Phase 1 complete

Graduated, Working at Noble, and have a car.
World Domination is on its way. (think I'll have to go to OCC for that)

Oops

Dagger

I like this a lot because its a feasible dagger, Its not very simple to make blades, and the fact that I did so in a clean manner, and its not over reflective (I tend to use reflections to hide flaws)

Seraph

Something I drew in class, and a quick photoshop of it. I wish I could have a tablet, then I could have replicated it with colors instead of an inverted outline to work with. what'ca gonna do, right?

Chapter 1- Comment

The King ran two fingers down the edge of the blade. He was deep in thought, with his crystal eyes staring aimlessly into the bronze reflection of the blade. His other hand gently held the grip of his sword, supporting the weight against his armored knee. The Throne Room consisted of stone baked golden by the sun shining in between the torn crimson curtains. The room was undecorated, save the worn drapes, the stone throne, and two aged stone statues that resembled a dove.
The King himself was covered in armor. He had overlapping shoulder blades, intricate chest, and solid shins. His thighs and arms were covered in rings that looped around the appendege, to allow for fluid mobility. The armor was thick and sturdy, able to take a concussive force or a slashing blade. His face was covered by only a thin piece of armor that covered his mouth and nose, decorated by carvings that symbol power and authority. Two dragons, reached from his ears to the center of the piece of armor and were worn by scratches and dents. His entire armor set was stained golden by the beating sun and were dented by blasting sands or chipped by swinging blades. Under his armor ran red cloth to cover the rest of his body. This was ripped and dirtied, but not faded. What remains of the original body is the hair, forehead, and eyes. The hair was short, spiked downward, and a deep black. His forehead was flawless, except a few shallow wrinkles above his eyes. His eyes were colorless. Black pupils were surrounded by a white Iris. This faceless king resembled the people, but faceless to signify an image instead of a human.
He was silent and emotionless. The King only had spoken when compelled to speak. He gave short answers and if he doesn't answer with a question, he would provide an uncertainty. He was one un-judged, neither convicted of evil intentions, or asserted of good ones. He was not known to have a wife or children to take up his throne, and the only ones who knew his true name are his closest friends. These friends were often the farthest away from him. His commanders, nine of them in total, were the only men he put his complete trust in. He thought carefully about what to say to them, but also held them to a high standard -- to serve the nation with unwavering devotion and bravery. Only those that prove themselves to this standard can make a true ally with this king.
His kingdom was similar to his own motives. The empire was in control of many provinces, and would hold them to their responsibility, but would disown the people of them if they not did not remain completely loyal. Three provinces were in total- West, Southwest, and North. They all provided soldiers to the army, willing or not. The north was in a frozen mountain; its keep was made out of chilled stone blocked bleached by the snow and the diminished sun. The west and southwest provinces were similar to the capital in appearance, but was more focused on the arts and sciences than warfare. They wanted to remain peaceful yet the king drove them to their sworn duty.
The King set his blade into the stone, where a chipped spot provided a nice niche in which he could lean his blade against his throne's arm. The stone was set apart from the rest, perfect in appearance and shape, save the one chip. He stood, and slowly walked across the cracked stones to the drapes, delving into his own thoughts. One of his commanders, a scout, was to report in on the actions of various other surrounding nations. He pushed the curtains to the side and stepped out onto a narrow balcony that stretched the length of the entire room. He rested his armored hands onto the thick stone rail. The balcony overlooked the entire city, to it's wall and beyond.
The City was made out of all the same stone, stained golden by the scorching sun. Markets were made out of make-shift wood and rickety tables. The members of this city were gathered around these markets, mainly women. They were dressed in red and off-white robes. Some had gossamer and transparent pieces of linen covering their mouth, to show that they bonded in marriage. The men that weren't assigned to the barracks had golden outer garments, with nothing covering their faces except if a certain one received a damaging feature.
The King turned his attention from the markets to outside the walls. Sand and dust was being thrown into the air. The scout had come back. After three years of searching for suspicious actions by the surrounding nations, he came back on the same day he left. As a habit of his, this caused the king to gain trust in him, but also an uneasy feeling of action if, for whatever reason, he would come back too late. The King remained in his stance as he watched the rider come over the dune. he only became restless when he saw not one, but nine plumes of dust.
He walked back to his chair, head hanging. He sat down to rest and took his sword. He held the grip and rested his armored chin against the rounded pummel. The king let out a gradual sigh as he relaxed his hunched-over body, diving into deep thoughts of battle and the strategies of his late father. The peak of the battle was where he dreamed of being once more. The fury of war cries and the metallic sounds of blades against armor ran through his mind. The blood-curdling cries of fallen enemies ran his adrenaline, but the anguishing yells of his comrades opened his eyes. He realized that he was king -- a man that must consider what angle a flank would be most effective, and not the angle of a blade. He now stared at the three men in his room, his commanders, his comrades. Yet, he remains as still as a statue, his armor was dead still, even the chains that link together the various pieces of aged metal were still, even though they hung.
