<img align="left" alt="Photography inspiration 51" class="alignleft tfe wp-post-image" height="120" hspace="5" src="http://cdn.machoarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Photography-Bathed-in-Light-180x120.jpg" title="Photography inspiration 51" width="180" />This post is part of our weekly photography series, each Friday we showcase some of the most amazing photographs captured by talented photographers from all around the world. Here are latest 26 beautiful photographs for your inspiration. If you like our series, feel free to share it on Twitter and Facebook. Photography Quote of the Day: “Black and white are the colors of photography. To me they symbolize the alternatives [...]<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Machoarts/~4/vHimd5Affsw" width="1" />

<img align="left" alt="Color photo from Black and White" class="alignleft tfe wp-post-image" height="120" hspace="5" src="http://static.machoarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Final-180x120.jpg" title="Color photo from Black and White" width="180" />In this tutorial we will learn how to convert our black & white photos into color. For this I am going to use a black & white image (this one). Final Result Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS4 Skill: Semi Advance Time: 1 - 2 Hrs Step 1 Open your picture and Desaturate (Ctrl + Shift + U) it. Step 2 Duplicate your picture and name this layer ‘face co’. Now [...]<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Machoarts/~4/b72AWe8KHsc" width="1" />

<img align="left" alt="Infographics Design Mistakes" class="alignleft tfe wp-post-image" height="120" hspace="5" src="http://cdn.machoarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Logo-color-infographics-180x120.jpg" title="Infographics Design Mistakes" width="180" />These are five of the most common mistakes I see when looking at infographics. I’m the project manager the top infographic design studio in the UK and I’ll tell you a secret: at some point, I’ve probably made most of these mistakes myself. It’s a new business. Anyone and everyone thinks they can do it. By the end of this article though you’ll see what’s stopping people from sharing your [...]<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Machoarts/~4/AhEdX4H9peQ" width="1" />

<img align="left" alt="Photography inspiration 50" class="alignleft tfe wp-post-image" height="120" hspace="5" src="http://cdn.machoarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Photography-Lady-in-red-180x120.jpg" title="Photography inspiration 50" width="180" />This post is a part of our weekly photography inspiration series, each Friday we showcase some of the most amazing photographs captured by talented photographers from all around the world. Here are latest 25 beautiful photographs for your inspiration, if you like this post, share it on Twitter and Facebook. Have a nice weekend! Photography Quote of the day: “I just think it’s important to be direct and honest with [...]<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Machoarts/~4/mdkTu6k73b8" width="1" />

<img align="left" alt="New google plus button" class="alignleft tfe wp-post-image" height="120" hspace="5" src="http://cdn.machoarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/New-google-plus-button-180x120.jpg" title="New google plus button" width="180" />From today Google is rolling out its new Google plus button for all Google+ users. This new +1 button has sleek red and white design. In this download we have added three different sizes of new Google plus button in .png format. These icons will be handy to use in your website or blog. Download (111 hits) Note: Linking back or any form of spreading the word is always appreciated! [...]<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Machoarts/~4/3mrPmWldS14" width="1" />

<img align="left" alt="Graphics Designer" class="alignleft tfe wp-post-image" height="120" hspace="5" src="http://static.machoarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Graphics-Designer-180x120.jpg" title="Graphics Designer" width="180" />No job is easy, but when you are producing something that is neither wrong nor right, and is based on personal taste, it can be hard. It takes a special kind of person to be a Graphic Designer but, if you think you’ve got that creative streak and you believe you’ve got the determination to work under your own steam, check out this useful guide to becoming a successful freelance [...]<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Machoarts/~4/gkImvRt2K7Q" width="1" />

<img align="left" alt="Photography mom, your turn" class="alignleft tfe wp-post-image" height="120" hspace="5" src="http://cdn.machoarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Photography-mom-your-turn-180x120.jpg" title="Photography mom, your turn" width="180" />This post is a part of our weekly photography inspiration series, each Friday we showcase some of the best photographs captured by talented photographers from all around the world. Here are beautiful 27 photographs for your inspiration for you. If you like this post, why not to share it on Twitter and Facebook. Photography Quote of the Day: “A photograph is the illusion of a literal description of how the [...]<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Machoarts/~4/x09BmaipSTU" width="1" />

<img align="left" alt="seo" class="alignleft tfe wp-post-image" height="120" hspace="5" src="http://static.machoarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/seo-180x120.jpg" title="seo" width="180" />SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a very common term among the bloggers. The term actually seems be scary and tough to learn, but actually it is not true. SEO is one of the best systems which may help you take your blog to the zenith. All you need to do is to follow certain effective blogging tips. No matter you have a blog or a website; you need a well [...]<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Machoarts/~4/lBWxeZw2wNY" width="1" />

<img align="left" alt="Photoshop Scratch Brushes" class="alignleft tfe wp-post-image" height="120" hspace="5" src="http://cdn.machoarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/top-free-scratch-brushes-00-180x120.jpg" title="Photoshop Scratch Brushes" width="180" />Photoshop is full of interesting tools that you can use to enhance the features, many of them created as open source expansions by users. For some, these will become basics in their toolkit, as they move beyond those that come standard in a Photoshop package. It can be useful to go beyond the usual, seeking out new tools that offer something a bit more special. When it comes to scratch [...]<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Machoarts/~4/QTSTyu-dccE" width="1" />

<img align="left" alt="twitter" class="alignleft tfe wp-post-image" height="120" hspace="5" src="http://cdn.machoarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/twitter-180x120.png" title="twitter" width="180" />There are tons of celebrities on Twitter. Most of them have thousands, and some even millions of followers. People follow them because of one simple fact - they’re famous, and famous people attract eyeballs very quickly. Especially in the web 2.0 age, where you are one click away from being up-to-date with what’s going on with your favorite musician, for example. That being said, some of the bios those celebrities [...]<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Machoarts/~4/irlMPFtkcFw" width="1" />

So, which part of Blender do you spend most of your time in, and why? Do you love modeling or lighting, does your job require you to rig characters, or are you trying to build skills in realistic...<br /> <br /> [read the full article on blendernation.com] <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/drmWk-f5OYO24lKB9cH8N28POgs/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/drmWk-f5OYO24lKB9cH8N28POgs/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/drmWk-f5OYO24lKB9cH8N28POgs/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/drmWk-f5OYO24lKB9cH8N28POgs/1/di" /></a></p><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Blendernation/~4/LzXA9GdxKD4" width="1" />

Fabio Russo is raising funds for the development of the Blender Image Layers. Fabio Russo (ruesp83) writes: Regarding my last work on the layer manager, I have drawn up a roadmap and started raising...<br /> <br /> [read the full article on blendernation.com] <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qkR4uPdaNJrWHl9SyDBx2pZZ9NI/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qkR4uPdaNJrWHl9SyDBx2pZZ9NI/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qkR4uPdaNJrWHl9SyDBx2pZZ9NI/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qkR4uPdaNJrWHl9SyDBx2pZZ9NI/1/di" /></a></p><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Blendernation/~4/nwxjACXZ36k" width="1" />

Using instancing, Agus3D created this image containing 19 billion (19 000 000 000) triangles. The kicker? The scene used only 200MB of memory and required 40 minutes to render in Cycles. The .blend...<br /> <br /> [read the full article on blendernation.com] <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/INNQA4o1rreyAW2RxdTMTP0y0-0/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/INNQA4o1rreyAW2RxdTMTP0y0-0/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/INNQA4o1rreyAW2RxdTMTP0y0-0/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/INNQA4o1rreyAW2RxdTMTP0y0-0/1/di" /></a></p><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Blendernation/~4/Fb-CYKNINgo" width="1" />

BlenderDiplom interviews Brecht van Lommel, the lead-developer of Cycles, on his decision to develop Cycles, the future of development and various design decisions. Gottfried Hofmann writes: BD:...<br /> <br /> [read the full article on blendernation.com] <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9xpZFtWxwerzFXxbdoOwyFXFQAw/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9xpZFtWxwerzFXxbdoOwyFXFQAw/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9xpZFtWxwerzFXxbdoOwyFXFQAw/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9xpZFtWxwerzFXxbdoOwyFXFQAw/1/di" /></a></p><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Blendernation/~4/6P2U8QBg7RE" width="1" />

By Basse. Basse writes: for a longtime now.. i’ve been using blender just for workstuff, nothing really exciting.. banners and logos and such.. so it’s time to catch up with blender.. and...<br /> <br /> [read the full article on blendernation.com] <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/RREiWvWejtM-N74n7DJdMatda3Q/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/RREiWvWejtM-N74n7DJdMatda3Q/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/RREiWvWejtM-N74n7DJdMatda3Q/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/RREiWvWejtM-N74n7DJdMatda3Q/1/di" /></a></p><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Blendernation/~4/zcug0p3BPy0" width="1" />

By Sam Speed. Sam writes: The HammerHead ESP-244 is a cyberpunk style electric sports car modelled and animated in Blender and rendered with Octane Render. It exists in a time in the near future when...<br /> <br /> [read the full article on blendernation.com] <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/lallO9H3cp_brVvbnWg9BYSQvyA/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/lallO9H3cp_brVvbnWg9BYSQvyA/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/lallO9H3cp_brVvbnWg9BYSQvyA/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/lallO9H3cp_brVvbnWg9BYSQvyA/1/di" /></a></p><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Blendernation/~4/gQ0f4BWKueM" width="1" />

Minnesota Blenderheads are meeting up on April 1st. John Fino writes: The next monthly MinnBUG meeting is scheduled for April 1st, 1-4pm in Keller Hall, at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,...<br /> <br /> [read the full article on blendernation.com] <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/V7n6PeSxt5TaCh6njPh7wQ9jayc/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/V7n6PeSxt5TaCh6njPh7wQ9jayc/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/V7n6PeSxt5TaCh6njPh7wQ9jayc/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/V7n6PeSxt5TaCh6njPh7wQ9jayc/1/di" /></a></p><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Blendernation/~4/VfNptKFCBLw" width="1" />

Blender Guru shares the results, the runners up and the winner of the “Saying Goodbye” competition. Andrew Price writes: 6 weeks ago I announced the new Blender competition: “Saying...<br /> <br /> [read the full article on blendernation.com] <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/_P70LJ25EhBL5Vb65tSaaUI3Hh0/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/_P70LJ25EhBL5Vb65tSaaUI3Hh0/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/_P70LJ25EhBL5Vb65tSaaUI3Hh0/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/_P70LJ25EhBL5Vb65tSaaUI3Hh0/1/di" /></a></p><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Blendernation/~4/DrrlUYL7V80" width="1" />

By Daniel Franke & Cedric Kiefer. See the making of below. Daniel and Cedric write: The basic idea of the project is built upon the consideration of creating a moving sculpture from the recorded...<br /> <br /> [read the full article on blendernation.com] <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/hRGE3fl5oBF598WANjUYmxurejo/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/hRGE3fl5oBF598WANjUYmxurejo/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/hRGE3fl5oBF598WANjUYmxurejo/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/hRGE3fl5oBF598WANjUYmxurejo/1/di" /></a></p><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Blendernation/~4/QnURsGfGdGY" width="1" />

Alex writes: I have done an overhaul of my Reel and thought I’d share. It contains some cinematographic studies, as well as lots of shots from my Short Films “the Risk not Taken”,...<br /> <br /> [read the full article on blendernation.com] <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/4cldmyFSZoshn1mGwivLjCsKht0/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/4cldmyFSZoshn1mGwivLjCsKht0/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/4cldmyFSZoshn1mGwivLjCsKht0/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/4cldmyFSZoshn1mGwivLjCsKht0/1/di" /></a></p><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Blendernation/~4/Xgr90v_f1xE" width="1" />

The contest once again spotlights work created by in-house designers and design departments....

Conference organizers describe the event as the first two-day business conference to have a complete focus on social media analytics....

The beta is packed with new features and has been given a significant speed boost, with the final version of Photoshop CS6 expected in May....

The latest edition of the venerable graphics suite for Windows provides a slew of new and enhanced features....

The new bundle of three DAZ products makes it possible to create 3D figures and bring them into Photoshop via the Photoshop Bridge plugin....

Decorator has been given additional functionality and is now also available as a standalone application....

The latest version adds a Tint and Stencil mode for creating decal-like effects using the Paint Through tool....

The platform for data visualization is designed to help automate the creation of infographics....

The new set of extensions speeds and extends working in Photoshop, notably in the area of guide management. ...

The new cross-platform application is geared to front-end web developers and designers working on mobile web projects....

Tim Wilson's bio photo may look like the vague approximation of a man in his early fifties, but he assures us most emphatically that it is the face of a teenage girl -- at least when he thinks about The Vampire Diaries. Look, this is just the way it is when you're a fan. We might try to keep our coo

"America Fights Back" at the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. A complete script rewrite with no reshoot budget, and technical challenges galore to create the museum centerpiece. No pressure.

In this second tutorial explaining text range selectors in After Effects, Andrew Devis shows how to add an additional range selector to our already animated text, which works in a completely separate way to the presently applied range selector and animation. The end result shows how different range

Yuri Neyman, ASC looks at the history of cinematography and its roots in painting for clues about how to continue to develop the art and craft.

Cinematographer James Mathers discusses shooting Brake, an indie thriller starring Stephen Dorff that was directed by Gabe Torres from a script by Timothy Mannion. Nathan West and James Walker produced with their company Walking West Entertainment. The movie opens up theatrically in Los Angeles and

You've heard of on-set file-based workflow? That's Von Thomas. Here's an inside look at his gear, and management secrets that can work for you too.

Range selectors in After Effects enable many text animation functions that would be quite complex to achieve through the normal 'stop-watch' approach to animation. Range selectors also give us the ability to animate the numerous functions within the character panel, which at first sight, appear not

Why our world of up-to-the-moment communication helps fill our human need for community.

Codex Digital now offers full support for ARRI's Alexa Studio with Codex ARRIRAW Plus and the Codex Onboard recorders, which can record up to 48 frames per second of ARRIRAW from the Alexa Studio in 4:3, using Codex' new high speed Data Packs. The company is also readying the debut of the Codex Vaul

The second tutorial from the series describes techniques for manipulating the depth map and texture map that can be used for a logo reveal.

<p>After three years of weekly posting, I’ve decided to devote my time to other things. Thanks to everyone for your support and comments.</p> <p>Digital Image Magazine will remain online until May 2012. At that time, my webserver contract will expire, and the blog will disappear. Feel free</p> <p>to read and enjoy the many articles here until then.</p> <p>Best regards,</p> <p>Bob Nolin</p> <img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2668&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/digital-image-is-on-hiatus/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Digital Image is on hiatus">Digital Image is on hiatus</a> <small>Please enjoy old content in the meantime. ...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/new-resources-and-links-page/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: New Resources and Links Page">New Resources and Links Page</a> <small>Today we're adding two new pages to our menu bar....</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-digital-painting-with-photoshop/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: Digital Painting with Photoshop">Tutorial: Digital Painting with Photoshop</a> <small>CGArena.com has published my new tutorial about how to paint...</small></li> </ol></p>

<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2625" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="Friends Stick Together, by Bob Nolin. Painted with Photoshop CS5. " class="size-full wp-image-2625" height="361" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/06/hiatus.jpg" title="hiatus" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Friends Stick Together, by Bob Nolin. Painted with Photoshop CS5. </p></div> <h5>Digital Image Magazine is on hiatus for an indefinite time. In the meantime, please make use of the more than 180 articles (tutorials, reviews, inspirations, etc.) here for you. </h5> <img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2624&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/a-collection-of-helpful-websites-for-digital-artists/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: A Collection of Helpful Websites for Digital Artists">A Collection of Helpful Websites for Digital Artists</a> <small>Here's a hand-picked list of great websites devoted to creating...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/resources-online-training-for-digital-painting/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Resources: Online Training for Digital Painting">Resources: Online Training for Digital Painting</a> <small>Learn digital art in the comfort of your own home!...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-digital-painting-with-photoshop/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: Digital Painting with Photoshop">Tutorial: Digital Painting with Photoshop</a> <small>CGArena.com has published my new tutorial about how to paint...</small></li> </ol></p>

<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2605" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.andreasrocha.com"><img alt="Beacon, by Andreas Rocha" class="size-full wp-image-2605" height="251" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Beacon.jpg" title="Beacon" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Beacon, by Andreas Rocha</p></div> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143545720X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=digiimagmaga-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=143545720X">Secrets of Corel Painter Experts: Tips, Techniques, and Insights for Users of All Abilities</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=digiimagmaga-20&l=as2&o=1&a=143545720X&camp=217145&creative=399349" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> by Daryl Wise and Linda Hellfritsch, is a new title from Course Technology PTR. It is printed in their familiar 7×9″ horizontal format. This makes it a bit hard to read, holding it in your lap, but it works very well lying open on a desk. The spine design allows the book to lie flat quite easily, without damaging the book. This is a dense, 314-page, color-filled book, with lots of great paintings to look at and be inspired by. Inspiration, in fact, is what this book is all about.</p> <p><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2607" style="width: 586px;"><img alt="A New York Minute, by Richard Swiatlowski" class="size-full wp-image-2607" height="384" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/A-NEW-YORK-MINUTE-06.jpg" title="A-NEW-YORK-MINUTE-06" width="576" /><p class="wp-caption-text">A New York Minute, by Richard Swiatlowski</p></div><span id="more-2597"></span></p> <p>The book highlights the work of 17 artists currently using Painter as part of their workflow. The range of styles is quite diverse, which is one of the book’s strengths. The majority of the works here are paintings created from scratch. Only a few artists here use Painter to modify photographs. Mostly what is presented here are what I would call illustrations or fine art paintings. The artists, for the most part, are new, to me at least. It’s nice to see some new blood. The stable of Corel Masters is getting rather tired at this point. </p> <p><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2608" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="The Moon, by Song Yang" class="size-full wp-image-2608" height="862" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/the-moon.jpg" title="the-moon" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The Moon, by Song Yang</p></div> <p>Each chapter includes information about the artist (software and hardware used, education, clients, and awards), a short interview section, a gallery of work, and a Technique section. This is where you’ll find one or two tutorials by each artist. These vary in level of detail. For instance, Chet Phillips’ tutorial is just that: a low-level, what-settings-to-use sort of tutorial (it’s great, too, by the way); most of the tutorials are more high-level. You’ll gain an understanding of the artist’s approach and workflow. For the most part, these are not follow-along projects. </p> <p>For this sort of book, that’s perfect. As the title indicates, there are some “secrets” here: you’ll pick up quite a few clever tricks and new ideas browsing through each chapter. It’s fascinating to see how many different ways a single program can be used. Of course, nearly all of the artists here use Photoshop and other programs, in addition to Painter. This is the way it is in the world of professional art: no one program does it all. </p> <p>The printing quality is first-rate. There is a DVD attached which pretty much contains nothing more than the same works shown in the printed book. These images look better in the book than in the tiny JPGs on the DVD. Be warned-the back of the book states that the DVD contains video tutorials, desktop wallpaper, and Painter movies. I found only two artists who had additional content. Still, the book itself is very worthwhile. You’ll be happy to have it on hand next time you need some inspiration and new ideas. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2609" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Page from Anomaly graphic novel, by Brian Haberlin" class="size-full wp-image-2609" height="392" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/page-from-anomaly-graphic-novel.jpg" title="page-from-anomaly-graphic-novel" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Page from Anomaly graphic novel, by Brian Haberlin</p></div> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2610" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Together, by Pete Revonkorpi" class="size-full wp-image-2610" height="490" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Together.jpg" title="Together" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Together, by Pete Revonkorpi</p></div> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2614" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Anno 1404 - Harbour, by Torsten Wolber" class="size-full wp-image-2614" height="785" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Anno1404_Harbour-01.jpg" title="Anno1404_Harbour-01" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Anno 1404 - Harbour, by Torsten Wolber</p></div> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2615" style="width: 537px;"><img alt="William Shakespaw, by Chet Phillips" class="size-full wp-image-2615" height="897" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/William-Shakespaw.jpg" title="William-Shakespaw" width="527" /><p class="wp-caption-text">William Shakespaw, by Chet Phillips</p></div> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2616" style="width: 510px;"><img alt="Tupac, by Mike Thompson" class="size-full wp-image-2616" height="476" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Tupac.jpg" title="Tupac" width="500" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Tupac, by Mike Thompson</p></div> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143545720X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=digiimagmaga-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=143545720X">Secrets of Corel Painter Experts: Tips, Techniques, and Insights for Users of All Abilities</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=digiimagmaga-20&l=as2&o=1&a=143545720X&camp=217145&creative=399349" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> by Daryl Wise and Linda Hellfritsch.</p> <img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2597&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/review-advanced-painter-techniques-by-don-seegmiller/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Review: Advanced Painter Techniques by Don Seegmiller">Review: Advanced Painter Techniques by Don Seegmiller</a> <small>An in-depth review of a new book from Don Seegmiller,...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/book-review-karen-sperlings-painting-for-photographers/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Book Review: Karen Sperling’s Painting for Photographers">Book Review: Karen Sperling’s Painting for Photographers</a> <small>Karen Sperling has a wonderful new book out for anyone...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/price-reduction-on-our-new-painter-book/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Price Reduction on our new Painter book">Price Reduction on our new Painter book</a> <small>Great news! 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<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2586" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="This week, we'll see how to take last week's image (left) and turn it into the image on the right. " class="size-full wp-image-2586" height="377" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/before-after-header.jpg" title="before-after-header" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">This week, we'll see how to take last week's image (left) and turn it into the image on the right. </p></div> <p>Before we begin Part 3, let’s do a quick review. In Part 1, we chose a photo of a model and an environment for her to “live” in. We added a third piece (a new floor) to complete the initial photo composition. In Part 2, we used the ornate stained glass window to create its own mask, thus “removing” the panes of glass. Now we can add a new background image, to serve as the view out the window. Today, in Part 3, we will add 17 layers to adjust the coloring and lighting, to change the image from Part 2 into something exciting and colorful.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_2584" style="width: 233px;"><img alt="To help us stay sane, we'll put the layers into groups, since there are 17 total layers. " class="size-full wp-image-2584" height="184" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/all-groups.jpg" title="all-groups" width="223" /><p class="wp-caption-text">To help us stay sane, we'll put the layers into groups, since there are 17 total layers. </p></div>Before you run screaming out of the room at the very thought of 17 layers, let me assure you it’s not as bad as you might think. Photoshop’s groups act like folders, which help us to organize the layers. Groups can really save your sanity. Here you can see the 17 layers arranged into four groups. The layers are arranged into groups according to the major object being modified. So, for example, the topmost group is the figure group, and it contains the layers which modify our lady in waiting. Here’s what is in the Figures group.</p> <p><span id="more-2583"></span><br /> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2587" style="width: 360px;"><img alt="Clicking on the side-pointing arrow opens up the group. Here are the layers which make up the Figures group. " class="size-full wp-image-2587" height="534" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/figure-group-layers.jpg" title="figure-group-layers" width="350" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Clicking on the side-pointing arrow opens up the group. Here are the layers which make up the Figures group. </p></div> <p>The very top layer is set to blending mode hard light. This is a blank layer, and the blending mode allows us to paint on her hair and brighten it up a lot. We also can shape the hair a bit, and add some queenly length.</p> <p>Notice that the figure itself is on a transparent layer. We can use this transparency to clip (mask) layers above the figure. That’s what those right-angle symbols mean: a clipping mask is turned on. You can have more than one layer clipped by the bottom layer, as here (we have two layers being clipped by the queen figure). This means that we can only paint inside the area taken up by the pixel in the Original image layer (the queen). We can add a rim light (a glowing edge) by painting with an airbrush all around the upper edges of the figure, on a blank layer (see layer “rim light”). Turn on blending mode Linear Dodge (add) to punch up the glow. Don’t worry about painting “outside the lines:” the clipping mask won’t let you. Clipping masks are very helpful, and a big time saver. Once you see how they work, you’ll use them all the time. </p> <p>The layer I lazily left named “Levels 3″ also uses the queen image layer as a clipping mask. Here, I’ve added a levels adjustment layer with a layer mask. The clipping mask restricts the levels adjustment to just the queen, and nothing else. The layers mask allows me to lighten, with the paint brush, the darkening created by the levels adjustment, in selected areas. This is a technique I’ve explained in detail in past tutorials, so I won’t spend any more time on it here.</p> <p>The bottom-most layer in the Figure group is a simple blank layer, with dark, soft-edged shadows painted behind the queen. She overlaps the shadows, because her layer is above the layer with the shadows. Next we have the Floor group. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2588" style="width: 360px;"><img alt="Here is the Floor group, opened up. " class="size-full wp-image-2588" height="476" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/floor-layers-group.jpg" title="floor-layers-group" width="350" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Here is the Floor group, opened up. </p></div> <p>Here again, the floor object is on a transparent layer, so we can use it with clipping masks. This group is fairly straightforward: we just add three adjustment layers with clipping turned on. The adjustments modify the color, saturation, and hue. To turn it on, by the way, go Layer > Add Clipping Mask. </p> <p>Next comes the much more complicated group, the Wall and Windows. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2589" style="width: 360px;"><img alt="There's quite a bit going on here in the Walls and Windows group. " class="size-full wp-image-2589" height="556" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/walls-windows-group.jpg" title="walls-windows-group" width="350" /><p class="wp-caption-text">There's quite a bit going on here in the Walls and Windows group. </p></div> <p>The layer we created last week sits on the bottom of the stack in this group. Notice the layer mask we made, making the panes disappear. In this group, we are going to modify the walls and the windows only, not the view out the window. That we’ll save for last. Just as in the Floor group, we use three adjustment layers. The key here, though, is a blank layer set to Overlay blend mode. Paint on this layer to alter colors, brighten them, etc., without covering over the original pixels. It’s like painting with…stained glass! Kind of appropriate, I guess!</p> <p>Notice that here, too, we’re using the clipping masks. In this case, that means we don’t have to worry about affecting anything that’s transparent in the bottom layer. We can’t get paint on the panes, in other words, because they are made transparent by the layer mask we created in Part Two. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2585" style="width: 360px;"><img alt="The bottommost group is the Background group. This is only what is visible outside the window. " class="size-full wp-image-2585" height="423" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/background-group.jpg" title="background-group" width="350" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The bottommost group is the Background group. This is only what is visible outside the window. </p></div> <p>The fourth and last group contains the layers for the view outside the window. As such, they come last, so that everything else lies on top of the “view.” The only areas that show through are where we’ve created the layer mask in Part Two. The bottom-most layer in this group is an image I chose for the “view out the window.” I’ve also painted on this layer with an intense blue, which shows through nicely in the top windows. I’ve added a vibrance adjustment layer and a blank layer with yellow paint for the clouds. This yellow is supposed to look reflected in the room, on the walls. So as you work, you’ll be shifting up and down through the groups. It’s not a strictly linear process as I have shown here. </p> <p>Photomanipulation, in fact, is a process of play and experimentation. Here we’ve had a look at the final result. But it took hours to come up with these 17 layers. Luckily, groups came to the rescue, and made staying organized a breeze. I hope you found this walkthrough helpful. The final step, for me, is to flatten the image and paint it in Painter and/or Photoshop. Here’s a close-up of the final result of the painting. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2594" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Painting close-up. Painting by Bob Nolin, with thanks to Elandria on Deviant Art for the use of her stock photograph. " class="size-full wp-image-2594" height="1074" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/painting-cu.jpg" title="painting-cu" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Painting close-up. Painting by Bob Nolin, with thanks to Elandria on Deviant Art for the use of her stock photograph. </p></div> <img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2583&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-one/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part One">Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part One</a> <small>The thinking process behind creating a photomanip is this week's...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-2/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 2">Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 2</a> <small>In Part Two, we learn how to create a complex...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-preparing-a-beach-photo-for-painting-in-corel-painter/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: Preparing a Beach Photo for Painting in Corel Painter">Tutorial: Preparing a Beach Photo for Painting in Corel Painter</a> <small>Learn how to use Photoshop to correct exposure problems in...</small></li> </ol></p>

