EXhibition: Escher Exhiibtion

Exhibition Website

I recently had the chance to see some of the works of Escher right in front of my eyes here in Montreal. I went with a good friend, and we were there for a couple of hours, enjoying the work and having great discussions about it. 

Even on a Tuesday afternoon, it was well attended but not packed, so it was easy to linger on the images we wanted and not feel rushed to see it all. There was a lot to see. It shows work from the early days to the end. Most of his best-known pieces were there, and many more rare images as well. The prints, mostly wood engravings, I would say, were excellent quality, a joy to see in real life. 

There were a few "asides" I did not really think were needed. A room that, depending on where you stood, made you look large or small, a room of mirrors... these things had little to nothing to do with his work, and not many people were using them. They might have been there to engage younger people, but even the children that were there were much more intrigued by the work itself and the videos showing how it was done and what inspired it. It was a bit expensive at 30+ dollars a person, I thought. Granted, I haven't had money or time to see many exhibitions in recent years, so I don't really have a good idea what these things cost these days. 

The show is here all summer, ending in August, so if you are here, go see it. Keep in mind the unrelenting construction in Montreal made this almost impossible to find. The entry to the Place des Arts metro station was closed, and it was not clearly indicated how to leave the station, and the space itself was hidden from view by tents on Saint Catherine. I was lost for 45 minutes trying to just get there!! Not a week before, the configuration of the area was completely different! 

Iphone 17 pro and Ipad 13" pro M5

 Well, my old iPod touch was getting old in the tooth and they stopped making them years ago so I found myself buying an iPhone 17 pro last weekend. I absolutely did not want to have phone I hate being available 24/7 and how expensive they are. The iPod touch and my 11" iPad pro pretty handled all my mobile needs. 

No to say having a phone doesn't have its positive points. I cycle long distances, sometimes to the states and having one is a safety feature. Also when I ride the bus I can call people ahead of time so they know how late I am (DAYS late the last time!) The camera is OK and will serve when I don't want to carry my real camera, a Nikon mirrorless Z 5II, around with me. I still don't like it. I hate having to have it with me when I am out so I can listen to podcasts, especially on long rides. I don't like the interface. I really don't like how dependent the world is on them... people walking aimlessly around looking into the palm of their hand for hours. Luckily I am not getting many calls these days so it isn't distracting me for a mice walk with the dog or anything like that. I'll get used to using it but I doubt I'll ever want to have it. It has a 33-hour battery life, which will last on the long bus rides to Boston and back.

On the other hand I replaced my 11" iPad pro and an older 13" iPad Pro (my brother gave it to me after he lost if for months, bought a new one and then found it and I love it! The screen is amazing, I didn't think it would make a difference but it does and it's powerful enough for whenever Blender comes to the iPad. I am waiting for Canvas to release their iPad version of their photo, vector and layout suite so I can do all my work mobile in one place. I bought a multi-purpose cover. One is a normal cover that can act as a mouse pad and if I want, there is a keyboard cover that can sit on top of that. I also got the updated Apple Pencil to draw with as that is what I plan to most along with adit photos once the Affinity app is available. I plan on taking some trips to take photos, hopefully to the east coast and other places, using the iPad in place of a laptop. 

I recycled my old laptop and a variety of other old, not really being used devices and now have these and the new Mac Studio as I slowly start my retirement. 

Photpgraphy: Macro lens test

 I got my new macro lens today. It is completely manual focus, which I think is fine, since when I had autofocus it was hard to get what. I wanted. This isn't easy. Much like a zoom lens, the more extreme you get the more likely you will get camera shake and blurry images. If I need something quick and dirty I'll use my iPhone. Yes, I have one. I'll explain more in another post when I am more used to it! 

This is the lens cap to the macro lens. You can see how close it gets and how much detail there it. This new camera and lens set up will take time to master if I ever do! 

Photography: test shots on my morning ride with a Nion Z 5II mirrorless with a 40mm lens.

