Rotoscoping My New Profile Picture!

Alright, I was bored, so I decided to make some new profile pictures using Adobe After Effects CS4.

So, my brother and I planned to build a lightsaber hilt / prop together.
Well, not really "together". He just helped to collect the required materials. I did most of the work.

It's not really that difficult to make a lightsaber prop.

The materials I used include:
1. A long, sturdy stick that will act as the main blade ( this part is very important if you're going to rotoscope the saber in After Effects ).
2. Two toilet paper rolls ( The cardboard cylinders, not the paper, duh! )
3. Some cardboard.
4. Aluminium foil.
5. Newspaper.
6. Lots of tape!

Well, it took me one whole morning to complete it.
But I was fairly satisfied with the finished prop.
After a few crash tests to make sure it was strong and stable, I added a few decorations...

It's not as nifty as the real, metal lightsaber hilts, but it will do!

I took a few pictures with me posing with the lightsaber prop.
I planned to rotoscope these in After Effects.
I plan to use one of them as my new profile picture...
Or I could just use one picture for each of my different accounts ( MySpace, Blogger, Facebook, Yahoo Messenger and Windows Live Messenger ).

Oh well, I'll leave it to you guys, alright?
Well, here they are...

"Shi-Cho" Stance I

"Shien" Guard Stance

"Shi-Cho" Stance II


"Darth Sidious' " Stance

Oh, and please don't ask me: "Why is the lightsaber red?"

If I use any colour other than red, the lightsaber might actually appear white when viewed from far away, and that's a big no-no, especially if the picture is gonna be a profile picture...

I also changed the lighting and brightness quality, just to make the pictures look a little bit better.

And I might appear sleepy or tired in some of the pictures.
But that's because it was in the middle of the afternoon, and the heat was unbearable!

That's another reason why I had to change the lighting in After Effects - the weather was unappropriate!

Alright, if none of you guys actually choose by tomorrow, I'll just go ahead and use the pictures as my profile pictures.

But really, I respect your opinions more than my own. Honestly!

So please, you'll be doing me a big favour! [ smiles ]


Oh, I also posted another video on YouTube.

It involves my brother, Alvyn, performing an awesome lightsaber flurry using the prop saber I made.

I handled the graphics in After Effects, of course. But the choreography was all him!

You can go and check it out here:

Alvyn's Lightsaber Flurry

Oh, and be warned - I think YouTube really screwed up the audio quality of the video.

So, the lightsaber sounds might cause static to some speakers.

If this happens, I recommend that you just watch the video muted.
Don't say I didn't warn you!

Well, I guess that's it for now...

Comment me, kay?

May the Force be with you...