<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2571" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="In Part 2, we'll create the mask on the right from the image itself. This will allow us to have a new view out the window. " class="size-full wp-image-2571" height="382" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/step-one-plus-mask.jpg" title="step-one-plus-mask" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">In Part 2, we'll create the mask on the right from the image itself. This will allow us to have a new view out the window. </p></div> <p>In Part Two, we’ll remove the window panes, so to speak, to give our lady in waiting a new view. Once the panes are removed, we can insert a new layer underneath, using any landscape or scene we choose.</p> <p>In order to remove the current pixels making up the window in our scene (<a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog.featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-one/">begun in Part 1 </a>), we need to select all the panes. At first, the Select Color Range tool looks like a good choice, but it leaves too much unselected. Ditto with the Magic Wand and the Quick Selection tools. In this case, the view outside the window is very pale: almost white. Using the Curves adjustment tool (see below) we can push the panes to nearly pure white, and darken the cames (the leading between the panes) at the same time. Once we’ve done that, Select Color Range works like a champ. Note the area (circled in red) where the bright sunlight “blew out” the cames in a few areas. We’ll have to correct that next.</p> <p><span id="more-2570"></span><br /> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2574" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="A curve adjustment increases the light areas and darkens the dark areas, which is just what we want. Now the Select Color Range will work much better. " class="size-full wp-image-2574" height="279" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/curves-adj.jpg" title="curves-adj" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">A curve adjustment increases the light areas and darkens the dark areas, which is just what we want. Now the Select Color Range will work much better. </p></div></p> <p>Here’s the process:</p> <p><img alt="layers" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2578" height="300" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/layers1-234x300.jpg" title="layers" width="234" /></p> <p>1. Take the original photo and rename the layer it’s on to Layer 0, or “original photo”. </p> <p>2. Duplicate this layer, and name it “working layer”</p> <p>3. Apply a Curves adjustment to make the window panes nearly white, and the cames (leading) solid black. </p> <p>4. Use Select Color Range to select the white panes. </p> <p>5. Use Quick Mask (tap the q key) to make sure only the panes are selected. Then exit Quick Mask (toggle with q). </p> <p>6. Invert the Selection: go Select > Invert. </p> <p>7. Make the Original photo layer active. Click once on the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the layers palette. This will create a layer mask that has the window panes masked out.</p> <p>8. To fill in the gaps in the cames (circled in red, above), pick a hard-edged brush, and make it the same size as the cames (about 8 pixels, in this case). Choose solid black as the foreground color. Tap once with the brush, hold down the shift key, and then tap again on the other side of the “broken” came. Photoshop draws a perfectly straight hard-edged 8 pixel-wide line, replacing the missing black areas. Next, use the eraser tool to remove little bits of windowpane which are still hanging around. This goes pretty quickly. Once you’re done making the cames perfect and the panes completely empty, you’re ready to add a new background layer for our lady to look at. </p> <p>9. Lastly, delete the “working layer.” Add back in the image of Elandria from Part One. Paste a new image as your bottom layer, for a new view outside. Here’s what we have at this point. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2580" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Try different landscape images till you find one that suits your vision. " class="size-full wp-image-2580" height="586" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/end-of-step-two.jpg" title="end-of-step-two" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Try different landscape images till you find one that suits your vision. </p></div> <hr /> <p>Next week, we’ll look at how modify this image to really make it glow, using layer adjustments and painting. Thanks for reading! </p> <img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2570&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-3/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 3">Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 3</a> <small>In our last installment, the photo manipulation is finished. Learn...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-one/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part One">Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part One</a> <small>The thinking process behind creating a photomanip is this week's...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-preparing-a-beach-photo-for-painting-in-corel-painter/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: Preparing a Beach Photo for Painting in Corel Painter">Tutorial: Preparing a Beach Photo for Painting in Corel Painter</a> <small>Learn how to use Photoshop to correct exposure problems in...</small></li> </ol></p>

<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2551" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://elandria.deviantart.com/"><img alt="One of the Nature's Lore series by Elandria. Click on photo to see more by Elandria. " class="size-full wp-image-2551" height="1091" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/natures_lore_38_by_elandria-d3fy9is.jpg" title="natures_lore_38_by_elandria-d3fy9is" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">One of the Nature's Lore series by Elandria. Click on photo to see more by Elandria. </p></div> <p>Today I came upon the photo above, by Deviant Art stock artist <a href="http://elandria.deviantart.com/">Elandria</a>, and decided I just had to create a photomanipulation with it. For this tutorial, I’m going to emphasize the thought process, more than the actual Photoshopping. I have no idea where I’m going with this photo. So let’s get started!</p> <p> <span id="more-2550"></span></p> <p>First, I’ll separate the image of the woman in the blue dress from the background. The background, in this case, is nearly one color, so I’ll start with the magic wand to select the majority of the background quickly. Make sure “contiguous” is checked on. I used a tolerance setting of 30, which works well, but one of her hand disappears, since it is flesh toned and so is the background (this is why a lime green background-a green screen- is used for this sort of work). Once the selection is made, hit the Q key for Quick Mask. You can make the Quick Mask any color you like; mine is green. </p> <p><div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_2553" style="width: 260px;"><img alt="In Quick Mask mode, you can see where the Magic Wand got a little too aggressive. Paint over the missing fingers with white to recover them. " class="size-full wp-image-2553" height="302" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/missing-fingers.jpg" title="missing-fingers" width="250" /><p class="wp-caption-text">In Quick Mask mode, you can see where the Magic Wand got a little too aggressive. Paint over the missing fingers with white to recover them. </p></div> Zoom in and clean up the edge of the mask. Paint with white to recover areas; paint with black to mask out unwanted areas. </p> <p>Once the edge is all cleaned up, tap the Q key again. This returns you to select mode, and you’ll see the “marching ants” defining the selection edge. At this point, we’ve selected the background. Go Select > Inverse to select the figure. Now, let’s find a setting for our figure.</p> <p>For this, I turn to my ever-growing collection of stock photos. I keep these on my hard drive, and add to the collection whenever I see a stock photo (on Deviant Art, Morguefile, sxc.hu, etc.) that catches my eye. The images are organized into a large library of folders (Maps, Globes, Clocks, Rocks, Seascapes, Landscapes, etc.). Keeping organized really helps when it’s time to look for an image, as we’re doing right now. I have several promising folders for this image. Since she’s in Medieval garb, I’ll look in my Castles folder, and maybe the Cathedrals folder. She seems to be looking out a window, at least in my mind, so I look in the Windows folder, and find this image: </p> <p><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2559" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://xNickixstockx.deviantart.com"><img alt="This will become the main setting for the final photomanipulation. The pink area shows where I'll be adding a new floor. Stock used with permission by xNickixstockx on Deviant Art. " class="size-full wp-image-2559" height="885" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Castle_Window___Battle_Abbey_by_xNickixstockx-small.jpg" title="Castle_Window___Battle_Abbey_by_xNickixstockx-small" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">This will become the main setting for the final photomanipulation. The pink area shows where I'll be adding a new floor. Stock used with permission by xNickixstockx on Deviant Art. </p></div> <p>I go back to the selected image of Elandria, and go Cmd+C (or Cntl+C on Windows) to copy. Then I paste it into the window image. I resize the figure a bit using Edit > Transform > Scale. After moving her around a bit, I decide that she needs a higher floor to stand on. I will grab a floor from another image on my hard drive. After adding the floor, I’ll crop the bottom of the window image. First, let’s find a new floor. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_2560" style="width: 260px;"><a href="http://mirandarose-stock.deviantart.com"><img alt="This image, by stock artist MirandaRose-stock on Deviant Art, shows a nice floor under a lit window. It's a good match for our renovation project. " class="size-full wp-image-2560" height="287" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/new-flooring.jpg" title="new-flooring" width="250" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">This image, by stock artist MirandaRose-stock on Deviant Art, shows a nice floor under a lit window. It's a good match for our renovation project. </p></div> <p>This is a good example of how you need to adapt images to suit your purposes sometimes. This flooring looks good, but it’s not the right polygonal shape (see the pink shape, above). What I’ll do is copy it to another layer, and then flip it horizontally. Then I’ll move the copy until left and right halves make a shape similar to the pink polygon. </p> <p>Next I copy and paste this new flooring into the main image of the castle window (see below). After pasting, it appears in the middle of the image, as you see here. The arrows show where I’ll be moving it. It doesn’t match the original shape exactly. But I kind of like the way it comes forward to a point, so I’ll go with that. For fine tuning, I’ll use the Edit > Transform > Warp tool. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_2562" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="The new floor matches pretty closely, though it comes forward to a point, unlike the pink shape I made earlier. " class="size-full wp-image-2562" height="454" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/new-floor-right-left.jpg" title="new-floor-right-left" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The new floor matches pretty closely, though it comes forward to a point, unlike the pink shape I made earlier. </p></div> <p>Here’s the new floor, ready to lower into place. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2564" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="I may need to use the Warp transform a bit, but this flooring should pop right into place. Good enough for government work, as they say. " class="size-full wp-image-2564" height="885" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/new-floor-ready-to-install.jpg" title="new-floor-ready-to-install" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">I may need to use the Warp transform a bit, but this flooring should pop right into place. Good enough for government work, as they say. </p></div> <p>Now I copy the image of Elandria into the setting (below). This concludes Step One. Next week, we’ll give Elandria something to look at out the window! </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2567" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Step One, complete. Next we'll change the window view, and some other neat stuff. " class="size-full wp-image-2567" height="762" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/step-one-complete.jpg" title="step-one-complete" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Step One, complete. Next we'll change the window view, and some other neat stuff. </p></div> <img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2550&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-3/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 3">Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 3</a> <small>In our last installment, the photo manipulation is finished. Learn...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-a-photomanip-journal-part-2/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 2">Tutorial: A Photomanip Journal, Part 2</a> <small>In Part Two, we learn how to create a complex...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/create-fantasy-painting-with-photoshop-and-painter/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: Create a Fantasy Painting with Photoshop and Corel Painter">Tutorial: Create a Fantasy Painting with Photoshop and Corel Painter</a> <small>Learn how to assemble a fantasy image using stock images,...</small></li> </ol></p>

<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2534" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="Five Chicks Named Moe, by Bob Nolin. Painted with Photoshop CS5 and a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet." class="size-full wp-image-2534" height="274" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Five-chicks_final.jpg" title="Five-chicks_final" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Five Chicks Named Moe, by Bob Nolin. Painted with Photoshop CS5 and a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet.</p></div> <p>The painting above, “Five Chicks Named Moe,” took about three weeks to complete, working on it a few hours a day on average. I would guess that’s about 45 hours of work. I followed a fairly complex working method, and I’d like to share it with you today. This isn’t really a tutorial, but more of a “making of.” I won’t talk much about the actual painting. Instead, I’ll lay out the steps I took. You may find this method has some advantages for your own work.</p> <p>In a nutshell, I take a stock photo (<a href="http://www.fotolia.com/id/6674607">this one</a>, from Fotolia, in this case), create a black and white “underpainting” (a grisaille), and then paint on top of that until the grisaille is completely covered over. This is different from my previous hand-painted Photoshop works, in that I’m using a grayscale layer that becomes part of the final image. Previously, I’d use a line drawing layer for reference, and then delete it at the end. With this new method, I’m attempting to follow the Old Masters’ way of working, with a monochrome underpainting.</p> <p><em>Grisaille</em> (pronounced “griz-eye”) is a French word meaning “gray tones.” The advantage of starting with a monochrome underpainting is it allows the painter to establish the forms and values first, and then develop the color on top of that. More info available <a href="http://grisaille.com/">here</a>.<span id="more-2525"></span></p> <h4>Step One - Topaz Adjust to add detail</h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2528" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.topazlabs.com/303.html"><img alt="Original stock photo on left. Topaz Adjust (Mild Detail preset) on right. " class="size-full wp-image-2528" height="388" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/Chick-2-orig-vs-TA.jpg" title="Chick-2-orig-vs-TA" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Original stock photo on left. Topaz Adjust (Mild Detail preset) on right. </p></div> <p>I use<a href="http://www.topazlabs.com/303.html"> Topaz Adjust</a> whenever I need to add some punch to a photo. After trying out several of the presets that come with Adjust, I went with the Mild Detail setting. The original photo is very high key, with very little variation in tone. It’s all bright. So the first step is to bring out detail that has been washed out by the bright, even lighting. My goal is to achieve a dark, chiaroscuro look, as though the chicks were painted by a Dutch master of the 16th century. As you can see above, Adjust brings out each individual feather, but the Mild setting doesn’t overdo it. </p> <p>Before we go any further, let me show you where we’re going. Here’s what the layer palette is going to look like once we get through the next several steps. The layer with the chicks is in the middle of the stack. The background is below the birds, and the adjustment layers are above them.</p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2536" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Here's our goal: layers that create the look we're after. " class="size-full wp-image-2536" height="856" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/layers.jpg" title="layers" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Here's our goal: layers that create the look we're after. </p></div> <h4>Step Two - Create the dark background</h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2527" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="A simple dark-to-very-dark gradient makes up the background. It will be painted over to add texture and variety." class="size-full wp-image-2527" height="273" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/backgrd-grad.jpg" title="backgrd-grad" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">A simple dark-to-very-dark gradient makes up the background. It will be painted over to add texture and variety.</p></div> <p>The bottom-most layer in the stack is the Dark Gradient background. This is just a start, and we’ll paint over it later to make it look hand-painted, and not machine made. </p> <h4>Step Three - Give the chicks a table to stand on</h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2538" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="There are two wood layers, with the upper one set to Overlay mode. The upper one is blurry, and this helps to eliminate the photographic detail of the wood photo. " class="size-full wp-image-2538" height="272" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/wood-layers.jpg" title="wood-layers" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">There are two wood layers, with the upper one set to Overlay mode. The upper one is blurry, and this helps to eliminate the photographic detail of the wood photo. </p></div> <p>The wood tabletop is actually a photograph of an old drawing board. I used the Perspective adjustment tool to make the board look like it’s lying down (it was shot head on). Next I copy one layer, and blur it, set the blending mode to Overlay, and turn down the Opacity until the detail is softened but not eliminated altogether. Then I add a layer mask with a soft edge between black and white. This makes the far end of the table get darker. The layer mask allows the dark gradient to show through. </p> <h4>Step Four - Add shadows under the chicks </h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2537" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Soft, blurry shadows are cast by the chicks' bodies, while small, hard-edged shadows are cast by their feet. " class="size-full wp-image-2537" height="274" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/shadows-added.jpg" title="shadows-added" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Soft, blurry shadows are cast by the chicks' bodies, while small, hard-edged shadows are cast by their feet. </p></div> <p>Add two new, blank layers. The lower of these layers will contain the blurry shadows cast by the bodies of the chicks. The upper layer will show the shadows cast by their feet. Use a large, soft airbrush at low opacity for the lower layer. For the feet, use a much smaller brush, at higher opacity. Paint right on the edges of their feet. Aren’t layers great? </p> <h4>Step Five - Add the adjustment layers </h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2526" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="The new Exposure Adjustment Layer, along with a layer mask, gives the chicks volume and directional lighting. " class="size-full wp-image-2526" height="272" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/adj-layers-added.jpg" title="adj-layers-added" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The new Exposure Adjustment Layer, along with a layer mask, gives the chicks volume and directional lighting. </p></div> <p>Now that the stage is set and the actors are in place, we’re ready to adjust the lighting. This is done with adjustment layers. As you can see in the Layers screenshot shown earlier, there are the usual Curves, Levels, and Hue/Sat adjustment layers. These make subtle adjustments. The star performer here, though, is the new Exposure adjustment level combined with a layer mask. Set the exposure setting so that the chicks are under-exposed (i.e., darkened). You will make them look like they are completely in shadow. Then you’ll reveal the light by painting on the layer mask. It’s like magic! </p> <h4>Step Six - Collapse all the layers and create the grisaille</h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2535" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="The Black&White adjustment is used to create a grayscale image, or grisaille. " class="size-full wp-image-2535" height="271" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/grissaile.jpg" title="grissaile" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The Black&White adjustment is used to create a grayscale image, or grisaille. </p></div> <p>Save your work to this point; flatten the image, and save with a different name. Now we have our painting base. You could just use this as your starting point. If you like to work with the cloning tools in Painter, you could clone this file and begin to paint. But my goal is to try to emulate the Old Masters, so I go Image > Adjustments > Black & White, use the Auto setting, which creates my grayscale underpainting. </p> <h4>Step Seven - Add “glazes” of color </h4> <p><div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2532" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="Two layers here: the Color layer on top of the Grisaille layer" class="size-full wp-image-2532" height="275" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/color-layer-added.jpg" title="color-layer-added" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Two layers here: the Color layer on top of the Grisaille layer</p></div> <p>In traditional painting, thin glazes of color are applied on top of the underpainting. We can do something similar in Photoshop and/or Painter. Insert a new layer above the Grisaille layer, and change the blending mode from Default to Color. (In Painter, choose Colorize.) Now when you paint, you can’t cover over the greyscale; you can only “tint” it with color. This is similar to the hand-tinting of photographs which photographers used to do before the advent of color film. (See <a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-colorizing-vintage-photos-with-corel-painter/">this article</a> and <a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-turn-a-civil-war-era-photo-into-a-painting//">this article</a> for two tutorials.) The Color blending mode allows you to paint as though you were laying in transparent washes of watercolor or acrylic, or oil glazes. The values of the grayscale interact with and alter the colors, as you will see. This hand-colored base is now ready for us to paint with opaque colors, in the next step.</p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2529" style="width: 600px;"><img alt="This close-up shows what the Color layer on top of the Grisaille layer looks like. " class="size-full wp-image-2529" height="739" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/chick2-color-on-gris.jpg" title="chick2-color-on-gris" width="590" /><p class="wp-caption-text">This close-up shows what the Color layer on top of the Grisaille layer looks like. </p></div> <h4>Step Eight - Opaque painting</h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2530" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="Many hours and brushstrokes later, here's the final painted chick. " class="size-full wp-image-2530" height="740" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/05/chick2-final.jpg" title="chick2-final" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Many hours and brushstrokes later, here's the final painted chick. </p></div> <p>To begin the next phase, insert a new blank layer as the top layer. Leave the blending mode and opacity as is (Default and 100%). Now here’s where the work really begins! All that has come before is really just preparation for the actual painting. No, I’m not kidding! The first seven steps should take an afternoon, give or take. It’s not very time-consuming; it’s just a lot to explain, a lot of details. </p> <p>While painting, refer to the first file you created (the flattened, full-color one). I use the eye-dropper to sample colors from this base file, and then adjust them as needed. To cover the grisaille lines and tones completely, the paint will need to be quite opaque. However, I use many glazes of low-opacity color, which build up and eventually cover the greyscale image. </p> <p>So that’s basically it. I hope you find this method helpful. At the very least, I’ve laid out one method of painting in the classical mode of the Old Masters. It’s been a fun experiment! I invite your comments and questions below, in the comments box. Thanks for reading!</p> <img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2525&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-the-making-of-viking-chieftain-part-2/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: The Making of Viking Chieftain, Part 2">Tutorial: The Making of Viking Chieftain, Part 2</a> <small>In Part 2, we complete the corrections to the exposure,...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/tutorial-the-making-of-viking-chieftain/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Tutorial: The Making of Viking Chieftain">Tutorial: The Making of Viking Chieftain</a> <small>Put away that Dodge and Burn tool! 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<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2514" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="The custom header I created for my Fine Art America website. " class="size-full wp-image-2514" height="91" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/artofbn.jpg" title="artofbn" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The custom header I created for my Fine Art America website. </p></div> <p>Back around the end of February, <a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/marketing-artist-websites-on-fine-art-america/">I wrote about</a> my experiences getting started with Fine Art America. Two months have gone by, so it’s time for the update I promised in Part One. Certain negative aspects have been corrected, so that’s good news. There remain some things I’d like to see changed, but overall I would highly recommend FAA to artists looking for an online presence, especially if they need a print-on-demand (POD) provider.</p> <p>For $30 a year, FAA gives you unlimited gallery space on their main site, as well as a distinct website that has no FAA branding. Customers can order framed prints through either venue. However, when customers order through your personal website, the customer sees only that you have a professional ecommerce site, allowing them to order prints, framed and unframed, prints on canvas, and greeting cards.</p> <p> From a marketing standpoint, this is more impressive than a customized Zazzle or Redbubble gallery, since it appears to be a stand-alone business site. Even better is the ease with which you can create your professional-looking site using FAA’s tools. Customization on other POD sites is difficult, to say the least, and often requires a solid understanding of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). FAA, on the other hand, is very easy to use. I created the customized header (above) in Photoshop, which really helps the site look unique. </p> <p>Sean Broihier, the owner of FAA, seems to be very focused on the needs of his artist customers, as well as the buying public who visit FAA. Knowing that customers will want to take a close look at artwork before buying, Broihier created a high-resolution zoom tool. This helps increase buyer confidence. The only other place I’ve seen this sort of thing is on a stock photo site. Other POD sites don’t seem to realize the importance of such a tool. </p> <p>Broihier provides artists with a neat slideshow widget, which you can see over on the right here on my blog. When I add artwork to my gallery, the slideshow automatically picks it up. The slideshow’s movement attract the visitor’s attention, and shows off my work at the same time. I think it’s really useful. </p> <p>FAA also automatically provides buyers with color swatches based on the main colors in a piece of artwork. Again, I can’t think of a similar site that does that. Along with visitor counts, there are visitor comments. These help build buyer confidence. </p> <p><span id="more-2513"></span></p> <p>When you upload artwork, it appears automatically in the huge gallery on FAA, as well as on your own website. No need to do dual maintenance of two sites.</p> <p>The buying experience is very professional. I ordered an unframed and a framed print from FAA, in order to check out the printing and framing quality, as well as delivery time and packaging. My order arrived in about ten days, and was packed very securely in a big box. The framed print looked just great. The colors seemed to be an exact match, and the framing quality was excellent. I used to work in a frame shop, and I’ve framed dozens of my own pieces, so I know what to look for. I couldn’t have done a better job myself. The back was covered nicely with kraft paper, and wired ready to hang. </p> <p>I should step back and mention that the online process for ordering a frame is intelligently designed. You pick a frame color and you’re presented with all frames that match that color. You can then order a mat, and the viewer shows what your work will look like in that frame with that mat. The color of the displayed mat didn’t seem to match the color I picked, always, so that may be a little bug. </p> <p>As an artist, you determine the minimum and maximum print sizes available for ordering. The site lets you know what the biggest size printable is for your given file, so that’s helpful. Other sites don’t address this sort of thing well, if at all.</p> <p>Buyers can choose from a range of papers. If you know that your work will not look good on the default matte archival paper, you can’t stop buyers from ordering it, unfortunately. You can, however, add a note in the piece description, recommending the proper paper. The unframed print I ordered was printed on the matte paper, which is the cheapest available. The dark blacks didn’t look as dark as they should have, due to the paper. The Somerset paper I used in the framed print showed accurate and rich colors, though it was a bit more expensive. </p> <p>Normally, an unframed print comes rolled in a tube. Since I was also ordering a framed print, FAA used a large flat box, and packed the unframed print flat in the box, which was a pleasant surprise. I was quite pleased with my purchasing experience on FAA, and feel confident that my customers will be getting a quality product when they order. FAA also has an unconditional guarantee. </p> <p>Back in <a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/marketing-artist-websites-on-fine-art-america/">Part One</a> of this review, I mentioned that you can’t pick your own domain name for your FAA website. What I failed to explain is how easy it is to work around that. If you own your own domain name (such as <a href="http://www.bobnolin.com">www.bobnolin.com</a>, you can tell your domain registrar (the company that you pay each year to maintain your URL) to “point” to your FAA site. If you roll your mouse over the slideshow on the right, you’ll notice, down at the bottom of your browser, that it says “www.bobnolin.com.” When you click on it, it takes you to the FAA site, which is really www.bob-nolin.artistwebsites.com. Here’s how you make that happen: </p> <p><img alt="1&1-control-panel" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2519" height="504" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/11-control-panel.jpg" title="1&1-control-panel" width="499" /><br /> <br clear="all" /></p> <p>You select “Forward Your Domain” and then tell it where to forward to. Each registrar has a way to do this, I believe. It is free, too. Also, I tell it what title I want to appear up top in the visitor’s browser (”The Art of Bob Nolin”). Choosing “Frame Redirect” causes the URL to say “www.bobnolin.com”, which keeps the visitor from getting confused by seeing www.bob-nolin.artistwebsites.com. I’ve had some questions about how I did this, so forgive me if I got too techie there!</p> <p>As I mentioned in Part One, the FAA website was not working very well when I was trying to sign up. Sean Broihier assures me this was due to heavy maintenance to the search engine, and that the server should be up all the time now. In two months, I’ve never again experienced a problem. So that’s a relief. Also, FAA employs several full-time customer service people, which was another issue in Part One. </p> <p>I need to wrap up here, but I do want to mention the community on FAA. My works are frequently commented on by other FAA’ers, and they’re all very nice and supportive. There are groups and an online forum, you can create a blog, an email newsletter, and so forth. These things all add to the feeling of a community, and they’re free. The $30 fee is only if you want to use the POD service and/or have your own website. From what I’ve seen so far, this was $30 well-spent. If you have questions I didn’t answer here, please leave a comment below. Also, I’d love to hear about your own experience with FAA.</p> <p>Thanks for reading! </p> <img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2513&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/marketing-a-review-of-fine-art-america/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Marketing: A Review of Fine Art America">Marketing: A Review of Fine Art America</a> <small>Fine Art America is an online art marketplace offering an...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/marketing-artist-websites-on-fine-art-america/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Marketing: Artist Websites on Fine Art America">Marketing: Artist Websites on Fine Art America</a> <small>A look at Fine Art America's artist website option. Come...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/marketing-7-places-to-sell-your-work-online/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Marketing: 7 Places to Sell Your Work Online">Marketing: 7 Places to Sell Your Work Online</a> <small>Learn how to get your digital works printed and into...</small></li> </ol></p>

