Hotpicks and Chicken Grease

Color grading treatments for Warrior logo intro

2012-01-23T13:53:00.000-08:00

Yup, having fun.

Some color grading/Test renders...

2012-01-17T20:30:00.000-08:00

So I'm just trying different looks with this thing, playing with depth of field, lens flares and stuff like that. This actually should be figured out beforehand, but sometimes it's just fun to freestyle your ideas...

Test renders of CG hockey rink

2012-01-10T21:51:00.000-08:00

Here's some renders from a video I'm working on for Warrior sports. Creating a believable ice rink is proving to be a little more challenging than I thought.

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!

2012-01-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

Hey!

It's been a loooonnng time since I posted anything new and I really appreciate you guys for continuing to check back to my 'lil ole blog here!

A lot has been going on work-wise and I've been continuing to learn and master as much as this 3d stuff as I can...but opportunities have been steadily coming and all the hard work I've been doing seems to be finally paying off.

This is a recent project I did for Alltel, which is just a 5-6 second end tag for one of their promotions. I'm especially happy also that this will be for broadcast and will add to some of the other projects I've done for tv as well. BROADCAST is what it's about baby.

peace.

Screenshots of Weingartz Commercial

2011-09-24T18:37:00.001-07:00

I've just completed working on this commercial for Weingartz, a lawn equipment distributer, and I am EXCITED to say that this will be aired during the upcoming Monday night game between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago bears!

I have to say that many people contributed to this spot and without the feedback and collaborations I've had from them this spot wouldn't have come out the way it did!

Stay tuned for video...coming soon!!

Illustration of stage set

2011-09-24T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

here's another quick comp I did for another stage play...and once again I wasn't given the name of the play, I just know that the story revolves around some characters who win the lotto and go thru some changes after that.

CG Renders of Piano Concept

2011-08-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

Here's another CG piano I was asked to do. I may do some animation to this as well, I think it turned out pretty well considering I built the whole thing in like 4 and a half hours.

Painted Backdrop

2011-07-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

So here's some artwork I just finished that's going to be printed on a backdrop for a stage production. I really can'ttell you more of what it's about because I just don't know...but what I do know is that the final size will be about 32' by 15'.

Painter was the program I did this in.

"The Big Comeback"

2011-05-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

I can't remember when was the last time I was asked to do a 'finished illustration'!

I guess the past few years I've had so much of my mind wrapped around CGI and motion graphics I actually reveled at the change of pace to do this piece.

Our studio is moving back to Detroit this fall into the old Madison building in downtown Detroit and my boss asked me to do an illustration that would show this to help get some more buzz going around this. Funny thing about it though is that a lot of our clients are unaware that Skidmore Studio was actually established and started in Detroit back in 1959. Since that time the company has moved to a few different places... we're currently in Royal Oak.

Obviously I'm beyond excited about this move! Especially, since I won't be no more than 5 minutes away when the studio moves down here (did I forget to mention I live in downtown Detroit?).

The city has had many negative things thrown at it in recent years, but to me this is my home and it's mine. I see the good, as well as the bad and have had my own personal drama with the city. But this is where I was born, this is where I was raised and this is where I currently live...and what I have seen recently with my own eyes encourages me that this town is SLOWLY coming back.

I have to give a lot of props and respect to Tim Smith (my boss) for setting this move in motion and having the same believe and vision that I have for this city.

Now playing....'The Big Comeback"

CG concept of piano

2011-05-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys-
Been quite awhile since my last post but here are some renders I did a few weeks ago.
Based off a roughly drawn sketch by the client ( who actually is going to build this) I used Maya
for the pre-vis of what this piano would look like. It's being done for a 'hella' vocalist and pianist by the name of Marsha Ambrosius, who used to be one half of the group 'Floetry'. The client thought it would be cool to have the shape of the piano in the shape of an 'M' (for Marsha).

Does The Sun Miss The Flower...? on the Behance Network

2011-05-03T15:08:00.000-07:00

Does The Sun Miss The Flower...? on the Behance Network

Exmark Mower Video

2011-03-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

Exmark Mower Video from Andre Foster on Vimeo.

Motion graphic for Exmark mowers depicting the 'frenzy' of people mowing lawns all over the region. The first, second, and last shot are all CG which I was responsible for. I was also responsible for the news graphics and final compositing.

Sound design and VO was provided by Ozone Music and Sound.

Concept/Art direction by Shawn McConnell.

Copy by Sara Frey.

Deliciously Creative

2011-02-16T14:25:00.000-08:00

Deliciously Creative from Andre Foster on Vimeo.

