PhysicalDump

Free 3D models: where to find them

2009-09-14T15:26:00.001+02:00

Working in the 3D visualization world specially for architecture projects, when i need to realize a cool 3D image i think about the rules that lead to the perfect image: high quality model, Nice point of view, light, and realism.

And i think that when you need to realize a kick-ass 3D image, a 3D high quality model library can help a lot. When the subject is architecture, a 3d library that includes sofas, armchair, 3D plants, 3D cars, 3D people.... is definitely a must-have to improve the quality of the final rendering.

Otherwise, a good 3D library can be used in the wrong way from people that fill the scenes with useless objects, just because they are very very High Quality objects.

Today i want to share the websites where i find a lot free downloadable HQ 3d models, compatible with Cinema4D formats.

Archive3d.net
Archive3d.net is the best website, i always look for, but i never find a better one. You don't need to create an account or log in, just browse your category, select your model thumb, take a look to a bigger thumb, watch a bunch of info (weight in MB, format...), click on the image, and then on "download now" to start download the model. That's all. Here you can find hundreds of HQ models free to download.

C4Dzone.com
C4Dzone.com is the italian community of C4D and VRayforC4D users. Creating an account, you can download a lot of HQ models, free textures, a few HDRI images, and tons of VRayforC4D materials ready to be applied to your models.

C4Dhotline.it
C4Dhotline.it is another italian community where you can downloadabloe materials, 3d models, textures, and other stuff. Don't need to creat an account, just click and download.

Create a static button on blogger

2009-09-12T16:28:00.003+02:00

We just learned how to put a static footer on blogger, that does not scroll with the web page. We learned how to put a CSS rollover on blogger. Now let's join these 2 and see how to put a static button. On this blog i used this to put my RSS feed button on top right, because i like to show always the way to subscribe.

The steps are the same, we just add a bit of code.

First of all, create the image, with Photoshop or Gimp, or any other software that can do that. Remember that you need to show at the same time the "OFF" and the "ON" state of the button, just like this:

I found this Icon with Iconfinder, and it is part of an icon set designed by murid rahhal.
We can put a ON or OFF state on right or left, because with CSS we'll be able to choose which one will be the OFF or the ON. After this upload it on your domain or using a free hosting service like Imageshack or Picasa album.

Now put this CSS code in the template (from the "edit HTML" option):

.RSSbutton {
position:fixed;
top:10px;
right:10px;
width: 128px;
height: 128px;
}
.RSSbutton a {
display: block;
width: 128px;
height: 128px;
background: url(http://image-url.png) no-repeat top right;
}
.RSSbutton a:hover {
background-position: top left;
}

...replacing the yellow part with your image url, the orange with the the exact height and the half of width (height:128px; width: 256px/2=128px;), the green part is the ON side of the button (so if your ON side is on right type "right"), the red part id the OFF side.

Paste this CSS lines before this:

/* -- layout -- */

Now add a HTML widget wherever you want in the layout, pasting inside it this code:

<div class="RSSbutton"><a href=http://button-link.html target="_blank"></a></div>

Replace the yellow with your button link.
The target="_blank" property will open your link in a new window, if you don't want it, just trash this part, like this:

<div class="RSSbutton"><a href="http://link-pulsante.html"></a></div>

Create a static footer on blogger

2009-09-12T14:54:00.002+02:00

I'm a graphic stuff lover, so i spend a lot of time surfing the web looking for inspiration. Somtimes i find a website that ipnotizes me with a cool design or with an unusual CSS style, an most of the time this websites are designers'/webdesigners'/creatives' online portfolios.

Specially i'm loving the static layout elements, that do not scroll with the web page content, because i think it's a great way to catch the eyes of the readers. In many websites this trick is used to put static footers, because they have additioinal infos that the website's owners want to put always in front of the customers view; in other websites this is just to add a cool design element.

