Sunday, May 31, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Art Institute of Pittsburgh
Chances are good that I could be enrolling at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, online. Now, why would you say I'm doing this? To increase my talents with DAZ Studio and generating 3D and rendering. Refining those talents.
And there is also something interesting. David Santoro believes that my work with 3D Art is professional. I showed him most of my work (except for my work at Renderotica, to my shame :( ), and he believes it's professional and well done. I came a long way from last January.
From ambling along, to learning lighting, better lighting, and doing what is right. Look below. A drow monk I did for Conroy.
Drow Monk by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART
A DAZ Studio render.
And there is also something interesting. David Santoro believes that my work with 3D Art is professional. I showed him most of my work (except for my work at Renderotica, to my shame :( ), and he believes it's professional and well done. I came a long way from last January.
From ambling along, to learning lighting, better lighting, and doing what is right. Look below. A drow monk I did for Conroy.
Drow Monk by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART
A DAZ Studio render.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Paleo Art
Whoa!
I think it's time to focus less on the humans and start looking at paleo-art as an alternative. Humans are very fun, but even the muse needs a rest. ;)
Some good paleo-art include:
http://ursispaltenstein.ch/blog/images/uploads_img/wonderful_dinosaur_art_1.jpg
Oh, scratch that. Someone wanted me to do more fantasy art. Well, here's an opportunity to do paleo-fantasy art. ;)
I think it's time to focus less on the humans and start looking at paleo-art as an alternative. Humans are very fun, but even the muse needs a rest. ;)
Some good paleo-art include:
http://ursispaltenstein.ch/blog/images/uploads_img/wonderful_dinosaur_art_1.jpg
Oh, scratch that. Someone wanted me to do more fantasy art. Well, here's an opportunity to do paleo-fantasy art. ;)
Friday, May 22, 2009
Mastering DAZ Studio: Jungle Princess Pt. 4
POST PRODUCTION!
Now we are going to use Mood Master to bring this altogether. Mood Master isn't, at all, compatible with DAZ Studio Advanced or Smith Micro's Poser 7. If you used DAZ Studio Advanced to render your jungle Queen, you have to stop with a low humidity picture. If you are still using DAZ Studio 2.3, then with Mood Master you can add humidity -- or jungle mist -- to your render to give it realism and form.
To do this, we are using a technique called "Post Production" where you overlay one image on top of another. Save your image and your combined scene. Call it Jungle Queen 1 or something like that. Now, open Mood Master and add it to your scene. As a result, all seven lights we've used to bring the picture together is removed.
You notice on your scene tab that Mood Master is added. If you press the plus on the side, you get several items. Click the one called Deep Fog and click on the eye to the far right. And you get a fog effect added to your scene. You can manipulate your fog effect on the parameters tab. MAKE SURE YOU DON'T MOVE YOUR CAMERA!
Best use the settings shown in the above screen capture, and RENDER! :)
After a few hours (it may take a few hours), you will get a render that looks like this:
Jungle Mist WIP by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART
Not very cool edge wise, but that's what we use our image editor for. :D
Now Open Photoshop (or your prefered image editor) and load both your Jungle Queen and the Mist picture you made before.
In photoshop according to the Mood Master manual:
1- Open a new picture that has the same dimensions as your Jungle Queen pic and your Mist pic, and fill it with Black. This is the Mix Layer.
2- Select your Jungle Queen pic and do Ctrl-A, and then Ctrl-C (on my Mac it's cmd-A, and cmd-C). Do Ctrl-V on the mix layer, this overlays your Jungle Queen on the Mix Layer. The new layer is Jungle Queen original.
3- Select your Jungle Mist picture and do the exact same thing, overlaying it on your Jungle Queen original. Call this top layer "Jungle Mist." Set the Jungle Mist layer to "Screen."
4- You can adjust the top layer as needed. I suggest an Opacity of 29% for our Jungle Mist layer to simulate humidity. Flatten the image and output it as a high quality .JPG file (or TIFF).
And the final result:
Jungle Princess by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART
Now we are going to use Mood Master to bring this altogether. Mood Master isn't, at all, compatible with DAZ Studio Advanced or Smith Micro's Poser 7. If you used DAZ Studio Advanced to render your jungle Queen, you have to stop with a low humidity picture. If you are still using DAZ Studio 2.3, then with Mood Master you can add humidity -- or jungle mist -- to your render to give it realism and form.
To do this, we are using a technique called "Post Production" where you overlay one image on top of another. Save your image and your combined scene. Call it Jungle Queen 1 or something like that. Now, open Mood Master and add it to your scene. As a result, all seven lights we've used to bring the picture together is removed.
You notice on your scene tab that Mood Master is added. If you press the plus on the side, you get several items. Click the one called Deep Fog and click on the eye to the far right. And you get a fog effect added to your scene. You can manipulate your fog effect on the parameters tab. MAKE SURE YOU DON'T MOVE YOUR CAMERA!
Best use the settings shown in the above screen capture, and RENDER! :)
After a few hours (it may take a few hours), you will get a render that looks like this:
Jungle Mist WIP by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART
Not very cool edge wise, but that's what we use our image editor for. :D
Now Open Photoshop (or your prefered image editor) and load both your Jungle Queen and the Mist picture you made before.
In photoshop according to the Mood Master manual:
1- Open a new picture that has the same dimensions as your Jungle Queen pic and your Mist pic, and fill it with Black. This is the Mix Layer.
2- Select your Jungle Queen pic and do Ctrl-A, and then Ctrl-C (on my Mac it's cmd-A, and cmd-C). Do Ctrl-V on the mix layer, this overlays your Jungle Queen on the Mix Layer. The new layer is Jungle Queen original.
3- Select your Jungle Mist picture and do the exact same thing, overlaying it on your Jungle Queen original. Call this top layer "Jungle Mist." Set the Jungle Mist layer to "Screen."
4- You can adjust the top layer as needed. I suggest an Opacity of 29% for our Jungle Mist layer to simulate humidity. Flatten the image and output it as a high quality .JPG file (or TIFF).
