3D Links

Paul Neale (Great Rigger) - http://paulneale.com/tutorials.htm

Paul Neale's site taught helped me a lot with rigging for 3DS Max and transitioning from Maya to 3DS Max.

Modeling For Game Design -http://www.poopinmymouth.com/process/character_tutorial/character_process.htm

This guy's tutorial helped refine my modeling style for low poly human bodies. Very informative, but I'm not a big fan of the way he words his tutorials. Seems a bit full of himself if you ask me.

Rigging for Animation - http://www.digitalproducer.com/2004/01_jan/tutorials/01_26/maya_rigging.htm

For animated shorts or feature films. I haven't read through everything BUT it does give guidelines on how to optimize a rig.

V-Ray Materials - http://www.vray-materials.de/

Become a member and use the materials for Vray for 3DS Max.

Out.

Pictures from my Balcony

Taken before sunrise at the balcony of the condo I'm renting. F4.0 aperture with bulb. I was using a 17-40mm lens.

More pics can be viewed at my flickr page.

Out.

Adjustments

I've been married for one week and one day. We've been living in the condo for almost one week. Things have been going steady so far. We've had ups and downs, mostly ups if you ask me.

I'm still in a period of adjustment with the current way I'm living. Walking to work has certainly been a very different experience from what I'm usually used to. Despite the fact that I am living way closer to work than before, I wake up way earlier. I also leave the house earlier, but then that's because this year our office has decided to make office hours start around half an hour earlier than normal. SO it's a win-win situation.

I still can't believe that I'm actually a family man now. My priorities have changed, and so has a lot of my responsibilities. I can honestly say that I never expected that so much of what my parents taught me about actually sank in my brain. Because now that I'm "on my own" so to speak, I'm suddenly behaving the way they wanted me to behave when I was back home.

It's an amazing new chapter in my life. Yet I still miss the past. While it's true I can still go home to visit, it will be totally different now.

I welcome this change. Because deep down I know that if I keep clinging on to my comfort zones I will never grow and I will never achieve my dreams.

Out.

Edit: ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ON JANUARY 14, 2010 AT AROUND 10PM. DUE TO THE INCOMPATIBILITY OF GLOBE TATTOO WITH MY LAPTOP I COULD NOT CONNECT TO THE INTERNET TO POST THIS BLOG.

Google Chrome Review

Note: This review is purely my opinion only. Plus the fact that I'm using a Google-based service for my blog did not influence my judgement in any way at all.

Google Chrome is a very, very good browser. It suits my needs perfectly. There are very few things I look for in a browser, and Chrome delivers. What are these things that I am looking for?

1. Tabbed browsing. I don't know who started this tabbed browsing idea but I first experienced it using Mozilla Firefox. It made surfing the net easier because instead of clicking the taskbar to check out each webpage I opened I just had to click on the tabs on one browser. The big problem with Firefox is that it used to crash all the time wiping out all the tabs I had opened. Google Chrome has yet to crash. Plus with Chrome if one tab crashes, it's only that tab that loses data. The rest are safe.

2. Bookmarks Toolber. Another Firefox discovery I got. Makes it very convenient to find the bookmarks I want. Plus being the OC person I am, my bookmarks toolbar has folders categorized into whatever I need. Very convenient. Very efficient.

Well I guess I'm a simple person because those are the only two things I need in a browser. Now for the features that exceeded my expectations.

1. Incognito mode. You can surf and the browser won't remember anything you fill up. Even the URL. No logs into history or whatever. It's like you were never there. Perfect for surfing sites you don't want anyone to know about. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

2. More streamlined interface. Chrome gives you a very, very big space to view your webpage. No overkill menubars or huge buttons. Hell, even the bookmarks toolbar was hidden and I had to unhide it.

3. Quick links when you open a new tab. When you create a new tab Chrome displays 8 of the most commonly visited sites (or you can tack the websites you most often visit so that it displays those). Very very useful because instead of going to the bookmarks toolbar I just have to click the thumbnail of the website and it goes there. Very convenient.

Of course I do have some small gripes with Chrome. But these gripes are things I have learned to live with.

1. The find text "window" shortcut key is Ctrl. G. But to close it you have to click the X. Not like in Firefox where plressing Ctrl. G again closes the "window."

2. The downloads status isn't in a separate window. It eats the lower half of your browser. Very annoying. And if you click on it to check all downloads another tab opens. But I can live with that.

