Oh the horror!!!

I was supposed to wake up bright and early and get crackin w/ my slacking self, but my work system caught the flu last nite, and I've been giving him medicine all nite long. He's feeling much better, but needed a bit more of my special medicinal herbs to break the fever =P

I can't believe people still go around doing virus and malware and all that crap =/ HONESTLY!!!! Should be illegal to go and hijack a guys system like that... Only a very slight delay in progress, who knows, maybe having marinated on it this long something seriously awesome will come of it =D

A bit more progress =P

Had to redo the base textures on the terrain for better scaling w/ relation to the props... The horror, I know, the horror maps... I want to see them myself =P

I like how the "parts" can move and rotate w/ ease for variation...

The technical end of things =P

Mapping MADNESS, to say the very least... It was almost the end of the world, but I prevailed =)

All jokes aside, I spent some serious hours remapping the terrain prop of my newest wip... Organic modeling + automapping - retopping = drama =P Nothing I couldn't handle in some form or fashion, just know, that I really do go the distance, lol...

Still haven't had the chance to do the "horror" texture/displacement/morphing yet, definitely tomorrow. A few issues w/ the UV's sent me into flux, but thankfully I was able to fix it, and even better, improve on it, so progress has been made and on to the next phase...

Still no word on any requests, that means you guys are happy w/ how I've been doing everything so far. No news is good news, and that's good news to me =D

My First NiteMare......

I was dead serious about how >>> Forever Mountain <<< would be my last "terrain"...

What a liar I am =P

I have been developing new and interesting ways to create not just a "terrain", but full flavor "playsets" for use in your favorite rendering program. When I say playset, that means a FULL 3D environment, a complete area that your figures and characters can interact with and are ideal for animation scenes and sequences.

My newest wip, "My 1st Nitemare", will be the first of this series of playsets. As always, organically modeled, awesome detail baked into the mesh, no need for morphs, displacement, normals or bump maps to get those nice, renders...

I've posted a few sneek peek shots, but would still love to hear your feedback and suggestions. Please take this time to make any requests, believe me when I say your opinions do matter...

You can even drop me a line direct to me email, >>> MatCreator <<< is all about the people =)

So far, the set includes the base terrain, and some "root" props (those spiked objects you see surrounding V4). I've only done 3 texture variants so far, the "main" texture will be more than a fill, hand painted, and will make great use of morphs, displacement and other, various maps as well.

Whew..........

B U S Y...

BUSY.....

And Busy..........

It's been a tuff week for sure =/

Daz3D has been consuming too much of my time w/ simple bullshit, making it so hard to increase my volume of products. Not appreciated to say the least. I have like 5 products on the back burner, and just haven't had any time to prepare them for release. My normal routine is 2 weeks Daz, 2 weeks Renderosity, but lately, between fixes and tweaks, my style and flow has been cramped, LOL!!!

It's not all Daz... Renderosity is trying to up the ante as well, so they too are making it harder to get things in... And of course, I'm just ranting... It is my blog, I'm entitled to it =P Any fix that needs to be made is my fault, I know... That, I can deal with, it's the issues and debates of personal preference I don't care to get into..................

Anyways, hopefully things should be getting back to normal. A lot of new products are on their way, new styles of things and more importantly, better quality =)

Don't mind me... It's Monday drag is all, LOL =)

Almost forgot...

You can tell I am going pineapple over here, I'm forgetting to post what's up and coming, forgetting side projects, and all manners of things =P

Soon to be released at Renderosity is my "Stand: Fantasy 1" Prop... Another organic backdrop/terrain prop for your rendering needs. Sporting something of a spiked forest background, w/ some very nice morph capabilities, 4 texture variants and of course the Ivy =)

In an effort to keep costs low, filesize down and quality and design new and cutting edge, I will be using the Renderosity Free Stuff section to include add-ons and special, product specific content. Please check my Free Stuff section at Renderosity OFTEN for updates and add-ons to existing items.

-------- Renderosity Free Stuff Section --------

The Morphing Column...

.....:::::  The MC Morphing Column  :::::.....

I'm terrible at adding detailed information on my product pages, my most sincere apologies... They feel so cold and callous, and I can't ever tell if the images I release are "good enough" in that they display and exhibit all the features and usefulness of my products...

I hope my blog can help in that regard =D

Let me tell you about one of the most useful, versatile and interesting architectural props in the Poser-verse. It's my Morphing Column, and I can't stress how great this little "cylindar" is =D

"Wait a minute, you mean all this guy did was make a cylindar"?!?