There stood his scout. A man of average stature, but shorter than most due to his inherit slouch. This man was slender, but was proportional and had proved to be a warrior. He was ornamented in tightly wound crimson clothes snug against his body. Above these clothes were shoulders, a breast plate, shin guards, and serrated forearms made out of the same material the king wore- aged golden armor, thick and sturdy. The armor had no more of its luster, but had been worn by years of swinging blades. They too were connected by chains of the same metal, and a tattered crimson clothes flowed on the sides of his waist, running down to his knees, but not connecting to provide quick mobility. Made out of the same material ran a cape down his back, also torn and ripped from the spoils of war. He had a black mask on, with no holes in it, conforming to the shape of an undistinguished man. Every inch of this scout was covered with some form of worn red cloth or thick golden armor. He was blind and deaf, but the slightest brush of wind or vibration of movement miles away did not go unnoticed nor unchecked. He had an incredible sense of what seemed invisible to others, but could not notice a standing man. This made him a valuable asset, and a trusting man- for who could make a traitorous deal with one who cannot hear, and will not speak? He can report his findings through a series of hand signals, and can receive commands through a series of taps, but no such commands were given to him that would able him to leave his military life. He remained still, squatting with his fingers on the stone tiles, feeling for movement, feeling for sound.
Standing next to him was a massive man. The size of two men, he stood eight feet tall and maintained massive muscles. He was a giant. He had armor on every inch of him except his face. Not many men could successfully swing or stab that high without leaving himself vulnerable to lower attacks. unlike the scout, he was dressed in large pieces of golden armor, shiny and new, overlapping each other to not leave any part of his body open to attacks. He had a white cape, clean with a red border eloquently stitched into it. This man stood for the image of the king's empire, even if what he represented was something the aspiring peacemaker despised. He lived for the glory of battle. The rush of winning, or the honor of defeat- it was hard to break this man's spirit in battle. He was brutal, known to crush the necks of his own soldiers happen they flee. He often became personal in battle, as if the enemy were against him and him only. His soldiers loved and feared him for this, getting only close enough to gain his trust and far enough away from him to feel as his commander and not a friend. After the gore of battle was over, all previous biases are put aside of his own soldiers that perished and feels personally responsible for their death. This doesn't sadden him, but fills him with honor of that soldier and the fury of revenge. This giant took his claymore, which was as sizable as he was and puts it in between two tiles, kneels on one knee, bows to the king, and rises again.
Beside him somewhat resembled a typical soldier. He was of average stature and had a straight posture with his right foot slightly in front of his left. He was armored with the battered, lusterless bronze armor that the king wore, as did every soldier. He had every bit of him covered in this armor, with a helm that completely covered his face. It only had enough space for his eyes to peer through. Down his back ran a long cape, crimson as the others, but running down onto the floor. It was dirtied by sand, mud, and dirt but had no tears in it due to the tough fabric it was made out of. He stood radiating confidence, something his comrades found to be valuable as a morale boost in the midst of battle. This man preferred to remain away from actual fighting, instead he used his troops in the most effective way. He was a commander on every scale, looking for the best and most strategic method from small skirmishes to grand campaigns. This was the king's closest commander, and closest to what one could call his friend. He grabbed his collar, shifting his armor to make himself more comfortable. He then rested his hand against the top of his sheathed blade, which was what the typical soldier was commissioned. In his other, he grasped the chain that led down to a hanging jewel. the jewel was slightly blue in tiny, and it resembled a luck charm, or perhaps a lover's gift.
The three men stood there, silent. The king continued his stare until his stillness was broken by the giant in the middle. "My Liege", he softly said. "Your provinces are being sieged, and your outer villages are being sacked." The king stirred in his throne, and looked at the other two commanders. "Ury" he said in a monotone. The right commander stuck his gem under his belt, stepped toward the king and said "My troops are ready to leave this afternoon, they're just waiting for your order." The King raised his head and asked rhetorically, "What would you do?". The men knew what this meant. Ury turned to the other two, "Judge, get your troops mobilized, we need to be at the fronts early next week". "Its being done" stated the large man in a deep tone, and walked out of the room, clipping his claymore to his back. Ury walked over to Alson, the scout, and tapped him twice on the shoulder. He rose and left the room, running his fingers along the wall. Ury turned to the king, bowed, and exited.

