# The Design Studio



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

In the absense of a permanent design section on ehMac I thought I would take it upon myself to start this thread. See if we can keep this one alive as long as The Shang!

Please feel free to post design work you have completed, links of quality examples of good design you have seen or any type of design chat you feel will benefit others.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

I'll get the ball rolling then...

As I'm a bit of a 3-D guy I came across this fella who is on the cutting edge of computer rendering. His site has some amazing images and movies and easy explanantions of the different techniques used.

http://graphics.ucsd.edu/~henrik/


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Here's one of my favorite sites:

The Principles of Graphic Design

It's a great peek into what makes graphic design such an interesting field not to mention very in-depth in it's many facets -- from colour theory to typography.









[ May 14, 2004, 10:06 AM: Message edited by: « MannyP Design » ]


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## bl:oke (Sep 15, 2003)

Here are a few of my favorites:

------

Press Tube - www.presstube.com 
Amazing visual artist, who uses Flash as his medium. 

Mecompany - www.mecompany.com
UK design firm. The best desktop wallpapers on the web, imo!

M/M Paris - www.mmparis.com
The most sought after design firm right now in fashion and music. They mix fashion photography with abstract illustrations and minimalist design.

and one more...

Erik Spiekermann's Type Tips from the FontShop.

[ May 14, 2004, 03:02 AM: Message edited by: blke ]


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

guys...this stuff is great!
I'm gonna love this thread

makes me realise how limited my ideas are though  

this had everyone in our office drooling over for several days....

http://www.scienceunderfire.com/


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## MaxPower (Jan 30, 2003)

This is a great idea!!

We should also share tips, tricks and advice for those that are inexperienced in Graphic Design such as myself.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

uumm, ok....forgot this stuff
quick question....

Is blue a complimentary colour to yellow or is it a contrasting colour ?

Or can a contrasting colour be complimentary ?

no one here seems to know, so I thought I'd tap up my new resource


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Both -- it can be a complimentary as well as a contrast. It's sometimes referred to as complementary contrasting colours.

Here's a site I googled:
Itten's Color Theory



> Color Contrasts
> There are seven different kinds of contrasts.
> 1.  Contrast of Hue
> 2.  Light-Dark Contrast
> ...


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

The fog clears....thanks Manny

but what is contrast of extension ??

edit: ignore me I just looked at your link


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Anyone see this magazine before? Looks like they've been around for a couple of years:

Before&After Looks pretty interesting. Articles on design, image manipulation, layout, etc.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

I've never seen it before but it looks pretty good...especially this issue which deals with colours...something I need to brush up on I think.


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## theanticrust (Jan 24, 2004)

For daily inspiration I go to these two sites

Newstoday

Kaliber1000

And blke.. are you a Bjork fan? cause Mecompany and M/M Paris both did work for her.


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## Blue shirt Yellow Pants (Apr 25, 2003)

Check out this site - can't imagine the time it took to do: http://www.estudio.com

Anybody know a good stock illustration source, other than artville and getty?


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## BabeBetty (Nov 5, 2001)

For illustration source, I personally like
veer 

lots of nice stuff, and smashing retro art.


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## zigzagry (Apr 12, 2003)

the 2 sites I have drawn much inspiration from are:

www.shiliodesign.com
www.heliozilla.com

best motion graphics work I've come across. For my taste anyway.

Check out the '03 reel, and ok47 vids on the helios site.

[ May 16, 2004, 04:20 PM: Message edited by: zigzagry ]


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

A nice jumping board into design inspiration 

Dave


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

This is not terribly creative....but amazing all the same. The smallest sculptures in the world...

http://www.willard-wigan.com/artist1.htm


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

My monday morning mooch around the internet also reveiled this novel way of keeping chewing gum off the streets....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/3719315.stm

Would a Canadian version have Don Cherry on it ?


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Flash and design; is 2advanced's web site really a _good_ site? It's one I frequent on a regular basis -- purely as a designer, but after the 10th viewing, there was something that bothered me about the site...

I ask because although the execution, style, animation, and graphics are very well done, but the interface, to me, appears to contain too many graphic elements that I wonder if it confuses or maybe overwhelms the average person.

They're a design/motion/multimedia firm so I know this site showcases what they can do quite effectively... but from a usability standpoint (accesability issues aside), is it an _effective site_ from a usability point of view?

How does it compare to their previous versions?
http://www.2advanced.com/archive/v3/flashindex.htm
http://www.2advanced.com/archive/v2/flashindex.htm

Thoughts?


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

The website is pretty impressive as an example of what they can do...but yeah, personally I'm not too excited these days by that kind of indutrial/ futurist look...it's been done a thousand times before (although here it has been done well).

As far as useability is concerned....I a big fan of keeping things simple. I'm sure a lot of people would like this kind of thing but it's not my cup of tea.

I started a new company with a couple of guys recently and we'll be highlighting the work we do with a website soon....watch this space!

cheers for keeping things going in here Manny!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

One of their designer's has a personal site that really appeals to me personally: http://www.pixelranger.com that touches on your comment about simplicity. It obviously has the same style/flavour as 2advanced's site, but it's much more streamlined and I love the integration of technology and nature.

[ May 20, 2004, 02:10 PM: Message edited by: « MannyP Design » ]


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Hey Manny,
In regard for my love of all things simple, looks like MIT are on the same lines....

http://simplicity.media.mit.edu/vision.html


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I'm a huge fan of white space... but that site makes me snowblind!  

Looks like this long weekend may allow me to start working on some personal site ideas... Yay!


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## avalonian (Jun 26, 2003)

> *RGD Ontario Salary Survey*
> 
> The RGD Ontario/Aquent 2003/04 National Survey of Graphic Design Salaries & Billing Practices was launched October 2, 2003. This is the second Canada-wide salary survey.
> 
> ...


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## The Librarian (Apr 11, 2003)

this thread is amazing!

i started bookmarking key sites which some of you have posted, but then i just realized that everything's usefull here. i'm just going to use this whole thread as a resource. ehmac's stock just went up again for me...

cheers

a couple of font links:
fontalicious 
font diner


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## Ian Barlow (Jan 30, 2004)

Typedifferent is another really good font site. Not a huge number of fonts, but there are some real gems and the free ones are really quite good.


ComputerLove and NetDiver are also some killer design portals for illustration, print, new media and motion graphics.


Lastly, if you are looking for a very unique and creative approach to graphic design, have a look at Foundation33's work. It's just fantastic, and there are some very interesting articles and side projects on there to check out. I read their whole site one night. Took me like three hours...


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Thought I'd get this thread going again......

found this superb iRobot design illustrations....such talent

http://www.martiniere.com/irbrain.html


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I thought would give this awesome, but quiet, thread a little bump with a personal post -- I've uploaded a new redesign of my website and is at the moment in transition:

http://pages.videotron.com/mannyp/ 

It's been about a year and a half (off and on) of constant redesign, exploring ideas and concepts (I might post them in the site to show the evolution); developing new ideas that never made me content up until now.

Now, all I need to do is get the rest of the shtuff in order.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

love the cogs Manny........very cool!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Thanks. After viewing it on various monitors I realized I need to revist it and make some minor adjustments.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

so how much is it going to cost me to get you to do my site ????


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

It depends... how much beer ya got?


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

the big question is how much beer have I got spare ?


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Manny, 

after seeing your wonderful website and a quick lesson on how to create a simple website in Photoshop from my colleague I have done this....

www.richardmulley.com

it isn't quite optimised.....but it's a start









I'll keep you updated on the progress.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Hey,

I clicked the link and I get an error (OS 9 / Explorer):

_The attempt to load 'Accessing URL: http://www.richardmulley.com/" failed._

--

*EDIT:* I tried it in Netscape 7 and it came through fine -- must be the final rattles of Explorer as it dies.  

Great effort! Is that a beer I see?









The first thing I noticed when looking at it is when I click through different sections everything shifted down. I'm not sure if it's my browser to take it for what it's worth.  Minor detail.

A great way to optimize your site (if you're comfortable with HTML) is to use coloured table cells in lieu of the grey graphics you used to book-end the top and bottom of the site and use HTML text for the buttons. Less stuff to load, faster view times.









Something like this:









Your current page looks like this (notice the extra cells that are using up extra overhead):








<font size=-2>This is the preview when viewed in dreamweaver (very crudely, however since I didn't load the graphics. Just an example to show you how the table is layed out) -- losts of filler cells that aren't helping the site's load time</font>

I like to keep my work area as clean as possible (when I'm not being lazy). 

[ August 18, 2004, 01:58 PM: Message edited by: « MannyP Design » ]


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

this thread should be renamed "The MannyP and Loafer Show"

thanks for the tips.....
I know the site isn't really well built, I just did it in Photoshop and sliced it up and exported it from there.
I just want to get something simple up first and then play around later on. This is not my forte at all.
The beer can is a 3D rendering I did for a project I was working on.....all my work is at home so I just dumped a coupleof pics I had here at work (which wasn't a big secret) and slapped 'em up. Looked pretty nice though.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

_queue the M&L theme_

I was going to ask you about the can -- is the top portion a texture or completely modeled? I ask because I had to take a second look. I'm still not entirely sure  

What did you use for software?


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

hey. didn't see this. Here's my site


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Whoa, groovy site!







Love the colours/font choices. It's in my favs now.

--

Speaking of colours, here's an interesting site: ColorCell.org


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

Thanks!
I used pixel fonts I got from here www.fontsforflash.com

That color site is a good link, thanks.

I sometimes go here to browse for inspiration... www.linkdup.com 
or www.favouritewebsiteawards.com


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Manny,

The top of the can is a combination of modelling and texture map. I must confess I needed a little help with the ring pull.....it was driving my crazy. I used FormZ.

Groovetube,

The website is v. nice. I see your company did work for McCann Erickson.....my wife works for Maclaren McCann.


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

I did?

 

My company is at present just me. I just switch hats all day.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

The Coca-Cola spot
Who do you do work for mainly ?


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

groovetune.....hang on, my tiny little brain is getting confused!
it's on a website you have on your "feature" section.

I get it now!

ignore me


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## Cynical Critic (Sep 2, 2002)

All the links posted are great. I'm interested in web and graphic design so these are great resources for me. I'd post my site but it is under major renovations and won't look nearly as spectacular as groovetube's Flash site.

Manny P, I'd recommend inserting a DOCTYPE in your page. Read www.alistapart.com/articles/doctype/ for more info. The DOCTYPE can help reduce errors in browsers.

Also if you're interested in learning XHTML and CSS, I'd recommend recoding your site with them because it can speed up load time and remove needless code (and gif image spacers). XHTML is very similar to HTML and basic CSS is easy to learn. If you'd like to know more I'd be happy to lend my limited knowledge or list resources. 

I like the look (and the beer can)!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

CSS and XML are probably good ideas -- if I was more familiar with them.  It's something I need to do more research on myself (moreso XML than CSS.)


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

I have a blog with a simple design that I am already tired of.

I also did the layout for Chealion's blog.

They are both pretty simple, but that is kind of the point.


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## Cynical Critic (Sep 2, 2002)

Manny P, how do you plan to apply XML to your projects?


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

MannyP,

Don't ignore CSS entirely; It is, as they say, the bomb.

For an example of how friggin' cool it is, you need to check out the CSS Zen Garden. 

When you choose a new design to look at, realize that the XHTML _does not change_, just the CSS stylesheet. It's very cool.

CSS Zen Garden


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

> Manny P, how do you plan to apply XML to your projects?


Good question -- I'm not entirely sure what XML does. Hence the research.  



> Don't ignore CSS entirely; It is, as they say, the bomb.
> 
> For an example of how friggin' cool it is, you need to check out the CSS Zen Garden.
> 
> When you choose a new design to look at, realize that the XHTML does not change, just the CSS stylesheet. It's very cool.


I like your site PB, very retro.

I'm really just getting started in learning CSS (it's difficult when you only have so many hours in the day) -- obviously it's much more powerful than I thought, after looking at the Zen Garden.  

I've always looked at it as a way to control the content (text) attributes for typographical purposes -- such as leading, tracking, and links.

Man, I need to do some cramming.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

this is so bizarre.....as an industrial designer I have tackled and accomplished some very tricky design problems. I have learnt several 3D modelling software packages and many 2D packages too......to a very professional level. But as soon as html, xml, css and all this comes a long my eyes gloss over and I just can;t take it in......it's kind of annoying because I would love to have a basic understanding of it but it's like rocket science to me!

and yes Manny.....there really just aren't enough hours in the day to leanr something like that so thoroughly and retain it.

the quest goes on....I may be bugging some people to some answer to Dreamweaver problesm when I get stuck into that in the fall........good to know you are all here


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

If you're doing mainly web design, just focus on XHTML. It's the best of XML and HTML rolled into one.

CSS used to be supported only for controlling text, in fact there are some people still using Netscape 4 which only supports CSS for text.

Later revisions, though, when paired with the latest version of HTML (4.01) and XHTML (1.0) can format _anything_.

I like the XHTML/CSS book CC recommended. It's structured so that if you are a beginner you can learn it quick, but also to be a good reference for those people who already have a good knowledge of what's going on.

Also, check out Designing With Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman. He spends the first ~140 pages or so just expounding on why web standards are important.

And last, but definitely not least, check out the online web design 'zine A List Apart which runs tutorials on advanced creative ways to use web standards to make cool designs.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Thanks for the suggestions.







I'll be hitting the bookstore this weekend with a vengence.


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## Cynical Critic (Sep 2, 2002)

I recommend The 5th Edition Visual Quickstart Guide for XHTML & CSS by Peachpit press. Their publications are straight-forward, loaded with visuals for us visual learners, and reasonably priced. I can dig up some on-line resources as well if you'd like. Many are listed in the Quickstart guide and another book I'm currently reading.

As for XML, it's mainly a server-side database language lauded for its flexibility, ease of use and cross-platform performance. However, as PB informed me and as I've also read MS (among other companies) is trying to apply it to their own software in a non-uniserval, you-must-buy-MS-products kinds of way. Admittedly I am only a novice on the subject as well but I know a little.


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

chapters n' starbucks . That's how I learned a number of things.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

you can't beat a lunch hour hanging around Chapters!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Heh heh, it's probably a good thing there isn't a Chapters in the immediate vicinity -- it'd cut into my Battlefield time.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ok guys.....here is the latest re-incarnation of my web site

I'm yet to sort out some roll-overs and only one of the images is linked to something. Oh for the want of more time!

I built it in Freeway Pro.....easy on my little brain

your input please!

www.richardmulley.com


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Very nice, very nice! Are the thumbnails functional or coming soon?


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## darkscot (Nov 13, 2003)

very nice loafer - love the 3d logo and portfolio presentation!

1 critique being that the white text does not look very crisp - might need to make it a jpg instead or use some aliasing. white text is often a pain to get it to look neat.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Manny, yeah the thumbnails will be functional, gotta get round to finishing them all.

and yeah, the white text looks a bit cr*p in places, I was going to go back through it all and change it to html, at the moment I think it's all gif.

It's getting there, as I begin to learn new stuff I can change it around somewhat, but the essense of what I wanted is there.....very clean, simple and easy to navigate.....although I would love to put in some spinning cogs but that will have to wait !


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Is that a hint?


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## zigzagry (Apr 12, 2003)

hey guys, is there a way to get Illustrator CS to automatically activate the documents fonts in suitcase?


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Good question, I believe version 11 (or X1 as they seem to call it) appears to auto-activate fonts from what I've read.

I've never used Suitcase, in the past just ATM in OS 9 and now Font Book in X, but I've always made it a habit of embedding fonts in my Illustrator files.

I did a quick look around the web and apparently Illustrator uses a special plug-in that works with Suitcase to auto-activate fonts:

http://www.macnet2.com/more.php?id=73_0_1_0_M 

_(The new Suitcase plug-in for Adobe Illustrator requires Suitcase 10 version 10.01 or 10.1.)_

and

http://www.macworldextra.co.uk/showme_printed.lasso?urn=39557&productname=Extensis%20Suitcase 

_Auto-activation for Adobe Illustrator requires Illustrator 8, 9, 10, or CS_

So, I imagine what you will need to do is locate your Suitcase installer and see if they allow a custom install of Extensis' Illustrator plug-in (or at the very least, the extras folder for you to drag/drop the plug-in). There's probably some documented procedure in the ReadMe somewhere.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

[edit: fixed spelling errors]


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

looks nice loafer. Like the 3d raised logo thing.

for sharp texts, I like using www.fontsforflash.com , and www.miniml.com pixel fonts rock.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ok guys.....finally IT'S FINISHED!!!!!!!!!

Check it out, all links are now working!

www.richardmulley.com

it needs a bit of tweaking here and there......
now who wants to explain to me the concept of CSS again ?


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Very nice! I love the prisma marker/ink pen concepts -- there's something about that particular style of developing concepts that really appeals to me -- I think it started with Ralph McQuarrie, back in the 70s for me, and now Doug Chang (et al) who all work on the conceptuals for Star Wars. Yeah, I'm a dork. Whatofit?  

I'm sure Posterboy will give a better explanation, but here goes:

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a way to globally, or specifically attach text and layout styles to your web pages -- controlling the size, font face, style, leading, tracking and all sorts of other typographical options. It also includes a way to specify margins as well as how your tables and images (borders) can/will look not to mention how links act/interact.

That's the jist of it... well, I'm really sure there's more to it than what I just said, but that should give you a general idea. If you have a copy of Dreamweaver laying around it's a good way to poke around and see how it works -- or use any freeware CSS editors that are available on MacUpdate.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

MannyP,

I actually went to an exhibition a few years back in London, UK The Art of Star Wars.....they had all the original sketches and matt paintings, models of the ships, sketches of the costumes......even descriptions of how the sounds were produced (the light saber comes from a combination of an electric razor being run round the inside of a metal bowl and a sound recording of cars passing on a wet road!)....I was in a dream world, just stunning stuff, So yes call me a Dork too, I love those guys work!

Have you seen Doug Chiang's Robota stuff on his website ?

www.dchiang.com

look for the previews, awesome stuff!

thanks for the comments by the way


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## wmlucas (Jan 12, 2001)

Hey everybody. Just thought I'd add to this design thread. I'm currently working on a site for myself. I just got engaged and am trying to make a little extra money. Let me know what you think:

wlg_design

BTW: I would strongly recommend looking further into CSS and XHTML if anyone is curious. Designing with Web Standards and Web Standards Solutions are both great books.

Luke


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

wmlucas: Very nice. I like the simplicity and focus on typography. I see you're a Blender user. I've downloaded it but have yet to try it.


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## zigzagry (Apr 12, 2003)

hey guys,

another Illustrator cs question. Hopefully some of you are using it. 