In a way, yes, that is exactly what I did... It is a high density cylindar, mapped -perfectly- for our purposes... Don't let the default shape fool you, this prop is packed to the brim with over 100 morphs.

10 morph injections that fully change the shape to match styles of columns of Ancient Egyptian design, 10 morph injections to match styles and designs of the Asian continent, and of course there are 10 morph injections inspired by the style of Ancient Greek and Roman design... With just this simple set of 30 morph injections, you can create dozens of custom style columns for your rendering needs...

To further stretch your creative genius and artistic flow, included are awesome Fantasy and Sci-Fi injection morphs made specifically for that genre... The Sci-Fi morphs are more than just columns, with a little imagination they can be used as colossal power generators, made into arrays of amazing design to mimic advanced alienesque cityscapes, can be rendered alone as ancient obelisks that transcend time..... The Fantasy injection morphs transform the column into magical pillars of unreal and unknown origin. Smooth organic structures of stone constructed not by man, but by the supernatural.

Making use of the included Ornamental and Damage injection morphs, you can take your custom design a step further adding a feminine touch to your architecture, or turn your structure into a damaged and eroded post apocalyptic construct that refuses to fall... Easily add dents, erosion, wear, Volcanic fusion or atomic distortion to your columns.

Who said anything about a column?!? Sure it begins as a cylinder, but by utilizing the 20 Shape injection morphs you drastically alter the design... Apply one of the arch-making morphs for instant arrays of awesome arches. Taper the column to a point, or fatten it in its belly, either way, your imagination can go full throttle when creating custom architecture using the Column.

Of course, my favorite are the 20 "Organic" morphs. These injection morphs allow you to turn a column into an amazing sculpture of alien design, and so much more. All manners of weird and abstract structures can be designed simply by using the morphs... Be creative and use the morphs to imitate totem poles or Easter Island facial statues... Make abstract and surreal structures using the morphed column as a standalone focal object of your scene, or go wild and create fractal arrays of intense design...

When you want ONE simple prop to do it ALL for you, the Morphing Column is the way to go =)

Realm of Nitemares...

It's looking better than I first thought, and the production time is real nice =)

The preview you see makes it look too nice and beautiful, I'm going for the fantasy horror edge this time around. The 3 texture variants so far are only "base" textures, today, I plan to do the scary stuff... This paint job will be very horrific and abstract, going to make use of normals, specular and displacement maps, so going forward all other renders MUST be done in C8Pro, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I usually do my promo renders in Poser or Studio, just to appeal to the market, but this time around I want the product to look as it is intended to look, the downfalls, pitfalls and shortcomings of Poser and Studio will be on them. It's rather frustrating as an artist trying to show how something "should" look when the software I render in doesn't allow... I haven't been able to render proper normal or displacements maps since I've learned about them, unless I use Carrara... This time around, the nitemare WILL look real =D

The Variants: Gamma Andromeda

All done and uploaded.......

Whew =D

A few days before they are -all- actually released at Renderosity in my Free Stuf Section, but fear not, one a day is made available...

I have also added the UV Texture Templates for the set, I "hope" I did a well enough job, I myself paint in 3D on the actual mesh, and I let 3D Coat handle most the mapping for me =P Still, I tried my best to make them as universal as possible for other texture artists to be able to custom design and paint textures for their own use...

Anyways, as always, happy rendering =D

Realms: NiteMares and more...

I did better than I had originally thought, thankfully it wasn't a mapping issue, but rather the normals misbehaving in Poser =/ I'm going to have to seriously investigate that, I'd really like to be able to utilize the normal maps I generate in Poser and Studio, but they always seem to render blotchy and distort my mesh...

:: sigh ::

On a great note, I've already made the companion Ivy. This time around, I will smooth them, and remap for my texture needs...

After the morphs, normally, I'd consider the set done, but I'd really appreciate your feedback, info and most importantly, REQUESTS...

What else would you like included in terrain/sets? What props would really help your rendering needs? This is your chance to speak and be heard =)

Gamma Andromeda: Texture Variants =)

If there are 10, theres just gonna be a lot of posts about it =)

I've uploaded the next batch, you should be seeing them shortly at Renderosity in my Free Stuff section...

The Land of N'od

Trying to keep w/ the flow of things and having developed something of a new workflow, I am taking my new skill set to the next level and have decided to try some ultra-organic terrains/playsets for the Poser-verse... I have done them (actually, they've become the bulk of my work recently), but now I will be exploring new methods of creation for better results...