Explosion of Reality

So, about a month or so ago, I was flipping out about the following list:

getting a job
graduation
getting a car

Right now, I still don't have any of those. But hey- I'm pretty comfortable. why?

I don't have a job.
I'm a senior in High School

...I couldn't think of a benefit to not having a car that's realistic. BUT anyway. Life's good. After about a month of being frustrated with not being able to draw anything worth while, I finally did.
and I'm pretty satisfied with it. I got a new benchmark. I'll post that and my first chapter I wrote a while back. comment!

2005 Subaru WRX STI

mmm...

Cogs

4 omni lights, all with shading. Silver cogs with a fresnel diffuse and reflection. I don't really know what the small tubes are, but I felt like the cogs needed something.

Braaiinns

Without a brain, I'd be a lifeless body. But, its also true that the brain needs a body to live in. However, its much more probable for a brain to live outside a body than a body living without a brain. Given that, It seems the body is just a puppet that gets pulled by the brain. so, Humans are kind of biological robots with a small controller on the inside. Its as if the human race is a bunch of avatars walking around. I believe "Mind over Matter" to a good degree. I await the day someone figures out to control all his body functions, adrenaline, blood flow, lactic acid, etc. The closet thing I can currently think of is Navy seals. They are very capable of control in various stressful situations.

anyway, I don't know what I wanted the point of this to be, but felt like sharing my current thoughts

Mitsubishi Evo's

Love at First Sight?

After receiving complaints of Homeworld 2, I was wondering- Can someone's first game cloud his perception of other games, or is it the "cookie-cutter" version of games the ones that define a good game? Or perhaps, is it just the one thats the most fun (or less annoying). I think its the one that is the most fun. Take for my favorite RTS, compared to a more common favorite, C&C. In both its fairly simple: Gather resources and create units, and then destroy the opponent. In Homeworld 2 there is only one way of gather it, and it seems rather tedious and drawn-out. Combat in both is sort of a A kills B, B kills C, C kills A. However, in C&C there seems to many more combos, sort of like a single-type unit rush early on. In Homeworld 2, fleet composition and knowledge of your enemy (where, what state) is more prevalent. Very similar though. Anyway. What is the correct type of RTS? I can't really say. they are very similar on principle basis. Homeworld 2 takes longer and is much harder to pick up properly, but it doesn't hinder the game a huge amount. I played Homeworld 2 first, It looks better, and that's why I like it. I haven't heard a legit argument of why C&C is better that can't be subjected to a point of view. So, in my opinion, its the one thats the most fun.

Scripted vs AI

Is the ability of Game Developers to use Scripted NPCs interfering with the advancement of thinking AI? Take for example Rainbow Six: Vegas. There are several sections when terrorists burst through the skylight on rappel ropes. This is scripted. It will no doubt cost much more time to tell the enemies to think to come down rather than a point-initiation. This is fantastic- once. With it being a very entertaining game, multiple playthroughs are very predictable, and thus, less fun. Mixing AI into the mix causes some small variations, but it isn't enough to notice something different. So the question is: Is the time/cost of game production causing developers to use scripting rather than inventing or using better AI in single-player games? Is multi-player gaming just an more simple extension of fulfilling this want of varying gameplay? just a thought.