<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2504" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/ezine/"><img alt="Learn how to use Photoshop to paint photorealistic wildlife, with this new tutorial on CG Arena. " class="size-full wp-image-2504" height="378" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/article-shot.jpg" title="article-shot" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Learn how to use Photoshop to paint photorealistic wildlife, with this new tutorial on CG Arena. </p></div> <p>The computer graphics website CG Arena (<a href="http://www.cgarena.com">www.cgarena.com</a>) publishes a free online magazine every other month. The new issue, just out today, includes <a href="http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/ezine/">a 7-page tutorial</a> I wrote about painting a highly-realistic bald eagle portrait using Photoshop. This tutorial is about twice the length of the ones I publish here on Digital Image Magazine, so there’s lots of detail and screen captures to explain the process. The tutorial is called “The Making of Sentinel.” You can download the free magazine and read the tutorial, along with lots of other great content, <a href="http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/ezine/">here</a>. Here’s a close-up look at the finished painting. </p> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2508" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.bobnolin.com"><img alt="Sentinel (detail), by Bob Nolin. Digital painting created in Photoshop. Based on photograph by Joshua Sexton. Used with permission. " class="size-full wp-image-2508" height="421" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/Sentinel-dim-cu.jpg" title="Sentinel-dim-cu" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Sentinel (detail), by Bob Nolin. Digital painting created in Photoshop. Based on photograph by Joshua Sexton. Used with permission. </p></div> <img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2503&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/beginning-digital-painting-with-photoshop/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Beginning Digital Painting with Photoshop">Beginning Digital Painting with Photoshop</a> <small>Want to learn how to paint with Photoshop? Here's a...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/resources-online-training-for-digital-painting/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Resources: Online Training for Digital Painting">Resources: Online Training for Digital Painting</a> <small>Learn digital art in the comfort of your own home!...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/book-review-digital-painting-in-photoshop/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Book Review: Digital Painting in Photoshop">Book Review: Digital Painting in Photoshop</a> <small>A review of Susan Ruddick Bloom's new book, Digital Painting...</small></li> </ol></p>

<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2474" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://rekano.deviantart.com"><img alt="Dream of a Photomanipulator, by Rekano" class="size-full wp-image-2474" height="443" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/Dream_of_a_Photomanipulator_by_Rekano.jpg" title="Dream_of_a_Photomanipulator_by_Rekano" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Dream of a Photomanipulator, by Rekano</p></div> <p>To celebrate the 175th article on Digital Image Magazine, I’ve decided to celebrate by doing one of my favorite things: a showcase of great work. Besides, I love being able to share the work of fabulous, incredibly imaginative artists with you. </p> <p>All of these images come from deviantArt.com. These are some of the best examples of photomanipulation I’ve come across. Most of the time, the image will be a collage of several photographs. Often, the photocollage is then hand-painted in Photoshop or Painter. Additional elements can be painted in, partially covering over the original photographs. In the deviantArt community, “photomanipulation” is any image that includes photography (as opposed to digital painting, which is done from scratch). Here then is my collection of the best of the best. Enjoy! (Click on the artist’s name or the image to go to their gallery.)</p> <p><span id="more-2463"></span></p> <h4><a href="http://michaelo.deviantart.com">Michael O</a> </h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2468" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://michaelo.deviantart.com"><img alt="Apple, by Michael O. This is a great example of how photomanipulation can start with a photo (inset), and turn it into a completely new and amazing work of art. " class="size-full wp-image-2468" height="885" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/apple_by_michaelo.jpg" title="apple_by_michaelo" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Apple, by Michael O. This is a great example of how photomanipulation can start with a photo (inset), and turn it into a completely new and amazing work of art. </p></div> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2470" style="width: 539px;"><a href="http://michaelo.deviantart.com"><img alt="Another amazing work by Michael O. Click on the image to see more. " class="size-full wp-image-2470" height="1000" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/crocodile-tears-michaelo.jpg" title="crocodile-tears-michaelo" width="529" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Another amazing work by Michael O. Click on the image to see more. </p></div> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2486" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://michaelo.deviantart.com"><img alt="Trophy Wife, by Michael O" class="size-full wp-image-2486" height="860" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/trophy-wife-by-michaelo.jpg" title="trophy-wife-by-michaelo" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Trophy Wife, by Michael O</p></div> <h4><a href="http://cristalart.deviantart.com">Cristalart</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2469" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://cristalart.deviantart.com"><img alt="The Bird's Queen, by Cristalart" class="size-full wp-image-2469" height="940" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/bird__s_queen_by_cristalart.jpg" title="bird__s_queen_by_cristalart" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The Bird's Queen, by Cristalart</p></div> <h4><a href="http://autumnsgoddess.deviantart.com">Autumns Goddess</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2478" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://autumnsgoddess.deviantart.com"><img alt="Intention, by AutumnsGoddess" class="size-full wp-image-2478" height="843" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/intention_by_AutumnsGoddess.jpg" title="intention_by_AutumnsGoddess" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Intention, by AutumnsGoddess</p></div> <h4><a href="http://higherdepths.deviantart.com">Higherdepths</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2484" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://higherdepths.deviantart.com"><img alt="Submariner, by Higherdepths" class="size-full wp-image-2484" height="382" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/Submariner_by_higherdepths.jpg" title="Submariner_by_higherdepths" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Submariner, by Higherdepths</p></div> <h4><a href="http://schnette.deviantart.com">Schnette</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2477" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://schnette.deviantart.com"><img alt="Follow Your Heart, by Schnette" class="size-full wp-image-2477" height="590" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/follow-your-heart-by-schnette.jpg" title="follow-your-heart-by-schnette" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Follow Your Heart, by Schnette</p></div> <h4><a href="http://onetaintedangel.deviantart.com">OneTaintedAngel</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2475" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://onetaintedangel.deviantart.com"><img alt="Dream of Silk and Silence Part 2, by OneTaintedAngel" class="size-full wp-image-2475" height="590" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/dream-of-silk-and-silence-pt2-by-onetaintedangel.jpg" title="dream-of-silk-and-silence-pt2-by-onetaintedangel" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Dream of Silk and Silence Part 2, by OneTaintedAngel</p></div> <h4><a href="http://indigodeep.deviantart.com">Indigodeep</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2485" style="width: 576px;"><a href="http://indigodeep.deviantart.com"><img alt="The Summoner, by Indigodeep" class="size-full wp-image-2485" height="832" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/The_Summoner_by_indigodeep.jpg" title="The_Summoner_by_indigodeep" width="566" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The Summoner, by Indigodeep</p></div> <h4><a href="http://gloom82.deviantart.com">Gloom82</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2499" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://gloom82.deviantart.com"><img alt="Society, by Gloom82" class="size-full wp-image-2499" height="885" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/society_by_gloom82.jpg" title="society_by_gloom82" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Society, by Gloom82</p></div> <h4><a href="http://billy-pilgrim.deviantart.com">Billy Pilgrim</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2482" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://billy-pilgrim.deviantart.com"><img alt="Portrait of a Sad Song, by Billy Pilgrim" class="size-full wp-image-2482" height="590" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/portrait_of_a_sad_song_by_billy_pilgrim.jpg" title="portrait_of_a_sad_song_by_billy_pilgrim" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Portrait of a Sad Song, by Billy Pilgrim</p></div> <h4><a href="http://zwir.deviantart.com">ZWIR</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2481" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://zwir.deviantart.com"><img alt="Once in Venice, by ZWIR" class="size-full wp-image-2481" height="750" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/Once_in_Venice_by_ZWIR.jpg" title="Once_in_Venice_by_ZWIR" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Once in Venice, by ZWIR</p></div> <h4><a href="http://heakmeat.deviantart.com">Heakmeat</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2480" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://heakmeat.deviantart.com"><img alt="Nature, by Heakmeat" class="size-full wp-image-2480" height="867" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/Nature_by_heakmeat.jpg" title="Nature_by_heakmeat" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Nature, by Heakmeat</p></div> <h4><a href="http://mrnoxx.deviantart.com">MrNoxx</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2476" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://mrnoxx.deviantart.com"><img alt="Endangered Species, by MrNoxx" class="size-full wp-image-2476" height="590" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/endangered_species_by_mrnoxx.jpg" title="endangered_species_by_mrnoxx" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Endangered Species, by MrNoxx</p></div> <h4><a href="http://taenaron.deviantart.com">Taenaron</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2473" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://taenaron.deviantart.com"><img alt="Dream, by Taenaron" class="size-full wp-image-2473" height="369" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/dream_by_taenaron.jpg" title="dream_by_taenaron" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Dream, by Taenaron</p></div> <h4><a href="http://ghwamba.deviantart.com">Ghwamba</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2472" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://ghwamba.deviantart.com"><img alt="Do You Believe in Magic, by Ghwamba" class="size-full wp-image-2472" height="395" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/do_you_believe_in_magic__by_ghwamba.jpg" title="do_you_believe_in_magic__by_ghwamba" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Do You Believe in Magic, by Ghwamba</p></div> <h4><a href="http://betweentheclouds.deviantart.com">BetweenTheClouds</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2471" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://betweentheclouds.deviantart.com"><img alt="Depression, by Betweentheclouds" class="size-full wp-image-2471" height="826" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/depression_by_betweentheclouds.jpg" title="depression_by_betweentheclouds" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Depression, by Betweentheclouds</p></div> <h4><a href="http://tammara.deviantart.com">Tammara</a></h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2467" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://tammara.deviantart.com"><img alt="After the Ball, by Tammara" class="size-full wp-image-2467" height="566" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/after_the_ball_by_tammara.jpg" title="after_the_ball_by_tammara" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">After the Ball, by Tammara</p></div> <h4><a href="http://bnolin.deviantart.com">Bob Nolin (me!</a>)</h4> <div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_2479" style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://bnolin.deviantart.com"><img alt="Myrddin, by Bob Nolin. Hope you don't blame me for including one of my own!" class="size-full wp-image-2479" height="600" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads2010/2011/04/myrddin.jpg" title="myrddin" width="590" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Myrddin, by Bob Nolin. Hope you don't blame me for including one of my own!</p></div> <img alt="" src="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&id=2463&type=feed" /> <p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/inspiration-photomanipulation-masters-part-1/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Inspiration: Photomanipulation Masters Part 1">Inspiration: Photomanipulation Masters Part 1</a> <small>A look at the visionary work of Phatpuppy, our first...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/inspiration-photomanipulation-masters-part-2/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Inspiration: Photomanipulation Masters Part 2">Inspiration: Photomanipulation Masters Part 2</a> <small>In part 2, we'll look at the work and the...</small></li> <li><a href="http://www.digitalimagemagazine.com/blog/featured/inspiration-photomanipulation-masters-part-3/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Inspiration: Photomanipulation Masters Part 3">Inspiration: Photomanipulation Masters Part 3</a> <small>Our photomanip master today is Pat Brennan, a.k.a. Moonmomma on...</small></li> </ol></p>