And the final result:
Jungle Princess by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART
Thursday, May 21, 2009
ATLANTIS solved!
While hoping for a way to render Atlantis, apparently a way has been open to me. DAZ 3D has released a new scene, called Andoria City. Apparently, taking a look at the promos I have instantly became excited. Although not my choice for Atlantean architecture I'd admit, but it's both eclectic and familiar enough to work as a fantasy city or a modern city depending on how you choose.
For those who are waiting for PART 4 on my series on creating great art, the jungle mist is rendering now (expect this to be a two day project, everyone). I promise, it will pay off. Want to see the results of the work so far?
Jungle Princess WIP by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART
For those who are waiting for PART 4 on my series on creating great art, the jungle mist is rendering now (expect this to be a two day project, everyone). I promise, it will pay off. Want to see the results of the work so far?
Jungle Princess WIP by ~Atlantean6 on deviantART
Mastering DAZ Studio: Jungle Princess pt. 3
PART 3: Posing and Final Competition!
Step 9. Posing V4. At last, we can pose our morphed V4! After saving your jungle scene, clear the scene and reload V4. Although this time, we are going to apply our saved character preset. This is done by going to file > Merge. Then choose your saved character preset. Once again, we need a Reference for posing our character.
Look up your favorite jungle beauty pics on the web and choose a picture with a particular pose you like. Oh, and don't forget to add your favorite hair. After finding your favorite jungle beauty (maybe a scene from Sheena). After posing V4, merge your jungle scene and then make some adjustments around V4 as necessary. Then add another prop if necessary (I added a Wakishashi).
After this adjustment is done, we add the rest of the life. For myself, I added some flowers, extra grass, and a few vines to balance out the composition.
Step 10. LIGHTING!!
Throw away your dummy light. You've used it, now it's time to throw it away (or use it again under a different name). We are going to set up 3 to 6 lights. A studio scatter light, a ground light, a few spotlights, and a golden reflecting light.
Ground Ambient. The ground lighting represents the light reflecting from the ground. The ground light should be set perpendicular from your model at 180 degrees. Set the intensity to about 50% to 25%. Make sure it's white.
To set your light, your light acts like a camera, so click on the button "Default Camera" and select Ground Lighting or something similar (ground scatter?).
Studio Ambient. This distant lighting represents the light scatter in your studio. The light from the ceiling and the windows fill the space. We use white light for this too. The scatter light is another distant light. Intensity should be set at 30%. The Studio Ambient should provide enough light to represent light scattered in all directions.
Jungle Ambience. Now we are going to set up two more distant lights. One green and one white, to represent light filtering down the Canopy. The Green should be close to white as much as possible, and intensity should be set at about 27%. Our source of our ambience should come close to overhead, but not directly overhead. The white ambience should be set to 30%. Already, the lighting is dramatic. And that is with four lights.
Spot Lighting. The purpose of spotlighting is to usually destroy shadows. But we are going to use Spotlighting to enhance shadows where we need them, and to destroy them where we don't need them. Spotlights are usually white, but you can use colors such as red, blue, and green to produce some interesting effects. We are setting up three spotlights.
A yellow spotlight from the back, and two spotlights from the front. The back spotlight represents the gold foil used by pro-photographers. Next two spotlights should be white and pointing at Noriel. Set your intensity on these spotlights as you desire.
Shadows: The most intense light should cast your shadows. For me, this would be my first White Light spotlight. Set shadows to ray tracing on your most intense light. Finally, for using many lights, shadow softness should be about 20% to 22%.
However, you're not quite ready to render. You still need to set up your cameras.
Step 11. Setting up your cameras. This isn't so hard. Heart of the Jungle came with its own camera sets. Since we did most of our posing with the default camera, we don't need to set up our cameras manually. Go to content > Cameras > Environment and click on HoJ_Cyc. This will preload our camera set. Make sure the main camera is selected and move it to where you think you will get the best render.
Then you set up what you want to render to. Click on Render > Render Settings and choose an approprate rendering picture size for what you want to do. Be sure to adjust the camera where needed. When you are done, you're free to make any necessary adjustments or additions you want. Like clothing Victoria in what ever clothing you wish her to wear as you desire. For me, since this is a hot jungle, I will render her naked.
As it renders, it may take a long time. But we aren't done yet. We still need to add jungle mist. ;)
Step 9. Posing V4. At last, we can pose our morphed V4! After saving your jungle scene, clear the scene and reload V4. Although this time, we are going to apply our saved character preset. This is done by going to file > Merge. Then choose your saved character preset. Once again, we need a Reference for posing our character.
Look up your favorite jungle beauty pics on the web and choose a picture with a particular pose you like. Oh, and don't forget to add your favorite hair. After finding your favorite jungle beauty (maybe a scene from Sheena). After posing V4, merge your jungle scene and then make some adjustments around V4 as necessary. Then add another prop if necessary (I added a Wakishashi).
After this adjustment is done, we add the rest of the life. For myself, I added some flowers, extra grass, and a few vines to balance out the composition.
Step 10. LIGHTING!!
Throw away your dummy light. You've used it, now it's time to throw it away (or use it again under a different name). We are going to set up 3 to 6 lights. A studio scatter light, a ground light, a few spotlights, and a golden reflecting light.
Ground Ambient. The ground lighting represents the light reflecting from the ground. The ground light should be set perpendicular from your model at 180 degrees. Set the intensity to about 50% to 25%. Make sure it's white.
To set your light, your light acts like a camera, so click on the button "Default Camera" and select Ground Lighting or something similar (ground scatter?).
Studio Ambient. This distant lighting represents the light scatter in your studio. The light from the ceiling and the windows fill the space. We use white light for this too. The scatter light is another distant light. Intensity should be set at 30%. The Studio Ambient should provide enough light to represent light scattered in all directions.
Jungle Ambience. Now we are going to set up two more distant lights. One green and one white, to represent light filtering down the Canopy. The Green should be close to white as much as possible, and intensity should be set at about 27%. Our source of our ambience should come close to overhead, but not directly overhead. The white ambience should be set to 30%. Already, the lighting is dramatic. And that is with four lights.
