Merry Christmas

and/or Happy Holidays to you out there.

 

Short break here from work, well, another day or so before I head back.  Doing some cool stuff on this one, nothing ground breaking, but cool to me at least. 

 

Haven't had much time to play with Blender 2.5 alpha yet, but can anyone tell me if there's a way to set the tool tray in its own window with everything on display?  That's probably my biggest gripe.  Sure I have others, maybe they'll be addressed, maybe I'll have to adapt.

 

So there ya have it, as much of an update as I have right now.

Blender 2.5

The new interface is HORRIBLE in my opinion.  Maybe come version 2.55 or so I'll have managed to get caught up and adapt it to the last few years of learning the "old" interface.  I really don't understand the option to change from horizontal to vertical after 7+ years and every pervious version. 

 

Maybe with a widescreen monitor, or maybe two of them, you could regain screen space and actually be able to see what you're doing.  I've got dual monitors and the only decent way to do things is open another window but that presents issues unless you duplicate things on both.

 

Maybe it's the whatever bug I caught, but I'm really not liking this right now.  Unless this release comes with a full manual, not a link to an online manual (as I won't have internet where I'm at for the next 4-6 months), that covers everything I'm going to suffer the same fate that led to the purchase from NaN that gave us blender in the first place.

 

 

Not on a jet plane

But I will be leaving and don't know when I'll be back again (besides holidays.)

Heading off to do some shop work and whatever else comes my way, so expect even fewer updates here. Actually, I'll be dragging at least one computer with me to do some work on a few things as I have time. Mostly cgi stuff that I've already posted, the project with the bullet, but if possible some more product related things as well.

Also, someone asked about a custom cartoon prop that I've thought about building for a while now, so perhaps I'll end up making one and post some progress stuff on that.

So, that's the haps here. Since I probably won't be around that much I'll drop those seasonal type things on you now.

Happy Thanksgiving. Merry Christmas. Happy holidays, in case those two don't cover you.

A Polish Winter

Slacking with the blog posts again.

I just noticed that APW was nominated for the Suzanne Awards 2009 best short film. Unfortunately they didn't win.

Memory, a well done, but disturbing post apocalyptic sci-fi short took the prize. I guess anyone who pays attention to Blender goings on already knew this. The good news however is that those who haven't seen it now can by following the above link.

Heck, with everything I've been doing I haven't had much of a chance to play with Blender lately. Props, parts, shoots, and getting ready to go away for a while and do a (hopefully) long stretch in the movie trenches.

Anyway, congratulations on the nomination guys, better luck next time. Congrats to the winners, one of these days I'll get around to doing a short instead of just some shots for live action stuff and product type stuff with Blender.

whole lotta shakin' going on

Last weekend was another shoot. Got to make some stuff that sounds like it should be awesome.

It would have been had it worked correctly. Oh well...into post we go.

My first course will be adding a bullet and distortion to a shot. The plan is Blender for the bullet. Particle illusion for the distortion layer, which will be brought into Blender and used as an input on the distortion node. I'll probably render out something that might be used in AE since I have raw footage and am not doing the editing. There will be a few other vfx shots I get to play with. Go me!

I may have a few other courses coming along in my big feast of "if only it had worked on set"

So it goes.



In other news, things need molded. Samples need made. Personal projects to play with as well.

long winded, as always.

I should stop by more often. This started out as a response to a comment left on my post here. It's gone a little long so it'll get its own post.

My max access was back in school, after that I had a couple friends with a copy. They moved, or switched to other things and I drifted away from CGI for a little while as I had nothing. One day I came across something that reminded me of Blender. I had downloaded version 1.73 or something like that, I've mentioned it elsewhere before. The new version was much more powerful, but still a PITA as there was no included documentation. However in the decade or so between the initial introduction the internet had become more mature, and much faster. Youtube, wiki, many more user sites and tutorials helped answer the mystical and mysterious functional questions I had regarding Blender. Both the program and the community had grown into something that deserved another look.

Blender, for the price, can't be beat. It's made and continues to make giant leaps forward in terms of features and function. I see the same "hobbyist" sentiment elsewhere as well. People dabble in makeup or sculpting as well. I know some who have opened a business after a few years of dabbling.

