Ubuntu

So this quarter my classes include 2 challenging ones, which will focus on writing shaders and materials with code, and my senior film.  It also includes one that focuses on Photoshop for photography, something I am already familiar with but it gives me the chance to make something with my skills that is all my own!  So you can expect to see a lot of pictures this quarter, but also work in progress toward my film.  It is going to be chronicled better on the official blog for the film, so I will probably include more of my other work here, such a the work I'm doing for Michelle Ionescu's senior film which I will be providing a link to the blog here as soon as it is up later this weekend.

So that leaves my materials class, which is going to be filled with a lot of code and scripting.  I'm actually learning Linux so I don't think I will show any of that stuff, but I will talk about it some.  It is actually kind of fun to navigate in Linux.  We are using Redhat at school, and most studios customize whatever Linux they are running, so it is best to be familia with more than one flavor.  To that end, I have spent the last few days preparing my computer and installing the latest version of Ubuntu on it, a more consumer level flavor of Linux.  I actually set it up to dual boot, but now I have to decide how far to take this.  What software should I put on which side?  How can I take advantage of Ubuntu the most?

Well for now I going to be getting a lot of practice with Linux, so don't be too eager to see any materials and shaders work just yet, it will come in due time.

Fall 2013, SCAD

Well I took a bit of an hiatus during the summer, but I'm back, and ready to go!  The first day of classes started this week, and it is going to be an intense quarter.

First, I have actually been doing some work over the summer, collaborating with others and planning things out.  I did manage to finish one book, and start another (look at the Dresden Files), finished a slew of games, volunteered at SIGGRAPH 2013 as a Student Volunteer, visited Downtown Disney in Anaheim, and helped my brother move into a new house many states away.  I am currently working on putting together a collaborative short animation to do for fun, but the majority of the work will start next summer, since I now have a huge animation project to continue.

This quarter at SCAD, I am taking a Models and Shaders programming class, which teaches Pixar's Renderman, and i am super excited!  I also have a Photography class; always a good way to expand your horizons and get a different view of lighting and composition.  Finally, I am taking Senior I, which is actually the second out of 4 classes dedicated to working on the senior film at SCAD.  The first class was Concept development, followed by 2 quarters of production (Senior I and II), and finally finishing with Post-Production.  I am also helping a few others with their projects, trying to get more lighting and texturing/shading behind my belt.

Since we are starting actual production now, and I already have some people interested in helping with my project, I am using a free online tool called Trello to keep organized.  It works on any web browser, plus it has apps for my iPad and iPhone!  If you are ever working on a project, especially a collaborative one, check it out!  It even connects to Google Docs and Dropbox.  I am also creating a new blog to chronicle the development and production of the short.  I have added a new tab to my blog, but you can also check it out at LastLightFilm.blogspot.com.

So for now I will leave you with a picture of a lantern I've been working on for another senior project by Michelle Ionescu.  I'll post a link when I get one from her.  I mainly focused on the glass, getting a bumpy frosted glass feel.  Enjoy!