Spot Lighting. The purpose of spotlighting is to usually destroy shadows. But we are going to use Spotlighting to enhance shadows where we need them, and to destroy them where we don't need them. Spotlights are usually white, but you can use colors such as red, blue, and green to produce some interesting effects. We are setting up three spotlights.
A yellow spotlight from the back, and two spotlights from the front. The back spotlight represents the gold foil used by pro-photographers. Next two spotlights should be white and pointing at Noriel. Set your intensity on these spotlights as you desire.
Shadows: The most intense light should cast your shadows. For me, this would be my first White Light spotlight. Set shadows to ray tracing on your most intense light. Finally, for using many lights, shadow softness should be about 20% to 22%.
However, you're not quite ready to render. You still need to set up your cameras.
Step 11. Setting up your cameras. This isn't so hard. Heart of the Jungle came with its own camera sets. Since we did most of our posing with the default camera, we don't need to set up our cameras manually. Go to content > Cameras > Environment and click on HoJ_Cyc. This will preload our camera set. Make sure the main camera is selected and move it to where you think you will get the best render.
Then you set up what you want to render to. Click on Render > Render Settings and choose an approprate rendering picture size for what you want to do. Be sure to adjust the camera where needed. When you are done, you're free to make any necessary adjustments or additions you want. Like clothing Victoria in what ever clothing you wish her to wear as you desire. For me, since this is a hot jungle, I will render her naked.
As it renders, it may take a long time. But we aren't done yet. We still need to add jungle mist. ;)
Mastering DAZ Studio: Jungle Princess pt. 2
PART 2: Composing the Scene
Yesterday (last night) I showed you how you morph your jungle beauty. Now we get to the fun part, composing the scene!
Step 6. Open DAZ Studio again. This time, we are going to work with the DAZ Cyclorama. If you got the Heart of the Jungle set, go to Content > Figures > Environment (2nd) and pick the Heart of the Jungle 2 (LS_HoJ2Cyc). You should have something like this:
This background is the background we are working with. If you notice, there's a lot going on in this Heart of the Jungle background. Its packed to the brim with jungle wildlife. And that's just the plants! Unlike Frank Frazetta or Boris Vallejo, the background is well detailed and stands out. Such as the nature of working with 3D (I've got Vue 7 Espirit, so I could create a new background myself. But I need time to learn it).
Step 7: In this next step, we are creating a dummy light. The light shows us all of the background and helps us compose the picture. The dummy light is meant to make the ground show up so we know how to compose the grass. It's just a Distant Light, default settings, make sure you angle it to show the ground and the backdrop.
This is so we can place our plants.
Step 8: Adding some Life. In this step, we add plant life from Lisa's Botanicals. We add the back plant life first before adding our first animal. This makes composing the scene much easier. Like using the Rembrandt method in painting, only we are applying it to 3D. I suggest three grasses from Lisa's Botanicals Jungle Mist collection on either side.
After adding the grasses, we add our first animal. A Millenium Cat. I choose a leopard skin, you may have any millenium cat skin you desire. After adding the cat, add some more plant life before the cat so it looks like he's stepping on some grass. You should have something like this:
The leopard in my version is more to the right. After this is composed, if you have some jungle vines, it's a good time to add them in (notice they weren't on our purchase list, making them entirely optional). When you are satisfied with how you arranged the plant and animal life, its time to add our lady. Save the scene as a DAZ Studio scene. Our lady must be posed. ;)
Yesterday (last night) I showed you how you morph your jungle beauty. Now we get to the fun part, composing the scene!
Step 6. Open DAZ Studio again. This time, we are going to work with the DAZ Cyclorama. If you got the Heart of the Jungle set, go to Content > Figures > Environment (2nd) and pick the Heart of the Jungle 2 (LS_HoJ2Cyc). You should have something like this:
This background is the background we are working with. If you notice, there's a lot going on in this Heart of the Jungle background. Its packed to the brim with jungle wildlife. And that's just the plants! Unlike Frank Frazetta or Boris Vallejo, the background is well detailed and stands out. Such as the nature of working with 3D (I've got Vue 7 Espirit, so I could create a new background myself. But I need time to learn it).
Step 7: In this next step, we are creating a dummy light. The light shows us all of the background and helps us compose the picture. The dummy light is meant to make the ground show up so we know how to compose the grass. It's just a Distant Light, default settings, make sure you angle it to show the ground and the backdrop.
This is so we can place our plants.
Step 8: Adding some Life. In this step, we add plant life from Lisa's Botanicals. We add the back plant life first before adding our first animal. This makes composing the scene much easier. Like using the Rembrandt method in painting, only we are applying it to 3D. I suggest three grasses from Lisa's Botanicals Jungle Mist collection on either side.
After adding the grasses, we add our first animal. A Millenium Cat. I choose a leopard skin, you may have any millenium cat skin you desire. After adding the cat, add some more plant life before the cat so it looks like he's stepping on some grass. You should have something like this:
The leopard in my version is more to the right. After this is composed, if you have some jungle vines, it's a good time to add them in (notice they weren't on our purchase list, making them entirely optional). When you are satisfied with how you arranged the plant and animal life, its time to add our lady. Save the scene as a DAZ Studio scene. Our lady must be posed. ;)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Mastering DAZ Studio: Jungle Princess
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Monday, May 18, 2009
A Special Report!
The United States of America is a Crown Colony, a corporation working for the Queen of England. Every citizen of the United States of America is in fact subject to the Sovereignty of the British Crown. If you think I'm nuts, then you have not read the Constitution of the particular State you reside in or researched the Treaty of Paris 1793.
If you are British, you still have 300 million fellow loyal subjects all still loyal to the British Monarch. We aren't really free, but we are conned to thinking we are. All our taxes go to support the British Crown. This treaty was actually signed in 1783 that America will continue to operate as a Corporation for the British Monarch and all of his heirs.
