FallibleDragon ([info]fallibledragon) wrote,
@ 2005-10-29 12:56:00
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Current mood: relaxed
Current music:Bob Seger - Give me the Beat Boys

update
Hehh, I guess I should probably update this thing :)

Well, I applied for a course about a year ago, almost immediately after hearing about it. Basically, it gives professional IT certifications that would really help my CV. So I called 'em a few times, making sure they knew I was interested, but they didn't have the schedule worked out for the next year etc. yet, so I just had to leave my details and hope for the best. Eventually, I figured it wasn't happening, and forgot all about it. Then, about six weeks ago, they called me for an interview. Went, but they thought other people needed the course more. They put me on a reserve list anyway. And then, after a week, three people had dropped out, so I was in :)

Four weeks later, I've just finished an MCP exam, with really good marks, and I'm expecting to do OK in the next four exams as well. If I do, it'll really boost my employability, and earning potential. Even just this first one has been great for four week's work :)

So it's a full time course. Next week I'm off for halloween, and really looking forward to the break after all that intensive studying :)

My dad's in hospital right now, with heart problems. He's having an angioplasty (where they insert a little balloon into the blood vessels around the heart to widen them) soon, but that's a fairly common and safe procedure these days, from what I gather :)

Anyways. Since I have some time off, I'm looking forward to some modelling in blender this week :) For now, I'm trying to figure out how lofting works in blender, for a sailboat I want to model, and since I can't get terragen to load, this blender-only landscape tutorial looks like something I want to try too:

http://www.linuxgraphic.org/section3d/blender/pages/didacticiels/paysages/index-ang.html

Maybe my boat will fit nicely in a scene like that when (if!) I'm finally done :)


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[info]locoloco
2005-10-29 03:40 pm UTC (link)
Gosh this modelling looks so complicated!

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[info]fallibledragon
2005-10-29 05:20 pm UTC (link)
Hehheh, it can be :)

But it's really fascinating -- kind of like a combination of sculpture/architecture, film-making/animation, and painting, all rolled into one new artform.

You can make all these things, that are works of art in their own right, like a little lamp or something, taking all the time to get it just perfectly shaped and coloured, and getting the materials to look realistic. And then, you can use it as a prop later, in a movie scene or something, where it looks totally innocent, until a camera happens to get up close, and all the details show :)

And then there's all the character development stuff. Like, you can sit and design characters -- how they'll look, how they move based on bone structure etc.

Well, that's the theory, at least. It does take years to master all that stuff. But I guess that's why I like it -- it's a life-long pursuit :)

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[info]locoloco
2005-10-29 08:38 pm UTC (link)
It sounds really creative - the sort of thing that is only bounded by your own imagination! I suppose the technical side (or what I saw on your link to linuxgraphic) looked a bit scary... is it the sort of thing that once you get started it all falls into place, or do you have to battle against gremlins to complete your idea as you have visualised it?

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[info]fallibledragon
2005-10-29 10:05 pm UTC (link)
Good question :)

You're right, that can be a problem at times. Blender in particular, the free program, is a bit like that. But for the most part, yes, it all falls into place. Like a lot of those weird and complicated looking buttons are really quite simple once you understand the basic principles of what you're doing. The main things are: the coordinates of things, and how they're joined together -- tricky, but really just an advanced version of joining up dots to draw things; the materials on things, which is like setting colours and bumpiness and stuff; lighting and cameras -- just like making a movie; and animation, which is just how things change over time. Colours come in Red, Green, and Blue, so you see those options a lot, but they make lots of sense once you get used to it. Likewise, the intensity of a light is just like operating a dimmer switch or something :)

Other programs, like Cinema4D, are good for beginners I guess. But blender is very fast and does help you to work quickly in some ways, once you get used to it :)

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[info]thinkzinc
2005-10-31 02:13 am UTC (link)
Cool, enjoy your break!
It's always a slightly apprehensive time when family are in hospital, but as you say, angioplasties are very safe and effective, so it's great that your dad is getting the procedure - hope it helps him feel a lot better very soon! :)

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