As most of my friends with Mac’s are quick to point out, they never have to deal with any of those ugly security issues that those of us deep to the knees in the MS Windows world.
Make no mistake about it, Apple is capable of producing some fine hardware, I have even owned a couple of Mac’s myself a few years ago. However beyond the hefty price tag as compared to a similar wintel machine, the thing that finally caused me to find a place for the machine in the closet was the fact there just wasn’t any software available for the Mac. Oh sure there was some but it got frustrating having to check if there was a Mac version and more often than not coming away disappointed.
The lack of software is rooted squarely on the size of the user base. If I happen to be developing a piece of software, I certainly want to receive the most bang for my buck, actually lots of bucks. In many cases there just isn’t the return on the investment to justify developing for the Mac.
I have used the same argument concerning the lack of malware targeted at the Mac. I would gather the evil software doers think of the same return on investment. However the Mac is growing in popularity and with that I saw the following article today:
In this particular case, the rogue software is embedded in an application being distributed on a bit torrent. In my opinion anyone participating in bit torrent activity is just asking for trouble, the word karma comes to mind.
The point is, yes Apple does make a series of fine computers, but if you are using a Mac, don’t get lulled into a false sense of security. That up to date security software is certainly not a waste of time or money.
Back when I bought my first 35mm SLR camera, I made an attempt to soak up as much information about how to take good photographs as I could. In one magazine I read an article that suggested the way to learn how to take great pictures was to practice taking pictures of doorknobs.
At that time nearly everyone who used photography as a form of artistic expression worked in black and white. I still love black and white photos as I feel the art has so many subtleties that are often lost in color. However I digress, I mean to be talking about doorknob photography.
The idea behind this exercise was to take a subject that is really not all that interesting or complex all by itself, and pay more attention the framing of the subject, the angle of the shot, the way light and shadows play together. A good photograph pays attention to all of these elements.
Today I was thinking back to that article and how really it does apply to the core of what becomes stunning art. Some times the special effects, the cool animation, or content itself become the focus. But really all of those elements are wasted without the perfect light or the correct point of view. It’s interesting to me now matter how complex something becomes, its always the basics that make the difference.
I have been using the new version of Photoshop for about a month now. Of course there are several new features for Adobe to boast about, generally more support for 3D objects including 3D paint, auto alignment of layers, auto blending of images, content aware scaling, and fluid canvas rotation among others.
What is my favorite new feature? By far, by far and away my favorite new feature are document tabs. I remember the first time I used Firefox and found I could have several web sites open at the same time without multiple browser open at the same time through the magic of tabs.
And now this awesome technology has come to Photoshop and I couldn’t be more excited. If you are like me, you frequently have several images open all at the same time. It used to be Photoshop on my screen looked like some sort of scrapbook with images scattered about. And woe be to me if I should ever minimize one and try to find it again. Now its just a click of a tab, thanks Adobe!
I’ve been using Daz Carrara for 3D modeling for the past few months, really just scratching the surface on how to use the tool. The past week or so I started working with Hexagon which is also from Daz. I received Carrara with an issue of 3D World magazine and picked up Hexagon last year during a leap year sale practically dirt cheap.
Both of these products are considered hobby level applications within the 3D modeling community yet both are also powerful enough to accomplish many complex tasks. Both also have a reputation for being buggy within the forums that I frequent. I suppose that it a sure sign that I’m still novice because I haven’t noticed any of the bugs yet.
Lately I’ve been thinking investments in 3D modeling tools. Of course there is the financial investment but there is also the investment of time. I am trying to decide if I should just stick with Carrara/Hexagon or if I should be looking towards something that is the next level up.
There are the pro level tools such as Maya and 3ds Max, but those are mega bucks as in needing to apply for a mortgage in order to buy them. However there are some mid level tools that I could afford by setting some money aside for a few months.
The major thing Carrara has going for it besides the fact that I already have it, is that it works very well with Poser, its fairly easy to move object from one product to the other. On the downside is the lack of formal training material, there are not many books and unlike the pro level applications, I know of no classes where Carrara is taught. Not to mention the bugs that I have not yet discovered.
The biggest risk of all is vendor support. Carrara 7 was just released however I have to wonder if some time in the near future Daz decides to drop the product. In today’s economy these things do happen, and at the core of why I am still looking for my tool of choice.
I have been spending most of my time the past few weeks learning, it’s a entirely new level of satisfaction to have created an entire scene or animation with materials created from scratch, and that’s the place I want to be. I’ve done a few quick projects and a couple of other things that I am working on by request. And still having a blast with it all.
A 3D render created in Poser and post work in Adobe Photoshop. The skin textures were custom by me. I wanted to do something a little outside the norm for this one. It’s interesting to me that things that I’ve always thought were magic in the form of presentation are not so magic after all. Yet it is so much to create that magic.