By these definitions we are still subject to the British Crown. I.e. Queen Elizabeth is still our Queen, whether we recognize her or not. As Americans, we believe we are Citizens according to the definition applied by Rome:
"The term citizen was used in Rome to indicate the possession
Next post: the Treaty of Paris 1783. Why America is still a Crown Colony and a Corporation that owes it's financial allegiance to the Queen.
If you are British, you still have 300 million fellow loyal subjects all still loyal to the British Monarch. We aren't really free, but we are conned to thinking we are. All our taxes go to support the British Crown. This treaty was actually signed in 1783 that America will continue to operate as a Corporation for the British Monarch and all of his heirs.
"In monarchical governments, by subject is meant one who owes
permanent allegiance to the monarch." Bouvier's Law Dictionary,
1914.
"Constitutional Law. One that owes allegiance to a sovereign
and is governed by his laws. The natives of Great Britain are
subjects of the British government. Men in free governments are
subjects as well as citizens; as citizens they enjoy rights and
franchises; as subjects they are bound to obey the laws. The term
is little used, in this sense, in countries enjoying a republican
form of government." Swiss Nat. Ins. Co. v. Miller, 267 U.S. 42,
45 S. Ct. 213, 214, 69 L.Ed. 504. Blacks fifth Ed.
By these definitions we are still subject to the British Crown. I.e. Queen Elizabeth is still our Queen, whether we recognize her or not. As Americans, we believe we are Citizens according to the definition applied by Rome:
"The term citizen was used in Rome to indicate the possession
of private civil rights, including those accruing under the Roman
family and inheritance law and the Roman contract and property law.
All other subjects were peregrines. But in the beginning of the 3d
century the distinction was abolished and all subjects were
citizens; 1 sel. Essays in Anglo-Amer. L. H. 578." Bouvier's Law
Dictionary, 1914.
Next post: the Treaty of Paris 1783. Why America is still a Crown Colony and a Corporation that owes it's financial allegiance to the Queen.
Name this Sith Lord
What would you name this Sith Lord? Created using DAZ's Hiro4, DAZ's bishounen morph, and high quality materials for Hiro4. Picture in the background is courtesy of NASA (I pay my taxes, the picture in the background is in the public domain!).
Sunday, May 17, 2009
ROLEMASTERing The Forgotten Realms
PART II:
The Gods of Politics
One of the best things about making FR your own is that you get to delve into ideas on how the world works around worshipping it's gods. Take the Gods Tyr, Lathander, Helm, Cyric, Bane, and Tiamat for instance. The worship of these 6 gods has a direct impact on politics in FR nations. Breaking it down:
CYRIC: Reading about the activities of Senator Palpatine in the Star Wars prequels had, for once, brought the activities of what Cyric represents to light. Cyric is a god of Government corruption and socialist reform. What is happening to our government right now, the activities are a spirit of corruption and transformation of a once good government into a dictatorial one. Cyric is a God of encroaching evil. His followers seek to subvert governments and transform them into dictatorships. Cyric is worshiped by the Secret Combinations in the world -- including the Zhentarim (i.e. the Black Network).
BANE: Bane represents overt, conquering evil. Bane is known as the ultimate tyrant (a role that is overlapped with Tiamat). Bane controls tyranny, and uses War and Fear to overtly conquer. Bane is imperialist expansionism. Bane is empire building -- the Spirit of Bane is felt through creating and expanding an empire. Bane's activities in the Real World is documented through Alexander the Great's conquests, Sargon II's conquests, and especially Rome's conquests. Bane is worshipped by those who want to conquer and rule through Force. At the present time, Sembia and Thay are the only nations concerned with expanding their influence (with the possible exception of Mulhorand).
TYR: Tyr is the Spirit of Justice in the realms. He represents good, just laws that support the people and keep a nation running smoothly. Nations that worship Tyr typically include Cormyr and the Moonshae Isles.
LATHANDER: Lathander is the spirit of the Morning and of Youth. He also affects politics by representing good laws that support Freedom for a people. Lathander's most well known church is in Shadowdale.
TIAMAT: Tiamat is largely worshiped by evil rulers who put their populace under their heel. Unjust laws, laws which benefit the power of the monarch or the state; are all done in the spirit of Tiamat.
HELM: Finally, Helm represents how government actually works. A smoothly working government in the Realms is guided by Helm.
HELM: Represents the neutrality of
The Gods of Politics
One of the best things about making FR your own is that you get to delve into ideas on how the world works around worshipping it's gods. Take the Gods Tyr, Lathander, Helm, Cyric, Bane, and Tiamat for instance. The worship of these 6 gods has a direct impact on politics in FR nations. Breaking it down:
CYRIC: Reading about the activities of Senator Palpatine in the Star Wars prequels had, for once, brought the activities of what Cyric represents to light. Cyric is a god of Government corruption and socialist reform. What is happening to our government right now, the activities are a spirit of corruption and transformation of a once good government into a dictatorial one. Cyric is a God of encroaching evil. His followers seek to subvert governments and transform them into dictatorships. Cyric is worshiped by the Secret Combinations in the world -- including the Zhentarim (i.e. the Black Network).
BANE: Bane represents overt, conquering evil. Bane is known as the ultimate tyrant (a role that is overlapped with Tiamat). Bane controls tyranny, and uses War and Fear to overtly conquer. Bane is imperialist expansionism. Bane is empire building -- the Spirit of Bane is felt through creating and expanding an empire. Bane's activities in the Real World is documented through Alexander the Great's conquests, Sargon II's conquests, and especially Rome's conquests. Bane is worshipped by those who want to conquer and rule through Force. At the present time, Sembia and Thay are the only nations concerned with expanding their influence (with the possible exception of Mulhorand).
TYR: Tyr is the Spirit of Justice in the realms. He represents good, just laws that support the people and keep a nation running smoothly. Nations that worship Tyr typically include Cormyr and the Moonshae Isles.
LATHANDER: Lathander is the spirit of the Morning and of Youth. He also affects politics by representing good laws that support Freedom for a people. Lathander's most well known church is in Shadowdale.
