Live Blogging 7

Restart was a success.

This is what this Brachiosaur would have looked like in the old days with my tiling its colour scheme.

This is what it looks like with my new separate manually drawn scale pattern layer.

You'll also note in this version how I've started to change the colour pattern within the brown.

What I'm liking about this new texturing system is I can set the base colours, and then add the colour patterns on top of them in the layer, and not have to worry about mistakes effecting my previous work.

So I've gotten the second layer done down to the neck.

Sadly I have a staff function to goto in an hour, so this will be my second last post of this particular arm of this live blogging circuit.

In this last hour try to get the stripping to the end of the tail.

Live Blogging 6

Due to eating, and a big Paintshop layer mistake (not sure on my part or the puters) only marginal progress this hour.

However this quick test render shows that my new scaling technique is producing some amazing results!

I'd like to show you how my old technique would look in comparison. However Paintshop JUST crashed in my attempt to tile the texture.

So in the next hour, restart my computer, and then add some variation to the brown

Live Blogging 5

Went with colour scheme 2 in the end, so now I'm adding details to the base shader.

However as there is no food in the house, I've had to cut this hour short (20 minutes of work), and am off to pick up food for both me and Lady R. Should resume work next hour.

Here is progress.

Live Blogging 4

Time to pick a colour scheme. As I'm playing with layers there is no limit to the number of colour schemes I can build into one file (though the file size goes up... not my concern at moment though!).



I've narrowed it down to 4 colours, but need to pick a scheme to turn into something exciting.

You have help have your say. Should it be:

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Live Blogging 3

Okay now we're rolling... or at least that was the theory until 5 minutes ago.

Applied scaling to all the other body parts.

Yes there is some differentiation between the various parts, but that is to be expected sadly. Without the ability to directly paint on the model this is always going to be an issue.

However when I switched it over to black and white I realized something incredibly frustrating!

I think the scales are too big...

If so that means the last 3 hours were for nothing!

What do you think?

I might switch over to colour patterns for the next hour, and see what the verdict is on the scale size.

Live Blogging 2

Second hour complete.

Still on the line with Peter, and we're helping each other not freak out at our art. In Peter's case it is continually forgetting to put the baby Barosaurus in his piece... Peter remember the baby already!

My problem has been a little more insidious...

In black and white you can see the issue quite sharply. The boundaries of my different scale sections. As I can't paint the scales on the model directly (I need to update software in the future) I've been using the grid to line up the worst of the stretch and distorted sections.


I'm pleased with where the tail meets the body. You can barely see it, even in black and white.

I tried a colour background to see how the scale issue would react.

Sadly the neck to body was still VERY pronounced.

The tail oddly enough was more visible here then in black and white (normally it is the other way around).

Playing with the skeleton and posing the model, I discovered what is causing my blurring effect on the bottom of the neck as well. Not sure I can fix it, but will see in the next hour.

I changed the neck to body connection point of the scales. Though it is still visible, it is not as much so, and I think I can live with this.

Again as you can (not hopefully :P) see it much less pronounced then in the previous version above were I had the different scale sizes meet.

This hour I intend on trying to fix the blur on the neck, and the blurring on the end of the tail.

From there I will start scaling on the other body parts...

Live Blogging 1

Here we go. Been working at it an hour, and frankly I can't tell you how it has gone.

It helps I'm on the line with Bond, but it also distracts.

Anyways here is how it has panned out...

First I set up my Brachiosaurus for shading.

This requires the application of this shader here, my new sector checker (idea curiosity of David)

Through the use of layers and transparencies over top of it, in Paintshop, I will create the ENTIRE colour scheme for this guy today.

The biggest challenge is going to be the different in the diameter of the neck and the body.

Already I'm finding there is a really annoying stretching/blurring of my scales on the neck.

Not sure if you can see it at this size, but trust me, it is there!

Rather then worry about it (as I'm going to have to) I decided to get the overall scale scheme sorted before trouble shooting.
So here is where I'm at. By the end of the second hour I aim to have scales on the tail too...

Live Blogging: Prologue

Just setting myself up for my live blogging tomorrow, and giving those who tune in an idea of what I'm aiming to accomplish.

Obviously I want to get a Sauropod done, but the extent to which has now come into question. Traumador's unexpected break out this week (will be talking about this experience soon) has thrown my entire life off the creative tracks. As of such my Sauropod may not be the prototype of drastically new 3D Dinosaurs I'd been hoping to make it.

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As many know this year I have been pushing my boundaries and comfort zone on nearly every ART Evolved gallery and piece (even my failed Pterosaur had a big modelling experiment in it). The Sauropod was possibly going to mark my biggest, as I'd hoped to tackle radically brand new methods of BOTH modelling and shading my Dinosaurs.

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Sadly the time taken up by Traumador has meant I haven't been able to play with the modelling technique enough to feel it'd make for entertaining live blogging material. So it will likely just be shading.

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On that note, here is where I am starting from. My Sauropod texture from over a year ago.

Up close here is what it looks like. Not particularly impressive. In fact I'd venture it sucks, but that is the point of tomorrow.

I have started to isolate the unique challenges of texturing a Sauropod. As their bodies, in particular, are long cylinders that go from thin to immensely fat any texture applied to them will stretch in weird ways. See here for what this rainbow version explains about my problems.

As I'm likely to be skipping the modelling experiment (as I think it will mostly be me reading the manual... not exactly exciting to read a live blog about), I will try to plug my finished Sauropod into my pre-made Jurassic Forest...

If I still somehow have some extra time after this, then I might build a co-occupant for my Sauropod.

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So I can't see how that won't occupy me for 7-10 hours. Hope you'll join me every hour or so for the progress.

