My Animations

Story Idea:  This was my first IRTC entry. It is a 16-second looping animation of a robot bug; not the most inspired animation in the world, I admit.

Modeling notes:  The bugbot was formerly a still model. I developed script code that could calculate the location of the knee in a leg, once the other parameters were provided. The ground texturing was chosen because the checkered plane is way overdone and does not compress well.

If I were going to re-do this, I would use area lights, and have the bot walking over an uneven surface.

Notable feedback:  The texturing of the robot was deemed uninteresting, and the sharp shadows drew criticism as well. I took these comments to heart when I did my next entry.

Placement in Contest:  Honorable mention for artistic merit

Story Idea:  This was my first animation featuring the character Rusty. I originally had the idea of Rusty playing chess with a tank-dwelling cephalopod, among the ruins of a city, but I couldn't get the tank modeled the way I wanted. Rusty is the gold robot with the rusty patches. Crystal is the strange-looking object that informs Rusty of his tardiness. Misty is the glowing cloud. The chess set is a three-way chess game that I have been toying around with for years (I still don't have rules developed). In no way, shape, or form was the idea for Rusty drawn from the kiddie cartoon titled Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot; one look at each should be enough to dispel that suspicion, as should the observation that Rusty's Late was unleashed upon the world in October of 1998, whereas the cartoon first aired in September of 1999.

Modeling notes:  Crystal is simply an icosahedron, textured with pastels, with a sphere inside; the sphere contains an absorbing media. Crystal's defining parameters are gently perturbed over time, as you can see in the animation.

Misty is simply a sphere (elongated vertically) containing two emitting media (moving in opposite directions). You may notice the pawn floating next to Misty in the picture to the right; that's due to a typo in the script file, and it is sheerest luck that makes it look like Misty has anything to do with its displacement.

The subtitling was accomplished by putting a line of text against a partially transparent black rectangle, and then placing that before the camera using the appropriate matrix transform.

The fades were done with either transparent polygons covering the camera view, or by rendering two sets of frames and using a pigment map to fade between them.

I neglected to turn off the jittering when I rendered the frames, resulting in some noise in the animation.

If I were to re-do this, I would finish the game. I've added buildings to the Petrified Orchard Valley, so those would be included as well.

Notable feedback:  This animation received a lot of positive comments, although most people would have liked to see the chess game finished. I stopped when I did because of time constraints, and also because I was afraid I was too close to the file size limit (which turned out not to be the case).

Placement in Contest:  Third place

Story Idea:  The decision to re-use the Rusty model was driven by the amount of time I spent (over a month) developing the model (including time spent on discarded ideas). With Rusty goes—little robots! The idea came naturally from there. He's painting a still-life of a flower because it seemed amusing for such a harmless guy to be the focus of so much hate.

Modeling notes:  The bugbots here are simplified versions of the one in my first entry; and the flattened ones are actually a different model (with modified texturing). Getting the brush to stay in Rusty's manipulator claw was a bit tricky, and although it's not apparent in the anim, the claw isn't completely closed on the brush, so it's actually floating.

My PC (a 486/100) suffered a permanent motherboard failure during this project, which was completed on the KG-2/300 I purchased to replace the 486.

If I were to re-do this, I would probably place the paint set-up next to Rusty's house.

Notable feedback:  Most reviewers were glad to see Rusty return. The most positive statement was a question asking why I was working in the Pentagon instead of going into the computer animation business; thanks, but I'm not quite that good.

Placement in Contest: Second place

Story Idea:  I got the idea of an interdimensional portal—the gadget tying into the topic—and decided to take Rusty on a trip.

Modeling notes:  I spent a month working on the Boxer model, and another month working on decent-looking landscapes for the place where Rusty and Boxer exit. The colored fog texture of the opened gate is merely three averaged granite textures. The lights are rhombohedrons with an emitting media inside.

The place in which our heroes arrive was originally envisioned to be the throne hall of the natives' ruler, who was simply offended at the sudden intrusion; I even designed a procedural texture that created a cool tiled floor. Then I decided that it was going to be too much trouble, and went with what I did here.