Eresk...Way Back When

So I found this image browsing through my computer. This was within the first two months of buying wow...level between 5-9. Most likely 6. I still had the "whoa..." feeling about wow before i got up in the whole "technical" viewpoint of it.

Frustration, Media, and Imagination

This is going to be very difficult for me to explain, so bear with. Whenever I play video games, watch movies, or watch tv shows, I always view it from a very critical standpoint. For anything fiction such as fantasy- (Alien, WoW, Oblivion, Mass Effect, Lord of the Rings, etc.) I want it to live or exceed how I would have done it from a artistic standpoint. I want it to, basically, be very cool and epic, yet realistic*.
I think the ability to create original and awesome looking stuff should not be limited (from a visual standpoint,). Lets take WoW. First of all, its an amazing game. The graphics are cartoony, but allow a serious lore to play on. The giant portal is exactly what I'm talking about. Its looks awesome, epic. However, the characters don't. I want a fire mage to be on fire. I want a prot warrior to be 2x the size of anyone else. I want him to be decked out with massive plate gear. I wish- I know this isn't possible for an MMO, but still- the characters actually interacted with eachother. The same goes for Oblivion. its all about hit boxes and stuff. They never grab eachother. I want to see a rogue leap 15 feet in the air, land on shoulders of (x) and push a blade down his back. Why can't locks be demons? Undead-ish? Mages be Iceman? Holy Preists could change how they walk. Shadowform is what I'm talking about. You ARE the spec. Glowy eyes. Yeah, this isn't all original, but its proven to be cool. Lets move onto Oblivion. I'll use this as an example for realism. The game itself is pretty "realistic" for what it does. But the combat isn't. Spamming swing isn't. When a sword hits an arm, chest, leg, or whatever, they should FEEL it.
I realize they're limits to this, due to game production costs, time, and power processing.
Here are several things that fulfill what I was hoping to see. In LotR, shadowflame was a demon completely enflames with various conjured weapons. That, was awesome. In Aliens (AVP is a good example. bad movie, but they did some things they couldn't in the other movies) the aliens looked amazing. They moved right, looked right, and even had that epic hissing pause.
In Mass Effect, the last space battle was very cool. Not to mention Sovereign's voice (only beat by Jack of Blades from Fable: TLC) was one of the best I ever heard. He tone, pitch, and lyrics were amazing. "You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance".
Now I get to my main point. I cannot, for the life of me, describe in anyway the things I imagine. I draw better from good references and such. I can honestly say, that none of anything I ever drew, came out the way I originally imagined it. Its always something twisted by something thats been seen before. My mind jumps around to much. I can't stay focused. I can write, but it becomes so specific it rants on and on about whatever.
This is why, I enjoy things I have less interest in better than the things I do have interest in. I play the Sims, Watch dramas, etc. I don't expect anything out of these perceived by my mind. On the other hand, monster movies, Superhero movies (certain ones, others have a premise that makes me expect something more limited (Punisher, upcoming movie Jumper), RPGs just fall short and disappoint me. This is also why I'm very very quiet. I never am really 'there'. Anything thought-out is usually over thought out and is retarted. Most things I don't think about is completely unthought-out and is either really retarted or funny. Depends who I'm around.

The Problem with my Arguments are...

I have extreme trouble explaining in the way I think. I don't think in words, persay. By the time I write something down, it has been twisted so it sounds right. Similar to this post. I always have to go back and clarify or re-explain my thinking. So don't hesitate to post arguments. This is just a disclaimer. Its better to explain things twice than to have a misunderstanding.

No Country for Old Novels

Well, it seems the fad these days are to make novels into movies. I am Legend, No Country for Old Men, Golden Compass, and Narnia. Plus the dozen graphic novel adaptations such as Sin City, Batman, Spiderman, or Daredevil. Granted, these movies are artistically done, but my gripe is all about originality. Purely unique movies seem to be dwindling. Sure I can think off the top of my head of bunch of great original movies, but most aren't. This brings up the question: is Originality too big a risk for movies? Novels tend to be the 'proving grounds' for movies. If it sells or sold well, then they turn to the big screen. Is it too expensive and risky to go straight for the movies? Going to written form isn't that bad- but changing a book's format into a 2-hour movie can leave something undesired.

