25 February 2009

Peter Brooke update




Some info updates to Peter's painting site. New exhibitions, CV updates etc. If oyu haven't been there in a while recently the art was all changed as well!

24 February 2009

Art Maps Boston


Done for BADA (Boston Art Dealers Associarion) another Behemoth client to help promote thier orgainisation of galleries. Map design by Dana Wynne, OSP Catalogs. There are downloadable versions ofthe maps also. Art Maps Boston

18 February 2009

Coming soon... I hope



Starting a new animation soon. "Hérisson Maudit" . Based loosely on a visit to a friend's house. The animation should be 30 seconds or less, but already months of work have gone into it. The update to Cinema 4D has helped a bit in the rigging and I've learned a lot this time around since I've had to do everything myself, including some things like expresso coding which I've never wrapped my head around before. The creature was originally more boxy and maybe a little roo realistic for what I envisioned so I started over about 3 times on the model alone.

08 February 2009

Tobias Blaine Allen - site update



After quite a few years, we've updated the Tobias Blaine Allen art site. I am using varied elements to make the site function better. A html database and a flash gallery feature are two examples. Tobias still needs to send photos of his newer artwork, but all the basics are in place. Be sure to tell Mr. Allen what you think of the site refresh. One of the sites new features is a poetry section. Toby has been getting published and some notice for his writing on top of his art and photography these days! 

06 February 2009

Cheryl Warrick - site update



Artist Cheryl Warrick had me update her site not too long ago and I though it deserved a little notice here. She recently added a blog to her site as well where she is showing her illustrations. Please check it out and feel to contact her if you see anything you simply must have and buy it!

I will be showing more updated site here very soon I think.

01 February 2009

Version 11 Much improved, but not nearly perfect



This version of C4D is a big improvement of the last, which was a big improvement of the version before that. In many places though, the improvements merely fix things that have been wrong with the software for a long time. Many other, much needed improvements are missing such as better dynamics, water and smoke creation and some interface problems which seem to stick around version after version.

I have months of playing around to get the most of this software, but right out of the box, the render engine and the interface using it are greatly improved. The timeline has some new features that allow you to save, reuse and add to motions created in animations... something C4D has negleted to include until now and really make more complicated animations possible for animators who work alone or in small groups. As usual, Maxon has brought these features in in interesting and very clever ways. The reputation for innovation and ease of use is well deserved with Maxon products.

One remaining thing that still bothers me is the object manager. If you have many selections, for example, it takes a lot of scrolling through little triangle shapes with no way to tell which tag is for what without clicking on it. Being able to to make multiple rows, folders, custom colours, shapes etc would go a long way to making this chore a pleasure. The tiny, and I do mean tiny, little « on/off » visibility buttons are so small the mouse can barely click on the right one. In fact, tiny text and icons in places is a big drawback and has been for too long now.

Lack of good maunals that actually tell you how to set things up is a problem all companies big and small have and while Maxon has improved the online manual, it's still anyone's guess what to do with some of the features since only a technical despcription is provided, leaving many important details like heirarchies and compatibility with other functions a matter of trial and error. On the other hand the C4D community as in the forums « C4D portal » and « C4D cafe » provide an incredible and free wealth of tutorials, advice and ressources no manual could provide. The new auto update feature will alow Maxon to fix things wihtout having send out a million notices and log-jam their servers when bugs are fixed and minor updates are made. This feature should make C4D a lot more responsive to problems and user complaints. They already hav eone of the best tech help teams out there, so this will make them even more above the rest.

Price as with all new updates on virtually any product is way out of line. Prices are skyrocketing out of control in this area and Maxon is no exception, sad to say. This upgrade set me back 935$ CAD when all was said and done. Price hikes like this are unacceptable in this economic downturn unless they are willing to provide enough new clients to make it worth your while. I mean, really, you can buy new computers for less that the cost of an upgrade these days!

Overall, I am looking forward to discovering more about this upgrade, improving my animation work with it and using it on client projects.