Whats the deal with not being able to save down to older versions?

Is the only way for me to open a document in 10 to save as a pdf in cs and then open it in 10? If so that sucks.


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## MacMunchie (Dec 17, 2003)

Just save the file as a normal illustrator 11 file and then open your older illustrator 10 version, a box will appear saying that some data may be lost, but this should be ok as long as you are not using gradiants.

it works for me.

MacMunchie


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I'm still using Illustrator 10, but I'm hoping it should be a matter of FILE > Save As... > and then the dialogue window should show you a selection of .AI versions that go back to version "88" (or something to that effect.)

I think regular gradients should be okay, with the exception of gradient meshes and transparencies (they are usually "flattened" and rasterized when exported to .EPS or older versions of Illustrator.


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## zigzagry (Apr 12, 2003)

I know what you re saying manny,

The thing is that cs just does not alow you to save as anything but a version 11 doc. There is no option.

That is a pretty stupid move on adobes part.
Like if I wanted to take a cs document from my mac at home to my pc at work it wouldnt work. So now I'll have to save as a cs file. Then open in 10 and make sure all is cool. Then Save as 10 before I can open that file on Ill. 10 at work.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Maybe they've relegated the option to save in earlier versions under Export? If not -- you're right, that is pretty stupid to not allow saving for earlier versions. I know one can always save as .EPS, however if one wants to keep certain effects that are native to certain versions, you won't have that opportunity.

That being said -- is there an option, either in the preferences or perhaps the save dialogue that allows one to "ensure" compatibility with older versions of AI? Maybe deselecting certain options (like PDF options and the like) will reveal options for older versions?

I'm just shooting in the dark here, since I don't have AI CS. Anyway, let us know if you figure something out.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

it is under Export to save down from Illustrator CS
they call it Illustrator legacy file, then you can pick which version to save as.....dumb if you ask me


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Anyone try this app yet: Nevercenter's SILO.

I'm an ElectricImage user and up until a couple of months ago, EI had their own modeler, but discontinued it due to ACIS licensing problems (greedy developers). Instead of reworking their modeler, they partnered with Nevercenter so any EI user can get a free copy of SILO with every purchase/upgrade.

I downloaded the demo tonight and played around with it for all of 10 minutes and already I can tell it's a pretty kick-ass modeler (without even touching the documentation or tutorials). It's fast, and has a unique interface that is easily customizable to work _your_ way.

I fired up a simple primitive -- a torus and proceeded to pull out faces and apply simple facets and bevels and colour selected faces. All in realtime, without any delays.

 

It exports to all the popular formats: obj, 3ds, dxf, rib, and pov. The price is nice as well: $109 US.

I can't wait to get my hands on some of the tutorials and really dig into this thing.


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## Cynical Critic (Sep 2, 2002)

I'm interested to hear more about SILO, Manny P.

P.S. - I like the redesign on your site.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

MannyP,

I never knew that about EI....interesting.
As for Silo, posts some examples of what you can do on it.

check out the latest website I'm working on :

www.sapo.ca

not complete, but you get the idea.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ok ignore me, the posted picture didn't show up the first time i read the post!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I love the site! Very nice. Did I ever mention lime green is one of my favorite colours? I noticed you used Futura -- one of my favorite fonts (or at least it looks like Futura).

Dig the SAPO logo too -- is that a little frog, with a question mark in the "O"?

I like the mission statement -- although I've been hitting my head against the wall lately with one of our clients... I won't bore you with the details; let's just say some folk don't understand the theory behind coporate identity and the positives of maintaining _some_ branding consistency. Blah.

~

I've only been using SILO for all of 10 minutes so far, so there's not much I can talk about or show things I have done... yet -- I think it's best left to the site (link above), they have some nice samples there. I'm not totally sure, but it appears to be a more of an organic modeler in the sense that it doesn't focus on the same level of numeric input for coordinates as Form•Z

I have some ElectricImage samples that I will be posting on my site very soon -- I've been sifting through hundreds of jobs that I've worked on over the last 5 years and pulling examples of every facet of design (illustration, 3D, page layout/design for print media, web design, etc.)

Some of my 3D work, unfortunately, was created in a little app called PiXELS:3d, which over the last new versions has "broken" the project file conventions for shaders, materials, etc. The version I used to make them doesn't work in Classic mode...  I had custom-made metal, molten lava, fur shaders, as well as a cool snow shader that was geometry based that would show either rock or snow depending on the angle of the model. They weren't exceptional by any means (basic, really), but when they turn your work ugly after so many hours of work... well, you know.

That's the last time I support a small company for software to important work, sadly.

Anyway, so it goes.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

I know what you mean about people simply not understanding the idea behind a "strong brand identity".
My dad, back in the UK designs and manufactures electronic equipment for boats (kind of a family business, personally I didn't want to get involved) so lately I've been giving him sh*t about his website....

www.nasamarine.com

I don't know who did it, I think he got some local chump to knock it up. Kids, here's how not to design a website!

Manny, you're website is looking sh*thot, can't wait to see the portfolio stuff. I wish I had the time to learn flash.....the Sapo site could be so much better.

As for the name Sapo. It comes from my friend who is from Colombia (one of the partners is our team). It is a colloquillism from there, it's translation is frog, but when you call someone a Sapo you are saying they are kind of nosey and they stick their nose into places maybe they shouldn't and ask questions. Which is what a designer should do right ?


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Thanks for the kind words -- it's been a long time coming. You wouldn't believe how many concepts I developed before I was happy with this one.











> As for the name Sapo. It comes from my friend who is from Colombia (one of the partners is our team). It is a colloquillism from there, it's translation is frog, but when you call someone a Sapo you are saying they are kind of nosey and they stick their nose into places maybe they shouldn't and ask questions. Which is what a designer should do right ?


You could say that about designers.  But it's our job to poke our nose in and ask lotsa questions.









Flash from the outside looking in seems like it could take time to learn, but if you do the tutorials they provide, you can learn enought to quickly get by. And, there are _tons_ of resources on the web.


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## Cynical Critic (Sep 2, 2002)

Flash tutorials are a good start. They are quick and easy.

For more advanced stuff, I've been told there are programs that can open any embedded Flash code to study it. When I find such program I will let you know.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

... and speaking of Flash, 2advanced studios (one of my sources of inspiration) has once again redesigned their site -- with a much nicer layout, I might add. They're into the Zen thing now, I guess.  

http://www.2advanced.net 

It's a little less Flash-based than it's predecessor.


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## Cynical Critic (Sep 2, 2002)

He he he. Zen is in right now isn't it.

Simple and elegant is easy on the download times and for most sites that's what they should have. Accesibility before flair.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Does anyone know if there are laws, copyright or something of the sort regarding producing _original_ illustrations of celebrities (political, music, film, literary, etc.) and selling them publically? I remember Corel had produced a big book of clip art and approximately 1/3rd of it was famous people (100's of portraits and charactures).

I know there are some legalities when it comes to selling original artwork of copyright characters for profit, with the exception of satire (under fair use).


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

The thing about flash is that it seems to me there are lots of little idiosyncrasies that aren't really in a book. Things sometimes are kind of "half explained". Or maybe I'm just not the sharpest knife in the drawer. When I'm totally stuck on something be it simple or a complex actionscript thing, I tend to do a search on macromedia.flash newsgroup and 9 times out of 10 there's someone whining about the same thing. Awesome resource for me. 
You can go to places like flashkit and download plenty of flas with the source. But half the time the code is really bad, and without a good understanding of the basics it won't make a whole lot of sense. www.actionscript.org has some nice tutorials written on actionscript.
Incidentally if you know javascript or even PHP actionscript is very very similar.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I'll stick my neck out here at the risk ruining my reputation (snicker); 3 words: _Actionscript for Dummies_.  

It's a great read, full of relevant, realworld, examples on how and why things work the way they do so you're not left with a finished tutorial and muttering to yourself: _Great, I built the damn thing, but I still don't know why/how it works_.

It's a good platform to launch yourself into intermediate/advanced stuff.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

9 out 10 problems in flash are related to the syntax used in referencing a variable's path. there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason behind at which times relative or absolute pathing is req'd. it's really hard to trouble shoot this, since these kinds of problems don't show up in the output window.

it gets especially ridiculous when trying to load stuff into levels and have the stuff in the level communicate with the stuff in the timeline which has to communicate with etc..

maybe i'll pick up that dummies book.


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

> Great, I built the damn thing, but I still don't know why/how it works.


I still mutter that when I finish something...


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## yo_paully (Sep 20, 2004)

I'm still kinda new around here, so I'm not sure if this site has been posted yet > www.istockphoto.com 

It's an amazing resource for graphic designers. Some real good stock photography - and it won't cost you a bundle of $$$. There's a reason they call it "the designer's dirty little secret" 
________
Honda XR75


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

I use it often  

Thats where I got the photo for my site from.


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## yo_paully (Sep 20, 2004)

Yeah, it's certainly a great resource, but: User Beware!

Read this... www.istockphoto.com/posts.php?threadid=11325&page=1 

Kind of funny, kind of scary









BTW: nice site grovetube!
________
Kawasaki ZN1300A


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Has anyone got any recomendations on a good "New Business" start up book ?

My friend and I are slowly putting things together, drumming up a bit of business and so forth but we could do with so literature on basic book keeping, paying taxes, having a business bank account and the legal side of who owns what etc etc.

It's a design business so I feel it is relevent to this thread










Cheers!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I don't know of any books -- perhaps the Graphic Design Assocation of Ontario may have something? I seem to recall there was a GD book of ethics and pricing, if I remember correctly it had some info on starting a business, however it may have been a U.S. publication.

~

Some of you might be interested to know a full version of Amapi 6 is free to those who buy issue 57 of 3D World Magazine.

Check it out.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

And speaking of free; from MacCentral.com:



> *DAZ Productions offers free DAZ/Studio 3D package*
> _By Peter Cohen [email protected]_
> 
> Draper, Utah-based DAZ Productions -- new owners of the venerable 3D landscape generation utility Bryce -- announced Friday the release of a free version of its DAZ/Studio 3D design software for both Mac OS X and Windows. The software is available to users who visit DAZ's Web site and register for an account. DAZ/Studio includes pre-configured 3D scenes with poseable characters, accessories and environments. Users can manipulate textures, lighting and other effects, and the software supports add-ons available for purchase directly from DAZ's Web site.


http://secure.daz3d.com/studio/


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

anyone ever received an error message like this one in illustrator while trying to make a simple clipping path?


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Nope. Incidentally, are you working in Inches?

Have you tried re-creating a clipping path from scratch and try it again?


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

hahaha...that is too funny

It would be like typing a letter in Word and the little annoying paper clip guy screaming...

"LETTERS" for no reason what-so-ever







))))


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## yo_paully (Sep 20, 2004)

I've never seen an error message like that... it looks like only part of the error message came through, like the rest of the message is missing. Were you able to cause the error again, to see if you got the same message? As far as I can tell, most error messages in Photoshop and Illustrator use proper grammar and punctuation, don't they?
________
Yamaha XT350


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

actually i solved the problem pretty quickly (i had the other agency's slug selected as the topmost object by mistake when i hit command 7).

i just thought it was unusual enough to post here for kicks.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

my latest creations.....

from the same idea, 2 different soccer teams I play for
not quite finished, but well, ya know how it is
nothing special though, so don't get excited...

www.richardmulley.com/redcards

www.richardmulley.com/lselect

I used the same format for both.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

just rescuing this thread from possible obliteration. it appears Everything else only goes back 4 pages now.

also, i heard these guys on KEXP and really like them so i checked out their website (flash): http://www.arcadefire.com/flashy/

not really much technically but some nice imagery/ideas.


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## Mrs. Furley (Sep 1, 2004)

Their album is my favourite right now - I can't stop listening to it! And I was at their site today - very nice. It goes well with the feel of the album and the album graphics. Lovely stuff.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

For the 3D aficionados:

http://www.maxwellrender.com/

All I can say is... wow.


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## vacuvox (Sep 5, 2003)

wowsy woosy wowow


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Jeez, these things make the rounds eh
I saw this link on another forum a couple of days ago.

Pretty sweet....I wonder how long it takes to render though, would it be as quick as EI or would you be waiting all night ?

There is a lot of people petitioning the company to make a FormZ plug-in.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

loafer, since this is another renderer that takes the 'physically correct' approach to lighting, i can't see how the render times wouldn't be stratospheric. there is an open source renderer in development now that is also taking the physically correct approach, but i've yet to see anybody do anything with it that matches the quality of the maxwell gallery. it appears to be still in its infancy http://toxicengine.sourceforge.net/

beautiful samples in the maxwell gallery though. i saw the professor character on cgtalk a while ago, didn't realize it was done with this new renderer.

the interface is command line, like POV, toxic, yafray etc, so i imagine export scripts for most progs will arrive soon.

thanks for posting this, manny.

most of you have probably already seen this? http://www.splutterfish.com/


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I really need to upgrade my software. Ugh.

I wish I could get a GI, or HDRI renderer where I work -- a lot of the projects I'm working on have glass objects and the version of EI I have doesn't have radiosity or raytracing/refractive capabilities...










I really wish there was an affordable renderer that looked as half as good as Maxwell.

[ October 29, 2004, 03:24 PM: Message edited by: « MannyP Design » ]


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

i hear ya manny. i'm in the process of exploring blender with the possibility of migrating if it goes well. i really like the direction it's headed now especially with the new yafray integration (which adds GI). the new release is also a quantum leap in terms of UI friendliness. all previous versions were nightmarish in that aspect.

i'm doing side by side tests now with some GI stuff i did in carrara for work vs. blender with ambient occlusion. so far the results are encouraging, though the ambient occlusion is almost as slow as straight ahead GI rendering. i will get into yafray GI shortly. i may post the comparison here if i get some ambition over the next week.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

manny, you might be interested in this: http://biorust.com/index.php?page=tutorial_detail&tutid=73 

from the yafray gallery (yafray + HDRI):









from elysiun.com:


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

The first wine glass is exactly what I've been trying to achieve with a Phong renderer and Photoshop trickery.

I'm going to have to star looking into Blender a little more seriously (as well as other packages that might be within my reach).


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

manny, if you have any questions about the interface you can email me and i'll do my best to answer them. even though the interface has been hugely improved, it is still unintuitive in the sense that you actually have to read the documentation to understand it, but quickly becomes second nature. i've only been using it for a couple of weeks, but i feel comfortable now although there were some real head scratchers at first (such as how to position the rendering camera).

edit: found another yafray pic showing GI (HDRI?), Caustics, and refraction. http://centralsource.com/blenderart/displayimage.php?pid=582&fullsize=1

[ October 29, 2004, 07:01 PM: Message edited by: TroutMaskReplica ]


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Thanks for the offer! Muchly appreciated and will definitely use any help.  

From what I've seen so far (mild tinkering in the last 5 minutes) is that it appears to be best used with a multi-button mouse (3 or more). Thankfully I have a Logitech Mx310 or I could be looking at serious carpal tunnel sundrome.  

~

That image is a beauty as well! Oddly enough, the project I am working on is for the Brewers of Canada and I've been trying to emulate a stein with draught in it... seeing the liquid in the pic you just posted makes it all that much more important for me to seriously look into Blender/YAFRay.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

i'd go as far as to say it's impossible to use without a three button mouse! (i know, i tried)  

i won't be in tonight or tomorrow night due to some halloween parties i'm being dragged out to, but i should be around tomorrow during the day and all day sunday if you get stuck. b o x o f w o r m s @ yahoo . com

i found doing the 'gus' tutorial in the official documentation really helped me come to grips with the UI.

btw, after playing around with the mesh editor i've decided to stick with wings for modelling. both programs handle OBJ's well. wings has the best uv unwrapper i've used to date. my struggles with it are chronicled here: http://p212.ezboard.com/fnendowingsmiraifrm17.showMessage?topicID=1189.topic

EDIT/UPDATE: found a detailed Yafray tutorial here: http://blenderman.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=37

[ October 30, 2004, 05:50 PM: Message edited by: TroutMaskReplica ]


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

a fascinating article looking at how to use apple's Xgrid technology to set up a near zero configuration renderfarm.

http://developer.apple.com/hardware/hpc/xgrid_intro.html

i was looking at a processor upgrade for rendering on my home machine but i may not need to if i can harness the power of all the machines in our office during off hours.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

I certainly should not be posting in this thread, but I have a question.

Despite being somewhat long in the tooth, I would really like to be able to do some simple design things with Photoshop and Illustrator. I have versions 5.0 LE and 9.0.2 respectively. (I don't have manuals for either.)

Any suggestions on where I might obtain a "course for dummies" to enhance my knowledge of two programs I never use?

Cheers


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

sinc, ideally you'd like a reference book (like the manual or photoshop/illustrator bible series) and a book with tutorials in it. avoid the 'complete photoshop mastery in only 3 hrs' type of books, as they are obviously quite useless. also avoid anything that has 'tips and tricks of the pros' or other such nonsense in the title. project oriented books are good, particularly the 'Lynda' series of books, although i've only had experience with the macromedia flash book of that series. same advice for illustrator.

i don't know if you have chapters/indigo out in alberta, but our chapters has practically a whole wall devoted to these types of books, in the computer section.

hope this helps.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Yep we have Chapters here in town. I will give it a try TMR.

Thanks a bunch!

Cheers


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

SINC: You could also try Adobe's tutorials; http://studio.adobe.com/us/

~

On a side note, I thought I would fire up a concept of the job I talked about above; be warned, it's only a concept -- there are lotsa errors.  Not to mention a severe lack of refraction and a dirty version of radiosity and shading done in Photoshop.

Enjoy. Or not. Meh, whatever.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Manny, I did this a while ago, thought it might interest you....










[ November 02, 2004, 10:05 AM: Message edited by: Loafer ]


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ah crap.....how do i post a picture ?


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Hmm. Check your image reference. It appears to be going to http://www.richardmulley.com/www/pictures/bottles.jpg

Maybe it's wrong by a letter or something? Perhaps upper/lowercase letters -- it has to be exact.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ok, I need some help here
I have web hosting on which I have my web site
and I've put a folder in there called pictures, where the bottle pic is
can I not link to it that way?
am I being really dumb here or what ?


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

we call that Operator Error

The file was bottle, not bottles!

doh!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Cool. Refraction, baby! Is that a Heineken?  

Did you do that in Form*Z, or Strata? I had actually considered breaking out my old copy of Strata Studio Pro 2.0 to render the glass, but the time was a little restrictive, and Strata is dog-slow with raytracing renders.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

it's actually a US version of a well known CANADIAN brand
hence the maple leaves on the shoulder

It was done in FormZ.....I was pretty happy with it.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I can't tell from the sample you show, but did you model the threads for the bottle cap? I tried to do it in my version, but the EI modeler lacked a spring function so I had to create a bezier spline version of a spring by hand and then did a path extrude.