The ant creature seen near the end of the animation is known as the Greb, and was not finished, due to time constraints (I spent a lot of time working on other ideas for the creature); I had done the head, neck, and shoulders, so I did a close-up. I finished the model for the next round.

If I were to re-do this, I would add some more background scenery.

Notable feedback:  I started to get feedback that Rusty was getting old, but the rules allow for re-use of old models, and I said then and there that Rusty would appear in all of my future IRTC entries.

Placement in Contest: Honorable mention for artistic merit

Story Idea:  In the prior round I came up with a story idea that took a bit more time and file length than I could accomplish in three months and five megs; fortunately, the topic for the following round fit hand-in-glove with the remainder of the tale.

Modeling notes:  I completed the Greb; the disintegration effect was built into the model, although since that time I've modified the model so that such affects are implemented in the calling code. Their idol is, of course, the Microsoft logo, and that is the Blue Screen of Death you see near the end.

Sharp-eyed viewers may notice that the interdimensional portal appears different from the prior round; I thought the sharp edges were tacky.

The title sequence uses motion blur (in order to make the shaking visible), and the bugbot returns for a little physical humor. The bugbot is walking over a Penrose tiling.

If I were to re-do this, I would merge it with the prior entry to make a single complete story.

Notable feedback:  There was general appreciation for keeping the Rusty story going.

Placement in Contest: Third place

Story Idea:  Since Rusty's name already suggests one kind of decay, it was fairly easy to come up with something.

Modeling notes:  Making Rosie by re-texturing Rusty was an artistic decision, and wasn't due to the minimal effort required; it seems to make more sense that robots of the same body design would like each other more.

I fiddled with the compression settings (I use CMPEG) when I made the MPEG file, by making use of lots more B frames than normal; looking back at it, I probably shouldn't have.

The flower was re-used from Death to Rusty.

If I were to re-do this, I would use better compression, and probably remove much of the slow camera motion that takes place in each shot. And I would model a real rose, too.

Notable feedback:  One commenter, not drawing the conclusions I had hoped from from the first shot, asked if Rusty's girlfriend would be a really buxom redhead. Sorry...

Placement in Contest: Second place

Story Idea:  A lot of people commented that the topic of this round seemed tailor-made for me; actually, this round was the most difficult to work with. Usually the topic limits things to the point that it's easy to think of a good idea, but this time that factor didn't come into play. But of course it would be a Rusty animation!

Modeling notes:  TC (short for Tin Can) is the blue robot that makes his debut in this anim. I re-used the chess set from Rusty's Late.

The computer's front panel might not be legible, but it is a Freundin 5000, which, yes, was meant to be a take on the Amiga line (I had an Amiga 500 for five years, and still have an A1200 lying around). Rosie is actually typing something meaningful, by the way.

If I were to re-do this, I would put more stuff on the walls.

Notable feedback:  There were calls for a full-length Rusty feature. I wish I had the time...

Placement in Contest:  Sixth place

Story Idea:  After I had made the animation-within-the-animation for Rusty's Whipped, I decided to enter it into the contest as well.

Modeling notes:  This animation is purposefully lame.

If I were to re-do this, I wouldn't change a thing. It's exactly the kind of animation it needs to be.

Notable feedback:  One person didn't get the joke; he didn't know that Walking was also my work, and thought I was dissing someone else's.

Placement in Contest:  Thirty-eighth out of forty; since I was trying to be bad, you could say that I really came in third!

Story Idea:  It took me a bit longer than usual to come up with the idea for this round, but once I did everything fell into place pretty quickly.

Modeling notes:  The Splice-O-Matic was devised after I realized that glass test tubes were going to bog down the rendering far more than I could afford, given the time constraints under which I work.

The hybrid tomato is known as "Evil Bob" among my acquaintances who understand the reference.

If I were to re-do this, I would put up some more pictures and charts on the walls. I would also put more malice into the hybrid tomato's scowl.

Notable feedback:  The hybrid tomato was identified as the weak spot in this animation, and I agree; it didn't look as menacing as I had originally envisioned.