Cloverfield - Good Concept, Poor Delivery

I just came back from watching the new movie everyone's talking about: Cloverfield. Unimpressed. I found the concept of a original monster attacking New York City from the viewpoint of individuals appealing. However, I found the movie to contain way to many flaws. For one-The camera. It was very innovative, but it limited the movie's potential way too much. Some scenes could have been better done with camera angles outside of a camcorder. Granted, some were very clever, but the first-person view of Hud the entire time felt too limited. My next complaint was the fact that nothing was explained. Nothing, between the first half-hour and the end, practically nothing was figured out. Monster movies, I believe, should have a mysteriousness to them, but over time explains itself. Another reason why I didn't like it (Spoilers) was that everyone died. Between the exploding torso (which was completely unnecessary and didn't do anything to the movie but create shock value) and the abrupt ending, I felt unsatisfied and unjust on how they died. Take Marlene. Just when her character begins to develop, and I begin to feel pity- she dies. That and Jason, who had great potential as a character, died immediately. The monster wasn't taken from any stories, but seemed to be very bland and unoriginal. It spawned little creatures that attacked people. These creatures were awesome looking. I really did like the look of them- but the large one seemed to be very un-unique. The plot was very good however. Attempting to rescue someone close, even though done before, is a plot worth watching. For that reason, I didn't like the end. It feels unaccomplished. J.J. Abrams took a chance with this movie. While not perfect, I think it gives him warrant enough to be a blockbuster. I don't really know why he advertised him name so much though. Peter Nolan needs to be advertising his name all over his movies. So, Summary.
Was it good? yes. Was it bad? no, not really. Was it worth watching? No, not at the price movies are these days. Movies have been getting more and more disappointing. I haven't watch one that didn't leave a sense of 'eh' in a long time.

Hennessy Viper 800TT

Enough of the petty little cars. This next car is one of my best S-classes. The Hennessy Viper 800TT, year 2000. I couldn't even put all the suspension parts into this without breaking into the unlimited class. No performance parts what-so-ever in this one. Stock it pull over 800 bhp, and has over 900 lbs of torque.
I wouldn't dare racing this on shorter tracks, but it accels at mid-speed tracks, especially ones with straight-aways like Road Atlanta or Sebring (see images). Not to mention, this car isn't very light. however, it allows a lot of body roll, and the mid-front engine helps keep the turning at decent speeds.

Poodles Suck.

As a quick background, my dog died in December (picture). This guy was the most lovable dog I've ever met. Sure he was a little retarded, but he was never sad. EVER. he was blissfully unaware. Its hard to explain, you really had to experience it. Anyways, he died of cancer. It formed a spongy-like tissue on his leg, which bled without clotting. We gave him steriods to help stop the bleeding and pain, but he had to be put down. Then we decide to obtain a new dog (which I didn't completely agree with. felt odd). Ian wanted a Husky, I wanted a Corgi, and my mom wanted a poodle. Neither of us wanted a damn poodle, so we decided to get something we could all agree on since she didn't like our choices either. So what happens? my mom brings home a fucking poodle. They don't even have fur. they have hair. HAIR. this thing is ugly. its tail is like a decapitated thumb and it looks like it got hit by a truck. "don't worry, he'll grow onto you" is all that she can say. If I can't help it, I'm avoiding this trainwreck.
While we were looking for a dog, we found one that looks very similar to Zeke (our last dog). It wasn't going to be trouble, but we didn't get it. why? quote: "Because it feels like we would be replacing Zeke". Way to get a dog a month after his death. My argument for a cat would have been better if I weren't allergic to them.

All in all, Poodles Suck.