I don't expect Blender to take over the industry as some in the community do, but they've made 2 short films, a game, and are working on another film with it. Many other people have used it to make short movies and games. Hell, a company used it to do a full feature film. The community support and development is.. perhaps rabidly anti other software at times, but very active. I don't see that as a negative for the most part, the bashing is uncalled for, but the passion isn't bad.

Look at it this way. Since I have no idea of your age, experience, or anything like that assume for a moment you are a young teen with no money but a decked out computer and some interest in games or CGI. Your parents already dumped $3000 on a computer so they won't buy you another high end program that you may lose interest in. Along comes Blender, a small download that will run on damn near any system and provide you that gateway into the world of CGI, as well as possibly programming.

Is that a bad thing? Getting a large jump start into a field that is quite complex and ever changing? Learning a complex program that shares many of the same basic functionality as the others but with no financial investment (at first) that also requires some effort by the user as it rarely has up to date documentation (a major drawback as I've said in the past) isn't quite the negative you make it out to be. Were I better with the program and able to talk some friends into it I'd consider a summer camp type of program for children based around Blender, as well as some of the other open source software that the community lauds. Audacity, the gimp, and some others. They may not be the hollywood blockbuster behind the scenes programs, but damn I wish they had been around at their current levels when I was in high school. Programs like them were far outside of what I could afford. Couple those with a mini DV camera and you CAN make a movie today.

I do believe that the there is quite a bit of truth behind "It's not the tool, it's the craftsman." Blender might force a few extra steps or have a harder time getting there, but it will do the job.

As for why I use it, let me run down a few of the reasons.

The cost. Free.

The learning. I'm forced to learn new things, to not stay still. The learning curve is pretty steep, or at least it was/is for me. I had a couple of classes in 3DSM when I was in school. I screwed around with it a little bit, but I never actually took classes in it to learn the real basics. With Blender I was forced to go back to the very basics and start from there. I'm far, like drifting in interstellar space type far, from being good at animation, modeling, or damn near any of the things I can do with it. It gives me something to focus on, that is getting better and doing things the right way.

The features. This goes hand in hand with cost. Nothing else comes close to the features at this price. Besides the basic modeling and animation you get a video editor, a node system that can be used to adjust pictures or do some color correction, fluid simulation, sculpting, and a very active user base to name a few.

In the end I guess it comes down to personal preference, need, and justification. I can't justify dropping thousands on something I use in a production rarely. I'd rather put that money towards tools or things I use constantly as opposed to the rarely used program. If max were in the $1000-1500 ballpark I'd consider buying it and starting from scratch. Same goes for many of the other programs out there that are considered "professional" and mainstream in this area.

With the 2.5 release I think Blender will be making another large leap away from the "hobbyist" world. How large remains to be seen, and how successful will be determined to a large extent by the users of other programs such as max, maya, and the rest that dominate the industry. The future of its hobbyist status will be determined by the community. All those 13 year old kids growing up with it and using it may take it with them into their jobs in the future.

In the end it all boils down to what gets the job done.

I'm totally blushing

Or maybe it's just because I was outside for more than 5 minutes this weekend.

The new BlenderArt magazine is out. The 2 regular readers here may notice something familiar about the cover.

I'm also dealing with an extra heavy dose of "D'OH!" as I totally forgot that I might have been able to include something on the Jean Claude the Gumming Zombie stuff in there as I used Blender heavily on that project. Well, at least I finally got around to uploading some of the videos to youtube. They're in no way tutorials, just a brief glimpse at a little of what went into the movie.


Hey, maybe it's time to mention a little something on the next project. There will be heavy Blender usage, here's a little tease. Traditional FX fans fear not as there will be as much real stuff as possible, but some of the shots need CGI and some post tweaking. Blender will be used for modeling, animation, and some post work on this project.

Now, go check out the magazine I'm sure if I can make the cover there's probably plenty of much better stuff inside.

Blender raytracing build

It's showing promise and was mentioned over here.  I know it's just a build and not finished and all that, but a bunch of things are bothering me already.  Yes, I hate to complain about free software, and all the hard work, but I feel I have to.

 

The time wasting animated view changes, see for yourself, click any of the view buttons (numpad) and you get a little time waster.  It spins quickly, in large files/scenes it takes a bit of time and  I can see it being even worse once you start getting really complex with particles and things of that nature.