It was crude, but they'll never see it from the road, so to speak.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

No I didn't model the thread for the bottle
I did for this however and it's dead easy in FormZ...










You just draw a shape and a line of revolve and used this helix tool to make all the adjustments.....


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

love your concept render, manny. it's going to look awesome when all the bells and whistles have been applied.

since we're all posting stuff i thought i'd show my progress learning blender/yafray:










once i get the liquid to actually look like rye and coke instead of chocolate milk, i'll shine a photon light through the back, crank up the radiosity settings, and post the result back here. i have a uv map texture for the lime including displacement but unfortunately i left if on my machine at home.

the render times are killing me though. this took almost 20 min. on a dual g4 1.25 ghz. tried rendering this on my 400 myhz home machine - fogeddaboutit.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

TMR,

That is a sweet render......I love the grainyness to it.

I'm downloading blender and yarfay now to play around with it.

thanks for sharing your work


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Awesome, guys!

I wish Form*Z was just a little accessable -- money-wise. I know a lot of folk via the web who use it religiously with ElectricImage (for rendering/animation) and can't imagine using anything but.

Out of curiousity, if one were to "bevel" the tips of the threads to make it look as though they "melt" into the plastic, rather than stop with a flat face, would it be easy in Form*Z? I'm a bevel/chamf fan and find most of my time spent on the modeling process is waiting for the software to complete bevels/rounds.  

~

TMR: That render is gorgeous -- obviously it's rough, but even so, the glass looks absolutely fantastic! Is the render to actual size (not reduced for web); ie: is the image you posted @ exact render size ~ 20 minute render? If so... I can't image how long it would/could take for print-size imagery. I usually render my work files around 3000x4000 px in ElectricImage.  

I still can't get over the shadows... just too sweet. And the caustics from the glass filtering the light onto the "ground" is there as well... little details that add so much.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

"Out of curiousity, if one were to "bevel" the tips of the threads to make it look as though they "melt" into the plastic, rather than stop with a flat face, would it be easy in Form*Z? I'm a bevel/chamf fan and find most of my time spent on the modeling process is waiting for the software to complete bevels/rounds."

Easy!......the chamfer/round too can be a bit touchy but I think on something like that it would be ok, otherwise you could manually move the points around to make it look part of the bottle no problem.


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

the modeling was done in wings, btw. still can't get used to blender's 'mesh' modeler. there are going to be some improvements in the next release that will make it more like wings.

loafer: the graininess can be turned up or down, there is a parameter to tune it but basically the smoother the image the longer the rendertimes. the graininess seems to go away naturally when conventional lights are used to light the scene. right now i'm relying on a skydome and a soft spotlight.

if you want i can email the scene file to anyone who wants it to experment with. it's quite small.

manny: unfortunately, this image is actual size. i really should be rendering these tests a lot smaller but i'm still at the stage where i'm mesmerized as the detail emerges on screen. carrara was capable of this too but the GI render times were a lot longer and without the necessary tuning parameters there wasn't a lot one could do about it.

i've read that feeding the scene files through yafray directly instead of using the blender plugin descreases render times somewhat, though i haven't tried it yet.

FYI, you have to download yafray separately from blender, and don't forget to uncheck the 'XML' button in the Yafray render tab, or nothing will happen. (blender will just write a small XML file somewhere on your HD.) this caused me no end of grief until i figured it out by accident.

also, yafray installs to a hidden directory for some strange reason so at first it will appear as if the installer failed.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

yeah, I thought yafray screwed up somewhere (or I did)

I read Yafray only has a GUI for Windows.....is this right ?
If I wanted to use it on OSX I'd have to run the plugin in Blender ?

This is going to take me a while to get my head out of FormZ mode into Belnder mode....totally different interface. I was just reading the intro and got totally lost after about 3 paragraphs!


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

i'm not sure about the GUI question- will look into it. yafray has no real GUI to speak of - it's sort of like POV ray in that regard. if it does have a GUI it would look like a text editor using XML as the Scene Description Language.

once yafray in enabled as the render engine a slew of extra options become available all throughout blender. there's quite a bit of integration so i imagine it wouldn't be desirable to deal with yafray directly. the XML files can be tweaked by hand, however.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

double post


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Are there any stand alone renderers that you can import your model into to render that have a decent GUI for OSX ?

I went down to Alias to test the latst version of Image Studio (a friend of mine works there) and it is pretty cool.....but not cool enough for the $4,000 they charge for it. Apparently out of all the testers the prices ranged between $300 -$1,000 they expected to pay for it. Guess who said $300 ?







...tight ass









Anyway.....something like that would be lovely, until FormZ releases 4.5.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Wow.

Check it out:
http://www.nextlimit.com/realflow/index.html

Check out the gallery samples. Fluid dynamics!


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ok guys....I'm going freelance!

After my somewhat premature annoucement of getting a new job downtown....the president pulled the plug at the last minute, citing workload issues, basically they don't have much so they're worried they would have to ditch me later on. All very depressing but everyone there seemed genuinely sorry for what happened. So I spoke with my current employers, recontacted a few of my old freelance gigs and voila!.....as of December 6th I am going it alone.

So I may well be hitting you guys up for some hot info on all those nerdy issues like taxes, payment and stuff.

The good news is I now have an excuse to buy a Dual G5 for home...woo-hoo!!!!

now, pass me that overdraft application form


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

My condolences, and congratulations!

It sucks sometimes, but so it goes. The circle of life and all... good luck on your endeavours. Be sure to keep us abreast of any new developments and stuff... plus, I have something in the works on the side, more of an ongoing idea that may materialize in the not so distant future, that might need some inside info on taxes, and all the fun stuff. So, I might pick your brain later.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Are there any RGD members here (or know of one)? I'm contemplating application since they've decided to hold testing here in Ottawa in 2005.

I'm wondering: Is it worth it?

What are the perks?









And how was the test?   

I'm gainfully employed at a great design firm, and have talked to my boss about it over the last year or so how simply being a member not only helps the designer, but his place of employment when competing for jobs by simply having those three letters at the end of my name.

The hurdle I forsee, which could greatly limit my chances of acceptance in RGD: I didn't go to a 3-4 year design college, despite having nearly 10 years of experience in the design/multimedia industry. When I talked to them on the phone, they seemed a little "iffy" to entertaining my application, but would consider it depending on my test results and would "take the case to the board on my behalf."


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

> I didn't go to a 3-4 year design college, despite having nearly 10 years of experience in the design/multimedia industry


i'm trained as a technical illustrator, though i've only ever worked as a designer. this is the reason i've never looked into RGD. a portfolio is a portfolio and should be able to stand on its own - RGD or other designations are immaterial in that sense.

in the real world, however....


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Hey guys,

Found this great website loads and loads of useful information for starting your own business......thought I'd share it with you guys.

http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/startup/


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## avalonian (Jun 26, 2003)

More RGD members are without academic experience than otherwise, I understand. 
I've seen a number of job postings that list RGD membership as a criteria. At this stage in my career, I feel it'd be like trowing money away. Fees are pretty high. It seems like a cause to donate to once more established.

As for the business practices, y'all should check out
creativebusiness.com 

Although US-based, there are a number of great tips and newsletters that you can dowload for free.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

avalonian,

thanks for that website.....some good stuff on there for me.

Some exciting news to anounce....FormZ 5.0 is being released in the next month.....

check out the new features.....thank the lord, more rendering options!

http://formz.com/products/version_5_0/version_5_0.html


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

new version of blender released on sunday (v2.35).

lots of interface improvements and new featuresadded.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Object hooks and curve deform look like fun.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Dang.....I gotta get into Blender
those new tools look pretty damn handy

ps. Got my Dual 2Ghz G5 on saturday......drooooool
with 20" flat screen.......more droooooooool
now all I need is some work to pay for it.

A big up goes out to Mr Visa for his kind generous support for helping out in my business venture


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

it's freaky Thursday.....

I e-mailed some guy back in March after I read an article he wrote in POP design magazine (or something) about freelancers working in the POP industry. We swapped a couple of e-mails back and forth.....but that was it.

So today I get an e-mail (1 day before I finish full time employment and go freelance) from him saying he's setting up a website to connect freelance POP designers with clients in the US!

F*&% me, is that coincidence ?......I think not









The website isn't up and running until 1st Dec. but it's :
www.talentPOP.com


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Anybody happen to have a copy of _The Business of Graphic Design: A Professional's Handbook_ they'd be willing to part with?


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

there is a making of "Dr.Maxwell" that was posted earlier in this thread that may be of interest:










http://www.cgnetworks.com/story_custom.php?story_id=2633

edit: the servers are down for maintenance as i write this, so check back later if you don't see anything.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Thought I would give this thread a bump with a little blatant self horn tooting.  

http://www.ryansmith.com/invite/

It's a Flash invite I put together for our client "wine and cheese" shmoozefest for Thursday night. I had one day to conceive, illustrate (with a little back-up from John, our illustrator-guy who did the tree and presents; I did the ornaments, wine and cheese), and pull it all together with audio.









... I still have a hangover.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

hey nice work Manny!

I thought I'd check in to the studio to see what's happening and give you guys an update on my freelance adventures...

well, what can I say ?
I should ahve done this a long time ago!
It's just been busy busy busy....been doing some really great work working onsite with a design firm who have been just mobbed with work....and will be well into 2005, they are well happy with the work I'm doing.
Also, my other line of work with my friend has been going crazy too....we're a little concerned that we can get it all done in time.
So my prediction is that in a month working freelance I will be making as much as I would working full time for 3 months!
yes....things have been that successful.
and yes I know I have to pay taxes out of that!!!
but still...not bad








Lets hope we can keep up this pace, then I can take a month off in the summer


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Hey Manny, if you read this....
I was just mooching around and saw the pic of your laptop
where oh where did you get your side cupboards from ????
The Mrs and I have been looking for something exactly like that with no luck (unless we bend over, pull our pants down and get shafted from the likes of Up Country)


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Hey!

We bought that particular buffet, nook, whatever you call it at... (drum roll) IKEA. :heybaby: It's a fairly new series that came out several months ago, and it's affordable.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

So... how's the freelance thing going?


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

dang me....we just sent one back to Ikea because the colour looked all wrong
I wonder if it was the same one.....it didn't quite match the rest of our kit in the dining room. I should check that out.

The freelance work is going very. I've only had one dry week and that was the 1st one....it's been crazy ever since. I haven't yet turned anyone down just yet but I have had my friend helping me out with some stuff because I have been so busy. I've since been offered a couple of full time jobs but I'm enjoying myself too much at the moment to go back to that.
And how is the little one coming along...when is the due date ?


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Things are going well. The little one is doing well, from what we can tell from the doppler; their heartbeat at 160+ bpm, and the wife has finally stopped having morning sickness (she's in her 16th week).  We're expecting the bundle of joy June 29th so far. We're going to be booking an ultrasound which should be exciting. We're going to be painting the nursery this weekend and I had the idea of creating a "modular" mural of sorts to decorate the walls, that can be removed with little/no damage when the little rugrat gets older and wants to redecorate at a later date.

~

I'm currently contemplating a business move of my own -- not freelance, but something a little broader. I'm going to be working on a basic business plan and conceptuals very soon (in the midst of preliminary research), and will probably be soliciting web programmers/developers to get their 2 cents worth so I can get a feel of what I'd getting myself into. It's something that could be somewhat self-sufficient once it's running on all cylinders, but will require an initial investment, be it creatively or monetary, on my behalf to get things rolling. I'm hoping what willing happen is I find people with specialized skills/services that can help offset costs and perhaps develop a partnership or something in that kind of capacity...

... I don't want to give _too_ much away, but it could be something cool if it's done right.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

you must be excited for the baby. Friends of ours are due in May and had their ultrasound done the other week.....truly amamzing when you get all philosophical and stuff.....a real miracle.

Have you seen these ? http://www.whatisblik.com/
looks like what you're talking about.....just simple adhesive vinyl, you could probably make youre own if you know a signage supplier 

As for the business....go for it!
hope things work out for you.....I doubt if I can help with that kind of thing but if you feel I could just give me a shout.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

re: Blik

Close -- but It wouldn't be pre-made shapes. What I'm planning on using is a painting cartoon-style objects (trees, barn, etc.) on 1/8"-1/16" thick pressed-cardboard/foam-core that is cut-out (using either box cutters or xacto knives). The local Wallacks art store has a neat little display with cartoon characters in a winter wonderland. My idea is sort of borne from that, but it would be painted in full colour and applied with non-destructive double-side adhesive tape to the wall. We use it here at work for signage and it seems to last quite a while without removing the paint from the walls. The wife had picked up some nice plush toys that were on sale so we have a pseudo zoo/farm motif going on. 

~

Actually, the idea I have just might be something you could really get involved with. When I get my sh!te together I'll send you the proposal for you to see for yourself.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I came across this, thought it would be a good article to get the Studio back in action:

 10 Things I Have Learned
by Milton Gaser
AIGA Voice Conference
March 23, 2002

_To many, Milton Glaser is the embodiment of American graphic design …. His presence and impact on the profession internationally is formidable. Immensely creative and articulate, he is a modern renaissance man — one of a rare breed of intellectual designer-illustrators, who brings a depth of understanding and conceptual thinking, combined with a diverse richness of visual language, to his highly inventive and individualistic work. *

Born in 1929, Milton Glaser was educated at the High School of Music and Art and the Cooper Union art school in New York and, via a Fulbright Scholarship, the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, Italy. He co-founded the revolutionary Pushpin Studios in 1954, founded New York Magazine with Clay Felker in 1968, established Milton Glaser, Inc. in 1974, and teamed with Walter Bernard in 1983 to form the publication design firm WBMG. Throughout his career, Glaser has been a prolific creator of posters and prints. His artwork has been featured in exhibits worldwide, including one-man shows at both the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His work is in the permanent collections of many museums. Glaser also is a renowned graphic and architectural designer with a body of work ranging from the iconic







logo to complete graphic and decorative programs for the restaurants in the World Trade Center in New York. Glaser is an influential figure in both the design and education communities and has contributed essays and granted interviews extensively on design._​
Enjoy.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

I don't know if you guys have seen FontLeech? It's a blog that points out free fonts every day.

Thought it might be useful.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Ahhhhh the old Design Studio!

Manny......Maxwell are making a plugin of FormZ....woo-hoo!!!!!!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

What kind of plug-in?


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

sorry that should read 'for FormZ'
makes more sense


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Also......I've been a huge fan of this website lately..... www.treehugger.com

although it's all about being environmentally friendly (which I am taking very seriously these days) they highlight well designed environmentally sound products. Check back everyday for some cool new stuff.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

And it probably should have said "Max and I," too, right? 

So... WHAT IS IT?  (or is it secret?)


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

aahhh sorry I thought you knew Maxwell the Renderer

www.maxwellrender.com

schweeeeeetttttt!
if you look in the forums some people have examples of what they have been doing.....looooooong render times from what I understand though


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Oh... my... god.


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## Pylonman (Aug 16, 2004)

I stumbled across this site while looking for G4 sold by an employee.
I sent a nice email, but they probably think I'm looking for a job! 

Swerve Design


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

MacDesign magazine has now revised and refocused their magazine:



They have a tutorial featuring the perspective filter in Photoshop CS 2. Check it out.


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

« MannyP Design » said:


> MacDesign magazine has now revised and refocused their magazine:


Wonder why they changed their name?
They sort of explain it on the web site (Adobe centric) but from a previous pro-mac magazine....
Scott Kelby goes on many times to say "we are still the same magazine"... 
Could it be that the name Mac Design scared away a market segment?


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I think it's a two-punch combo: The want to redesign their branding/look and feel, and refocus the branding to appeal to a broader group of creative professionals... even if they're non-Mac. I've noticed they have toned down their "Windows weenie" attitude over the last year or so... no doubt to the limited audience it focuses on. Since most of the applications they cover are dual-platform (with the exception of FCP, etc.) I think they're trying to trick Windows professionals into buying their mag. 

From their site:



> The magazine has grown, changed, and evolved so much over the past few years that the word “design” doesn’t really explain all that we are anymore. If you’ve read us for any length time, you know we’re also a magazine for digital photographers, with digital photography news, tips, tutorials, and camera and printer reviews in every issue. Plus, from the very beginning, we’ve been the only Mac magazine to have an entire section dedicated to digital video editing. But we found that most photographers and video editors didn’t really know that because they don’t generally reach for a magazine that has the word “Design” in big letters on the cover.


Here's the interesting part:



> Adobe products are at the core of nearly every professional designer’s, photographer’s, and video editor’s workflow, and we wanted to create a magazine that pros would have an instant connection with. We were already pretty much doing that in Mac Design (you just might not have noticed). In fact, in any given issue of Mac Design there were only two articles that weren’t already on Adobe products—our Final Cut Pro column, and our Dreamweaver column, both of which will now appear on the Mac Design website (www.macdesignonline.com) instead.


Now, having seen that... I can't blame them for wanting to do an Adobe-oriented mag... Scott Kelby is Adobe's biggest evangelist and is the main-man behind Photoshop World, Photoshop User Magazine, as well as a line-up of books that are pretty in-depth.

Hmmm. Maybe Scott is trying to give Adobe a bigger push to counter Apple's invasion in the creative professional market?


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

as a design magazine surely they should give Quark equal billing as it is by and large the most used. Unless Adobe are piling some cash on them!


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## GratuitousApplesauce (Jan 29, 2004)

I found this thread a few pages back because I hoped some of you graphics pros might have an answer for me on an Illustrator question.

I recently created an image for a friend to use in their garden business. I had just learned what gradient meshes were in Illustrator and reeeeally wanted to try it, so I created the image using these. It was a lot of work, but not as much as you might think because I was able to replicate and repeat a lot the elements that the image is made up of. It was a huge learning experience for me and I'm happy with the result, - except for one thing.

I've attached some pictures of what I did. The first one is the overall image, without the line of type. The second is a closeup, showing the level of detail that a vector image can give. You can go much closer even and have wonderful smooth gradations. The third is just the wireframe version of part of the image showing all the gradient mesh lines.

The problem I'm having is that I created the image in Illustrator in RGB mode. Not being an expert, I seem to remember reading somewhere that this was a good idea. Not sure why but I thought it wouldn't be a problem to convert it to CMYK later.

This is where the problem lies. While this version will be fine for a web page, coming up with a CMYK conversion that looks close to this has eluded me. Particularly the purple colours in the centre of the flower, which are echoed in the line of type, come out as very grey and muddy looking in CMYK.