Consider this a sneek peep... WIP, will take a bit to get it ready...

I'll have to redo the textures, but more importantly, the mapping =/ I can't stress how difficult it is mapping dense models. Trying to fit everything into 4096 squares is NOT as easy as it may seem. Rendering the diffuse/normal/specular maps, then baking the actual textures. Patience is truly a virtue =)

Uh Oh, I have a "new" Camera =)

Well, it's not "new", new =P My mom gave it to me while i visited her on one of my trips to NYC =)

THANKS MOM =D

I haven't had a descent camera of my owns in eons =/ I wouldn't be where I am today if not for my first camera, my HP PhotoSmart. Crap ass p.o.s (that means piece of sh*t =P). I sold my Digital Oddities to Daz, and w/ that bought my Epson R1800 and the Camera. With that camera, I took pictures of rocks, and that was my 3rd Earth Set, also sold at Daz. With the profits I began earning from that, I was able to reach out, branch a bit, and invest further in some supplies, started putting my renders to print and the rest is history =P

Enough of nostalgia, thats what www.thedigitalsurrealist.com is for =D

Anyways, I took my new camera out on what was supposed to be a quick Fathers day Hike, and BOOM =D Me and my wife got lost in the hiking trail. We thought the trail looped around, but no... We walked for a stumbling 3 1/2 hours through 2 neighboring towns =)

The POINT of my story is this awesome picture of the LingZhi mushroom I found =) I have always been fascinated by such things, and it's that kind of freakish realism and organic quality I have been stressing to reproduce, capture and embed in my own 3D modeling and imagery... Tools like ZBrush and 3D Coat are godsends in that regard, and I couldn't be happier w/ them in my toolset =)

Gamma Andromeda: Texture Variants =)

I have to apologize for the delay my friends, things got somewhat hectic over the weekend, especially w/ school -almost- over =P But I am uploading the next 3 sets to the Renderosity FreeStuff section, Variants 3, 4 and 5 will be at your fingertips soon enough =)

Of all the sets, I think 3 is my favorite. I like the metallic green and how it contrasts so nicely w/ those "bits and bobs" of red =)

Still, I am by no means a texture artist =P

If ANY -established- texture would like to try out my suit, I would be more than willing to offer it in exchange for a promissory reciprocation of the favor =D A mutual benefit indeed, simply email me and I am sure to get back to you soon. Please, serious requests by established texture artists only......

The Alien Artifacts...

I have "completed" the Alien Artifacts props, if all goes well, you should be seeing them soon enough =)

I must admit, I truly enjoyed the creation process of these props. It was a joy to model the shapes, it felt very natural and free flowing, more like I was doing something I like, rather than the usual market geared product. Nothing wrong w/ that, us content developers (or content creators) need to earn a living too, my rent is just as high as anyone one elses, and my kids are like sharks =D

Modeled, mapped and textured all in 3D Coat. I'm amazed at how the shapes came out, and I'm impressed at the detail I achieved w/o the use of ZBrush, LOL!!!

Two freakishly awesome alienesque organic sets of props (12 props in each set), rigid and very high resolution for your rendering needs. They'll go great in your Bryce or Vue scenes, as standalone pieces for abstract or macro style art, and can be utilized in many ways as fascinating and complex arrays (careful not to crash the system =P). They can easily compliment any fantasy or sci-fi scene as alien statues or sculpture. Spread them across a vast infinite plane using DOF for awesome surrealism. The fun will never end w/ these amazing props =)

Content for Carrara?!?

I think I am beginning to spend too much time away from my main app. This arbitration is affecting not only my workflow, but my artistic quality as well. I spend so much time "Poser-izing" content, it takes away from how I should be developing in Carrara. This is totally unacceptable, and I am wondering how I would fair if i switched markets and concentrated on the Carrara community. I have some shows lined up this fall, and it would be awesome to introduce some Carrara artistry into the mix.

My current arsenal of Carrara, Hexagon, ZBrush and 3D Coat suit me well, never has Poser been a priority of mines, but as a content developer, I has my doubts leaving the Poser market...

Could one such as I exist on Carrara Content alone?!?!?

(of course, I could simply do both just to see, will be interesting to say the least)

Gamma Andromeda: Variants 0 - 10

I FINALLY got the time to set up the texture variants for the gamma Andromeda set. You will be seeing 10 variants of the suit slowly making their way into the Renderosity Free Stuff section. I admit, my texturing skills are not that great, but I am learning, and in time, I am sure I will be able to floor you w/ not only the creative uniqueness you have all come to enjoy, but also in texturing and technical prowess as well =P

At any rate, please feel free to download and enjoy the Texture Variants. They are set as MATPoses and as Material Collections for your convenience.