 

Default vertical button window.  Automatic resizing of the buttons to stretch to fit.  I hope shift+space will be able to be configured to maximize the current window, so much faster than ctrl+up arrow. Another is the having to hit the pause/stop button for playback of the timeline. 

 

While there seems to be some speed increases in the interface, I really am not digging the new cartoony feel it's got, much like I hate XP, OS X, and VISTA looks.  All those flashy little things might be cool and trendy but I don't need/want them in functional software.  Yes, there's probably a compromise somewhere, or it could be configured or whatever, but turn it off by default.  Please.

 

If it will be possible to download or configure a basic layout like the default setup of the past few releases, or something very close I'll be happy.  Over time I'll work with their defaults, but I'm finally getting the hang of it as is.  There's a steep enough learning curve already, so having to relearn everything in a cartoony (not high enough contrast theme, yes, sadly my eyes are getting older)

 

Will there be a render window or are we going to be limited to image editor?  Size presets? 

 

 

The single thing I dread the most is that there will not be current up to date documentation.  PLEASE guys, spend some time getting that together, at least a list of changed locations, key commands and combos, and/or a much better intro guide before you release this.

 

That's just my impressions on the first  few minutes of messing around with it.  I understand a lot of my complaints might already be addressed but I'm worried about having to relearn the interface and a whole lot more plus the unneeded/unwanted slowdowns that (and some of the features) bring with it.

Just got back from the Geauga film fest

There were 2 films I worked on (just supplying props to one) showing tonight. Interrogation and Jean Claude the gumming zombie (do I really need to provide a link, again?), but for me the big show stopper was a little film I hadn't heard of before. A Polish Winter.

From their blog:

It tells the story of a young boy who discovers an abandoned train cattle carriage in Eastern Europe. Upon entering inside and finding a discarded doll, memories are triggered of the Holocaust and the murder of countless children in Nazi death camps in occupied Poland.

Visit the blog and have a look for yourself. It's worth the time.

Another fun short was Visit China I didn't know so many folks I knew worked on this one, but it was good as well.

All in all it was a fun time with some good films.

Bummer

So, it seems I wasn't the winner for the splash screen contest.

 

Well...I think I'll start on something for a 2.5 entry soon.

 

Congratulations to Clemens Granjon  Have a look at what's in this version here.

A new link soon to be officially added

Johnny shot me an email with a new review of A Joker's Card today.  AJC is about 4 years old now, so it was a bit of a surprise. 

 

As luck would have it Cleveland has an indie film examiner now.  Once I sign in he's getting a link here.  Yeah, I'm mailing this in, what can I say, I'm feeling a bit lazy right now.

 

Oh yeah, a while ago I posted the Crow T Robot stuff.  Well, as soon as I switch over the website and finish rigging the model, adding legs and rigging him, I'll be posting him up on my site.  At least until I get some angry letters from BBI demanding I take him down.

 

In other news...uh, that's really about it.  I'm looking around for a cheap mac, something G4ish.  Anyone have some old stuff cluttering up the place they want to get rid of cheap?

 

 

Been spending time in Blender

Over the past couple weeks I've been working on some simple animation for a project.   I've come to some conclusions.  2.5 NEEDS a few things...

 

• Simplified keyframing, especially for materials.  Why can you only set keys, without using the IPO, for certain aspects?  Heck, why doesn't the automatic keyframing function for all animatable parameters work on materials too? 
• The ability to shift timeline.  Ideally, shifting keyframes.  It would be wonderful if you could simply hit A and G in the timeline window to shift the animation.
• The ability to change the start time of the animation into the negative area could negate the need for the above.
• Buffered shadows on ALL light types.  Perhaps with GSOC and the project to speed up raytracing this won't be as critical, but it sure as heck would be nice. 
• Not necessarily a need, but something that I'd love to see.  A material mask like the Zmask.  Would make adding fake glow easier and probably help in other aspects too. 
• Again, not a need, but volumetics on other lights.  Even notice that lightbulbs are roundish?
• A fully documented help system that is searchable, covers EVERY aspect and function, and includes pictures to show what effect it has.  Yes, I'm one of those visual learners.   Sure, it'd be huge, but imagine how useful it would be.  When a new version the changed features can be added via a "what's new or changed" addition that could be downloaded.  Sadly, were it not sure a huge job I would have already begun myself.  With all the DVDs that come out, or the books, why can't one be made like that?

