The Machinima of XimVoodoo
"None of them know my true power!"
- Illidan Stormrage, The Betrayer
Heroes rise and heroes fall. Some go about their quests alone, while others are willing to set aside their differences and past grudges in pursuit of everlasting victory on the field of battle. But what happens with the Heroes of Blizzard meet in the flesh? One machinima artist sought to find out.
This community showcase spotlights machinima artist Xim Voodoo and her inspired machinima of Blizzard Heroes. Xim Voodoo was kind enough to take some time and answer a few questions regarding her experience with machinima and the hard work that goes into her creations. Read on for the full interview as well as a variety of videos and images from her exciting projects and collaborations, including an original Heroes of the Storm music video, which you can check out below!
Q. How long have you been animating and creating machinima?
I started doing 3D animation and Machinima stuffs about 5 months ago.
Q. Your videos incredibly ambitious! What prompted you to start doing them?
I was loitering around on YouTube when I came across a video made by a guy named Psynaps. I had never seen anything like it! It was Warcraft models 3D animated! I started looking at more of his videos and he had tutorials showing how he made it. I knew right away that this is what I wanted to do! Over the past few months he has given me amazing advice on making my animations better! <3 Psynaps!
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Q. Where do you get your ideas from?
I am inspired by everything Blizzard makes. Art - Lore - Music. All of it motivates me to create more!
The Heroes of the Storm Music Video was a collaboration with songwriter Mordeous (Jacob Fry) and David Leidlein on bass. We are all super excited to play the game, so we decided to express that in a Music Video.
Q. Which is your favorite machinima or still that you’ve created?
So far this one is my favorite!
Q. Do you have any other Heroes-themed pieces in the works?
Yes! It is possibly a collaboration! Shhhh.
Q. We have to ask: which is your favorite Blizzard Hero?
I have a very unhealthy obsession with Zeratul...
Q. What programs do you use to create your pieces, and how long do your pieces take you to create?
I started out using Cinema 4D and After Effects, But since I started school 2 months ago, I have started to migrate over to Maya and 3DS Max. The machinimas vary, Children of Stone took much, much longer due in part to it being the first one I had ever made. So I was learning how to create it while I was creating it! Heroes of the Storm only took a few days to create and few days on top of that to render. *My laptop is horribad.*
Q. What’s your favorite part of the process?
Seeing the vision come together. Rendering out a clip and having it look exactly how you pictured it in your head!
Q. What is the most challenging part of the process?
My computer. While I was creating these I was using a very old laptop which barely handled the programs themselves let alone the rendering of the videos. My new computer will be here very soon so the quality and quantity of my videos will improve greatly!
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Q. What tips do you have for aspiring artists out there?
"Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do." -Pope John XXIII
Always pursue your dreams and NEVER let anyone tell you that giving up on what you love to do is ok.
To check out more of Xim Voodoo's work, make sure to follow her on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. For more of Mordeou's audio creations, tune into his site on Reverbnation and Twitter!
Which Blizzard characters do you hope to see face off against each other?
Are you working on any Blizzard fan creations or Heroes fan art? Make sure to tell us all about them over in our Community Creations forum!