IZation Labs

It’s been ages since my last update, and I apologize for that. Things have been rather busy at school, and it’s not about to slow down as exams move closer and closer.

However, I do have for your viewing pleasure a test/demo reel of Blender works that I’ve been doing for my upcoming animated short ‘r0B’, a story about a little robot who has to fix a broken down assembly line before the clock runs out. These shots were mainly all tests of some kind, the last one is my favorite, which shows the overall environment to date, as well as some test camera animations with random noise added to the movement for realism. This is an assignment for my SAG 245 class at Eastern Michigan University, which is due Tuesday, November 30th. I’ve got my work cut out for me.

-Lace

Here’s a quick look at a small piece of a larger project I’m working on. (Probably the largest I’ve ever tackled at IZation Labs.) Pictured is a wooden box that was machined using our CNC router here at the shop. Inside is the power supply and control circuitry for a set of 3 CNC stepper motors, of the same kind used on the CNC router itself.

In the end I’m very satisfied with the build quality of the enclosure, it’s much safer than our current power supply, which I won’t post pictures of because photos alone may be enough to electrocute our readers into the next zip code. Next for the box is some (hopefully) light troubleshooting on the electrical end, and then refocusing the remains of my shop time on the larger side of this project. I’ll keep you up to date.

-Lace

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Alright, I have all of five minutes to write this post. The reason I only have five minutes is that in five minutes and a few odd seconds I will be totally enveloped in watching the new open movie from the Blender Foundation which has just released! At that point, for all intents and purposes, I will be dead to the world until the film is over. You can download it free, online, by clicking right here to go to the download page.

OR! You can watch it right below here. Don’t forget to click on at least 720p resolution for the full quality of a film made with completely free and open source software!

- Lace

I close the book. I breathe deeply. I open the book to page 818 again. I have a choice to make. I can’t make this choice, I close the book again.

I stand. I grip the book close to my chest, as if it were the world’s most fragile, delicate rarity. I pace for a few cold, agonizing moments this way, then I sit back down. The chilly night air whispers in through the window. Chills run the length of my spine. I open the book. I close the book.

I lean back on the couch. I open the book to page 818. I am given my choice again. My mind reels with possibilities.

I can wait. I can read the series again. I’m not ready to know, I’m not prepared, maybe not meant to know at all. I will read the series again and when I’ve finished, when I’ve returned to this where and when so long from now, perhaps then I will be ready to know what lies inside the Dark Tower. Maybe not.

I gasp. I shudder. I breath deeply. Wash, rinse, and repeat. I close the book and lay it on the table, out of reach. I stand, and walk clumsily back to my room. I know no matter how I choose, I will not sleep tonight.

I return to the book. I check the page number. I force myself to put it down again, maybe for the last time tonight. If I can stay in bed.

I sit. I type. I think about how page 818 is so close to 19. Two 8′s plus the 2 of eights plus 1. Eight. Eight-One-Eight. One Eight.

One-Eight, plus one choice to make.

Everything is nineteen.

I have been given a choice. I can stay my hand, calm my mind, and accept what has been given to me.

Or I can read on.

I spent a decent amount of time yesterday reintroducing myself to blender 2.5(3) and am happy to say that I can now use it almost completely in my SFX pipeline. Earlier versions of Blender only come into the game once, and that is to import my Syntheyes python script, as Syntheyes has a lack of compatibility with the new python API the Blender uses. All of two minutes later, it’s back to the new version and it’s wonderful speedy goodness. Here’s a tracking test of the days work.

The items onscreen are not final, they are simply visual aides to help determine the quality of the track and to configure the lighting. I have something much more interesting planned for this footage.

-Lace

Below is a quick render of a military missile I’m working on for a new project. It was made in Blender 2.53, and is a first foray into UV texture unwrapping and mapping in the newest version of Blender. A few more adjustments are all that’s needed and I’ll be starting on some other aspects of the required scene. References images and concepts were found via a Google image search.

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-Lace

An elegant forum solution has finally been selected, and the new forums can be accessed by clicking the link titled ‘Forum‘ at the top of this page. Head that way if you have questions about IZation Labs, College-Now, PBLs, or even if you just want to shoot the breeze and bump brains for a little while.

-Lace