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After several years and lots of interruptions, I'm pleased to announce my 1st animated short, "Marmot".
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Background (expand the text for more on the story behind "Marmot")
Background (expand the text for more on the story behind "Marmot")
I'm often asked if the story is based on an experience I've had during my 30+ years hiking, climbing and backpacking in the mountains. The answer is "No". Nor is "Bob", the photographer, based on myself. But much of the story and its inspiration are a direct result of that time spent in the mountains and certainly of the 100's of marmots I've come across. They have a habit of suddenly appearing on a rock when you aren't looking and I've always been intrigued by the dichotomy between their cute, cuddly appearance and then simultaneously a fearsome, "I'm gonna rip your face off" look. That was, in fact, the inspiration for the story. I did make Marty out to be more mischievous than anything else but I hope the opening shot of him conveys that cute "I'd like to take you home as a pet" type of appearance.
There are in fact 4 characters in the story. We have to include the mountain, Capital Peak, as well as the camera. The camera is in fact in every scene in one way or another. As for the mountain, I spent most of my career creating places that exist in the real world rather than fantasy environments. I wanted to use that skill in my story. As far as the camera, I originally intended Bob to be an Ansel Adams type character, but rather than get too far into that effort, I decided it was important to at least use an appropriate camera, hence my model of the Zeiss Super Ikonta B, a camera Ansel was known to use in some instances.
The next question I get is of course, "How long did it take you to make this?" That's a tough one to pin down. I had a friend draw up some storyboards back in the mid 2000's but everything sat on a shelf after that for many years. Work and life got in the way. I began modeling some pine trees in 2020 after I retired and during Covid, with the intent of using some in this story. Then after some other major life interruptions, in 2022 I began modeling the environment, trying to choose between several possible locations before settling on the Capital Peak area. Then more interruptions, and in 2024, I resumed work on the characters, fur and environment (in Unreal Engine). I continued until completion this summer (2026) with a hard push to the end over the last year. I had a lot to learn and I'm proud that I did it all myself. But I could not have completed it without the rest of the amazing 3D animation community. For these artists, who have shared so much of their time, effort and skill out of shear love of the craft, I am eternally grateful. They have been a great resource for problem solving and inspiration. Thanks!
The animator in a staring contest with a marmot on the summit of 14,075' Mount Columbia in central Colorado, 1995.
Below are some other images with further background about the project. For more technical details, check out the DAS Blog here. Still in progress...
Below are some other images with further background about the project. For more technical details, check out the DAS Blog here. Still in progress...
Myself (left) and good friend and wilderness buddy Jim Karrer on the summit of Capital peak in 1995. This is the view looking south to Snowmass Mountain and the Maroon Bells (in the distance), something we see in film.
This is the precise location for most of the story, the picture taken when I 1st backpacked through the area in 2015. That is the west side of Capital Peak, above the Avalanche Creek basins. It's rarely seen from here because it's a significant backpack to get here and does not involve access to a typical climbing route for any of the major summits in the area. Obviously I doctored up the location quite a bit in the story. Since I was using satellite imagery for the terrain, I was stuck with the time of day (late afternoon) for those images and really regret not being able to use the glorious lighting provided in the morning when this shot was taken.
One of my earliest test shots of the area in Unreal Engine with the GIS terrain and satellite imagery
The final shot of the "Staging Area" for the story from Bob's camera. Indeed, I hate the lighting but was limited to a time that closely matched the time of day of the satellite imagery for the ground and shadows. I was too far along in the process to start shopping around for another environment that would suit me better. Lesson learned for next time.....
I left a lot of renders on the edit room floor. This is shot from Bob's point of view as he takes a date out of the box early on in the story. I didn't end up using this sequence.
Some early storyboard reference drawn by my good friend Shawn Coey
Another storyboard by Shawn. This time, an early concept for the final scene. The seed spitting collaboration between Bob and Marty at the end evolved during production.
One of my renderings of a Zeiss Super Ikonta B, the model for Bob's camera, though mine is devoid of the Zeiss logo and has altered markings.
A rendering of Marty from 3ds Max when I was building the fur with the Ornatrix plugin.
Another rendering of Marty, this time from Unreal Engine.
A close up of some of the detail work on Marty's hands. Balancing the fur as it tapers down the fingers with the texturing of the underlying skin and lighting was a challenge.
A close up shot of Marty's head where so many elements have to blend together, from the hair and whiskers to the eyes, mouth and nose.
Some of Bob's props. Here is his topo map of the area (it is the correct one).
Bob's Leatherman multi-tool
Bob's compass
Some of Bob's film
Bob's chewing gum
Our camera hero in place in the scene
One of Bob's old school film canisters. If you're old enough, you remember these
Bob's camera bag. This could be the 5th character in the movie if you want. It was rigged and skinned for animation which can be seen as Marty rifles around in the bag and then get kicked out.
Below are some quick videos of the rigging on some ancillary objects in the scenes. Perhaps a bit more technical in nature but worth pointing out
Below are some quick videos of the rigging on some ancillary objects in the scenes. Perhaps a bit more technical in nature but worth pointing out
Bob's camera tripod, a fully rigged wooden Leica tripod. Here's a quick obit showing the legs unfolding.
A quick demo from 3ds max of the rig I created for Marty's tongue. We see it a lot in the short and it took a while to find a good rigging solution that gave me full flexibility (no pun intended) to do even really cartoon style work with it.
This may look kinda creepy but it's a test of the rigging and deformation I needed for Bob's camera bag when Marty rifles thru Bob's stuff, when the bag gets kicked and even as Marty leaps out of the bag.
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