SKYLAB CHAT

[skylab]

During the search, I did run across what appeared to be an excellent, lengthy and in-depth series on Hexagon modeling,
The link to the main page on YouTube is at CGDreams Hexagon tutorials.

Also, this was an interesting comparison between sculpting in Hexagon and Zbrush'

 

[Terre]

I have to admit that "Intermediate" would annoy the heck out of me. I don't like the way it sounds, LOL. But it's just a personal taste thing. I also don't understand the whole notion of "graduating" at the end of Elementary school. I'm sorry, but when I was in school, the ONLY "graduation" was your high school graduation ceremony. Now they have one for Kindergarten, the end of Elementary, and the end of Junior High... it's nuts in my opinion.

It's too much emphasis on making every last little thing "super duper special" and not enough focus on getting the kids and the CURRICULUM to a point where the children graduate high school knowing the basics for how to function in adult society. I'm sorry but moving from elementary to middle school is NOT "special" to me! And yes I'm a parent! Moving from the middle to high school, I don't see that as warranting a "graduation" either. I think it would help the kids if they had maybe a couple of days at the end of the school year to walk around the high school (WITH supervision/parent chaperones), and get a little familiar with the routine. But a graduation is, IMO, making too much fanfare over too little.

Agreed. When I first started hearing about all of these graduations my thought was that when HS graduation finally arrived it would be meaningless. (I can see how Miss B would have been upset when she was young and was expecting a ceremony though.)

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

Agreed. When I first started hearing about all of these graduations my thought was that when HS graduation finally arrived it would be meaningless. (I can see how Miss B would have been upset when she was young and was expecting a ceremony though.)

Yep, same here. I can see how kids would be upset when they are expecting something like that and it doesn't happen for one reason or another.

But mainly for me, all these "graduations" are just too much pomp and circumstance at the wrong times... it gives the kids the idea that every last little thing is worthy of major rewards and that's just not how the world works. :/

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

During the search, I did run across what appeared to be an excellent, lengthy and in-depth series on Hexagon modeling,
The link to the main page on YouTube is at CGDreams Hexagon tutorials.

Also, this was an interesting comparison between sculpting in Hexagon and Zbrush'

That's interesting, Sky. I'm sure it will be helpful for the Hexagon folks. I stick to Blender myself. I actually have a much easier time with the hotkey-oriented UI than I do Hexagon's interface (and Hex tends to just crash on my pc anyway. LOL)

 

[skylab]

That's great if you're working in Blender. Any other modeling program would probably be a step backwards for you. And I can see where Blender would be easy on system resources.

I couldn't find many current DS tutorials there were what I'd call good (bottom of page 52). So many attempt tutorials but they either mumble or talk kinda in circles so that it's difficult to track and get focused...you feel yourself going on the nods instead...haha. That's why I like your step approach...1-2-3...this is how it's done, and a brief description of why. I think video tutorials may require a script or cue cards or something, to stay on track.

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

That's great if you're working in Blender. Any other modeling program would probably be a step backwards for you. And I can see where Blender would be easy on system resources.

I couldn't find many current DS tutorials there were what I'd call good (bottom of page 52). So many attempt tutorials but they either mumble or talk kinda in circles so that it's difficult to track and get focused...you feel yourself going on the nods instead...haha. That's why I like your step approach...1-2-3...this is how it's done, and a brief description of why. I think video tutorials may require a script or cue cards or something, to stay on track.

Video tuts can be either a blessing or a curse, and it all depends on the person who made the tutorial and how they approach it... AND the individual's own learning style.

I like Alessandro's LAMH tutorials on Youtube. He does a great job with them. However, a lot of the Blender tutorials on YT make my brain explode - either the person is skipping steps that he assumes his viewer already knows (and often they do not), or they are moving so fast that you can't catch everything before they've moved on to the next thing.

There are a couple of good Blender tuts on YT. But I have trouble with a lot of the video tuts. I learn better from having a layout on a webpage (combination of text with images) to reference. This way I don't feel like I have to rush to keep up with a video's pace, and I can go back and forth between Blender and the tut as I perform each step.

And yeah. I started in Wings... which did okay for the very early stuff. Then decided to try Hex because I just needed more than Wings was capable of doing. I couldn't stand Hexagon's interface at ALL, plus every few seconds it was randomly crashing to the desktop, so it was basically pointless for me. Then I stumbled into Blender and all of a sudden I found myself actually making real progress on learning to model.

I'm still at the stage where I need starter meshes to do my clothing models from. I'm sure eventually I won't need those to begin a model with. But at the moment, they are a HUGE help as I'm just not very good yet at roughing out cubes and spheres and such to make the basic clothing shape from.

But as far as a step back.. yes, probably. I mean, Blender is pretty much on par with some extremely expensive "pro" modeling softwares as far as functionality goes. It has some quirks for sure... and if someone doesn't like the hotkey/keyboard shortcut method, they won't adjust well to it. But I like it well enough, and it does pretty good for me.

