The Lovers, the Dreamers, and Me.

Miyazaki and Hand-Drawn Animation

2014-12-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

The video above is a trailer for a documentary being released centering around one man and what this dude is all about.

Hayao Miyazaki is an artistic influence for filmmakers all over the world. His influence is a powerful one because the stories that his films are impeccably good at affecting the people watching them.

They're filled with elements of childhood centered nostalgia and familial love and care, mixed with fantastical settings that draw you in so easily for the ride. You'll find them concerning "humanity's relationship with nature and technology, feminism, and the difficulty of maintaining a pacifist ethic."

As for being a tech-centric figure, he both is and isn't. The film studio that Miyazaki is associated with works in hand-drawn two dimensional animation, regardless of the dawn of a CGI animation era. In some of his earlier films there was brief experimentation with implementing CGI into their films, to help with the harder tasks. But he quickly waned off of this and disbanded the computer graphics department of their studio.

My reasoning for mentioning this is because I want to bring up the domination of CGI, 3D animation becoming the static of animated films and television today, especially in the western world. As someone who favors hand-drawn traditional animation, Hayao Miyazaki is such a man to look up to. People will talk about how much more can be done with 3D animation, and how much better and easier it can be done. But Miyazaki is a powerful example of an opposite view. There is nothing lost in the hand drawn animation of his films and I personally find that it just showcases how much skill and care goes into his work and works like his.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUF9c8oXk08

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki

Brain Teaser: This is the Only Level

2014-12-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

http://armorgames.com/play/4309/this-is-the-only-level

I wouldn't say this game matches what may be predominately considered a brain teaser. But I find it intriguing nonetheless. My reasoning is that this game simply explores creative puzzle solving dealing with unpredictable obstacles and methods of completion. It is creativity in simplicity. The level never changes in and of itself, only the circumstances, and the puzzle of it is just figuring out these circumstances.
Now I can't really discuss how to solve it specifically, since each level holds its own unique answer, some not even within the game itself (there's your hint). but I highly recommend you play it, just because it has a really enjoyable nature. Every level is new and exciting while still being exactly the same. And I just think that's a really interesting throw on puzzle solving. Think outside the box!

Emerging Tech: Solar Roadways

2014-12-11T13:08:00.000-08:00

Alright this is one of my favorites:

Solar Roadways anyone??????
Basically roadways made out of smart, LED embedded, solar panels topped with glass that can hold mass amounts of weight.
The idea is that they power themselves, they're solar panels, and that they're programmable to display led images on the roads. Smart LED road panels also have a lot of room for programmable possibilities. This video explores a lot of the potential for these roadways with things like pressure recognition, programmable images on the road, informative or warning signs on the streets, and a lot of really cool entertainment possibilities too. Think playgrounds made of these panels.
I hear so much negativity towards this concept because of its cost, effort, and time to create; but solar roadways would have such a long term benefit that those arguments aren't worth as much as I've personally seen people invest in them. Even if this technology took 400 years to replace most roadways in the country, or the world, it would still have such powerful long term benefits that it would be well worth it in the end.
This technology is possible and already exists. Working prototypes have already been created and I highly suggest looking into them and getting pumped about the existence of these things.

Plus, they're hexagonal and I think that's just rad.

The project just got an Indigogo funded as well! Here's a video with more information about the project from the creators:

Top 5: Tech Innovations in the Past Century

2014-12-10T13:08:00.000-08:00

My 5 most significant tech innovations in the past century, of what I can think of

1. electronic television (1927) - getting close to our 'century' limit of technology, television created a completely new way of spreading information

2. Computers (1938 - electro-mechanical binary programmable (modern) computer, that is) - The beginning of a modern device that will soon dominate every field of everything ever and have endless capabilities and uses

3. The Internet (1969) - "technology that would enable network communications between computers" we are in the beginning of an internet-based world. The internet has become practically as significant as computers themselves

plus things like this wouldn't exist without the internet

4. smart phones (1992 with the IBM Simon) and touch screen- computers in your pocket with an endless amount of possibilities that is still growing immensely; as for screens that recognize pressure inputs, as an artistically involved person I find it to be the dawn of a new era for art

5. GPS (1995, but mainstream in 2000) - from satellites to our own phones, easy to access information and direction for a majority of places in this tech-filled world

http://www.livescience.com/42719-when-was-the-internet-invented.html
http://literock969.com/the-most-important-inventions-of-the-last-100-years/
http://www.howtogeek.com/trivia/what-was-the-first-smartphone/
http://www.historyofinformation.com/expanded.php?id=707
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/top-10-innovations-decade/story?id=9204931

TED: How Painting can Transform Communities

2014-12-09T12:24:00.000-08:00

It's easy to grab my attention with a talk about art.

