I realised I have not updated this blog for a long time.
For the very end of 2008 and early 2009, I will be adding more screencasts on youtube (I have some new programmes to share to those who may not know them).
My interested are expanding beyond 3d graphics. I am interested in applying the technology to develop real world shapes/sculptures and kinetic works. I also want to explore how 3d graphics fits into a wider creative field including, fine arts, design, etc.
Perhaps for many of you also, I am fed up with seeing too many 'photorealistic' orcs and demons in zbrush etc. I feel that 3d graphics needs to break away from this stigma. It would be interesting to hear anyone else's views on this.
An interesting post I have contributed to is on the sculpture site-
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
ProBoolean 3ds Max for 3D realtime/game engine work....
I made this new screencast. Its all about how to use the 3DS Max pro boolean tool to quickly make meshes buy fusing primitives/meshes together and then using the proboolean tool with 'make quad' ticked which proves to work in game engines as I show in this screencast. I had problems with the sound for this. It was fine on my pc but when on youtube the audio jumped. For some reason youtube didnt recognise the start logo, sort it out Youtube, please!
Saturday, 5 July 2008
The classic list for 'starving developers'....
Dont let the name put you off, if you are not a starving developer.
If we always buy the most expensive softwares, we would often buy products that do more than we need so I would really recomend this link by 'Orange Brat' Also a talented indie game developer-
The Starving Developer's Quickstart Guide
It is on the Conitec 3D Gamestudio website. I use this game engine for some work, as is evident from this list, the community is very supportive.
If we always buy the most expensive softwares, we would often buy products that do more than we need so I would really recomend this link by 'Orange Brat' Also a talented indie game developer-
The Starving Developer's Quickstart Guide
It is on the Conitec 3D Gamestudio website. I use this game engine for some work, as is evident from this list, the community is very supportive.
New screencast, making dirtmaps in Zbrush and Max
I just posted this new screencast to youtube. Its about the quick method I usually use to paint dirt onto my meshes in order to make them dirty/worn/aged etc.
On youtube the screencast is in three parts. This requires Zbrush and 3DS Max.
If you dont have Zbrush, I think there are some cheaper alternatives, I will have a search and post here.
Blender
This is good if you dont have Max. You can always also, make dirt maps like this by exporting the uvw map into a 2d paint package, painting the dirt on that saving and updating the texture in max to see the results.
All ok, I prefer Zbrush as its more immediate.
If you want an 800x600 clearer version of this, I can send if you make a donation of over $6! :)
On youtube the screencast is in three parts. This requires Zbrush and 3DS Max.
If you dont have Zbrush, I think there are some cheaper alternatives, I will have a search and post here.
Blender
This is good if you dont have Max. You can always also, make dirt maps like this by exporting the uvw map into a 2d paint package, painting the dirt on that saving and updating the texture in max to see the results.
All ok, I prefer Zbrush as its more immediate.
If you want an 800x600 clearer version of this, I can send if you make a donation of over $6! :)
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Free 2.5 classic point and click games creator.....
I remember looking at this a few years back-
Wintermute
Its a 2.5 D game creator and its free.
Since last time I looked it seems as if a few commercial games have used it including this recent one which achieved good reviews-
The Lost Crown
It is great that 2d/2.5d point and click type game still have a market.
There are a number of other similar creators but this one seams good compared to the rest. Its a great way for people on limited budget to create an adventure game and get it onto the market.
Some of you 30 plus may remember the cool LucasFilm games in the 90s, such as Zack Mackracken and the Alien Mindbenders. That game was great, looking back at the screenshots now it looks really dated (much more than in my memory of it). However, the gameplay and storyline made it great. A game like this with updated graphic backdrops would be more than possible now I beleive even with a one person setup!
I am just going through the tutorials and seems easy to use and not much need for scripting, although the scripting system itself seems like simple Javascript.
Wintermute
Its a 2.5 D game creator and its free.
