Final Result!

Although time is tight and it is not fully finished, it is our first teamwork product.

Zombie Rigging

Update and Poster

It's been a while, and the due date is coming soon, but the team has been really hard at work cleaning and rendering and compositing~! Here's a look at our finished poster in the meantime. :)

Cool Animation Reference

Zombies Through Time Info-graph: Animatic Part I

Zombies Through Time Info-graph: Animatic Part II

This is the second half of the info-graph animation.

Source: Part II animations by Nicole Defreitas.

Thumbnails

For bigger versions check the dropbox!

References

For the Zombie Style








Title Tombstone

Flow Visual

MS: art direction

 fond website

Charlemagne Std

Emphasis: 

Style:

game:thumbnail

Introduction

Zombie Types

ZOMBIE JESUS!!!

A very interesting spin on the history of this oh so notorious carpenter.




 "After dying, Jesus was raised from the dead and once more walked among the living. This, of course, would only be possible if he were a zombie; Zombie Jesus is the identity of Jesus following the Resurrection. In zombie form, Jesus retained his unending love for mankind, in particular, he loved their sweet, delectable brains. Many of his followers were surprised when, instead of offering God's salvation, Zombie Jesus voraciously consumed their faces."

I found this article randomly and I thought it was very interesting.  If you have time to read the whole thing, it is actually quite outrageous.  Maybe, if time permits, I may look into this a little bit more.  Otherwise, he can always make a cameo, right?
source: http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Zombie_Jesus

MileStone1.Flow of data:

1.Flow of data:    

1) Zombie powder formula pours onto coffin
2) coffin = title; the zombie comes up from the ground
3) walking past trees or fence = history
4) zombie walking with limbs falling off, showing the rest of the information

Secondary information :

Zombie Powder ingredients =
1) poisonous frogs (tetrodoxin)
2) puffer fish (because of its paralyzing properties)
3) plants such as nettles (makes the skin itchy. The person who scratches will tear the skin, giving the zombie powder an entrance into the body)
4) human remains

Sort information into points :

- the world’s oldest record of the idea of a “zombie apocalypse.” by Gilgamesh "“If you do not give me the Bull of Heaven,
I shall smash [the gates of the Netherworld, right down] to its dwelling,
I shall bring up the dead to consume the living,
I shall make the dead outnumber the living. “
-Zombies in viedo games in the last 30 years
-The ZX Spectrum computer game Zombie Zombie, released exclusively in Europe during 1984, is considered to be the first video game focused on zombies.
-Zombie games became more prevalent after the release of the survival horror game Resident Evil in 1996
-There are 85 video games about zombies
-Resident Evil sold 2.75 million units within the United States alone
-Wade Davis, a Harvard ethnobotanist,claimed that a living person can be turned into a zombie by two special powders being introduced into the blood stream (usually via a wound). The first, coup de poudre (French: "powder strike"), includes tetrodotoxin (TTX), a powerful and frequently fatal neurotoxin found in the flesh of the pufferfish (order Tetraodontidae). The second powder consists of dissociative drugs such as datura.
- the word zombie is thought to originate from the Angolian word nzúmbe which means spirit of a dead person. The word zombi is reserved for the walking dead, people who have been brought back to life in order to serve.

- unlike the modern, ultra-violent, and uncontrollable zombie, the original zombie myth took its roots from Haitian voodoo culture
- in the voodoo religion, there are different types of priests/priestesses that are said to contact the gods and heal the sick using potions, charms and rituals
- unlike a houngan (male priest) or a mambo (female priest) a bokor will use voodoo rituals to cause harm to others
- they can use rituals to create a zombie by stealing a person's soul
- zombies of this manner are usually servants or slaves
- they are mindless beings who do what their master tells them, whether it is benign, such as cleaning, farming and cooking, or malignant, such as violent acts, or destructive actions

How to Make A Zombie

- according to Haitian voodoo practices, a Zombie is made by the bokor by:
1) choosing a suitable victim
2) dosing the victim with Zombie Powder
3) voila! A zombie is created

 How to Cure A Zombie

- it's believed that salt is the best cure for zombiism, as zombie powder is thought to work by blocking salt's ability to help muscles move, salt will reverse it
- datura or "zombie cucumber". This one is double-edged. A small amount will return mobility to the affected Zombie, but bokor's will also use it to make a zombie more tractable since its side effects cause dizziness, confusion, and forgetfulness

- the Zombie as we know it from 1930's and 40's comes from Haitian voodoo culture

Zombie Apocolypse refers to the "breaking down of society as a result of zombie infestation."  The infestation of zombies is worldwide, and spreads quickly because the victims of zombies become zombies themselves.
As a result of the Zombie genre becoming mainstream, many fans of the genre have made survival plans to "prepare for the hypothetical future zombie apocalypse."