 

[skylab]

A friend of mine is like that whenever she asks for help about her computer....usually the reason for many of the long phone calls I have to deal with. Believe it or not, it took 8 hours....until about 4:00 in the morning, to talk her through installing Google Chrome, flash for explorer, security essentials, and java...all so she could view her email without encountering problems. We started off pretty good, but by the time we got to the java installation, her focus was totally gone...would go off talking about birds in the backyard, and her need for a new bird feeder, etc., meanwhile the clock's ticking and my rear end has gone numb from sitting so long...haha. After numerous, repeated cautions to her about not accepting any junkware during the java installation, of course she did it anyway, because her mind broadcasts on a different frequency...haha. I finally suggested that she call her neighbor the next day and let them fix the mess that had taken over her browser and was initiating pop-up ads on her desktop. When I finally got off the phone I wondered how could I have handled that differently...and the answer was...there was no answer....I just had to ride the wave of whatever it was that keeps her from being able to learn, and hope for the best. Some folks apparently think in a circular pattern...and that's what you see a lot of times in video tutorials. You might think that you have trouble learning from videos, when actually it's that people are going to naturally have trouble learning from boring or disorganized videos. So I try to be selective about tutorial videos, so as not to discourage new users.

 

[skylab]

I think the hotkey shortcuts are what cause me to stop and stare...whew...it seems so overwhelming because it is an enormously powerful program compared to Hexagon. Hexagon has the old Poser style interface, which was less intimidating to me. But you're right, you have to be prepared to occasionally have it just leave you hanging, so you have to save your work often to avoid wasted time starting completely over with a project.

 

[skylab]

By the way, I've had about 20 years invested in trying to train the friend who calls, when we were on the job together. I'd still be at work until 1:00 in the morning, trying to give her the special learning pace that she needed...so I've spent two decades trying to adjust the training style. The problem was, my generation got caught in the transition between technologies...the introduction of computers, and then various gadgets and cell phones...and there were a lot of older employees who wanted to camp out at how it was done 30 years ago. That was their comfort zone, and where they felt skill strengths, and learning new things made them feel awkward and even silly. That's when I started the "hit this" and "click that" style of training...and skip the "what fors" because they weren't going to remember it anyway...haha. I tended to need the "what for" stuff...for some sort of understanding as to what gets me from point A to point B....with the understanding, you don't have to memorize steps. It would be like getting in your car and driving to the store...one method would be to roll the window down, stick you head out, and memorize each visual step to get there...or you can know that the store's four blocks down, turn right and go two blocks and there it is.

 

[skylab]

Another DS4 pose for Genesis 2 male, using this free wheelchair. Since I had it in the Poser runtime already, I just saved the chair as a scene file, and imported the scene into DS, then proceeded creating the pose.

DS4 GENESIS 2 MALE - WHEELCHAIR

 

[Miss B]

That's interesting, Sky. I'm sure it will be helpful for the Hexagon folks. I stick to Blender myself. I actually have a much easier time with the hotkey-oriented UI than I do Hexagon's interface (and Hex tends to just crash on my pc anyway. LOL)

I was already using Blender for a while when I finally got around to tryng Hexagon, and I had the same problem. It just flaked out all the time. I probably should've tried it on the old WinXP laptop, as that was only 32-bit. It just doesn't play nice with a 64-bit OS. I also like Blender's hotkey system, as I find it easier than having to click links in the UI all the time.

 

[skylab]

Hey Miss B So that's the problem with Hexagon, it doesn't like 32 bit....hmmm....so you would be better off on Windows XP since Hexagon is light on resources.

 

[skylab]

The last picture I posted of Jo was not very clear, so I thought I'd take time to post a few that show his coloring better because the light happened to be on in his tank. The pic at the bottom is one of the funniest, showing his big mouth...looks like he's singing or something. I just changed the water in his tank, so it made me think of posting his pics.

 

[Lyne]

Fish to "yawn" I remember from my "fish having days"...

Pretty !

 

[skylab]

Latest Poser 11 videos, to add to the Bremmer videos on page three of this thread.

 

[skylab]

Hi Lyne Yes, that is actually what he does...a big ole yawn...haha

 

[skylab]

...more Poser 11.

 

[Terre]

Good afternoon.

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

Afternoon, Terre.

 

[Miss B]

The last picture I posted of Jo was not very clear, so I thought I'd take time to post a few that show his coloring better because the light happened to be on in his tank. The pic at the bottom is one of the funniest, showing his big mouth...looks like he's singing or something. I just changed the water in his tank, so it made me think of posting his pics.

Oh thank you for posting more pics. That other one was blurry and a little dark. These are nice, and that last one with his mouth open is hysterical.