I will personally commit to undertaking such a task, in book form, if I were able to get some help so it, like everything else Blender related, isn't at least 3 versions behind.  That is another maddening aspect of the existing documentation.  With the coming release of 2.5 this would be a wonderful opportunity to tackle this issue. 

 

Don't take this to be Blender bashing.  For the price it's a wonderful, feature rich program.  With 2.5 and the Durian improvements (technical targets), when they get integrated, it should take another huge step towards "mainstream" usage.  I'm thrilled to see Colin Levy on board.  He's been working with Blender since he was at least 13, about 7 years, so he should do a wonderful job.

 

I don't know if I've mentioned it here, and I'm not really in the mood to go looking right now, but about 10 years ago I first heard of Blender while I was at school on the Like-a-story message boards.  Yes, they are back online, but only as archives.  I believe it was around the 1.7ish version as I have 1.73 on an old computer.  At the time the only 3D program I had ever used was the one bundled in with corel draw 7,Bryce 2 and a little later on a watermarking version of truespace 2 or 3 I think.  About 30 minutes after installation I threw up my hands and really never touched it again.  I hated it.  Well, a year later I had a class that required me to use studio max.  I also had friends who were there to become animators so I got to spend time on their computer playing with max, and the school computers. It made much more sense to me, and I could do quite a bit more, the biggest thing that helped was documentation!  Help files, books, a teacher who knew the program.  Yes, those things really DO matter.  10 years later after the user base has drastically expanded, video tutorials, and even simple pdfs, not to mention the books, DVDs, and other "official" documentation such as the wiki are fairly common.  Things have changed.  I've learned much, the program has improved exponentially and has become a very welcome addition to my toolbox and borrowed access to max.  I'm happy Blender is out there and ever growing.  I may have possibly converted someone else to become a blenderhead.

 

I just wish its documentation was more in synch with the development of the program itself. 

two in one day

Blender has decided to release version 2.49. Somewhat big news as 2.50 is a major overhaul of the program and was expected to be the next big release.

The powers that be have decided to hold a contest for this version's splash screen and in my continuing effort to learn the program I took the opportunity over the past day or two to make up an entry.

This is A Fish Out of Water, my entry made within the rules of the contest, which you can find over here, along with all the entries. Some of them are quite impressive.


This image is the raw render of the scene. The fish is a bit Dr. Seuss like, probably because I had watched Horton Hears a Who the other day and that style was still in my mind.


This is the finished composite version after running through Blender's node system for a little processing. Depth of field, color adjustment, and glow on the head light.

The original idea behind this was a "toilet shark" similar to the sewer alligators of urban legends. From there I wandered into the whole "burial at sea" thing that gave me the idea for 6 pallbearers dressed like this guy with a small fish coffin standing on the toilet seat, zombie goldfish pouring forth from the toilet, a flying fish with angelic halo and eerie lighting from the toilet. Eventually I settled on the fish out of water theme, partially because of my feelings towards learning Blender. I'd had some classes in 3D programs back in school, and dabbled with 3DSM years ago, but that was the extent of it. With Blender I felt like a fish out of water. Surrounded by an unusual interface, powerful features, and something I didn't have to feel guilty about not paying for. Bumbling my way through teaching myself how to use it I've been getting used to it and feeling slightly more comfortable.

I still have a long long way to go with the program, let alone the basics of modeling,but that shouldn't be a reason not to at least enter.

I'm going to give you the finger

All 10 of them that is, but only if you're the person I made them for.



The first run of foam fresh out of the mold, untrimmed and with some loose skin. Apparently the molds were still damp. Oh well. I shot some video of the process as well, so that may see the light of day sometime in the future.

I've never made fingers of any kind, so this was another of those new experiences, the kind you learn a lot from. I'm not horribly disappointed with them, which is fairly uncommon for me. More runs are scheduled after another bake out of the mold to avoid the loose skin problems.

Maybe you, yeah you, that one guy who stops in here to read this, will get to see some more once makeup tests are done. Then again at the rate I post you might get to see the finished product before I post anything more on this.

