IZation Labs

For one of my SAG (that’s Simulation, Animation, and Gaming) classes this semester I had to create a flash animation based on a child’s fairy tale story. The story I randomly chose was named ‘The Three Feathers’. After picking it we wrote out a basic synopsis of the story, did some character drawings and storyboards, and set to work. We had much more than a month to do it. I waited until I had a little less than 2 days worth of ‘time’ until the submission cut off, then got to work. First, I worked on the backgrounds. (Click the images below to make them larger.)

The evening before the project was due, I realized that I had managed to nearly overachieve myself into oblivion. I had made it too long, too clunky, and had high goals and aspirations that my talents in Adobe CS4 wouldn’t allow me to reach. In my mind, the project had been set up and planned like the ReElect the Dead film we created last summer. In the depths of my mind, I had known that was a bad idea. The next thing I worked on was the script and music.

I resolved that I would not sleep until it was finished, or finished enough to show in class. I animated. I fiddled with the software, trying to understand the keyframes and motion tweens. Trying most of all to figure out how to sync the audio track to the animation itself.

I did not sleep that night.

At 11:45 the following morning a haggard, bearded, dead exhausted man was sitting at his desk, sighing at his unfinished work (unfinished as far as personal standards are concerned) and packing up his gear, ready to head to his noon class.

Click here to read the rest and watch the final animation

Below is a sketch and very basic plan for one of my more well thought out projects, one I’ve wanted to start working on for quite some time. I wont go into detail here, as the information is all in the image below (click on it for high resolution, or download it if need be). The gist of the project? A very powerful, highly customizable, home made remote control based on the inexpensive and versatile Arduino microcontroller and XBee wireless modules.

Thoughts and suggestions? Leave a comment on this article or head over to the project forum post for even more information and an ongoing discussion.

**Quick Edit; Forum registration has been fixed and is now automatic, so go ahead and register if you’ve been waiting due to the hassle!**

–Lace

On a slightly random note, I have recently developed a fascination with Chain Mail. No, not the email kind. There’s nothing very interesting there. Making old-school chain mail on the other hand, now THAT can be addictive. Here are some photos from the learning experience that is weaving European 4 in 1 chain mail.

Now that I know I enjoy it, I’ll be making my own rings instead of purchasing them from a seller on eBay. 1100 stainless steel 16 gauge rings cost me nearly 20 dollars. 200 feet of stainless steel 16 gauge wire can cost me as little as 6 dollars or less depending on where I purchase it. That comes out to around over 4000 rings for nearly a quarter of the price. Expect more pictures in the future.

Cheers!

Lace

With the freedom of summer break coming to a close, I’m going to be taking some time off of work in a few days before classes start back up again so that I can

1. see my friends
2. work on my projects
3. enjoy what little free time I have left!

In light of this, I have decided to post some pictures of one of my newest miniature projects, which though not quite complete is still noteworthy. Yesterday one of my closest friends and I hung out all evening. We were acting our usual childish selves, watching action movies and cartoons, and finally we decided to finish off the night by building a miniaturized arc reactor look alike from the movie ‘Iron Man’.

Don’t miss out on the rest of the pictures, click here to read on!