I asked to myself if this is possible in blogger, and i find a very simple CSS way to do it. The footer you can see on this blog is an example.

So let's start.

First of all, create an image with Photoshop or Gimp or any other software that can do that. This image must have the same width of the blog (you can see it in the template, the "outer wrapper" widht is what you need to know). I have a 930px width on this blog. If you want you can give transparency on the image using PNG format saved for the web, like this:

Now you have to upload this on your domain, or using a free hosting service like Imageshack.
Search the CSS footer properties in the template, from the "edit HTML" option, and replace the whole code with this:

#footer {
position:fixed;
bottom:-5px;
width:930;
background: transparent;
}

You can just add a new HTML type widget in your layout, choosing the footer one obviously, and paste this line replacing the yellow line with your image url:

<img src="http://url-immagine">

Thats all folks. This is the original article:
http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=595042

With the same steps we can add a static button on our blog, like the RSS feed you can see on top right. That's what i explain in the next post.

Iconfinder.net: find your icon with only one click

2009-09-12T09:22:00.002+02:00

For all these years, thanks to http://creareblog.blogspot.com/, everytime i need an icon for any graphic design work, i go straight to Iconarchive.com, where i find tons of icons set for my inspiration. But sometimes i spent a lot of time searching the right one, even if the good search engine can make life easier, and several times i couldn't find the right icon that i was looking for.

Now i discovered Iconfinder, and i can find my icons way easier.

Iconfinder is an icons search engine, that search for the icons on the web and shows hundreds of results. We can easily find the one we prefer, view the results with a white or black or transparent background, download the icons in PNG or ICO formats and...

...take a look to the whole icon set, or read more info about the designer and the license.

CSS sprite: the way to get a rollover on blogger

2009-09-11T12:52:00.001+02:00

For a long time i was looking for a good way to put a rollover button on my blog. You probably know that the traditional method based on javascript, does not work on blogger. Now i finally find the solution. Thanks to this original article:
Go to http://bloggeruniversity.blogspot.com/2008/05/cool-css-navigation-menu.html

This method is based on the new CSS sprite. It is way better than javascript, very light and simple.
This is what we're going to see in our blog:

This type of rollover can be used for buttons, menus, and can be embedded in the post body, or in an html type widget (in the sidebar, footer, or wherever you want to put it).

To get this effect, we first need to create an image, with Photoshop or Gimp or any software that can do this. The image must show "on" and "off" state of the button in the same time, like this:

After this we have to put this CSS code in the template:

.button {
width: 197px;
height: 35px;
}

.button a {
display: block;
width: 197px;
height: 35px;
background: url(http://image-url.jpg) no-repeat top left;
}

.button a:hover {
background-position: top right;
}

You can replace "button" with another name, for example if you're going to put several buttons you can name this "button_01". The "height" property must be the exact height of the image; the "width" property instead will be half of the whole width (this is because the "off" state and the "on" state will be realized showing only half of the whole image).

Obviously you'll have to replace "image-url" with your image url, previusly uploaded on your web space, or hosted on a free hosting service like imageshack, or picasa album.

The CSS must be pasted before this line:

/* -- layout -- */

Once you save changes, you can insert this line:

<div class="button"><a href="</div">http://button-link.html"></a></div>

into an HTML widget, or editing a post, replacing "button-link" with the link you want to use on this button.

10 steps to the perfect portfolio website (from smashingmagazine.com)

2009-09-10T17:05:00.008+02:00

Just a few days ago i change the look of my online portfolio, you can see it now on angeloferretti.com. Thanks to the smashingmagazine.com where i find this useful article about the "10 steps to the perfect portfolio" (actually i found tons of useful articles on this site). Here's the original post of Lee Munroe.
To all creatives and web designers-wannabe like me, or just addicted to graphic design world, i recommend visit this website, full of inspiration for your graphic design and web design works.

Go to http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/02/26/10-steps-to-the-perfect-portfolio-website/