Not being a pro, my understanding of this whole area is muddy as well. Does anyone know how I can get a CMYK version that will be as bright and vibrant as the RGB version?


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Gratuitous,

forgive me if this sounds dumb, but you are changing the colour mode to CMYK in Illustrator and or Photoshop ?
From my experience it doesn't change in illustrator but yes, in Photoshop things can be made to look 'dull'


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## GratuitousApplesauce (Jan 29, 2004)

I took a copy of the master .ai file and changed it in Illustrator.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I don't know how I missed this...

Anyway, illustrator has two colour modes: RGB and CMYK. The problem is, simply changing the colour mode will not convert the colours over (as far as I know*) -- you need to build your document for the desired colour output. I usually work in CMYK because if I ever need to post the image on the web, it's merely a matter of using the "Save for Web" export for GIF/JPEG/PNG.

** EDIT:* I just played around and it appears that merely changing the colour mode of the document *will* adjust the colours to RGB or CMYK. However there will most likely be a colour shift to friendlier colour is instances where they are out of gamut of the colour model. Just make sure to change your palette to the appropriate colour model.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

> The problem I'm having is that I created the image in Illustrator in RGB mode. Not being an expert, I seem to remember reading somewhere that this was a good idea. Not sure why but I thought it wouldn't be a problem to convert it to CMYK later.
> 
> This is where the problem lies. While this version will be fine for a web page, coming up with a CMYK conversion that looks close to this has eluded me. Particularly the purple colours in the centre of the flower, which are echoed in the line of type, come out as very grey and muddy looking in CMYK.
> 
> Not being a pro, my understanding of this whole area is muddy as well. Does anyone know how I can get a CMYK version that will be as bright and vibrant as the RGB version?


this is actually a bit of complex topic. if you give me your email i will try to send you some notes from a colour management seminar i attended last week. if you still have questions after than then feel free to ask here. 

basically in your situation you have to make sure you're doing the following things

1) your monitor is calibrated and profiled and you are using your specially created profile in your system prefs>displays>colour control panel
2) you're working in a device in dependent colour space such as adobe RGB 1998, or U.S. Sheetfed Coated V2 if you're working in CMYK.
3) your document has the correct profile assigned to it. in your case it should be the device independant one.

oh sh*t gotta go, the boss is coming. more later


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## GratuitousApplesauce (Jan 29, 2004)

Manny, thanks for your reply. When I changed the file to CMYK, the colours were out of gamut. I could have lived with some shift, but the purple colours particularly were way off. I couldn't seem to find a CMYK equivalent that even came close to the vibrant purple I had chosen, so the whole thing looked like crap.

TMR, thanks, I'll send you my email. I know this is a complex subject, that I have very, very, very little understanding of, which is why I didn't charge my friend pro rates for the work. 

I'm assuming that I'll need a CMYK conversion, if my friend wants to get 4 colour printing done, so I'll need to figure this out. I guess it needs to be CMYK for *any* printing to be done, since colour laser or inkjets all use those colours.

Don't know if I'll be able to wrap my tiny brain around all the complex colour profile stuff. I've basically been ignoring it. I guess I've just been lucky in the past, with the colours I've chosen and how they've converted to CMYK. I've done some posters and other things that I've had printed from a local printer's colour laser copier, that I've created in Illustrator and I haven't had much problem with colours being too far off. Usually I've just been able to print one from his printer, and shift the colours in the artwork slightly for the rest, if they are off.

In this case, it's not a very appealing option to go back to the artwork and shift all the colours. Each one of the hundreds of gradient mesh points has colour info attached to it and this would be a huge amount of work.

I have calibrated my monitor using Apple's calibration utility, and it has a profile that shows up in PS and AI.

Way back in the mists of time, when I went to art school, colour calibration was just making sure you got a set of Pantone markers, when you were designing something.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

> I have calibrated my monitor using Apple's calibration utility, and it has a profile that shows up in PS and AI.


the only place you should use your monitor profile is your display preferences. it has no place inside your apps except for rare soft proofing situations. so, hopefully you are using adobe rgb 1998 as your rgb profile. is this correct?


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## GratuitousApplesauce (Jan 29, 2004)

TMR said:


> so, hopefully you are using adobe rgb 1998 as your rgb profile. is this correct?


Ummmmmm, not sure. I have seen my monitor profile show up in various files that I open in AI and PS. It shows up in a window when I'm opening, asking me something about the colour profile. Since I didn't know what was being asked of me, I just clicked OK.

When I open the file in question and I look under Edit/Color settings... I get the window in the attachment. If I change the setting to US prepress, it changes how the colours in the document appear, making them very bright, although this does show the Adobe RGB 1998 instead of my monitor's colour profile. 

Man, I really don't know what I'm doing here.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

those settings are all wrong. select US prepress defaults. make sure it says in the first drop down 'adobe rgb 1998' and in the second field use sheetfed instead of web, unless you're actually going to be printing on a web press (doubtful). do the same in photoshop, if you use it.

profile your display and make sure that profile is selected in display prefs. there, your computer will be set up somewhat properly, at least the monitor and illustrator/photoshop. for the scanner and printer you'll have to use the manufacturer's default profiles, which should be reasonably accurate.

having said that, and after having looked at your image, i think this is a rather more basic issue. there's no chance you will never get that violet colour to print as you see it on your screen. it's out of gamut and it would be impossible to get that colour with CMYK sliders.

i've attached an image of your jpeg that i've viewed under US sheetfed. the grey indicates out of gamut colour. to get your image to print like this the inks and paper would have to actually emit light.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

i think the easiest way to fix your image would be to export it to photoshop as a high res tiff and do some colour correction there to bring it as close as possible to your jpeg. the hard way would be to go through and manually change all of the colours in your file. the disadvantage of the easy way is you'd lose all ability to trap the file for print. looks like all adjacent areas of colour share at least one ink so might not be much of an issue. see what your prepress guy says.

i'm not an expert though, so maybe someone else could jump in with a better idea.


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## GratuitousApplesauce (Jan 29, 2004)

Thanks again TMR. Looks like I really f***ed this up.

Thanks for all the technical info you sent me, I might be able to make my tiny aging brain assimilate some of it and it will help.

I may just have to go back and do it the hard way, since when I did it I wanted a vector image that could be blown up to a road side sign without pixelization. Plus, I really wanted this to be a successful exercise using gradient meshes. 

Probably a good call to consult a prepress expert.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

just remember the most intense colours you can use are the ones it is possible to mix using the cmyk _ink_ sliders, not the rgb _light_ ones. i hope things work out for you. cheers.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

gratuitous applesauce, i don't know if you're still following this thread, but i was browsing in chapters today and came across an excellent book on colour management: http://www.colorremedies.com/realworldcolor/

i would have picked it up except it's over $70, but skimmed through it for about ten minutes and could tell it was logically laid out and thorough.


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## GratuitousApplesauce (Jan 29, 2004)

Still following it TMR. You have been a fount of information on the subject.

Looking at the book description I found this sentence, which I wish I had read before I started working on the project:


> No matter how much thought an artist and client put into the color scheme for a given project, all of that work is for naught if you can't get your results to match your expectations.


It looks like a valuable book. I think I might need the "Dummies" version. 

I guess I've learned a valuable lesson, the hard way.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ok.....something I've never really bothered about before, but now I want to make some of my own icons.

The way I've been doing it is taking an image, holding apple + i and copy/pasting the image icon onto the file I want it to appear ?
Works great for me.....but how would I go about getting transparent areas on the icon ?

cheers guys


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ok, ignore me....I found this great little app called pic2icon......works a treat!


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

loafer, what is the file format for an icon, anyway? could i save out a file from photoshop or does it have to be processed through some kind of 'icon generator'?


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I'm a fan of Iconfactory's iconbuilder -- it supports both Mac and Windows icon formats, as well as Mac OS X's icon states (like open/close for folders, etc.) If I recall, the program Loafer mentions can be used simply by copy/pasting the image into the program and it maintains transparency (if it's the one I'm thinking about... I might be confusing it with a different app.), then converts to an icon...

I'm not sure, but I think it generates a generic document file that has the icon on it. (Or a folder, maybe?) It's been a while...


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

thanks for the info, manny.

on another note, blender get softbodies, collision detection, and fake subsurface scattering.

link to 200k video demonstrating softbodies and collision detection:
http://www.hamsterking.com/blender/3d/TESTANIM.MOV

and fake subsurface scattering:
http://www.dedalo-3d.com/public/forum/index.php?a=topic&topic=1111837542.23


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

wow!.....that little movie is awesome!

as for the icon thing, I don't think I'm actually creating a proper icon file. OSX creates the icon already from the image file.....all I'm doing is copy/pasting that icon onto a new folder icon. Does that make sense ?

Using that app I mentioned you can save your image as a tiff with an alpha channel to denote which parts you want transparent and then drop the image file on the app, it then changes the icon of that image file to include the transparency......so you can then copy paste the icon from the image file to a folder that you want to have that icon.


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## minnes (Aug 15, 2001)

Can anyone here tell me how to convert a RGB image to CMYK???
I have to change this before submitting it to print. Thanks.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

What Application are you using?

In Photoshop it's as simple as clicking IMAGE > MODE > CMYK.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

new blender release today:

http://www.blender3d.org/cms/Blender_2_37.496.0.html


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

nice.....I really should get my arse in gear and learn how to use that.


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## SomeNSome (Sep 24, 2002)

Here's a question for people using Illustrator CS2. I just upgraded and really like the new features, LOVE Live Trace. anyway

In Illustrator CS2 if I draw a line with the pen tool at .75pt stroke and then apply any brush to it, CS2 changes the line to 1pt. In CS it used to keep the .75pt of the line, now I have to change it back after applying the brush. Is it a setting I’m missing? It's a slow day at work so I'm trying to figure this out.

cheers


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

I have no idea......Illustrator isn't my forte, but if you figure it out let us know


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

It sounds like a preference or option to maintain same appearance with new objects, or something to that effect. I don't have AI CS2 yet so I can't really say at this point.


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## Phil_MTL (Nov 26, 2004)

Here's something fun: www.bran-man.com


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

i downloaded the template and made an ehmac bran freak. kinda fun and kinda retarded at the same time. didn't submit it.


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## MacAndy (May 17, 2004)

*Deadly Quark XPress*

After years of holding off on Quark XPress 6.5 at home - always using 4.1 because it was the most stable and 5.x offered nothing... I upgraded last week.

Working away on a 96-page magazine layout, I worked until midnight Friday to complete a layout and get a PDF to a client early Saturday so the ball would be in his court and I could enjoy my long weekend.

I get to the very last step of the proofs, about 72 pages in all, and I cut some items off page 4 and paste it elsewhere to save the pages as PDF.

Error message comes up - something about not being able to paste to B-Master page. I wasn't using a B-Master page, only A-Master pages. I know what each and every master page I create is to be used for - As are for facing text pages, Bs are for blank ad pages, etc...

Problem was, at midnight, during the very last operation I had before creating the PDF, the error box came up and would not go away. OK, so a force quit was required. I'm used to it.

Then came time to open the 19.6Mb layout file again. Each and every time I opened it, to launch XPress, XPress would quit without a word. You could imagine the hair standing up on the back of my neck.

Royally screwed. It had eaten 5 hours of work that evening. Not only was it text formatting, something I could redo in just an hour, it was preplanning of the entire magazine layout, following the client's guide, but having to make decisions as to where to place photos and where to break pages, and the odd design cue even at this early stage. That's what hurt the most. When you come up with a great way to make a heading stand out, you don't want that to be flushed down the perverbial toilet.

I fired off a verbal tirade at Quark's support e-mail and got a response that, while apologetic, was a basic lesson in how to use master pages. Excuse me dimwad... having used this application for over a decade I know full well what the actual problem was - Quark's inability to produce a stable product under OS X.

I spent all morning Saturday, from 8am to 1:30pm rebuilding it.

So, lesson learned. While I had always made backups of my entire layouts prior to starting new sets of revisions, looks like I am going to have to be even more proactive, because, after all... XPress is obviously still incredbly flawed.

But I still can't stand InDesign either. MS Publisher anyone? ;-)


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

if, like me, you really struggle to come up nice colours for a design, I never really was very good at colour theory.......then try this little beauty!

http://colorblender.com/


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

That is *so* cool... and it's free!

I use this app on occasion, and does a little more but it costs a couple of pennies: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/imaging_3d/colorconsultantpro.html


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## coreLlama (Aug 5, 2005)

Hey Loafer, that's a cool link. I tryed matching what I thought would be a good palette with what the program says. Kind of a neat basic guide.

Thanks for the info


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

http://www.dontclick.it/

Interesting idea...


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## coreLlama (Aug 5, 2005)

Very interesting idea (don’t click it). As I was playing around I liked how you can roll over spots to activate them. Although I would like to be able to make the decision to change to a different main area with a click. Too many times I accidentally rolled over a heading when not wanting to leave the page. It could also be because I’m using a tablet and my hand doesn’t still for very long. 
Not having to click does make the experience more fluid though. Man I’ve got to learn flash better, I think that’s my next goal.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Join the chorus for a Maxwell Render Plug-in for Blender......not that I use Blender but I know a certain person in here is a big fan.....

http://www.maxwellrender.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1422


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Manny, that Don't click it website is very nice indeed!


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## coreLlama (Aug 5, 2005)

It's a slow Friday afternoon so I thought I'd ask what you guys think of this site. I just updated it for a friend, who's the artist. Suggestions are always good.

aquadio.com


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## Phil_MTL (Nov 26, 2004)

*New Quark logo*

September 9, 2005
Quark Adopts New Logo And Identity
PANTONE 368 dubbed “Quark Green.”
www.quark.com


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Fabulous thread - Thanks, Loafer!


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## coreLlama (Aug 5, 2005)

The Quark new logo looks kind of like it came from the same style as the Bahamas design. Looks better than the old one.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

the new quark website looks a little horsey in my opinion. does anybody still use quark? 

/half joking

and from the 'what were they thinking dept?' (from the testimonials on the front page) :



> Quark tech support answered my questions and talked me down from the ledge


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## agent4321 (Jun 25, 2004)

TroutMaskReplica said:


> does anybody still use quark?
> /half joking :


Unfortunately still using Quark at my job and it's driving me nuts. I tried the 30 day trial of InDesign recently and it's hard to go back to Quark after that. I'm in the midst of trying to get my work to make the switch to InDesign, but it's hard with a couple of diehard Quark users that I work with. They don't seem to like change.  

Maybe one day they will see the light


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

TroutMaskReplica said:


> the new quark website looks a little horsey in my opinion. does anybody still use quark?
> 
> /half joking
> 
> and from the 'what were they thinking dept?' (from the testimonials on the front page) :



hahaha.....yeah, that is too funny, why would they have a quote like that ?

"Our program sucks and it's going to make you pull your hair out, but if you phone us we can make it work for you"

great marketing!


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

« MannyP Design » said:


> Flash and design; is 2advanced's web site really a _good_ site? It's one I frequent on a regular basis -- purely as a designer, but after the 10th viewing, there was something that bothered me about the site...
> 
> I ask because although the execution, style, animation, and graphics are very well done, but the interface, to me, appears to contain too many graphic elements that I wonder if it confuses or maybe overwhelms the average person.
> 
> ...Thoughts?


After less than 5 seconds on their site, 2 thoughts;
1. NEVER make me click an "enter" button. Either I'm in a site, or I'm not. Don't make me wait at a door.
2. Busy busy frenetic bothersome irritating tiny-elements motion. They may as well flash a strobe into my eyes. Can you tell I don't like it?


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

groovetube said:


> hey. didn't see this. Here's my site


Holy Geez, groovetube! great site! and your reel has enough inspiration in it to motivate me for the next 2 years!
Fabulous stuff!


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Loafer said:


> hahaha.....yeah, that is too funny, why would they have a quote like that ?
> 
> "Our program sucks and it's going to make you pull your hair out, but if you phone us we can make it work for you"
> 
> great marketing!


 Man, don't get me started on Quark's phone support... not to sound racist, but calling India to solve problems doesn't work; I can't understand them half the time. I had a huge problem about two years ago that nearly destroyed an entire 200-page, bilingual report, I was working on for government year-end (we need it done in three days or less.) I spent an hour trying to rescue my project from nothingness until I finally gave up and grabbed the backup from the night before.

Maybe we should have an ehMac design contest -- anti-Quark ads that feature people's testimonies that are the reason why they left (or are in the process of leaving) for InDesign (as opposed to those retarded Quark ads all over the web; you know the ones: "My client drooled over my design.")


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

we got FormZ 5.5 and we invested in Maxwell Render......I'm all giddy with excitement 
I'll post my Maxwell experiments on here for a bit of C&C


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Manny....yeah, I'd be up for a bit of fun each month doing different gag ads

bit busy at the mo though....and when you work for yourself it's hard to justify f*cking the dog for a couple of hours. Now when someone else is paying the bill thats a different story


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*More valuable/useful than you know!*

Hi Friends
Just a quick note to let you know that you've been producing more good from this thread than you might be aware.
I work with mentally and physically handicapped adults and they usually have limited fine-motor skills, and limited abilities to communicate.
I've been working on improving the computer skills of a couple of clients, and for them, being able to surf a site without having to click, is a real bonus.
I have clients navigate the www.dontclick.it site that I found on this thread and watch as they thrill at being able to travel through a website without the frustration of inaccurate clicking.

Thanks!


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Here's a site that I found amusing:

http://www.baddesignkills.com/

Remember, if it's bad design -- command-Z.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Guys,

I have to tell you , Maxwell Render f&^%ing rocks!
I have done a few test renders which unfortunately I can't post because they are client sensitive right now, but I am working on something now that I will be able to post by the end of the day......and as Janice from Friends would say....Oh My God!


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

i heard that for exterior renders in maxwell, one doesn't do anything except specify the time of day, is that correct? there are no tricks, in other words.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Trout...

yep that's right, just longitude and latitude, day, and time.......all done
you can also play around with ozone, turbidity and water.....I guess so you can simulate the smog in Toronto if need be 

As for interior lighting it's just a matter of creating a simple polygonal emitter (the less faces the better for rendering times) pick a preset light (there are 3 preset with varying "warmthness" to them) and set the wattage.

The camera is basically a photographic camera so I had to re-visit my f-stops, shutter speed and film ISO info to get my head round it again.....I have got a few nice pieces under my belt. Nowhere near as good as the stuff those guys are doing in the Maxwell forums but impressive by my standards.

It really is just killer slow at the moment. I did a 640 x 480 interior of a room with barely nothing in it and Ieft it for like 10 hrs or something and it was still kind of grainy. So I think at the moment we're not in a position to be using it as a work tool. Although some of the renders I have done I have sent round to a few of our clients and explained what we're doing and they all seem very impressed.....so earning a few Brownie points always helps.