TIAMAT: Tiamat is largely worshiped by evil rulers who put their populace under their heel. Unjust laws, laws which benefit the power of the monarch or the state; are all done in the spirit of Tiamat.
HELM: Finally, Helm represents how government actually works. A smoothly working government in the Realms is guided by Helm.
HELM: Represents the neutrality of
Saturday, May 16, 2009
*frown*
This really sucks. For another time, I get what I want and I'm unhappy with the results. My Cousin Melinda is feeling the strain of her marriage. It finally happened and it's happening faster than I had anticipated.
I should be happy, but I'm not. This result is unacceptable. So, what am I going to do? I'm going to sit down and do nothing about it, that's what I'm going to do. There's enough damage done, I don't want to add to it. So, I'm going to change my whole style, my whole way of doing things. I'm going to do what is best for my Best Friend, instead of what I think is best.
I should be happy, but I'm not. This result is unacceptable. So, what am I going to do? I'm going to sit down and do nothing about it, that's what I'm going to do. There's enough damage done, I don't want to add to it. So, I'm going to change my whole style, my whole way of doing things. I'm going to do what is best for my Best Friend, instead of what I think is best.
Friday, May 15, 2009
ROLEMASTERing The Forgotten Realms
My cousin and I are conspiring to do a rolemaster campaign in the Forgotten Realms. Well, the past two days, I've been reading heavily into Star Wars lore. And I realized something about the Weave . . .
It's the Force from Star Wars. The Weave is the Force, the Unified Energy Field, the Essence, Zero-point Energy, everything that the Force is that is the Weave for those who exist on Toril. So, I looked strongly at Star Wars about how to approach Mystra and Shar.
Mystra is the Goddess of Magic (i.e. until 4th Edition); she is the caretaker of the Weave. Shar is the caretaker of the Shadow Weave. Mystra's Weave represents the Light Side of the Force. The Good Side of the Force. The Shadow Weave represents the Dark Side of the Force.
Looking at Star Wars for inspiration; I've figured out some interesting ways to approach Mystra's "church" in the Forgotten Realms. As the Goddess of the Magic, and for those who worship her; I decided that the priests would combine the realms of essence and channeling. Since my cousin and I are using RMFRP -- I figured using the Channeling Companion would make for some interesting changes.
A Priest of Mystra uses the Channeling/Priest Hybrid Template. However, such an religious order needs a group to defend it. Usually this would fall to Azuth's order. But since Azuth in my game helps Mystra with her duties -- I turned to the Jedi Order from Star Wars for some ideas. And I believe I know how to fit Essence Monks into the world of the Forgotten Realms. Star Wars influence again, so why not exploit it? The Temple of Mystra is protected by monks that wield the Essence. So, why am I calling a duck (a Jedi) a mallard (something else?) Jedi are protected under the copyright of Lucasfilm, despite ideas being free.
So the ideas of Jedi and Sith exist in the realms that I'm running.
NEXT: My take on the Gods of Politics --> Tyr, Lathander, Helm, Cyric, Bane, and Tiamat.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Village for Rolemaster
Again, I little interjection in building your own Rolemaster series. Here are some more brainstorming ideas for the village:
- Buildings in the village -
a. Christian Church
b. Church of Light cathedral
c. Orc Church (FOUND a great building that can be used for orcs by the way!!)
d. Elven chapel (oh, the stuff I find about elves!!)
e. castle keep with a central tower.
f. Medieval inn
6. Martial Arts academies: three for each culture. I.e. the one for Caithness could be teaching Caithness style swordsmanship, archery, and unarmed martial arts (been studying Jedi martial arts again, so there might be an effective inspiration from there). I'm thinking Caithness swordsmanship would be based on both Makashi and Shien/Djem-so.
Elven martial arts would be based on style and grace. I'm thinking Ataru and Soresu can mark Elven forms of swordsmanship. Orc forms would be very aggressive. Since they use the Axe over the sword. Niman and Junyo/Vapaad would be the mark of an orc martial art.
If I use real martial arts for inspiration: Caithness arts would be based on Kendo and actual European Swordsmanship. Elven arts based on European fencing, Chinese swordsmanship, and Roman legionaire swordsmanship. And orc arts would come from Native American and Ancient German styles (with the use of the seax or francia).
I love the Martial Arts Companion. (grins)
- Buildings in the village -
a. Christian Church
b. Church of Light cathedral
c. Orc Church (FOUND a great building that can be used for orcs by the way!!)
d. Elven chapel (oh, the stuff I find about elves!!)
e. castle keep with a central tower.
f. Medieval inn
6. Martial Arts academies: three for each culture. I.e. the one for Caithness could be teaching Caithness style swordsmanship, archery, and unarmed martial arts (been studying Jedi martial arts again, so there might be an effective inspiration from there). I'm thinking Caithness swordsmanship would be based on both Makashi and Shien/Djem-so.
Elven martial arts would be based on style and grace. I'm thinking Ataru and Soresu can mark Elven forms of swordsmanship. Orc forms would be very aggressive. Since they use the Axe over the sword. Niman and Junyo/Vapaad would be the mark of an orc martial art.
If I use real martial arts for inspiration: Caithness arts would be based on Kendo and actual European Swordsmanship. Elven arts based on European fencing, Chinese swordsmanship, and Roman legionaire swordsmanship. And orc arts would come from Native American and Ancient German styles (with the use of the seax or francia).
I love the Martial Arts Companion. (grins)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The Known Lands: Top Down, Bottom Up
I have the known lands in my mind, but if you want to do a supplement, you have to start somewhere. Best place to do a supplement/adventure for your world is do Bottom Up! In formulating a Rolemaster campaign (where I have one player) in the Forgotten Realms I came across SHADOWDALE -- the campaign setting for FR (it's a campaign setting within a campaign setting).
What a wonderful idea!
Everything not withstanding, to write a supplement that contains RM stats to start with the Known Lands it is best to start at the bottom and work your way up to meet your Top Down Design. So, I am thinking of a village that is in a neutral zone and is governed by the three powers of the Caithness Islands: Caithness, Massalia, and the Horde.
