It’s been 3 months since my last post so hopefully this makes up for my absence!

It’s always been a dream of mine to create an animated short, and with this year’s Blender film festival close by I couldn’t think of a better time.

So without further ado I present, The Ballad of the M4 Carbine:

Watch in HD!

The M4 Carbine has been the weapon of choice for US soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001, and is still used today. The meaning of the film is open to interpretation, but I’ve always found an interest with the war in the middle east and our involvement with it. I wanted the film to be politically evocative, yet aesthetically pleasing and enjoyable to watch.

From start to finish the film took approximately 4 months to complete in between working a full-time job. It was rendered in 720p HD and took an average of 2 minutes to render each frame.

Plus as a bonus for being a Blender Guru reader, I’m giving you the M4 Carbine model free. This includes all materials, textures, node setups, bullet shells, muzzle flashes, tracers and smoke effects from the short.

Feel free to use the files for all non-commercial purposes. Enjoy!

Stay tuned next week when I fly to Amsterdam and report on all the important news from the 2009 Blender Conference!