This talk is by two artists who painted the favelas of Rio, an informal community of unfinished looking housing, and known for poverty and issues with crime. The idea was what if all the houses of the community were all plastered and painted. What if you made one big work of art out of it. How would that change the view of a place like this?
This talk interests me in the idea that the power of community can transform a community, finding beauty in unexpected places, as well as the power that art can have.

List of Firsts: Digital Sculpting

2014-08-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

Sculpted using Sculptris Alpha 6 in probably about 20 minutes. Colored in probably another 20

I'm really proud, I didn't expect to create something kind of impressive in my first go. Don't ask me what breed it is though, no reference was used except for the tricolor coat.

List of Firsts: 3D Printing

2014-08-25T11:30:00.001-07:00

After 3 years of attending this school I finally went and printed something on the MakerBot. Started with something simple, not sculpted myself but found on Thingiverse.com, a plastic ring that fits around your thumb when you hold a book open with one hand and helps you keep the pages open and easy to read!

Throwback on the Flash CS6 Front

2014-08-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

A while back I posted a simple animated sequence that I'm still quite proud of. Though I never posted the completed sequence, with a few more motions added on to it. I figured I might as well. I also have a few more sequences I can add to the slate.

List of Firsts: First Attempt at Walk Cycle!

2013-09-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

Lets Get Serious Yo

2013-09-08T21:26:00.003-07:00

alright, its happening. I'm figuring this stuff out. And you know what? I'm having so much fun. It's exciting making something that you're proud of, even if you know every flaw that's there.
But a little time on a Sunday afternoon and I got this so far:

man.... animating is all i want to do right now.

but alas I must get some sleep.

Friendship through Cats

2013-09-08T13:49:00.001-07:00

I have an old friend who I don't get to speak to as often as I used to. Because of this, I began sending them a quick drawing of a cat every day, since there's nothing for me to say but I still want to keep our friendship in some form or another. Well guess who forgot 2 days in a row? Me! But who recently learned how to use flash to animate? Me! So to make up for my negligence I drew an animated one for today. Nothing big, but I'm quite fond of it:

Amazing Short Films? The Cat Piano

2013-09-07T13:46:00.003-07:00

List of Firsts: Mike

2013-08-31T09:04:00.004-07:00

Yesterday in class I finally got the hang of getting frames together on the timeline in flash CS6 and using different layers for different timings! So i decided to test it out with whatever I could make happen at the time, just sort of muddle my way through it.

So I decided 'lets just start with some eyes on a little circle head. Yeah that sounds rad.' And thus this little thing was created:

'No I can do more than that right now, I still have time today! He at least needs a mouth and hair'

And oh boy, I got it timed slightly different too!

'hmmm, lets add one more thing'

and so this little dork was born. Really disjointed due to him having things just added on from a whim, but still pretty neat. He's not amazing but he was a discovery for me: he's my first step towards becoming adept with Flash! And I think that deserves him a name.

Mike.

MorpHex

2013-08-24T10:30:00.002-07:00

Here' something interesting I came across today, a piece of robotics called MorpHex, grand prize winner of the Boca Bearings 2012 Innovation Competition. I'm really fascinated by its ability to navigate in different ways using the panels that make up its spherical shape. It's really impressive and, to tell the truth, really adorable.

Let's Say Hello

2013-08-23T08:35:00.001-07:00

Let's just make an official Hello from me and a statement of what this blog will be.
For my Independent Studies class of this year, I and my two close friends will be taking our own paths to figuring out what to make of this semester, and to hopefully create something each of us can be proud of. To start, I suppose I'll outline what I hope to make happen with the months that I have with this class:

-Flash 2D Animation: Learn how to work Flash and create a short character animation (possibly of a walk sequence or something to that effect)

-3D modeling: Learn to use Maya and model a humanoid character with the intent to animate

-Rigging and Animation: done with the completed 3D model, learn to rig a character and create a simple animation so that I can introduce myself to the process

-(A+ Certification): if time allows I'd like like to be able to gather materials to be able to work towards an A+ Certification on my own time