Three things so far about this village:
a. It's about the size of one of the Dales in the Forgotten Realms.
b. The three powers have three governable regions, cutting it into threes except for the "square." The Massalian Elves have one region, the orcs have another, and the humans of Caithness has another.
c. It's cultivated, but is surrounded by a thick forest (about as thick as Sherwood, or maybe thicker).
I'll have to think on it to decide some more things come up. but I do believe I have the seeds for a supplement that can be published through the Guild Companion.
What a wonderful idea!
Everything not withstanding, to write a supplement that contains RM stats to start with the Known Lands it is best to start at the bottom and work your way up to meet your Top Down Design. So, I am thinking of a village that is in a neutral zone and is governed by the three powers of the Caithness Islands: Caithness, Massalia, and the Horde.
Three things so far about this village:
a. It's about the size of one of the Dales in the Forgotten Realms.
b. The three powers have three governable regions, cutting it into threes except for the "square." The Massalian Elves have one region, the orcs have another, and the humans of Caithness has another.
c. It's cultivated, but is surrounded by a thick forest (about as thick as Sherwood, or maybe thicker).
I'll have to think on it to decide some more things come up. but I do believe I have the seeds for a supplement that can be published through the Guild Companion.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
I did not find love, love found me
"Human females are such rich and wonderful creatures. Their sexual life, and feelings, are subtle, complex and deep. How naive is the man who believes that having sex with a woman is so little or brief a thing as to fall within the parameters of a horizontal plane, the simple stimulations of a skin, the results attendant upon a simplistic manual dexterity. How woefully ignorant are the engineers of sexuality. How much to learn have even her artists and poets! Women are so inordinately precious. They are so sensitive, so beautiful, so intelligent and needful. No man has yet counted the dimensions of a woman's love. Who can measure the horizons of her heart? Few things, I suspect, are more real than those which seem most intangible."2
"How subtle and deep was the intelligence of women, I thought. How much they know. How much they can sense. How simple and crude, how naive, sometimes seems the intelligence of men compared to the intelligence of women. What deep and wonderful creatures they are. Who can truly understand the emotional depths and needs, eons old, of these flowers of nature and evolution? How natural, then, it is, that the truly loving man will concern himself not with her distortions and perversions, ultimately barren, but with her emotional and sensuous truths, ancient and deep within her, with what might be called her biological and natural fulfillment."3
-- John Norman
I did not find love, love in fact, found me. I have been looking for love since I got my patriarchal blessing. I.e. actively pursuing it. While actively in pursuit, all my hopes and dreams of finding a suitable mate were frustrated. Even my own cousin Melinda, which I represent her ideal LDS man to her, had married someone else because she believes that he is all that she was worthy of.
However, chance? No. Fate? No. God took a hand and brought me together with whom promises to be wonderful and a good match. And we met on World of Warcraft. Was it my fault, I suppose. Yes. It is. Am I responsible? Yes. Is Life good to me? You'd better believe it! Life is so wonderful, vast, and mightily beautiful that there is someone for everyone.
Enjoy the render. I wanted to render something in the style of Augusti Rodin, which is how I feel at the moment. Compare The Embrace with The Kiss.
Anyway, I present The Embrace a new render from DAZ Studio, inspired by my feelings the past night, and the work of Augusti Rodin.
Rolemaster Rules Lite
Some time ago, I wondered if a really "rules lite" version of Rolemaster can be made. Using a reduced system of rules. Reduced: meaning a game friendly to gamers who are afraid of adding and subtracting numbers over 20 (YES, they exist!). A set of rules does EXIST already. This is the Lord of the Rings Adventure Game.
The rules were so stripped down that you are rolling regular dice against a target number instead of rolling on a table for hit and critical strike results. Again, ICE was ahead of its time. The concept of the target number was used in Shadowrun and other games before ICE, but you don't see target numbers come into vogue until the Legend of the Five Rings RPG. There is talk on the official rolemaster boards of Updating this product and making it available for gamers who are phobic of adding and subtracting numbers over 20. The game is simple enough for young children to get into Roleplaying. And I'm talking 5 to 8 year-olds. I say, "ICE has a new gateway product."
Monday, May 11, 2009
Rolemaster Classic a head of it's time
Rolemaster Classic for the Win! It seems that the new monks in D&D 4 are psionic based; according to playtest. Psionics, as you know, is the realm of the Mind. This came up before: in Rolemaster.
Rolemaster is a game that is very much ahead of its time. And according to Greywulf, a friend of mine, decades ahead of its time. Critical strikes in Arms Law was the driving force forward in selling Rolemaster. Although my favorite Arms Law is the 2003 RMFRP edition -- Arms Law is Ironcrown's biggest seller in the Rolemaster franchise. However, you may ask, what does Chartmaster or Rollmaster have to do with D&D 4? I'm GLAD you asked.
Rolemaster is one of the best Roleplaying games devised, if D&D 4 is catching up to it quickly enough (GURPS is of the same, if not higher quality). It divided the realms of power up into four areas: ARMS, CHANNELING, ESSENCE, and MENTALISM.
ARMS is your basic warrior, beat them up sort of crew.
Channeling is power from the Gods, or God, or whatever.
Essence is the Unified Energy Field (also God if you look at Energy Quantum Mechanically and draw similiarities from what Religion teaches).
Mentalism is drawing the Essence through your mind, once again, Power Creation (also God, again, but then . . . I'm Spiritual. I see God in everything).
In Rolemaster, mostly because of Star Wars influence than anything else; monks were associated with the Essence. This was called the Charltonian view. This is probably becuase monks would draw on the essence to cast their abilities. Terry Amthor (GREAT guy by the way) felt it was wrong for monks to draw on the Essence to power their abilities. He felt that monks, since they are more often associated with the East, would draw on Mentalism powers. This is called the Amthorian view.