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<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW119.t_trans.opener.jpg" rel="lightbox[35093]"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-35098" height="348" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW119.t_trans.opener.jpg" title="TDW119.t_trans.opener" width="580" /></a></p> <p class="strap">Transformers week draws to a close with this video training from Dan DeEntremont. Master key animation skills in this Transformer-style tutorial as you rig a robot to animate its transformation from train to humanoid</p> <p>To celebrate <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/07/digital-tutors-releases-new-transforming-robot-tutorials/">Digital-Tutors’ new Transformation training</a>, we thought we’d make an event of it and post online all things Transformery!</p> <p>We’ve already posted up two making-of Transformers articles:<br /> <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/07/the-making-of-transformers/">The making of Transformers</a><br /> <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/08/the-making-of-transformers-2/">The making of Transformers 2</a></p> <p>And you can also read a making-of article on the cult Transformers-style advert for Citroën - <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/13/the-embassy-the-art-of-robotics/">The Embassy: The art of Robotics</a></p> <p>To complete the Transformers roundup, here’s the train-transforming video tutorial we’ve been talking about.</p> <h3>Rig your own Transformer in LightWave</h3> <p>This article demonstrates the workflow for creating a transforming robot, similar to the designs in the live-action Transformers movies.</p> <p>The films’ director, Michael Bay, is well known for taking the level of special and visual effects over the top in his films. These Transformers are not the simple ones everyone has seen in the cartoon show, but a gigantic mass of moving metal that somehow manages to form a human-like (or sometimes animal-like) robot. The transforming train that you’ll rig and animate has about 300 moving parts.</p> <p>There are three videos available to show in detail the techniques described here. The first two videos focus on setting up the upper arms of the robot: you can take the principles you learn and apply them to the remaining parts of the figure. The first video will focus on rigging the upper arms. In this section, you will also be setting up the rig in a way that helps to cut the animation time nearly in half, using the useful Follower modifier. Bones will be used for moving the parts instead of separate layers.</p> <p>In Video 2, we will continue with the animation of the rigged upper arms. Here, I will demonstrate how to bring each piece to its destination position without causing geometry to intersect. I will also demonstrate a number of key techniques to help the movement of the different sections to be more realistic.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35099" style="width: 590px;"><p class="wp-caption-text">Discover how you can rig this robot to animate its transformation from train to humanoid</p></div> <p>Video 3 has a completely rigged transforming train. This video focuses on animating the transformation from a train to a robot, ending in a cool pose. A proxy version of the train will be used in this video. IK/FK Blending will also be implemented to allow smoothness in the transformation. If you get stuck at any point, the CD includes completed scene files you can study.</p> <p><em>Click Next to begin the train-transforming video tutorial</em></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d821264/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Video+tutorial%3A+Rig+your+own+Transformer+in+LightWave&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F16%2Fvideo-tutorial-rig-your-own-transformer-in-lightwave%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dvideo-tutorial-rig-your-own-transformer-in-lightwave" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Video+tutorial%3A+Rig+your+own+Transformer+in+LightWave&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F16%2Fvideo-tutorial-rig-your-own-transformer-in-lightwave%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dvideo-tutorial-rig-your-own-transformer-in-lightwave" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200441230/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d821264/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200441230/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d821264/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200441230/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d821264/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/VscwAZ8sOVc" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/ftr.jpg" rel="lightbox[35136]"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35137" height="243" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/ftr.jpg" title="ftr" width="580" /></a></p> <p class="strap">Find out how this atmospheric, painterly animated short was created using Maya, Photoshop and After Effects. Watch the film here too</p> <p>For the Remainder depicts the last moments of a house cat who bids farewell to its home before leaving to perish. The short was a graduation project created by Omer Ben David while studying at the <a href="http://www.bezalel.ac.il/en/">Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design</a> in Jerusalem, Israel. Ben David first began working on the plot in November last year. </p> <p>“I was dwelling on a concept of a cat that leaves his house and searches for his final resting place for some time before then,” he says. “I pondered on that notion since hearing the rumour that old cats sometime leave their home to die somewhere else unseen by their beloved ones or enemies. I felt that this essence of a story is very poetic and thus should be treated as a song rather than a narrative.”</p> <h4>First impressions</h4> <p>After developing the main plot, the director carefully considered the importance of the film’s characters and what role each would play. </p> <p>“From the beginning, the story was about a cat and a house,” Ben David explains. “The cat’s owner was also a main character but I wasn’t sure if he would be performing or his presence just suggested. The spider came somewhat in the middle of the storyboarding stage, when I was searching for a death motif to allow the cat to deal with.”</p> <p>“I was greatly inspired by sketches and calligraphy, and some colour blocking when searching for the look of the characters. I figured the house, as a character, should be mostly colour blocked while the cat should be wired so they were in contrast.”</p> <p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/ftr1.jpg" rel="lightbox[35136]"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35138" height="243" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/ftr1.jpg" title="ftr1" width="580" /></a></p> <h4>Creating perfect brush strokes</h4> <p>The film’s unique style was inspired by a number of sources. “I was very moved by a series of paintings by <a href="http://lukpazera.blogspot.com/">Lukasz Pazera</a> called <a href="http://postcardsfromthezone.com/">Postcards from the Zone</a> and his brilliant <a href="http://lukpazera.blogspot.com/2011/06/dog-of-zone-animation-sample.html">Dog of Zone</a>, which I figured would be awesome animated,” Ben David says.</p> <p>While researching, the director also watched Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker. “I thought it to be the exact poem-like atmosphere I was searching for both visually and musically. I love the ambiance and slow rhythm,” he says. “I was also greatly inspired by color block paintings such as <a href="http://www.gerhardmozsi.com/">Gerhard Mozsi’s</a>, and the dreamy feel and pace in animated films such as Tekkonkinkreet or Ghost in the Shell which I adore.”</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35159" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/remainder_infl.jpg" rel="lightbox[35136]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35159" height="389" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/remainder_infl.jpg" title="remainder_infl" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">One of the film’s main influences was a series of paintings by Lukasz Pazera called Postcards from the Zone. You can see similarities in tone and style between them and For the Remainder</p></div> <p>Ben David’s extensive research and inspirations helped him to develop the unique painterly style of the film. In order to achieve this in 3D, he turned to the powerful tools of Maya. </p> <p>“This software was vital to production,” he explains. “It was an inherent rendering method that got the look for my characters and objects, combined with the overlapping textures on the sets. Photoshop was of course crucial for painting the textures, but Maya allowed me to rig and control almost everything I needed.”</p> <p>The film’s style, however, also presented some technical challenges. “The whole sketchiness and painterly look was the biggest technical issue,” says Ben David. “I did a lot of research about NPR (non photo realistic) rendering before developing the technique for creating it, and it was pretty much an experiment throughout the entire process. I didn’t have a clear point of reference on a technical level on how to achieve this look, and so I did a lot of testing until I reached a certain point where I knew that the composited render would satisfy me.”</p> <p>Despite extensive research and testing, Ben David managed to complete the film within a fairly short time period. “It took me around nine months to finish the short,” he says. “I did some touch-ups, on and off, for a few months afterwards as I was not completely happy with some renders and I’ve worked some more on mastering the soundtrack with <a href="http://onili.com/">Onili</a>. I’m very pleased with the final result. Both on the aesthetics and the feel of it.”</p> <p></p> <h3>Like this film?</h3> <p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/category/showcase/shorts/">Check out the selection of other awesome animations on our shorts page</a></p> <p><em>Make sure you visit next week for more Friday Animation Fun!</em></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d81a18a/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Friday+Animation+Fun%3A+For+the+Remainder&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F16%2Ffriday-animation-fun-for-the-remainder%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dfriday-animation-fun-for-the-remainder" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Friday+Animation+Fun%3A+For+the+Remainder&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F16%2Ffriday-animation-fun-for-the-remainder%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dfriday-animation-fun-for-the-remainder" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200396320/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d81a18a/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200396320/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d81a18a/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200396320/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d81a18a/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/W9nf4RJbbCw" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_desert_cinesite.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="Disney's John Carter movie still" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-35150" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_desert_cinesite.jpg" title="Disney's John Carter movie still - opener" width="580" /></a> <p class="strap">Cinesite has completed 831 VFX shots and converted 87 minutes of film into stereoscopic 3D for Disney’s John Carter, which hit cinemas last week</p> <p>The 3D work in John Carter - Andrew Stanton’s first live-action feature film, based on Edgar Rice Burroughs ‘Mars’ series of novels - was split between three leading London FX houses: Cinesite, Double Negative and The Moving Picture Company. </p> <p>Cinesite, renowned for its photoreal environment work, was responsible for creating and populating the majority of environments for John Carter. The team of 310-strong completed 831 visual effects shots, which included creating and populating the majority of environments for the film. They also converted 87 minutes of the film into stereo 3D.</p> <p>Cinesite’s VFX supervisor Sue Rowe spent several months on set in the UK and Utah. Due to the scale of the project, Rowe divided the work between four other VFX supervisors.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35151" style="width: 590px;"></p> <p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_wireframe_helium_cinesite.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="John Carter VFX shots" class="size-full wp-image-35151" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_wireframe_helium_cinesite.jpg" title="johncarter_wireframe_helium_cinesite" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Helium is shown from different angles throughout the film, and is used as the backdrop for the final battle sequence</p></div> <p>Christian Irles supervised work on Princess Dejah’s city, Helium. The city presented a challenge as it had to match the art department concept stills. While this was easy enough to do in matte painting, it was very time-consuming and render heavy to get actual full 3D renders. Projections were created for the terrain and these were worked up in matte painting to achieve the level of detail required. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35152" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_helium_cinesite.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="John Carter Helium city" class="size-full wp-image-35152" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_helium_cinesite.jpg" title="John Carter Helium city" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Cinesite created a matte painting of the outside of the city of Helium and, using projections, built up the terrain using high-res stills taken on location in Utah</p></div> <p>The shots presented the city as a whole with both Helium Major and Helium Minor visible, resulting in a huge amount of texture maps and shaders. Render time was very high for these shots and all layers, such as crowds, terrain, etc were rendered separately. </p> <p>Helium stats:</p> <ul> <li>346 models in the city structure</li> <li>74 individual props created</li> </ul> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35153" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Zodanga_cinesite.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35153" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Zodanga_cinesite.jpg" title="Zodanga_cinesite" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The mobile city of Zodanga crawls like a myriapod across the surface of Mars: giving the city a sense of scale and animating the digital legs was challenging</p></div> <p>Jonathan Neill supervised Cinesite’s work on the mobile city of Zodanga, a mile-long rusty metal tanker that crawls like a myriapod across the surface of Mars. The city was heavily textured using a combination of Photoshop, Mari and Mudbox in tandem with bespoke shaders and lighting development, to give an industrial look and feel.</p> <p>A handful of sets were built which were locations within the city, but these needed considerable extension work to make the depth and scale of the city believable. Cinesite modelled thousands of pieces of geometry for the city buildings, and created hundreds of CG props to dress the sets.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35154" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_city_cinesite.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="John Carter VFX. Interior of city" class="size-full wp-image-35154" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_city_cinesite.jpg" title="John Carter VFX. Interior of city" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Cinesite filled the city with warships and troops, before dressing it with hundreds of CG props</p></div> <p>With 674 legs, the mobile city was technically challenging to animate: Timed animation caches were used to ensure the digital legs moved in a random fashion. “Variations in movement and secondary animation such as cogs and cabling were used to create interest in the leg movement,” says Cinesite.</p> <p>Zodanga City Model stats: </p> <ul> <li>291 structural element models</li> <li>Up to 20,000 objects in a single shot</li> <li>1-2 billion polygons, dependent on camera position and detail required</li> <li>242 CG props created to populate the city</li> </ul> <p>Zodanga City Legs stats:</p> <ul> <li>674 legs </li> <li>44 claws</li> </ul> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35155" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_airship_cinesite.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="John Carter" class="size-full wp-image-35155" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/johncarter_airship_cinesite.jpg" title="johncarter_airship_cinesite" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The texturing and detailing of the giant airships had to be spot on since they feature in many close up shots</p></div> <p>Ben Shepherd oversaw the huge aerial battle between Zodanga and Helium. His team created each side’s airships which use solar wings to travel on light, as well as explosions, fire, people and set extensions.</p> <p>The giant airships needed to be finely detailed for close-up shots. A challenge for look development was that they were required to be more like a 19th-Century sailing ship, than the type of spaceship which a modern-day audience might expect. </p> <p>For Sab’s flagship corsair, a partial set was created for the bridge/cockpit and one deck of a single ship. This was scanned and photographed for reference and recreated. The remaining areas were created as full CG models. </p> <p>Dejah’s ship and the flagship Helium ship, the Xavarian, were created in 3D also. Each ship had a full set of wings which were sized and laid out specifically for each ship. These were controlled by pulleys and ratchet-type controls to give a sailing look. Each of the wings was covered in hundreds of individual solar tiles which needed to be able to be controlled in animation. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35156" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Thern-Sanctuary_Final-Comp.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="John Carter movie" class="size-full wp-image-35156" height="242" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Thern-Sanctuary_Final-Comp.jpg" title="John Carter movie" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The entire Thern effect system was designed and built from scratch using a combination of Maya, Houdini and custom software developed in house</p></div> <p>Simon Stanley-Clamp directed work on the Thern sanctuary, a huge underground cave that forms around Carter and Dejah as self-illuminating blue branches as the characters walk through it. </p> <p>The entire Thern effect system was designed and built from scratch using a combination of Maya, Houdini and custom software developed in house. Based on the principles of nanotechnology, the system provided a semi-automated way to ‘grow’ Thern into any environment and geometry. It took a full year of development time to evolve and bring to the big screen.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35157" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Thern-Sanctuary_3_Final-comp.jpg" rel="lightbox[35145]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35157" height="247" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Thern-Sanctuary_3_Final-comp.jpg" title="Thern-Sanctuary_3_Final-comp" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">These ‘growing Thern’ shots were some of the most complex VFX shots Cinesite undertook, and can be seen to great effect in 3D</p></div> <p>In the sequence, as the tunnel itself ends, the main Thern Sanctuary room is seen to build itself, opening out within the Thern matrix of the pyramid interior. This shot required extensive Thern simulation and growing effects, blending multiple elements together in Nuke to build the shot up.</p> <p><em>John Carter is in cinemas now. We’ve not seen the film yet, and reviews so far seem to be fairly mixed, so if you do go, let us know what you think of it via the comments box below, or on Facebook or Twitter </em></p> <h3>The making of John Carter</h3> <p>This article focuses on Cinesite’s contribution to the film, but the 3D work was split between three leading London FX houses: Cinesite, Double Negative and The Moving Picture Company. </p> <p>Read the making-of John Carter article in issue 155 of 3D World magazine, where Renee Dunlop takes us behind the scenes of all three VFX facilities.</p> <p><strong>Issue 155 of 3D World goes on sale on 27th March</strong></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d801946/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Disney%E2%80%99s+John+Carter%3A+The+VFX+of+Cinesite&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F16%2Fdisneys-john-carter-the-vfx-of-cinesite%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Ddisneys-john-carter-the-vfx-of-cinesite" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Disney%E2%80%99s+John+Carter%3A+The+VFX+of+Cinesite&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F16%2Fdisneys-john-carter-the-vfx-of-cinesite%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Ddisneys-john-carter-the-vfx-of-cinesite" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200459259/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d801946/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200459259/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d801946/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200459259/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d801946/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/SAa9hvj4MmU" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin17_998034v28.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-35134" height="247" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin17_998034v28.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.tin17_998034v28" width="580" /></a> <p class="strap">Weta Digital embarked on a new quest with The Adventures of Tintin, complete with crashing waves, pirate battles and an extremely stylish wardrobe. Renee Dunlop takes us behind the scenes</p> <p>As the Blu-ray of The Adventures of Tintin goes on sale, we thought we’d share this article from <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/01/07/3d-world-152-create-fire-water-and-more/">issue 152 of 3D World magazine</a>. </p> <p>If you haven’t watched the film already, we suggest you do - The Adventures of Tintin looks like a mix of live-action and CG, which adds up to something unique on screen. It’s possible that The Adventures of Tintin missed out at the Oscars this year because of this very thing, which is a real shame as we think the film has some of the best CG we’ve ever seen. </p> <h3>Weta’s Adventures of Tintin</h3> <p>Weta Digital is delving into a new world – that of the journalist. Enter Tintin, a popular post-World War One comic strip hero who travels about with his dog, Snowy, cracking cases with a little help from his friends. Created in 1929 by the artist and writer best known as Hergé, the stellar artists of Weta, led by director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson, have brought the story to 3D animated life on the big screen. </p> <p>It took some of Weta’s best to tackle the wide array of arduous effects required to complete the film. Keith Miller, one of five VFX supervisors, was among those appointed to the task. He was in charge of roughly 340 shots.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35113" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.opener_ships1.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35113" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.opener_ships1.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.opener_ships1" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">An epic sea battle required Weta Digital’s team to simulate stormy ocean waves</p></div> <p>For Miller, the big challenge was the pirate battle. “It’s such a dynamic sequence,” he says. “There are nearly 60 pirates running about, two ships that are sailing in 60-metre seas complete with lightning storms, rain, hurricane winds, fire, explosions – you name it, it’s all there.” The most difficult challenge was the water, with 60-metre waves interacting with the ships that needed to compositionally match the representations provided by the pre-viz team.</p> <p>Miller’s team approached the work from a few different angles. “First, we updated our FFT [fast Fourier transform] library, a system of generating waves using measurements collected in oceanic research,” says Miller. They also completely rewrote their library using a more up-to-date spectrum that provided the ability to incorporate the ideas of the depth of the ocean and the fetch, or the distance that wind stays at a constant velocity. “We added those new variables into the system and we were able to generate much more realistic wave scenarios for the high wind systems,” he adds. </p> <p>Weta’s FX team did quite a bit of work approximating the surface velocity from the newly generated ocean surfaces and applied those to Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) particle simulations, much of which was used for the white water simulation, breaking waves that rode on top of the ocean surface. These were pushed through Weta’s in-house 3D effects solution, Synapse, a node-based system that’s a container for solvers. In some cases, Naiad data was also incorporated into Synapse for the initial bounded simulation elements.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35116" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.pirate1.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35116" height="245" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.pirate1.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.pirate1" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The battle sequence combines water, fire, wind and lightning, and featured as many as 60 pirates in combat</p></div> <p>In addition to reworking the FFT system, senior water TD Chris Horvath updated Weta’s shading model for raytraced water, using an improved model for participating media for underwater light extinction and scattering. He also made improvements to the procedural texture foam system. </p> <h4>Creating the hands</h4> <p>While Miller and his team battled with the pirate ships, Weta’s digital creature supervisor Simon Clutterbuck focused on some of the smallest of details through his modelling department. “We build the animation puppets, the deformation rigs, we do all the cloth and hair simulations, muscle dynamics, flesh dynamics – anything that has to do with the monster or character,” he says. “We interact with all the departments in the studio to produce stuff for them to use, like the puppets or the baked light, and we work closely with shots and animation.” </p> <p>The creature department work includes providing all the puppets for the animators. “Our animation puppet isn’t the thing that gets cached and ends up in the shot,” says Clutterbuck. “The animation puppets are kind of an interactive, almost real-time version of the character. They don’t have to see amazing hand deformations to pose the hand correctly, so they’re just posing [and] animating this thing that’s much lower resolution.” Clutterbuck’s Creature Department provides the animators with approximations of clothes and low-res hands and bodies that allow for faster animation. “Then the animation data is cached off of that puppet and plugged into a high-resolution creature rig, which gets cached and given to lighting,” he says. “This way there’s no requirement for interactivity in our actual deformation models.” </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35111" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.new_013025261.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35111" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.new_013025261.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.new_013025261" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">A single complex rig was used as the basis for all characters’ hands</p></div> <p>It’s hardly all low-res work, though. “There’s a big focus on faces and hands in the show, so a good deal of time was focused on building a detailed hand rig,” says Clutterbuck. “We had all these incredibly close shots of Tintin’s hands. It’s a treasure hunt, so there are all these clues that lead to the treasure, and there are lots of shots where he’s inspecting things. The shots are incredibly long, so you’ll have minutes focused on their face or hands. The stability of the cloth solve, the fidelity of the hands [and] the deformation all had to be very high. It was pretty unforgiving.”</p> <p>Weta Digital’s workflow uses a generic model called Gen Man as a baseline for building humanoid characters. This starting point is used for reference, scanning and motion capturing, tailoring clothes, and even cross-referencing MRI data. Clutterbuck explains: “We produced a whole bunch of life casts in all different poses that were used to build support moulds, 36 in all, that went into the MRI machine, so the character could put his hand into a similar pose and hold it there. Then we could derive the meshes of his joints from the MRIs.” The result was a series of high-resolution joint meshes of his actual skeleton in the selected poses. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35110" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.new_00402825.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="The story requires characters to grip and manipulate objects" class="size-full wp-image-35110" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.new_00402825.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.new_00402825" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The story is a treasure hunt, so there are lots of shots where the characters have to pick things up and be able to manipulate them</p></div> <p>“The metacarpals in the wrist do all these crazy rolling motions – it’s really complex,” Clutterbuck says. “We couldn’t build that complexity into the animation puppets because it would have been prohibitive to animate with, but we also needed the correct degrees of freedom in the wrist and joints to give us the right deformations of the hand.” It took nearly five months to get the hands working the way they wanted.</p> <p>“The hand rig looks pretty amazing,” says Clutterbuck. “The hand model propagates out into the show, procedurally warped into new shapes, so we built one hand rig and it was fitted to all the characters’ hands. We have a process that was developed on Avatar to transfer the rig and deformation data onto other models.” </p> <p>Weta Digital’s model supervisor Marco Revelant was responsible for all the assets created in the model department and was involved with grooming and developing the fur system from the user side for the dog, Snowy. However, it was the clothing that both Clutterbuck and Revelant found the most challenging. The multiple layers and the way the different fabrics fell and moved presented a daunting task. </p> <h4>Folding the clothes</h4> <p>Weta Digital set up a Tintin-specific costume department that helped define the design of the clothing, offering insight into how the fabric would drape and move over a character. “The problem is,” says Revelant, “when you do digital clothing and give it to a modeller, the modeller will try to put in features like wrinkles and folds, but won’t necessarily take into account the quantity of fabric.”</p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35114" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.other1_04800542SS_dist.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35114" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.other1_04800542SS_dist.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.other1_04800542SS_dist" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Care was taken with getting clothing folds to animate correctly</p></div> <p>To manage this issue, the Creature Department worked closely with modelling, providing tools that helped drape the character as they were modelling so that they could see how the fabric was behaving, rather than waiting until the Creature Department ran their simulations. Weta used NCloth in Maya, but spent a huge amount of time up-front shooting parameters and getting the topology in the models and construction correct, especially in cross-sections such as sleeves. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35124" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin8_020003215SS.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35124" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin8_020003215SS.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.tin8_020003215SS" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">There are eight principal characters, and several have multiple costumes. In all, there were 551 individual costumes to build for the film</p></div> <p>Several characters had multiple layers of clothing, requiring layers of geometry to simulate friction. There were eight principal characters, and several – including Tintin, Captain Haddock and Sakharine – have multiple costumes. In all, there were 551 individual costumes to build for the film. “Take the Captain,” Clutterbuck says. “He had a big woollen jacket, a woollen jumper, trousers, and socks and shoes.” Again, proper reference was key. Weta filmed a man running on a treadmill wearing a tailored suit they provided, and gathered reference on how cloth breaks across the seams, collecting data on details such as the effects of double versus single stitching. </p> <p>Weta first tried just solving the visible clothing, but found that it didn’t quite look correct. “We ended up going for full coupled solutions where everything was solved,” says Clutterbuck. “Tintin might enter with his trench coat on, then take it off and toss it onto the back of a chair, and continue the scene wearing the rest of his costume,” says Clutterbuck. “We had to handle this level of complexity where we had all these variations of costume elements and they had to solve coupled. We hadn’t really done anything that complicated before in terms of clothes.” </p> <p>Coupling affects even supporting characters such as Silk, who dresses in a formal jacket, a waistcoat and a shirt. “We didn’t solve the shirt, then put the waistcoat on, then the jacket,” says Clutterbuck. “We solved everything at the same time, so the solutions were all fully coupled. All the costume elements are plugged into one solver. Since they’re all plugged in, they all interact.”</p> <p>Weta defers everything to its render wall. The costumes were assembled as a master file that contained a costume description. During the baked simulation step that file would assemble the costume, plug it into all the solvers, bring it in, attach it to the character, then do the simulation. The result was a final sim and a series of files generated to show what Weta calls pre-files, which are pre-simulation. The individual costume assets are iterated in parallel as an ensemble of costume elements. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35130" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin14_03802770SS.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35130" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin14_03802770SS.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.tin14_03802770SS" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text"> “There’s a big focus on faces and hands in the show, so a good deal of time was focused on building a detailed hand rig,” says Clutterbuck</p></div> <p>The costumes took several minutes a frame to simulate, but there was no interactivity requirement because that’s all happening on the render wall and animation was working with real-time puppet versions. “So we have these two parts of every character, with the puppet which goes to animation and the creature deformation model that’s the thing the animation curves get plugged into that simulates on the wall,” says Clutterbuck. </p> <p>Weta’s flexible pipeline paid off, according to Miller. “I know a lot of facilities tend to lock down their technology, branch it off and continue developing it outside of current shows, but that’s very different from how Weta works,” he says. “It’s got pros and cons for sure, but it’s one of those things that helps us to stay at the leading edge of technology. We’re constantly throwing in new technology and updating and developing new aspects, and trying to get it pushed into production all the way through the course of the show.” </p> <h4>Setting the scene </h4> <p>The entire Tintin project was done in-house at Weta Digital, including the artwork for the environment and character studies. The translation of the environments from 2D to 3D was left to Weta’s modelling department under modelling supervisor Marco Revelant’s guidance. An internal art department was assembled to research information about the time when the film takes place. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35133" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin16_08900835.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35133" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin16_08900835.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.tin16_08900835" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">“Every element that was drawn in the book, we tried to find the respective real element from that period that could have been the inspiration for the Hergé drawing," explains Revelant. "Everything was checked against real period data.” </p></div> <p>“One important thing is [creator] Hergé was very careful in depicting a kind of reality that was around the 1940s,” explains Revelant. “Every element that was drawn in the book, we tried to find the respective real element from that period that could have been the inspiration for the Hergé drawing. Everything was checked against real period data.” </p> <h4>Creating the hair </h4> <p>Weta was working on Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Tintin at the same time. While the requirements for hair on Tintin weren’t anything near what they were for Apes, some of the aspects translated over. Tintin required wind effects, wet hair and a lot of development to get the hair to work coupled with the clothes. