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SKYLAB CHAT
- Thread starter skylab
- Start date
Up until I played with a trial version of Silo and one of Fugazi's tutorials at R'osity, I never did anything but props, though my first attempt with the new 2.52 UI was a tutorial to create a castle, though it's really only the outer wall, but still. With Silo I did my first piece of clothing. Then I played with MD3 and did some more, but I wasn't into dynamics last year, so was having a heck of a time getting it into Blender, converting to quads from tris, and finishing any of the things I made for V4. Now I want to just throw them into the Cloth Room, and have at it.
Yup, it's a wait and see as to where she winds up.
Ohhhh, I have that. I was just going to download it, and saw that I already had her.
skylab
Esteemed
Well, that's where I hit the wall...we got into a discussion on the DAZ forum about tri's, quads and n-gons...and I just didn't have enough grounding in modeling to take all of that, so I was left with the thought that there could be hidden "errors" or something, and it sorta took the fun out of modeling after that, so I soon switched to posing and gave up on the idea. I mean, I'm no dumb bunny I think...but I'm just a high school grad....who happened to do very well in spite of it, since I could usually do whatever was thrown at me on the job and in other things I pursued...but when people start spouting a lot of math and such, hey, I have to back down, and admit I just don't have the background for it. That's why lighting was difficult for me....I needed to have someone just explain put the light here or there...but inevitably it ends up being a discussion about the accurate math behind the bouncing of light..so I just have to pick my battles so-to-speak....thank God I plunged into animation before anyone had time to hit me with physics...haha.
I don't understand any of that stuff yet either, Sky. I just look up tutorials for the "how to do what I want to do" when I don't know the "how," and I just plug away at it like that.
I'll let you in on something then. I never got beyond high school, either. My highest level of formal education is high school. Everything else has come from life, or from me opening books and-or other methods of researching and learning. And from listening to other people around me as well. I briefly dabbled into college - and ended up dropping out for a number of reasons. I never got beyond the second semester. On my mother's side of the family, that makes me a black sheep and a failure. I don't care. It wasn't for me - the field I was good in not only didn't want women working in it, but it was also a dying field - computers were taking over and pushing the human hands out. And I had no interest in anything else the college offered... nor was I going to go into debt taking b/s courses "just to have a degree."
Advanced mathematics makes my brain explode. I don't understand it; never did. I know enough math to get by in daily life, and I barely remember the high school geometry. I was in a daze through most of high school; I don't remember much of it, to be honest. But math is where my brain just goes "uh... NOPE... BSOD!"
Yep, I understand you here as well. I don't get the big technical discussions. I do my lighting by referencing real-world situations. Okay, the shadows are falling in front of this object. That means the light source has to be coming from behind it...
That's how I handle my lights. I still don't even fully understand the difference between, say, Reflection and Refraction. And I've looked it up a zillion times. But I think I do okay with my DS light rigs just the same.
Basically - do what you enjoy, Sky. For me, I don't let the technical stuff that's over my head discourage me. If I did that, I would never have gotten anywhere with anything.
OK, I've got to get back to Blender. If I don't drop back in here tonight ladies, I'll see you tomorrow. Night!
Good luck with the Blender stuff, Miss B. See you later.
skylab
Esteemed
Well, I feel a little bit better about it...I felt like sometimes, for some things, you guys have to drag me along, knowing full well I don't fully understand what you're doing. My pastor many years ago taught me the basics of computers...he could do programming, and had a degree in math which enabled him to teach at college level, so he knew his stuff. I became like a daughter to him, and he made it his business to make me learn the basics of computers, or he felt I would be unable to keep up in a professional environment. Boy was he right. My peers and co-workers in my age group were poo-pooing the whole idea, but I stuffed the information in my head, best I could. In some respects, I suppose he was my private tutor...I just never thought of it that way. Anyway, I was more than prepared for the challenges I had to face, even years later, in the work place....and I was still amazed, at the time I retired, at the level of inexperience of folks who supposedly had IT degrees...simple things like not being able to dig around on a hard drive to find folders just to place a shortcut to it on the desktop....didn't have a clue, and I was called to come show them...I truly felt like a fool for the guy, and couldn't help but be amazed at the humor and irony. I was literally having to train college grads when I prepared for my retirement.
Back to 3D....I don't have the advantage of having had "private tutoring" to get me up and running, so I've had to take learning in snippets. Once I hear something explained in a step by step, logical fashion, usually I can figure the rest out. It's when the information comes at me backwards, least important first, that I get overwhelmed, since I have no way on my own, no point of reference, to distinguish what's critical and necessary from what can wait, or will come in time with experience. When I was helping Sarah, that presented its own challenges since she was not just slightly, but seriously dyslexic....brilliant as she could be, but she had a problem not only with visual disorder, but also her thought processes would get "snags" too....she'd send three page emails to me attempting to explain some simple thing she'd learned that day, and I had to learn how to discern the bottom line. So I had not only my own drop off points, but hers as well. That's why I started the beginner PDF tutorials in just about everything at the time...it was to help her re-order her thinking process to follow simple illustrated steps...and it worked. I had to learn the basics so that I could interpret them for her. Since she passed in 2011, and then my retirement from work in 2012, my focus in 3D has been primarily posing...like my comfort zone I guess.
