Oh, and new comic up. ;)
12-14-03
New tutorial! A video going over the use of Layered Shaders. It's in the "Other" tutorial section.
12-11-03
Hey! I've switched hosting to SimplySiteHosting.com! Let me know if you find any missing images or dead links! Thanks!
12-02-03
Here's to celebrating 23 years of me. ;)
11-16-03
Woo! New comic! Could this mean a new tutorial is soon to come? Stay tuned!
11-15-03
Yay! Crunch time's over! For now, anyway. :) More good news! I still have a job! heh heh... wish I could say more, but it's back to the normal grindstone.
11-02-03
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! ;)
Seriously, though, we should hopefully come to an end of the crunch in another week or so.
10-16-03
Still crunching!
09-28-03
New tutorial! How to use an .avi movie as a texture. :) In the "Other" section. Enjoy!
09-25-03
Whew! Sorry for the long absense, but the job is really picking up! We've just started crunching some, so I'm even more busy then before. Just last night I didn't get home until midnight! Fun job, though, so can't complain too much. :)
08-21-03
I've redesigned the categorization and layout of the tutorials. It was getting difficult to determine the "difficulty" level of the tutorials, so I'm just going to seperate them based on subject. As you can see, the vast majority of my tutorials are modeling related, but I'll try to fill in the other sections soon enough. Thanks. :)
08-18-03
Hey, SimplyMaya's run an interview with yours truly. :) Check it out HERE.
08-16-03
New video up. Replacing my old polygon texturing text tutorial in Mid-Lvl section. Hope you like. :)
07-10-03
Whoops! It would seem that I'm not supposed to be displaying my Tree images... sorry!
06-29-03
Had a milestone at work, so been quite busy! New comic up, though! :)
06-15-03
Alrighty, the comic is again a go! Going to go just 1 a week for now until I can make sure I can go 2 a week. Enjoy!
06-07-03
Alrighty, got a new tutorial up! It's a very often asked question concerning how to create image planes in your scene for reference! Enjoy!
06-04-30
Woah, sorry about the long absense. Work has been keeping me very busy! It's going really well, though! Wish I could say more, but you know... whole secrecy thing when it comes to game projects. I will say that, from what I've seen so far, it's definitely cool and definitely one I would buy myself. I've got a new video tutorial ready to go. Just need to get it online. Comics should hopefully start again this Thursday. I may need to go back down to 1 a week. We'll see how it goes, though. So, things are going good. :)
05-10-03
I made it! WooHoo! I'm now residing here in Austin, TX! I start working this coming Tuesday on the 13th. :) Comics and tutorials will resume as soon as I'm able!
05-02-03
Sorry for the lack of comics this week. As you can probably imagine, things have been so hectic, I can hardly sit still! I'm going to be heading to Austin, Texas at the end of next week in my new car! WooHoo! In lieu of getting a job, I decided to put my savings to good use: Pic1 and Pic2. :) Also, I figure it's safe to say that the studio I'll be hanging my hat at for a while is Warthog Texas. :)
04-30-2003
Fantastic news! I was made a job offer for the "Goblin Tree" evaluation I sent in! WooHoo!
04-28-2003
Good news! I just sent off a set of evaluation images for an artist position at a hiring studio. Wish me luck! I'll be sure to let you know how it goes, and eventually, display the test result! I think it came out pretty darn good! :)
UPDATE: Got my test results up. Hope you like it. :)
04-23-2003
Added a new video to my Reel page. It's a lipsynch vid of my ToonMike character singing. :) Hopefully my bandwidth will last! :P
04-21-2003
Add a Photography section to my 2D Images section. :) Nothing special, just some photos that I've taken that I think look kinda neat. I hope you enjoy.
04-15-2003
Well, we're now on a new server! There are still some gallery items and reel videos that need to be transfered, but I think all the tutorial items are in place. Let me know if I forgot something!
04-12-2003
Well, I've got some good news and some bad news. Bad news first: My site's being moved to another server. So, I've got to get ALL the stuff off from my site from THIS server to the new one... no easy task. So, it's possible, my site may be a little screwy during the transition. The good news: once everything's back to normal, the site should be much smoother without the random acts of downtime that sometimes has happend in the past. Sorry for the inconvienience!
04-09-2003
New Article up! Product review for Maya Character Animation
04-05-2003
New personal project is up. Trying to do a Golem character that is in one of my art books in under 1000 polys! :) Got him at 974 so far.
04-03-2003
Well, the site seems to be back in order. It is for me anyway... hopefully everyone else is able to see the site without any problems. :) Thanks for your patience!
04-02-2003
Well, this is weird... it would appear that I am the only person who is not able to currently view this page! I was thinking the site was still down from last month, but apparantly it is only for me. :p I'm still able to access the FTP, hence this update, but I'm not actually able to view this page! Not sure what the problem is...
