Updated Work Reel

Robiety Work Reel 4-11-11 from Jeff Yandura on Vimeo.

Those daring to dream ideals must dare to share them as realizations, lest they remain so.

Robiety is the story of evolved social systems like our own, and of the ordinary individual encompassed by them. The daily grind takes both literal and figurative meanings for Sector 51's S.I.M.B. (Standard Issue Maintenance Bot) as he struggles to differentiate himself in a unified, rigid society steeped in efficiency and perfection. Working to perpetuate a civilization believing to have achieved its technological apex, he, like his fellow citizens, strives to obtain scant upgrades that enhance his status in the Robiety. With the lofty goal of attaining that one screw or bolt that elevates him to the upper echelons of Sector 51, S.I.M.B. carries out his redundant existence until a freak work accident changes the perception of his reality forever. An errant malfunction leads to dangerous, yet wonderful concepts in stark contrast to those shared as ideals throughout his world. The imperfection in his programming, S.I.M.B decides, may not be such an imperfection after all. An attempt to share this dream with his colleagues and loved ones also held captive by the monotonous existence of Sector 51 proves both daunting and inspiring. Robiety is the tale of an individual's realization, discovery, and struggle, detailing the pertinence of a utopian societal conflict when juxtaposed with our own.

Roh-bi-eh-tee

The official Robiety logo and title card.

Edgey.

Pretty nighttime shot.



Still working on inbetweens, cleanup, and colors and hope to have that done soon because I'm tired of worrying about them. More and more shots are finding their way to completion with just a few outstanding shots. Maybe it's just me but sometimes there are shots that I just avoid like the plague until I grow a pair and tackle it. I've got a few of those scattered around that are always on my mind. Hope you guys like what I'm doing and if you don't, too bad.

Enter SIMB

This is a near-final composite of SIMB's introduction shot. I spent most of this week cleaning up and coloring this shot. It took a long time but I'm very pleased with how it came out. Down the line, I may tweak pixels but for now, I'm happy with it and moving onto finish up some other stuff.

Here's a view of the timeline and all the glorious keyframes I had to draw and manage:

And here's the pretty movie version:

New and Not So New Stuff

I haven't posted anything lately because there is nothing worthwhile to post...at least that's in a presentable state. I tend to bounce around a lot in my workflow, not spending too much time on any one thing at a given moment. That could be viewed as bad or ADD and I wouldn't argue it, but if something isn't working after a few attempts, I'll move onto another shot. If I'm doing a shot and it's coming together just fine, I'll move to another shot because I get bored.

The hardest time I have is starting something new, be it a shot or a background. If I get all of the starting points knocked out real fast, I can simply build upon the foundations little by little.

Here is a background painting of the junkyard which plays a pivotal role in the movie.

And here are a couple finalized shots that will give a good indication of how the character animation will look. The green are for keyouts in post; they're not the actual final color.