I do lighting the way you just described....sun is coming from this side, so shadows have to be here, or there. I know it isn't "right", but it's okay...especially for pose set promos....they can be not very good, according to what I've seen out there...haha.
If my health had not gotten onto a slippery slope, I'd probably have irons in every 3D fire by now, learning as much as I could. I did the same thing with music....taught myself six different instruments, and had the same challenges with folks with music degrees...they couldn't understand how I could anticipate what they were going to play before they played it, and they'd sorta be offended that I could do it...haha. It wasn't until I joined with friends who were black in a band that I felt "at home"...they spoke my musical language and we got along beautifully, jammin' ourselves silly. That's kinda how it needs to be in 3D...to find those who speak your language. I think that's why I like your tutorials so much Seliah...because they make sense to me.
Back to 3D....I don't have the advantage of having had "private tutoring" to get me up and running, so I've had to take learning in snippets. Once I hear something explained in a step by step, logical fashion, usually I can figure the rest out. It's when the information comes at me backwards, least important first, that I get overwhelmed, since I have no way on my own, no point of reference, to distinguish what's critical and necessary from what can wait, or will come in time with experience. When I was helping Sarah, that presented its own challenges since she was not just slightly, but seriously dyslexic....brilliant as she could be, but she had a problem not only with visual disorder, but also her thought processes would get "snags" too....she'd send three page emails to me attempting to explain some simple thing she'd learned that day, and I had to learn how to discern the bottom line. So I had not only my own drop off points, but hers as well. That's why I started the beginner PDF tutorials in just about everything at the time...it was to help her re-order her thinking process to follow simple illustrated steps...and it worked. I had to learn the basics so that I could interpret them for her. Since she passed in 2011, and then my retirement from work in 2012, my focus in 3D has been primarily posing...like my comfort zone I guess.
I do lighting the way you just described....sun is coming from this side, so shadows have to be here, or there. I know it isn't "right", but it's okay...especially for pose set promos....they can be not very good, according to what I've seen out there...haha.
If my health had not gotten onto a slippery slope, I'd probably have irons in every 3D fire by now, learning as much as I could. I did the same thing with music....taught myself six different instruments, and had the same challenges with folks with music degrees...they couldn't understand how I could anticipate what they were going to play before they played it, and they'd sorta be offended that I could do it...haha. It wasn't until I joined with friends who were black in a band that I felt "at home"...they spoke my musical language and we got along beautifully, jammin' ourselves silly. That's kinda how it needs to be in 3D...to find those who speak your language. I think that's why I like your tutorials so much Seliah...because they make sense to me.
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Yeah, I didn't have any such advantage with 3D either. I'm self-taught insofar as any of us are. (That being "self-taught by reading threads and tutorials and availing ourselves of others' knowledge that they were kind enough to share...)
So I do understand where you're coming from. And hey, if you enjoy doing the poses, then do the poses! Nothing wrong with that at all. And you do a lot of really good work with the poses, too.
I'm glad they help people out. I was taught ages ago, that when writing a tutorial, or any kind of a how-to, always assume the reader has NO idea how to do ANY of it... so that's how I write those. With the intention of being able to walk someone through the process who has never done it before.
I also prefer plain english. The technical discussions are perfectly okay, but IMO, they do not belong in a beginner or novice tutorial as the technical jargon only confuses a newbie or other novice to the subject at hand. And, as you've demonstrated yourself - it can discourage them from trying again.
I'm self-taught insofar as any of us are. (That being "self-taught by reading threads and tutorials and availing ourselves of others' knowledge that they were kind enough to share...)So I do understand where you're coming from. And hey, if you enjoy doing the poses, then do the poses! Nothing wrong with that at all.
And you do a lot of really good work with the poses, too.I'm glad they help people out. I was taught ages ago, that when writing a tutorial, or any kind of a how-to, always assume the reader has NO idea how to do ANY of it... so that's how I write those. With the intention of being able to walk someone through the process who has never done it before.
I also prefer plain english. The technical discussions are perfectly okay, but IMO, they do not belong in a beginner or novice tutorial as the technical jargon only confuses a newbie or other novice to the subject at hand. And, as you've demonstrated yourself - it can discourage them from trying again.
skylab
Esteemed
I just noticed the time is slipping on toward morning...didn't realize it had gotten this late...haha. I'd better get myself to bed or I'll be no good tomorrow. Good chatting Seliah...and I'll catch you again tomorrow. Good luck with the continuing story of Nataani, and have fun setting up your other goodies on your laptop. Good night
Have a good night, Sky. Sleep well.
Morning, Ski.
skylab
Esteemed
Hey Seliah...sitting here playing with the new anim8or...basic function for cylindrical props has not changed...can't get any easier. And here it is...this is reminiscent of the original SKYLAB FREEBIE thread on DAZ....and if I remember, Pen stopped by and learned to make props using this method...that was a long time ago...haha. Anyway, here's the anim8or tutorial using the new interface
New version, still in development, can be downloaded here on the Anim8or forum.
Under Object, select Export, and choose file type....that's it...all there is to making a jar
New version, still in development, can be downloaded here on the Anim8or forum.
Under Object, select Export, and choose file type....that's it...all there is to making a jar
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Hey, it's morning for me. I'm still working on my first coffee! That makes it morning, no matter how much light is outside.