CGI Motion graphic showing our studio's newest tagline. I was responsible for the modeling, texturing, and animation of the sign as well as the sound design. This piece was inspired by the original design and layout of our designer Shawn McConnell.

2011-02-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

FLAME TEST from Andre Foster on Vimeo.

'Sup
Here's a flame test I did in Maya as followed by a Gnomon Dynamics Workshop tutorial I found
by a real cool dude and great effects artists by the name of Wayne Hollingsworth.
What he went over in the tutorial was pretty amazing as far as how to get the settings just right in Maya to be able to pull off this effect.

Some areas need a little work...but I think it turned out pretty sweet if I do say so myself!

BRUTE

2011-01-28T13:19:00.000-08:00

CGI Juice Bottle

2011-01-25T06:32:00.001-08:00

Hey all
Here's a little side by side action of a before and after.
This is a project that we're trying to land here at the studio for Odwalla Juice. Instead of using actual photography, Doner advertising wants to use a CGI bottle for their client and wanted us to have the opportunity to show how well we could do it. So without any CAD data of the actual bottle...I modeled, lit, and texture the bottle myself and then later another artist by the name of Mr. Larry Dodge took the render I did and did his magic with some retouching. I think what Larry did definitely made this thing pop!

Timelapse of Digital Sculpting

2011-01-12T10:47:00.001-08:00

Timelapse of Digital Sculpting from Andre Foster on Vimeo.

'Quick' sculpts of a couple of characters I created in ZBrush. ZBrush (for those of you who may not know) is a phenomenal and very intuitive 3D digital sculpting package which gives you a huge amount of freedom to create any character your imagination may conjure up. This video depicts just that...I used some audio from Ken Robinson who gave a speech on the importance maintaining creativity within ourselves. I thought it would be cool to mix that audio along with some music I had handy.

Motion graphic for Auto parts supplier/CooperStandard

2010-11-17T15:04:00.000-08:00

Motion graphic of CooperStandard Company Ident from Andre Foster on Vimeo.

Concepts for motion graphic of show intro

2010-11-17T14:57:00.000-08:00

Michigan Opera theatre / Mikado 30 sec tv spot

2010-09-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

Michigan Opera theatre / Mikado 30 sec tv spot from Andre Foster on Vimeo.

This was done for the Michigan Opera Theatre located in Downtown Detroit. This is just one of several plays that will be playing this fall and I was fortunate enough to be able to put together this tv spot for them.
Design and effects were done in After Effects.

Logo reveal for Real Estate Company

2010-08-28T21:28:00.001-07:00

Logo reveal for Real Estate Company from Andre Foster on Vimeo.

This was a treatment I did for realty investment advisory company. The concept took a little time to develop but I went to find some inspiration from the company's own logo.
Hopefully, I was clever enough for the audience get what the whole thing is about.

ARTWORK FOR UPCOMING MOTION GRAPHIC

2010-07-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

I am really excited about this project because of the fact I'm actually doing illustration (it's been a while). I can't disclose too much of what the product is but the project will definitely be a cool piece. I have to give some love to my man Guy Allen for helping me with the final art on some of these too!

SKIDMORE STUDIO PROMO PIECE

2010-07-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

Skidmore Studio Motion Graphics Intro from Andre Foster on Vimeo.

Product Development/Card adaptor

2010-04-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

NA Bank card adaptor from Andre Foster on Vimeo.

Hey guys! I know it's been a while since my last post. Fortunately, I've been pretty busy! One of the most frustrating things when working on projects for clients is that you can't show them immediately...
But til then, here's a concept I did for showing how this adaptor fits and operates with the new Ipad. I did all the modeling and animation, plus the post effects in After Effects.

THE VAULT/ FINAL MOTION GRAPHIC

2010-02-16T11:43:00.000-08:00

THE VAULT from Andre Foster on Vimeo.

Header for 'Vault'

2010-02-11T14:12:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to show you guys the end title of this project...I just thought the look of it was cool
and exactly what I had in mind style wise.

I'm putting the final touches on the video right now, Ozone sound design will hopefully be doing the sound
to this as well.

Cool shit is percolating.

More renders for 'The Vault'

2010-02-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of rendering this scene out right now. It took a while to figure out how to make the money fall
like I wanted it to in Maya, but I'm pretty happy with the result. I think when it's all said and done this piece is going to
pretty sweet.

RAISE YOUR GAME

2010-01-28T20:51:00.000-08:00

Aside from working on 'The Vault' project...this was something I just did for a fictional NIke commercial...Maya and After Effects.

Hope you like!