Everyone may hail it, when D&D 4 monks come out, as a great LEAP forward that they are psionic. But, back in the 80s, when Rolemaster was taking shape, the people making Rolemaster did this long before WotC even had an inkling of doing it themselves. Rolemaster Classic is a game that is ahead of it's time.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
HATE . . . What is it?
Its high time to blog about something that pushes a lot of buttons. This is hate. So, why am I, a person who is highly spiritual, blogging about hate? As a person who understands love, I have come to understand hate. It's simple, really.
Love is total acceptance of a person. Hate is varying degrees of non-acceptance. Why is this so? Hate is usually associated with anger, right? Hate is Hitler and his final solution. Hate is the Hatemonger, making people hate. Hate is certainly not pride, or non-acceptance, you've got to be wrong about hate right?
Sadly, I am not wrong in my belief, my conclusions. But, you say, Aristotle viewed hate as a desire for the annihilation of an object that is incurable by time. And certainly Rene Descartes viewed hate as an awareness that something is bad, combined with an urge to withdraw from it. And even Sigmund Freud defined hate as an ego state that wishes to destroy the source of its unhappiness. Finally, Baruch Spinoza defined hate as a type of pain that is due to an external cause.
But, I assert, hate is varying degrees of non-acceptance. Hate is, by every definition, the complete opposite of love. And since Love is total acceptance, hate is non-acceptance. I see hate in the wife that henpicks her loving husband. "Take out the trash!" "Do the dishes!" "Put down that video game and do what I tell you!" "You are not getting any sex tonight!"
I see hate in the husband that jokes about not loving his wife every time he kisses her. "I don't love you." *kiss* Or jokes to his mother in law who says: "At least you love my daughter." Husband: "No I don't." *grin*
Hate is definitely in feelings of *racism.* Hate is also in inequality. Statements like "I'm better than you." shows a degree of hate. Hate is in the ugliness of pride. Pride in your dress, the way you walk. Hate is a result of wanting to show your separate from your fellow neighbor. You believe you are separate, then comes feelings of being better, being the best. But this is so wrong in one's thinking. True hate -- showing you do not accept a thing, person, or group -- as they are; is something we all experience here on Earth.
So, this begs the question: why am I writing about this?
Because. Simply because I don't desire a hate filled marriage from one partner or both of us. Hate is a terrible thing, it is a cancer if the desire for separation -> Divorce -> isn't or cannot be fulfilled. Feelings of hatred towards my potential spouse, or feelings of hatred from my potential spouse can invite feelings of being unloved. It can, if allowed to go far, bring infidelity into the marriage on the part of one or both spouses. Or worse yet, one spouse may feel that the marriage is a curse rather than a blessing.
Why does this concern me? Actually, it doesn't. But, my best friend is in a marriage where her husband does not love her. I love my best friend, she is the principle reason why I desire to be Creator (other than I feel better myself being a Creator -- yes, Uncle, that's a capitol "C". And I understand you found all of my blogs, Uncle Robert Robb, so I "know" you are reading this post).
I desire with all my heart for my best friend to be with me. But she is in a hell of her own making. Fortunately for her, her marriage is fragile and won't survive. The Savior said this about her marriage:
And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world amarry, and are given in marriage:
Love is total acceptance of a person. Hate is varying degrees of non-acceptance. Why is this so? Hate is usually associated with anger, right? Hate is Hitler and his final solution. Hate is the Hatemonger, making people hate. Hate is certainly not pride, or non-acceptance, you've got to be wrong about hate right?
Sadly, I am not wrong in my belief, my conclusions. But, you say, Aristotle viewed hate as a desire for the annihilation of an object that is incurable by time. And certainly Rene Descartes viewed hate as an awareness that something is bad, combined with an urge to withdraw from it. And even Sigmund Freud defined hate as an ego state that wishes to destroy the source of its unhappiness. Finally, Baruch Spinoza defined hate as a type of pain that is due to an external cause.
But, I assert, hate is varying degrees of non-acceptance. Hate is, by every definition, the complete opposite of love. And since Love is total acceptance, hate is non-acceptance. I see hate in the wife that henpicks her loving husband. "Take out the trash!" "Do the dishes!" "Put down that video game and do what I tell you!" "You are not getting any sex tonight!"
I see hate in the husband that jokes about not loving his wife every time he kisses her. "I don't love you." *kiss* Or jokes to his mother in law who says: "At least you love my daughter." Husband: "No I don't." *grin*
Hate is definitely in feelings of *racism.* Hate is also in inequality. Statements like "I'm better than you." shows a degree of hate. Hate is in the ugliness of pride. Pride in your dress, the way you walk. Hate is a result of wanting to show your separate from your fellow neighbor. You believe you are separate, then comes feelings of being better, being the best. But this is so wrong in one's thinking. True hate -- showing you do not accept a thing, person, or group -- as they are; is something we all experience here on Earth.
So, this begs the question: why am I writing about this?
Because. Simply because I don't desire a hate filled marriage from one partner or both of us. Hate is a terrible thing, it is a cancer if the desire for separation -> Divorce -> isn't or cannot be fulfilled. Feelings of hatred towards my potential spouse, or feelings of hatred from my potential spouse can invite feelings of being unloved. It can, if allowed to go far, bring infidelity into the marriage on the part of one or both spouses. Or worse yet, one spouse may feel that the marriage is a curse rather than a blessing.
Why does this concern me? Actually, it doesn't. But, my best friend is in a marriage where her husband does not love her. I love my best friend, she is the principle reason why I desire to be Creator (other than I feel better myself being a Creator -- yes, Uncle, that's a capitol "C". And I understand you found all of my blogs, Uncle Robert Robb, so I "know" you are reading this post).
I desire with all my heart for my best friend to be with me. But she is in a hell of her own making. Fortunately for her, her marriage is fragile and won't survive. The Savior said this about her marriage:
And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world amarry, and are given in marriage:
35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain athat world, and the bresurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in cmarriage:
36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the aangels; and are the bchildren of God, being the children of the resurrection.
