The3dStudio.com Blog Network

Free to a Good Home: slightly used "Cinema 4D R10 Handbook" by Anson Call...Anyone want it? by Papina

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:44:00 GMT

If you'll pay for the media rate shipping and whatever I have to get to package it (probably a puffy envelope), I'll send it to you for free, US Destinations only. There are a few notes in the margins, very little highlighting, otherwise in pretty good shape. Includes tutorials, printable files, installation files for C4D demo on a CD. Here is a description of it from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=cinema+4d+r10+handbook&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=8462306749&ref=pd_sl_86ltffk618_b

Write to me at ninapapina@yahoo.com if interested. Put "I Want Your Book" in the subject line so I don't think it is spam email. It's a great book, but I gave up on 3D. First come, first serve.

Nina

Happy Holidays To All Members of T3DS! by Papina

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 00:34:00 GMT

Wherever you are in the world at this moment, I wish you and your family Peace.

My texture objects are ON SALE by Papina

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:41:00 GMT

I have just reduced the price of all my cutout texture objects and seamless tileable textures. The animal collection has also been reduced. Times are hard right now, and we all need a break.

The Zombie Rose by Papina

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:26:00 GMT

Today's message is about Perseverance.

I present to you the Zombie Rose, a.k.a, The Flower That Will Not Die. It's starting to get a little withery on the edges, but this 2-fer-a-buck rose is going on it's third week in my house--and who knows how long it languished at Jewel* before I bought it?

All zombie jokes aside (and who doesn't love a good zombie joke?), I'm taking it as a sign to keep going and not give up. Even when the flower does finally croak, which it will, I will have the memory of the rose that not only refused to live a measured, ordinary life, but thrived in it's old age. A new sprout has emerged from the stem and is now poking out of the top of the vase! It wasn't until today that I realized how cool it is that the rose is still alive, and what a great reminder it is to never give up, no matter how old you are and how dim the prospects.
Zombie Rose says: Stay in the game.

There often isn't much to be hopeful for these days, but who has the "luxury" of giving up? The prospect of going up against thousands of others for a graphic arts job--or any job--at this stage of my life is so daunting I am sometimes paralyzed. I've come a long way, but I still have so much to learn I feel like Rod Taylor as the scientist in The Time Machine, sitting in a little contraption, watching the outside world through a crack in the wall as it whips about in a frenzy. But I will keep sitting at my Mac, having aha! moments in Photoshop, Illustrator, and...oh criminey, I have to learn HTML and CSS now, too? Does it ever stop?!

Add to this employment question mark the prospect that I will probably continue plugging through this world Forever Single. Sure, there are days when the planets align and the humidity is low when I can be positively cougarific, but I accept there's little chance of finding a permanent life partner at this stage, unless he's in a coma and can't frantically wheel himself to a taxi stand. But it isn't even a matter of going out with a clothes pin holding my neck skin back and smelling faintly of Formaldehyde No. 5; no one seems to want to take a chance on anyone. It wouldn't matter if I were a thumb-twittering twenty-something: people have been so tossed about, they now think relationships are supposed to be disposable. And yet--stupidly perhaps--I have this weird sense of hope. I still believe in love. (Okay, you guys, that snort was uncalled for.)

In the meantime, until I get that job I was always meant to do (and maybe even Mr. Titanium Knees), I continue to change the Zombie Rose's water every few days and put in a little of that powder that came with it. I try not to mess with it, lest I speed up the petals' gravitational descent like the needles of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. When it does die, I'm going back to Jewel to get a fresh one or three and starting all over again. Because that's what I do: I start again, and I keep on keepin' on whether it is logical or not.

Enjoy the picture of my Zombie Rose and what it represents. Better yet, go to Jewel and get a 2-fer for yourself--and give the other rose to a friend. Or make a new friend. Find little bits of beauty, and look around for signs that tell you to stay in the game, whatever your particular game happens to be.