Jean Claude...the last post.

The premiere was earlier today. The crowd was nice, laughed when they were supposed to, and for some unknown reason seemed to find the neighbor character funny. Yeah, I was the "Eh, I don't give a shit" slinging neighbor. If you've been over to the blog for the movie, that is indeed me in the loud Hawaiian shirt from the "got any sugar" day of shooting.

It was a fun day. Kicking back now and watching the DVD with the commentary track I speak on. For those who like FX type commentary tracks, the Producer/crew commentary track is for you, it's the one I speak on and I go into a little detail on some of the stuff.

There's a nice easter egg on the DVD too.

Thanks again to everyone who was involved, both cast and crew. Also a huge thanks to the folks who made it out to the premiere and enjoyed themselves.

Jean Claude

The finished zombie!

The premiere is set, info here. There will be Q&A sessions after both showings so RSVP and pop out if you're in the area.




Things are wrapping up on JC. Film's set. Commentary tracks have been recorded. Been learning quite a bit about Blender as I forced myself to use it. That sounds bad, but I personally fall into the "learn by using" kind of camp, so with books at the ready I sat and used it for a few shots in the movie.

With the majority of the DVD done I now turn my attention to something we had discussed doing as a nice little bonus and tribute. Jim, one of the writers, came up with some good ideas and I cranked out a quick version of one yesterday. He's going to be doing the final I think, unless my doodling is OK.

In other news, I've "finished" the Crow T Robot model and been working on something else in there. I'm sure he's not quite as accurate as he could, or should, be. Plenty good for my needs right now. He's probably a bit heavy actually. I didn't bother with any mapping really, or modeling the detail of his body, I had planned to use some bump maps.



I've been working on modeling some things for a music video that I want to do. I've been thinking about releasing the Crow someplace in case anyone wants it. Still thinking about it really as I haven't decided. Also may let go some of the things I was modeling for the music video, but only a few are even of questionable use elsewhere. I'll give it more thought, and if I do I'll just upload them to the website someplace.

OK, enough scatterbrained blogging for right now, back to blender to learn some more. Experimenting (sounds better then playing, right?) with animating Crow.


With this all out of the way it's back to The Attic. Foam runs, test makeups, and who knows what else.

Oh... SAG, don't strike. I need some money and a job this year.

A bit more

...on the recent costume related work.

 

A local paper had an article.  Along with further information on the play and background of Sign Stage, you can also see a picture with the horse and parrot in partial costume.  Personally, I think the monkey has the best costume, but I also like him best so I'm biased.

 

Google will get you information if you wish to see it near you.

Another year, already!?

Yes, I know, another long delay between postings.

I try, I just get busy. The latest bunch of busy has been all kinds of things. For instance, force learning Blender to get some CGI shots done, as well as doing a bunch of particle illusion work for Jean Claude.

Along the lines of learning blender comes the fun of "doodling" . The partially completed Crow T Robot here is a doodle that will get fleshed out, fixed up, and animated at some point in the not too distant future. I hope.




Other news on the busy list include finishing ALL the molds for The Attic. If you think MY updates are slow you should see the last time the directors blog was updated over there. ZING! Now that this batch of molds is done I get to go back to frothing foam and watching the oven for a few sets of the newly molded appliances as well as a couple backups of others. Nothing too exciting in the way or pictures on this bit of news but keep reading if you like pictures.


The big busy of the last week has been another batch of costume heads. This year's production from Cleveland Signstage is Dr Dolittle, and on the list of fun foam fabrication was a parrot, monkey, a horse, and an African headdress. I just dropped them off today and the cast was excited to see them and get some rehearsal time in with them. I yanked out no more hair than the last few times I've made heads for them, which is an accomplishment as this sort of thing is really not my bag baby, even after my stint making backpacks and a few patterns. It's fun to do, and as far as I've ever heard there are no complaints from the audience. One of these years I will get a chance to see one of their productions. One of these years I will also learn to take better pictures as well. Next time around I hope to be a bit better in Blender and do a little more of the pre-production work in there. I will say that I did a little bit of work on these in there.

In the meantime, it's back to Blender and blank stares are the computer for CGI work before ammonia fumes from the foam runs that need to get done in the next week or so.

As always, feel free to ask any questions you may have.