Luke 20: 34-36
When I studied these scriptures, I was given hope for my best friend. I cannot have my best friend now, but I desire her very much so she can complete me and I can complete her.
Luke 20: 34-36
When I studied these scriptures, I was given hope for my best friend. I cannot have my best friend now, but I desire her very much so she can complete me and I can complete her.
Deviant Art
I created a Deviant Art page. Well I had the account for over two years now, and now I've just started to use it. Why use Deviant Art?
Simple. Photobucket isn't cutting it and blogger images is, well, limited in space. Although I have stuff on Renderosity and the other site, I won't be putting up anything from my Renderosity gallery on my Deviant gallery. Although, in truth, I could.
Here's the link to my DeviantART page: http://atlantean6.deviantart.com/ .
Simple. Photobucket isn't cutting it and blogger images is, well, limited in space. Although I have stuff on Renderosity and the other site, I won't be putting up anything from my Renderosity gallery on my Deviant gallery. Although, in truth, I could.
Here's the link to my DeviantART page: http://atlantean6.deviantart.com/ .
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Bulges and Toast Packages
I did this render up of a necromancer (I say necromancer). And it was pointed out that he was missing something in the between-the-legs department. Obviously, I was more than a little . . . mad. Hardly any clothes for M4 that DAZ sells has come with a genital bulge or package morph. So, M4 is reduced to being a woman who has gone through half the requisite sex reassignment surgery.
I.e. Beefcake without the Beef. Half the people on Earth (or nearly half) are men. Almost all of them carry a scrotum and a penis. Being forced to wear clothes in all the nations on Earth except for a notable few, clothes conform to this genital set creating a noticeable bulge. Something that is more noticeable when one wears tight pants or skintight nylon/lycra clothing. Personally, though, I wonder how my colleague could point that out when M4 in the picture is wearing black pants.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Poses for V4, What?!
Trawling the internet for free poses for V4, especially sitting poses, I found a set on ShareCG. The worst collection I've ever seen. I mean, pinup poses of V4 (soft porn), a domestic violence pose for V4 and M4 (hard porn), two sitting poses, and other poses. The collection seemed just jumbled together.
I usually look at shareCG for some very good stuff, like Bryce stuff and possibly Vue stuff. And of course, Poser and DAZ Studio stuff. But if it's free, remember the old adage -- you often get what you pay for.
ShareCG has a lot of good stuff for poser and other programs. Including 3D Studio Max, Carrara, Vue, Poser, DAZ Studio, and Renderman. Stuff that can beat out items you find at DAZ, Renderosity, and TurboSquid. However, as I have seen, it can include some very bad and chaotic stuff. Like those poses for V4. I passed it up for its lack of theme. There are some good poses in that collection, yes. But it includes poses I don't want to render at the moment for V4 or M4. I don't want anyone to stop looking at ShareCG, because there is some top quality models you can download for Poser or any other 3D program. But, my advice is -- browser be aware that ShareCG does not always carry top quality models.
I usually look at shareCG for some very good stuff, like Bryce stuff and possibly Vue stuff. And of course, Poser and DAZ Studio stuff. But if it's free, remember the old adage -- you often get what you pay for.
ShareCG has a lot of good stuff for poser and other programs. Including 3D Studio Max, Carrara, Vue, Poser, DAZ Studio, and Renderman. Stuff that can beat out items you find at DAZ, Renderosity, and TurboSquid. However, as I have seen, it can include some very bad and chaotic stuff. Like those poses for V4. I passed it up for its lack of theme. There are some good poses in that collection, yes. But it includes poses I don't want to render at the moment for V4 or M4. I don't want anyone to stop looking at ShareCG, because there is some top quality models you can download for Poser or any other 3D program. But, my advice is -- browser be aware that ShareCG does not always carry top quality models.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Still Doing a Comic
Now that certain things are out of the way, I can concentrate on doing my comic book. I think I'm going fantasy this time. Fantasy is easier for me to do since I have so many settings for fantasy I can hardly believe it.
So, I'm going to do a fantasy comic. Middle fantasy, set in the Known Lands. :)
Here is Alyssa, a Massalian Elf Paladin. I did up some anatomy studies before I put her in armor. Hi resolution, Anatomy study (no pornography created for those that follow my blog and go "huh?").
Friday, May 1, 2009
Elvish Paladin in Progress
I thought about doing a comic book with a fantasy D&D theme. This paladin is a work in progress for said comic book. I'm just toying with my stuff to see what I can come up with.
:D
Changed the Look of my Blog
I changed the look of my Blog to a more Astronomical theme, in keeping with the overall theme of my Blog. The standard templates weren't very cool, and I needed something fun and more my style. This Astronomy look is very cool, and should be something that will grace my blog for a while.
:)
:)
Theatric Plays and Road Shows
I was in a road show for my Church group. The play was okay, Brother Brigham's Good News (at the Dance). It would have been better if people kept their little political and doctrinal biases out of it. The worst thing about doing a theatrical production for your larger congregation is that they all want it to be their version of G-Rated.
That is, no conflict in the picture at all. Or talking about history. Or if their view of history is messed up. Ironically, these are the same people that would sit down and watch a show like "The Godfather" or some other terrible movie with a R rating. It just doesn't seem fair that we can't reproduce history for a Church production, and yet Hollywood can (and mess everything up terribly).
But the production went so well. The performances were excellent, and everyone got into it on the last production. Not an A-1 play, but good enough to get the message across. Just not the message that we've hoped for in the beginning.
The script is under expansion, and I think I can screenwrite it for a movie production in a little bit.
That is, no conflict in the picture at all. Or talking about history. Or if their view of history is messed up. Ironically, these are the same people that would sit down and watch a show like "The Godfather" or some other terrible movie with a R rating. It just doesn't seem fair that we can't reproduce history for a Church production, and yet Hollywood can (and mess everything up terribly).
But the production went so well. The performances were excellent, and everyone got into it on the last production. Not an A-1 play, but good enough to get the message across. Just not the message that we've hoped for in the beginning.
The script is under expansion, and I think I can screenwrite it for a movie production in a little bit.
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