Now if you will excuse me, I've got a date with Mac back at the Time Machine...

...and here, take my clothes pin. I'm a little withery around the edges, too, but I'm going to let my freak flag and my neck skin fly--whoo-hoo!

Cheers,

Papina

*for you out-of-towers, Jewel is a food store chain in the Chicago area.

Changing My Never-Mind by Papina

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:06:00 GMT

Something for you aviation fans. I wrote this a few years ago. Enjoy. (nl aka Papina)

Changing My Never-Mind
By Nina Leone

The wind picked up a little, and my first thought was: I don’t have a will. I should have at least left a note.

My right thigh twitched as the security gate rumbled open, rain misting the windshield. I drove toward the buildings on the east end of Schaumburg Airport, as I had been instructed.

Fritz, my designated pilot, greeted me warmly. He was as affable in person as he had been on the phone, with a twinkle in his eye that told me he is a man who loves his job. This might turn out to be fun after all, if I can keep from throwing up.

He led me to the hangar where she was waiting. As my eyes adjusted to the dim hangar light, the sight of her made me catch my breath. There she sat: scarlet red and gleaming proudly. This was the closest I had ever been to a helicopter, other than the one hanging from the ceiling at the Museum of Science and Industry. She was tinier than I expected—much tinier. My thigh twitched again. I was going up in the air in a toy.

I’ve always been able to trick myself into relaxing on airplanes by pretending I was in a big bus bouncing down a white, fluffy highway. After years of trying to convert my fears—real or imagined—into great adventures, I thought I could talk myself into doing anything if I tried hard enough—but this?

I was used to taking a certain amount of risk. I wouldn’t say I was a thrill-junkie, but I was fortunate to get some on-camera stunt work in the 80s and 90s, during Chicago’s revival of film and television production. Sure, I sometimes had moments of concealed terror as I hung twisting in the breeze off the side of a building, but the stunts were professionally coordinated, and I trusted the crew. Besides, I loved it, it paid really well, and there was always that blessed cable and harness beneath my clothes.

However, setting foot in a helicopter was one activity that I had filed away in a mental folder stamped NEVER. There are no safety cables rigged up to helicopters and no air bags following you around on the ground below. I retired from stunts years ago with some great memories, no broken bones, and without doing a helicopter gag. I certainly had no desire to go up as a civilian.

I have been living a perfectly sensible, down-to-earth life since then. My days generally do not involve actively thumbing my nose at the law of gravity. Besides, there always seems to be another load of laundry to do, a statement to balance—nice, low-risk activities, or so they would appear. Yet I was aware that underneath the exterior of my ordinary life there lurked a bit of discontent. The unstated fear that life was quickly passing me by with still so many things to see and do was stressing me. I wanted spontaneity, a new adventure, but I had stalled.

The kick-in-the-pants I needed was a returned Christmas gift: a certificate for a helicopter ride, about to expire. (My boyfriend and I had broken up, and he hadn’t found time to use it.) That NEVER folder seems to pop open when I least expect it but need it the most.

Since the only thing I hate worse than plummeting to certain death is seeing money wasted, I called AM Air Services and made arrangements to redeem the certificate myself.

* * * * *

So now, here I was, shivering in the hangar, facing this delicate-looking craft and wondering what I’d gotten myself into. Curvy all over, with slim rotor blades like flirty eyelashes, this red-hot Tinkerbell was grinning at me, luring me. I needed to take this ride, and she knew it. Since I had arrived early for my tour over the northwest Chicago suburbs, Fritz allowed me to observe the pre-flight check. In a few moments he was going to have my life in his hands, so I tried not to distract him in any way—like by breathing. It was reassuring to see him work so competently. I was starting to relax.