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_35125" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin9_030016v405.jpg" rel="lightbox[35108]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35125" height="246" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW152.f_tintin.tin9_030016v405.jpg" title="TDW152.f_tintin.tin9_030016v405" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Character hair in The Adventures of Tintin has to interact with objects and the environment</p></div> <p>With the hat on, the Captain has a groom, styled so his hair doesn’t stick through the hat. When the hat is off, the hair is groomed appropriately. Sometimes the Captain put his hat on or took it off, so transitional shots with appropriate grooms were needed. The Captain’s hair ended up having a very dense particle set on the hair and collision objects with the hat, and his hair would spring up a bit during the transition. </p> <p><a href="http://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/design/3dworld-magazine-back-issues/3d-world-feb-12/">Buy issue 152 of 3D World magazine to read the full article</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Tintin-Two-Disc-Blu-ray-Digital/dp/B0034G4P4Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1331150699&sr=8-3">Buy the Blu-ray of The Adventures of Tintin via Amazon</a></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d77d052/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Weta+Digital+on+the+making+of+The+Adventures+of+Tintin&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F15%2Fweta-digital-on-the-making-of-the-adventures-of-tintin%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dweta-digital-on-the-making-of-the-adventures-of-tintin" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Weta+Digital+on+the+making+of+The+Adventures+of+Tintin&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F15%2Fweta-digital-on-the-making-of-the-adventures-of-tintin%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dweta-digital-on-the-making-of-the-adventures-of-tintin" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200327135/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d77d052/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200327135/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d77d052/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200327135/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d77d052/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/D4s7vJZZjr8" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/19.jpg" rel="lightbox[35032]"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35091" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/19.jpg" title="19" width="580" /></a></p> <p class="strap">Find out how this ultra photorealistic film was pieced together using 3ds Max and V-Ray. Watch the animated short here too</p> <p><span id="more-35032"></span></p> <p>The Accuracy of Time is a depiction of part of the process of building a watch, more specifically the ceramic crown. Created by art director Javi Martinez, the short was made as a case study for his upcoming <a href="http://lightrendergroup.com/">CGI training roadshow TAOT2012</a>.</p> <p>The idea was to replicate a real advertisement and the entire production process behind it. The film will be used as part of the roadshow training to highlight some of specific challenges currently facing digital artists.</p> <p>The project was created using a 3ds Max and V-Ray pipeline. “The decision to use this software was simply to make a technical demonstration of the many capabilities offered by the two working together,” explains Martinez. </p> <h4>3ds Max and V-Ray: an ideal combo</h4> <p>“3ds Max allowed us to develop the short very easily using the new MASSFX to perform physical dynamics and the ceramic particles and at the same time offered great performance in the modelling and animation of objects and cameras. The reason we chose V-Ray was the quality of representation of light, versatility, simplicity to recreate materials and the optimisation of production times.”</p> <p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/14.jpg" rel="lightbox[35032]"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35092" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/14.jpg" title="14" width="580" /></a></p> <h4>More-than-reasonable render times</h4> <p>Rather amazingly, The Accuracy of Time was created using only one workstation! It just goes to show what can be achieved if you’ve got the right amount of dedication: “The short includes the processing of raw materials [to create the watch], the material injection to obtain the piece itself, then it passes through the baking stage and ends with the exposure of the product with elegance and quality,” says Martinez. “But the whole film was in fact a very simple macro CG production playing with a basic geometric model, a virtual light and virtual camera. Given that the piece was produced using a single workstation, the render times were very manageable, ranging from five to 35 minutes per frame.”</p> <h4>Playing with the look</h4> <p>It wasn’t all plain sailing, however. Due to the style and close-up nature of the short, Martinez had to work out solutions in order to achieve the correct look. “The animation treatment and lens blurs were resolved by ZD channels and working on it in post,” Martinex explains. “The animation of the camera lens can easily change the meaning of a sequence so experimenting with this technique was very attractive to me.”</p> <p>Overall, the short took Martinez approximately just under a year to complete from start to finish. “The 10-month production time was an amazing experience,” Martinez says. “But it led to a lot of sacrifice and [it was a] joy to finally get my work out to reach the community of artists in an industry which is so difficult and exquisite.”</p> <h4>Watch the new animation short:</h4> </p> <p></p> <h4>Want more animated shorts of the same calibre?</h4> <p>If you liked this film, check out a selection of other awesome animations on our <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/category/showcase/shorts/">Shorts page</a></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d6f8c5d/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=New+animation+short%3A+The+Accuracy+of+Time&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F14%2Fnew-animation-short-the-accuracy-of-time%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dnew-animation-short-the-accuracy-of-time" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=New+animation+short%3A+The+Accuracy+of+Time&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F14%2Fnew-animation-short-the-accuracy-of-time%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dnew-animation-short-the-accuracy-of-time" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200299806/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d6f8c5d/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200299806/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d6f8c5d/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200299806/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d6f8c5d/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/HB_RZPTmu4k" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW94.t_trade.ad_seq3.jpg" rel="lightbox[35067]"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-35088" height="348" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW94.t_trade.ad_seq3.jpg" title="TDW94.t_trade.ad_seq3" width="580" /></a></p> <p class="strap">Do you remember the original Transformers-style Citroën C4 spot? Five years ago it became a worldwide cult hit and we asked The Embassy’s CG team to reveal some of the ad’s technical secrets. Catch up as Transformers week continues…</p> <p>To celebrate <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/07/digital-tutors-releases-new-transforming-robot-tutorials/">Digital-Tutors’ new Transformation training</a>, we thought we’d make an event of it and post online all things Transformery!</p> <p>We’ve already posted up two making of Transformers articles:<br /> <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/07/the-making-of-transformers/">The making of Transformers</a><br /> <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/08/the-making-of-transformers-2/">The making of Transformers 2</a></p> <p>We plan to post up a <strong>train-transforming walkthrough tutorial</strong> this week too, so remember to check back.</p> <h3>Here’s the Embassy’s making of the Citroën ‘Runner’ spot</h3> <h4>ABOUT THE ORIGINAL AD</h4> <p>Created for the launch of Citroën’s C4 range, The Embassy Visual Effects’s original 2004 ad, ‘Alive with Technology’, opens with a hand-held camera shot of a car that transforms into a robot, performs an?impromptu series of dance moves and then reverts back to vehicular form.</p> <div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_35068" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW94.t_trade.orig_ad.jpg" rel="lightbox[35067]"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-35068" height="320" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/TDW94.t_trade.orig_ad.jpg" title="TDW94.t_trade.orig_ad" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The Embassy Visual Effects’s original 2004 ad, ‘Alive with Technology’, opens with a hand-held camera shot of a car that transforms into a robot, performs an?impromptu series of dance moves and then reverts back to vehicular form</p></div> <p>As well as making other VFX teams green with envy, the spot proved to have unexpected longevity. A full two years on, it was regularly appearing on TV, picking up fresh awards, and inspiring numerous spoofs and tributes, including a memorable parody replacing the C4 with a rather less glamorous Citroën 2CV and a viral for Danish bacon. The Mill even got a shot at producing a follow-up, before The Embassy itself jumped back on board for a third in the series.</p> <p>“It’s hard to say what it was about that original ad that hit people,” says studio president Winston Helgason. “Technically we did a good job, but something else struck a chord with them. While the ad has that geek factor, it’s just really fun to watch.”</p> <p>Television audiences got their first taste of vehicular dancefloor magic back in 2004. A?relative newcomer to the field of CG, Vancouver-based VFX studio The Embassy Visual Effects had already turned heads with its viral short film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1zGLx6H3f4&feature=related">Tetra Vaal</a> and some impressively photoreal ads for the likes of Nike.</p> <p>But it was the Citroën ‘Alive with Technology’ ad that really put the studio on the map – and a spring in the step of CG?based car ads. Fusing perfectly believable virtual visuals, directorial flair, and some seriously cool dance moves, The Embassy created what is now regarded as a?genuine classic.</p> <h3>Watch the Citroën ‘Alive with Technology’ spot</h3> <p></p> <p>Now the studio is back on board for the third spot in what is becoming an increasingly long-running campaign, and has been working hard to push the concept of a car that transforms into a robot to even greater heights.</p> <p>In contrast to the original spot, for which director Neill Blomkamp utilised a virtual camera and 3D environment constructed from photographs, the new ad’s director, Trevor Cawood, chose to undertake a live shoot in South Africa – a location chosen principally for its favourable lighting conditions. A new transforming CG vehicle was then integrated into the plates with the help of elements rebuilt in?3D to aid the creation of shadows and reflections.</p> <p>“The brief was pretty open,” says The Embassy president Winston Helgason. “The idea was to have the robot running, but other than that, it was simply ‘make it look cool’. The client did come back and ask if we could find something else for the robot to do, though, so we came up with the rail slide [which the bot performs along the restraining barrier by the side of the road].”</p> <p>Here, the studio’s 3D and compositing staff reveal just how their cybernetic star was rigged and animated to perform such a stunt. They also explore some of the shading and lighting techniques used to generate the photorealistic renders of the modified car necessary to composite it seamlessly into the background plate.</p> <p>Helgason reveals that the studio’s preferred tool for this kind of work is LightWave 3D’s own renderer, its raytracing proving particularly well suited to hard surface lighting. Dropping HDRI set data into the program and adding additional lights, the studio is able to get a scene fully lit in a matter of minutes. But ultimately, he says that the real secret of photorealism in the Citroën ads is simply attention to detail.</p> <p>“The most important thing is to understand how lighting really works, and then learn to match the way it reacts to metallic surfaces,” he says. “That, and then adding loads of extra model detail is what makes the results so effective.”</p> <h3>Watch the Citroën ‘Runner’ spot</h3> <p></p> <p><em>Click Next to read about how ILM had to rip apart the original robot design</em></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d689117/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=The+Embassy%3A+The+art+of+robotics&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F13%2Fthe-embassy-the-art-of-robotics%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dthe-embassy-the-art-of-robotics" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=The+Embassy%3A+The+art+of+robotics&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F13%2Fthe-embassy-the-art-of-robotics%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dthe-embassy-the-art-of-robotics" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200298402/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d689117/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200298402/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d689117/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200298402/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d689117/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/z_DGLpUWdbI" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.hero_.jpg" rel="lightbox[35061]"><img alt="iClone's new toon shader" class="alignright size-full wp-image-35062" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.hero_.jpg" title="iClone's new toon shader" width="580" /></a> <p class="strap">Real-time 3D animation tool, iClone, has everything you need to set up your directorial ?debut. But is it too limited, asks Paul Champion?</p> <p>PRICE?: $200.? Upgrade from $120. ??Other editions: Standard, $80??<br /> PLATFORM?: Windows??<br /> MAIN FEATURES: <ul> <li>Real-time animation?</li> <li>In-screen motion editing and puppeteering?</li> <li>Advanced timeline editing with transition curve?</li> <li>Animate in real-time with motion-capture device??</li> </ul> <p>DEVELOPER: <a href="http://www.reallusion.com">Reallusion</a></p> <p>Converting your finished story idea into a pre-viz or polished animation often presents some daunting challenges, and selecting the right software applications to use can be a key factor in the time (and cost) spent completing it. </p> <p>iClone5 Pro offers a happy medium between high-end applications that have seemingly endless options to tweak, and frustratingly feeble, user-unfriendly low-end software. The latest version of iClone has new animation tools, is still a breeze to use and remains competitively priced.?</p> <div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_35063" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.assets.jpg" rel="lightbox[35061]"><img alt="iClone5" class="size-full wp-image-35063" height="463" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.assets.jpg" title="iClone5" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Now you can create your own version of Pixar’s The Incredibles, in a park and on a merry-go-round!</p></div> <p>If you’re unfamiliar with iClone, it’s primarily a template-based hassle-free solution for real-time animation with plenty of bells and whistles. In terms of workflow, you’re limited to working with the rudimentary content supplied with the application, unless you’re prepared to buy additional assets via Reallusion’s Content Marketplace (which always seems to have some sort of deal on offer). </p> <p>Getting your own assets into iClone5 Pro is quick and easy, but it requires Reallusion’s 3DXchange4, which converts files from applications such as ZBrush, Photoshop, Blender, Poser, Daz Studio, Vue and Maya, and costs $80 for the Standard version. You’ll need 3DXchange4 Pro ($120) to use assets in FBX, 3DS, OBJ and SKP formats. ?</p> <p>Pre-viz users or anyone presenting a concept pitch to clients should find that the content provided is more than adequate for demonstration, where the actual look of assets is less relevant. End users, who will no doubt grow tired of the limited content provided, will be disappointed that they have to shell out for 3DXchange to import more material.?<br /> With the assets in place, it’s time to animate, and there are many new tools to help you with this.??</p> <div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_35064" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.market.jpg" rel="lightbox[35061]"><img alt="iClone5" class="size-full wp-image-35064" height="402" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.market.jpg" title="iClone5" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Whether it’s sexy girls, gym kits or vampires you’re after, the marketplace has plenty of assets for you to buy</p></div> <h4>New features</h4> <p>?<br /> Direct Puppet lets you record your actor’s animation in real time, and if necessary lock body parts to locations. MixMoves enables seamless blending between motions. Body Motion Puppeteering enables the user to control the animation speed and direction. ?</p> <p>Simple floor contact is taken care of with Human IK Motion Editing for Actors, and allows props (which can now be animated in real time) to be held onto realistically. The Timeline has been updated so that animation curves can be varied in playback by adding curve adjustments such as Ease In and Ease Out. For physics animation there are Rigid and Soft Body options for simulation, and other uses such as game prototyping.?</p> <div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_35065" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.effects.jpg" rel="lightbox[35061]"><img alt="iClone5" class="size-full wp-image-35065" height="464" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.effects.jpg" title="iClone5" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Effects can help to enhance your movies, but they are limited to a maximum of five within a project</p></div> <p>The premium new animation tool being touted for use with iClone5 Pro is the Mocap Device plug-in. With this you can act out your animations in real-time – the recorded mocap data is then applied to actors. </p> <p>At $140, this is a lot cheaper than buying your own professional mocap studio, although it requires you to have an Xbox 360 with Kinect. It’s also only compatible with the Pro edition. </p> <p>The plug-in is a significant add-on that falls outside the remit of this review. Judging by forum responses, however, it’s a successful product and great for anyone who wants to physically generate their own movement.</p> <p>?Other notable tools and settings, with which Reallusion is catching up with market competitors rather than introducing groundbreaking innovations, include Ambient Occlusion, which improves the quality of visual output with barely any impact on render times; post-FX tools for colour and blur, which are easy to apply; and cartoon rendering, which can be achieved with just a few clicks and some minor texture corrections. ?</p> <div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_35066" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.rigid_.jpg" rel="lightbox[35061]"><img alt="iClone5" class="size-full wp-image-35066" height="371" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.rigid_.jpg" title="iClone5" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Rigid body simulations can pep up high-speed chases. In iClone5 Pro they are easy to deploy</p></div> <p>There’s still plenty of room for improvement in the renderer. The options are minimal and simplistic – which is part of the general charm of iClone, but it doesn’t always do justice to the end result. Multiple cameras and Picture-In-Picture features offer greater control between shots. Much-requested duplication settings enable you to instance objects with ease, and adjustable pivots, snapping and aligning tools are now possible for objects.?</p> <p>More resource-hungry improvements include higher poly counts for actors, with notable increases to head meshes, which enable more natural deformations. In practice this works far better than before, and since faces are areas that most viewers’ eyes are naturally drawn to, it’s a clearly visible improvement. However, it can still be difficult and time-consuming to tweak. </p> <div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_35062" style="width: 590px;"><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.hero_.jpg" rel="lightbox[35061]"><img alt="iClone's new toon shader" class="size-full wp-image-35062" height="326" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/r_iclone5.hero_.jpg" title="iClone's new toon shader" width="580" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The new Toon Shader is found in the Atmosphere section of the Stage tab, and can be adjusted for your project needs</p></div> <p>Cartoon character facial controls have been advanced to include exaggeration. Height Map Terrains now allow bigger landscapes, but they are limited to just five. Smart iProps have been updated for game-like interaction.</p> <p>?During testing, these new tools all worked admirably, yet iClone crashed a number of times for no apparent reason. When pushed to reasonable extremes for any shot – such as 20 actors set up with different parameters and animations applied – iClone responded well. But other times it would crash with, for example, a fairly empty scene during terrain set-up. Ordinarily, this would only be a minor annoyance, but since there’s no autosave option in the program, it becomes more ?of a frustration. </p> <p>?Hardware-wise, iClone doesn’t require an overly demanding system. Rather misleadingly, it’s listed as being 32-bit and 64-bit Windows compatible, but it’s not actually a native 64-bit release, so it won’t take advantage of any extra memory installed over 32-bit limitations. It’s rumoured that a 64-bit update will be released, although this was unconfirmed as we went to press.?</p> <p>Overall, iClone5 Pro remains an easy-to-use application, and it can be a real time-saver for pre-viz work and presentations. The learning curve isn’t too steep, and setting up shots is intuitive. For existing iClone users, it should be a no-brainer to upgrade because content from previous versions is compatible, the upgrade price is good, and the new tools (and mocap plug-in, if you choose to buy it) will enhance its usability. New users will need to assess whether they have the funds for additional content and a copy of 3DXchange. </p> <h3>VERDICT</h3> <h4>PROS</h4> <ul> <li>Simple for novices without previous animation experience?</li> <li>Easily modifiable preset models?</li> <li>Ready-made animation categories?</li> <li>Intuitive editing?</li> <li>Options for advanced animators</li> </ul> <h4>??CONS</h4> <ul> <li>Facial profiles are difficult to tweak?</li> <li>Additional content incurs extra costs</li> <li>Rendering options still limited?</li> <li>Not a true 64-bit application??</li> </ul> <p><strong>A speedy solution for pre-viz but hampered by limited content options, basic render settings, and lack of true 64-bit support</strong></p> <h4>About the author</h4> <p>?Paul Champion is the demonstrator for undergraduate and postgraduate 3D and VFX courses at the National Centre for Computer Animation, Bournemouth</p> <h3><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/02/06/win-a-copy-of-reallusions-iclone5-pro/">Win a copy of Reallusion’s iClone5 Pro</a></h3> <p>Enter our <a href="http://http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/02/06/win-a-copy-of-reallusions-iclone5-pro/">iClone5 Pro prize draw</a> for your chance to win one of four packages featuring Reallusion’s real-time animation suite, <strong>worth $1,352 in total</strong></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d5d1225/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Software+review%3A+iClone5+Pro&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F12%2Fsoftware-review-iclone5-pro%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dsoftware-review-iclone5-pro" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Software+review%3A+iClone5+Pro&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F12%2Fsoftware-review-iclone5-pro%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dsoftware-review-iclone5-pro" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129168239143/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d5d1225/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129168239143/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d5d1225/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129168239143/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d5d1225/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/FfSl8XDXlLw" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Mass_effect_3_trailer.jpg" rel="lightbox[35052]"><img alt="Mass Effect 3 trailer" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-35053" height="325" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Mass_effect_3_trailer.jpg" title="Mass Effect 3 trailer" width="580" /></a> <p class="strap">Remember the phenomenal CG trailer that Bioware released a few weeks ago? Don’t worry if you missed it: as Mass Effect 3 goes on sale in the UK, we take a look at Bioware’s cinematic for the final installment of the massively popular RPG</p> <p>We’re so lucky that big budget games can’t be released without an accompanying cinematic teaser to go alongside the standard gameplay trailer, as the animations produced are truly stunning. </p> <p>Bioware’s Mass Effect 3 trailer is a fine example - the teaser features children, aliens and devastating lasers. The cinematic action really gets your adrenaline pumping. </p> <p>One YouTube user commented that if the video keeps going like it does, [the character you play] Shepard has only got about 30-35 minutes to take back Earth, tops, before it’s completely annihilated!</p> <h3>Watch Bioware’s Mass Effect 3 trailer online</h3> <p></p> <h3>Want to learn how Bioware created the cinematic?</h3> <p>So do we, that’s why we’ve asked Bioware to contribute a ‘making of’ article for 3D World magazine. So look out for that in the next issue!</p> <h3>Want more like this?</h4> <p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/2012/03/09/platige-images-witcher-2-trailer-and-making-of-video/">Watch Platige Image’s Witcher 2 trailer and making of video</a></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d4c5888/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Bioware%E2%80%99s+Mass+Effect+3%3A+Take+Earth+Back+trailer&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F09%2Fbiowares-mass-effect-3-take-earth-back-trailer%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dbiowares-mass-effect-3-take-earth-back-trailer" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Bioware%E2%80%99s+Mass+Effect+3%3A+Take+Earth+Back+trailer&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F09%2Fbiowares-mass-effect-3-take-earth-back-trailer%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dbiowares-mass-effect-3-take-earth-back-trailer" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698767040/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4c5888/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698767040/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4c5888/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698767040/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4c5888/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/NvLT8p93M8g" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Scene-2.jpg" rel="lightbox[35045]"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35047" height="244" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Scene-2.jpg" title="Scene-2" width="580" /></a></p> <p class="strap">Find out how this new short about a fascinating sensory condition was created using a combination of Maya, After Effects and Photoshop. Watch the film here too</p> <p>Synaesthesia tells the life experience of a synaesthete; a person with a condition where two or more of the five senses that are normally experienced separately are involuntarily and automatically joined together. Synaesthetes can experience sounds, tastes, smells, shapes, or touches in almost any combination. Synaesthesia features a character as a small boy, an adult worker and a retired man, who can see and feel shapes and depicts his different reactions to the phenomenon.</p> <p>The short was a final year project created by four students - Tien Hee, Kasumi Saito, Leo Chida and Nikko Hull - of <a href="http://www.massey.ac.nz">Massey University</a>, New Zealand. The quartet had to think of an idea to suit the brief of the school, which had a self-driven component as well as a pre-defined part. “This was basically to pick a topic and find a need or something that needs changing etc,” says Hull. “We chose Synaesthesia.”</p> <h4>Things shaped up nicely</h4> <p>In order to tackle such a complicated condition, the team spent a lot of time researching Synaesthesia and how it was going to affect their characters and set designs. “We decided during the research stage what we were going to do,” says Chida. “Each character was associated with a shape as were the environments. These were contrasting, for example, the first scene the kid was a circle, round and innocent and the environment was a triangle, sharp, scary and alert.”</p> <p>The team also used many sources of inspiration to achieve the look and style they were after. “For the environments, I looked at lots of animations, <a href="http://www.studio4c.co.jp/english/">Studio 4°C</a>, <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2825043">Team Cerf</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831888/">Tekkonkintreet</a> etc and mixed them all together to get the end result,” says Saito. “It was hard to simplify the forms to get it right. We ended up mixing all of these with our own ideas to get the style we came up with.”</p> <p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Scene-1.jpg" rel="lightbox[35045]"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35046" height="247" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/Scene-1.jpg" title="Scene-1" width="580" /></a></p> <h4>Added Layers</h4> <p>With set and character designs completed, the team began creating the film’s assets in Maya and UV layout tool, <a href="http://www.uvlayout.com/">Headus</a>. “This software is pretty awesome, I was really happy with how Headus sped things up,” says Chida. They also adopted a rendering technique which helped with production times.</p> <p>“The process was quite simple, which also helped in a way,” says Hull. “Each layer was kind of easy, it was just a matter of putting it all together in After Effects. We found the technique demonstrated (kind of) on <a href="http://www.deviantart.com/">Deviant Art</a>, I can’t remember the specific artist, but then we tried to figure it out in Maya and it worked quite well. But we didn’t choose that because of its ease, we chose it because of the style.”</p> <p>The scenes were separated to make the whole process more manageable. “The old man walking down the hall is a good example,” says Hull. “We had the walls, which were all on different render layers. The background and walls were a single layer and frame. Then anything which was moving, so the phone and the character, were on their own layers and were the only sequences. There also had to be a sequence for the shadows so they could cast on the walls. Then we had diffuse, shadows, highlight, AO and particle layers. This all went into After Effects with some lights and colour correction.”</p> <p>After two semesters worth of work, the student team completed the film and are pleased with the final result considering their prior experience in animation. “Up until the end, you have no idea what it’s going to turn out like,” says Chida. “But it was so rewarding finding out that all the effort wasn’t wasted and the film actually looked OK. I mean, some was wasted but we’re learning so it’s all good. Our degree consisted of lots of general design and even fine art so we’ve only really had about a year of animation training (in total). With this in mind, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.”</p> <p></p> <p>Like this film? <a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/category/showcase/shorts/">Check out the selection of other awesome animations in our shorts section</a></p> <p><em>Make sure you visit next week for more Friday Animation Fun!</em></p> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d4bec67/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Friday+Animation+Fun%3A+Synaesthesia&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F09%2Ffriday-animation-fun-synaesthesia%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dfriday-animation-fun-synaesthesia" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Friday+Animation+Fun%3A+Synaesthesia&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F09%2Ffriday-animation-fun-synaesthesia%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dfriday-animation-fun-synaesthesia" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698680485/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4bec67/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698680485/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4bec67/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698680485/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4bec67/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/_jN_z2Gm7AM" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/witcher2_09032012.jpg" rel="lightbox[35048]"><img alt="Witcher 2" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-35049" height="317" src="http://www.3dworldmag.com/files/2012/03/witcher2_09032012.jpg" title="Witcher 2" width="580" /></a> <p class="strap">Watch the jaw-dropping animation in the trailer for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Then catch Platige Image’s ‘making of’ video too… </p> <p>In January, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and CD Projekt RED released the epic and impactful CG intro trailer for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, produced by the award-winning animation studio, Platige Image. </p> <p>We were simply blown away when we watched this four-minute cinematic online at the start of the year. Directed by Tomek Bagi?ski and produced by Platige Image, this trailer is packed with stunning animation and effects. Watch it below.</p> <p>Now Platige Image has produced a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the trailer, from the early renders and mocap sessions to the final clip. You can also watch this three-minute video below.</p> <h4>Behind the scenes of Witcher 2</h4> <p>“The idea of the script came from CD Projekt couple years ago, right after the premiere of ‘The Witcher’. It was so called ‘soft’ version and we used it as basis for the work. In spite of vast changes we made, the project went on hold for almost two years until it was brought back to life in Xbox 360 version.”</p> <p>“As it turned out these two years gave both parties necessary perspective. Once we started working on the script again we were able to create new, better and richer version very fast.”</p> <p>“What was left from the original is the ship and main characters. All the rest has been changed. For example in the first version a hornet’s nest was used in the attack. The ship was turned into chaos - all crew started running around. They looked like a group of crazy or electrocuted people. Well… we got rid of this ‘dance’ but left the chaos and add a lot of steroids. It helped,” says director Tomek Bagi?ski.</p> <p>“It was one of the most demanding projects in Platige Image history. The script set up very high standards. As for such a short movie there were a lot of main, detailed characters, difficult face close-ups, very dynamic action full of special effects: cloth and particles simulation and hard slowmotion shots.”</p> <p>“The ship also became one of the main characters. First our graphic artists created a fantastic scenery and most of all great, very detailed sailing ship. Then the particles simulation team went rough with it. They created a vast interaction system covering the whole construction with milions of ice crystals and they smashed the whole thing,” adds CG Supervisor Maciek Jackiewicz.</p> <p>The team of 40 graphic designers and animators was involved in the project for couple moths.</p> <p>The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is due on on Xbox 360 on 17 April. The Windows version is shipping now.</p> <h3>Watch the Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings trailer:</h3> <p></p> <h3> Watch the making-of video for the cinematic:</h3> <p></p> <p><a href="http://www.cgsociety.org/index.php/CGSFeatures/CGSFeatureSpecial/the_witcher_2_cinematic">Read a longer interview with CG supervisor Maciej Jackiewicz on CGSociety</a></p> <h4>If you liked this, look out for our ‘making of’ Mass Effect 3 cinematic, due in the next issue of 3D World</h4> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://3dworldmag.com.feedsportal.com/c/33151/f/538495/s/1d4b9af0/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Platige+Image%E2%80%99s+Witcher+2+trailer+and+making+of+video&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F09%2Fplatige-images-witcher-2-trailer-and-making-of-video%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dplatige-images-witcher-2-trailer-and-making-of-video" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Platige+Image%E2%80%99s+Witcher+2+trailer+and+making+of+video&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3dworldmag.com%2F2012%2F03%2F09%2Fplatige-images-witcher-2-trailer-and-making-of-video%2F%3Futm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dplatige-images-witcher-2-trailer-and-making-of-video" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698762514/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4b9af0/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698762514/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4b9af0/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/127698762514/u/49/f/538495/c/33151/s/1d4b9af0/a2t.img" /><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3dWorldrss/~4/b7YwnVrsgeA" width="1" />