03-30-2003
Whew, site is definitely going down tomorrow, folks! As of this writing, I've used 99.9% of my monthly bandwidth, and I don't think it's going to make it another 24 hours, so just bare with me! I'll see you all back on April 1st... and that's no joke! :D
03-27-2003
Car Modeling tutorial is fixed. :) I apparantly forgot to link to Figure 9!
03-26-2003
Well, as of now, it looks like my site is going to go down before the end of the month. I didn't take the movie tutorials offline soon enough, apparantly, so while the bandwidth projection has lowered considerably, it looks like it was one or two days too late. So, expect the site to be unavailable in the last few days of this month! Sorry for the inconvience.
03-22-2003
A new section has been added to the site! The Articles section will feature product reviews as well as other articles written by yours truly! Today, our first review is for The Art of Maya. Check it out!
The Hapless Hero project has been updated in 3D Stills!
03-20-2003
A belated last Sunday's comic AND today's comic is up! :D
UPDATE: My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the current Middle East situation.
03-19-2003
Special thanks to www.lyricalcombat.com for hosting the video tutorials!
Now, hopefully we won't have to take them down for a while!
03-16-2003
New personal project is up in 3D Stills. :) I'm going to try to join the CGTalk challenge once again. This time, the category is "The Hapless Hero." My concept is a robotic hero-wannabe, but he was only a PROTOTYPE robot and doesn't have his own power source, and thus, has to constantly be plugged in. Hence his name, Power Plug, and his sidekick, Generator Boy! However little Generator Boy is easily scared, and poor Power Plug is more often than not chasing after the fleeing robot to prevent his delicate connection from unplugging!
New comic will be up later today. :)
03-13-2003
New comic is up!
03-12-2003
Well, just like last month, my bandwidth is projected to exceed my allowed monthly limit, so I'm afraid I'll have to take my 3 video tutorials offline around the end of this week. Like last time, they'll be brought back at the beginning of the next month with the renewed bandwidth allowance. Don't forget that I have quite a few text tutorials that I hope can help you in the meantime. Also, don't forget to check out Simply Maya for a lot of great video tutorials!
This week, I've started a contract, a medical-based project. :)
03-09-2003
Daisy Duke is complete!
Sorta. ;) Right now, I've got too many texture maps. I'm going to fit them to be only 1 or 2 instead of the 4 I've got right now, so it will be more applicable to real game models. I'm pretty happy with it. :)
UPDATE: Ok, got final textures in the form of two 512x512 maps. :) Also put up a little action render of the rigged model. I enjoyed this project. It came out pretty much like I planned.
New comic will be updated within the day. :)
03-06-2003
Comic for today is up. :)
Also, I've updated and named my latest project: Daisy Duke! Check it out in 3D Stills!
03-05-2003
Add a new Work In Progress to my gallery. It's a low-poly game model being done for Simply Maya's new challenge for this month. :)
03-03-2003
New comic is now up. Sorry for the delay. The celebration with my family took up most of my attention this past weekend. :)
03-01-2003
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MOM & DAD!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!
Alrighty, with a new month, comes new bandwidth, so my video tutorials are now back online. Thanks for your patience with this!
02-27-2003
New comic is up.
I've added the final for the Medusa I entered into CGTalk. I hope to continue working on it later, but I think I'll start planning a new project for now. I also updated my most recent low-poly models (Hillbilly and Apartment Building) to include their texture maps, in case you're interested.
Also, I wanted to welcome all my visitors from Vocanson! I hope you enjoy the site and my tutorials. ;)
02-23-2003
Good news (sorta)! Taking my video tutorials offline has saved the site from going down in the last days of this month. I'll be bringing them back online on the first of March, so thank you for your patience. For now, though, it seems I will have to take them off about the middle of each month, if this trend of bandwidth usage continues.
Also, the comic for today is up. :)
I've taken a bit of a break from the Medusa this past week or so, as you might have noticed. I hope to get back onto it before the deadline for the CGTalk challenge, though. Thanks for your patience!
02-20-2003
New comic is up. :)
As promised earlier, I've added a new text tutorial! This one is very special, as it's a FIVE PAGE, 107 IMAGE, SCENE INCLUDED monster of a project tutorial going over NURBS modeling! I hope you guys like it! It can be found in the Hi-Lvl tutorial section.