Fritz filled me in on the helicopter’s background. Built in 1966, she had originally been used during the Vietnam War for light observation. She even had a few patches where bullet-holes had pierced her side. I suddenly had great respect for this machine. She may have looked delicate, but she was no toy. She was forty years old, had been shot at, and was still flying high. If she had survived reconnaissance over the jungles of Vietnam, this little stuntwoman could certainly manage some light observation of Woodfield Mall. I grinned back at her. The dog-eared gift certificate flapped in the breeze when I handed it to Fritz. After assuring me it was not too gusty to go up, it was time to get aboard.

Getting into a helicopter is like approaching a horse: passengers get in on the left side and never—no, never—approach from the back. (We all saw that grisly episode of ER, didn’t we?) After being advised of FAA regulations and getting my jittery self strapped in, Fritz warmed her up. The butterflies in my stomach were certainly ready to take off.

The liftoff began with a slight sway, like rising up in a Ferris wheel. We flew slowly between the hangars, barely off the ground, until we came to the end of the landing area. The craft halted and hovered in the air until Fritz checked both ways for traffic, like a dad cautiously pulling the family car onto a busy street. The runways, parked planes, and the zipping highway dropped away from us as we began a graceful ascent.

Both hands on the controls and both feet on the pedals guided the helicopter’s graceful movements. She responded to every touch like a dance partner, perfectly in synch. Fritz was not just piloting a helicopter; he had become a part of her, and now I was a part of her, too.

      The exhilaration of cruising in a giant bubble was like those wonderful flying dreams where you just accept that you’re gliding effortlessly through the air. The muffled engine noise and whir of the rotor could not detract from the overwhelming calm I felt as all my stress melted away. This is what freedom feels like.
      As we dipped and turned, each movement revealed a new portion of the vast suburban landscape. Buildings less than 1000 feet below us were neatly lined up on tidy streets, and houses hugged the curves of cul-de-sacs. From that height you don’t see litter, rust, or decay. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t sunny or that the trees were nearly bare; it was simply beautiful.
      It wasn’t cold up there, and it wasn’t a bumpy ride. I used to be the Dramamine® Queen in our house when I was a kid, but I didn’t feel the least bit ill. It was much too thrilling to waste time being afraid.

      The time passed too quickly. It seemed we’d no sooner gotten in the air and we were already looping around and heading back. The twin hangars were in sight again, getting larger as we approached. The space opened up between them, and we gently set down.
      My thighs were twitching again, but now for a different reason. Did that really happen? Was I really up there? I looked back over my shoulder at the scarlet helicopter as I walked away. Tinkerbell winked at me. It wasn’t a dream; I’d been flying!
      I knew the adrenalin rush would wear off eventually, but what I didn’t expect was the peaceful feeling that stayed with me for days afterward. My soul had been revitalized.
      It has been said that living a life of risk avoidance is the biggest risk of all. An opportunity presented itself and I took it. I didn’t let fear keep me grounded, and as a result, there’s one less item in my NEVER folder. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
    Whether it’s another helicopter ride, or some new experience, I can’t wait to fly off again to my own personal Neverland.

Looking and Lurking for Textures by Papina

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:38:00 GMT

My LOL for the day (after a few nervous moments): someone from my bank called yesterday while I was out taking photos. He was from fraud prevention. It was a legit call. I looked at my accounts online and nothing was out of order, but I did cash a check yesterday and was afraid it might have bounced. I was also a little concerned about identity theft because recently a welcome packet from another bank had been "compromised" in the mail (accidentally ripped open and repackaged by USPS), and the paperwork had my social security number and name in it. I've been a little jittery since then.

The bank man called again this morning. The deal was: yesterday when I went through the drive-up to cash the check, since I just started doing textures for 3D (see my first project below!), I noticed the cool texture on the side of the building. I had my camera with me and was right up close to the wall. I pulled up a little past the window, stuck the camera out the car window and got a few closeup shots of the outside wall. Then I parked and went around front and took some shots of the wall in the shade near the front door in case the others were blurry. That's what he was calling about! The tellers saw me and reported suspicious conduct. I guess they thought I might be casing the joint. He said he viewed the video, and by the way I was looking around at things to photograph, he assumed I was a photography student. But he had to check it out--and I'm glad he did. It was fine, and so far the Feds have not shown up at my door. I apologized for scaring the tellers.