Placement in Contest:  Second place

Story Idea:  The topic made for realms of ideas, as robots do in fact have inner workings. I first had the idea of Rusty and Rosie going to vacation at a casing-optional resort, but then I thought of the idea in this one and ran with it.

Modeling notes:  The blocky digital censoring uses one set of frames at 320x240, another at 40x30, and, for masking, another set of frames at 40x30 in which the censored objects are white and everything else is black. If this had not worked out, I would have done an entirely different story.

The animation also required new models, namely, the Rusty and Boxer models, without cases; this meant I had to actually develop innards for them, which up until now did not exist.

Furthermore, several other characters of the Rusty and Boxer type are seen (the sailors), and to accomplish this I modified the Rusty and Boxer models so that I had several options for the textures used. This was a bit tricky for the Boxer model, which is not only hollow, but has a steel texture on the inside, no matter what's on the outside.

If I were to re-do this, I'd put some stuff on the walls.

Notable feedback:  Oddly enough, not everyone understood the connection between the topic and the story line. Furthermore, some people thought the censoring was a riot, while others didn't like it. Go figure.

Placement in Contest:  First place!

Story Idea:  Who else would want to invade the Petrified Orchard Valley?

Modeling notes:  The Greb were augmented with weapons and other paraphernalia. The lab building from Robotany was fleshed out a bit, too; I built some anti-aliasing into the outside wall texture, and into the sign, so that there would be no moire noise in the rendering.

I was going to have the Greb's laser bolt blow a smoking hole in the lab wall, but I couldn't get the effect up to the level that satisfied me, so I dropped the shot altogether.

For this project I changed the lighting from shot to shot in the lab, so that I could more effectively employ the area lights; features added to version 3.5 of POV-Ray have obviated some of the need for this.

If I were to re-do this, I would have the staggering Greb come out before the leader calls retreat, instead of the way it is here, and get the laser shot hitting the wall.

Notable feedback:  One person is crediting me with a high degree of photorealism. Aw, shucks...

Placement in Contest:  Honorable mention for technical merit

Story Idea:  The topic dove-tailed nicely with the story from the last entry, so I did a continuation.

Modeling notes:  I had less than a month to do this animation, because my machine had to be packed and shipped during my move to Germany. I was able to take a lot of notes while I waited to get my machine back, and when I got it back I also happened to have a lot of holiday time off from work, so I was able to get the anim into shape very quickly.

I created a new robot, named Domo. The notes I made were a big help; it took about a day to type up the scene code and test render him. It was also easier because he levitates; legs and wheels take time to design.

I added low-slung lasers to the Rusty model (you can see Kammi close up her sides as Rusty rolls up); this was much more difficult than it looks. Kammi herself is a re-textured Rusty.

I found some bugs in the Greb model (no pun intended), which were time-consuming to track down.

If I were to re-do this, I would replace some of the laser bolts with something that knocked the Greb over. You know, something cooler.

Notable feedback:  Most people were not thrilled with the story, especially those who had not seen the prior entry, and I admit that this was probably the weakest story of the bunch. A few people did like some of the technical aspects of the anim, and again there was a call for the feature-length Rusty movie.

Placement in Contest:  Ninth place

Story Idea:  This took a few days. I admit that there is a lot of talk in this one.

Modeling notes:  Domo's projection display was added for this round, and necessitated migration to MegaPov in order to use features not present in the official release of POV-Ray. The way that the jet rings trail Domo was part of the original model design, but the relative lack of movement made them less noticeable in the last round.

Domo's movements are controlled by some spline macros, a dash of differential calculus, and some vector math.

If I were to re-do this, it would be the usual addition of decoration to the background.

Placement in Contest:  Honorable mention for Technical Merit

Story Idea:  I don't really remember the specifics of the creative process here.

Modeling notes:  I had less time than usual to do this animation, because of several attacks of Real Life.

Again a new robot makes its appearance in this animation. I called him Joe only so that I could have him running Joe's Body Shop.

If I were to re-do this, I would add the extra shots at the end that I originally wanted, which show the nightmare continuing until Rusty finally wakes up and takes a relieved look in the mirror.