The Vault Martini Bar (the Bar)

2010-01-11T19:50:00.000-08:00

Here's some test renders of the actual Martini bar, which would be inside the 'vault'.
Still got some tweaking to do...but I think it's coming to together.

The Vault Martini Bar

2010-01-04T21:21:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!!!
Here's the beginnings of a new project I'm working on. Believe it or not it involves a Martini Bar.
This is an idea I've had for a while and I'll explain further in the days to come. These are a couple
of test renders I did in Maya.

Ford Sync Ad Spread

2009-11-29T10:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a magazine spread I put together for an ad agency named 'Team Detroit'. Team Detroit is responsible for most of Ford's advertising campaigns. Sync is Ford's
new voice-activated command system that are in most of their vehicles. The whole connection between the driver and Sync is represented by these little robots who vary from sports, weather and traffic, music commands, turn by turn, etc. The concept was
created by Adam Hull, a great art director over at Team Detroit who was great to work with on this project. I'm pretty pleased by the way it came out, it's also pretty cool that this is going to be featured in Sports Illustrated...so look for it!

The robot was designed by a company called 'Psyop'.

The environment and actual Sync voice wave was designed and put together by me in Photoshop with a little work in Adobe Illustrator.

Clip Of Underground HipHop

2009-11-04T16:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a rough clip of the final animation for this...this thing has evolved ALOT...and I'm starting to get sick of it. But nonetheless, I keep wanting to
improve on it and make it as cool as I can and I've also been listening to other people's critiques of it as well (some have been pretty on point and good though).

So check out this version...everything done by me;Maya, After Effects, and sound.

ArtServe Video

2009-11-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

Hey! It's been a while since I posted but check this one out. This is the first draft I'm doing for this organization called Artserve. Motion Graphics done by me in After Effects, audio and sound design by a great score and music composing company called Ozone! www.Ozonesound.com

Clip of "Underground HIP HOP"

2009-09-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a little clip from this project, just to give you some idea of where I'm going with this. I've also included another test render with a different color treatment.

Underground Hip Hop

2009-08-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some screen shots of an animation project I'm working on.

FLOW

2009-08-13T11:06:00.000-07:00

This is a little something I just did in After Effects. It's a promo for fictional jazz club (think really upscale)...if I had about $500,000 this would be the spot I would open.

SKIDMORE MOTION HEADER

2009-08-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

This was something I created in 'After Effects' for my job.

VIRUS MOTION GRAPHIC FINAL EDIT

2009-07-31T19:55:00.000-07:00

Here's the final cut for this project...Hope you like it!

VIRUS MOTION GRAPHIC

2009-07-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

This is is something I'm putting together for a sample, It's only about 45 seconds long right now but I'm still adding imagery and ideas to it. It's done in a motion graphics program called 'After Effects'.

Dove

2009-07-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

This was something I did for a t-shirt design for a local church. Not only was I happy to do it (for it's meaning) but it was nice to switch up mediums and get from 3D for awhile. I was also pretty happy with the composition. Hope you like!

VIRUS

2009-07-01T09:44:00.001-07:00

Here's something that I'm working on just for fun...created in Zbrush, Maya and Photoshop.

I'm really just experimenting, trying to find good poses for this character.

CGI Flood Pump

2009-06-25T06:14:00.001-07:00

Had to break away from my Ringmaster project to do some real work. This thing is called a 'flood pump' and is used to pump out flood water out of different areas when needed, like in situations that happened in New Orleans (Hurricane Katrina). The client wanted to show the inside of the pump, so they wanted me to do an exact replica of their 'showpiece pump'.
The top pic is the actual pump and below it is what I did. All of it was built,
lighted and rendered in the 3D software MAYA.

I'm kinda proud of it...hope you like it as well!

Ringmaster

2009-06-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

This is a concept I'm working on for a character called 'Ringmaster'. It's an idea that I just came up with about this ghoulish, evil, half-dead side show owner who goes from town to town terrorizing people with his side show freaks. I know it's kind of dark, and I don't know if it's because of the kind of mood I'm in these days, but...
He's Modeled, textured,and painted in Zbrush, but eventually I'm going render him in Maya and do some post work in Photoshop. I also kinda sketched a little comp so you can see where I'm going with this guy. Stay tuned and thanks for looking!

Final render of 'Creature'

2009-05-22T07:39:00.000-07:00

Well, here's a final render of this creature I've been working on...and I have to say I'm pretty happy with it! I hope you like it as well.

I'm going to do maybe a couple of more renders of her and try some different looks...fun!

