Big kudos to 3D World magazine for releasing the Tim Clapham mograph video. Asset files and tutorial are available.

Download link.

3D World from Tim Clapham on Vimeo.

A great post at AE Tuts, presents 42 VFX breakdowns. Head on over and have a look!

Linear workflow is a way of handling digital imagery at the proper linear math level where there is no gamma correction due to the fact that our digital image displays are non-linear devices.

FXPhd has a podcast that demystifies this thing called linear workflow. Browse to the page and click the link for “Compositing in Linear”

http://www.fxguide.com/fxpodcast.html

Ray tracing gets faster, yet still today it’s an ‘offline’ process, meaning you still click a render button and wait. Some applications like fprime for Lightwave and  modo’s interactive renderer have made strides to use sampling tricks and clever programming to simulate interactive ray tracing, the concept isn’t quite there.

Enter Caustic Graphics who think they have a solution combining hardware and software. With 16 patents and probably more on the way, we may see some fruition to the concept of ‘real-time’ ray tracing but I am sure for now that would still be reserved for the largely elite producers.

Here’s a quick look behind the scenes of an indie HD music filming project using a variety of gear like a RED One, Panasonic HVX… and hell through in an RC Helicopter too.

NurbsAndPolys.com has republished the original subdivision modeling primer originated by Glen Southern and is open for viewing at NaP wiki. As a wiki resource, this publication should flourish and be maintained with current techniques.

http://wiki.nurbsandpolys.com

Milo is a technology preview of Natal, presented by Lionhead Studios. The implications of the technology are astounding, and the interactivity between person and machine becomes almost second nature.

Go ahead, meet Milo.

In the previous segment I outlined the issues that we are faced with moving geometry from a CAD application to a rendering application. In this segment, I am going to cover the topics related to preparing your CAD models to be export ready for a rendering application.

(more…)

There’s no question, talent is like getting a kickstart ahead of the rest you are competing with. However, I feel that talent is only one small ingredient to your prowess as a graphic artist.

In fact, talent has a diminishing return to the length one practices their craft, and I do believe that eventually, we all hit a limit that can only be overcome by hard work, experimentation and patience.

And yet, for those that believe they have no talent take heart because even those people with talent end up falling into a working method paradigm that anyone can follow and use to gain experience. While one might think the following post is obvious, it is often the situation that the answers or points of interest are staring us straight in the face.
Thus, I present the 7 habits of high effect junior designers. No, talent isn’t everything.

Human creativity is amazing, there is so much that can come from so little. Educated, not educated, genius, deranged whatever the case creativity comes from everywhere.

Here’s a couple of TED talks, relating to creativity that I found amusing and interesting.

Thanks to Lucas Martell for pointing these out.