I will also be uploading the UV Texture templates (after all 10 Variants have been released at Renderosity), but as the normal maps are extremely huge in size, I will send those to "purchasers" upon request. Simply drop me an email, and I will send shortly, I usually get to my emails at least once a day, but for sure w/i 5 days...

Take a look at the set if you havent already:

>>> MC - Gamma Andromeda <<< Sci-Fi Superconforming Body Suit and weapons for the Daz3D Victoria 4 Character

>>> Request for Normal Maps <<<

Renderosity will be "releasing" one set per day over the course of the next week or so, so keep an eye out for them, easy to install, simple to use, great versatility for one package =)

Aliens...

I have always been a huge SciFi FREAK, and in wanting to explore a more alienesque edge, I explored some new methods and came out w/ something I think you guys will enjoy... Consider this a sneek peek =)

An all revealing sneek peek =)

Thanks for those who were patient for the final unveiling...

My next product, coming your way real soon, the MC Morphing Columns =)

I wanted something for myself to help w/ scene building, and I thought it would be nice to use some of those nice greek style columns for some plans I have of renders/shows/events... For my me, it's hard to settle on one style, so I said "how could I make a column and change it on the fly if I want? I dont want to model 1000 columns"... The answer was to make a column and embed so many morphs, I would give myself an "infinite" column...

This high density model is packed w/ over 100 morphs. The concept is to mix and match styles to get a custom look you like, but even better, I embedded "structural" shape morphs as well, meaning you can even build -complete- structures using my "not-so-simple" column and some imagination. So many styles to choose from, then take it a step further and morph your own custom style..... Speaking for myself, I LOVE this product =D

One of three...

Getting back into the swing of things and making some progress =) Taking longer on the promos, but I think it's worth it, Daz only judges books by their cover, so we PA's must follow suit, EVERYTHING goes into the promos, it's all or nothing =/ If I agree or not is moot, follow the policy, or sell elsewhere... On a good note I am still moving up the ranks in Renderosity, won't be soon before I am on the top merchant list, getting higher commission, faster testing, and better advertising. I can deal w/ that =P Anyways, the next 2 projects are VERY exciting, NEW style, NEW concept, same best selling "stuff" from yours truly =) Stay tuned for sneek peeks.....

The Second Life ToS: My Campaign for digital file freedom...

Dudes and Dudettes, lend me your ears =)

Seriously guys, I was wondering what your feeling are or if any of you would be "open" to the idea of selling "regular" Poser, Daz Studio and related programs content in Second Life... The very same content we are used to selling, and more, but just in a different environment... As is, the ToS would not allow, but I think it's because they are "unaware" of our style of products. We could set up and market both Second Life and regular Poser/Studio (which includes textures and objects + .dae files) content for inworld purchases...

How would this work?!? Sell notecards w/ the download info,it's that simple. You would handle that "personally" and that would be up to you. It's not a "catch" or gimmick, it's freedom. We could market and promote our products in our usual, normal fashion and by using "Lindens" we would have created something of an "accounting" system. As we would be handling our own links and files, the possibilities are endless...

Here are a few of the benefits:

- Easy marketing/accounting and promotion of goods
- The artist would have total control over their products and pricing
- Minimal cost. Your server to host the files, and the cost to transfer Lindens to your PayPal acct*
- No split fee or commissions, transfer lindens to your PayPal at your discretion**
- Instantly embed yourself in a new market and explore/exploit your creativity in fascinating ways

Currently established Second Life Markets:

- "Prims" and "sculpted Prims" primitive objects created under sl's own software
- Custom rigged low poly avatars (after Mesh goes Live)
- Textures (as resource files and as Avatar "Skins")
- Poses/Animations
- Sound/Audio files (voice and music)
- Collada files (rigged/unrigged textured meshes/objects when Mesh goes live)

New markets: link to offsite downlinks, currently AGAINST the ToS
- "Any" file that you can host yourself including but not limited to:
- Poser/Studio content
- Bryce Content
- Carrara Content
- High density objects
- High resolution textures/image files
- Audio files, music loops

Not much difference from our usual content is there?!? The real issue is if is can be used in SL or not, and while Poser/Studio native files can not be used in Second Life, mostly anything else "could" be.