I only hope v1.0 brings some speed improvements to it.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

not the best example....


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

i wonder if you could use xgrid to create a renderfarm (and avoid the Maxwell licensing issues)? i've read the newer builds are getting faster but not dramatically so, maybe only 20% faster. i think the only way to work with this renderer is lots of hardware. animation is out of the question for the forseeable future.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

They should build a render famr app. to go with it......so you don' need multple licenses for each processor being used. FormZ has a image render app. that does this so you can render over a network.

When XGrid was first annouced I asked FormZ if they would utilise it to make things easier for network rendering and they said they were certainly keeping an eye on it.


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I'm sure the dual-core Mac G5 would help out a little bit.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

« MannyP Design » said:


> I'm sure the dual-core Mac G5 would help out a little bit.


***drool***

I'm holding off until Rev. of the Power Mactels come out
that's gotta be something I bet
My trusty Dual 2.0Ghz G5 will suffice for now...even though I have never had a computer that has given me so much trouble before


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*What do Pros read?*

Hi friends
I'm always looking for magazines that would help me be more creative on my Mac.
This morning I started wondering, "What do the Pros on ehMac read?"
Can you folks share with the rest of us what magazines you read/subscribe to/recommend?

Thanks for your insight!


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

My personal favorites:


Layers Magazine (for all things Adobe), as well as
How Design
Communication Arts Magazine
Computer Arts
MacWorld UK (pricey, but a better read)
Before&After Magazine (offered both in PDF and paper subscriptions)


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Soy....

I always tell people not to read industry magazines.....the trick to being really creative is going out and exposing yourself to as much culture as possible......movies, books, museums, art galleries, architecture, food.......and really take it all in.

You might not 'feel' more creative but when you get down to it, you will be because you would have consumed all this creative thinking subconciously and it will be reflected in what you create.

Don't get me wrong though, it's always nice to see what your peers are doing but all too often it stifles the creative process because you think "I want to do it this way because I saw it looks really cool" but it might not at all be right for that project.

I usually like to flip through ID Magazine, House and Home have some nice interiors sometimes......what's that Canadian architecture magazine ? the name excapes me.
jeez, there is another retail/interior magazine from Europe and I can't remember the name of that either.....my mind has gone blank. Goes to show what 3 weeks of late night baby feeding can do.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

« MannyP Design » said:


> My personal favorites:
> 
> 
> Layers Magazine (for all things Adobe), as well as
> ...


ppffttt, there goes MannyP and all his graphic design magazines
the world is in 3 dimensions!


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Ha ha ha... speaking of 3-D, I totally forgot to include my fav. 3-D mags!


----------



## Phil_MTL (Nov 26, 2004)

Damn! All this typing for nothing, MannyP just beat me to it...

For computer design the most inspiring mag around is probably the british Computer Arts but it's quite expensive , a little bit over 20$ a month with the CD full of demos & shareware.

For graphic design there is the canadian mag Applied Arts.
Other options are US-based Communication Arts, How & Print magazines.

For those just starting in the field, Before and After magazine could be helpful.

There is a also a number of other online ressources like Creative Pro that you can look into if you want to save trees. Just click on the names to visit the websites.


----------



## re:load (Mar 7, 2004)

SoyMac said:


> Hi friends
> I'm always looking for magazines that would help me be more creative on my Mac.
> This morning I started wondering, "What do the Pros on ehMac read?"
> Can you folks share with the rest of us what magazines you read/subscribe to/recommend?
> ...


Applied Arts of course! Gotta support Canadian design.


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*Thank you!*

Wow - These are great! Thanks everyone for your suggestions and the glimpses into where ideas are, if not born, maybe facilitated.
Loafer, I know what you mean about keeping creativity untarnished. Often closing my eyes and lying down and concentrating on my breathing brings the best creative solutions. Probably equal to meditating for inspiration is observing architecture, everyday objects, nature, art, and, of course, leafing through magazines.
I checked out a few of these suggested links and I love what I see, _but, oh, those UK prices_!
A couple of you have recommended Before and After, so I think I'll portion my limited fiancial resources toward that one first. And then to support the Canadians, I'll look at Applied Arts.

Thanks again.
EhMac rocks!

_EDIT: Ooo! I just subscribed to *Before and After* - so exciting!_


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Anyone know where I can find *Applied Arts* on the newstand in Ottawa?

EDIT: S'okay! Found it at Wellington Street News.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

FONTS!!!!......where can I get a CD with a ton of fonts on it ?

c'mon Manny, you must know ?
my business partner got some dodgy fonts from god knows where on his system and they corrupted everything, he still can't use ichat.

So.....in our perserverence to become totally legit with all our software etc we are going to invest in a font library......all input is welcome.

Cheers,
Loafer


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I have a CD I bought from over 10 years ago... from MacSoft of all places (if I recall correctly) -- 3000 Mac & Windows fonts.

You could try here:
http://www.fonthaus.com/products/fontcds/index.cfm
http://www.myfonts.com/info/bitstream-font-cds/
http://www.fontsite.com/

or the über-cheap CDs:
http://www.surething.com/ST/Category.asp?CatCode=FONTSITE_CD


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

hey loafer, some japanese dude's writing a blender to maxwell exporter:

http://uniside.s37.xrea.com/blog/index.php?itemid=222&catid=10

also, i heard there's an update to maxwell coming Nov 22nd that's supposed to be 10x faster.

-----------------

in other news, blender 2.40 alpha 2 is out (requires python 2.4):
http://www.blender.org/cms/Blender.31.0.html

document outlining some of the major changes: http://www.blender.org/cms/Blender_2_40_alpha.598.0.html 

also in the works (not in the upcoming release), renderman compliance.

one of the really cool things about this new release is that it supports the verse protocol. verse allows groups to collaborate on a file in real time, over networks or the internet. verse plugins for photoshop and a pile of other programs are being written, so that for example, i could paint a texture in photoshop and the brush strokes will show up in real time on my model, without having to save the file and update it to see changes as per the traditional workflow.


----------



## talonracer (Dec 30, 2003)

re:load said:


> Applied Arts of course! Gotta support Canadian design.


I don't know if I've ever seen it... does the monstercorp Chapters carry it?


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Thanks Manny.....I will check those out.

Trout....that verse thing sounds (I hate using the word) awesome! 
I will read up some more on that.
As for Maxwell....yes, it was supposed to be released (1.0) on Nov.1st but they put it back to the 22nd to the dismay of all in the Maxwell Forums.
I haven't used it much lately 'cause of the baby and all but I will get back into it soon.
I'm looking forward to some speed improvements, interestingly though they said the speed could improve up to 10x on complex enviro's so I don't know if it would improve the speed on simple models. We'll have to wait and see.

cheers
Loafer


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

i just realised that verse integration hasn't been included yet, although some of the test builds have.

i'll be testing it out sun. morning over the internet with a guy in the dominican republic. i'll post my impressions/review back here.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

a published page about verse and its capabilities --> http://www.blender.org/cms/Verse-Blender.verse_blender.0.html


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*Bruce Mau Now!*

Bruce Mau is on Vicki Gabereau right now - Thursday, Novemeber 17th, 2005: 2 PM.
They're talking about his new book, and design in general.


*EDIT*: Sorry. Now, Bruce Mau, is gone.  

Geez, Mom's ThinkPad sure is slow.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Now is it me or was that Bruce Mau standing at the bar in that recent Heineken advert ?

I'm 99.9% positive it was......but, one question, why ?


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Here's a good laugh:

 Graphic design plays a minor role on the Web


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

« MannyP Design » said:


> Here's a good laugh:
> 
> Graphic design plays a minor role on the Web


Hi Manny. I thought he made a few good points here. 
But you're a professional, what was _your_ take?


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Well, my take is that Graphic Design is an integral part to developing for the web. Obviously, without a proper developer, a website can stink regardless of how well it's designed. What a lot of people don't realize is that design encompasses the layout, navigation, colour theory, typography and such that is very important to the usability. If you can't deliver information in a cohesive, organized and accessible manner, you're sunk.

The author seems to focus on Flash designers... which really is just one segment of the web community. I'm rather puzzled, however as to why the author would focus on a graphic design magazine for showcasing web sites that push the envelope in how content is delivered.... it's Communication _Arts_, not Communication _Programming and Development_... It's particular focus is graphic design and communication (marketing campaigns, web sites, television, commercials, etc.) However, it should be noted that it is not C|A that chooses whom to judge, but preside over pieces submitted from the public.

The article is reminiscent of the attitudes some developers had about designers when the web was new. There were a lot of "web designers" who were brilliant programmers who had the most ugly sites ever built... of course there were a lot of nice looking sites that just didn't work efficiently and were poorly constructed.

A lot of the sites we see today are a beautiful balance of both design and programming using CSS, XHTML, etc. There's more emphasis on typography, layout and usability. One example: http://csszengarden.com/


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

« MannyP Design » said:


> Well, my take is that Graphic Design is an integral part to developing for the web. Obviously, without a proper developer, a website can stink regardless of how well it's designed. What a lot of people don't realize is that design encompasses the layout, navigation, colour theory, typography and such that is very important to the usability. If you can't deliver information in a cohesive, organized and accessible manner, you're sunk.
> 
> The author seems to focus on Flash designers...


Thanks, Manny. Yeah, I agree, the author did narrow his focus too low. Your observation that this is _Art_ and not _Programming and Development_ is an important one.

Something unrelated, but that I wanted to mention in this thread, is *Before and After Magazine.*
It was recommended when I asked earlier in this thread. 
I have to say, *Before and After Magazine* is fantastic! I feel like every article is an entire class at Graphics School. There is nothing dumbed down. There is no advertising. The downloadable PDF articles increase the value of the subscription by 50 times. The articles make me think and encourage me to reach far for insight and accuracy. I highly recommend this publication. http://www.bamagazine.com/
A big *Thanks* to Phil_MTL and Manny for bringing B&A Magazine to my attention!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

If you like B|A Magazine, be sure to check out the books as well! It's similar to the stuff on the web, but a little more in depth in some aspects. Great reading when you're on the bus. 

~

On a separate note, I've joined a web community called Pixel Corps (http://www.pixelcorps.com). It's an in-depth on-line education site that offers members access to thousands of dollars worth of software (Form*Z, Cinema4D, Modo, Shake, Stitcher, ImageModeler, Matchmover, SoftImage XSI, and more) and tons of tutorials for a low price. How does it work? "Students" download software that is licensed for a limited time (the duration of their membership) and in some cases use VPN (Virtual Private Network) in order for the software to work. All files are accessed through the Pixel Corps FTP area (and Bit Torrent in some cases.) One of the fringe benefits: Great discounts on software. In some cases, you can get upwards of 50% (or more in some cases) off certain packages.

It's a very open and friendly community based on people. The forums are quite extensive. Various in-person meetings are held from time-to-time, recently Carbon Computing hosted a meeting in Toronto where Alex Lindsay (founder; former ILM employee) gave a lecture on digital imaging, etc.

The only thing one needs in order to take advantage of this program (outside of tuition) is 1) Their own copy of Photoshop, 2) An FTP and Bit Torrent program, and 3) High-speed connection and an interest in learning.

I've been getting oriented with the site since I've joined (last week) and there is a lot of instruction to keep you busy. There are quite a few Canadians on their as well.


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## cheshire_cat (Aug 28, 2005)

i didn't know this thread existed...nice

i go to this site www.computerarts.co.uk when i need inspiration, ideas, etc.

its full of resources, tutorials and other great stuff


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

massive new blender release!!! http://blender.org/cms/Blender_2_40.598.0.html

biggest release yet. physics are awesome, hair is fun, fluid sim etc etc. (too tired to write, just read the link)

edit: i'd wait for the dust to settle on this release. works perfectly on my ibook but runs like sh*t on imac g4


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*HTML/Web book?*

Hi Friends
We're trying to maintain a business site ( www.holisticottawa.com ), and all of a sudden, the listing has almost disappeared/is deeply buried when doing a search for this site.
When we used to search for "colon therapy ottawa", the site would appear near the top of the first page of results. But since Christmas, the site might now appear on a 4th or 5th page of results, and most sites that appear before it do not contain nearly as many attributes from the search terms.
(We have successfully been using the edit window in Transmit to make the changes/updates for about the last 2 years, without negatively affecting the placement of the site when doing a search)

I'm wondering if during our regular maintenance and updating of the site, we have hidden or eliminated the meta tags. (Is "MetaTags" the correct term for the words buried in your site that the search engine looks for to match the search criteria?)

So:
Does anyone have a recommendation of a book on HTML or web site maintenance that would help us to make sure our meta tags are visible to search engines?

Thank you!


----------



## Phil_MTL (Nov 26, 2004)

*Short answer*

There are no metatags present on the first level page www.holisticottawa.com
It appears to only be a placeholder page that forwards to the website content located on a sympatico server.

I would try duplicating the metatags present on the www3.sympatico.ca/soy1 page to include them on the www.holisticottawa.com page.

Another solution would be to get rid of the page forwarding issue by having the domain name www.holisticottawa.com point directly to the www3.sympatico.ca/soy1 page.


----------



## da_jonesy (Jun 26, 2003)

SoyMac said:


> Hi Friends
> We're trying to maintain a business site ( www.holisticottawa.com ), and all of a sudden, the listing has almost disappeared/is deeply buried when doing a search for this site.
> When we used to search for "colon therapy ottawa", the site would appear near the top of the first page of results. But since Christmas, the site might now appear on a 4th or 5th page of results, and most sites that appear before it do not contain nearly as many attributes from the search terms.
> (We have successfully been using the edit window in Transmit to make the changes/updates for about the last 2 years, without negatively affecting the placement of the site when doing a search)
> ...


Send a private message to Cheshire_Cat. She is my sister in law and works for a company that does search engine optimization. She knows all about this stuff.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Wow! Thanks for the help, da_jonesy and Phil_MTL! 
:clap: 

da_jonesy - Have you warned your over-worked sister-in-law that a total stranger is going to PM her asking for free web advice?!


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Phil_MTL said:


> There are no metatags present on the first level page www.holisticottawa.com
> It appears to only be a placeholder page that forwards to the website content located on a sympatico server.
> 
> I would try duplicating the metatags present on the www3.sympatico.ca/soy1 page to include them on the www.holisticottawa.com page.
> ...


Apart from the META tag issue, the URL www.holisticottawa.com is a page that is in frames. Spiders mostly ignore those pages. You should also have a "robot.txt". Some spiders to not like to be redirect either (from megawedservers to sympatico).


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Thanks, A.S., for even more good tips!  

The weird thing, though, is that until Christmas, the site was showing up at the top of the search results. Nothing about the site, our redirect-hosting, or the website's frames has changed, so we're trying to figure out what we might have done accidentally to the site to change its search result placement.

When I get the go-ahead from da_jonesy, I'll contact his sister-in-law and see what she has to say. Maybe things will be more clear for us when she puts her brain into it.


----------



## Phil_MTL (Nov 26, 2004)

*Another new logo for Quark...*

I didn't make this up, check www.quark.com and see for yourself!

No explanation at all on the website just like nothing never happened.

They had changed it last september for something a little too close to the Scottish Arts Council's.

Can you imagine the costs involved in changing logo every 6 months?


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Phil_MTL said:


> I didn't make this up, check www.quark.com and see for yourself!?


They discovered "inner bevel"!


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## Phil_MTL (Nov 26, 2004)

Looks like they just bought a new logo for 99$ on ebay.

You have to understand they are still paying their big agency (Sicola Martin) for swiping the previous one.

This is too funny:
The new logo is on the website and you can still read the big PR fuss they wrote about the previous logo but they have nothing to say about the new one:

http://www.quark.com/about/presscenter/prview.jsp?idx=633

There will be a press conference announced sometime in the future but we are still waiting to hear when from the service bureau.

Quark people just don't like things moving too fast!


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Man... I think that's the same press release they used for the OTHER new logo. :lmao:

On that note why did they use bevels? What's wrong with just using clean lines? Everybody and their dog is trying to make a logo with so much glitter than it looks awful. Bah.


----------



## lreynolds (Dec 28, 2005)

Hi, I am starting to get into webdesign/development. I have done a couple small sites and have coded them using Notepad(pre-Mac) and TextWrangler. I have gone through a couple of online tutorials to learn HTML and CSS, and have read a few books, a cheapy web design overview book, and Stylin with CSS. Any recommendations for books to read, or websites/forums? I am thinking of getting Designing with Web Standards.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

*Is this thing on?*

Thought I would give this thread a deserving bump.

So... ligatures: Do they have any reason to exist in today's (design) world? Do they serve a purpose, or are just there as window dressing*? (Or both?)  

_*An adroit but superficial or actually misleading presentation of something, designed to create a favorable impression._


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Manny, you know I love ligatures....


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ok ok, I give in, what the f*ck is a ligature ?


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

plus,

shameless plug of my updated.....not quite as fancy as Mannys'....portfolio website....

www.richardmulley.com

and

shameless plug of my updated business website....

www.sapo.ca


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Font ligatures are variations on a letter to let it be combined with another or others. Some designers even get fancy and use them as design elements. I often have French text and OE, to me at least, look better as a ligature. I was taught to write oeuf using a ligature - so there's also a little nostalgia there...


From Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ligature_(typography)


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

aaahhh, ok, I know what you mean

window dressing


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

I was going to say both (window dressing and serve a purpose) - I think Manny knows that this could lead to fisticuffs...


----------



## LaurieR (Feb 9, 2006)

Loafer said:


> aaahhh, ok, I know what you mean
> 
> window dressing


Watch it, man...


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ok, serves a purpose for pompous graphic designers.......window dressing for the great un-washed. 

fair ?


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I'm playing devil's advocate when it comes to ligatures... it's a little of both, I think. There's nothing wrong with looking good for the sake of looking good. :heybaby: 

Personally, I think ligatures look better than just regular type:

ﬁ
versus
fi​
It's more elegant and fluid, and it directs the eye and connects. It also just looks better (hence the window dressing comment.) It's a perfect balance of function and form.

IMHO of course.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Hhhhmmmm, function ?
In what way is it functional other than looking better....but then that's just good form right ?

a tin opener is functional.....not a nice looking fi

IM (even) H(lier) O


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

LOL - those young new school designers - no need for ligatures.....
blasphemy... so much for readability....


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Ligatures aren't necessarily limited to making letters look good next to each other... they also play a role in language (Œ for example can be found in the French language in words such as œuvre.) Everything has their place and use.

It's the same thing for prime marks versus quotation marks:

' " are not ” ’

Yet some people don't understand or are unaware of the difference.