Placement in Contest:  Honorable Mention for Technical Merit

Story Idea:  I originally wanted to show the construction of the new spaceport, but decided otherwise. The change of the story idea, and intrusions of real life (the September 11th attacks took place while I was working on this) caused me to miss the contest deadline. I didn't get around to finishing it until two years later.

Modeling notes:  The cake represents the first use of my Surface Subdivision Suite in an IRTC entry.

Placement in Contest:  Millionth Place

Story Idea:  It should be pretty obvious how the story relates to the topic. The title is drawn from the title of a science fiction tale by Philip K. Dick.

Modeling notes:  The Death Star Trench is pretty lame looking, I admit.

Rusty was modified slightly; he gains lasers in this one. Because he's dreaming, he doesn't have them when he wakes up.

The Greb were modified in two ways; first the texturing, and also the shins, which were turned upside down.

If I were to re-do this, I would probably re-do the Death Star.

Placement in Contest:  Eighth place

Story Idea:  Installing Linux can be rather involved, but most Linux users think it's worth it.

Placement in Contest:  Sixth Place

Story Idea:  This came to me rather quickly.

Modeling notes:  I developed the dome about five years ago, and am now getting around to using it in a meaningful way, although it was first seen in the opening shot of Robotany.

If I were to re-do this, I would use rougher-looking masonry for the tunnel.

Placement in Contest:  Second Place

Story Idea:  The first idea that came to mind was gravity, which most strongly is found in black holes, hence the space scene. Rendering time constraints drove me to select a less-cliched idea, the gas giant, as the gravity in question. I considered making Rusty one of the crew, but then went with having him watch the whole thing on TV.

Modeling notes:  The bots' ship is a model whose basic design was laid down in 1997; the model has been tweaked and overhauled a few times since then. Except for the Lost Rusty Episode, this is the first time I've used it for the IRTC. Except for the ship, the Greb, and the star field, all of the models in the space shots were created for this round.

Placement in Contest:  Honorable Mention for Technical Merit

Story Idea:  A simple leap from the topic.

Modeling notes:  The bailiff is a new model, as is the court house.

Placement in Contest:  Honorable Mention for Technical Merit

Story Idea:  This was directly inspired by the Columbia Shuttle Disaster.

Modeling notes:  The space port was started as part of an abandoned idea for the October 2001 round, and not finished until now. The shuttle is a modification of a design I've had lying around for some time. The yellow robot seen in the beginning was partially designed for the previous round, and not finished until now; it's actually a mail delivery robot. The round-headed robots were designed for this round.

If I were to do this over, I'd make the yellow robot move in a more natural way. I might also have made the planet more realistic. I also would have motion-blurred Rusty in the final shot so that his wheels don't look like they're turning backwards.

Placement in Contest:  Honorable Mention for Technical Merit

Story Idea:  Inspired by the Darwin Awards.

Modeling notes:  I toyed with other ways of destroying the clerbot. The one I picked was the most convincing. There is prominent motion blur in the shot of the bot smasher at work, and another where Rusty makes the data entry into his computer.

The Silver Circuit now has an exterior and a designated place within the valley.

I bought an Athlon XP 2400 to replace my 300MHz K6, and this was the first IRTC entry to benefit from it. Rendering speed increased by 1600%!

Placement in Contest:  Second Place

Story Idea:  I decided to pick up where Cliff Hanger left off.

Modeling notes:  The engineering deck is new territory, and the bridge of the Main Sequence was modified a tad. The fading of the force fields was a new addition as well. I also changed the Greb ship so that one of the gunmounts could explode.

Placement in Contest:  Honorable Mention for Technical Merit

Story Idea:  I've been wanting to break up Rosie and Rusty for some time, and the topic presented the opportunity.

Modeling notes:  Kammi's coloration is slightly changed to emphasize her robotic gender.

The sign by Rusty's new house does say "Moray" on it. This was merely an inside joke for those who use the POV-Ray rendering package; I don't use Moray.

Not only did I use my Athlon XP 2400, I also used my 2GHz Celeron laptop to render this. Home networking rules!

