Welcome Angie :)

We've got a new animator join us a few days back, too busy to note it here, but welcome Angie! She is an extremely experienced animator that has worked with many productions across many places. She'll be helping prepare Houdini 9's character toolset from an Animator's perspective. Check out her site and blog here:

http://www.spicycricket.com/
http://thinkinganimationbook.blogspot.com/

Totally worn out :P

I'm totally smashed this week. There's a difference between a 15 hr day in front of the computer and 8 hrs of running around, installing software, figuring out how linux works (GAH!) and plugging cables. Well the end result of that is we had a linux class for that go off quite smoothly, and I spent a day rehearsing/preparing for an Intro to Houdini class that I thought. That went very smoothly yesterday, though I'm quite hoarse today.... well now I'm gonna go back to work on the usual houdini stuff :P

Oh, and if you are curious, you can't use the built in vnc server in Ubutn 6.10 to send OpenGL images over a vnc connection. Install x11vnc instead. Works great :)

Using Camtasia to capture an Ubuntu desktop

Spent half the friggin' afternoon installing vnc servers and fuddling with the viewers and generally not getting windows to speak to linux, I then came across a post on an Ubuntu forum stating that Ubuntu, well Edgy at least, has VNC built in (!!!!) It's inside System >> Preferences >> Remote Desktop

I just enabled it, set the passwords, and used the TightVNC viewer to login from my XP machine. Tada! Now the HDK lecturer next week can do screen caps =)

Life Of Mann April

Remember to check out http://www.lifeofmann.com/ - my ex-colleague's wonderful collaborative project!

Easing Equations.

Title says it all....

http://www.gizma.com/easing/#l

Workspace

What do you carry halfway across the world? Your headphones and your mouse of course :) Oh they got pao pao cha here, but it's bloody expensive (USD3.49?!).

Visiting the beach

I think I'm finally getting into the groove of work/home/eat/sleep so more or less I won't be running around like a headless chicken and can get more stuff done. This was taken last Friday after work. 3 pictures stitched together. Original res @ 4.7k Wish I had a dslr and a fisheye :P Post more soon!

I didn't know Subway had 3 choices of cheese

This is for Adrian Easton, fanboy of Subway Melts. Come over to Santa Monica and I'll treat you to subway melts with a choice of 3 kinds of cheese :) Yum :)

Procedural Houdini Magic!!!!

You have got to check it out. Procedural growing of lots of stuff. Yeah.

http://www.pointy.tv/tmp/vegetation.mov

http://forums.odforce.net/index.php?showtopic=5179&st=0

View of the pier

I was out taking shots for use in my Internship projects (Not gonna build cg models - which is why I spent so much time on the Camera Mapping shader!), and took this shot of the pier. I haven't visited the pier yet, probably once I get totally settled in. I definitely want to ride the roller coaster.

Korea Town in the evening

Last weekend I visited this area in LA called Korea Town. I think it's where the majority of the Asian population resides. Everywhere you go, it was mostly well... Asians from all over the place :)

I was standing outside a hairdresser whilst waiting for a friend and took this shot. Original res was 14k wide....

Prototype Camera Mapping Shader!

Spent the friggin' weekend learning vex, and today, happily came across a light projection tutorial in vex. I then re-implemented it as a surface shader, and it allows me to BAKE OUT TEXTURES! Woot! Will do more testing tomorrow to ensure it works perfectly.

#pragma hint map image
#pragma hint camera oppath

surface
GW_camera_map_per_pixel(
string map = "";
vector uv = 0; // For debug
)

{

float uu,vv;
vector pos;

if (map != "")
{
//pos = wo_space(P);
pos = toNDC(P);

uu = pos.x;
vv = pos.y;


Cf = texture(map, uu,vv);
}

else
{
//Cf = {0,1,0};
Cf = texture(map, uv.x,uv.y); // Debug purposes
}
}

Interns @ SESI LA!

Nuff said :)

Learning VOPs

Trying to learn VOPs today, and am starting to figure stuff out. First, the space change vop will "fix" a procedural texture in space, so when you move the camera or make TRS changes at the object level, the texture stays put, and doesn't give the "object swimming through texture effect". The texture node just has the UV co-ordinates piped in, and the multiply node combines the color from the texture, multiplied by the aanoise node (it's like a mask of sorts?) and then multiplied by a constant color value, that is given a greenish tint.

I tested toggling off the UV projection on the grid at the SOPs level, and the grid rendered with the green tinted noise, but not the texture. Interesting. I also tried applying a sin($FF*2)*10 on a transform node at the SOPs level, and the texture slid through space. I checked through the spreadsheet, and yes the Z points were animating (as expected). Perhaps we could have a parameter specifying the animation channels at the SOP level, and then subtract that from the incoming P from the globals? More investigation needed =)

This is the final output:

Upgrading the blog template

Gah! Upgraded the template during lunch hour, and missing some links. Will get those back ASAP :)

Shifted to my new place!

Just moved into my new place yesterday, and was too tired to setup the internet so I just took a picture and stuck it into my flash drive. I'm sharing the new place with a roomate, so it's like good ol' times back in BMT. I bought over the ex roomie's bed for US40, and then bought some bedsheets, pillow and comforter for about US39. Oooo. But it's great, I'm definitely shipping the stuff home come November =)