thedude.com

After Hours in the Virtual Lab

thedude — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:02:36 +0000

While working on a visualization for a new lab space, out of curiosity, I decided to render the scene after dark, and was quite surprised by the results.

The dramatic light provided almost entirely by a single omni-directional shadow-casting light somehow makes the scene look more real than it does with the lights on. It draws your attention to the main subject in a subtle, but interesting way. Do you feel manipulated? Mission accomplished.

Cinema4D UV Mapping

thedude — Wed, 09 May 2012 04:07:34 +0000

Today I learned the best way to wrap a 2D graphic around a 3D object in Cinema4D. I also played a bit with instancing. Here is the result of today’s experimentation.

I am so impressed with this renderer! You have to admit, the realism here is amazing – and I can make it better without too much effort. This makes thedude (and the Marketing Group) very happy. ;)

xfinity Logo Design

thedude — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:08:35 +0000

You can learn a lot about the process of designing a logo by tracing one.

The design appears to be based on the ubiquitous DIN typeface – so popular it has its own web site. Simple tweaks were made to every character but the “n”, and the dots were dropped. You can see the minor changes in this screenshot. I can’t find anything on the web to indicate how much this identity change cost, but I’m sure the number is staggering. I think I’m in the wrong business.

That’s Just Dandie

thedude — Sun, 06 May 2012 19:08:03 +0000

Kelly poses with one of Xenophon’s newest therapy horses on a beautiful Sunday morning.

Oh – Kelly likes this shot too. Something about Dandie’s ears being pricked.

Step Into My Virtual Studio

thedude — Sat, 05 May 2012 20:57:38 +0000

I was asked to photograph packaging for one of our products this weekend. The Ion Ampliseq Library Kit packaging is small – just 2-1/4″ x 3-1/2″. When photographed with a macro lens, every little imperfection becomes obvious. Depth of focus becomes an issue. To further complicate things, I don’t have a studio, so I would not be able to reproduce scene lighting exactly for the next shot – and there certainly will be more boxes to shoot.

What to do? The answer is obvious – it’s time for a little Cinema4D!

Now that I have this model in my favorite 3D application, I can reproduce the lighting perfectly, render at any angle in any environment, and perhaps most importantly, easily change out the labeling. All I need to do is scan the next box, slap the scanned images onto the 3D model and render!

Unfortunately, now that Ion Torrent is a division of Life Technologies, our once clean packaging is beginning to look a bit like the it’s been designed by Microsoft.

Practice Makes Perfect

thedude — Fri, 04 May 2012 03:13:16 +0000

I see so much on TV and in other media that was almost certainly created with Cinema4D. So, to practice, I copy it — with varying degrees of accuracy.

To create this, I Googled a logo, downloaded and traced it in FreeHand (Yes, I’m old-school.) The resulting .AI file was merged, extruded and rendered in Cinema4D.

It all gets easier every time, and it’s a ton of fun!

OK – I’m Just Showing Off Now

thedude — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:21:28 +0000

Here’s the latest speed test from my home network. I know – ridonculius, eh?

How Does This Happen?

thedude — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 23:23:57 +0000

I just saw this in front of our office. Great googly-moogly!

On Location

thedude — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:06:59 +0000

Our trip to Death Valley was not strictly for pleasure — we had an ulterior motive. Chris has just made a remarkable meteorological discovery that will be ‘officially’ announced by the United Nations WMO (World Meteorological Organization) later this spring. It’s all very exciting, and helps to explain the film crew trailing him in the shots below.

Vegas Interiors

thedude — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:03:13 +0000

Shot at City Center and Bellagio.