Elements found in Zombie Apocalyptic Stories:
1. The initial contact with zombies is an extremely traumatic experience for the survivors.
2.Authorities are not fast enough in responding to the outbreak of the zombies, therefore the infestation spreads quickly, and the zombies can no longer be contained

1 fallen: arm; 2: intestines 3fallen: jaw 4: part of the body 5: leg

1)history
2) books
3) music
4) movies
5) games 

Infographic Milestone for Week 11
this is all due next Tuesday

1.Flow of data:
-Primary and Secondary information sorted out
-Sort information into points that can be displayed in your cinematic

2.Thumbnails:
-Thumbnails that show the flow of data
-NO EMPTY FRAMES: if you are going to have transitions make sure they are short and relevant

3.Art Direction:
-Colors
-Fonts
-Emphasis
-Style guide

4.List of Assets:
-sort out the work between group members
-Decide who is working on what and create a list

Collection of Information does not have to be extremely detailed, but you should have a very solid idea of what direction you are going with the infographic

Zombie Types

The Zombie Apocalypse



Zombie Apocolypse refers to the "breaking down of society as a result of zombie infestation."  The infestation of zombies is worldwide, and spreads quickly because the victims of zombies become zombies themselves.
As a result of the Zombie genre becoming mainstream, many fans of the genre have made survival plans to "prepare for the hypothetical future zombie apocalypse."

Elements found in Zombie Apocalyptic Stories:
1. The initial contact with zombies is an extremely traumatic experience for the survivors.
2.Authorities are not fast enough in responding to the outbreak of the zombies, therefore the infestation spreads quickly, and the zombies can no longer be contained

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_(fictional)#Zombie_apocalypse 

The Meaning of The Word: Zombie

From the Haitian culture, the word zombie is thought to originate from the Angolian word nzúmbe which means spirit of a dead person. The word zombi is reserved for the walking dead, people who have been brought back to life in order to serve.

American Zombie Gothic: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Walking Dead in Popular Culture by Kyle William Bishop

Voodoo Origins

- unlike the modern, ultra-violent, and uncontrollable zombie, the original zombie myth took its roots from Haitian voodoo culture
- in the voodoo religion, there are different types of priests/priestesses that are said to contact the gods and heal the sick using potions, charms and rituals
- in voodoo, there is a belief that spirits live in objects and can take over a person's body.
- unlike a houngan (male priest) or a mambo (female priest) a bokor will use voodoo rituals to cause harm to others
- they can use rituals to create a zombie by stealing a person's soul
- zombies of this manner are usually servants or slaves
- the are mindless beings who do what their master tells them, whether it is benign, such as cleaning, farming and cooking, or malignant, such as violent acts, or destructive actions

How to Make A Zombie

- according to Haitian voodoo practices, a Zombie is made by the bokor by:
1) choosing a suitable victim
2) dosing the victim with Zombie Powder
3) voila! A zombie is created
- Zombie Powder is composed of:
1) poisonous toads
2) puffer fish (because of its paralyzing properties)
3) plants such as nettles (makes the skin itchy. The person who scratches will tear the skin, giving the zombie powder an entrance into the body)
4) human remains

For more information about the science behind zombie transformations, see this post!

How to Cure A Zombie

- it's believed that salt is the best cure for zombiism, as zombie powder is thought to work by blocking salt's ability to help muscles move, salt will reverse it
- datura or "zombie cucumber". This one is double-edged. A small amount will return mobility to the affected Zombie, but bokor's will also use it to make a zombie more tractable since its side effects cause dizziness, confusion, and forgetfulness


Zombies by Cynthia Jenson-Elliot

XiChen_reaserch

The ZX Spectrum computer game Zombie Zombie, released exclusively in Europe during 1984, is considered to be the first video game focused on zombies.
Zombie games became more prevalent after the release of the survival horror game Resident Evil in 1996
Resident Evil sold 2.75 million units within the United States alone
There are 85 video games about zombies
------------------------------------------------------
Wade Davis, a Harvard ethnobotanist,claimed that a living person can be turned into a zombie by two special powders being introduced into the blood stream (usually via a wound). The first, coup de poudre (French: "powder strike"), includes tetrodotoxin (TTX), a powerful and frequently fatal neurotoxin found in the flesh of the pufferfish (order Tetraodontidae). The second powder consists of dissociative drugs such as datura.
 








