Seeking 3-D Modellers for Film Project

[fritzthefox]

My name is Barry Munden. I am a traditionally trained illustrator, and like most artists I dabble in all sorts of creative disciplines. My latest obsession has been animation, and one of my recent forays into that arena has been an aviation-themed animated cartoon called “Fritz the Fox”. (Fritz is sort of a Wily-E-Coyote of the skies...visit fritzthefox.com for details) I have been selling DVD’s of Fritz for about a year, with modest success, and my distributor has expressed interest in purchasing another volume, this time with a WWI theme, which I have begun preliminary work on.


I am hoping to make many technical improvements to my animation in this volume, and have recently purchased a 3-D animation tool (called Swift 3D, which is easy to use, does a great job of making 3-D models look like 2-D art, and integrates well into my animation environment, which is Flash-based) to give more life and lively camera work to my aerial scenes. In so doing, it has become obvious to me that my reach exceeds my grasp, and that I either need to spend a good deal of time learning to make 3D models, and then building them, or else I need to find someone knowledgeable about WWI aircraft and 3D modeling to assist me.

Since we all seem to share a mutual interest in aviation (I am, myself, a pilot) and many of you seem to have created a number of exceptional 3D models of just the sort of planes I am in need of, I thought perhaps one or some of you could collaborate with me in some way on this project?

Any degree of assistance you could offer, be it second-hand 3-D models or active participation in the making of Fritz, would be welcome, and I would, of course, do anything within my meager abilities to insure that your contributions were both recognized and compensated.

Anyway, let me know if any of you have the time or inclination to assist me in some way. Whatever you decide, I wish you all happy New Year, and all the best in your own creative pursuits.

[Tim West]

Hello and welcome.

Neat stuff you do over at your place

Not sure if I can help too much....guess it depends on what kind of help.
My problem is that I don't have a huge collection of models yet. They tend to take a bit of time. Though it looks like low poly stuff would work for what your doing. Those models don't take as long to do than most of what you see posted here.

Just for fun I rendered a toon shader Dr1.



Is this the type of stuff you need?

[fritzthefox]

Hi, Tim. Yes, I am just looking for relatively low poly models which I can import into Swift 3D (which imports 3DS or DXF format...if necessary, I may buy Strata Studio Pro, which can import other formats, as well) and then render in a cartoon-like manner (as in your sample). Ideally, I am looking to obtain a variety of specific aircraft, which I could then either tweak myself or have someone assist me in customizing to my own needs (primarily by helping me in creating custom textures, and perhaps building and inserting a 3D Fritz).

Since I am still storyboarding, I do not yet know of all the models I need yet, but some that I DO know I will need include the Albatros, which will be Fritz's primary ride, and a variety of other circa-1917/1918 biplanes and military craft, including a German two seater (not really picky about which one, although if it could be a pusher, it would help with the gags), a Zeppelin, a WWI tank and some Allied aircraft.

Since I need such a diversity of models, I expect I will end up obtaining them from a number of sources, and then having one trusty soul help me convert and customize them.

In return, I cannot offer a whole lot (boo, hiss), since I have yet to MAKE a whole lot from Fritz...he has always been more of a labor of love...but I don't expect anyone to work for free, either. I realize that 3-D models demand a great deal of time to make, which I doubt I could really begin to afford, so I am hoping to locate existing models that simply need some customizing and then beg, borrow or buy them and have someone tweak them for my needs. In return, I can offer screen credit, free copies of the Fritz DVD (the existing one, as well as the one under production) and perhaps a nominal fee. (Small fee...really, really small fee)

My highest priority is to find an Albatros D-series aircraft, put Fritz in the cockpit and obtain a decent allied plane for him to spar with. The WWI British tank is also important. The rest of the stuff is desirable, but not essential. Most of the cartoon will still be 2-D (I may even end up redrawing the 3-D stuff by hand, if necessary...which I sincerely hope it will not be LOL! But it all depends on how well it integrates with the 2D stuff...)

In short, I need someone with 3D-skills and a passion for WWI aircraft to do a ridiculous amount of work for a laughable amount of money. Anyone interested?

Even if no one has the time or inclination to assist (I know I'm asking a lot), I would still be interested in obtaining the aforementioned models in a usable format. Anyone who would be interested in contributing, or can recommend a good source of such models, post here, or feel free to email me: fritz at spanishcastle.com

[Tim West]

Heya,

Whoa, thats no small project there Have you asked anyone
working on FS WWI mod? They might already have what you want.

Depending on what type of help, I might be interested in helping out.
Though time would be my biggest problem.

Let me know when you have a more defined "to do list" and we can
talk further.

Again, give the FS guys a jingle.

[fritzthefox]

I have set up a small web page to coordinate model-building activity for Fritz's Flying Circus. You can find it at http://www.spanishcastle.com/justpla...ingcircus.html

I invite everyone to have a look and let me know if you have any questions or comments. I expect the page to grow over time, but even now, you may find some useful downloads there. And please let me know if you think of something that may be useful to modelers that I can put there, or if there is a particular model you may wish to tackle.

My first goal, from a technical standpoint, is determining just how complex a model needs to be to provide satisfactory results, and how best to skin it. I will post the results of this testing as soon as it is completed.

I also hope to have a common color palette completed soon and available for download, to insure that the 3D models match the 2D art, although I expect it may get revised a lot throughout the course of production.

Anyway, have a look and let me know what you think. I am still very early in pre-production, so now is the best time for feedback (and the best opportunity to get a pre-existing model in the cartoon)

Even if you have no interest in submitting models, any feedback or advice on making the techincal side of this work is welcome. The end result will hopefully be another fun Fritz cartoon that we can all enjoy.

[Tim West]

Again that is quite the list. I will let you know soon what I can help with.