Benjamin Taylor's Web Portfolio

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Monday, February 23, 2009

What I'm Currently Working On - Winter/Spring 2009 Edition

I find myself in the chilly East Coast of the US working in Pittsburgh on my final Entertainment Technology Center project. Here are the details:

Name: SOUDA - Microsoft Surface Table Application and Toolkit Development
Client: Lockheed Martin Corporation, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Description: With a team of 10 other developers, I will be development exciting applications and innovative toolkits for use on the Microsoft Surface table. Lockheed Martin has partnered with Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center to develop these new tools.
- Project Poster -

- Project Halfsheet Back -


- Project Halfsheet Front -

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

What I'm Currently Working On - Fall 2008 Edition

Currently I'm working on two projects for Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center from Osaka, Japan. Here is the run down of both projects (I created all of these promotional materials myself):

Name: The Tea and Sugar Train project
Client: National Railways Museum, Port Adelaide, Australia
Description: Working with professionals from the University of South Australia in Adelaide, Australia and the Silicon Valley branch of the Entertainment Technology Center in California, I'm creating a new centerpiece exhibit for the National Railway Museum of Port Adelaide, Australia showcasing the famous Tea and Sugar Train. I'm working remotely from Osaka, Japan while making regular visits to Australia.
Promotional Materials:
- Project Logo -

- Project Poster -


Name: The Mobius Strip
Client: Sharp Electronics, Osaka, Japan
Description: Currently, I'm working on my third project for Sharp Corporation in Osaka, Japan. I still work in a position of art direction and production, but more involved with the technical pipeline this time. Again, these innovations are not public.
Promotional Materials:
- Project Poster -

- English Half-sheet -

- Japanese Half-sheet -

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Character Design 101

Most of this might be stuff you already know or think about, but if you find any of it useful, I'm glad! I've learned a lot through tutorials and tips I've found online, but some of them can be highly technical and it can be hard to find things that talk about the fundamentals. So, this is my contribution for now. Enjoy!



Tuesday, August 26, 2008

I think I'm turning Japanese...

...or perhaps I have Stockholm Syndrome, but I'm back at ETC-Japan. Let's face it, I'm kinki for kansai! XD


Thursday, August 7, 2008

LowPoly Character Modeling Reel



High Quality YouTube Version

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

(One Laptop Per Child) XO Game Jam - FRUITIX wins 2nd place


On Friday, November 16th 2007, Myself, Ari Rubenstein, Luther Patenge and Elizabeth Barndollar were tasked with making a full, working game in 40 hours for the XO Laptop on the operating system Sugar. We did it, and we won 2nd place. Our reward was knowing that more than a dozen kids thought our game was one of the most fun! (And some rockin' X-Arcade arcade controllers) I'd say that's worth missing a little sleep. To play our game, right click and download the executable below:

screen grab of the game


A game where you gather fruit and avoid hungry primates. (Windows exe Download, 4 MB) ( XO Activity Bundle Download 2 MB)



The game was made for the XO Laptop which, for one reason or another (namely the screen type ;p), means the resolution for the game is large, so you may have to go to your highest screen resolution to fit it all. Luther and Ari are my fraternity brothers that I talked into helping me for the project. Elizabeth Barndoller is an incredibly nice girl who was put on our team by the XO Game Jam staff and was a huge help to us. Her website is www.elizabethbarndollar.com. Here are some pictures from the Game Jam:



We're in the center!



Me - Luther - Ari - Elizabeth



I love this game! I even had fun playing it during the presentation!



Ari and I didn't go home and barely got any sleep the whole weekend. Zonks!



I'd like to thank Yoshi and the whole XO Games team for having us! Their website can be found here: http://www.olpcgames.org/

Monday, May 19, 2008

What I'm Currently Working On - Spring 2008 Edition

I'm currently one of four students pioneering a new ETC global campus in Osaka, Japan. I'm working on two joint projects with Sharp Electronics. The details of these projects are under a strict NDA, however, I have produced promotional materials for these projects that have been approved by Sharp legal. Enjoy!

Name: Toybox and Usagimaru
Client: Sharp Electronics, Osaka, Japan
Description: In addition to being the art production lead, I organize and delegate all artistic assets to a team that stretches from Pittsburgh, USA to Osaka, Japan. Project consists of two parts both of which were under NDA.
Promotional Materials:
From etcOsaka - Osaka pictures
- Project Poster -

From etcOsaka - Osaka pictures
- Project Halfsheet (Front and Back) -