Golf R32

Yet another chapter in showing and documenting my abundant forza 2 cars. This one brings me to my R32. This is very rounded B class car, and has a nice balance between power and turning capabilities. Being an AWD car, I don't have to worry about bumpy tracks such as Laguna Beach, where the "corkscrew" turn can often send a car into it too far, since while braking, there's a small bump that will extend the braking distance. This car doesn't excel at anything, but it is a nice safe-fall if I don't have the appropriate B class for the track. Again, since this is a AWD, when Traction control is locked off, it minimizes the sliding as opposed to a RWD. To explain how the controller works for forza- If you turn left, you have to gradually move the control stick to the left. If you jerk it (like you can do in basically anyother racing game), it will be as if your turning your real car's steering wheel all the way to the left in 0.2 seconds. This game is built for the wheel. Unfortunately, is $130. And I can't afford lunch at the moment.

Undead Sketch

Here is a very rudimentary sketch of my ideal image of an Undead from the game World of Warcraft. Unlike the actual game, I wanted mine to sport smokey eyes and a more skull-like appearance. Things always look better if its glowing or shiny. Uploading this bring also perspective things I need to work on. Most of my recent drawings have a cartoony attitude towards them, and I want to step away from this. They tend to look very 2D. Take for examples, this guy's shoulders. The right is way to flat, and the left is shifted too far to the middle and offers no distiction to the lower armor and cloths. May want to choose brighter topics too, my pencils are running out of lead very fast.

Lexus IS300

This is my Lexus IS300 from Forza Motorsport 2. It sits at C class (D-S classes, S being fastest)
and sticks to corners like nobody's business. It doesn't have much power to it, the only power upgrade is a supercharger so it has good take off around corners. The rest performance goes into suspension, tires, brakes, flywheel, clutch and tranny. This car will be destroyed on longer tracks due to a low high speed, But its tweak to limit deceleration and optimize acceleration around turns. So, I choose it on shorter tracks. The paint is custom, using basic shapes, and logos. I love this car. The whine of the charger sounds very nice, and I trust it enough to push the car to its very limits.

You Say You're Good at Games (Warning: Ramble)

It's far too common these days for people to be completely arrogant. With the wonderful invention of the internet, egos are inflated. But that's not the point I'm making here. Anyone with half a cent can find any forum and find answers. My point is if we are limited ourselves due to rock-solid egos?

One would think, after years of gaming experience that one would be more adept to a new game. Ironically, Older games can be more challenging than recently released ones. As known, someone with an ego is less likely to take advice, yet it too cocky to actually give useful advice that would benefit a "lesser skilled" player. Believe it or not, the comment "don't suck" is not helpful. Now, its obvious some players can be much better than others. I'm mostly convinced that they got their from experience, and an attitude of "I can learn more, always". Many also want to help out others. But, most people have a 5-foot concrete ego defense wall surrounding a fragile insecure mind. Anyways, thats one point of why the general player base will not continue to get better.

The other point is a very narrow-mind. Take for example, someone's car hydroplanes and gets into a fender-bender with some schmo. What will that guy think? I'll put my money on "it's not my fault" or "he shouldn't have been there". "Nerf Schmo!". Not, "hey, maybe, just maybe, I was going to fast? Maybe I need to practice driving even more? Maybe I need new tires"? it may be a bad illustration, but I really don't care either. So, are you a good gamer? Unless your the best, you need to get better. Learn from others. And no one is the best. There is always someone better than you.

Advanced Render

This is one of my best renders I believe, I ever made. This is when I started to use radiosity. Radiosity, called Global Illumination in C4D, allows other objects to cast light upon eachother. Without this, most objects will look bland and flat. As shown, the illumination mat on the sphere casts a yellow light opon the ground- which has to reflection. Radiosity also adds softer shadows, showing a more realistic combination of shadows from the different light sources. However, with the low capabilities of my computer, the prepass was limited. you can see blotchy shadows on the plug wire to the ground. With higher prepass, this would be much smaller, and harder to tell.
These two images show a very good example of how radiosity works. the bottom (without) has no omni lighting, and none what so ever, except auto-light. The top (with radiosity) is the same deal, but has a skybox. Auto-light wasn't turned off, and that's easy to tell since everything is very bright.
But, by simply turning Global Illum on, it can create 3 objects interact with each other through lighting. The downside is, is can quadruple render time, which in some cases, can lead for hours on end. that's why, in certain images, such as abstract ones, I leave radiosity off.

January 12th

First post for the blog. Basically about stuff I do in photoshop and anything that is remotely interesting to me. Enjoy.