Cabinet of curiosities

Chimera flowers - plants inspired by birds and insects. All modeled and rendered by me using Blender.

Clay render

Camera setup

Final render

Clay render

Feather modeling process

AI textures in Blender

I made this tutorial to demonstrate how I use AI to help me create realistic models in Blender. I started generating photorealistic facades of a gritty New York convenience store in Dalle 3, you can use any prompted image generator. I found it pretty cool how you can keep regenerating images until you hit that perfect shot. When i find the image I like I take that image and bring it into Blender to give it some depth and life.

I show how to import the AI-generated image as a plane, and then it's all about tweaking and extruding to turn that flat picture into a full-blown 3D model. Focus on the details, like making loop cuts around the major features and fixing up any stretched textures to get everything looking just right. And once you know how to do it you can use this technique for a range of models! It's been a blast showing how AI can be a powerful ally in the world of 3D modeling, making it easier for artists of all levels to bring their visions to life with stunning realism.

Making of: Ai Exhibit

I was asked to edit a number of videos for the Museum of Science’s AI exhibit to demonstrate how AI is being used in different industries. While most of the videos were fairly straightforward a few required some movie (and coding) magic.

I used AE’s facial motion tracking to illustrate how AI proctors detect cheating with facial recognition.

Trying to use After Effects’ motion tracking to imitate pose estimation was still a painstaking process - so to speed things up I went straight to the source. I found an online class to learn the basics of using pose estimation in python and got to work downloading and setting up Pycharm. I was able to follow along with the guide and create the wireframe skeletons, doing days of work in a matter of seconds.

The code used to create the skeleton.

Previz with Blender

Using 3D to troubleshoot camera and lighting setups

This is a setup for an interview video for the planetarium team. My colleague and I carefully planned the location and lighting, using Blender for a lighting test and a panographic image to select the ideal background. This thorough preparation allowed us to create a professional and engaging interview that perfectly met the team's expectations.

Lighting floorplan

Real setup

This video was a promotional video for a broadcast spot, where the producers had full creative control. We developed a detailed pre-visualization (previz) that guided the entire production, ensuring a clear and cohesive creative vision. The final result was a dynamic and engaging video that successfully captured the audience's attention and achieved the marketing team's goals.

Camera Movement Test

Camera move setup

Final video

Mocap made easy

While working on an Ai project for MOS I discovered pose estimation, a program that uses machine learning to detect poses. This technology is already being used in facial filters but I wanted to know if I could use it to animate 3d characters. Not being enough of a programmer myself to create this I did some digging and found an insane program built for blender using pose estimation that basically uses any video to animate a rig.

Museum roundup

Some behind the scenes at the Museum of Science!

teaching a quick lighting lesson to educators in the studio setup

Filming Diego the armadillo for Latin Heritage Month

Using a pinata for a physics lesson

Interview with Dan Brown, writer of Divinci Code, about his new planetarium film

Live shows on Climate Change

Quarantine Learning: NFTs

2021: The year of the NFT. I learned about NFTs in February of 2021 when all of the sudden EVERY 3D account I follow on instagram started posting about them. I knew nothing about NFTs and even less about bitcoin but after a weekend-long deep dive I had all the information I needed to give it a go. As soon as I posted my first listing questions were coming out of the woodwork, everyone wanted to know how to get started. I still have only surface knowledge of the whole process but as one of my followers put it “in the land of the blind the one-eyed girl is queen” :) So here’s is a quick video I made on how to get started!

Quarantine Learning: Solidworks and AutoCAD with MassBay

When quarantine started in 2020 work slowed down considerably - and rather than (just) bake sourdough bread and watch Netflix I decided to enroll in classes at my local community college. Massbay’s CAD design certificate focuses on 2D and 3D commuter aided design including drafting, solidworks, and autoCAD. In my engineering design class we collaborated in small groups to brainstorm, pitch, sketch, model, and simulate an engineering solution or product. Our group came up with a water bottle storage container that could be mounted to any existing water bottle to increase portability and create extra storage.