OOPS! Lesson learned. Get permission first before photographing a bank or any other building that could make you look like you are planning something nefarious. I'll be working on that texture today. I'm going to send a link of the final product to the bank guy--maybe he can help me network.

This product (my first 3D texture, not the bank wall!) is at: http://www.the3dstudio.com/product_details.aspx?id_product=353975.

The Floating Head--How I Did It by Papina

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 22:55:00 GMT

I needed to take a photo of this little kids' hat to sell on ebay for a friend (or Craigslist, if I can stand the idiotic spam I'll get for listing anything there). I don't have a little pumpkin-headed villager of my own to use as a model, but I wanted to showcase this item in a way that would make it look worth buying, rather than just throwing it on the bed and snapping a photo. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

So how did I do it? Actually, it was inexpensive and fairly low-tech. I used a Canon Rebel xSi, the EF-18-55 mm kit lens. I shot it in RAW, aperture priority, f/6.3. It came out to: focal length 35.0, 1/40 sec., ISO 200, white balance auto. Lighting was natural light with white reflectors. Here's the setup:

There is bunched up newspaper in the crown to give the hat some shape.The hat was hung by a white sewing thread from a wooden pole (also used to temporarily turn off my smoke detector when I cook). The pole was laid perpendicularly over a sweater drying rack. The background is a piece of white posterboard from the drugstore, the reflector on the left is a piece of foam core I split and then hinged together again with tape so it stands up like a book. The white fabric below is my old barber school jacket. The plastic clamps came on a package of six from Menards. The camera was on a tripod. The danged hat decided it wanted to keep spinning around. I just kept snapping shots as it slowly rotated, so I got shots of it from all sides without having to do a thing. I confess I did Photoshop out the thread from the background and where it showed on the red tab.

I don't recommend this as a way to do all product photography, but for a quickie ebay photo, it works!

(Psssst! Wanna buy a hat? T3DS members get priority!)

Learning to edit out product names in Photoshop by Papina

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:04:00 GMT

I am still a self-taught beginner at Photoshop, but thought I'd share what I taught myself today. I have been working on removing product names from photographs. On this one, I wanted to leave the "4" but delete the manufacturer's name and logo. Original photo:

I removed the logo successfully with a combination of Photoshop's patch tool and healing brush (working in patches), but now the 4 was much too low on the end of the weight with too much empty space above. It looked odd.

I used the lasso tool to circle the 4, created a new Layer Via Copy. I moved it into the center of the end of the weight. I then went back to my background layer (after hiding the selected 4 layer) and used the patch tool again to remove all traces of the old 4.

I did the same thing on the other weight, although that was trickier because of the extreme angle of the type. I just raised the 4 up a little bit since it wouldn't be as noticeable. After some cropping and cleanup, I ended up with this:

I don't care for the background well enough to use this as a product, but it was a fun experiment.

Until they buy your stock photos, use them yourself! by Papina

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:52:00 GMT

It's snowing and the roads are icy here in the midwest today, and I just didn't feel like running out to the store to get a thank you card. I was fortunate to have been invited for a lovely Christmas Eve dinner at friend's house, and I just don't think an email thank you is sufficient for that kind of celebration. Call me old-fashioned. I have lots of odd-sized envelopes, but didn't have any thank you cards, so I went poking around in my files and found a photo I had taken out my front door in 2005.

I never did anything with this photo, but decided it could be used to create a wintry card (gee, do ya think?) I opened it in Corel Painter Essentials 4 (came free with my graphics tablet in 2008), cropped out the post on the right side, and let the program run Watercolor Sketch in Autopainter. I added some type (I choose purple to match what Autopainter put in), made it into a jpeg, and then imported it into a Word document, shoved down toward the bottom. When it printed, I folded it landscape and trimmed it to a bleed border. I think this is a way you could use some of your stock photos as customized gifts, as well as to show a potential client what your fabulous photos can be turned into! Here's the final product:

Of course, now I have to run out in the schmutz to mail the card. :-)

Happy New Year, Everybody!