 I took some photos with a new (to me) Nikon Z 5II camera on my 70 km ride this morning. I have a lot to earn about the focusing and the 50mm lens is really great but not the best for this sort of riding around randomly taking photo technique. I am really impressed; it is a full-frame camera and it's pretty silent. I also saw a handsome, large fox who stuck his head out to say hello but I couldn't get the camera out of the bike bag in time to get a picture. The toad was a nice surprise.

Updating older animations: 25 Years Later (2020) opening shots

 

I am finally, slowly getting more done on remaking this project. Life is in the way and I just don't get the chance to do anything creative these days. This is the second shot in the film and I think it shows I am on the right track in just improving the animation in a worthwhile way. Blender has been acting up. The latest release won't render; it crashes blender so I have to open the file in an older version to render. Not sure what the problem is there.  I am using the same software for the character in the new version which has improved a bit. In the 2020 version I had to make the characters in a separate app and rig them for that app. Now the software is an add-on in Blender and uses Blender's rigging system which saves time and give me so much more control, especially with faces. 

Hopefully it won't take another month or two to get to the second scene, but it might at this rate! 

2020 version

Illustration: rejected book covers

 

I worked hard on these for a client for use as a book cover and they were rejected so I decided they could stand on their own as art for art's sake. Made mostly in Blender with compositing done in Affinity Studio.

Animation:: 25 Years Later UPDATE -South End street

 It's been a very tough month. I am trying to restart my life and work again and picked up where I left off on my remake of my "25 years Later" animation. This film has MANY locations that need to be remade from scratch. One is the South End neighbourhood street at the start of the film. I made  a good number of townhouse "pieces" I can put together in different configurations to make any number of townhouses. The houses on the right side of the street and at the end of the street are just flat images with a transparent background (as out most of the trees) to keep the polygon count low and renders fast. They will be out of focus in the final shots so no need to make fully 3D structures. The final shots will mostly be closeups and medium shots. It might get a special treatment to make it look like it's in the past. I think having a visual distinction before the present day and the memory shots will make the story more clear.  

Above is the new version. It will need better lighting but I like that it looks much more natural. The original is below and while I like it still, it does have an oversimplified look and lacks proportional details. EDIT: I did more work on the image using a technique that lets me take a 2D image, the row of buildings on the right and in the background and extrude them to a 3D model so they cast shadows and react to light as a 3D model would. This will be a HUGE help in this and future projects. There are limitations work around, but not many and it didn't increase render time at all! 

Illustration: Leaf

 

Another leaf drawing. Have not done one in a while, haven't drawn much in a while! I just wanted to draw something and also to use Krita again. I am definitely out of practice. 

Animation:: 25 Years Later UPDATE - bike riding

 

Moving along with this project. I took the bike model and made it work for animation, meaning the wheels turn, the handlebars turn and the pedals turn and the whole thing can be moved as one object. Then I put the main character on it and, after a couple days of work, managed to attach his feet to the pedals so if they move his legs move and look like he is pedalling the bike.  I cheated on the wheels and pedals turning in a way. There is a technique for making them turn when the bike moves forward but it involved math so I just couldn't handle it. Instead, I animated them by hand for 10 seconds, long enough for any scene this will be in and can drop it in and it will look fine. There are no close-ups of him on the bike, just medium long and long shots. 

Updating older animations: 25 Years Later (2020)

 

Original: 25 Years Later (2020) 4 minutes 19 seconds

The story of a man taking a bike journey from Montreal to Boston, where 25 years earlier, he had taken care of a sick friend and the memories invoked along the way. Made in Cinema 4D.

New version.... about the same length of time I'm thinking. More or less. I cut a couple shots while making my shot list for this new version but I think some of the other shots will get lengthened as I try and improve on them. This will be made in Blender. The characters a re made the same as the first version but since switching to Blender I have a much better handle on how to make them more realistic. I am going to have much more cinematic lighting, I hope, and  more atmosphere to each shot plus better movement and emotions on the two characters. 

Above is the cyclist character in all the versions I will need throughout the film. The second character changes more dramatically and will be more of a challenge. 

A big challenge will be remaking all the sets. There was A LOT and I don't plan on cutting any out. Interiors and many exterior shots of cycling from Montreal to Boston. As this is a deeply personal film for me, I want it to be special, though I doubt even as many people who saw the first version will watch this updated one.