[Carol Badger]

I am here in San Francisco and very interested in using my 15 years of solids modeling experience and architecture degree to be a character modeler and set designer for your firm.

I have been using Maya software for solids modeling, rigging, animation of camera and characters, rendering as well as particle dynamics simulation. I am well versed in both low and high polygon modeling as well as NURBs. Please review my reel and resume at:
www.VirtualDisplay.com

I have 2 projects for you to view:

The first project, Mice of MacBeth, is to a Shakespeare quote, so please turn ON the volume.

My second project, I Dream of Geni, is much more technical, incorporating Maya's Paint Effects for her hair, Cloth, Dynamics for the cloud particles, and a complex rigging system evident by her belly dance!!

My Geni project is actually quite a sophisticated example of character modeling. From her clothing to her complex rigging system, my geni project demonstrates my diverse modeling skills.

As you well know, modeling a proportionally correct human is rather unforgiving, especially compared to modeling a fictitious cartoon character. My Geni has realistically sculpted shoulder blades, slightly protruding wrist and ankle joints, pelvis and collarbones. Even her finger and toenails are painted to match her lipstick. My Geni dances to show off her very complex rigging system, which I painstakingly devised.

Her clothes were the most challenging. To produce her diaphanous pantaloons, which billow out from her waistband and then gather back in at the ankles took quite a bit of research and work, which I have now confidently mastered… using a bit of my own ingenuity! Adhering Maya’s Paint Effects on to control curves produces my Geni’s shiny hairdo, with a ponytail of cascading curls.

I am well versed in character texture mapping using Photoshop. For my Geni’s face, I laid out polygons, which composed her face and transported them into Adobe’s Photoshop to apply her make-up. For her realistic skin texture, I actually scanned the inside of my arm and created a redundant jpg file of my own skin to plaster all over her body.

As an Environmental Artist, I like to model historically inspired backgrounds. For my Byzantine Geni character, for example, I sculpted Moorish onion domes falling on traditionally Roman Ionic columns. This mixture of styles can be found in the once Moorish parts of Spain, like Cordova. The intricate banister beyond contains the repeated Star of David and colliding circles, which was inspired by the design of a Mosque in Cairo.

I embellished my Geni’s environment with sophisticated particle effects. The original ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ TV program, starring Barbara Eden, inspired the cloud particles spewing out of her bottle. For extra magical effect, I carefully rendered my cloud particles by gradually ramping their size, color and glow throughout the particle life span. The sky is also carefully rendered so as to absorb the glowing particles without reflecting their shadows.

My MacBeth Mice project is a fun example of how I can creatively interpret Shakespeare’s play write. It is less technical than my Geni project, but there are a few highlights.

In the first scene, I play a neat trick using double-sided polygons to more effectively illustrate a mouse tunnel. As the camera pans down, the mice march in a section cut of the tunnel, but as the camera swings around to the front, the backside of the tunnel is completed!

I manually animated wire deformers, not fluid effects, to create the waves emanating, and then dissipating, away from the goodies my mice drop into the cauldron. I used Maya Paint Effects to create the animated flames.

The mice replicate imaginary mice I drew when I was a child. You can see my sketches by clicking on “SKETCHES” on the home page of my VirtualDisplay web site.

I hope all this detailed explanation of my “double double toil and trouble” will help you appreciate my range of Maya skills.

Lastly, I would like to point out that my experience, outside of Maya, further qualifies me to contribute to your firm. With my years in architecture, for example, I am used to listening to and interpreting my visionaries (okay, my clients!) to create environments, which completely meet their needs. As a sole proprietor of my own residential architecture practice, I had to use a lot of self-discipline. Deadlines were imperative.

As you can probably tell, I am strongly motivated and detail oriented. I like to have challenging jobs, which allow me to creatively think outside the box. Please review my qualifications carefully. It would be a pleasure to meet with you.

Please let me know if you need my work on VHS and I will send you a copy. Your time and consideration are very much appreciated.

Carol Badger
www.VirtualDisplay.com
cmbadger@VirtualDisplay.com
(415)441-2331
1966 Jefferson Street
San Francisco, CA 94123