~

A great book to check out _Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors & Students._ (ISBN 1-56898-448-0) $19.95 US.


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## LaurieR (Feb 9, 2006)

Even some designers don't understand that. I see it all over the place! Unfortunately, my eye is immediately drawn to it...




« MannyP Design » said:


> Yet some people don't understand or are unaware of the difference.


----------



## LaurieR (Feb 9, 2006)

Nice improvements! The sites both look great...and they're easy to navigate which is always a good thing.



Loafer said:


> plus,
> 
> shameless plug of my updated.....not quite as fancy as Mannys'....portfolio website....
> 
> ...


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

yeah, one day it will be a flash site so I can have lots of spinning widgets and moving images and that funky sound (like a whoosh) when you change images 

(ahem, sarcasm)

I had this great idea to do a big gear and a little gear spinning around endlessly....but I dunno, seems kinda lame when I think about it

Thanks for your lovely comments


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Loafer said:


> I had this great idea to do a big gear and a little gear spinning around endlessly....but I dunno, seems kinda lame when I think about it


I dunno, I kind of like Manny's site....


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

I was just yanking Mannys chain

I love Mannys website and his work.....although the link has mysteriously disappeared from his profile


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

I knew you were yanking his chain...

We should post stories of designs that we have done that the clients have messed up after... I'm flexible but sometimes the "dancing baloney" is what they want....


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ah, the daning baloney......post it again ArtistSeries.....ppppuuuuullleeeeeezzzzzzz


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Loafer said:


> ah, the daning baloney......post it again ArtistSeries.....ppppuuuuullleeeeeezzzzzzz


enjoy... http://www.t-box.ca/


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

firstly....what is so cool about a t-shirt that is packaged as a cube and is all wrinkly ? (sorry, I just re-read that and it sounds nasty, I meant, from their stand point why is it so cool, not for you posting it)

secondly, and more importantly, where's the dancing baloney ?!?!?!?


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Dancing Baloney is the equivalent of "one day it will be a flash site so I can have lots of spinning widgets and moving images and that funky sound (like a whoosh) when you change images"

Vacuum-packed clothing is hip I've been told.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Loafer said:


> I had this great idea to do a big gear and a little gear spinning around endlessly....but I dunno, seems kinda lame when I think about it


Naw... sounds unoriginal and done to death. I think a lot of first-year students do that.  



ArtistSeries said:


> I knew you were yanking his chain...
> 
> We should post stories of designs that we have done that the clients have messed up after... I'm flexible but sometimes the "dancing baloney" is what they want....


Do we have enough bandwidth for that discussion? I actually keep copies of every concept I do (most at the very least) for the explicit purposes of, if/when I get off my arse and get my portfolio section completed, I can show the sample with and without the client's "improvements."


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Here's a link I think Loafer could appreciate: http://www.khulsey.com/student.html


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## mannypwife (Feb 15, 2005)

Loafer said:


> I was just yanking Mannys chain



umm, I don't know anything about design, but isn't that my job?

:yikes:


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Easy... this is a family board!


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

mannypwife said:


> umm, I don't know anything about design, but isn't that my job?
> 
> :yikes:


Keep it in the bedroom!


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ArtistSeries said:


> Dancing Baloney is the equivalent of "one day it will be a flash site so I can have lots of spinning widgets and moving images and that funky sound (like a whoosh) when you change images"
> 
> Vacuum-packed clothing is hip I've been told.


Ok....I get ya now
I can't actually think of anything right now that I've been forced to do that would be considered Dancing Baloney status.....but I was trying to get in with these guys to do freelance for them on one of those "it's so quiet I'm freaking out I'll sell my grandmother for some work" type weeks.

www.kddisplays.com

I can't help but jig around the room to that funky '80's intro music 

Thankfully more work came along and I haven't had to deal with the person who sanctioned this monstrosity.

Maybe we should start another thread "The Anti-Design Studio" for all those not well considered pieces we come across.


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

It has the Flash with the "click to enter" button - first sign of bad design (IMO) - we have a winner...


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## LaurieR (Feb 9, 2006)

heehee...



mannypwife said:


> umm, I don't know anything about design, but isn't that my job?
> 
> :yikes:


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Manny,

That Kevin Hulsey guy is quite the talent

I hope he doesn't charge $35 an hour


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I think my eyes are bleeding from that site... those poor fonts! Why *anyone* would believe squishing the crap out of them looks good is beyond me.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Wasn't the dancing baloney movement originated from Bauhaus?


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## gastonbuffet (Sep 23, 2004)

So for the first time ever i click in this link, as i'm currently playing "designer" in a small capacity; to see what the "better" people are talking about and maybe pick a few brains (i never felt worthy nor dare to come in here)........... and instead of picking brains i get yanking chains, innuendo, shady stuff, "linking" is better.......????


How did i miss this place?????? I'm home baby!!!!


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

« MannyP Design » said:


> Wasn't the dancing baloney movement originated from Bauhaus?


The Dancing Baloney....a perfect balance between form and function


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## gastonbuffet (Sep 23, 2004)

Loafer said:


> The Dancing Baloney....a perfect balance between form and function


dancing balls.....
well, I'm out of here.
you people disgust me!!


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Loafer said:


> The Dancing Baloney....a perfect balance between form and function


I don't think I would call the iPod "dancing baloney"........


gastonbuffet, did you have any questions?


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

gastonbuffet said:


> So for the first time ever i click in this link, as i'm currently playing "designer" in a small capacity; to see what the "better" people are talking about and maybe pick a few brains (i never felt worthy nor dare to come in here)........... and instead of picking brains i get yanking chains, innuendo, shady stuff, "linking" is better.......????


Welcome to the wonderful world of design


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

From the Kevin Hulsey website :

"All of the digital images on this site were created using Adobe® Illustrator® and Adobe® Photoshop®. Hardware: Apple PowerMac G5 Dual 2GHz, 23" Cinema HD Display, Wacom Drawing Tablet."

Atta boy!

someone send him an e-mail to be a guest contributor to our thread


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## gastonbuffet (Sep 23, 2004)

Thanks for asking AS,

I will print some businnes cards i just designed (pretty basic stuff) so , as i never did any printing in this country, i wanted to check the costs. 

Bare with me, i don't know any "design" lingo.

two sided cards, one side two colors, the other side full color(*)


(*)So it's a single design in the full color side, but each "card" on the "sheet" will have different colors, a variation for each card of the sheet ( around eight different color cards?) ; hence the need for full color on that side.

I'll need lots of them (circa 5000)

I want either super thick paper, extremely thick paper, or the thickest paper that can be cut into a card. 

So i have the design in photoshop.....what $$$ am i looking at.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Loafer said:


> The Dancing Baloney....a perfect balance between form and function


Don't you mean Baloney: form and luncheon?


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

GastonBuffet, when you approach printers, tell them you are a graphic designer, they will get you a better price.
You will find that the price will vary a lot, this is due the the printer and the equipment they will have. 
The different colours will be looked at as different runs (again depends on the presses), so you will have to specify. I image that you will find and all digital workflow but ask for a proof. 
If you ask for glossy, note that the colours may shift. 
Recto/Verso CMYK, (265gsm), full bleed = about $300(max)

You can check Vistaprint.ca for certain prices and add 20% to get a real world equivalent. 

Because of your unique needs, you'll have to find a printer that is willing to listen and understand what you need.
Also, some place will offer 1000 Business cards, 12 Pt cover stock, two-sided, full colour, coated - $99.00 CAD
http://www.intelex.ca/business-card-design.html
or
http://www.professorprint.com/

Remember that's it better to deal with a local printer that does not outsource to China... (you have better Quality Control).


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Has anyone used the newer Graphire Wacom tablets? I know someone who wants the smallest one, but it just seems too small. Thanks!

.


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## LaurieR (Feb 9, 2006)

Form follows luncheon...



« MannyP Design » said:


> Don't you mean Baloney: form and luncheon?


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Yeah, I have the first rev Graphire (4x5) and it is way too small. I believe the next step up (6x8) is a little better and less confining. I get a little claustrophobic at times. 



LaurieR said:


> Form follows luncheon...


Yeah... it was bad. I admit it. But I regret nothing.


----------



## Leanne (Aug 6, 2003)

I have a quick design question for you guys...

For official graphic designer titles, is "Lead Graphic Designer" an official title? I found one website that described titles, and included a 'middleweight designer' (which I'd never heard of) but didn't mention lead. Do any of you guys know if that's correct, or what the correct titles are?

Thanks!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Hmm. When I think of lead designer, I think of people who work in entertainment industry for some reason (lead animator, etc.) I think they're looking for a senior designer--somebody who has been around for a while. Not to be confused with Art Director, however.

As far "middleweight" goes... I think they're looking for someone a little seasoning but wouldn't be quite up to the task of leading a team or art directing--skilled enough to produce nice work (around 3-5 years experience.) The bridge between a junior designer and a senior designer would be my best guess.


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

> Has anyone used the newer Graphire Wacom tablets? I know someone who wants the smallest one, but it just seems too small. Thanks!


i have a 4 x 5 and a 6 x 8, and prefer the 4 x 5 for most tasks (illustrator, 3D, most photoshop tasks) but will switch to the 6 x 8 for 'traditional' drawing.


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## Leanne (Aug 6, 2003)

Thanks, Manny.

I've somehow received the title 'lead graphic designer' although I've never heard of it before. I'm guessing my position would be 'senior graphic designer' then...I have 6 years experience, working 4 of those last years as the head/"lead" designer on all major projects in the company.

We're making new business cards, that's why I ask.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

HowEver said:


> Has anyone used the newer Graphire Wacom tablets? I know someone who wants the smallest one, but it just seems too small. Thanks!
> 
> .


I have a 4x5 too.....I use it now again using the eraser tool or something in Photoshop. I tried sketching with it but the whole hand eye co-ordination just didn't work for me.....give me a pen and paper any day.

Now a Cintiq (or whatever they are called), I'd take one of those 


Leanne,

I imagine a lead designer would be a senior designer....not a term I am familiar with I must admit. I've heard of middleweight designer.....bit better than a junior designer but still hasn't got the experience of a senior designer. It's all about pay scales.


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## Leanne (Aug 6, 2003)

Loafer said:


> Leanne,
> 
> I imagine a lead designer would be a senior designer....not a term I am familiar with I must admit. I've heard of middleweight designer.....bit better than a junior designer but still hasn't got the experience of a senior designer. It's all about pay scales.


Yeah... I changed my card to 'Senior'. I'd never heard of the title before working here, and I don't want a phony title cause I've worked hard to get where I'm at. I'm glad I have other designers I can ask though, because there's no absolute definition out there.

Thanks!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Maybe they didn't want to give people an impression you were a really, really, really old designer? 

Lead designer has a dynamic feel to it.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

For all you lego enthusiasts...

http://building-utopolis.com/2menus/bldg_utopolis_12_2005/bldg_utopolis_12_2005_engp.html


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## Leanne (Aug 6, 2003)

« MannyP Design » said:


> Maybe they didn't want to give people an impression you were a really, really, really old designer?
> 
> Lead designer has a dynamic feel to it.


*haha* true...

I'm only 27, but some days I feel older.


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## gastonbuffet (Sep 23, 2004)

Thanks ArtistSeries for the sound advice.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Loafer said:


> For all you lego enthusiasts...
> 
> http://building-utopolis.com/2menus/bldg_utopolis_12_2005/bldg_utopolis_12_2005_engp.html


I can't wait for Xander to be old enough to play with Legos™.  Or should I say Megabloks™? :heybaby:


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

oh, I"m going to be all over the Lego pieces when Oliver is into that.

Manny, you do copywriting don't you ?


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Nope, not me. LOL. I can copy writing, however. 

Do you need a freelance copywriter? I know a couple of people who may be interested.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

yeah, first off it's just for a few promotional pieces we are putting together so we don't have much of a budget for that.....but we want someone we can go back to now and again when stuff comes up. Not much at the moment but we want to push that side of things. My business partner is Colombian so he struggles a bit with that and I'm too much of a scumbag to talk proper 
So we need someone who knows what they are doing.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Well, you can always fire it off my way and I can take a look at it. Also, the Mrs. had a good eye for writing--I'm sure she wouldn't mind giving it a one-over.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Check these A/V DJ's out.
I'm particularly fond of Blondie vs The Doors and the Italian Job one...

http://www.addictive.com/site.php?version=html


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Lookee here:
http://sketchup.google.com/download.html

Mac version coming soon. I wonder if they'll integrate it with Google Earth and allow everyone to submit their own models.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Holy friggin' cr*p!!!!
They made it free!
Unbelievable

Just think, businesses everywhere can get some SketchUp guy to build a model of their office with logo's and **** on it and then import it into Google Earth as a 3D ad

I think I might start a new business here


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

it's a tiered product. the non free version allows import/export, as well as terrain modeling etc.

in other not-so-momentous-but-in-a-similar-vein-news, DAZ bought out eovia, and made hexagon 2 aprox $30.

i'm still stickin' with blender


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

I've been hearing good things about DAZ, have you used it ?


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I know!!! I can't wait to get my hands on it. 

Weeeeeeee


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I've tried DAZ... meh. It had some bugs the last time I used it (year ago) I still prefer Poser. It's great if you don't have a lot of cash, I suppose. Free is good.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*Ottawa - FLASH Demonstration/Mac-Meeting May 16*

Hi Friends
This came from MUGOO (Mac User Group of Ottawa):

_James Acres originally of the award winning, internationally renown FUEL Industries http://www.fuelindustries.com and now at Algonquin will be talking and demoing everything Flash. A not to be missed presentation!

As usual we will have a Q & A session, so bring your questions, problems etc. as well as any cool things you want to share (new found tools, websites, training info, work arounds, whatever).

Please note: due to a number of conflicts we have decided to move the SIG to Tuesdays, NOT Wednesday 11th as originally announced.

We will be in room N207, at Algonquin College starting at 7 pm on Tuesday May 16th.

Hope to see everyone there.

Laurence Head, Lynda Matsumoto, Alain Paradis

[email protected] 

See the message board http://mugoo.eton.ca/smf/index.php?topic=739.0 for a map with directions and parking._


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Cool. I might go to that.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

A site I stumbled across:
http://www.typogabor.com/graphisme-russe/index.html


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

nice stuff....I love Russian graphic design
I remember when I was a kid and my parents went to Russia and bought back a box of Russian posters....I would just stare at them for hours, especially the propoganda poster of Yuri Gagarin.....just blew me away.

The 3D equivalent :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:TatlinMonument3int.jpg

I did a study on the Russian Constructivist movement


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

Import SketchUp And Google Earth Files Into Blender:
http://www.blendernation.com/2006/05/11/import-sketchup-and-google-earth-files-into-blender/


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

*Some Flash guys have all the luck*

I wonder how much budget was allocated for creating this marvellous 3D/Flash piece?

- warning - not for office consumption...
http://www.shockabsorber.co.uk/bounceometer/shock.html


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ArtistSeries said:


> I wonder how much budget was allocated for creating this marvellous 3D/Flash piece?
> 
> - warning - not for office consumption...
> http://www.shockabsorber.co.uk/bounceometer/shock.html


that;s great
I'm sitting here with my buddy who works for Alias/Autodesk and tells me that was done in Maya!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

http://www.nickfruhling.com/blog/2006/04/trump-gets-fired-up-about-design.html

_Touch a designer's computer screen, and you will lose. Always._

More ways than one, I might add.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

oh.....my wife got in a terrible huff with me once when I scolded her dad (yes, my in-law) for touching my screen.

what, you think I want to see your greasy sweaty finger prints all over my beautiful designs.....look with you eyes not with your dirty grubby fingers!

thanks for the post Manny


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

Elephants Dream, the world's first open source movie (all project files available for download):
http://features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=3583&page=
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?threadid=359006

direct link to homepage:
http://blender.org/cms/Home.2.0.html

featured in the CG timeline on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_CGI_in_film_and_television#1970s


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

since i seem to be covering the blender beat, someone has actually converted blender into a 2D desktop publishing program:

http://dtpblender.instinctive.de/cms/Documentation/QuickStart


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Man, as hard as I try... I cannot get my head wrapped around Blender. LOL. It's depressing. 

Wings3D appears to be a little more intuitive, but not nearly as powerful.

I've been thinking of biting the bullet and giving Modo a shot.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

And this is a [email protected] Flash site!
http://www.adaptmontreal.com/a2006/

Wow. My head is spinning.


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## jat (Jan 13, 2006)

so how many of you are working in the 3d field......? I also posted about where to find good drawing/sketching books in Toronto - any good places to check out? I use LightWave myself and am trying to set up my portfolio right now using iMovie. I am trying to find a solution on how to get good quality stills from scanned art work in my final movie - right now everything is blurry and jaggy..........not good.......this is a great thread by the way :clap:


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I use 3-D as part of graphic design & multimedia... icons, illustrations, abstract, motion graphics, etc. A long time ago I wanted to work in the visual effects industry but there were no schools that offered anything remotely similar to what they have today. This was back when you needed a $12,000 SGI machine and spend thousands a year for software licences. The first program I learned 3-D on: Alias Sketch! v1.0 for the Macintosh.  

It's amazing how much has changed.


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Oh, by the way, you need to render your footage out at NTSC 720x480 @ 29.97 frames per second for standard broadcast quality, or you can go HD resolution (can't recall the exact sizes at the moment.)

Also...

The DV codec by default will show footage in "draft" mode. If you turn on the high quality option in Qucktime/iMovie you will see a better quality image. Be sure to check the iMovie Help for more info.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Hey Jat,

Welcome to the design studio!
I'm an indutrial designer from the UK who's been in Canada about 5 years now and I use......FormZ, I know, I know, it's not the coolest 3D package out there but it does well what I need it for and that's mainly retail stuff. You can check out some of my work here :

www.richardmulley.com

I've been considering putting some images together in a short iMovie for my website....you'll have to let us know how you get on.

Manny, I downloaded Modo to play around with it but as it's a polygonal based modeller I was hopelessly lost with it, the way things are built with it are in total contrast to what I am used to with FormZ (although you can do polygonal modelling). I find FormZ is more in tune with my manufacturing background that traditional 3D modellers.

and Trout, as for Blender.......I didn't have a clue either. I think I would some serious tutoring for any other 3D package now that FormZ is so ingrained in my work flow. I feel like one of those old skool designers who hold on to their way of working without trying something new 
Ah well, at least I figured out Maxwell


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

There are a lot of die-hard modelers in the "biz" who use Form*Z. It's a very powerful and precise modeler! ElectricImage and Form*Z were pretty much the staple of 3-D Mac users in the 90's. Alex Lindsay of ILM/dvGarage & PixelCorps training uses Form*Z (and others, I'm sure.) I have a boatload of PDF/Video tutorials from PixelCorps for Modo, Form*Z, Cinema4D, etc. that I'll be working through, as soon as I have some time to myself.