Since last time I looked it seems as if a few commercial games have used it including this recent one which achieved good reviews-
The Lost Crown
It is great that 2d/2.5d point and click type game still have a market.
There are a number of other similar creators but this one seams good compared to the rest. Its a great way for people on limited budget to create an adventure game and get it onto the market.
Some of you 30 plus may remember the cool LucasFilm games in the 90s, such as Zack Mackracken and the Alien Mindbenders. That game was great, looking back at the screenshots now it looks really dated (much more than in my memory of it). However, the gameplay and storyline made it great. A game like this with updated graphic backdrops would be more than possible now I beleive even with a one person setup!
I am just going through the tutorials and seems easy to use and not much need for scripting, although the scripting system itself seems like simple Javascript.
Thursday, 26 June 2008
How to Import 3DS meshes into 3D Gamestudio
I made this screencast as to how to optimise 3DS meshes with regard to importing them into Conitec's 3D Gamestudio. When I first used Gamestudio I found it a delay to work out how to import 3ds meshes especially with a texture. I hope this may save you some time.
n.b.-One point I did not mention is that the 3ds mesh should be at 0 , 0 , 0 coordinates. If not it causes a problem when moving or scaling the meshes in WED (Gamestudio Level Editor). The pivot centres, seem to remain at 0 , 0 , 0 in Max while the mesh remains
It helps greatly if people comment or rate the tutorial. I higher resolution version 1024x768 is available for a small donation.
This screencast will be part of my 'Making of Cadiz' instructional videos which will take you through how I made the Cadiz exe that can be downloaded from my site-
http://www.croftongraphics.co.uk/Cadiz.rar
n.b.-One point I did not mention is that the 3ds mesh should be at 0 , 0 , 0 coordinates. If not it causes a problem when moving or scaling the meshes in WED (Gamestudio Level Editor). The pivot centres, seem to remain at 0 , 0 , 0 in Max while the mesh remains
It helps greatly if people comment or rate the tutorial. I higher resolution version 1024x768 is available for a small donation.
This screencast will be part of my 'Making of Cadiz' instructional videos which will take you through how I made the Cadiz exe that can be downloaded from my site-
http://www.croftongraphics.co.uk/Cadiz.rar
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
An interesting 'chaos' programme while youtubing....
I found this video while 'youtubing' late tonight-
The programme can be downloaded here-
http://www.btinternet.com/~ndesprez/
It uses mathematical equations to model obects, as they user says 'strange attractors' I think they are based on Chaos theory. I will try to look at the programme, in the FAQ apparently no export option at the moment. It would be great to be able to export these shapes to a 3d modelling package or try to optimise them for a game engine. Or even use a CAM to make them in real life (real expensive too!).
The programme can be downloaded here-
http://www.btinternet.com/~ndesprez/
It uses mathematical equations to model obects, as they user says 'strange attractors' I think they are based on Chaos theory. I will try to look at the programme, in the FAQ apparently no export option at the moment. It would be great to be able to export these shapes to a 3d modelling package or try to optimise them for a game engine. Or even use a CAM to make them in real life (real expensive too!).
Saturday, 21 June 2008
Toe dipping with programming....
As a 3d artist and also part time artist making real things, I often feel restricted by the limitations of programmes such as 3ds max to enable more interactivity.
I use 3d Gamestudio A7, with the help of a scripter when needed.
However, I have been looking into Java
and also Actionscript 3 with the free programme http://www.flashdevelop.org/
I also have just found this site- http://processing.org/
'Processing is an open source programming language and environment for people who want to program images, animation, and interactions. It is used by students, artists, designers, researchers, and hobbyists for learning, prototyping, and production.'
This all seems great and I hope to go through it all. I often wonder why 3d and 2d digital artists are not educated/self educated with scripting/programming.