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pb0_8vDVYto0FXC_qMuN9YEadvg/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pb0_8vDVYto0FXC_qMuN9YEadvg/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pb0_8vDVYto0FXC_qMuN9YEadvg/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pb0_8vDVYto0FXC_qMuN9YEadvg/1/di" /></a></p><p class="intro">After a soft launch on <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/justcreative/status/182195367276847104" title="Twitter">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/justcreative/posts/176922372426119">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/103500063550994023248/posts/RMeSFRaXHki">Google+</a> yesterday, I am now ready to share with you the <a href="http://justcreative.com/2012/02/29/just%e2%84%a2-rebranding/" title="JUST™ Rebranding!">new JUST™ Creative</a> responsive web site.</p> <p><img alt="Just Launched" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-9365" height="453" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/just-launched.gif" title="Just Launched" width="640" /><br /> Feel free to explore and let me know your thoughts. Below is a quick outline of some of the features found throughout the site.</p> <h4>Website Info & Features</h4> <ul> <li>Built using <a href="http://wordpress.com" title="Wordpress">WordPress</a> and the <a href="http://getskeleton.com/">Skeleton Boilerplate</a></li> <li>Web fonts (<a href="https://typekit.com/fonts/proxima-nova" title="Proxima Nova">Proxima Nova</a> and <a href="https://typekit.com/fonts/droid-serif" title="Droid Serif">Droid Serif</a>) served by Typekit</li> <li>Hosting by <a href="http://mediatemple.com" title="Media Temple">Media Temple</a></li> <li>Responsive design with 5 viewport sizes (resize your browser to see this in action). Features Retina Display optimised images.</li> <li>Custom designed by myself in Photoshop & Illustrator, using the <a href="http://960.gs/" title="960 Grid System">960 Grid System</a></li> <li>Developed by <a href="http://danrose.me/" title="Dan Rose">Dan Rose</a> with HTML5 and CSS3 (<a href="https://github.com/craigwaterman/Hoodie" title="Hoodie">Hoodie Framework</a>). Portfolio functionality from Reaction (<a href="https://twitter.com/makedesign" title="Make Design">Brandon Jones</a>), developed in part by <a href="http://craigwaterman.com" title="Craig Waterman">Craig Waterman</a>.</li> <li><a href="http://justcreative.com/portfolio/" title="Graphic Design Portfolio">Filterable gallery portfolio</a> with multiple layouts (see icons on right of portfolio page)</li> <li>Logo rollover over effects on main navigation</li> <li>Dynamic drop down photo which reveals my bio (in sidebar on article pages)</li> <li>Dynamic ‘To Top’ button to easily get to the top of the page, displayed when needed</li> <li>jQuery vertical accordion menu for the mobile drop down menu navigation</li> <li>jQuery / CSS article sidebar for easy navigating</li> <li>jQuery transition slide effects</li> <li><a href="http://blog.jonphillips.ca/2012/01/17/ads-and-responsive-web-design/" title="Responsive Ads">Responsive ads</a> so they are displayed on all view ports</li> <li>Hidden pull down menu to view recent work and more (Find it?)</li> <li>Threaded comments on new posts</li> <li>Highlighted author comments</li> <li>Hidden track backs / backlinks that you can reveal</li> <li><a href="http://www.google.com/cse/" title="Google Search">Google Custom Site Search</a> for accurate and quick searching</li> <li><a href="http://www.no-margin-for-errors.com/projects/prettyphoto-jquery-lightbox-clone/">prettyPhoto</a> integration for showing photos in a Lightbox</li> <li>Large footer that can you can hide or show depending on your preference</li> </ul> <h4>Still To Do</h4> <ul> <li>Add a dynamic slider on the home page (will also work with touch gestures)</li> <li>Add more portfolio items</li> <li>Fix speed problems across the server. (Having troubles with this, as I believe it is related to memory / apache - something I am not well versed in).</li> <li>Fix bugs as they are found</li> </ul> <h4>Bugs / Suggestions / Feedback</h4> <p>If you find anything that looks out of place, or have a suggestion please do let me know. Please note your browser and it’s version when sending, thank you!</p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=QyicwP995y4:uMB3oR9d0Zo:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9rBqoBH7Yycn4lYRuu2mCz-u7qA/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9rBqoBH7Yycn4lYRuu2mCz-u7qA/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9rBqoBH7Yycn4lYRuu2mCz-u7qA/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9rBqoBH7Yycn4lYRuu2mCz-u7qA/1/di" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://thedeependdesign.com/podcast/logo-design-process-jacob-cass/" title="Logo Design Process Podcast"><img alt="Deeply Graphic Podcast" class="size-full wp-image-8754 border" height="350" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/podcast.jpeg" title="podcast" width="500" /></a></p> <p>A few words from <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/wesmcdowell" title="Wes McDowell">Wes McDowell</a> about a recent Podcast I did with Deep End Design…</p> <p>-</p> <p>Last week I had the pleasure of being able to sit down with Just Creative’s Jacob Cass and talk logo design. Sure, we happen to be on opposite ends of the country, but through the magic of Skype, we made it work.</p> <p>I am a co-host of “The Deeply Graphic DesignCast,” a podcast for graphic & web designers, and the idea of talking shop with Jacob was just too good to pass up. So I asked if he would like to join us for our next episode, and he graciously agreed. The result is a pretty compelling listen.</p> <p>Jacob’s episode, which is all about the logo design process is now live and available for free download on iTunes. He gives a lot of great insights into his process, as well as client relations and how he prices his jobs. If you are a fan of Jacob’s work, then you won’t want to miss it!</p> <p><strong><a href="http://thedeependdesign.com/podcast/logo-design-process-jacob-cass/" title="Logo Design Process Podcast">Listen To It Here</a>.</strong></p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=9OF3aloJMmw:F30ejLFqWQE:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9qLTQInQsxG__D6cN0_igcG9EBI/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9qLTQInQsxG__D6cN0_igcG9EBI/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9qLTQInQsxG__D6cN0_igcG9EBI/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9qLTQInQsxG__D6cN0_igcG9EBI/1/di" /></a></p><p><img alt="Twitter Milage" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8718" height="350" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Twitter-Milage.jpg" title="Twitter-Milage" width="500" /></p> <p><em>This is a guest article contributed by </em><em>Brad Shorr.</em></p> <p><em>-<br /> </em></p> <p>Smart marketers squeeze every possible benefit out of their digital content. But even top-notch companies overlook opportunities to repurpose Twitter content, which is unfortunate because Twitter is generally regarded as a somewhat frivolous medium. It doesn’t have to be, if you think outside the box. So for the purposes of this post, let’s think outside the tweet and take a quick look at five ways to get a lot more value out those 140 little characters.</p> <h2>1. Use Tweets As Testimonials</h2> <p><img alt="Twitter Testimonials" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/twitter-testimonials.png" title="twitter-testimonials" width="500" /></p> <p>From time to time, people may give you unsolicited praise on Twitter. If you <em>monitor</em> your brand, you can catch these tweets and “favorite” them so they will be handy whenever and wherever you need credibility-building testimonials. <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/justcreative/favorites">@justcreative</a> is a good example of someone who uses this favoriting method. Among the many places to display testimonial tweets:</p> <ul> <li>Website home page</li> <li>Interior site pages connected to the tweet’s content</li> <li>PDF literature</li> <li>A custom Facebook tab</li> <li>Email signatures</li> </ul> <p>You’re only limited by your imagination — and since this blog’s community includes a lot of designers, my guess is you’ll come up with better ideas than these in a matter of minutes. See <a href="http://justcreative.com/2009/08/18/funny-inspirational-tweets/" title="Funny and Inspiration Tweets">some of your favorite favorited tweets here</a>.</p> <p>Finally, if you don’t have unsolicited Twitter praise — <em>solicit</em> some! There’s nothing wrong with asking your Twitter community for feedback, help, or an occasional plug. I’m sure you’d be quick to do it for others if you liked them and believed in what they do.</p> <h2>2. Put Tweets In Presentations / Sales Material</h2> <p><img alt="Tweet Quote" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8714" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/tweet-quote.png" title="tweet-quote" width="500" /></p> <p>As part of their content strategy, most companies tweet about the benefits of their products and services. They may also post astute comments on important industry developments and issues. If you favorite these tweets and organize them, you can later display them in Keynotes/PowerPoints, webinars, PDF literature, and on relevant site pages. The advantages of displaying this information in the form of tweet images:</p> <ul> <li>Tweets are visually engaging and spark interest.</li> <li>Displaying tweets is still a bit of a novelty, which makes your presentation stand out.</li> <li>Tweets provide a subtle element of credibility, since many will regard them as published and therefore authoritative data points.</li> </ul> <p>A big benefit of doing this, by the way, is that it will improve the quality of your tweets. We tend to be more thoughtful about what we say if we know it may be used “in print” later on.</p> <h2>3. Use Tweets for Internal Knowledge Building</h2> <p><img alt="Twitter Content" height="332" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/twitter.jpg" title="twitter" width="500" /></p> <p>If a expert I’m following on Twitter says something insightful on say, <a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2009/06/30/seo-tips/" title="SEO">SEO</a>, I’ll shoot a link to that tweet over to our Director of SEO. This sort of thing can help keep everyone on the team being — and <em>feeling</em> — up to date and in the know. Sharing knowledge via tweets can be accomplished in a more organized fashion, by favoriting tweets by topic and emailing a digest of the links to the appropriate person. This technique works very well when a lot of team members are not on Twitter very much or at all. Because of that, circulating a digest of your own tweets also can be helpful; your team as well as your Twitter community should see your own great Twitter content.</p> <p>This is how I try to communicate information from Twitter. These are a couple tweets about social media I grabbed that are tremendously useful:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/merylkevans/status/170178390001852417" target="_blank">What Others Like and Dislike about Your Tweets</a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/RobynMcMaster/status/170174726197624832" target="_blank">Women Value Reciprocity More than Men</a></li> </ul> <p>Sure, I could just as easily link to the articles rather than the tweets, but I think it helps for people to <strong>see the source and sometimes, the commentary</strong>.</p> <h2>4. Feed Tweets Into Your Website</h2> <p><img alt="Twitter Widget" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8715" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/widget.png" title="widget" width="500" /></p> <p>You may have seen business sites that display a real-time feed of five or 10 of their tweets, <a href="http://twitter.com/about/resources/widgets" title="Twitter Widget">usually done via a widget</a>. This is a great idea in terms of sparking interest, as we’ve already talked about. However, if you want to do this, be careful about what you tweet. For example, if your live feed displays a lot of random, silly tweets, it could confuse visitors and turn off potential customers.</p> <p>What some people do to get around this is create a separate Twitter page that is exclusively for tweeting information around a particular product or service or department. For instance, a company could feed its customer service Twitter page tweets into its site’s customer service landing page. I like this idea a lot in terms of content relevance, but managing multiple Twitter accounts does have its complexities, so proceed carefully. Another possible way would be to use #hastags, but this <a href="http://www.torbenrick.eu/blog/social-media/twitter-hashtag-campaign-backfires-by-unhappy-customers/">could backfire too</a>.</p> <h2>5. Feed Tweets Selectively Into Other Social Networks</h2> <p><img alt="Twitter Import into Facebook" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8716" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/twitter-import.png" title="twitter-import" width="500" /></p> <p>I’ve written elsewhere about the dangers of <a href="http://effectivemarketer.com/2012/01/31/the-danger-of-automatic-feeds-in-social-media/" target="_blank">overfeeding your social media accounts</a>. However, selective and strategic feeds can relieve some of the content-production burden and strengthen your reputation across all of your social platforms.</p> <p>The “secret” of smart feeding is understanding the nature of your communities on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, and whatever other networks you are active on. For example, I know a couple of things about my LinkedIn connections; first, a lot of them are not social media-savvy, and second, they are interested in high-level information. Knowing this, any tweets I feed to LinkedIn will be non-technical and relevant to business owners, leaders and managers. On the other hand, our agency’s Facebook page draws a lot of people who are interested in “how-to” marketing tips, so any tweets I feed to it will be on the technical side.</p> <p>Probably the biggest takeaway from all of this is to <strong>be a strategic tweeter</strong>. There are many ways to repurpose Twitter content, but you won’t be able to take advantage of them if all you’re doing is haphazardly dashing off tweets.</p> <h3><strong>More Twitter related articles:</strong></h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/03/the-ultimate-guide-for-everything-twitter/">Ultimate Twitter Guide</a></li> <li><a href="http://justcreative.com/2009/04/26/jacob-our-top-twit/">Twitter Interview & Tips with Jacob Cass</a></li> <li><a href="http://justcreative.com/2009/11/09/twitter-design-lists/" title="Twitter Design Lists">10 Twitter Design Lists to Follow</a></li> <li><a href="http://justcreative.com/2011/02/23/simple-engagement/" title="Simple Engagement">The Power of Simple Engagement on Twitter</a></li> <li><a href="http://justcreative.com/2008/10/20/designers-to-follow-on-twitter/" title="Designers on Twitter">List of Designers, Creatives & Geeks on Twitter</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>How do you re-purpose your Tweets?</strong></p> <p><em><a href="https://plus.google.com/102318046680468697385?rel=author" target="_blank"></a></em></p> <p>-<br /> <em><a href="https://plus.google.com/102318046680468697385?rel=author" target="_blank">Brad Shorr</a> is Director of Content and Social Media for Straight North, a leading <a href="http://www.straightnorth.com/search-engine-optimization" target="_blank">Chicago SEO firm</a> working with clients in very tough B2B niches such as <a href="http://www.bluepay.com/processing-services/solutions/payment-gateway" target="_blank">credit card payment gateways</a>. He has been an active blogger and social media participant since 2005, and writes frequently on content strategy, SEO copywriting and social media topics.</em><em> Photos by: Shutterstock and <a href=" <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=0dMbdi0kAPw:KbuW7xJ1-o4:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cs9PffEkNZcG9AflaA9p-SGYzfs/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cs9PffEkNZcG9AflaA9p-SGYzfs/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cs9PffEkNZcG9AflaA9p-SGYzfs/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cs9PffEkNZcG9AflaA9p-SGYzfs/1/di" /></a></p><p>In the <del>next few weeks</del> (<a href="http://justcreative.com/2012/03/21/just-launched/" title="JUST™ Launched">The site is now live!</a>) I will be launching my brand new responsive website, along with a new domain, business name, <a href="http://justcreative.com/2012/01/07/a-new-profile-picture-an-upcoming-re-brand/">profile picture</a>, brand and logo.</p> <p>My old business name ‘Just Creative Design’ will be replaced by ‘JUST CREATIVE’ and the domain name will also change to http://justcreative.com which I bought off a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersquatting" title="Domain Squatter">domain squatter</a> a few months back.</p> <p>In fact, you are already on the new domain name!</p> <h3>Erasing The Pencil</h3> <p><img alt="JCD Logo" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8695" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/jcd-logo.gif" title="jcd-logo" width="500" /></p> <p>It is sad to announce that I will be dropping my <a href="http://justcreative.com/2008/04/24/logo-design-process-of-just-creative-design/">award winning</a> & often plagiarised JCD pencil logo. (Did you ever see the J,C,D or pencil in the logo?) It’s a real shame to leave it behind, but it’s time to move on to brighter pastures.</p> <p>I felt I needed a new look, one that was more more modern, professional, clean, streamlined and with <em>personality</em>. With this said, today I wanted to give a sneak peak into the new brand look coming for JUST CREATIVE.</p> <h3>JUST™ Created</h3> <p><img alt="JUST CREATIVE Logo" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8696" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/JUST-CREATIVE-LOGO.gif" title="JUST-CREATIVE-LOGO" width="500" /></p> <p>You can see the new logo above, and below in context on my new ‘Luxe’ business cards, courtesy of <a href="http://moo.com/share/x59skg/">Moo</a> (10% off link). You will also notice my new email address which is jacob[AT]justcreative[DOT]com.</p> <p><img alt="Just Creative Business Card" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8697" height="300" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/justcreative-business-card.jpg" title="justcreative-business-card" width="400" /></p> <p>Below is an <a href="http://dribbble.com/justcreative/projects/32001-JUST-Creative" title="Just Creative">earlier teaser</a> poster based on the new look and the familiar Keep Calm poster series. You can <a href="http://bit.ly/justcreateandcarryon" title="Just Create Poster">download the A3 sized poster for free here</a> if interested.</p> <p><img alt="Just Create and Carry On" height="706" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/just-create-and-carry-on.jpg" title="just-create-and-carry-on" width="500" /></p> <p>More surprises to come with the website launch so stay tuned. <strong>Feedback always welcome!</strong></p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZQFLuykA7g0:SwoIhHur-80:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0dxwICkDaP0uX1XAddMe7GL3dwE/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0dxwICkDaP0uX1XAddMe7GL3dwE/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0dxwICkDaP0uX1XAddMe7GL3dwE/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0dxwICkDaP0uX1XAddMe7GL3dwE/1/di" /></a></p><p>I often share my new work via <a href="http://twitter.com/justcreative">Twitter</a> but often forget to share on my blog so I thought I’d share some of my recently launched website designs. Each site has been developed by <a href="http://ammirati.com">Ammirati</a> unless otherwise noted. You can click on the images below to view each live site.</p> <h3>Ammirati</h3> <p>This is the website of the agency I work at in New York and I was responsible for comping out the mobile views. Check out the site and while your there, re-size your browser. Great team effort from the guys at Ammirati; a hat tip goes out to David Roach, Patrick Drury & John Vitelli for bringing the responsiveness to life.</p> <p>Next month I’ll be launching a responsive version of my site, with a <a href="http://justcreative.com/2012/01/07/a-new-profile-picture-an-upcoming-re-brand/" title="Upcoming Rebrand">brand new look</a> so stay tuned for that.</p> <p><a href="http://ammirati.com" target="_blank" title="Ammirati"><img alt="Ammirati Responsive" class="alignnone wp-image-8665 border size-full" height="372" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/ammirati-responsive.jpg" title="Ammirati Responsive" width="500" /></a></p> <h3>FXDD Masters Live</h3> <p>FXDD Masters Live is a conference held in different locations around the USA, teaching others about foreign currency exchange.</p> <p><a href="http://fxddmasterslive.com/" target="_blank" title="FXDD Masters Live"><img alt="MastersLive" class="alignnone wp-image-8666 border" height="494" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/fxdd-masterslive.jpg" title="MastersLive" width="500" /></a></p> <h3>Flywheel</h3> <p>I posted about this <a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2012/01/31/flywheel-takes-off/" title="Flywheel">last month</a>, but here it is again… <a href="http://flywheelsports.com/" title="Flywheel">Flywheel; The ultimate stadium cycling experience</a>. Development done by Flywheel.</p> <p><a href="http://flywheelsports.com" target="_blank" title="Flywheel"><img alt="Flywheel" class="alignnone border" height="342" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/FlywheelHome-500x342.jpg" title="Flywheel" width="500" /></a></p> <h3>Streetfighter</h3> <p>This is the website for the game ‘Streetfighter x Tekken’ where users can pre-order the game for the PS3 or XBox. I was involved with the pre-order & gem grid pages only.</p> <p><a href="http://www.streetfighter.com/us/sfxtk/order/special-edition"><img alt="Streetfigher" class="alignnone wp-image-8680 border" height="693" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/streetfighter.jpg" title="streetfighter" width="375" /></a></p> <h3>Upcoming Work</h3> <p>I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great people & brands (Jerry Seinfeld, Vitamin Water, OMEGA, Sweet’N Low to name a few) over the past 7 months at Ammirati and I look forward to sharing those projects once launched. Some soon, some quite far off.</p> <p><strong>Comments are always welcome.</strong></p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=ZErHYkIK31Y:f4T7qy5Blhg:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/BE1J28BYgRwKIXh4NzyUK0y9unI/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/BE1J28BYgRwKIXh4NzyUK0y9unI/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/BE1J28BYgRwKIXh4NzyUK0y9unI/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/BE1J28BYgRwKIXh4NzyUK0y9unI/1/di" /></a></p><p><img alt="Scope Creep" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8648" height="250" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/scope-creep.jpg" title="scope-creep" width="500" /></p> <p>Scope Creep. No it’s not that guy that’s been sitting in the corner of the cafe staring at you. In fact, if you don’t know how to deal with scope creep, it could be much worse.</p> <p>Scope creep, put simply, refers to uncontrolled changes in a client’s project scope. For example, a typical scenario could be when you’ve finished your design project to the original specifications and then the client emails you with a dozen different new changes and ideas. That is scope creep. The scope of the project may get bigger, but the budget may not.</p> <p>The problem is that clients may not know what they want the finished product to look like until the design project is nearly over, so they make last minute changes and then you’re loaded with an extra day’s work, but not an extra day’s pay.</p> <p>If you didn’t prepare for this with a contract up front, and the client is constantly changing their specifications, politely warn them that you <strong>limit your revisions to a certain number</strong>, so they are aware that whilst you are willing to be flexible, any additional changes will meet an additional charge. After all, you may have to work on multiple projects at one time and more time spent on one project cuts in to the time you will spend on another.</p> <h3><strong>So how can you deal with scope creep in the future?</strong></h3> <p><a href="http://www.delicious.com/justcreative/contract" title="Contract">Make a contract</a>. Before starting any project you should always sign a contract with the client, where you lay out your terms. It doesn’t need to be too long or detailed but you do need to outline your working conditions. This should include limits within the project scope and anything outside that will be subject to extra charges.</p> <p>You could sign a <strong>completion document </strong>with the client, which states that the project is complete and that any further work will be charged at an hourly rate. Although <a href="http://www.alistapart.com/articles/pricing-strategy-for-creatives/" title="pricing design work">hourly rates are not always the best</a>, scope creep at an hourly rate could benefit both you and your customer in terms of over all time and money spent.</p> <p><a href="http://freelanceswitch.com/clients/4-ways-to-kill-scope-creep/" title="Kill Scope Creep">Four other ways to kill scope creep</a> are to say:</p> <ol> <li>Glad to help, here’s a new estimate.</li> <li>I can’t make that deadline.</li> <li>I can, but…</li> <li> No.</li> </ol> <p><strong>How do you deal with scope creep?</strong></p> <p><strong>-</strong></p> <p><em><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-76943263/stock-photo-mr-angel-with-white-wings-creepy-character-portrait.html?src=20eed69b24e5753d6dc8a8ad55ecf63e-1-24" rel="" title="Angel photo">Angel photo</a> & <a href="http://www.twago.com/expert/Freelance/Freelance">g</a><a href="http://www.twago.com/expert/Freelance/Freelance">raphic design freelancers</a> </em><em>from Shutterstock. </em><strong><br /> </strong></p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=AvaG4g3Yx9c:uSL8bKqdOoU:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xMcDOAKmj_0cEcw6wKKfWsLMOIg/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xMcDOAKmj_0cEcw6wKKfWsLMOIg/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xMcDOAKmj_0cEcw6wKKfWsLMOIg/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xMcDOAKmj_0cEcw6wKKfWsLMOIg/1/di" /></a></p><p><a href="http://www.delicious.com/justcreative/"><em><img alt="Delicious" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8593" height="367" src="http://justcreativedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Delicious.jpg" title="Delicious" width="500" /></em></a></p> <p><em>This is a guest article contributed by Rebecca*.</em></p> <p>-</p> <p><a href="http://delicious.com">Delicious</a> is a popular social bookmarking site which you can use for saving your favorite website links. The process is termed as bookmarking. This will enable you to share your bookmarks among others as well as allow you to browse bookmarks of other users’. Tagging and search tools help you in browsing as well as organizing topics of interest. It enables you to both create multiple tags and tag sites with manifold keywords.</p> <p>Every tag produces a page with all website links associated to it. You can share each of these pages with others simply by providing them the URL, such as <a href="http://www.delicious.com/justcreative/" title="Delicious">Jacob’s bookmarks</a> here. With bookmarks being hosted on Web instead of on your desktop, you can access these anywhere provided you have access to internet. There are a couple of reasons for using delicious. Here is a list of few creative ways for using delicious bookmarks.</p> <h3>1. Organize Things You Want To Do</h3> <p>Your list may be endless like places you desire to visit, restaurants to try, ideas for several projects you desire to complete or begin books you wish to read and things you desire to accomplish. Sorting out your list at one place will help you to accomplish your goals. The social bookmarking site makes it easy to access your lists wherever and whenever you need them.</p> <h3>2. Bookmark Your Social Networking Profiles</h3> <p>Following the explosion of social networking sites, it is indeed simple for creating profiles on several that you often have the tendency of forgetting of returning and visiting them. As a result bookmarking each of your social networking sites at delicious will undoubtedly help you in keeping track of all the sites as well as easily sharing them provided you so desire. To add to it, registering your social networks at delicious will also offer <a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2009/06/30/seo-tips/" title="SEO Tips">SEO</a> benefits as delicious operates as backlinks for all your profiles.</p> <h3>3. Organize Portfolios of Inspiration</h3> <p>You can use delicious for organizing art, articles and photographs on the web as well as create diverse categories for varied types of works. The bookmarking process to <a href="http://www.delicious.com/justcreative/inspiration" title="Inspiration">share inspiration</a> among others is hassle free. Instead of sending people to numerous sites for viewing content, you can send them on one page, where every link is listed at one place.</p> <h3>4. Use RSS to Bookmark your Guest Articles</h3> <p>You can also use the delicious RSS feeds for creating customized portfolios. You can use it as your own writing portfolio by separating guest posts from that of article directory entries via exercising the feeds for your bookmarks tagged with articles and guest post.</p> <h3>5. Organize Your Backlinks</h3> <p>Delicious can be used for keeping track of backlinks for your website. In this social bookmarking site, you can tag the backlinks by type, topic or quality for keeping track of varied categories.</p> <h3>6. Bookmark Articles To Read Later</h3> <p>One of the most obvious reasons for using delicious is for organizing contents you encounter daily for future use. It is indeed a tough job for reading each great blog post which is shared with you via other social networks like Facebook and Twitter. The best solution is to bookmark these for later so each time you are searching for some information on a topic; you will have a wonderful and systematic compilation of most preferred pages and articles to choose from.</p> <p>Delicious is an outstanding mean for archiving information from the internet, discovering useful and new sites and tracking hot topics. Its collective intelligence constantly adds & reviews, as well as filters new information. The community enables you in finding some of the finest resources on the internet devoid of having to struggle through all the junk. This social bookmarking site also offers you centralized management system to systematize information from the net.</p> <p><strong>Do you have any other creative ways to use bookmarks? What other bookmarking services do you use & recommend?</strong></p> <p>-</p> <p><em>*Rebecca is a blogger by profession, besides this she is fond of <a href="http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/3d-games-10-selling-prices-reviews-rating/" title="3D Games">3D Games</a>.</em></p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreativedesign.com">Just Creative Design</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <br /><b>Related Articles:</b> <ul class="st-related-posts"> <li><a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2008/03/12/what-is-the-best-social-media-marketing-website/" title="What is the best social media website? Digg, SU, Delicious, Reddit … or? (Wednesday, March 12, 2008)">What is the best social media website? Digg, SU, Delicious, Reddit … or?</a> (43)</li> <li><a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2008/08/08/what-blog-posts-bring-in-the-most-readers/" title="What blog posts bring in the most readers? (Friday, August 8, 2008)">What blog posts bring in the most readers?</a> (40)</li> <li><a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2011/07/22/using-social-artistry-for-inspiration/" title="Using Social Artistry for Inspiration (Friday, July 22, 2011)">Using Social Artistry for Inspiration</a> (101)</li> <li><a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2008/10/27/the-power-of-being-an-active-twitter-member/" title="The Power Of Being An Active Twitter Member (Monday, October 27, 2008)">The Power Of Being An Active Twitter Member</a> (28)</li> </ul> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=Ai76yyVZRXA:o2fQv-vHpig:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/--029uaIHMaYwk30XIyEqZ84z4Y/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/--029uaIHMaYwk30XIyEqZ84z4Y/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/--029uaIHMaYwk30XIyEqZ84z4Y/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/--029uaIHMaYwk30XIyEqZ84z4Y/1/di" /></a></p><p><a href="http://www.delicious.com/justcreative/"><em><img alt="Delicious" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8593" height="367" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Delicious.jpg" title="Delicious" width="500" /></em></a></p> <p><em>This is a guest article contributed by Rebecca*.</em></p> <p>-</p> <p><a href="http://delicious.com">Delicious</a> is a popular social bookmarking site which you can use for saving your favorite website links. The process is termed as bookmarking. This will enable you to share your bookmarks among others as well as allow you to browse bookmarks of other users’. Tagging and search tools help you in browsing as well as organizing topics of interest. It enables you to both create multiple tags and tag sites with manifold keywords.</p> <p>Every tag produces a page with all website links associated to it. You can share each of these pages with others simply by providing them the URL, such as <a href="http://www.delicious.com/justcreative/" title="Delicious">Jacob’s bookmarks</a> here. With bookmarks being hosted on Web instead of on your desktop, you can access these anywhere provided you have access to internet. There are a couple of reasons for using delicious. Here is a list of few creative ways for using delicious bookmarks.</p> <h3>1. Organize Things You Want To Do</h3> <p>Your list may be endless like places you desire to visit, restaurants to try, ideas for several projects you desire to complete or begin books you wish to read and things you desire to accomplish. Sorting out your list at one place will help you to accomplish your goals. The social bookmarking site makes it easy to access your lists wherever and whenever you need them.</p> <h3>2. Bookmark Your Social Networking Profiles</h3> <p>Following the explosion of social networking sites, it is indeed simple for creating profiles on several that you often have the tendency of forgetting of returning and visiting them. As a result bookmarking each of your social networking sites at delicious will undoubtedly help you in keeping track of all the sites as well as easily sharing them provided you so desire. To add to it, registering your social networks at delicious will also offer <a href="http://justcreative.com/2009/06/30/seo-tips/" title="SEO Tips">SEO</a> benefits as delicious operates as backlinks for all your profiles.</p> <h3>3. Organize Portfolios of Inspiration</h3> <p>You can use delicious for organizing art, articles and photographs on the web as well as create diverse categories for varied types of works. The bookmarking process to <a href="http://www.delicious.com/justcreative/inspiration" title="Inspiration">share inspiration</a> among others is hassle free. Instead of sending people to numerous sites for viewing content, you can send them on one page, where every link is listed at one place.</p> <h3>4. Use RSS to Bookmark your Guest Articles</h3> <p>You can also use the delicious RSS feeds for creating customized portfolios. You can use it as your own writing portfolio by separating guest posts from that of article directory entries via exercising the feeds for your bookmarks tagged with articles and guest post.</p> <h3>5. Organize Your Backlinks</h3> <p>Delicious can be used for keeping track of backlinks for your website. In this social bookmarking site, you can tag the backlinks by type, topic or quality for keeping track of varied categories.</p> <h3>6. Bookmark Articles To Read Later</h3> <p>One of the most obvious reasons for using delicious is for organizing contents you encounter daily for future use. It is indeed a tough job for reading each great blog post which is shared with you via other social networks like Facebook and Twitter. The best solution is to bookmark these for later so each time you are searching for some information on a topic; you will have a wonderful and systematic compilation of most preferred pages and articles to choose from.</p> <p>Delicious is an outstanding mean for archiving information from the internet, discovering useful and new sites and tracking hot topics. Its collective intelligence constantly adds & reviews, as well as filters new information. The community enables you in finding some of the finest resources on the internet devoid of having to struggle through all the junk. This social bookmarking site also offers you centralized management system to systematize information from the net.</p> <p><strong>Do you have any other creative ways to use bookmarks? What other bookmarking services do you use & recommend?</strong></p> <p>-</p> <p><em>*</em></p> <div></div> <div><em>Rebecca is a blogger by profession, besides this she is fond of <a href="http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/3d-games-10-selling-prices-reviews-rating/" target="_blank">3D Games</a>. She is quite interested in tech related stuff and is currently hunting for a cool <a href="http://www.designbuzz.com/entry/10-interior-design-software-tools-web/" target="_blank">interior design software</a>.</em></div> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=zvdQbeCJgmo:SJjiNHQyx_Q:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=zvdQbeCJgmo:SJjiNHQyx_Q:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=zvdQbeCJgmo:SJjiNHQyx_Q:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=zvdQbeCJgmo:SJjiNHQyx_Q:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=zvdQbeCJgmo:SJjiNHQyx_Q:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=zvdQbeCJgmo:SJjiNHQyx_Q:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=zvdQbeCJgmo:SJjiNHQyx_Q:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=zvdQbeCJgmo:SJjiNHQyx_Q:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=zvdQbeCJgmo:SJjiNHQyx_Q:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=zvdQbeCJgmo:SJjiNHQyx_Q:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/gUsD9e2zfunOtLl6dAqcsdcxJrY/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/gUsD9e2zfunOtLl6dAqcsdcxJrY/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/gUsD9e2zfunOtLl6dAqcsdcxJrY/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/gUsD9e2zfunOtLl6dAqcsdcxJrY/1/di" /></a></p><p><img alt="Top Logos" class="alignnone" height="146" src="http://justcreativedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/2009-top-logos.gif" title="Top Logos" width="500" /></p> <p>After a month of voting on the <a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2012/01/03/top-12-logos-of-2011/" title="Top Logos of 2011">Top Logo Designs of 2011</a> the voting has now closed and I am pleased to announce the 2011 Logo Of The Year.</p> <h3>The 2011 Logo Of The Year</h3> <p><img alt="Fork & Knife" height="229" src="http://justcreativedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/fork-knife.jpg" title="Fork & Knife" width="500" /></p> <p><a href="http://nicksickelton.com/">Fork & Knife</a> Restaurant by <a href="http://nicksickelton.com/">Nick Sickelton.</a></p> <h3>The Runner Up</h3> <p><img alt="Bed & Breakfast" height="229" src="http://justcreativedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/BnB.jpg" title="BnB" width="500" /></p> <p>Bread & Breakfast is a coffee shop / bakery that serves breakfast all day and sells bread and baked goods. The aim was to create a logo that will combine the two elements of business (bakery and coffee shop) without creating an overload of visuals. The positive/negative design of the coffee cup and the bread image that is created by the coffee itself, along with the use of light blue and brown, create the desired combination that we set out to design.</p> <p>Credits: <a href="http://www.s-de.com/in-cat.asp?subcatid=163">Sigal Vilenski</a></p> <h3>3rd Place</h3> <p><img alt="Peru" height="229" src="http://justcreativedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/peru.jpg" title="Peru" width="500" /></p> <p><a href="http://www.atissuejournal.com/2011/03/11/peru-brands-itself/">Peru</a> country branding.</p> <p>Credits: <a href="http://www.futurebrand.com/about/offices/buenos-aires/">FutureBrand Buenos Aires</a></p> <h3>Poll Results</h3> <p><img alt="Logo Results" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8612" height="579" src="http://justcreativedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/2011-Logo-Results.png" title="2011-Logo-Results" width="500" /></p> <p>Thank you everyone for your votes! Also, please feel free to <a href="http://logooftheday.com/suggest-a-logo/">suggest a logo</a> for your chance to win a Logo Of The Day award, or maybe even Logo Of The Year.</p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreativedesign.com">Just Creative Design</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <br /><b>Related Articles:</b> <ul class="st-related-posts"> <li><a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2012/01/03/top-12-logos-of-2011/" title="Top 12 Logos of 2011 As Voted By You (Tuesday, January 3, 2012)">Top 12 Logos of 2011 As Voted By You</a> (28)</li> <li><a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2010/02/02/top-logos-of-2009/" title="Top 12 Logos of 2009 As Voted By You (Tuesday, February 2, 2010)">Top 12 Logos of 2009 As Voted By You</a> (59)</li> <li><a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2011/01/14/top-12-logos-of-2010/" title="Top Logos of 2010 (Friday, January 14, 2011)">Top Logos of 2010</a> (11)</li> <li><a href="http://justcreativedesign.com/2011/01/20/the-2010-logo-of-the-year/" title="The 2010 Logo Of The Year (Thursday, January 20, 2011)">The 2010 Logo Of The Year</a> (23)</li> </ul> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=xjNnGrXN6pY:kFi77Sck9HY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=xjNnGrXN6pY:kFi77Sck9HY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=xjNnGrXN6pY:kFi77Sck9HY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=xjNnGrXN6pY:kFi77Sck9HY:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=xjNnGrXN6pY:kFi77Sck9HY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=xjNnGrXN6pY:kFi77Sck9HY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=xjNnGrXN6pY:kFi77Sck9HY:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=xjNnGrXN6pY:kFi77Sck9HY:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=xjNnGrXN6pY:kFi77Sck9HY:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=xjNnGrXN6pY:kFi77Sck9HY:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ztEM8sfmLLR9_xJa41iDid6oeBk/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ztEM8sfmLLR9_xJa41iDid6oeBk/0/di" /></a><br /> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ztEM8sfmLLR9_xJa41iDid6oeBk/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="true" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ztEM8sfmLLR9_xJa41iDid6oeBk/1/di" /></a></p><p><img alt="Top Logos" class="alignnone" height="146" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/2009-top-logos.gif" title="Top Logos" width="500" /></p> <p>After a month of voting on the <a href="http://justcreative.com/2012/01/03/top-12-logos-of-2011/" title="Top Logos of 2011">Top Logo Designs of 2011</a> the voting has now closed and I am pleased to announce the 2011 Logo Of The Year.</p> <h3>The 2011 Logo Of The Year</h3> <p><img alt="Fork & Knife" height="229" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/fork-knife.jpg" title="Fork & Knife" width="500" /></p> <p><a href="http://nicksickelton.com/">Fork & Knife</a> Restaurant by <a href="http://nicksickelton.com/">Nick Sickelton.</a></p> <h3>The Runner Up</h3> <p><img alt="Bed & Breakfast" height="229" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/BnB.jpg" title="BnB" width="500" /></p> <p>Bread & Breakfast is a coffee shop / bakery that serves breakfast all day and sells bread and baked goods. The aim was to create a logo that will combine the two elements of business (bakery and coffee shop) without creating an overload of visuals. The positive/negative design of the coffee cup and the bread image that is created by the coffee itself, along with the use of light blue and brown, create the desired combination that we set out to design.</p> <p>Credits: <a href="http://www.s-de.com/in-cat.asp?subcatid=163">Sigal Vilenski</a></p> <h3>3rd Place</h3> <p><img alt="Peru" height="229" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/peru.jpg" title="Peru" width="500" /></p> <p><a href="http://www.atissuejournal.com/2011/03/11/peru-brands-itself/">Peru</a> country branding.</p> <p>Credits: <a href="http://www.futurebrand.com/about/offices/buenos-aires/">FutureBrand Buenos Aires</a></p> <h3>Poll Results</h3> <p><img alt="Logo Results" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8612" height="579" src="http://justcreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/2011-Logo-Results.png" title="2011-Logo-Results" width="500" /></p> <p>Thank you everyone for your votes! Also, please feel free to <a href="http://logooftheday.com/suggest-a-logo/">suggest a logo</a> for your chance to win a Logo Of The Day award, or maybe even Logo Of The Year.</p> <hr /><br /> © This article is copyright of <a href="http://justcreative.com">JUST™ Creative</a> and should not be found elsewhere.<br /><br /> <div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=raUrEPfWUds:qUa96_Ecjyg:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=raUrEPfWUds:qUa96_Ecjyg:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=raUrEPfWUds:qUa96_Ecjyg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=raUrEPfWUds:qUa96_Ecjyg:V_sGLiPBpWU" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=raUrEPfWUds:qUa96_Ecjyg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=raUrEPfWUds:qUa96_Ecjyg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=raUrEPfWUds:qUa96_Ecjyg:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=raUrEPfWUds:qUa96_Ecjyg:D7DqB2pKExk"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?i=raUrEPfWUds:qUa96_Ecjyg:D7DqB2pKExk" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?a=raUrEPfWUds:qUa96_Ecjyg:I9og5sOYxJI"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/JustCreativeDesignBlog?d=I9og5sOYxJI" /></a> </div>