   Science of Zombies

-Since development of the vaccine in 1911, the zombie threat has been greatly reduced.
-The nature of the spread of zombie plagues generally depended on the place of origin. Most urban plagues were spread by aggressive rats that had been bitten by an infected tick. 
 Stage One: Infection. Symptoms of zombie infection appear quickly: within one or two hours, the victim will develop a headache, fever, chills and other flu-like symptoms. Zombie infections last about half as long as their vampiric counterparts, mostly between three and six hours, during which the vaccine is 100 percent effective.
-Stage Two: Coma. Zombie comas are considerably more brief than vampiric comas. While physiological changes-slow pulse, shallow breathing-are similar, the coma lasts only between four and six hours. Only the very young and very old do not survive zombie comas. Zombies have been found as young as five years old and as old as 90. As with vampires, the vaccine is 50 percent effective when administered during Stage Two of the infection: the longer the victim has been in the coma, the less effective the vaccine.
Zombie plague spreaders:
the Norway Rat and the tick (inset)
Stage Three: Transformation. Zombies awaken from their comas in a catatonic state. They are unresponsive to most stimuli as they shuffle about, trying to locate their prey. Unlike vampires, there is no acclimation period; a zombie will begin hunting immediately upon transformation. A zombie-bite victim under
quarantine in Panama, 1905
 v
Brain/Nervous System

This system has been of great interest to researchers, as zombie nervous tissue appears to have regenerative properties not found in humans.

Cross-sections of a normal brain (l) and a zombie brain (r) show the extensive atrophy of zombie brain tissue

1. Brain: because so little of it is crucial to their survival, zombies can survive an enormous loss of brain tissue. Former FVZA zombie specialist Dr. Waxman Himmelburger tells of encountering a zombie who had lost over 3/4 of his head from a shotgun blast, with no apparent effect.
   
2. Spine/nervous system: zombies have exhibited the ability to withstand significant trauma to their central nervous system. In a famous series of experiments conducted by FVZA scientists in 1972, zombies who had their spinal cords severed regained the ability to walk within 24 hours. Thus far, researchers have been unable to unlock the mechanism for this process of repair.
   
3. Dopamine: the smell of living flesh triggers a large release of this adrenaline-like neurotransmitter into the zombie brain

Sense Organs
"Follow your nose" might be the zombie motto. A zombie's powerful sense of smell compensates for the weakness of their other senses.

1. Sight: due to degradation of their corneas, zombies suffer from severe myopia. In addition, they are colorblind.
   
2. Hearing: zombies go deaf within a few weeks of transformation. Efforts to rehabilitate them through ASL training have thus far proved unsuccessful.
3. Smell: zombies have even more receptor cells than vampires. If the wind is right, zombies can smell humans from as far as several miles away. 

Circulatory System
As anybody who ever emptied his gun into an advancing zombie can tell you, zombies just don't bleed to death. Their circulatory adaptations allow them to survive wounds that would kill a human.

• Blood: zombie blood is thick and black, hence the nickname, "zombie oil."
  
• Heart: as with vampires, zombie blood is circulated by skeletal muscles rather than the heart.  

Body Temperature
Zombie core body temperature ranges between 65 and 75 degrees, making them slightly warmer than vampires. This is due to heat released by the various parasites living in zombie flesh, a phenomenon that causes zombies to emit steam in cool weather and phosporescence when in water. 



Muscular/Skeletal System and Connective Tissue
Changes here are of good news-bad news variety. Yes, zombies are stiff-limbed and slow; yes they move along at a shuffle rather than a sprint. But they are also very powerful, with a vice-like grip and jaws that can bite through metal.

1. Muscles/Connective Tissue: zombie muscle fibers become concentrated and take on the consistency of nylon rope. Ligaments and tendons thicken.

   Normal jaw (l); Zombie jaw (r); note the larger jawbone and thicker muscle of the zombie jaw

2. Skeletal system: important modifications occur to the zombie jaw. Extra bone is deposited on the lower jaw to form an attachment point for larger chewing muscles. These adaptations enable zombies to bite through skull and bone and get at the pillars of their diet: brains and bone marrow,
   
3. Teeth: zombie teeth are not adapted to the powerful forces exerted on them by the jaw. Teeth crack and fall out, and the holes they leave behind leak sludge-like zombie blood. Eventually, all their teeth are gone, and a zombie is forced to chew with its exposed jawbones.
   
4. Hair: zombies who live long enough will lose all their hair.
   
5. Skin: decay sets in shortly after transformation. The skin turns leathery, then rots away.
6. Aging and Life Expectancy
   The great irony of zombie life is that even as they voraciously feed, they too are being fed upon. A zombie's body is like a big petri dish serving host to everything from bacteria and fungi to maggots and ants. The resulting state of putrefication means, as terrifying as a zombie may be to the eye, it actually commits far worse offenses to the nose.

A long-held, common misconception is that zombies are immortal. In fact, the vast majority of zombies live less than one year. It is possible to determine a zombie's age based on their external appearance; specifically, their level of decomposition, also known as necrotic degradation.

Stages I through III of necrotic degradation

• Stage I: the skin is mottled and covered with open sores.
  
• Stage II: the ears and nose are rotting away. Loss of fingers and toes.
  
• Stage III: large areas of exposed skull and bone, loss of limbs. Much of the teeth are gone, and one or both eyes fall out.