Fair enough, for mammoth programming tasks you leave it to the pro programers. However, for easier work that would include most interactivity for digital artistic displays, knowing just some code or knowing how to put pre made code blocks together is a great tool for 3d and 2d artists.
After all, architects are usually trained in part of there course with regard to materials/structural loads etc. Even, sculptors, furniture designers etc need to have at least some training and discipline in engineering principles.
When I studied interior design, my favourite architects were the ones who integrated engineering into their works such as Sir Norman Foster or Santiago Calatrava. If I can remember correctly, Calatrava was trained in both architecture and engineering. Which allows him to push structural expression to its limit.
So why not digital artists? Let us go for it, what do we have to lose?
I use 3d Gamestudio A7, with the help of a scripter when needed.
However, I have been looking into Java
and also Actionscript 3 with the free programme http://www.flashdevelop.org/
I also have just found this site- http://processing.org/
'Processing is an open source programming language and environment for people who want to program images, animation, and interactions. It is used by students, artists, designers, researchers, and hobbyists for learning, prototyping, and production.'
This all seems great and I hope to go through it all. I often wonder why 3d and 2d digital artists are not educated/self educated with scripting/programming.
Fair enough, for mammoth programming tasks you leave it to the pro programers. However, for easier work that would include most interactivity for digital artistic displays, knowing just some code or knowing how to put pre made code blocks together is a great tool for 3d and 2d artists.
After all, architects are usually trained in part of there course with regard to materials/structural loads etc. Even, sculptors, furniture designers etc need to have at least some training and discipline in engineering principles.
When I studied interior design, my favourite architects were the ones who integrated engineering into their works such as Sir Norman Foster or Santiago Calatrava. If I can remember correctly, Calatrava was trained in both architecture and engineering. Which allows him to push structural expression to its limit.
So why not digital artists? Let us go for it, what do we have to lose?
Thursday, 19 June 2008
A good open source screen capture software...
I came across this youtube video while searching for a good screen capture/screencast software that is open source. Camtasia is quite pricey and with all my 3ds max upgrades for subscription and pc depreciation, I decided to see if I could find a pretty decent open source screen capture software to save the pennies. This youtube video explains the best settings for the software-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHX-ArCTCD8 he also has some other really good tutorials.
On that video tutorial you will find valuable settings for the latest version of CamStudio
which I believe is 2.5 beta, correct me if I am wrong-
http://camstudio.org/blog/general/camstudio-25-beta-1-released
The guy 'jimmyrcom' who gives the tutorial has top ranking and a lot of really useful screencasts on a broad range of IT applications, I would recomend checking his stuff out.
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Making of Realtime Cadiz coming soon....
I am embarking on videocast productions for knowledge transeferel to fellow humans!
One of the first ones I plan to make is the making of the Cadiz project.
In order to make good quality screencasts, I need to get a good quality microphones, so have been searching sites such as Amazon. I think I have found one that is ok and not too pricey, I mean the quality has to be good but Im not going to be singing on it just yet, just talking.
Some of the vidcasts will be free and donation based, others will be able to be purchased with paypal. I want to balance the videocasts with creative inspiration and technical information.
I dont just want to make it purely technical. There are a lot of good purely technical casts out there. I want to share my knowledge of 3ds max and numerous other solutions that I have gained over the past 9-10 years.
Also, the Cadiz exe with the download link in the previous post has been re edited as some programming had to be changed so it works with more ATI cards, Chris B recognised the problem and quickly solved it. I would recommend him to anyone needing a programmer/scripter- http://www.swollen-eyeballs.org/
One of the first ones I plan to make is the making of the Cadiz project.
In order to make good quality screencasts, I need to get a good quality microphones, so have been searching sites such as Amazon. I think I have found one that is ok and not too pricey, I mean the quality has to be good but Im not going to be singing on it just yet, just talking.
Some of the vidcasts will be free and donation based, others will be able to be purchased with paypal. I want to balance the videocasts with creative inspiration and technical information.