We need to gather a "list" of sorts to present to ll in order to establish a set of rules and guides for us to follow in order for them to "amend" the ToS... I believe if we get enough people to present our case, we have a good chance to modify the ToS. Everyone benefits, even Linden labs, it would be in their best interest.

So what say you fellow artisans, developers and content creators?!? You wouldn't need to do anything but vote using my poll. I see no reason why anyone would reject the possibility, absolutely nothing to lose.

>>> * Here is the Second Life/Linden Labs ToS Agreement <<<

>>> ** And this is the cost of transferring Lindens to PayPal <<<

To make this even plea even better, I can now say that according to Linden labs, Mesh will become available starting in July. Here is what LL has to say about it:

"In July, we will enable a limited set of regions to use Mesh and will roll it out, in a phased approach, throughout August. By the end of August, everyone in Second Life will be able to import Mesh objects. Of course, if we run into unforeseen issues or bugs, then this time line will need to shift".

I would very much like to have this extra freedom at the release of Mesh, we may not have anything "ready", but at least we could begin the process, and start adapting and integrating this new outlet of creativity to begin exploring ways to exploit our artistic prowess.

So please vote, as THIS and the poll are a direct petition to Linden labs to amend their standing ToS.

Rift... A colossal contest indeed...

::: Rift Colossus Content :::

I know, I know, I "should" be sleeping, but sleep is for chumps =)

I found this awesome contest, I think I may join, I should be able to do something in 3D Coat and ZBrush that would fit. So long as I don't have to rig the model or anything like that, we'll see... I'm usually limited to polycount and rigging and other program related constraints for products intended for sale at the sites I broker under, but if all they require is an image of the character, I can't resist =)

I need Power!!!!!

So I was dead smack in the middle of product and the Power goes off =(

I must have some kind of short in my wiring, it's only affecting the outlets in my basement, which is actually my "studio" =P My wife would have a fit if she heard me say that, lol...

But sadly, I will not be able to finish my product until I can get some power to the basement in some fashion... I may have to set up my desktop upstairs for the time being, the thought of uprooting myself temporarily is like that numbing feeling you have when you get the flu. I can't stress enough how anal retentive I am, borderline OCD for sure...

What can I say? I am your more than average anal retentive Capricorn surrealist  graphics geek... With a power short, O the horror!!!

On a good note, the product IS completely done, tested and wrapped up. I need to do the promo images for upload, can't proceed w/o them. I can't even grab files through my own network, since the basement has no power, there just isn't any way, so you guys are delayed from having yet another TOTALLY AWESOME product from me =)

Fear not, it'll make its way to your presets collection soon enough...

Resentment...

I have to admit, I am becoming frustrated and disappointed in how after my switch to Carrara as my main app, I am still not comfortable w/ it for making gallery quality pieces... "Gallery Quality" pieces mean just that, not the usual figure stuck in a background and hit render for instant/quick art. All the testing, promoting and creating of my products has done just that to my real art, and I am feeling I am beginning to fall from grace. I know I still make some great imagery, but the power of impact of the concept is gone. Is it Bryce, is it Carrara, or is it me? A combination of the two?!?

It used to be that I concentrated on the concept of my imagery, but since I have been supporting my family through my products, all focus goes into that... I barely get to make any "real" art, it's all about the next product and promoting the last, and nasty, relentless cycle...

Either way, I have a serious show not too far away, and I want to create a brand new series of prints... I will have to force myself to go all out, and apply all that I have learned and incorporate my new programs and toolset into the works. I will NOT use stock imagery, or even touch up and revise old pieces. All new imagery, Carrara renders ONLY, and plenty of ZBrush and 3D Coat... The fusion and melding of objects I have wanted for so long, will be a powerful player in my new line, not to mention all thge postwork techniques I have picked up to give my work a new edge and appeal...

I look forward to the challenge.

Closer still...

The morphs came out and look better than anticipated, I couldn't be happier. But I was not impressed w/ how the 1st run of textures came out, so I am doing those over... As the creator of things, I don't get to really have fun until after it's completely finished, you'd be surprised to hear that most times you guys get to play and have fun w/ my toys way before I do, and then it's on to the next project. This one will keep you satisfied for eons, so much life and versatility went into this one, it will be hard NOT to use.

A bit closer...

Forum Post

Got through the snag I hit yesterday, should be able to get to the texturing later today... It's actually looking better than I had hoped, and renders awesomely.

Had to totally redo the morphs in ZBrush, using the no good object files as guides to look at, but they came out exponentially superior. Don't know why Hex threw that wrench at me =(