02-18-2003
Well, as I had mentioned earlier, I've had to take my three video tutorials offline. I do have a nice text tutorial planned to make up for it. It should hopefully be going up this week. If any of you see fit that you may be able to help me out in regard to the costs of hosting these tutorials, the bandwidth upgrade would be $18 a month... I obviously won't require any sort of donation, especially from those who aren't able to afford such a thing, but for now, I'll have to take the videos on and off as my current bandwidth allows. In any case, thank you all for your support. When I am able to get a stable job, I will be happy to front all the costs myself, and take the donation link down from my tutorials page. :)
02-16-2003
Sunday's comic is up! I won't put an update here on the news page forever, but until it builds up a little steam, I'll do so. ;)
02-13-2003
Ok, so I lied, I'll do 2 comics a week instead of just 1. At least as long as the ideas hold out. So, The Mayan Civilization will hopefully be a Sunday and Thursday updating comic.
Also, in light of the upcoming holiday, I've added a new ToonMike to the character to the left. :) Refresh to see them all!
02-11-2003
Well, I have a bit of bad news. If my daily bandwidth continues as is, I'll exceed my monthly allowance again, and I'm afraid I cannot afford to upgrade it anymore. So, by the middle of next week, I am going to have to take the three video tutorials I have offline. I don't like it, but I'm afraid donations have not met the costs. Hopefully, I'll be able upgrade in the future. If you can help, I would be most appreciative. Thanks, guys. :)
02-09-2003
Well, a bit of a change added today. :) I put clearer text in the navigation bar, and you may notice that a new section has been added! Yes, I'm going to see about joining the legions of on-line comic strips out there... nothing fancy, I assure you. Just thought a 3D-related strip might be funny, as you guys who are into that sort of thing are my main audience. :) Anyway, I hope you like it! For now, just 1 update a week is planned.
02-05-2003
Updated Medusa. :)
01-30-2003
Updated Resume! :) Medusa project is still going. I'll probably post updates this weekend.
01-29-2003
I hope to hear about a possible job this week from the building test! From what I've been told, they narrowed it down to 2 or 3, and I'm one of those they're considering. :)
Also, I've added a new 2D sketch for the CGTalk challenge that I've entered. She's been added to the 3D page as a WIP. Even if I don't make the challenge's end of Feb. deadline, I plan to finish her myself. :)
Also, I've recently gutted my gallery. :p I've improved greatly over the last month or two, and decided that some of the stuff in there just wasn't helping me out any, so it had to go! If you miss a particular image that you liked, let me know and I'll send it to ya. :)
01-23-2003
Ok, folks, a new video tutorial has been added in the Newbie Section! This may have to be the last video tutorial I upload for a while. My bandwidth is getting closer to the limit, and I think too many of these large files will put it over the brink! Anyway, this one is going over Mirroring and Attaching geometry, a fairly common question. I hope you like it!
01-22-2003
TO EMPLOYERS: As the previous two projects in my portfolio were job tests, I decided to post the time involved to create them. I hope future developers who look at them will take them into consideration. I'm not trying to get out of doing tests, though. If you still feel like you'd want me to do one, that's fine. I just hope the numbers posted help you out some. :) The details are in my 3D Stills page. Thanks!
01-20-2003
This latest test has been completed. :) It has been added to my 3D Stills page. I hope it works out!
01-17-2003
I've been informed that my site will be moving servers today, so be prepared for it to go down. It should return within 24 hrs, fresh as a daisy and more efficient!
As for me, I'm working on another art test. I'll let you have a peek. ;) Wish me luck!
01-14-2003
CGTalk.com has recently announced their new challenge topic: "Races of Middle Earth." If I find the time, I'm going to enter. I've been working on some concepts, one of which, I've added to my 2D Pics gallery. :)
01-12-2003
Well, I managed to catch The Do It Yourself Hunter today. I cringed a little bit. lol I've definitely improved since then. Hopefully, they won't hold it against me. ;) But, I got a cool credit at the end, so welcome to all of you who have managed to find this site through the show!
01-10-2003
Last year I did an animation for a TV show trying to get into the networks. Well, it did! The Do It Yourself Hunter is now airing on The Outdoor Channel at 6:30pm ET, every Sunday! I haven't had a chance to catch it yet, but I'm looking forward to it this weekend. Hopefully, I won't cringe too much. lol I've improved a lot since then. :)
01-09-2003
I've added a walk cycle test clip for ToonMike in the Reel section. It's still needing some tweaks, but it's coming along. I'll have a facial animation test up later tonight.
UPDATE: Facial Animation clip up now. :) Also needing tweaking.
01-07-2003
Well, bad news, I'm afraid. Because of a freeze on all hires, the company said that it is unable to offer me a job at the moment, otherwise, I would have received it. That's the way the cookie crumbles, I guess. Hopefully, something good will happen in the future.
If anyone I spoke to happens to be reading, thanks again for the great opportunity!
01-01-2003
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
For the occasion, I've added a new outfit to the random ToonMike's. :D
Also, I should receive word as to what the decision of the job interview is in about a week. Wish me luck!
Until next time....
MICHAEL MCKINLEY
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