The Power of One: Market Yourself Forward by Papina

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:28:00 GMT

A few weeks ago I blogged about an opportunity to help make books accessible to those with print disabilities with the ReadItForward campaign http://www.bookshare.org/canvas/readItForward from Bookshare. Many of you have read the post, and I appreciate it.

Meanwhile, I emailed former volunteers from where I used to work (an RFB&D studio that closed), telling them about Bookshare's opportunities. Since it is now below zero in Illinois, I thought people who were dedicated to helping others might like to hear of a volunteer opportunity that doesn't involve chipping their car out of a block of ice! One great gal who I emailed included what I sent to her in HER blog, and that reached yet another former volunteer who checked out the site. This is her site, it's great, and I checked out her other blog and recommendations as well. Thanks, Pat!

http://communicationexchange.blogspot.com/2009/12/bookshare-is-great-volunteer.html

We all know that videos and rumors go viral very quickly, so why not use this technology for good instead of evil? Your information can be cross-blogged (not sure if I just made up that word) by having your friends advertise your blog or product site on theirs, and vice versa. They do it for you, you do it for them. It's a nice little circle, isn't it? Post if forward, and you might even bring them back around to you.

Since many of you use your blog as a marketing tool to sell your products, this is just another way to bring people to The3Dstudio and get you more potential sales, and if you are in the affiliate program (and you should be), more potential income via new members. And let's not forget about promoting a cause that is near and dear to your heart! Most nonprofits need word-of-mouth awareness as much as they need donations. Here are some thoughts to remember:

Include links to your blog posts in your emails, on Facebook, etc.
Put your blog/affiliate links in your email signature
If you send out a marketing email, make sure you say "feel free to forward this email to anyone else you think might be interested."
Thank anyone who responds to your email! You may have originally sent out a "form" email, but if someone takes the time to respond back to you and comment on it, let them know you appreciate it.
Set up a Google search for your blog name, your handle, product, etc., so you know when it is getting out on the internet. This is a great way to find out if your marketing efforts taking off.

Good luck, and happy holidays to all!
(To see my original post about volunteering with Bookshare, see http://www.the3dstudio.com/blog_detail.aspx?id=1593.)

Zerofractal--Really Cool Animation Studio Website by Papina

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:20:00 GMT

I hope this international animation studio is a customer of T3DS. But even if they do everything in-house, if you haven't seen their website and reels, take a look--it's really well done. Oh, if I were skilled to this level of expertise, I'd move to Miami in a shot! Good-bye Chicago winters!

http://www.zerofractal.com/

Totally Looks Like...? by Papina

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:01:00 GMT

I made some home fries the other day, and it finally dawned on me what the last little potato chunk looked like...

Sorry, Matt. I meant to save it for the T3DS Shrine & Museum, but the temptation to consume was just too great!

Grand Teton Photo Challenge from Digital Photography School by Papina

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:48:00 GMT

The photo challenge this week by Peter Carvey was to take a mediocre photo and see if you could jazz it up to be a better shot. Take a look at the original first and some of the wonderful and creative effects people applied in post. Use this link to see what normal people submitted.

http://digital-photography-school.com/this-months-critique-you-make-the-changes#comment-72738

Here is the original, admittedly, less-than-stellar photo by Peter.

Okay. Then there's mine...

I didn't post it on the DPS site (couldn't figure out how since I don't have a website anyway), but I determined from some of the comments that not everyone has my sense of humor, and it wouldn't be appreciated. I do not wish to annoy people worldwide. But YOU guys should be used to my posts by now, and I hope you do enjoy a little fun with Photoshop. I realize that T3DS is also worldwide, but I hope you're not annoyed. I'm just trying to learn.