One thing you have to admit--Form*Z has been very consistent with their direction. If it wasn't so expensive, I'd probably opt to use that.


----------



## Phil_MTL (Nov 26, 2004)

MannyP : Thanks for the link to the Adapt2006 conference it's happening here at home and I had not heard of it yet!

On a related note I will be attending the Concept Art workshop in june. Is anyone going?
(registrations accepted until june 1st)


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Wish I could go... but alas, being a pappy automatically means at least 125% of my salary goes to the baby.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

« MannyP Design » said:


> There are a lot of die-hard modelers in the "biz" who use Form*Z. It's a very powerful and precise modeler! ElectricImage and Form*Z were pretty much the staple of 3-D Mac users in the 90's. Alex Lindsay of ILM/dvGarage & PixelCorps training uses Form*Z (and others, I'm sure.) I have a boatload of PDF/Video tutorials from PixelCorps for Modo, Form*Z, Cinema4D, etc. that I'll be working through, as soon as I have some time to myself.
> 
> One thing you have to admit--Form*Z has been very consistent with their direction. If it wasn't so expensive, I'd probably opt to use that.


Don't get me wrong.....I love FormZ and their customer support is the best there is.
What it really lacks, IMO, is a decent rendering package. Sure Renderzone can produce some 'nice' results but without plugins for Mental Ray and such people really turn their noses up at it. 

Also, their branding just plain sucks....you look at Maya, Modo and even 3D Studio....they all have very professional cool looking branding.....FormZ looks like a bunch of kids did it. I honestly think if they sorted that out they would be given a serious look at by more people.

The thing that attracted me to Modo was the branding....it just makes it look cool


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Speaking of Modo: http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/05/25/modo/index.php


----------



## jat (Jan 13, 2006)

for all those wondering about the conceptart.org workshop in Montreal...I asked them if they will have dvd's about the workshop and the answer was yes, but when........that's the question...................should be a good show though, I just can't seem to part with the few pennies I have........lol


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Here's a couple of useful widgets I just came across:










*Art Director's Toolkit:*
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/developer/artdirectorstoolkitwidget.html










*ColorBurn*
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/developer/colorburn.html


And one that Quark really could have used:








*Logo Search*
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/search/logosearchwidget.html


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

i tried modo when the demo came out, but couldn't get my head around it. blender has ruined intuitive user interfaces for me


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

This is going askew from the present discussion but was wondering what people used or recommended for a job/timetracker/billing software gearing for a design studio using macs.
I'm looking for an easy timetracker for graphic artist to use and gives reports to the owners...

Thanks


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Currently, I have nothing... but have been looking at a few solutions that might be up your alley:

http://www.prettygoodsoftware.org
http://www.inertron.com/
http://shareware.mediaatelier.com/
http://www.oranged.net/studiometry/


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Thanks MannyP.
The Studiometry one looks interesting. 
I see http://www.studioczar.com but it looks a tad expensive with the FileMaker licensing.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

At the moment my business partner and I just log our hours on a shared ical 
I wish I could get a column in iCal that gives me the total hours for something.
For example, let's say a job name is EhMac....Everytime I put aside a block of time and call it EhMac I can get a running total somewhere.....does that make sense ?
I find iCal handy too because we can plan our week out with it by blocking off time


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Do you host the iCal file via .Mac or something?

I wish iCal had a share feature that allowed you to share via the network, akin to iTunes or iPhoto shared Libraries.


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Loafer said:


> At the moment my business partner and I just log our hours on a shared ical


I find that iCal does have it's limitations, that is why I'm looking for something more.


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## Pelao (Oct 2, 2003)

> I find that iCal does have it's limitations, that is why I'm looking for something more.


Hi AS

I can recommend Daylite by marketcircle (Canadian company too..!). 
http://marketcircle.com/

After a great deal of study we purchased and installed it for one of our clients. It has made a great deal of difference to the way they manage their business. It's a very stable app, integrates nicely with Address Book, iCal and Mail, allows tracking of billable time, keeps all relevant communications and docs together (by client and /or by project) etc etc.


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

we plan to use a mysql database to track everything docket related, including hours.


----------



## jat (Jan 13, 2006)

*having high resolution stills in a movie*

my buddy showed me a trick to get what some of us are trying to accomplish - mainly to get full resolution or close to it regarding stills in a movie format. While this isn't an iMovie fix maybe someone can apply this tip and see what they can come up with.

iPhoto - 

•make sure your stills are tiffs at whatever size you want - dv, hd etc or your own custom size, use photoshop for your images, title screens, etc 

• get all those images that you've made and *PLAY* a slideshow using (don't make a slideshow) the arrow key in the bottom left corner and while its playing in the first few seconds stop the slideshow.

•at this point you can go into your slidshow settings and mess around with them. There are some things you can't do with this method - remember its not iMovie, but to view crisp stills in a movie format its #1.....

•ok, your done all that and now you want to export this whole thing into a Quicktime movie but you have to use the same resolution setting as your original tiffs so if the original picture was 1024x768 then that iss what you will use as your export settings.........this option to put in your own values only comes up with this workaround otherwise you only have the three options that iPhoto gives you as default



• Using Acrobat Pro to show your just made stills in iPhoto and to include other movies, perhaps some made in iMovie and exported as high quality Quicktime



Lets says you originally wanted to use iMovie to import a dv clip of 3 minutes and then add the high quality stills, even though we can't do that with good results we can cheat a little. Using Acrobat Pro we import movies and stills and since its a pdf everything looks really good. The fades and transitions are not smooth but if you already made them in iPhoto then you don't have to worry about that, just think of Acrobat Pro as the container for all the other little bits. While I can't comment on the specifics about Acrobat pro (have to learn it still) I did see my friend whip up a presentation in no time at all - this is just to point to other options in stead of just using iMovie..hope that helps


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*Apple "PRO" Web section*

Hi Friends
I just found this:

http://www.apple.com/pro/

From Macdailynews:
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/9709/
_Apple unveils new Pro site

Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 08:23 PM EDT

"Design, photography, music, film, motion graphics — unbound by discipline, creative pros are drawing from any or all of them to redefine the work they do. Meet three of these pros in video profiles featured in the newly designed Pro site. Explore the site further to read about the exciting work your fellow pros are engaged in, to learn the latest on what you can do with color, to get helpful tips to help you get the most out of the tools you use everyday, and more," reads the blurb announcing the new Pro site on Apple.com.

Apple's new Pro site is divided into four sections:
• Profiles: stories of how pros create "Design," "Film & Video," "Photography," and "Music and Audio" with Apple products, plus links to Apple's "Science" pages and more.
• Solutions: tips and tricks in the categories of "Design," "Film & Video," "Photography," and "Music and Audio."
• Mac OS X Tips: Excellent tips and tricks for Mac OS X and Mac applications.
• Resources: Downloads, Links, Seminars, and Quick Tours_

Also on this site, you can sign up for Apple "Pro" mailings.


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Pelao said:


> Hi AS
> 
> I can recommend Daylite by marketcircle (Canadian company too..!).
> http://marketcircle.com/


Does this product allow individual workstations to track their time on task and automatically have those times transferred/communicated to a master task/job lists?


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

http://www.apple.com/pro/profiles/2x4/

There are some very unhappy people on the FormZ forum....the 3D app you see in this video is FormZ but it isn't listed!!!!


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Ouch... that is not cool.


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

SketchUp is now available for the Mac:

http://sketchup.google.com/download.html


----------



## comprehab (May 28, 2005)

Was it not available before? I have been running skethcup 5.0.262 since back in April...


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

The free version (prior to Google's acquisition) was Windows-only.


----------



## comprehab (May 28, 2005)

Its free now!?!?

Oh well....


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Yup. 

But it's not as feature rich as the "pro" version that you can opt to buy. In other words, the free SketchUp is a "lite" application.


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

while i'm not a regular user, it looks like the gimp is getting colour management for the upcoming 2.4 release:









i can't stand the gimp's interface (even with the photoshop UI mod), but at least will soon be theoretically possible to use gimp in a colour managed workflow, perhaps even for print work.

of course, the real deal breaker for me is that lack of tablet pressure sensitivity (on OS X, linux and windows are fine). apparently this is due to a bug in apple's implementation of x11. if that's true it's kind of pathetic given apple has had 4 or 5 years to fix it.


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

ubuntu linux has been updated, and while that in and of itself is not that interesting, what is interesting is that ubuntu now comes in a desktop and server edition.

the server edition may be of interest to web people, since it features turnkey LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) installation and configuration. all one has to do is check a box at the installer to get this up and running.








http://www.ubuntu.com/server

edit: changed 'addition' to 'edition'. ouch.


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

apple cuts price of Shake from $3000 to $500:

http://features.cgsociety.org/story.php?story_id=3623&referer=cgnews


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

A lot of Shake users are happy about that. And for good reason, obviously.


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

More retro poster art:
http://www.chicago-l.org/ads/1920sPosters/index.html


----------



## MacAndy (May 17, 2004)

*Web site *design**

New thread, on web site design.

Another thread on here talked about web site *design* when what they really meant was web site *production*.

How many people here are working up designs in PhotoShop, slicing [& dicing] to produce their sites and if so, to what extent is your site content just PhotoShop work?

less than half?
about half?
more than half?
95-100% of the site - that is, almost all PhotoShop because you hate generic text and html layout? ;-)

Just curious. I'm loving the sites I do the majority of work in PS, just loathe the rest that are predominantly HTML [snore].


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

It seems lately that a lot of our clients want the a site designed, but not a site developed--we're putting together more Photoshop compositions that, once signed off, are sent to the client who either has a web team, or another firm sourced to "slice n' code" the Photoshop files into actual web sites.

I actually like doing it this way, but sometimes you'll get a programmer who can't keep their fingers out of the design aspect and mess sh*t up. 

I like using Flash to develop sites and such, although it's not entirely ideal for the largest audience possible. And Macromedia's implementation of the most recent version of Flash is very annoying with respect to how the coding has been implemented... some very bizarre anomalies happening there.


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

I think that a web designer should know a little HTML. 
I've received designs that are impossible to code properly. This stems from a lack of understanding from the designer about basic HTML and standards. 

Some programmers have will guide you for certain aspects - just because their programming works that way. 

Unlike Manny, I'm allergic to Flash for a site. Flash elements are fine and I'm handy with actionscript but I find it's mostly style over substance and dancing baloney for no reason. 

As for PS/HTML work.... Well the design aspect is usually 20-40 hours for homepage and a content page. The HTML will depend on the complexity of the coding but about the same amount of time.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

a little something I did last night.....

http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=2942922314315974986&q=label:***

hehehe, j/k.....not my work at all


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

it's been a while since I've been in here


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Echo... echo... echo...


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ok, check out the new splash page I did in Maxwell.....not great great, I was just playing around

www.richardmulley.com

also, under the products section there is a couple of Maxwell Renders which I thought were kinda nice


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Nice!


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

The "coffin" like packaging for cigarettes and related products would find a nice niche market....


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ArtistSeries said:


> The "coffin" like packaging for cigarettes and related products would find a nice niche market....


hahaha, I never noticed the similarity until now, completely co-incidental. The shape just copies the profile of the new packs they now have out. Turns out they went for something far less death like.


----------



## acc30 (Apr 26, 2006)

not sure if these have been added prior, but here's a couple I always check

http://www.internettinyawards.com/
http://www.thefwa.com/?app=winners&id=5983
http://www.designtaxi.com
http://www.kirupa.com

here's my recent favourite, I love the simplicity of its concept and how it was creatively done 
http://www.thibaud.be/


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Thibaud's site is amazing... nicely done!


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*Animator vs. Animation*

For FLASH fans -

Artist's Comments:
An animator faces his own animation in deadly combat. The battlefield? The Flash interface itself.
A stick figure is created by an animator with the intent to torture. The stick figure drawn by the animator will be using everything he can find - the brush tool, the eraser tool - to get back at his tormentor. It's resourcefulness versus power. Who will win? You can find out yourself.
Please see:
http://www.deviantart.com/view/34244097/


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

nice

I liked that


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

toys:


















http://rotofugi.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc
http://www.frozenempiretoys.com/shop.html

what do you think? does anyone know how they make this stuff in low volume runs? how do they do the printing?

i'm curious about using a service like this (because it's cheap): http://3darttopart.com/ to make a positive for the mold. the machine spits out a model but the surface is pitted and would have to be smoothed out somehow. perhaps with a thin layer of wax?

sorry, just thinking out loud.


----------



## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

Sorry, to me Thibaud is still mystery meat navigation.
The concept is nice, but am I the only one left who wants to see some text to give me some context of what I am about to click on, or what it is I'm looking at? 

Or am I so "2002" that I have missed an important cultural shift that makes it imperative to keep the viewer guessing?


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

http://www.capacity.tv/

:yikes: :clap:


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Trout,

I'm not entirely sure these would be short run, I think there is a huge market for that kind of stuff in Japan so I imagine they are injection or blow molded pieces.

As for doing 1 off pieces there are several places around Toronto that do 3D printing. You could call these guys and they might be able to put you onto someone in your area....

www.zcorp.com

The latest version of FormZ actually allows you to export as a zcorp file and print in 3D.....in colour!!!!

Amazing stuff, but it isn't cheap. I was recently talking to someone at a show and for a small architectural model, about the size of 8 1/2" x 11" was between $2000-$3000

*******hhhmmm, was looking at your link....much cheaper than the guy quoted me*****


----------



## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

http://www.strangekiss.com/

Maybe someday we'll see a special edition ehMax toy?   

I really like this artist. And so does ehMax.


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Good article:

http://www.markbixby.com/blog/entry/your-logo-doesnt-matter/


----------



## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Loafer said:


> ....so I imagine they are injection or blow molded pieces.
> 
> 
> Amazing stuff, but it isn't cheap. I was recently talking to someone at a show and for a small architectural model, about the size of 8 1/2" x 11" was between $2000-$3000


Your right on both counts. Having not actually held those toys/models. I would say blow molded. And printing is not cheap at all. I have no idea what the catch is with that guys site/services, but it doesn't seem right. Also with the 3d printing, there's alot of post printing cleanup to do on the part. We had a couple small clocks printed and they were around $300-400 each. Luckily we have a machine here to do that sort of work


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I've thought about getting my logo produced in 3-D (it was originally built as a 3D model in ElectricImage Modeler). I had, at one time, talked to a guy about getting it done as a wood sign for my door, which wasn't too bad price-wise--comparable to digital 3D printing.


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## darkscot (Nov 13, 2003)

« MannyP Design » said:


> I've thought about getting my logo produced in 3-D (it was originally built as a 3D model in ElectricImage Modeler). I had, at one time, talked to a guy about getting it done as a wood sign for my door, which wasn't too bad price-wise--comparable to digital 3D printing.



That's a gorgeous sign! Thanks for the show.


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## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Here's a project I just completed. If anyone would actually like one, I'd be more than happy to make one for you. Looks/works great with an ipod, esp. with video as you can sit and watch it easily. 

(Base/dock for charging your cellphone/mp3 player )

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/unleashedlive/266352156/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/96/266352156_15c2ac7cb0.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Base 1" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/unleashedlive/266352143/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/102/266352143_9f85528fb3.jpg" width="395" height="500" alt="Base 2" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/unleashedlive/266352114/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/104/266352114_5940446e1a.jpg" width="362" height="500" alt="Base 3" /></a>


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## acc30 (Apr 26, 2006)

http://www.agencynet.com/

This is definitely bringing web design to a new level, to me at least. I can't say I've seen any website like this.


----------



## modsuperstar (Nov 23, 2004)

acc30 said:


> http://www.agencynet.com/
> 
> This is definitely bringing web design to a new level, to me at least. I can't say I've seen any website like this.


That is a nice website, but a horrible name for a company.


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Fun use of FLASH. 
Awful *AWFUL* splash page! (Do the kids still call them "splash" pages?  )
That boring block of text just to tell us to choose between downloading FLASH or entering - I've seen kids' sites that automatically tell us, _if necessary_, that we need to download a recent FLASH version when one enters a site. How can a company with such a clever FLASH technician have such a poor concept of web design? (Rhetorical question)


----------



## sheamusj (Sep 21, 2006)

Loafer said:


> In the absense of a permanent design section on ehMac I thought I would take it upon myself to start this thread. See if we can keep this one alive as long as The Shang!
> 
> Please feel free to post design work you have completed, links of quality examples of good design you have seen or any type of design chat you feel will benefit others.


Wonderful idea and a pleasure meeting you! 

And, I see that ehmac community members have already begun to contribute.

I'm an ancient guy with limited technological knowledge so I may not understand much of what is discussed but I love great design and look forward to learnin some great things here.

BTW, I checked out your site and you ought to consder adding a blog to your site.


----------



## sheamusj (Sep 21, 2006)

« MannyP Design » said:


> Here's one of my favorite sites:
> 
> The Principles of Graphic Design
> 
> ...


Appreciate the contribution Manny! Unfortuately the site is not available at this time.


----------



## sheamusj (Sep 21, 2006)

bl:oke said:


> Here are a few of my favorites:
> 
> ------
> 
> ...


The Me Company site is fun!


----------



## sheamusj (Sep 21, 2006)

acc30 said:


> http://www.agencynet.com/
> 
> This is definitely bringing web design to a new level, to me at least. I can't say I've seen any website like this.


I wonder if some small part of web design includes a consideration of speed of loading. This site is damn slow.


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

sheamusj said:


> Appreciate the contribution Manny! Unfortuately the site is not available at this time.


I'm sure it'll be back soon--although, I originally posted that link two years ago.


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

Loafer said:


> Trout,
> 
> I'm not entirely sure these would be short run, I think there is a huge market for that kind of stuff in Japan so I imagine they are injection or blow molded pieces.
> 
> ...


thanks for the info. btw, i was showing the boss your site the other day. some impressive work there. cheers.


----------



## modsuperstar (Nov 23, 2004)

I have a little design related conundrum and I don't know how to react to it. I wrote a blog the other day and it illicited an email response from a well known web personality and blogger. In the brief message he closed by saying "....cut to chase: I seriously like your design taste...what can we do???". Now so far I've had a tough time formulating a response to this query, as I don't know how to take it. I do freelance work for friends and family as I don't have a legitimate business per say. How do I go about responding to this informal question?