Placement in Contest:  Third place

Story Idea:  Of my many irons in the fire, one is to do a series of SF animations with CGI. One of the races, the Falkesians, is nearly extinct.

Modeling notes:  The Falkesian and his suit were made using a modeler I've been developing on and off for four years.

As with Full Circle, I made use of my home network to get this rendered far more quickly.

Placement in Contest:  Sixth place

Story Idea:  I first came up with one of Rusty's killer tomatoes escaping, finding its way into the local chemical factory, and coming out gigantic. I modeled the factory—which is now part of the Petrified Orchard Valley—and then decided that some effects were beyond my present technical ability, so I went with this.

Modeling notes:  The aliens were created using the LionSnake Modeler, a 3d modeling application I've been working on since 1999 or so.

Placement in Contest:  Second place

Story Idea:  The topic gravely restricted available story options, because none of the bots in the Rusty series are built for most dancing styles. This left square dancing. Since square dancing is a very social performance art, and since Rusty recently broke up with Rosie, there was the opportunity to visit some issues.

Modeling notes:  The barn was raised for this animation, and is now a permanent part of the Petrified Orchard Valley. Animating this was fairly easy, because square dancing involves lots of people all doing the same thing.

Placement in Contest:  Second place

Story Idea:  This follows up after The Passing of the Master.

Modeling notes:  The shuttle was first developed for Rusty's Birthday Surprise, but the idea that used it was abandoned. The larger Greb ship, and the hangar bay, were modeled for this round.

Placement in Contest:  Third Place

Story Idea:  For the July 2000 Round I had the idea of a casing-optional robot community (which idea was abandoned for a different one), and decided to use it this round.

Modeling notes:  There were quite a few new models developed for this round, including several buildings, a high-speed rail, ticket machines, and so forth. The digital censoring was done in the same way as the July 2000 entry.

Placement in Contest:  Second place

Story Idea:  I was trying to think of a reason anyone would impersonate Rusty, and this was all I could come up with, although another entrant also impersonated Rusty, albeit for other reasons. I originally wanted to punish the culprit in a different way.

Modeling notes:  The bank interior, and the accompanying props were modeled for this round.

If I were to redo this, I would have ended with the culprit in his cell, being forced to watch Barney the Dinosaur, and then trying to knock himself out.

Placement in Contest:  Third Place

Story Idea:  I originally had an idea for doing another Starbots animation, but the idea I had was rendered impossible by my ongoing Diablo II addiction; I came up with this idea which was simpler.

Modeling notes:  The clubhouse and the trap field are new additions to the Petrified Orchard Valley.

If I were to redo this, I would re-do the shot in which the flying saucer is hit by laser fire.

Placement in Contest:  Third place

Story Idea:  I originally had the idea of Rusty and Kammi fighting over the remote, with Rusty switching to the races when he got the remote, and Kammi switching to a soap opera when she got the chance. Then time constraints, again brought on by Diablo II, drove the abandonment of that idea. Instead I went with a race that Rusty won in his past.

Modeling notes:  The stadium is new, but is not located in the Petrified Orchard Valley.

If I were to redo this, I would have made the infield grass look more realistic.

Placement in Contest:  Second Place

Story Idea:  This simply carried the idea from my July 2003 entry.

If I were to redo this, I would smooth some of the rough edges in modeling and rendering.

Story Idea:  The hard part of this was picking the special effect to form the basis of the entry.

Modeling notes:  The array of atoms is the only time I've made use of a blob object in my animations.

Placement in Contest:  First Place! (in a small field)

Story Idea:  This idea came to me pretty quickly; I have the story of the Falkesians and the Greb outlined, and the role that our own race plays in it. This is set before the Passing of the Master.

If I were to redo this, I would add flashbacks to the Master's happier days at Lake Klenost.

Placement in Contest:  First place (in a very small field)

Story Idea:  I'm not sure how the idea for this formed. Maybe I should take notes on my thought processes...

Modeling notes:  Most of the screen displays were POV-Ray renderings of very simple scenes.

Placement in Contest:  First Place. I feasted on small rounds in 2006, and became the first person to get first place for an entire year.