My version of the photo.

http://digital-photography-school.com/this-months-critique-you-make-the-changes#comment-72738

(p.s. I desaturated the image, increased contrast, used curves, cropped it...and then, well, went a little nuts)

Join Bookshare and help the Blind, Visually Impaired, and Dyslexic by Papina

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:20:00 GMT

Join Bookshare and make a difference for people who are Blind, Visually Impaired
and Dyslexic.

Bookshare, a national nonprofit organization whose mission it is to provide educational and related reading materials to persons who cannot read standard print, is actively seeking volunteers to help produce educational books and supplemental reading materials. http://www.bookshare.org/canvas/readItForward

We offer rewarding and flexible volunteer activities that you can do in your home, and on your schedule. Any U.S. resident over 15 years of age can volunteer, and all you need is a passion for books, an Internet connection and basic computer skills such as web browsing and basic word processing!

Our Volunteer jobs include, but are not limited to:

Proofreading, which includes doing a visual scan of the book to assure uniformity of text, correcting errors, adjusting and adding missing pagination.
Creating Image Descriptions
Scanning books, if you own or have access to a scanner.

Join an exciting and growing community of people from all ages and interests who use their life skills and education to help ensure success for persons with disabilities.

To learn more, please visit our website at http://www.bookshare.org/canvas/readItForward and learn more about our opportunities!

Please send me a comment if you check out this opportunity to help others, so I can track interest.

Thanks,

Papina

Another Weasely Blog Post, Part 2 by Papina

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:29:00 GMT

This is how I took the photo of the back of my head that I mentioned in Part 1. I frequently take a shot of a new hairstyle before I go out, just to make sure I am not frightening to dogs or small children.

Too lazy to dig out my cordless shutter release, and just anxious to get a quick idea, I started by aiming the camera at the bathroom mirror behind me--that is, guessing--and hoping I was in the frame. There are a lot of ways to take self-portraits, but this sure isn't a great one! Needless to say, I got a lot of shots like this. (Please excuse the awful color in these photos. I forgot I have incandescent-looking CFL's in the bathroom and neglected to set the white balance accordingly.)

An unusual way to take a self-portait, for sure, but who wants a shower curtain as a background? Well, this is a little better, but I couldn't hold the camera still that way, and had focusing problems, as you can see. I am making progress by at least getting my head in the frame. Now it was a challenge, just to see how I could do it without a remote that I have to aim at the camera. That would require some contortions or stealth-aiming.

How about a shot from the side to see how the Bumpit was doing? Hey! Where did all those chins come from?!

What I ended up doing was setting the camera on the TV, putting a swivel chair in front of it, and focusing on the top edge of the chair. I had the camera set to shoot five multiple shots, hit the shutter, sat in the chair so my head was about even with the back, and swiveled the chair slightly between shots to get five different angles.

So, there you go--another way to take a self-portrait. Do this a few times and it may explain all the snickering when you leave a room! Good luck!

Another Weasely Blog Post by Papina

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:56:00 GMT

Alas, dear Friends, if you have seen my previous post on the rise and fall of the Hair Weasel (http://www.the3dstudio.com/blog_detail.aspx?id=1196), I have more sad news to impart. The "upgraded" beaded weasel I referred to exploded in a shower of CLEAR beads not too long after it was pressed into service. (Okay, seriously--did any of you read between the lines on that post and get that I wasn't really just talking about a hair accessory? What, too subtle?) Anyway, the upgrade lasted even less time than the first one. Another one bites the dust, all that glitters is not...rhinestone...insert your own cliché. It was a weird summer to say the least, and I wish I had my $9.99 back.

But, enough with the DaVinci Code posts. I promise you, this post really is just about my search for the perfect hair accessories.

