Birds resting on the arches over the water fountain in front of Toronto's city hall.

N-Sided - Quidam 3D character software

07.31.07

N-Sided - Home

Nice software, but not quite there yet.  I downloaded the demo and played with it.  Nice beginning.  The interface has some nice features I would like to see in Poser.  Especially the view angle selector on the bottom right corner of the interface.

To get started, you select a character gender and then a specific look.  There is an option for a female face generator and male body building.  Both look to be more comprehensive on creating something from scratch.  Unfortunately, neither is active in the demo.

Quidam character selection

The interface has some nice features.  It doesn’t go as deep as Poser’s numeric range (no eyebrows to super-bushy for example) but it does give a wide variety of various body parts.   Eye shape, head shape, neck length and shape.  If you can name the body part it seems to a few options for customizing the body.  You can see the side angle view controller in the bottom right of the picture below.  Click on it and it gives you 6 angle selections from which to view the character.
Quidam interface

The body bending methods aren’t as nice as Poser, but it is has some nice features.  One of the better features is the small dice in the left pane.  Clicking the dice randomizes the character features and clothing.  You can see what this feature created in the render below.

Finally,  the render is okay.  Not extremely great, but nice enough.  Though I am using the demo version, so the full version might be a bit better.  And I’ve never been a huge fan of Poser’s rendering either.  Quidam does include the ability to purchase some plug-ins for exporting to 3DS Max and a few other programs.

Guidam character render

Not a Poser replacement yet, but for people new to 3D character creation, or who only want to create quick and simple figures, this seems to be a nice program.  Comparing Quidam to Poser is like comparing Paint Shop Pro to Photoshop.  Both nice programs, but one is limited while the other is comprehensive.  The learning curve, however, would reflect the complexity as well.

Creating Smoke in Photoshop tutorial

07.31.07

Creating Smoke tutorial

Nice tutorial for creating 2D smoke. I had to work around it a bit to get it right. In the end, I like the inner glow I was able to create. Gives the smoke a luminosity and depth.

How to Choose a Home Improvement Contractor - wikiHow

07.31.07

How to Choose a Home Improvement Contractor - wikiHow

Why reinvent the wheel?  I know we’ll have some work to do on any home we purchase.  Most of it I can do myself, but some if it will need to be handled by trained professionals.  While the list is mostly common sense, you can always overlook something and a good guide can help provide an accurate checklist.

Belkin : Front-Access In-Desk USB Hub - 3 Inch

07.31.07

Belkin : Front-Access In-Desk USB Hub - 3 Inch

I have a computer, a desk and a grommet hole (don’t know what size since it is in storage) and this looks like a great addition once we get everything set up.

ToonDoo - The Cartoon Strip Creator - Create, Publish, Share, Discuss!

07.31.07

ToonDoo - The Cartoon Strip Creator - Create, Publish, Share, Discuss!

This is a creative idea.  Build photo books from scratch.  One more thing for me to eventually try out.  The site seems a bit slow to load, but we’ve been having some internet access issues since yesterday so I’m not certain what the culprit is: site or our link.

MAKE: Blog: Homemade rock climbing wall

07.30.07

MAKE: Blog: Homemade rock climbing wall

Oh, to dream a dream.  I so want one of these in my house.  Maybe, just maybe…

Instructables Solar Heater

07.30.07

Instructables Solar Heater

More and more do it yourself projects for saving energy keep popping up.  This is excellent and very inexpensive.  A bit more investment would allow it to look a bit better.  I think I would want something additional to allow me to turn the exchange on/off to limit the exchange.  That, however, would be very easy to create and you could even make it ornamental.

Angle-izer Instant Template : Sporty’s Tool Shop

07.30.07

Angle-izer Instant Template : Sporty’s Tool Shop

Now, that is a cool tool.  Looking at work on a home, this would be an excellent method for getting the exact angle measurements for various projects.

» The 1st green dream: “Green Light” by Twan Verdonck.

07.30.07

» The 1st green dream: “Green Light” by Twan Verdonck.

Not quite as cool as the Living Wall, but it is still a useful way to add greenery to your home without taking up too much floor space.

.: Luca Nichetto - Hook Box

07.30.07

.: Luca Nichetto - Nichetto & Partners Official Website :.

It seems our gadgets are slowly adding up.  Even as our homes are getting larger, we seem to have more to organize.  I like the simple idea of a hook and a small bowl to hold items.  I know I carry a set number of things with me on a regular basis.  Wallet, sunglasses, keys and my watch (which I take off when I’m in the home since there is almost always a clock within sight) can add up to some serious table space.

Hook box would mean I could store all of those items in a central location to load in pockets or jacket before heading back out.