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Seriously, this is intended to be a helpful comment: if you decide to answer this person in some way, it might be best to get a respected professional to proofread your response first.




modsuperstar said:


> I have a little design related conundrum and I don't know how to react to it. I wrote a blog the other day and it illicited an email response from a well known web personality and blogger. In the brief message he closed by saying "....cut to chase: I seriously like your design taste...what can we do???". Now so far I've had a tough time formulating a response to this query, as I don't know how to take it. I do freelance work for friends and family as I don't have a legitimate business per say. How do I go about responding to this informal question?


----------



## acc30 (Apr 26, 2006)

Definitely a new favourite of mine  

amazing site
http://www.sebastianfriedman.com


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

acc30 said:


> ...amazing site
> http://www.sebastianfriedman.com


Very very nice. And despite it's depth, it's quite intuitive.


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*Font Question for You Pros*

Hi Friends
I make up a lot of the promotional material for my Sweetie's clinic.
I'm wondering if there's a font or font family that's associated with medical/ health/clinic signs and documents.

Thankee!


----------



## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

SoyMac said:


> I'm wondering if there's a font or font family that's associated with medical/ health/clinic signs and documents.


Not really and part of it will depend on the image you are projecting.

Pharma firms are rather stale when it comes to their choices of fonts that they use.
I've seen medical clinics adopt to whatever target market they want (kids, other generation).

If I remember correctly, your partner is more "new-agey" - there is more freedom with those.


----------



## acc30 (Apr 26, 2006)

For those who live in Toronto, what design communities are out there to participlate in or one that you guys are a part of, whether on the web (like ehmac for mac computers) or actual establishments that hold conferences and gatherings in Toronto like the FITC?


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Typeface: Garamond,
as art music video...

http://www.ni9e.com/typo/typo_dylan.html


----------



## macpablo (Jul 3, 2002)

*tribute to ehmac*

A little something I worked on last night


----------



## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Food Tray Design

We had to fabricate the moulds for the product. This was done in 3 pieces, thermoformed. The under cut on the lid was a bit tricky but it worked out in the end.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/unleashedlive/311420837/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/111/311420837_3b03ca1fb0_o.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Mold for food tray lid" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/unleashedlive/311420851/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/105/311420851_3aa5e6d72f_o.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Open" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/unleashedlive/311420855/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/107/311420855_63a388c4e3_o.jpg" width="500" height="299" alt="Closed" /></a>


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/unleashedlive/311420844/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/121/311420844_cb6dc859ee_o.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Bottom of tray top piece" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/unleashedlive/311420846/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/108/311420846_f48705f00f_o.jpg" width="500" height="309" alt="Bottom of tray bottom peice" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/unleashedlive/311420848/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/118/311420848_14fc19774d_o.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Sample pull" /></a>


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

New Blender coming out soon! Multi res sculpting tools ala modo, silo, zbrush, mudbox etc have been in testing builds for about 6 months now, but they are finally due to be released.










http://www.blender.org/cms/Changes_since_2_42.771.0.html


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Blender is on my list (still) to learn... just wish I had time. 

It has such a bizarre interface, I find.


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

MannyP Design said:


> Blender is on my list (still) to learn... just wish I had time.
> 
> It has such a bizarre interface, I find.


interface video tutorial (24mins):
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-7954420215926961114&q=blender+interface


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Thanks!


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*Back to the Basics*

Hi Ottawa Friends
Well, the pros were right. I outgrew and stagnated in Rapidweaver pretty fast.
Now I want to learn html.

Anyone know of any html classes in the Valley? 
Obviously downtown Ottawa's best, but I'd drive out of town for a decent class.

Oh, and I don't know a thing about html. :yikes: 

Thanks!


----------



## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Algonquin College will have some night courses for you.


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

altrodesigns said:


> Algonquin College will have some night courses for you.


Thanks, altrodesigns!
Yeah, I checked there. Nothing that I'm looking for, and their prices can be outrageous.
I checked the Ottawa School of Art with no luck.
I emailed the OBE and asked for a continuing education catalogue to be sent to me. Nice small classes and ridiculously low prices. Hopefully there'll be something offered there.
Otherwise, I'll try a Dummies book.


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Anyone see this?

http://www.cbmodelpro.com/

_CB Model Pro was built around the idea that surfaces should be manipulated directly. The result is a very intuitive and highly productive tool for 3D content creation that seamlessly fits into the production pipeline. CB Model Pro was developed by the creators of Cosmic Blobs, the award-winning entry-level 3D graphics software. 

CB Model Pro is part of Dassault Systèmes exploratory initiative to promote the discovery and use of 3D to all kinds of consumers, in particular young users. Innovative technology development, with products such as CB Model Pro, and interaction with many market communities serves as an incubator for new software concepts and continues to drive thought leadership towards “3D For All."_​


----------



## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Here's my latest creation. It's designed to mount on the wall and hold your daily junk (cellphone, keys, change, wallet etc.)









http://www.flickr.com/photos/unleashedlive/395742823/


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Altro, that's too funny
I too was working on a design for a "pocket dump" too.

nice work!

How do you go about getting stuff mocked up.....Do you have local manufacturers who help you out ? Do they charge an extortionate amount for a prototype ?

I've been having a hard time trying to realise some of my ideas.


----------



## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

I make all the prototypes myself. We've got a metal and wood shop here that'll just about anything you could need for a prototype.

Need a prototype done? I'll do one for you for an extortionate amount minus the extortionate part.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

wow....nice to have your own metal and wood shop.

I might just take you up on that offer one day!


----------



## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Another view.


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Very cool.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Altro,

Here's something I designed....super simple
the idea is the chrome cross in the middle holds a flower pot or vase and the coasters nest around it....so they basically "aren't there" until they are needed. The coasters each have a 1/8" magnet embedded in the side to hold on top the steel cross.

All very simple...I have the magnets, I have some rough coasters (although the guy didn't do such a good as I would have hoped, it was a freebie after all) and I'm still waiting on the cross from a metalwork shop I do some work for from time to time....it's a pain in the arse for him I know.

Let me know what you think...

http://www.richardmulley.com/productsiv.html


----------



## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Ya, I saw that on your site yesterday, very nice, clean, simple design.

It might look a little odd when all coaster are in use and stability may be an issue? I'm not sure but it definitely could work.

Is the metal piece one solid piece or is it two pieces connected in the middle? From a manufacturing stand point making it two separate pieces would be much more practical and you wouldn't see the joint any way.

Great stuff.


----------



## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

> It might look a little odd when all coaster are in use and stability may be an issue? I'm not sure but it definitely could work.


i think the vase is mounted to the metal cross in some way.


----------



## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

TroutMaskReplica said:


> i think the vase is mounted to the metal cross in some way.



Such as 4 raised points on the arms to hold the the vase from the bottom lip. But that still doesn't solve stability entirely. It just solves the sliding issue.


----------



## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

yeah the vase was just suppose to sit on the metal cross....I figured as long as it wasn't too top heavy it would be ok...I guess I should knock up a quick wooden model to make sure it works. But that's another reason I never get anything done, I never have the time for work like that.....all my time is taken up doing my retail design stuff (ah, nothing quite like paid work!).

By the way, Altro...is the guy in your avatar stealing a Macbook or getting himself off on it ?
I can't quite tell


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## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Loafer said:


> By the way, Altro...is the guy in your avatar stealing a Macbook or getting himself off on it ?
> I can't quite tell


haha. Actually is a warning sign not to shove your Wii down your pants


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

ha...a good lesson to be learnt there I am sure


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Typography in motion to Pulp Fiction dialogue (strong language):
http://www.motionographermedia.com/jarrattmoody/intonation.mov


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Another interesting video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHEIvF1U4PM


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

MannyP Design said:



> Typography in motion to Pulp Fiction dialogue (strong language):
> http://www.motionographermedia.com/jarrattmoody/intonation.mov


excellent!

Completely design unrelated but I thought I'd post it here in our secret little club because it's full of swear words.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN7uICa9Yig

(not work safe, unless you turn the volume down)


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## Phil_MTL (Nov 26, 2004)

*Yabb-adobe-doo*

Ugly but funny design-related stuff here:
www.yabb-adobe-doo.com


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## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Design for a slider MP3 player










Rendered clear









and First test render (attached)


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## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/unleashedlive/438126902/

I've spent the past two nights/days doing this. I spent 8hrs modeling it, then accidentally deleted my windows partition for Parallels. So I started over again, finished at 4am, got back up at 8, finished some details and I was up until 3am last night getting these renderings done.

Done for a design competition.


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## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Versa on Flickr - Photo Sharing! (for larger version)


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## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Final rendering of mp3 slider concept above.


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## eh_light (Mar 23, 2007)

looking good - what program did you use, maya?


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## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

eh_light said:


> looking good - what program did you use, maya?



Solidworks. 2005 for the slider, 2006 for the wheelbarrow.


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## eh_light (Mar 23, 2007)

with these kind of work, you should have some kind of portfolio web site - show off everyone what you can do, you can proly get some clients...


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## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

eh_light said:


> with these kind of work, you should have some kind of portfolio web site - show off everyone what you can do, you can proly get some clients...



I'm currently working on one right now.

Ian Murchison + Industrial Designer


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## eh_light (Mar 23, 2007)

altrodesigns said:


> I'm currently working on one right now.
> 
> Ian Murchison + Industrial Designer


well, if you need anything on web design - let me know


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

arrrggghhh, Clients! who needs 'em !

I'm working on something as a sub-contractor for a major major electronics manufacturer and months ago I designed something for that that looked really pretty sweet, I was rather proud of it and from what I understand it went down really well with everyone who saw it. 

Now it's back, and they are killing it and I don't think they realise

The original design evolved around a specific brand but now they want this piece re-branded but what they don't understand that the original revolved completely around the essence of the other brand.....now it looks like a dogs breakfast!

long story, can't name names but I'm sure you guys get the idea.....drives ya friggin' nuts

arrrrggggggghhhh


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

Loafer said:


> arrrggghhh, Clients! who needs 'em !
> 
> I'm working on something as a sub-contractor for a major major electronics manufacturer and months ago I designed something for that that looked really pretty sweet, I was rather proud of it and from what I understand it went down really well with everyone who saw it.
> 
> ...


sh*t like this happens to me almost on a daily basis. as long as they pay the bill ...


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

My favorite line: _Wow, we like both concepts... can we take a little bit of "A" and a little bit of "B"?
_
[email protected] NO! JUST PICK A CONCEPT YOU CLJDSFKH KHU#Y&U*Y#*#&*#U$*@*#^&&$! :lmao:


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## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Slideon+ on Flickr - Photo Sharing!









Slideon+ on Flickr - Photo Sharing!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Nice! I like the little mascot.


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## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Yanko Design - Modern industrial design news magazine yay!!! 

Thanks MP


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## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Slideon.v2 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Alright folks, reading over the feedback from my previous design, I tweaked it for this version.

This version features a nice large widescreen (~ the same size as an entire iPod, or the size of screen that Apple should just put on the iPod already, yeesh  ) Again it's a slider, meaning it is nice and sleek without any buttons sticking out in random places. USB connection on the back, also equipped with Bluetooth for sharing, transferring, streaming  It may look like there are just 4 buttons, but it fact the middle is one long touch sensitive bar which acts as a way to scroll through menus and adjust the volume. It's very thin (check the headphone connector size). Flash memory based of course, I'm not sure of the size of flash based drives, but hopefully it'd be able to fit in a good 20gb+

I think that's it. Feedback?


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*Songs Legal*

Hi Friends
Not your typical "Design Studio" question, but I'm sure you'll see the overlap and understand the reason for me asking this here:

I am wondering how DJs/rappers/etc. get legal permission to use samples and clips of others' music and sell the bits on their own albums.
I would guess that there are entertainment lawyers who do the leg work and take care of these details.
Anyone here know for sure how this sort of negotiation works, and especially, know of a firm or specific lawyer who handles this sort of thing?

Thanks!


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## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

Latest concept combining beautiful music and a hint of light


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Good for a chuckle.

YouTube - A few Good Creative Men


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

MannyP Design said:


> My favorite line: _Wow, we like both concepts... can we take a little bit of "A" and a little bit of "B"?
> _
> [email protected] NO! JUST PICK A CONCEPT YOU CLJDSFKH KHU#Y&U*Y#*#&*#U$*@*#^&&$! :lmao:


heh. Just about every client is like that. Currently have one that thinks themselves a designer, and rather than allow me to make the magic, they want to micromanage.

Ok, well then I'll finish the dog's breakfast that you really want. Some clients just don't get it.

btw I revamped my site not long ago, it's the last revamp of this version before I go for a total redesign.
doodad media


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Man, I love your web site... just love it.


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

thanks. Flash can be a good thing if used right.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*Font Name?*

Anyone know what this font is?...


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## cap10subtext (Oct 13, 2005)

groovetube said:


> thanks. Flash can be a good thing if used right.


I love your site, too!

I couldn't get the mouse scroll (wheel/two finger trackpad) working on my macbook though. If you are interested in adding it, I recently found the actionscript to make it work on a mac:

pixelbreaker : AS3.0 MouseWheel on Mac OS X

Sorry if you're not interested. It's not a criticism, just thought it might be useful.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

SoyMac said:


> Anyone know what this font is?...


It looks very familiar, but I can't place a name. I'll check my sources and get back to you.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I think this is it:

Neuland


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## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

cap10subtext said:


> I love your site, too!
> 
> I couldn't get the mouse scroll (wheel/two finger trackpad) working on my macbook though. If you are interested in adding it, I recently found the actionscript to make it work on a mac:
> 
> ...


Yea I use that for a number of my sites already I haven't had a minute to add it to mine it's been crazy.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

MannyP Design said:


> I think this is it:
> 
> Neuland


Thanks, Manny! :clap:


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Hi Friends
I'd like to try making a bit of animation on my MBP, and I've never done animation before.

I think I've narrowed down the software selection to a choice between Toon Boom Animation-Ish

and Anime Studio 5.

They're both within 10 or so dollars of each other, but I don't know which would be better for an animation complete beginner (me!).

Would you care to make a suggestion or comment?

Thanks!


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I have no experience with either, but ToonBoom has a lot of users (and is used by a lot of animation companies.) Beyond that... if they have demos I'd suggest you try them out first. Animation-ish sounds like the idea way to go... it's specifically made for beginners.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Thanks, Manny.
I just downloaded both demos and I'll fiddle with them tonight.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

make sure you post on here what you do....I'd be interested to hear how it goes


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## imachungry (Sep 19, 2004)

Can I ask what you guys are using for photo editing since Adobe CS doesn't work in Leopard?


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## mannypwife (Feb 15, 2005)

imachungry said:


> Can I ask what you guys are using for photo editing since Adobe CS doesn't work in Leopard?


(MannyP Design hijacking wife's account)

Adobe CS3--it works fine with me. I use it for heavy production every day.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Further to my above post, I've not had any major issues with Photoshop CS3.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Loafer said:


> make sure you post on here what you do....I'd be interested to hear how it goes


I'm trying both the Toon Boom "animation-ish" program and the "Anime Studio 5" Demo.
Both are quite different, and neither is as intuitive as I'd like, so the try-out process is gonna take a while.

But I'll definitely post my impressions.

So far, after very limited use, "Toon Boom Animation-ish" is winning for what I want to do.


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

This is dedicated to all you hard working graphic designers out there.....especially Manny and his love of all things Sans Serif 

Font Conference - CollegeHumor video


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Loafer said:


> This is dedicated to all you hard working graphic designers out there.....especially Manny and his love of all things Sans Serif
> 
> Font Conference - CollegeHumor video


COMICS SANS! Arg! That's a good video... but where's Helvetica?

:lmao:


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

MannyP Design said:


> ... but where's Helvetica?
> :lmao:


MannyP, I know you know this already, but I see "Helvetica" on the main shelf of the new arrivals at Videolicks on Wellington.
Yep, font design history as mainstream entertainment.
Won't somebody please think of the children?!


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

But what I really came here to do, is update folks on my selection of basic animation software;

After much research, I bought *ToonBoom's "Animation-ish"*.
This surprised even me, because *"Animation-ish"* is meant as a child's sub-product of *ToonBoom Studio*, and *Animation-ish* costs $60.

*Anime* _*Studio*_ also costs $60 (or less) and is an entire animation suite of software.

So why would I pay the same or slightly more for a seemingly lesser program?

I'm a beginner to animation, and after looking at the demos and playing around, I found ToonBoom's *Animation-ish* to be easier to use and better for me, the absolute noob.

Also, from online discussion boards, I saw that people noted that each program was meant for a different style of animation creation. 
*ToonBoom* apparently is closer to cell line-drawing. 

*Anime* is a "Bones" type of program.

I wouldn't say that *ToonBoom* is better than *Anime*. 
But it just seems to better suit my needs and the way I envision myself working.

Follwing the online tutorials from *ToonBoom*, I've already completed some short animations and I'm very happy with what I've been able to produce so quickly. 

I have enough confidence already that I've even accepted a (non-paying!) request to make a short, simple animation to serve as the opening of a friend's compilation video.

I'm finding the online lessons very informative and fun, and I could see myself someday upgrading to *ToonBoom Studio*.

I'm having so much fun, that I even went out and bought the cheapest Wacom tablet/pen/mouse (The *Wacom BAMBOO FUN* - $99)! 

Good times!!


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

Looking forward to seeing something soon!


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

I'm trying to post the first animation I made with *Toon Boom Animation-ish* for ehMaccers to see.

But when I try to upload the video (.mov file) to *Tinypic*, I get this message:
"Upload Failed! Unable to process video"
*FIXED*
Please see next post for link.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*Toon Boom Animation-ish*

So here's the first animation, other than in the tutorials, which I made with *ToonBoom Animation-ish*.

A friend asked if I'd make him an animated intro, a few seconds long, for his UniCycle video:
First Animation Attempt With ToonBoom

(it's actually 16 seconds long. I hope you don't get bored in the middle and go to the fridge.)


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## Loafer (Jan 7, 2004)

great stuff Soymac
How long did that take you ?


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Loafer said:


> great stuff Soymac
> How long did that take you ?


 I did about 2-3 hours of tutorials, and then the actual animation took about 3 hours to make.
This program (Animation-ish) is very good for the price - $60, and I can see already that I'll do more complicated things fairly quickly.

Toon Boom's software is good, but not nearly as intuitive as any Apple software product. ( We do get spoiled, don't we? ) So I find myself returning to the instructions and tutorials to learn how to do something. But, again, $60.

Also, I'm not a drawer. I can't draw a squiggly line or a smudge. But that works in my favour with this program as it adds motion as the timeline plays.

All in all, I'm happy I'm starting with this program


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

i thought it might be fun to reinterpret the EhMax character in 3 dimensions. he's a weird looking dude.

here's what i have so far:

YouTube - ehmax 3d


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Well done! And I like the model of Winston Churchill as well. :clap:


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