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.