Entries by Omar Ramirez

I Was Featured in Instagram’s Surreal Graphics Collection!

I’ve taken to posting 3D exercises (built in Cinema 4D) to Instagram fairly often more recently, and yesterday morning I noticed a posting from about 2 weeks ago was getting an unusual amount of views and likes. Looking at my private inbox, I noticed I had received a message from Instagram notifying me this specific […]

Sub Polygon Displacement

  The above animation is an early sample result of my toying with sub polygon displacement in Cinema 4D. For anyone interested in learning how to get started, a great intro tutorial can be found via Greyscalegorilla. Sub polygon displacement is a simple yet highly flexible tool that can be used to quickly build some very […]

Retro Animation/Walk Cycle Test

For no particular reason, I set out to practice making a walk cycle in After Effects a while back. I didn’t have any character to start with, so I threw together the retro looking farmer character you see here. He actually started off in an early sketch as an even more heavily stylized, ambiguous humanoid, […]

Illustration: Kawaii/Barrio Crossover – ¡Lotería!

So this happened. As I got to building out more of these kawaii/barrio infused characters and objects, I got to thinking of ways of tying them all together. The classic game, lotería (a cooler, more visual, and definitely more Mexican version of bingo, if you’re not familiar), soon came to mind. Yes, bad parodies (and […]

Illustration: Kawaii/Barrio Crossover – El Paletero

Here’s the first in what will hopefully be a series where I merge the kawaii look (essentially, cute or adorable) with common scenes/characters from around the hood in Los Angeles. Particularly the areas you might refer to as the barrio – East LA and South East LA, where I grew up. I was partly interested […]

HDR Photography – Joshua Tree

I recently posted a video I put together of footage from my recent trip to Joshua Tree, but I hadn’t done anything with the few photos I shot that day – until now. During the trip, I captured a couple shots at four different exposures to test out Magic Lantern’s expanded bracketing options (which allow up […]

VFX Test – Projected Hologram Heads-up Display/UI

I should preface this by saying I don’t think the “Minority Report UI” is a great idea, at all, in terms of real-world usability (this article sums up some reasons why). But nonetheless, it looks pretty cool and has become widespread in sci-fi films and television shows, and even things like CSI:Miami. So, of course, I […]

Videography – Camera Rig Test: Joshua Tree

Last weekend I went on an impromptu hiking trip to Joshua Tree National Park, and decided to take my Canon 60D, and cheap homemade rig (see previous post) with me, for some videography testing. I put this short edit together from the footage. It was all really a rushed job, since the hike itself was […]

Canon 60D Hacks: Low-cost DIY Camera Rig & Magic latern

I have been experimenting with videography more lately, using my Canon 60D, which offers a good image sensor and set of features for video, including a pop-out swivel screen. But the bottom line is DSLR bodies are designed for photography first, and are not optimally shaped for shooting stable video. Searching online, you can find […]