3. It gives up easily when it can't connect to the site. Plus the message it says is very vague. Cryptic even.

Well, that's it for my review of Google Chrome. How would I rate it? Definitely 4.5 out of 5. Better than Firefox, but it could be better.

Out.

Moving Out

So I'll be moving out of the house starting tomorrow. I've already packed most of my clothes that I'll need. And they were more than I was expecting.

Originally I was just planning on packing around 21 shirts and collared shirts. My rationale with the number is it gives me three weeks worth of clothes and it allows me to use all the clothes I'm bringing. But when I started packing I saw that I had a lot of newer clothes had never even used. So I've got definitely more than 30 shirts and collared shirts.

I didn't expect to pack two full 76 litre plastic boxes full of clothes, but there they are. And I'm not even finished yet. I have yet to pack my jeans and underwear.

I haven't even started packing the other stuff I'll be bringing to the condominium. Like my bags, DSLR, laptop gear, and other miscellaneous riff-raff. I'm still thinking if I should bring my stereo. Definitely won't be bringing my TV since I plan on buying a new one after the wedding.

We shall see.

Part of me is excited that I'm moving out and starting a new life. Another part is sad that I'll be leaving the house I grew up in. Such is life.

Out.

Holiday Extreme Wishlist

I know Christmas is over, but better late than never. Plus I'm trying to pad my number of posts so I can hopefully increase my overall number of posts this year.

This wishlist is for gifts which I really doubt anyone will be willing to give me. Because they're so expensive. And most of the ones I list are more luxury than need. In no particular order, I present you with my latest wishlist.

2004(?) Subaru Forester STi

I originally wanted to put in the Impreza STi. But I AM getting married, and the Impreza's not really a family car if you think about it. But wait.

http://www.modified.com/tech/modp-0911-building-your-own-subaru-forester-sti/index.html

This article explains that a certain model Forester STi (hence the question mark I placed after 2004 for the model year) can have a relatively hassle free parts swap with the same model Impreza STi. So you get the size of a family car / wagon but the performance of an Impreza. Even better is the fact that the engine output of the Forester with the parts swap is even better than an Impreza's. Coolness.

But I'm not even interested in tuning the Forester. Maybe just put in a decent sound system with iPod compatibility, and maybe 18" rims. HID headlights and that's it. I mean, where would I be able to utilize the power I'd get from tuning it? Plus I'm not even a fast driver.

Update: I think I found the Forester model I was talking about. I think it's a 2001 Forester. As seen in this link:

http://www.topscoob.com/2008/08/010-angry-toaster.html

House & Lot or Condominium Unit (Both with Parking)

Obviously I mentioned already that I am getting married. So I need a place to call my own. Preferably with parking space for the Forester I'm dreaming of. If it's a house & lot I'd like it very much if it was in a safe subdivision in a very accessible part of the Metro. Somewhere close to where I live right now, or maybe even in the Makati area.

If it's a condo, I'd really want to live in a loft type unit. Hopefully 2 bedroom so there's plenty of space to entertain guests. Plus I've always loved loft-type condos. They seem to maximize what little space you have.

Kick-ass Laptop (Specifically an Alienware M51x)

I keep configuring an M51x to my ideal specs and it keeps reaching over US$3000. Enough said.

Big Samsung LED TV

What's a home without a TV right? Plus I can plug my laptop (dream laptop or current laptop) into the LED TV and turn it into a secondary monitor. Sweet.

Well so far that's it. These are the four things I really, really, really want right now. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get these four things categorically. Meaning I can get a car, a place to call my own, I already have a laptop, and I can always buy a cheaper HDTV. I just need to work hard and save up and I'll get something similar to those four. Sooner rather than later, I hope.

Out.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

As is tradition with this blog, the number of posts has AGAIN decreased this past year. And I could not do anything to stop it. Captain Procrastinator strikes on and on.

But this is 2010. New year, new beginnings.

Personally, I'm getting married in five days. Yes, five days. I'm moving out of the house and into a small and quaint "1 bedroom" condo with my future wife. A new chapter in my life begins and we'll see what happens.

Professionally I'll also be the lead 3D artist for the first time for one project at work. I've been lead 3D before for one project, but that project had been going on for the past X number of years. This project I will start AND finish. Looking forward to that too.

As for this blog, we shall see what happens this year. But The State of Ganations will carry on. Carry on.

Out.