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Greetings!
Labor Day weekend already! I'm thinking of how I used
to be disappointed this time of year, as summer has
always been my favorite season. The change of
seasons is a reminder to us all, isn't it? A reminder that
change is inevitable, and often good. Of course, the
change from winter to spring is better, but the autumn
is good, too! For me, the changes this past year
brought about have been great for catching up, fixing
up, cleaning up, and learning new stuff! I look forward
to future success, and of course to hearing more from
you!
I pray you and yours have enjoyed good changes too,
will enjoy this summer's end, and welcome the coming
fall. I hope you took the time to eyeball the planet
Mars! Unlike another summer's end, some things only
happen once in a lifetime.
Catenary Curve?
Working on some logo designs, and living in the St.
Louis area, I thought it would be good to have a 3-D
model of the St. Louis Gateway Arch in my portfolio. Of
course, there are plenty of sources for photos or other
illustrations of the Arch, but such a model could be
positioned for any point of view and used in many
graphic projects, such as logos.
Of course, the Arch is a work of art in itself. Just in its
simplicity of design, the architect really did something
great here. To appreciate it, you must visit. If you
can't visit St. Louis, check out the Arch website.
This month's news and updates to the website include
my Arch project, with some interesting facts and links.
As you'll see, this is an excellent example of the
modeling process to illustrate for viewers like you. As
well, I've written more information about the modeling
and raytracing process, animation, and added some
new animations.
Of course, there is the cool and the fun stuff, too. It's
all good! I hope you enjoy it all, and you'll learn some
neat stuff too!
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Editor's Note |
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As I enjoy working on graphics and the website (as
much the writing as the imagery), I also enjoy putting
together this newsletter. It's a bit like sending you a
small dynamic piece of the website, as well as a chance
to author an occasional piece of my mind.
This section is where I sometimes put my opinion, and I
hope you appreciate that, as I welcome and appreciate
your opinions and feedback. Please don't hesitate to let
me know what you think, whether it's about this
newsletter, the website, or anything else! Hey, if I get
enough, I may publish a "Letters to the Editor" section!
I hope you were not affected by the onslaught of virus
activity of late. I recently vented my two cents' worth
about that nonsense, and again, I wonder what kind of
pathetic lives these idiots are [not] living. Also, I can
identify with those whose addresses were used to send
fraudulent email! I've been getting a ton of virus
attached mail from people whom I know didn't really
send it, and didn't even know their address is used as
the sender. If I didn't know better, all these addresses
would be in my blocked senders list, but that wouldn't
be fair to them, now would it? The true perpetrators
failed, as far as I'm concerned.
Please keep your machine updated with all the
recommended security updates, patches, and of
course, current virus definitions! Keep your head, stay
informed, and be careful out there!
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3-D Gallery News |
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Thanks for all the good words about the new Sci-fi
series added in July! Well, if I do say so myself, some of
my best work is the starship voyage series and the
cyborg images.
Now, would you like to know who or what was piloting
those starships? This month's new feature is a set of
images depicting those aliens! These creatures are very
detailed models, and I'm certain you'll enjoy the
effects! Also be sure to read about raytracing,
animation, and the feature St. Louis Gateway Arch.
Again this month, there are several image redux. These,
like newer works, are so much better in higher
resolution. If I do nothing else to enhance an existing
image, they're now 100 pixels per inch instead of 72. I
am now posting the image date along with its thumbnail
preview, and on the text compendium.
If you want to use a 3-D scene from the gallery as
your Windows wallpaper, just let me know. I offer free
image format conversion and screen resolution sizing
just for you! See the FAQ section of the intro page for
details.
View the Alien and more in the Gallery! »
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Raytracing |
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You may think that all this imagery stuff is fun and
games. Well, it is! It's fun, but it can also be difficult
work to achieve. It's games, but it's rarely appreciated
how much work goes into that video game your kids
play, or the animation and special effects you enjoy at
the movies.
What I do and display at Roosl's Graphic Design can be
a lot of fun to do. But it also often employs much
planning, thought, detailed work, and yes, even math!
At the completion of a project (fun or not) that took
days to complete, the fun part is then putting it at the
website for you to enjoy!
On the raytracing page, I've written about the many
aspects of working in the 3-D studio, and some of the
other imagery processes and tools I use. There is even
a nice diagram to take you back to high school
geometry!
Check out raytracing, some new animation, and don't
miss the imagery and step by step description of the
project to create a scale 3-D model of the St.
Louis Gateway Arch!
All about Raytracing... »
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Animation |
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One of the great aspects of working in 3-D is that
moveable, poseable objects can be re-used and put
into animated formats, such as GIF files for small use on
a web page, or AVI and MPEG files. One can even
produce video and output to tape or DVD.
You've seen small animations on the web, such as GIF
files used for banner ads, or even that silly dancing
baby AVI a few years ago. As kids, we all made flip-
book animations on the edges of the pages in our
school books. You didn't?
I've placed some new and upgraded animations on the
website, and written a bit about how it's done. Folks
have enjoyed my animated errant mantis since I
originally did that one years ago. It's been improved,
and a spider has now joined it on a page to help with
your heebie jeebies!
Web banners, advertising, logos and fun presentation
are great as animations. Depending on your connection,
these sometimes take a minute to load, but I've put
some into this newsletter. I hope you enjoy mine, and
remember that I'll be happy to create some for you!
Just for a little fun and animation... »
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Contest! |
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Here is last month's contest: How many star planes are
there in "Gravitation"? Answer: 12.
Here is this month's contest! My animated mandala is
three nested spherical groups, each spinning in a
different direction. Name the three terms for these
directional movements. Hint: Airplane attitude
The first person who e-mails me with the correct
answer wins that restaurant gift certificate! It's looking
like a good thing that it doesn't have an expiration date.
I will announce the winner in the next newsletter
(unless you wish to remain anonymous)!
View the animation here... »
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Kudos to God |
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As always, make a time and space for God...
Forever grateful to God for His given blessings, I can't
say enough about what His presence and meaning are
to me in my daily life...
So it's Labor Day weekend, the kids are back in school,
Summer's almost gone, vacations are over, and the
days are getting shorter. Perhaps you hate your job. Be
thankful you have one. Look forward with me to
another change of seasons. Welcome all there is and all
the changes in life. ...Life. It's more than that!
Remember to "Work like you don't need the money"...
and "Dance like nobody's watching"
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A Memoriam |
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Condolences and prayers to the family of Dallas Burney,
a friend who passed this past week at the age of 49.
The East Yates Blues, Boogie, Rock, Rag and Roll gang
will never forget you.
You'll be missed by all, Dallas.
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