Month: September 2009

Figures, Characters, and Avatars by Les Pardew

1 Comment / book and video review / September 27, 2009

Figures, Characters, and Avatars. The Official Guide to Using DAZ Studio to Create Beautiful Art by Les Pardew (2009)
B

reviewed September 27, 2009

This book does accomplish what the stated goal is: “to unlock the 3D artist in you using the incredible power of DAZ Studio….You will learn how to build sets, and populate them with amazing characters…create movies…improve drawing skills, make you a better artist..” But probably most of the purchasers of this book are hoping to learn specifically how to use the Daz Studio software, and seeing that there is much more theory than actual software practice, they (and a little bit myself too) are a bit disappointed. Having said that tho, the book, as a whole, fulfills what i wanted it to do. The main reason i bot it anyway, was for the super software bundled with the book – Carrara Pro 6, Hexagon 2.5, and Daz Studio 2.3, plus a lot of content.

The book helps explain artistic theory for total graphic idiots like myself. So explaining the “whys” of posing a figure, instead of the “hows” is very useful, and will hopefully help to keep down amateurish mistakes, which can be seen all over the internet. Theory about composition, posing, lighting, animating reactions is given in a very simple manner, which is what i need. There are also examples of actually using the software to do certain tasks like using Puppeteer to do animations, or how to use the various tools to do the poses, Mimic Pro to lip sync etc.

One somewhat odd thing, is that some parts of the book seem to be advertisements for various software programs. The oddest example, is a large section of one chapter is given to what Bryce is all about with even an actual example, but then Bryce is not included on the DVD that comes with the book. On the opposite side of the coin, Hexagon is not mentioned in the book at all, but IS on the DVD. Keeping with what i’ve noticed of the Daz company in the few months i’ve been following them – they are just not coordinated well.

For minor gripes, mostly of a grammatical nature:
p.59 shows how to put clothes on a figure and fit it, but no clothing comes with the base program. p.64 explains what to do with a opacity map, but there is no example of how to make the map. p.82 says “next chapter”, but the chapter referred to is the “next next chapter”. p.157 called “drop shadow” on the pic, but “cast shadow” in the explanation. p.170 and 191 right and left are mixed up. Again, Bryce is highlighted in the book, but not included on the DVD. However, you can download version 5.5 for free on cnet.

Carrara Pro 6 alone is worth far more than the cost of this book. So while the coordination between Daz and the author seems to have been shaky at best, the DVD itself contains programs and 3d figures and characters worth many hundreds of dollars, so i’m very happy with my purchase 🙂

Hopefully i can use this to give glory to God, and be a good representative of what a dedicated Christian can do with just a little mammon and modern technology availabe today.

plan for future?

4 Comments / 3D animation work / September 17, 2009

I’m in the land i’ve been aiming for since at least one year ago, yet it seems like i’m no closer to realizing my dream of making the original Great Controversy Between Christ and His Angels and Satan and His Angels into a movie than i was last year at this time. Actually, that’s not true, as i do have some 3d software now, and have learned one of them fairly well.

I’m working on The Two Crowns vision animation first before i tackle the full-length book movie. The storyboard i completed 2 days ago, and the material/prop list i completed yesterday. Now what? The audio? I’m still not sure what software i should use for the main working of the movie. The software i learned (Bryce) is mostly for terrains or space shots. I’m trying to learn Daz Studio, and hoping soon to get my book with the free Hexagon and Carrara 6 software included. Hopefully Carrara will do the job.

The reason i came here there has very little to do with hardware, and mostly to do with finding people who will work the software. India is famous in the computer world for having 3d animators, and i know that there are many SDA young people who have a hard time finding a job, so thot it would be relatively easy to find some to start a little training school, then do this project, then they could support themselves with this skill, or they could start their own training center to spread these skills, especially using this skill to spread the Three Angels’ Messages.

While a couple of people have shown a bit of interest, no one has shown a lot of interest. Two months have gone by. Just today i realized that i am past the “disappointed” stage now, and am in the “acceptance” stage. In a way that is good, and in a way bad. I’m happy in every situation, which God says to do, but then i’m losing interest in this animation too, and just living day to day. I enjoy very much homeschooling 2 children, but there must be a greater good i can do for the cause of Jesus Christ….isn’t there?

India is more difficult on the psyche than i had imagined. My memories of the horrid time i had here in 1998 have mostly faded, and i had an interesting time in 2006. I even gained weight that time! But this time the water doesn’t like my intestinal microbes, and i’ve gotten ill twice, and have churning nearly always, and the knowledge of the police killing some people just to get rewards for killing “terrorists”, and the fact that the lady in the building i’m staying in got hit by a motorbike and died just a 1/2 mile from here, and another man got hit by a motorbike and got his leg broken recently, and the open idol worshipping with the story of the angry young men among them last year who came to my friend’s apt building intending to kill someone last year and the constant noise and smell and filth, it is all enough for me to say “You win India, i lose. Let me out”. But again, not my will, but yours be done Lord.

