It’s been a longer gap than I originally planned between updates. Over the past year, I shifted from being a professor at MTSU to taking on my current role at ETSU. I’m very excited to have returned to Half-Dead with a very productive summer!
Textures for Uther and the Spaceship
This summer began with finishing textures for two of our key assets: Uther and the spaceship. Students worked on developing surface details that give each character and vehicle a sense of story and history. These textures helped define the look of the world while also giving students the chance to practice with UDIM workflows and hand-painted details.
Texture work by Sam Pinnex
Animation Exploration
Alongside textures, we dedicated time to animation tests. These explorations helped shape how characters will move and perform on screen, giving us insight into the stylistic direction of the animation. Additionally, they allowed us to test the character rig and showcase some… questionable weight painting decisions by the technical animator (hi, hello, that’s me.)
studio library of facial expressions & hand poses !
Animations by me, Eli Snapp, Greg Marlow, and Ellie Spradlin
Environment Design & Blockout
Another key area of progress was in environment work. Students translated early concepts into 3D blockouts, experimenting with staging and scale to establish the foundation of the film’s settings. These blockouts guided both visual storytelling and practical planning for animators.
Environment art by Jane Anderson
Modeling
I also want to take a moment to recognize the contributions of a few former MTSU students who generously donated their time and talent to the project this summer. They helped with modeling tasks that strengthened our asset library and supported the production pipeline. Their pro-bono work not only lightened the load for the rest of the team but also added an extra layer of polish to the film’s foundation. A big thank you to them for continuing to be a part of Half-Dead’s journey even after graduating.
Models by Brandon McMillan, Stacey Teves, and Jane Anderson
Camera Layout to Animatic
The final push this summer was into 3D camera layout. By assembling sequences into an animatic, we were able to get a sense of pacing, tone, and camera flow. It was a big step in moving from isolated assets to a cohesive vision of how the film will unfold.
It was important to get this setup happening in UE5. Below is the result of a very rough pass to ensure our workflow from Maya to UE5 will work well. I’m happy to have not ran into many roadblocks, and I’m eager to circle back to this and make it look crisp.
Early blocking layout by Dustin Winters
Like in past summers, this project continues to serve as both a production and a classroom. Each piece of progress represents another step toward completion while also giving students the chance to engage with a professional-style pipeline.
To wrap things up with this update, I’ll be releasing the original robot rig online soon, completely free for anyone who wants to use it. While the final designs for the short’s robots will shift a bit as production continues, this finished model and Maya rig will still be available to download and animate. I’m excited to see how others might bring it to life in their own projects.