My name is Robert Thomas Miller, and I'm obsessed with computers, and what can be made while using them. This site is the result of such an obsession. I created it primarily to be an online portfolio of work. I'm currently pursuing a career in computer animation. This is the story of that pursuit.
I grew up a gamer. I couldn't get enough of jumping Mario over chasms of nothing and running Sonic through ridiculous amounts of loops and corkscrews. I got my first real PC in Q2 2000. I was a freshman in High School. It was at this time that I discovered the true power of a PC and a creative imagination, and because of this my passion was found. My brother and I started to PC game, primarily the original Half-Life. As I played, I started to discover the content creation abilities. I played around with making sprays and maps. I loved tweaking everything, from binds to in-game sounds. Having always been an aspiring photographer, I took photos virtually through screen captures. I started to understand how computers worked, inside and out.
At school, I took CAD classes where I learned on software such as DesignCAD and Rhinoceros. We used an old terrain generator called Bryce 4 to import our models and render. I loved the program so much that I began to play around with it during class. I taught myself how to manipulate models, and animate them, although very primitively. I also discovered computer graphics and web programming at school. I was on a hot streak for computer abilities, I couldn't get enough of the endless creative possibilities that a computer supplies one with.
Fast forward to college. I enter Indiana Wesleyan University with a blank slate as far as a major is concerned. I stated taking art classes, learning traditional drawing and design elements for four semesters. I moved on to photography, both film and digital. I was getting a healthy dosage of art when my roommate suggests taking a C++ computer programming course for lab science. I took it, and enjoyed it. I was slowly sucked into the computer department, learning data structures, ADA and Java, and web programming. I was stuck between the two departments with not a clue on what to do. I soon discovered the Computer Internet Development major by word of a friend. This major was a programming major that also had you taking computer graphics, digital photo, and other art classes at the same time. At the same time, my programming professor approached me about the major. She told me that it was quite rare to find an individual who understands both logic and art, programming and design. She told me that this was my talent, and recommended the major to me. I declared, and have been moving happily along... until March of 2005.
I was happily watching The Incredibles one night, my favorite film of all time, and took note of how much I loved the computer animation medium. I started to remember my days of playing around with Bryce 4 back in high school. I was disappointed that I never went anywhere with those skills, IWU doesn't have any animation courses. How could I pursue such a career without having the support of school? I realized that I was capable of teaching myself, and that the programming knowledge I was gaining at IWU would help me more that I ever thought it would in such a circumstance. Soon, a long string of funny coincidences, that couldn't have been coincidences but rather God's will, led me to pursue the knowledge of computer animation. I discovered that in the animation business, there is a position called the Technical Director. This position basically fills the gap between software engineering and the art teams. These guys do a little bit of both. I loved the idea of it, doing both sides of the fence is my specialty. With the knowledge gained from college on programming and the knowledge gained from personal studies, I can pursue a career as a Technical Director. I've been doing much research and hands-on practice for the last year and I have in turn learned a lot.
This summer, things have continued to progress. I was hired as a production intern at WNDU-TV/NBC in South Bend, Indiana. This internship has been nothing short of amazing. I've spent a lot of time on the floor learning camera and floor directing. I regularly run camera for the news and take care of normal duties while down there. Recently I've been spending more time up in audio to learn more about running the mixer board during a broadcast. I've also been spending time observing and asking questions in the art department. This is giving me a very thorough understanding of the work flow of a professional art department. I'm strengthening my knowledge of photography and graphics, and I'm obtaining a knowledge of work flow and workplace integration that is so necessary to keep a broadcast together. It's been very inspiring to finally be around real industry professionals, and the whole experience has pushed me to a new level of creativity and self-confidence. I love working there, and may possibly have a short future there after I graduate. My future is really shaping up, and I cannot wait to see the next chapter.
Rigging is a term used in computer animation. Rigging is the process of preparing a model to be animated. When you rig a model, you draw "bones" inside of the model. You can chain these bones together to work with one another, such as two bones work together in one of your arms. Once the bones are drawn, The rigger determines what portions of the model are effected as the bone is moved. Once this is complete, the model is rigged, and can be manipulated in a 3D environment by moving the bones.
I used this name because I wanted something creative and memorable for the title of my site. I figured that since I was going to register a .net domain for my site, it needed to be unique and personal. Bobbymiller.com wasn't going to cut it, it had to pertain to me and my interests, while staying easy for a user to remember. I didn't want to tell a family member to check out my site at www.animationriggingmodelinginversekinematics.net They wouldn't have a chance in getting to my site. If I tell them to go to www.itsrigged.net, there's a very distinct possibility that they'll remember that URL, and hopefully it'll make them wonder why, or what it means, and give them more reasons to visit.
It took me a couple days to decide on the final name for my site. I got it down to three different titles. Here are some design notes I took as I pondered this decision:
Picture of my head, use it to make a rotoscope and model of my head. Use flash to fade from my head to splinage, then back.
Here comes the spline
IK, OK?
It's Rigged.net
It's Rigged!
I will be a rig, a bone structure that looks like an I. It will sit in the middle with the ! on the end.
I still really like IK, OK? I had a bad feeling about it's confusion factor, so I opted it out. Here comes the spline seems odd, but it was an idea that had a solid design idea behind it. I could have made the site look formal, as if it were at a wedding, and then who knows from there. I pictured some splines getting married, everything drawn out in splines. I like the idea still, but again, It's rigged just works better. I picked It's Rigged because I loved the idea of a logo that used a rig for making a letter I. In the end, I love my logo, and it still left me open to take the site to whatever style I wanted at that point. This site is the result of all such thinking.