The Great Final New Zealand Expedition Part 2

So we'd made it too the west coast, but due to the delays caused by my car we arrived in the total dark.

Meaning on day 2 we awoke not really knowing what was outside our tent...

We did know somewhere very close by was the ocean, as the sounds it made soothed us to sleep (though the exhaustion of the whole first day probably helped too!). Wandering a mere 20 meters from our tent this is the sight that welcomed us...

We didn't cover much actual distance on day 2. We DID see an awful lot though as we drove a 75km stretch of coast. We also checked out several of the dirt roads that led into the local forests.

Hopping in the car we began our tiki tour of the coast. The weather was outstanding as you can see. Not a single cloud in the sky, and it stayed that way all day.

I feel in love with the area instantly, as should be evident from the local vegetation.

I specifically wanted to hit around Greymouth due to the plants. My current book Ghosts of Gondwana goes into a lot of detail about NZ's plant record (and how most of it is million year old stuff blown over from Australia). In this area of the west coast though, survives some of the few plants that are truly descended from before NZ split from Gondwana in the time of the Dinosaurs.

I was quite pleased to say the least.

We spent most of the day just driving and checking out the local forests and swamps. It was awe inspiring.

The only single "attraction" I had hoped to see, was the Pancake rocks. Walking with Dinosaur fans should recognize them, and they were just too cool in person! If you subbed the flocks of Terns soaring about the place with Pterosaurs (an automatic with an imagination the size of mine!) it was like stepping back in time!

While at the rocks, I had to hit the bathroom. While I was doing my thing, this bird wandered up to check out Lady R outside. Lady R recognized it was significant, but didn't know what type of bird it was...

Coming out of the washroom, I was dumbfound to see Lady R right up and close to a Weka. Not that the proximity was the surprising thing, Weka's are notorious for their curiosity and feisty, bold personalities. A friend of mine has a picture in which 2 wild ones are crawling all over him.

It was rather I had been told (misleadingly it turns out) that Wekas were extinct on the mainland, and now only currently existed on predator free islands. In reality it turns out that they are not threatened on such islands, but clusters of them endure on the mainland. The west coast being the largest of these.

This made my day... Saying something as the forests and Pancake rocks were huge highlights of my whole 3 years in New Zealand!

We then swung back through Greymouth to briefly check out the largest centre of the west coast. Not that it is big, even by New Zealand standards. It certainly isn't my favourite town, but its surroundings would easily entice me to move there (if I were staying in NZ).

Lady R was very fond of this fisherman statue, which reminded her of a sculpture her mother owns (though their family version always had a Penguin between its legs I'm told).

We wrapped up the day with a visit to "Shantytown", a Goldmining themed heritage park. It was quite nice. Possibly a little overpriced, but not at all unenjoyable.

I've seen several similar era recreations, but this one took the cake for having what I associate as prairie and mountain buildings and settings, and sticking them in a prehistoric jungle!

We then casually made our way to Hokitika and set up camp. While there we befriended an Australian couple, and took them and their daughter to see the local glowworm dell. Though much bigger then Dunedin's local glowworm site, it was no glowworm cave. At least it was free!

This brought day 2 to a nice conclusion.

The Great Final New Zealand Expedition Part 1

My apologies for the delay in the continuation of my west coast camping trip.

My internet life has been hit by something of a fantastic "good" natural disaster. Peter alikens it to an avalanche of chocolate, which would be great for those who survive it, but still be deadly for those crushed by it.

Traumador has finally made his big break, I'd always been hoping for... However I'm just not prepared for it being this week, and I've been struggling to keep up with it all.

Despite this I've opted to hammer through the camping story (as I've had two of my people actively skype me for the story).

So as you'll recall the car broke down the morning of our intended departure. By the time it'd been repaired we were no longer in the morning, rather early afternoon a good 5-6 hours after we'd planned to depart. As there were a number of things on east side (our side) of the mountain pass we were going to have to cross, we thought we might push the trip back a weekend.

However when forecasts (which are out right now outside!) indicated the weather would be awful in a week, and plus we were going to be depressed hulks of sadness all weekend, it was decided screw it. Why not just go for it!

So with the threat of sunset looming on the mountain pass, we booked it up the main highway of the south island, till just short of Christchurch as which point we headed inland towards Arthur's Pass. An area neither me nor Lady R had been too before...

Despite the lovely weather of the day, some slight systems had passed through the area. It still being just early spring down here resulted in snow dumped on the mountains. Lovely to look at, as you can see here by our approach to the pass. However if we had hit earlier in the day before it melted it would have made the higher roads inaccessible to the OX (my car... my license plate starts with these two letters).

Fortunately the roads had been cleared by a days worth of traffic and sun. So our late departure had one benefit. Apparently until 2pm the topmost road was closed.

Despite this one benefit, the lowering sun caught us at my personal key destination on the east portion of Arthur's Pass. That was the Castle Hill rocks. As we arrived the sun had set on the majority of the section. These were a key location in Narnia, and a minor one in Lord of the Rings. I have at least seen them. Sadly didn't get to go as up close or get many pictures of them as I'd hoped. Can't win them all I guess... and I at least DID see them!

There were quite a few cool little limestone outcrops in the area still in the light at least.
Anyways we hit the summit of the pass as proper sunset, and as we descended onto the west coast we did so in the dark.

Arriving at our camp ground literally as the office was closing we just managed to nab a site (though with our morning we'd earned the karma shift). Thankfully we'd bought a great new tent just for this trip. One of its key features being how easy it is to setup. In the pitch black, minus headlamps and OX's headlights, we had the whole thing up in just over 10 minutes.

We feel asleep knowing nothing about our surroundings, other then we were right beside the ocean. Little did we know the wonders we were going to wake up to!

Stay tuned for part 2