Ronald Graham Hiscock


Artist and Animator


Computer Animation




In January of 2005 I enrolled in an intensive computer animation program at Concordia University in order to acquire working knowledge of Maya 6 and 3D Studio Max 7, the latest version of the two most widely-used programs in Montreal studios. With my background in classical animation, these new skills weren't hard to pick up, and in almost no time at all I acquired a great handle on the programs.

It's no surprise; my skills lie in the environment and modeling areas. These are examples of various stages of characters or locations designed in each program for assigned projects.

For a full-size view of the drawing (if available), click on the image.

If you are interested in seeing the full 50 second animatic of this 3D Studio Max project, please contact me.





3D Studio Max



For the first assignment in 3DS Max, our teacher told us to create a simple object. I designed a ship's wheel, finished rather quickly, got bored, and decided to design a ship around it. This became the basic location for my focal project. This is that ship before texture, approximately halfway through the project. This series of shots demonstrates my handle on modeling, without the distraction of colour and texture.



This is the front of the ship.



A view of the central deck area.



A view of the aft deck, with the wheel that started it all.



A view of the hull, with a good look at the stabilizing secondary hulls I designed.



This is the very first frame of the finished animated sequence, which brings the camera in and down to the ship, then pans from the bow through the rigging and along the deck, then up the aft deck past the wheel, over the back railing, and then turns to focus on the back of the ship as the camera pans away. (It looks dark, but that's just the angle the lighting is at in this frame. It gets much brighter as the camera moves in.) If we were closer, you'd see all the texture, shadows, and detail that have been added.



Here's a shot of the finished main deck from the final animatic.



This view doesn't actually appear in the animated sequence; it's an alternate camera angle of a single frame.



This is the front and back view of the character designed as the captain of the ship. It's a 2,621 polygon model (not including the sword).




Maya



This is a walking robot warrior, designed to be controlled by a pilot sitting inside the left side of the chest area. I designed this with lots of gears and moving parts, and a unique off-center gun. This is the basic build, pre-texture and pre-colour. The robot is fully animatable, and in fact played a major role in my final project.


Here's the front and back side view of the robot warrior, coloured and textured. Note the tinted covering of the pilot's control area; without a background behind it makes it seem like a hole in the chest of the robot.




Here are two views of the environment/location designed as the repair garage for the walking robot warrior suits, pre-texture to better demonstrate the modeling.



Here's the front and back view of the bipedal reptile character created in Maya 6.




Back to the main Portfolio Page

For samples of the following art styles, please click on the appropriate link:

  • Classical Animation Work
  • Computer Animation
  • Concept Art and World Development
  • Illustration
  • People and Characters
  • Life Drawing
  • Logo Design



  • All images and content © Ronald G. Hiscock 1995 to 2006. Please do not copy, alter or distribute any material from this website without written permission.

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