NURBS of Steel

Well, it has been a while hasn't it? I've been very busy (as usual, right?)
Anyway, this semester I began a 3D modeling class. Finally! I've been wanting to do this for years! Needless to say, it is awesome! Its one of my favorite classes. I wish I could dedicate more time to this class. I would love to have extra time to go into the lab and play around with Maya. But, alas, I am so busy!

Behold the awesome interface that is Maya! Above we have (from left to right) view from the top, perspective view, front view, and side view. All views are very helpful.

But I must say perspective view is pretty cool. You can already partially render your objects!

Oh! How terribly rude of me! I forgot to introduce you. These are my chess pieces.

These are the same chess pieces from another angle in the perspective view. With a click and drag of the mouse I can swoop around, looking at everything from every point of view.

I can even look up from under the grid! Can we say AWESOME?!!

I have never wondered until now why the bishop has a notch in his head. Now it just seems strange. Its supposed to symbolize a bishop's mitre (headgear), but it looks nothing like it to me.

And, look, I made a fancy chess board too. Now I have to resize the chess pieces.

Tada! Here is is rendered! Of course this project is nowhere near finished yet. I just wanted to show you all what I've been up to! I'll try to keep this blog up to date, but I can make no promises!

Of Clouds and Palettes

These are some pictures of sunsets that I've taken over the course of about two-and-a-half weeks. They were all taken from my bedroom window.

(How can people say there is no God?)

Each day the sunset is so different from the one before. The colors, the clouds, and even the sounds and the weather can completely change. There is no limit to God's palette.

I guess you can say this is one of the ways I can relax after getting home from a long day at school. There is just something about looking up at the clouds in the sky, or even up at the stars at night, that is very calming. Looking at the stars has to be my favorite of the two. I can't get decent pictures of those, though.



Sometimes the clouds look so turbulent. And you know that the wind must be pretty fierce up there. It is hard to imagine that, though, when there's only a gentle breeze down here. At a distance you can see how all that tempest can cause something so beautiful. It goes along with that age-old proverb:

No hay mal que
Por bien no venga

In other words: Nothing bad can happen that good won't come of it.
Or how about one of my personal favorites: The Shadow proves the Sunshine. If there's one thing I've learned in all the art classes I've taken I've learned that shadows add definition, depth, and richness to a work of art. Look back at the pictures. Would they even look like clouds if they didn't have some kind of shadow? Sometimes the darker the shadow, the greater the contrasting colors, the richer the picture will be. (Of course the artists have to be all technical a call it "chiaroscuro," but whatever. I still can't pronounce it.) And movement (hint hint, the wind, the wind) adds meaning, emotion, and power. Sometimes, those hard times make you appreciate it even more when the good times come around. And, as life goes on, you can look back and see all those colors swirling together. You can see all those clouds you passed through and you can see the light shining out. Then, one day, God will let you see the final product of your life. And your masterpiece will be complete.

Currently

WARNING! The following content contains the ranting thoughts of a college junior on a cognitive rampage. Also, the content may give the impression that said junior may not like school. Let me affirm: the junior enjoys learning. The rest is up for interpretation.
School is kicking my butt. Its sapping my creative juices, absorbing every minute of my time, draining my bank account, drowning me in debt, and hurting my back (I have a heavy backpack). The construction projects on campus have me "re-calculating" my routes to and from classes and work. My parking options are dwindling as construction sites overflow into commuter parking. I can hardly get anywhere on time. I arrive at classes huffing and puffing and sweating like an athlete (which I pretty much could be if lugging a 50lb. backpack across campus were a sport). I need to rent a bike.
I have also been informed that the college of arts and sciences at Insertnamehere University are making changes to the programs. So any student not graduating this year will be affected. At this point all I can say is, "Bring it, Foo! You can't touch this!" I wish that could be true. And I hope that, even in typing that, I haven't jinxed myself.
I also have reason to believe that my professors are collaborating together on some kind of social experiment. I like to call it "How long will she last?" Even though I'd like to I can't really blame them, though. Class schedules have accelerated because of all the tropical storms and hurricanes that caused several days of canceled classes. If Ike even thinks of coming near here I'll kick his eye! If he had a butt I'd kick that too!
Glad I got that out of my system. ..... Back to homework. I'm making an animated triptych for a conceptual self portrait :) Seeing it work gives me a sense of accomplishment despite all that's going on.