Tonight on FX - Archer, a new adult cartoon, will show a sneak peak! <br /><br />After Its always Sunny in Philadelphia, the 30 minute pilot will be shown!<br /><br />Trinity Animation produced many of the sets in this cartoon so check out some of our latest work!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img alt="" height="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/262635577005947054-9118407187345691974?l=trinity3d.blogspot.com" width="1" /></div>

<strong>Autograss now available!</strong><br /><br />One-click grass for V-Ray/ 3ds Max<br /><br />Select your object, click Autograss, and you're done. You've got photorealistic grass that renders in V-Ray for 3ds Max.<br /><br />Advanced multi-threaded memory management<br />Autograss uses Happy Digital's advanced memory management system. That means Autograss uses only a fixed amount of RAM no matter how much grass is in the scene, whether it's a one-acre lawn or an entire golf course. No crashes, no nonsense. And it's fully multi-threaded, so all your cores are driven to their full potential.<br /><br /><strong>Take $25 off with coupon code: AG92009</strong><br /><br /><a href="http://trinity3d.com/store/Autograss-p-2028.html">http://trinity3d.com/store/Autograss-p-2028.html</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img alt="" height="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/262635577005947054-4536693220441025911?l=trinity3d.blogspot.com" width="1" /></div>

So Chaos Group tricked us! They are keeping the introductory price for VRay RT at $299 indefinitely! Great news! Check it out -- <a href="http://trinity3d.com/store/VRay-RT-for-3ds-Max-p-1928.html">http://trinity3d.com/store/VRay-RT-for-3ds-Max-p-1928.html</a><br /><br /><br />We also have some new 3D human models. Very realistic. <br /><br />Metropoly HD Evolution 2 --<br /><br />Full Body & Hand rigged Metropoly HD evolution 2 collection, introduces revolutionary new 3D Human Models for Close-Up views, unmatched in resolution and quality anywhere in the world today.<br />Includes a stunning MentalRay skin shader and Lighting setup!<br /><br />Only $65 each. So far there are 3 women and 2 men to choose from.<br /><br /><a href="http://trinity3d.com/store/Metropoly-HD-orderby0-p-1-c-431.html">http://trinity3d.com/store/Metropoly-HD-orderby0-p-1-c-431.html</a><br /><br />- Trinity<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img alt="" height="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/262635577005947054-5912733676468818209?l=trinity3d.blogspot.com" width="1" /></div>

VRay RT up to $599 tomorrow! Last chance!<br /><br /><a href="http://trinity3d.com/store/VRay-RealTime-Interactive-p-1928.html">http://trinity3d.com/store/VRay-RealTime-Interactive-p-1928.html</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img alt="" height="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/262635577005947054-1989715446699157544?l=trinity3d.blogspot.com" width="1" /></div>

Created with the busy and rigorous 3D artist in mind, this top notch raytracing technology allows immediate interaction between the user and the virtual environment. V-Ray RT follows the user’s actions while working on the scene and automatically and progressively generates a photorealistic preview of the scene. Designed to improve and speed up the Texturing and Lighting stage of 3D scene creation.<br /><br /><div align="center">Limited Time Pricing:<br />Non-European countries: $299<br />MSRP - $599<br />European Countries: 249 Euros</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://trinity3d.com/store/VRay-RealTime-Interactive-p-1928.html">Click for more Information</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img alt="" height="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/262635577005947054-8459827525138409340?l=trinity3d.blogspot.com" width="1" /></div>

V-Ray for Maya revolutionizes rendering times, stability and ease of use to achieve remarkable pipeline efficiency.<br /><p><br />The comprehensive set of features provided by V-Ray for Maya includes true 3D motion blur, Sun & Sky procedural lighting system, physical camera for matching life footage, environment fog, a set of sub-surface scattering shaders and many others. V-Ray for Maya is supported on Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora operating systems in their 32-bit and 64-bit versions (other distributions also work). V-Ray runs with Autodesk Maya 2008, 2009 and 2010 versions.<br /></p><p><strong>Special Introductory Bundle -</strong><br /></p><p>Receive one free Advanced Maya character modeling training DVD, free domestic ground shipping, free t-shirt and more with your purchase!</p><br /><br /><a href="http://vray.us/vray_for_maya.shtml">Click to learn more!</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img alt="" height="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/262635577005947054-8510536640939488296?l=trinity3d.blogspot.com" width="1" /></div>

Matt Dempsey uses parallax scrolling to explain the film <a href="http://inception-explained.com"><em>Inception</em></a>.<br /><br />To coincide with "Keith Haring: 1978–1982" at the Brooklyn Museum, the Keith Haring Foundation is posting <a href="http://keithharing.tumblr.com">a page a day</a> from his journals.<br /><br />A painfully honest essay on a career in advertising by <a href="http://thesfegotist.com/editorial/2012/march/14/short-lesson-perspective">Linds Redding</a>.<br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=cGwd7aj_OcU:ZmIA8r78bKk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=cGwd7aj_OcU:ZmIA8r78bKk:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=cGwd7aj_OcU:ZmIA8r78bKk:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=cGwd7aj_OcU:ZmIA8r78bKk:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/cGwd7aj_OcU" width="1" />

<div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/web-sites/world-chess-hall-fame.html"><img border="0" hspace="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/2/2/2/222109_72_0_OTk1MzQ0MjA4MjEwNzk4NTIzMg.jpg" vspace="0" /></a></div><p>Driven, in part, by the growing international reputations of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center, both in St. Louis, The World Chess Hall of Fame moved to help build on the city’s recent ascension as the US chess capital. The site, integral to the programming and promotion of events and exhibitions at the World Chess Hall of Fame, launched in tandem with the grand opening of the venue in September 2011. <br /><br /> The navigation evokes a sense of play, which drove the animation of the secondary menus, and the ability to “switch sides” on the homepage. The site is broken down into five sections, which drove the chess board structure of the design and established the grid for all pages. <br /><br /> Events and exhibitions are featured prominently throughout the site: on the homepage, events are structured into the site design, and links to current exhibitions are included across multiple site sections. News & Events includes a flexible and detailed custom calendar and News is managed with blogging software that enables easy categorization and archiving. <br /><br /> • The site currently includes features 66 hall of fame inductees, both US and international players, and 3 exhibitions; the site will grow to accommodate an archive of the exhibitions in the coming years. <br /><br /> • Twitter feeds are integrated into the homepage, and Facebook is integrated into event promotion and management. <br /><br /> • The main nav anchors to the top of the browser for ease of use on longer pages. <br /><br /> • The World Chess Hall of Fame wrote the content and populated the site. <br /><br /> • A temporary countdown launched in early July 2011 while the full site was in the works for the institution's grand opening in September. From July to September, the site received 2,540 unique visitors, and over 10,000 page views. Since the opening of the institution in September, the site has received over 11,000 unique visitors and over 46,000 page views.<br />Credits: <a href="http://www.toky.com">www.toky.com </a><br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=vSqSWTRfqH0:5xgda7nnDzU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=vSqSWTRfqH0:5xgda7nnDzU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=vSqSWTRfqH0:5xgda7nnDzU:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=vSqSWTRfqH0:5xgda7nnDzU:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/vSqSWTRfqH0" width="1" />

<div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/greenville-humane.html"><img border="0" hspace="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/0/2/2/220521_71_0_LTIxMzM2MTQ4MDIxMjY1ODI0MTMx.jpg" vspace="0" /></a></div><p>The Greenville Humane Society wanted an engaging poster campaign that would convey the friendly, fun nature of their pets while allowing people to experience some of the great moments of pet ownership. To accomplish this, local ad agency Erwin Penland created eye-catching, 3-D posters that bring to life some of the priceless things that pets do. By utilizing two-sided printing and rolling the corners of the Ears posters, they brought to life the endearing moment of puppies perking their ears to listen; and with a simple fold and rolled corners, the Tongue posters capture a puppy’s face lick.<br />Credits: <a href="http://erwinpenland.com">erwinpenland.com </a> | <a href="http://www.greenvillehumane.com">www.greenvillehumane.com </a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/greenville-humane.html"><img border="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/0/2/2/220522_71_0_LTE0Mjc4MDIyOTctMTQ1MTczMjIx.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=mnAW5LTxWbI:wsr26mxmUAI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=mnAW5LTxWbI:wsr26mxmUAI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=mnAW5LTxWbI:wsr26mxmUAI:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=mnAW5LTxWbI:wsr26mxmUAI:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/mnAW5LTxWbI" width="1" />

<a href="http://adage.com/article/agency-news/lee-clow-agencies-paid-clients-laundry/233445">Lee Clow</a> says agencies are woefully underpaid for the value they provide to brands.<br /><br /><a href="http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/photoshopcs6">Photoshop CS6 Beta</a>. Available as a free download.<br /><br />Dare Vancouver made porn funny again... "<a href="http://vimeo.com/38277903">Make Fantasies Happen</a>" a campaign for adult pay-per-view channel Amour.<br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=peGOfeWzyYE:OcRhMaY0XxM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=peGOfeWzyYE:OcRhMaY0XxM:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=peGOfeWzyYE:OcRhMaY0XxM:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=peGOfeWzyYE:OcRhMaY0XxM:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/peGOfeWzyYE" width="1" />