Some creature digital sculpts

2009-05-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

This is a new creature I'm working on in Zbrush. I didn't know exactly where I was going with this character, because originally 'she' was going to be a male humanoid of some kind. However, as I started modeling it I thought it be kind of weird and strange to put some 'breasts' on him...so now he's a her. Stay tuned to how this one's gonna turn out.

Old Man Johnson

2009-05-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

Here's something I just did in Zbrush, just trying to improve my skills within the program. Hope you like...

Turntable of Pinhead

2009-04-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

Final renders of Pinhead

2009-04-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

Here are the final images for 'Pinhead'...I'm VERY happy how it came out and remain excited about the program I modeled him in, Zbrush IS THE SHIT!

Hellraiser

2009-04-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

This is a character from one of my favorite horror movies called "Hellraiser". His name was Pinhead (for obvious reasons) and I always thought he was a uniquely bizarre character when it came to bad guys! You should rent the movie tonight if you haven't seen it.
This is a 'digital sculpt' totally done by me in Zbrush. I'm not totally done with it yet but was pretty excited with how it was coming along.

Enjoy!

CGI arm

2009-04-16T14:56:00.000-07:00

Here's an anatomy study of a very 'ripped' arm. It was done in a 3D app called 'Zbrush'.
Very nice and very intuitive piece of software for artists when it comes modeling figures and such. I love the program. You're gonna see more of these from me so stay tuned.

Set Layout for upcoming stage play

2009-04-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick little comp I did for a friend of mine who builds sets for stage plays. Him and I have done a lot of these in the past 4 or 5 years and they're actually kinda fun to do. I'm not sure exactly what the play is about but I know most of the scenes take place in this living room area.

White Party Layout

2009-03-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

This is an illustration/comp of an event that takes place every year in Detroit where everyone who comes to the party has to dress in white...hence the name "The White Party". This year it's gonna take place on top a building structure right across the street from the Detroit Opera House and not that far from Comerica Park...that should be interesting.

Riverfront property project/color study

2009-03-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

This is a new CGI project I'm beginning. I'm working out the shapes and composition right now as you can see. I'm excited about this one because I'm gonna use a new
3D program for the final render...Vue 7 infinite. It's a 'digital environment' software that not only gives you ultra-realistic renders but let's you animate your environment as well...Yessssirrr!

Final renders of CGI Interior

2009-03-07T13:58:00.001-08:00

These are the final images for my interior...remember...what you're seeing does not exist and was completely done by me in CGI.

Hope you enjoy them!

CGI Interior/before and after...wide shot

2009-02-26T09:22:00.001-08:00

CGI Interior/before and after

2009-02-26T09:14:00.001-08:00

This is the interior project I began awhile ago, I'm still not 100% finished with it but thought it would be cool to show where I'm at though.

"Floor layouts for new sports bar"

2009-02-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

These are a couple of floor illustrations for a sports bar that will be opening in downtown Detroit this spring. The name of it will be '44', representing not only the owner's old number...former NBA player Derrick Coleman (who asked me to do these), but all the great athletes who wore that number.

"Underground Comedy Series" stage layout/Final

2009-02-13T12:34:00.000-08:00

Well after many revisions this is what I came up with for this project...I tried to stay true to the earlier color study I did. I love color schemes when you put warm colors against cool, the palette hits you right away when you see it and it immediately contrasts background to foreground.

CGI Living Room Interior

2009-02-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

This is a CGI interior project I've started...doesn't look like much now, but once I'm
totally done with the modeling, start applying textures, lighting, color-it'll look like a spot you wouldn't mind staying at for awhile.

"Circuit Car" comps for Delphi Ad

2009-02-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

This was a conceptual color comp I did for Delphi. They wanted to convey a sense of the
union of automotive design and electrical engineering.

2009-02-09T18:59:00.001-08:00

Free Counter

Dizzy

2009-02-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

Miles II

2009-02-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

Louis Armstrong

2009-02-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

Nina Simone

2009-02-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

Miles

2009-02-07T15:33:00.000-08:00

Color Study/sketch for "Underground Comedy Stage"

2009-02-07T15:07:00.000-08:00

Something I'm working on for a stage set for a comedy show...the idea is to have comedians appear as if they are performing in a sewer system :-) Kind of a cool concept...I'm in the very earlier stages and awaiting clients' approval of this thumbnail I did.

CGI Android (back view)

2009-02-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

Showing off some 3D/CGI skills...

CGI Android

2009-02-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

This is something I did awhile ago in a CGI software program called MAYA and in another one called Hypershot.

Hi there

2009-02-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

This blog is my way to share and show some of my work both past and present.
I thought it would be cool to share some works in progress and connect with other
artists...(and potential clients).