So my thinking now is — to maybe go somewhere where i can find 2-4 young SDA people who are interested in learning 3d software to use for the glory of God, and who would be willing to work for around 200usd/month at first, until they get producing material, when i could probably pay up to 300/month. I haven’t had any income except for a few donations for 1 1/2 years now, but am very willing to use up my remaining savings to realize this movie. While i’m working to make this movie, i would be very happy to be of service to the surrounding people – by working at an English language school 3 or 4 hours a day for example, and being of help to the church. I really believe this idea could work in SE Asia, and in fact, what made me think of this, is that a friend in the country of Georgia has expressed an interest in doing this very thing.

Show me Lord, what your will is.

rst seminars

Leave a Comment / christian study / September 15, 2009

I got a email with an attachment recently with “RST Seminars” mentioned. Now my “interest-meter” was maxing out, as this group is promoting research into the prophecies of Revelation and Daniel, especially showing how some things that us Seventh-day Adventists teach – like the 7 Trumpets being in the past – is in the future. Yes!

So i contacted this group, and received a email with 5 newsletters attached. Mostly what was written was good, but a few clear “supposition” things (like how 666 refers to the number of people Satan leaves alive in each of his cell groups at the end time!?!) were written too. However, their view that Ellen White is not a prophet of God is absolutely wrong.

The reason for this post is to warn anyone who has any contact with RST Seminars (Revelation Speaks Today), and its owner, Sandi Evilisizer Kosak, to not have anything to do with them.

Sandi wrote me: “The problem is that in order to keep their financial positions within the church, they are teaching the false idea that there are “dual” fullfilments. That they happened in the past one way as symbolic, and that they will happen in the future as literal. This cant be farther from the truth. A seal can only open once and trumpet number 1 can only sound once.

As people come into this understanding, if they abandon the historical view completely, they are disbarred from the church. It is because of SOP, in holding up EGW above the Bible. The ones who hold the historical view cannot abandon it without admitting EGW was infallible. Because she says the seals and trumpets were in the past, they cannot change the church doctrinal position on the prophecies. If she were alive today, she would be changing her position based on new light that she consistently spoke of.”

When i wrote her explaining that i had found some good material in the 5 newsletters, and a couple of strange things, and to believe in Ellen White as God’s prophet she wrote: “All of the prophets in the Bible have been wrong.”

Well, now we see that there is no common ground at all, so i sent a email asking to her repent, and she wrote back: “The only things written by your “prophet” (I say this because I am not an SDA), ” and “Please do not contact me again.”

This is exactly the worst thing that i have thot of happening to this new light in the prophecies, is that some disgusting group will promote it, to turn away honest souls from seeking the truth. Please avoid RST Seminars until they repent and believe God’s prophets,

Read Revelation to see what it says for yourself. I understand that Pastor John Lomacang believes (to what degree i don’t know) that the 7 Trumpets are future. Doug Batchelor, Marvin Moore, Ken Cox, and John Carter are said to be believing along these lines too 🙂 It IS super clear that the 7 Trumpets must have a final fulfillment in the future, as the locusts under the 5th Trumpet only hurt those without the Seal of God in their foreheads, and up until now, September 2009, no one has ever had the Seal of God in their foreheads!

counterfeit water

1 Comment / daily rambliniscings / September 13, 2009

After feeling lethargic for 4 weeks, and vomiting twice during that time, i finally got smart and decided to buy bottled water. Now during this time i was using boiled water, which should be ok, but it was not. The first taste of the bottled water (20l) revived me, and i felt very good for the remainder of that bottle and the next bottle. But last week we got a new bottle, and when i woke in the nite and took a sip of it, i knew exactly what it was – the same water as our boiled water. Sure enough, i could not eat breakfast, and was on the verge of upchucking everything most of the day. When a little bottle was brought me, it tasted so good.

I felt like i shouldn’t be such a weaky, so washed my cabbage and carrot in the old bottled water last nite, and ate. Within 30 seconds, i needed to use the toilet. I couldn’t even finish my meal without going to the toilet.

We were told at the shop that all the big bottled water is basically the same, they just have different stickers to put on the outside of the bottle so people think they are getting something different. I’ve found that most everything in India is relative, with police officers killing innocent people to get rewards, people selling things that have no relation to anything in reality, and people pushing religion for reasons they don’t even know themselves. What a cesspool. And to think that this place also has some of the grace of God… It makes me shudder to think what Satan wants to drive us all down to.