Summer!

Well now, it's been quite awhile, hasn't it? I'm sorry I haven't posted anything yet this summer, but lots of stuff has kept me busy and when I did have the time, something always got in the way (i.e. dead internet connection). Speaking of which, we will be upgrading our internet connection from this spotty, unreliable satellite connection to a T1 connection within the foreseeable future! =D Woooo! Then I'll be able to much more quickly and easily upload my pictures and videos (and eventually music) to this blog. =) Speaking of music, that is what I am doing this week. I'm going to take a short break from the visual arts and work solely on music. However, here is a little taste of what I have been working on in previous weeks in Blender:

Happy Birthday Laurel...

With Love,
Your Boy

Island...

(Made in Blender 2.63, rendered with the Internal Renderer. Product of a tutorial by David Ward.)

Lost...

I lost something.  I told the proper authorities that it has been lost on their property and they said they'd get back to me if anyone turned it in.............. nobody has.  I lost my art binder with a LOT of art in it!  A couple year's worth of art.  =(  It's somewhere at the Great Wolf Lodge.  I ought to call them again.  Maybe I will.
It's not like I can't draw the same stuff again.  It's just that the ideas aren't things that stick with me.  The designs and shapes and compositions are things that flit through my imagination that I'm lucky to catch and get down on paper before they fly away.  I need that binder back.

The End...

Now that I've written the title of this post, it looks like I'm closing down my blog... but I'm NOT! =) I'm talking about the end of school. Half of the major stresses in my life have been resolved (2 out of 4) and I am feeling so much better about the end of the year. I've been keeping up with school pretty well these last few weeks and am confident that my grades will be acceptable at the end of the year. =) Blender's been updated to 2.63 and has a few new features and tools that I am intensely excited about, but unfortunately I don't have the time to actually use them quite yet. =P As soon as I knock another one of those stresses off the list, I'm going to start in on Blender again. =) I can't wait! The highschool went on another campout last weekend. We camped at the same place we did on my first campout. It was a little bit weird to be back there under such different circumstances. A lot of memories came back, but thankfully, none of them hurt. It was a happy campout. And I'm thankful for everything that has happened since then. Funny how God works things out. =)

Sick Day...

So I'm home from school today, cuz I'm sick. I feel like there are two golfballs in my throat... and my eyes are on fire... and a few dwarves set up their blacksmith shop in my skull... Anyhow, I intended on sleeping much of the day. I just got up to get some tea and check my email. I realized that I ought to make my time home as productive as I can, so I'm scheduling my sleeping time. =P I have until noon, then I have to get up and finish my DVD project, and do a lesson in my online class... then I can go back to bed. Now, let's see if my plan actually works... zzz

Momentum...

When I don't work on something for a long time, I lose my "productive inertia" and the project becomes painful to work on. When I don't learn anything about a particular subject for a long time, often it will become painful to learn. Yesterday I resumed my progress on the Yearbook DVD project I am supposed to be contributing to. And I don't mean I just worked on it a little yesterday. I spent most of the day working on it... and getting nowhere. Rather: I was getting a lot done, but none of it counted. I had to discard most of the work I completed. By the end, I was making a little progress, but the particular thing I had hoped to accomplish (it involves simulating a candle-flame) I was still stuck on. Still, I did complete the details in two camera shots and render out a nice little test animation. Starting the freight train is always the hardest. Today I happened across some videos showcasing a few functions of the software that I had never seen before. (learning a new function of Blender = extreme and uncharacteristic excitement) Getting excited about a job is, I think, the best production booster. Though I am not "cruising" through my work yet, I'm in second gear at least. =)