Andrew Dowell

Part of my job is model making, the other part is how to implement these models and animations into a real time environment. What does this mean? Basically I get to make and play with toys all day in a virtual reality world. This week I have been building a magical forest with a Stone hedge structure at the center. You can walk around the environment and interact with objects and explore the scene, it's fun stuff. Built in the Unreal Engine, it has real time effects and environmental lighting. The great part is that I'm currently testing the software with the new HTC Vive hardware! I was very impressed with the Oculus DK2 as the start of the year but it still had some some major issues. The main one being the screen pixelation was terrible but the potential was huge. Everyone saw it, and jumped on the VR hype train. Nearly at the end of the year was are about to get a serious wave of new VR software and hardware. Is it the future though? Maybe a few year ago I w...

It's that time of year again to update my website. I always enjoy making changes and this year it a big one. I'm still a few weeks away but it's looking great. Over the last year within the visual effects industry, I have produced some great work and look forward to sharing them, provided the intellectual property copyright doesn't get in the way. I often wondered why, when looking at Industry Artists' websites they lacked content yet they had worked on amazing films. Now I know why, until everything is wrapped up and signed off nothing gets distributed without approval. In the meantime, Force Friday was a blast and I had a very unique experience in Kaohsiung. Overnight queuing around the world with fanboys waiting in line to get their figures. Reduced stock levels and purchase restriction in place created such a hype train it was hard not to get excited. I took the morning off work and went to my local Toys R US. I expected to see some people but it was compl...

A good friend bought this for me as a gift. It had been on my list of books to buy for quite some time and it came as a huge surprise. This book is a must for anyone interested in the Art of Star Wars or the creation of Storyboards. A storyboard is a graphic organizer in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. Star Wars The Original Trilogy Storyboards has 352 pages. Presented in hardback and great paper quality. The storyboards included are split between Episodes IV, V and VI, with 82, 112 and 142 pages devoted respectively. The quality of detail for each frame is fantastic. Included are storyboard artists Joe Johnston, Ralph McQuarrie, Nilo Rodis-Jamero, Roy Carnon and more. There are 15 artists total which bring the Star Wars universe to life with depth and continuity. A range of different drawing styles, and mediums are included such as in pencil, i...

I honestly feel like I've achieved something owning this book. I still remember the excitement of tearing open presents on Christmas morning, discovering a brand-new Transformer in a shiny new box. While the toys were amazing in their own right, what made the packages stand head-and-shoulders above the myriad competing action figures on shelves was the stunning hand drawn box art. This wasn't 2005, this was an age before computers, no Photoshop or 3D renderings, everything was painstakingly constructed and painted. Transformers Legacy Art book combines hundreds of beautifully airbrushed paintings from the iconic first decade of The Transformers. Hasbro, Takara, and private collectors opened their archives, yielding an unparalleled level of quality. This hard back book is a huge 4lb beast with over 290 pages of classic images, including never-before-seen artwork from toys that never were, original design sketches, catalog artwork, and Japanese Transformers. There isn't ...

It's not often I have spontaneous purchase, but this one just seemed too good. Whilst at our local swimming pool, I needed to buy some goggles and decided to try the small Taiwanese store across the road as it looked cheaper. I was mildly surprised to find that it was indeed the same price but the rest of the huge store was, in fact, a toy haven for 'Hot toys' and other such collectibles. I'd hit the jackpot and was very impressed. I saw this guy and I couldn't reach for my wallet quick enough. This interpretation of Shogun Vader's foot soldiers depicts Stormtroopers clad in far-gone Japanese feudal era attire and armament. A wonderful homage to the inspiration behind the franchise. I'd love to see a remake of 'Hidden fortress' with a star wars cross over. The figure has been master crafted by Japan's top sculpting talent and features hybrid material use for dynamic posing possibilities. The articulation is solid and the paint job is just...

I first came to Taiwan with my girlfriend over 6 years ago. She's now my wife and I've started a new chapter in life. I originally worked as an English Teacher with a school for 5 years until I could apply for a permanent visa. Without this, I couldn't apply for work within the film production industry without asking my new employer to pay for it. Without prior experience nor a solid background in the business, this wasn't likely to happen. But everything fell into place nicely, as it did six years ago whilst thinking about visiting Taiwan for the first time. Some moments in life present huge opportunities for great change, luckily I was ready. So, what's it all about. Many people ask me about my job and what I do. I am a Production Technical Director. but honestly this often confuses them as I try to explain specifics. The purpose of this blog is to quickly define the pre-production pipeline and where I fit in. According to Wikipedia, Pre-production is the proce...

As part of my job, I'm working as a research and development artist. We usually work with 3D software such as Maya and Zbrush to produce pre-visualizations for film, animations and theme park rides. It's fun creative and rewarding but you can easily get lost in a scene. Literally.  We are developing scenes which render in real time, and can be used with the Oculus device to help see the scene in action, from any position or angle without the use of pre-rendered video files or any actual sets being fabricated in real life. Epic games released the 'Unreal Engine 4' this year for free. By using a unique pricing plan you only start paying for the product licence once you start making money. There are tons of market place library assets appearing every week and are wonderfully easy to use (at first glance) with a high level of alteration in the blueprint maps. If you can dream it, anything can be achieved. Impossible is nothing.