Dec `08 - I'm working at Bioware!!
I accepted a position at Bioware Corp in Edmonton Alberta, thus ending my stint in California and resuming my interest in interactive entertainment. The film/tv industry is really fun, but I've been progressively more interested in videogames over the past few years.
Speaking of videogames. I'm playing a lot these days. My favorites right now are Braid (Xbox Arcade), World of Goo (Steam), Fallout III, Gears of War II, Mirror's Edge and Dead Space. I'm picking up Left 4 Dead this weekend... when it rains it pours :)
Jul `08 - Star Wars: The Clone Wars
The release date for our movie is approaching quickly (Aug.15th). This will be my first feature film credit. It's exciting to see all the commercials and trailers on TV. Check it out if you haven't already:
Dec `07 - polyShrinkWrap for Maya
I've finally found some time to release a Maya plugin I whipped-up in my free time and have found to be pretty useful. It's a modeling tool that shrink wraps polygon mesh objects. It works on a selection of vertices and should fit well into a resurfacing workflow (just make it a hotkey) Check it out.
Oct `07 - I'm on StarWars.com!
In a short and sweet interview,
starwars.com asked me a little bit about what it is that I do at
Lucasfilm. We then went on to discuss my favorite Star Wars movie and
which character I most identify with. The whole thing is spiced up with
some clever editing and a jab at my haircut.
Guess that's my fifteen minutes...
Sept `07 - Procedural Physics-Based Animation
Ok, this has the be the most orginal and facinating little videogame
I've seen in ages. I could go on and on about how important I consider
procedural animation to be for the future of interactive entertainment.
I'm talking about Sumotori Dreams.
A splendid little (only 96k!!) game that has you witnessing a sumo
fight. The catch? Both wrestlers are fully procedurally animated using
(presumably) some sort of auto-balancing rigid-body algorithm. Think
Segway+Ragdoll. Check it out for yourself, or simply watch a match or two on YouTube. Seriously funny stuff.
This all reminds me of Lucasarts's recent efforts using Endorphin's Euphoria middleware to procedurally animate Indiana Jones. Let's not forget Spore either.
Aug `07 - My new Website!
Welcome to kiaran.net! My name is Kiaran Ritchie. I specialize in
digital character rigging, tools development and programming for 3d
animation.
The
majority of my professional life has been spent educating others about
the deep, dark world of creature rigging. I was the main author on The Art of Rigging series of textbooks from www.cgtoolkit.com.
I live in San Rafael, California with my wife Jasmine. I
am currently employed at Lucasfilm Animation to work on the Star Wars
TV show. If you care to hear more about me or my research in the world
of 3d animation, please feel free to browse around.
Thanks for stopping by and may the force be with you :)
Kiaran Ritchie
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