<div><a href="http://www.twinfarms.com"><img border="0" hspace="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/0/2/2/220719_72_0_NDg4MzEyNjg0LTE4OTk1NjU5ODE.jpg" vspace="0" /></a></div><p>Dramatic design, responsive technology and a sense of the delicious air on the five-star property make up this scalable site for Vermont’s prized hospitality destination.<br />Credits: <a href="http://www.finedesigngroup.com">www.finedesigngroup.com </a><br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=XMXRuiWtsTI:3cDBsiMnPjU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=XMXRuiWtsTI:3cDBsiMnPjU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=XMXRuiWtsTI:3cDBsiMnPjU:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=XMXRuiWtsTI:3cDBsiMnPjU:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/XMXRuiWtsTI" width="1" />

<div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/alliance-downtown-new-york.html"><img border="0" hspace="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/0/2/2/220718_71_0_NDg4NjI3Mzk5LTcyMDkxNjIwMA.jpg" vspace="0" /></a></div><p>Funded by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Re:Construction is a public art program produced by the Downtown Alliance to help mitigate the impact of New York City’s numerous building projects. Engaging, thoughtful and whimsical, the temporary artworks create colorful landmarks and brightened streetscapes. The program began in 2007 and has produced 32 installations, including the recent <em>The Greatest City on Earth</em>. <br /><br /> Located at Nassau between John and Fulton Streets, <em>The Greatest City on Earth</em> is an ongoing series of skylines by artist Linda Zacks whose art captures the vitality of the modern urban experience and the life and emotion of the skyline. This series is inspired by the constantly evolving energy of the cityscape and evokes moments that mark the experience of daily life in New York, from the frenetic and visceral to the quiet and serene.<br />Credits: <a href="http://www.lindazacks.com">www.lindazacks.com </a> | <a href="http://www.downtownny.com/programs/reconstruction">www.downtownny.com/programs/reconstruction </a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/alliance-downtown-new-york.html"><img border="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/0/2/2/220717_71_0_NDg4NjI3Mzk5MTkwMDE5MTAzOA.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/alliance-downtown-new-york.html"><img border="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/0/2/2/220716_71_0_LTIxNzE4NTEwNi0xMDAzMTg4NjE4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/alliance-downtown-new-york.html"><img border="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/0/2/2/220715_71_0_LTIxNzE4NTEwNi03NTQxNTI3NjI.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=GHDV_6rXaUo:W3ndjra2_H4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=GHDV_6rXaUo:W3ndjra2_H4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=GHDV_6rXaUo:W3ndjra2_H4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=GHDV_6rXaUo:W3ndjra2_H4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/GHDV_6rXaUo" width="1" />

by Commarts<br /><br />Subscribe to <em>Communication Arts</em> today and get one year's worth of inspiration for just $40!*<br /><br />For less than the price of two annuals, you'll receive all six: Illustration, Photography, Design, Advertising, Typography and Interactive. It doesn't get much better than this—don't miss out!<br /><br /><em>*Offer expires at midnight tonight PST.</em><br /><br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=y0pk_6UIp_M:oYuRhK2clkQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=y0pk_6UIp_M:oYuRhK2clkQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=y0pk_6UIp_M:oYuRhK2clkQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=y0pk_6UIp_M:oYuRhK2clkQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/y0pk_6UIp_M" width="1" />

Can't wait to see what else comes from this venture... <a href="http://www.timelanesapp.com">TimeLanes</a>, the first product from B-Reel's B-Reel Products.<br /><br />Spotted on DesignTaxi: <a href="http://www.sarahhaney.com/portfolio/portfolio-index.php">Barbie (and Ken) compromised</a>. By photographer Sara Haney.<br /><br /><a href="http://blog.jess3.com/2012/03/dr-seuss-before-he-drew-great-childrens-illustrations-he-drew-great-ads.html">Dr. Seuss</a> was an ad man?<br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=Ej6vgzyOaRw:F4WEiPjalnE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=Ej6vgzyOaRw:F4WEiPjalnE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=Ej6vgzyOaRw:F4WEiPjalnE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=Ej6vgzyOaRw:F4WEiPjalnE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/Ej6vgzyOaRw" width="1" />

<div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/powder-mountain-outdoor.html"><img border="0" hspace="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/0/2/2/220542_71_0_MTc3OTQwMzg0NDcyMzgyODczMQ.jpg" vspace="0" /></a></div><p>Salt Lake City based Super Top Secret created this campaign for Powder Mountain to keep non-locals away from their precious snow stashes. With the tagline, “Paid for by Powder Mountain Locals,” it’s part scare tactic and part reverse psychology. The campaign connected with both territorial natives and tourists alike who were seeking the most epic and secretive ski spot Utah has to offer.<br />Credits: <a href="http://wearetopsecret.com">wearetopsecret.com </a> | <a href="http://www.powdermountain.com">www.powdermountain.com </a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/powder-mountain-outdoor.html"><img border="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/0/2/2/220541_71_0_NTE1ODQ3ODgxLTg1NjIzNTk1Mg.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/powder-mountain-outdoor.html"><img border="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/0/2/2/220543_71_0_MTc3OTQwMzg0NC0yMDIzNzc5Mjg4.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.commarts.com/exhibit/powder-mountain-outdoor.html"><img border="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/0/2/2/220540_71_0_NTE1ODQ3ODgxLTM3MTc5NzM1OA.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=VTAyZbANLbk:5fRI7swXsRA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=VTAyZbANLbk:5fRI7swXsRA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=VTAyZbANLbk:5fRI7swXsRA:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=VTAyZbANLbk:5fRI7swXsRA:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/VTAyZbANLbk" width="1" />

<div><a href="http://publicbikes.com"><img border="0" hspace="0" src="http://image.commarts.com/images/0/2/2/220731_72_0_LTEwODk2MTk0ODItNjI2NTExMDMx.jpg" vspace="0" /></a></div><p>A sense of community engagement and urban vitality spread throughout this vibrant, easy to use e-commerce site that sells a product that, previously, was almost never purchased online.<br />Credits: <a href="http://hh-studio.com">hh-studio.com </a> | <a href="http://www.siteform.com">www.siteform.com </a><br /><br /><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=-pCLHnWZuIU:wz78ze7v8Ac:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=-pCLHnWZuIU:wz78ze7v8Ac:qj6IDK7rITs"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?d=qj6IDK7rITs" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.commarts.com/~ff/commarts/index?a=-pCLHnWZuIU:wz78ze7v8Ac:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img border="0" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/commarts/index?i=-pCLHnWZuIU:wz78ze7v8Ac:gIN9vFwOqvQ" /></a> </div><img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/commarts/index/~4/-pCLHnWZuIU" width="1" />

<img alt="Efficient Cinematic Lighting" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="77" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jvi02_180x180-77x77.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" title="Efficient Cinematic Lighting" width="77" /><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6493" height="383" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jvi02_comingSoon.jpg" title="Efficient Cinematic Lighting" width="680" /><br /> <strong>Instructor:</strong> Jeremy Vickery<br /> <strong>Format:</strong> DVD-Rom, Digital Download, Online Subscription</p>

<img alt="Concept Design: From Abstraction to Production" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="77" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ali01_180x180-77x77.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" title="Concept Design: From Abstraction to Production" width="77" /><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6486" height="391" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ali01-comingSoon.jpg" title="Concept Design: From Abstraction to Production" width="680" /><br /> <strong>Instructor:</strong> Aaron Limonick<br /> <strong>Format:</strong> DVD-Rom, Digital Download, Online Subscription</p>

<img alt="Illustration for Entertainment - Pitching with Pictures" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="77" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/cdv03_180x180-77x77.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" title="Illustration for Entertainment - Pitching with Pictures" width="77" /><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6479" height="1097" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/cdv03_comingSoon.jpg" title="Illustration for Entertainment - Pitching with Pictures" width="680" /><br /> <strong>Instructor:</strong> Cameron Davis<br /> <strong>Format:</strong> DVD-Rom, Digital Download, Online Subscription</p>

<img alt="Environment Sculpting with David Lesperance" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="77" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/dls01_180x180-77x77.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" title="Environment Sculpting with David Lesperance" width="77" /><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6467" height="212" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/dls01_release.jpg" title="Environment Sculpting" width="680" /></p> <p>Today, The Gnomon Workshop welcomes the exceptional environment artist, David Lesperance, to our ever growing training library. Simply titled <a href="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/product/975/" title="Environment Sculpting"><em>Environment Sculpting</em></a>, David unveils his workflow used to create stunning and fantastic environments. His process takes you through using the DynaMesh tool within ZBrush® to quickly and efficiently create variants of environmental assets. He then shows how he decimates the high resolution mesh down to a manageable base resolution to extract normal maps. His process also includes designing a host of architectural assets in 3ds Max®, adding high frequency detail in ZBrush®, then rendering and compositing them for presentation purposes. Throughout the lecture, David touches on topics like the importance repeating features in architectural design and using fine detail to demonstrate scale within the scene. This tutorial reveals true production methods of one of the more talented environment artist in the industry today.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/2012/03/environment-sculpting-press-release/" target="_self">Read the Press Release</a><br /> This title is available as a digital download and is also featured in our training subscription plans.</p>

<img alt="Pixologic User Group Meeting, Thursday, March 22nd" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="77" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/pixologic_sam-77x77.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" title="Pixologic User Group Meeting, Thursday, March 22nd" width="77" /><p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6453" height="230" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/pixologic_sam.jpg" title="Pixologic User Group Meeting, Thursday, March 22nd" width="602" /></p> <p>Join us on Thursday, March 22nd for a Pixologic user group meeting with guests Bryan Wynia, Sam Sharit and Danny Williams. Bryan and Sam will be sharing their speed sculpting process, quickly blocking out character sculpts for conceptual and skill building purposes. This process is great for production in addition to developing your skills as a sculptor and designer. Danny Williams will be presenting a live demo sharing his process for quickly designing characters and creatures with ZBrush.</p> <p><strong>Schedule<br /> </strong><strong>6:30 pm — 7:00 pm</strong>: Meet and Greet<br /> <strong>7:00 pm — 8:00 pm</strong>: Lunch Crunch (Bryan Wynia and Sam Sharit)<br /> <strong>8:15 pm — 9:15 pm</strong>: Danny Williams</p> <p><strong>Where<br /> </strong>Gnomon School of Visual Effects<br /> 1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038<br /> <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=gnomon+school+google+maps&hl=en&ll=34.089506,-118.328955&spn=0.012955,0.018303&fb=1&gl=us&hq=gnomon+school&hnear=0x80c2c75ddc27da13:0xe22fdf6f254608f4,Los+Angeles,+CA&cid=0,0,8543696439115982995&t=m&z=16&vpsrc=0&iwloc=A">View Map</a></p> <p><strong>Special Guests</strong></p> <p><strong><br /> </strong><img alt="bryan-wynia" height="220" src="http://www.gnomonschool.com/wp-content/uploads/bryan-wynia.jpg" title="bryan-wynia" width="170" /></p> <p><strong>Bryan Wynia</strong></p> <p>Bryan is currently working as a Senior Character Artist at Sony Santa Monica. He previously worked at Naughty Dog where he contributed to<em>Uncharted 2</em> and <em>Uncharted 3</em>. He also works as a freelance character designer and sculptor. Some of his clients include The Aaron Sims Company, Gentle Giant Studios, Electric Tiki, and Masked Avenger Studios.</p> <p>His work has been featured in Famous Monsters of Filmland, Imagine FX, 3D Artist, and 3D World. Bryan has a passion for teaching and sharing his creative process. He has taught classes and workshops at The Concept Design Academy, Gnomon School of Visual Effects, and Art Center College of Design.</p> <p>See Bryan’s work at <a href="http://bryanwynia.blogspot.com/">bryanwynia.blogspot.com</a>.</p> <p><img alt="sam-sharit" height="220" src="http://www.gnomonschool.com/wp-content/uploads/sam-sharit.jpg" title="sam-sharit" width="170" /></p> <p><strong>Sam Sharit</strong></p> <p>Samuel Sharit comes from a traditional art background and was a Fine Arts Major with an emphasis on painting. In 1999 he went digital with his work and scored his first game industry gig over 10 years ago. He has contributed on titles such as <em>Fallout 3</em>, <em>Ratchet and Clank</em>, <em>Resistance</em>, and many others. Outside of game art he has worked on music videos for the bands Mates of State, Blood Brothers, and Metallica. Sam currently works at Sony Santa Monica, and is also working on an animated piece for the Hammer Museum Los Angeles Biennial.</p> <p>See Sam’s work at <a href="http://arshlevon.cgsociety.org/gallery/">CGSociety</a>.</p> <p><img alt="danny-williams" height="220" src="http://www.gnomonschool.com/wp-content/uploads/danny-williams_2.jpg" title="danny-williams" width="170" /></p> <p><strong>Danny Williams</strong></p> <p>Danny Williams worked at Blue Sky Studios from 1997 until 2008, where he worked on commercials, was the environment modeling lead on <em>Ice Age</em> and worked on <em>Robots</em>, <em>Ice Age II</em> and briefly <em>Rio</em>. He was the character modeling supervisor for <em>Dr. Suess’ Horton Hears a Who!</em>.</p> <p>In 2008 he joined the team at ArenaNet and became a character artist working on <em>Guild Wars 2</em>. While at ArenaNet, he started <a href="http://www.lunchcrunch.org/">lunchcrunch.org</a>, showcasing the process of artists all over the world via time-lapse videos in ZBrush and other applications.</p> <p>In 2011, he returned to film at Dreamworks Animation as a modeler where he worked on <em>Puss In Boots</em> and <em>Turbo</em>. He is currently working in visual development on an unannounced project. Later in 2012, he is looking forward to working with Ryan Kingslien on creating educational content for<a href="http://www.creatureworkshops.com/">creatureworkshops.com</a> using ZBrush.</p> <p>See Danny’s work at <a href="http://pointpusher.blogspot.com/">pointpusher.blogspot.com</a>.</p>

<img alt="rne03_180x180" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="77" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/rne03_180x180-77x77.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" title="rne03_180x180" width="77" /><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6432" height="212" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/rne03_news.jpg" title="Creating Highly Realistic Composites," width="680" /><br /> Today, The Gnomon Workshop announces the release of the latest tutorial from VFX guru and compositing wizard Rob Nederhost. Titled <a href="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/product/973/" title="Creating Highly Realistic Composites Feeling Real vs Looking Real"><em>Creating Highly Realistic Composites</em></a>, Rob breaks down a production sequence from the feature film Priest, discussing how the addition of elements like atmosphere, particles, optical effects, camera distortion, chromatic aberration, and color adjustments lead to a composite that goes beyond just “looking’ real. These added elements make the composite “feel” real. Rob begins by dissecting the composite, demonstrating nodes and tools in Nuke® that help him quickly build and work on an extremely heavy shot. He then breaks down each element and shows how, with his techniques, he constructs the composite, element by element, until he has the desired look that was shown in the actual feature film. This title goes beyond just explaining the operations of various toolsets and focuses more on how a handful of tools are used to achieve a highly realistic composite for feature film.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/2012/03/creating-highly-realistic-composites-press-release/" target="_self">Read the Press Release</a><br /> This title is available as a digital download and is also featured in our training subscription plans.</p>

<img alt="The Art of Ctrl-Z at Gnomon Gallery" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="77" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ctrl-z-77x77.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" title="The Art of Ctrl-Z at Gnomon Gallery" width="77" /><p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6427" height="230" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ctrl-z.jpg" title="The Art of Ctrl-Z at Gnomon Gallery" width="602" /></p> <p>Join us at <a href="http://www.gnomongallery.com/">Gnomon Gallery</a> for a special group show featuring artwork from some of LA’s finest digital concept artist that have foregone traditional studio positions in favor of a gun-slinging, project-to-project environment, all while tackling their own personal endeavors. Speak first-hand with the artists about art direction and production illustration, who have contributed to blockbuster movies like <em>Avatar</em>, <em>Monster House</em> and the soon-to-be-released <em>Life of Pi</em>. Enjoy a first-hand look at characters, weapons and world creation for the upcoming game <em><a href="http://www.hawkengame.com/">Hawken</a></em> in addition to work from Naughty Dog, NC Soft and Blizzard. Artists showing include <a href="http://khangle.atspace.com/">Khang Le</a>, <a href="http://jparked.blogspot.com/">John Park</a>, <a href="http://catapusdesign.blogspot.com/">Kevin Chen</a>, <a href="http://www.drawthrough.com/">Scott Robertson</a>, <a href="http://www.matteshot.com/">Steve Messing</a> and <a href="http://www.artpad.org/">Jaime Jones</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.gnomongallery.com/">Gnomon Gallery</a><br /> Saturday, March 17th<br /> 7:00 P.M. - 11:00 P.M.</p> <p><a href="http://www.gnomongallery.com/">More information at the Gnomon Gallery »</a></p>

<img alt="Character Rigging: Production Practices and Techniques" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="77" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/asg01_180x180-77x77.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" title="Character Rigging: Production Practices and Techniques" width="77" /><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6414" height="212" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/asg01-news.jpg" title="Character Rigging: Production Practices and Techniques" width="680" /><br /> Today, The Gnomon Workshop is pleased to announce the highly anticipated release <a href="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/product/967/"><em>Character Rigging:<br /> Production Practices and Techniques</em></a> by Senior Character TD Axel Stanley-Grossman. The art of Character Rigging, a process often shrouded in technical terminology and proprietary scripts will be completely demystified in this set of lessons. The foundation of a solid character rig starts with the skeleton. Axel employs a number of cool production tricks necessary to construct a skeleton using production standards. His use of a few scripted tool sets allows him to demonstrate the importance in separating deformation and control rigs while using a multi-pose skeletal system. Once the skeleton is properly set up, IK and FK controls are added to the arms, legs and spine. Blending controls, stretchy IK, and “reverse foot” controls are then applied to provide more motion control for the animators. Axel then ties everything together by constructing control curves for the rig system to finalize the rig. Throughout the lectures, Axel will highlight the most common production issues faced when constructing a character rig, and show how to fix them using a simple set of scripts and a few proven production techniques.</p>

<img alt="LA modo User Group Meeting" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="77" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/modo-group-77x77.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" title="LA modo User Group Meeting" width="77" /><p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6174" height="230" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/modo-group.jpg" title="LA modo User Group Meeting" width="602" /></p> <p>Join us Friday, March 2nd for the third official Los Angeles modo User Group (<a href="https://plus.google.com/108848855753484070928/posts">LAMUG</a>) meeting. This meeting will feature presentations from <strong>Andy Brown</strong> of Luxology and <strong>Gary Fitzgerald</strong>, formerly from BMW Designworks. Gary will be discussing concept car design in a modo-based workflow.</p> <p>This user group is a collection of various artists that share a common interest in 3D, specifically in <a href="http://www.luxology.com/modo/">Luxology’s modo</a>. This meeting will allow artists to share techniques, experiences and talk about the usage of modo in a variety of disciplines. LAMUG members range from amateurs to long time professionals in various fields such concept art, television and film productions, visual effects, photography and games.<span id="more-2216"> </span></p> <p><strong>Schedule<br /> </strong>Friday, March 2nd<br /> <strong>7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.</strong>: LA modo User Group meeting </p> <p><strong>Where<br /> </strong>Gnomon School of Visual Effects<br /> 1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038<br /> <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=gnomon+school+google+maps&hl=en&ll=34.089506,-118.328955&spn=0.012955,0.018303&fb=1&gl=us&hq=gnomon+school&hnear=0x80c2c75ddc27da13:0xe22fdf6f254608f4,Los+Angeles,+CA&cid=0,0,8543696439115982995&t=m&z=16&vpsrc=0&iwloc=A">View Map</a></p>

<img alt="rne03_180x180" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="77" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/rne03_180x180-77x77.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 15px 15px 0;" title="rne03_180x180" width="77" /><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6164" height="287" src="http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/rne03_comingsoon.jpg" title="Achieving Highly Realistic Composites" width="680" /><br /> <strong>Instructor:</strong> Rob Nederhorst<br /> <strong>Format:</strong> DVD-Rom, Digital Download, Online Subscription</p>

Pick Me Up, the graphic art and illustration fair, has returned to Somerset House in London. Here's our pick of what's on show.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1db7abee/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Our+pick+of+the+Pick+Me+Up+illustration+and+graphics+exhibition+at+Somerset+House&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3346608%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Our+pick+of+the+Pick+Me+Up+illustration+and+graphics+exhibition+at+Somerset+House&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3346608%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200820636/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1db7abee/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200820636/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1db7abee/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/129200820636/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1db7abee/a2t.img" />

Our bodies may some day become extensions for smartphones and other devices, if a new Nokia patent is any indication.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1daf1796/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Nokia+patents+vibrating+smart+tattoos&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3346326%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Nokia+patents+vibrating+smart+tattoos&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3346326%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200778235/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1daf1796/kg/316/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200778235/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1daf1796/kg/316/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200778235/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1daf1796/kg/316/a2t.img" />

Adobe Systems has introduced tools for advertising across social networking sites and different devices, and also analytics to keep track of it all, the company said.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1daf1794/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Adobe+expands+Digital+Marketing+Suite&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3346325%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Adobe+expands+Digital+Marketing+Suite&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3346325%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200778234/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1daf1794/kg/294-319/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200778234/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1daf1794/kg/294-319/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200778234/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1daf1794/kg/294-319/a2t.img" />

Adobe has released a free beta of Photoshop CS6 ahead of the launch of Creative Suite 6. We take an in-depth look.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1dacbe06/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Adobe+launches+Photoshop+CS6%2C+releases+free+beta+version&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3346144%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Adobe+launches+Photoshop+CS6%2C+releases+free+beta+version&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3346144%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200741573/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1dacbe06/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200741573/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1dacbe06/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200741573/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1dacbe06/a2t.img" />

Michael Burns puts the beta of Photoshop CS6 through its paces to discover if it’s going to be a must-have upgrade<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1dacbe07/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Beta+preview%3A+Adobe+Photoshop+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3345799%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Beta+preview%3A+Adobe+Photoshop+CS6&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3345799%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200741572/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1dacbe07/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200741572/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1dacbe07/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200741572/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1dacbe07/a2t.img" />

CorelDraw X6 features a revamped typography engine, new colour styles and harmonies, and improved vector shaping tools.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1d9cdf98/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Corel+releases+CorelDraw+Graphics+Suite+X6+with+improved+type+and+colour+harmonies&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3345738%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Corel+releases+CorelDraw+Graphics+Suite+X6+with+improved+type+and+colour+harmonies&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3345738%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200637562/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d9cdf98/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200637562/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d9cdf98/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200637562/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d9cdf98/a2t.img" />

In an interview, Python inventor Guido van Rossum also highlights need for new branch and prospects for the language<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1d820329/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Python+programming+language+is+not+too+slow%2C+says+creator&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3345011%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Python+programming+language+is+not+too+slow%2C+says+creator&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3345011%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200399142/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d820329/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200399142/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d820329/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200399142/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d820329/a2t.img" />

A New York-based marketing firm is drawing the ire of online critics thanks to Homeless Hotspots, a recently ended homeless relief experiment at SXSW in Austin.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1d76fccd/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=BBH+draws+criticism+for+homeless+experiment+at+SXSW&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3344669%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=BBH+draws+criticism+for+homeless+experiment+at+SXSW&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3344669%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200320052/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d76fccd/kg/294-303/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200320052/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d76fccd/kg/294-303/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200320052/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d76fccd/kg/294-303/a2t.img" />

Pinterest, the popular pinboard site, will be getting redesigned profile pages.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1d76fcd2/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Pinterest+plans+profile+redesign&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3344661%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Pinterest+plans+profile+redesign&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3344661%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200320051/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d76fcd2/kg/300/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200320051/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d76fcd2/kg/300/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200320051/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d76fcd2/kg/300/a2t.img" />

Microsoft says its latest version of Internet Explorer clears out a lot of clutter and creates a more immersive browser experience when paired with Windows 8's touch environment.<img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/662/f/8410/s/1d76fcce/mf.gif" width="1" /><div class="mf-viral"><table border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Microsoft+discusses+interface+design+of+IE+10&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3344662%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" /></a></td><td valign="middle"><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Microsoft+discusses+interface+design+of+IE+10&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalartsonline.co.uk%2Fnews%2F%3Fnewsid%3D3344662%26olo%3Drss" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200320050/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d76fcce/kg/300/a2.htm"><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200320050/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d76fcce/kg/300/a2.img" /></a><img border="0" src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/129200320050/u/0/f/8410/c/662/s/1d76fcce/kg/300/a2t.img" />