will be speaking at my graduation. Got to start thinking about that speech!!