geneome » 3D

Podcasting!

Eugene — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:48:33 +0000

I oft post about the podcasts I’ve been doing with Andrew and Jonathan on cgRoundUp, but we’ve done some really good ones lately and I thought it was time to put up a “featured” post. It’s nice to be able to talk about the subject you are really into with guys who are just as into it. It’s interesting how lonely CG can be when you’re a lone freelancer or hobbyist. Yeah, you can post on forums all you want, but to really enjoy a discussion talking live with people can’t be beat, especially when they are people worth talking to. I like how the podcasts are keeping me tied to CG even though I’m not really in the thick of things right now.

XSI Foundation, Fare Thee Well

Eugene — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:39:39 +0000

It has come to my attention that XSI Foundation is no longer available. To most people who know the company this isn’t news, but for those who haven’t stayed up to date on XSI this is certainly interesting to note. To me, this news is both understandable and frightening. Understandable because, having used Foundation, it was severely limited and I couldn’t imagine users getting the most out of the software. Frightening because it just goes to show how precarious acquiring affordable industry leading production level software is for training and/or noncommercial work. Even more frightening because it could happen to any application. One would think that it won’t, perhaps being unchanging and everlasting, but with XSI Foundation disappearing after a 3 year run my beliefs have been shaken. It is surprising though that XSI Essentials has everything I would want in a package for only 3 grand.

BTW, I still have XSI Foundation 4.2

I would love to understand the business of selling 3D software. I would really like to see the costs involved in producing the software and maintaining the business and what profit is expected from sales. Obviously if these “affordably awesome” packages (e.g. XSI Foundation (R.I.P), Maya PLE, and Houdini Apprentice) don’t make money, don’t increase sales of the full-version packages, or actually hurt the sales of the full-version packages, then they will no longer be offered. I can understand that. So for me, I would like to greatly help in finding a way to help these companies make these affordably awesome packages work for the company to increase sales of the full applications.

Of course, with all this talk I start sounding like a leech. You know the ones. They want everything free and when it’s not they complain (and even when it is they complain even more). They want greatness for cheap, and when they can’t get it they whine. I think I can separate myself from this cadre since I really do think that the higher end software is really worth the 2 to 8 grand they sell it for. And I use the “affordably awesome” software with the intent that I will one day buy the full version and no longer dwell in the shadows with leeches.

Still, the thought of no longer having free/cheap training tools available for the production level packages is a thought I would rather not have at all. Especially if it’s one I have invested a great deal of time in. Trust me, switching apps (by necessity or choice) isn’t always a joy – it’s a quick journey from prince to pauper when it comes to knowledge of the tools. But one must prepare. If you are investing your effort into an application using the affordably awesome packages, one must be mentally prepared to be ready to either make the leap of purchasing the full version or be ready to stand alone on a sinking ship.

Animation Doodles

Eugene — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:47:16 +0000

I was reading Animation Mentor’s Tips and Tricks (done by Shawn Kelly in the monthly newsletter) and I’ve found it fascinating to see into the mind of an actual animator. I’ve actually never focused much on the art of animation, being interested primarily in the technical aspects of it, so these tips and tricks are interesting because it shows the amount of work that goes into actually doing character animation. After reading certain tips I thought I would do some rough thumbnails of an animation which lead to some general doodling (the results of which I’ve posted below). I’m not finished with all of Shawn’s tips but they certainly spark my interest in trying my hand at character animation. Luckily, Houdini has a toon character asset that is rigged quite nicely, so I might mess with that for starters.

Animation Study: Jump Preparation

Eugene — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 02:12:43 +0000

I was feeling a bit out of sorts today, so to perk myself back up, I thought I would do an animation study on movement. I put together a quick rig (without a model or reference) and started having fun with it using entirely FK. I was planning to do a full jump sequence, but I was getting tired and decided to stop just before the jump. Feel free to take a look at the attempt: Jump Preparation – 0.5 MB 0:07 XviD video.