Global Game Jam Teaser

Gameplay Teaser for Cell from Tessa Liddington on Vimeo.

Above is the game teaser for my team's project at the 2013 Global Game Jam: Pittsburgh. All of the animations within the trailer are done by me using 3DS Max and imported into UDK. The whole game experience was created in 48 hours using 3DS Max, UDK, Adobe Photoshop and Premiere.

Others on the team included:

Concept Team: Kit Benedict and Amanda Wallenhorst
Character Team: Jordan Jenkins and Cody Wilcoxon
Engine Team: Tessa Liddington and Kyle Hickey
Environment Team: Travis Kehler and Matt Kline

Download the game here. Final boss animation is credited to Cody Wilcoxon.

Silence Broken

So, I haven't done much recently. I've been taking a breather and recharging the creative batteries after graduation.

I'm jumping back in and reviewing basic animation principles - I've been out of touch for too long. Additionally, I'll be working to improve my 2D and Flash skills as well as my general animation know-how.

The industry seems to be hitting big on mobile and quick casual games done in Flash or something similar. I'm ready to jump aboard and start building in some experience.

Shortly, I'll be relocating from the Pittsburgh area to Cleveland and potentially Chicago or where jobs lie.

'Til next time!

- Jordan

DGPX Racer Lounge

Programs Used:
Autodesk 3DS Max
Epic's UDK
Adobe Premiere

Time Taken: 3 Months

This is the character cinematic from 7th Level Studios' Destruction Grand Prix. I came into the project about a year in, as a Animation Lead, and worked on it from January 2012 to June 2012. During which time, I storyboarded this cinematic, created motion studies for character personalities and movements, and animated two characters.

Credit: DGPX Pit Crew

Fox Ball

Programs Used:
Autodesk Maya
Adobe Premiere

Time Taken: 3 Weeks

When I was coming up with content for my demo reel, I kept thinking back to how the ball and tail exercise is common in 2D animation. I wanted to take this rig, a fox ball, and give it personality without having facial expressions. I wanted the challenge of conveying emotion without expressions, and I wanted to try my hand at tail animation.

It was a tough challenge to accomplish, and it still needs a lot of work.

Rig Credit: John David Marte

Fishboy Wave

Programs Used:
Autodesk Maya
Adobe Premiere

Time Taken: 2 Days

After I made a walk cycle featuring the Fishboy character, I felt that the character had good appeal. So, this animation was created as an intro to my graduating demo reel.

Rig Credit: Andy Conroy

Fishboy Walk

Programs Used:
Autodesk Maya
Adobe Premiere

Time Taken: 1 Day

This animation was made to practice walk cycles with a rig that was humanoid, but not necessarily human. Addtionally, I wanted to animate a character for my demo reel that was different enough to break up my other pieces.

Rig Credit: Andy Conroy

Demo Reel 2012

Graduating demo reel, Summer 2012.

Programs Used:
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk 3D Studio Max
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Premiere

All of these animations were done in the last 3-6 months - some only took 1-2 weeks.

The bar scene was a small piece of larger project called Destruction Grand Prix.
DGPX Process Blog

7th Level Studios - DGPX Official Site

Ultimately,  I wanted to make a few pieces that show off a bit of personality, but also the action. This time around, character development suffered overall in the push to just get this reel finished. However, it's a first of many to come!

All models and rigs are credited in the reel. Thanks for watching! If there's any feedback you want to give feel free to email me.

Portfolio Pending!

Hey all,

Welcome to my animation blog!

Here I will be posting demo reels, animation scenes or just cool pieces of work that I've done, found helpful or just inspiring.

I'm currently in the process of graduating, so the blog will be under construction for a little bit.

Stay tuned,

Jordan