Open Preview of The Juicer and Update

  Here with a beefy preview, showing off the new foot tickle device in action, as well as Cottontail's wonderful VA work as Ada Wong.

  Click HERE to Watch!  

  Click HERE to Download! 

  Unwatermarked preview is in the archive for Barons. 

  You may notice a difference in tickle implements when compared with the earlier renders. 

  I actually did start off with the device shown in this preview, as I'd wanted to try something new, and thought the combination of “rapid-fire pokes” with a good, long scrape would be effective. But, I quickly realized it would be quite challenging to simulate contact with so many pokers hitting the feet. I would need to create some 300 shapekeys (😳) and time them perfectly in order to sell it, a tedious process that I'd hoped to avoid.

  So, I listened to my lesser voice and binned it, opting instead for the tried-and-true pivot arm. I modeled the new arm, rigged it, textured it, and animated it, but at the end of the day, it simply wasn't good enough.

  I had this great contraption to hold the feet in place, and then a rather rudimentary device to tickle them. It didn't add up! I had also done something similar (and to greater effect) in an earlier video. I don't feel like I always need to create something new just for the sake of it, but if I re-use concepts, I at least like to improve on them, and in my opinion, this wasn't an improvement, but a step-back.

  So, I trashed two whole days of work, went back to the initial concept, and...

  Yeah.

  I spent hours upon hours creating over 300 shapekeys to simulate the tickling effect.

  I'm quite happy with the decision; I try and draw inspiration from the old Blizzard (definitely not the current one!) in how they would be comfortable throwing away tons of work if it didn't live up to their standard. Now, I've never gotten to the point where I've binned a whole project, but if something isn't working, sometimes it's better to regroup and try again.

  I'm not a perfectionist (I'd never get anything released if I was), but I try to improve a little bit with every piece, whether in animation, design, textures, modeling, or some combination thereof (in regards to textures, I recently started using UDIMs, which I highly recommend).

  I'll have an exclusive preview up soon, release, and then I'll be rolling right into the Halloween project (during which I'll be running another poll). Going to be a busy, spooky month! 🎃

  Enjoy the preview! Back soon.