I dont just want to make it purely technical. There are a lot of good purely technical casts out there. I want to share my knowledge of 3ds max and numerous other solutions that I have gained over the past 9-10 years.
Also, the Cadiz exe with the download link in the previous post has been re edited as some programming had to be changed so it works with more ATI cards, Chris B recognised the problem and quickly solved it. I would recommend him to anyone needing a programmer/scripter- http://www.swollen-eyeballs.org/
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Cadiz Realtime 3D Exe now as a download....
I have put my Cadiz realtime exe online as a download, please respect its copywrite but feel free to enjoy and comment on-
I am also making a screencast about the making of this Cadiz project that will give some cool tips and techical information regarding how this was made. The full screencast will be able to be purchased via paypal while free clips will be on youtube.
Here is another screenshot-
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Abstraction and balance...
I am currently working on abstraction drawings with a view to develop these compositions into sculptural reliefs. I will post some examples soon.
Although they are largely non representational, many of their shapes and forms have been influenced by living in the highlands and also cultural infuences from film and technology.
I have no hesitation to make marks and then rub out again and again, to discover the underlying balance with each piece. While very faint marks leave a history of previous marks. Working on them, I try to free my mind from concentrating on them as it were a tight illustration, and sometime conciously bash out parts of it that I feel are contrived.
I am currently interested in making the compositions to have a kind of balance and 'pleasing' feel that will enhance interiors. All very modernistic from the 1950s school of thought.
However, I strongly hope these pieces not too have a pastiche feel to them sand be raw and very much of this age. Somewhow integrating internet and technological aesthetic forms of today with an underlying raw natural form and rythym underneath.
Watch this space for some examples....
Although they are largely non representational, many of their shapes and forms have been influenced by living in the highlands and also cultural infuences from film and technology.
I have no hesitation to make marks and then rub out again and again, to discover the underlying balance with each piece. While very faint marks leave a history of previous marks. Working on them, I try to free my mind from concentrating on them as it were a tight illustration, and sometime conciously bash out parts of it that I feel are contrived.
I am currently interested in making the compositions to have a kind of balance and 'pleasing' feel that will enhance interiors. All very modernistic from the 1950s school of thought.
However, I strongly hope these pieces not too have a pastiche feel to them sand be raw and very much of this age. Somewhow integrating internet and technological aesthetic forms of today with an underlying raw natural form and rythym underneath.
Watch this space for some examples....
Crofton Graphics Blog started...
This blog is aimed as an extension to my business as part of my plan to extend Crofton Graphics beyond just offering a service to a place on the www for resources, advice and also to enable me to link up with other people in my industry.
In the future, I will be creating video casts to explain certain concepts and technical solutions in programmes such as 3DS Max, Z brush etc. Many of these will be free. Other resources will be sold for a small amount of money and will be able to be purchased online.
Finally, 3D, design and art creation is a passion for me. If this blog starts to sounds like a terrible 'round robin' business promotional blog please let me know!
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my realtime recording below of my latest realtime 3D level which is a simulation of Cadiz, the exe can also be downloaded from my site.
In the future, I will be creating video casts to explain certain concepts and technical solutions in programmes such as 3DS Max, Z brush etc. Many of these will be free. Other resources will be sold for a small amount of money and will be able to be purchased online.
I often feel its a shame with small internet businesses such as my own, one has to somewhow offer a cold window that just tries to sell my work and get more work. I want to do more than this.
As some of you may know, as well as offering a design service, I work on art works including abstract sculpture, drawings and also architectural pen and ink sketches. I really beleive that these balance my more technical 3D work and both disciplines reinforce each other.
Finally, 3D, design and art creation is a passion for me. If this blog starts to sounds like a terrible 'round robin' business promotional blog please let me know!
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my realtime recording below of my latest realtime 3D level which is a simulation of Cadiz, the exe can also be downloaded from my site.
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