Halloween is coming up, and I borrowed a "slightly slutty" Alice in Wonderland costume from my BFF's college-age daughter. Oh, quit making that face--it fits and it was free! I admit it looks more like Alice in Cougartown or a cigarette girl/cocktail waitress from the Rat Pack years, so I'm going with that. The little hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds on the polyester apron qualify it to be cheesy Vegas. But I need big, bad 1960's hair to go with it--a French twist on steroids.

I first tried a combination of these items. I'm sorry to say they were of no use.

The "Hair Poufs"--mounds of...whatever...covered with fake hair on wicked little metal combs--were impossible to keep in line and ended up resembling randomly placed hair turds. The "French Twister" was even worse. ("Oh, la-la, right hand rouge!" Sorry, sorry...must focus...) One needs two friends and a prehensile tail to get that plastic and elastic to look fantastic. So, back to the store they went, and yes, my friends, I was then drawn to yet another As Seen On TV! display and purchased The Bumpits for, you guessed it, $9.99. I didn't include a photo, because you can't walk into any CVS pharmacy, Wal-Mart, or Target without getting assaulted by The Bumpits display. (What a horrible name. I don't know the image you get when you see that name, but I'm thinking of grizzled old guys in a rail yard, eating beans from a tin can. And sweating.)

There are three in the package: large, medium, and then a really tiny one. I'm not sure what baby Bumpit is for. Maybe 1980's bangs. Anyway, I chose to use the biggest Bumpit at the crown for a full Winehouse effect. I did a trial run to see if I could get a Bumpit to stay in my hair. Yes...and no. There is still a lot of hairspray, teasing, hairspray, pinning, hairspray, baked beans, and spam needed to keep this thing in. Since I am going to a dance and need the security, and the Bumpits are hard plastic frames, I put some of my hair through it and pinned that hair down to my head to secure it before flopping the ratted top layer over it. I wound up the back in a traditional French Twist, tucked the end up under the Bumpitted area, and sprayed everything, including my lungs, to death.

Here's kind of what it will look like on Saturday. Bear in mind this was done fast, just to get an idea. I wanted to see what it really looked like, so I took a photo of the back of my head.

Yeah, I know, underwhelming, isn't it? But I promise it will be ratted to the rafters on Halloween. Want to know how I took the photo? Read the next post...

Getting all the background out of a transparency in Photoshop by Papina

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:05:00 GMT

I may have just stumbled upon a quick way to find stray background pixels in a cutout texture.

After using the typical lasso and delete method of removing a background in Photoshop, I loaded the .psd file into Corel Painter Essentials to check for strays. I saw a few gray blobs and went back to Photoshop to clean them up. Since I had made an alpha channel already, I wanted to see if I could see them there as well. Duuuh, it never dawned on me before to click on the alpha channel. BOY, did those strays POP!! It was so easy to lasso and delete them from here and resave the file.

I opened the corrected file in Corel again, just to see how it looked. Gone, Baby, gone.

Any thoughts on this method?

Food Porn and Runaway Tomatoes: When You Are Your Own Food Stylist by Papina

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 03:11:00 GMT

I love photography, and I love food, so it seemed natural that I do a series of photos of food. I used things I happened to have on hand. I didn't go out and specially get these items, although my neighor seredipitously (is that a word?) contributed to the shoot by bringing over some home-grown cherry tomatoes just as I was setting up the camera.

It was during this adventure I came to appreciate how difficult a job food styling really is.

I did my best to make the food look good and get decent exposures: I washed and lightly oiled some of the vegetables, used a makeup brush to whisk away crumbs from the backdrop, tried to keep the oil that was now on my hands off the camera--the usual stuff.

Those cherry tomatoes, while eventually delicious, were not cooperative during the shoot. I'd get them in what I thought was a reasonable position, but they had other ideas. In that nano-second between tomato release and shutter release, one of them would just wander off. I guided it back into position. Then another would wobble and knock two or three out of position like they were billiard balls. Such divas.

But careful as I thought I'd been when I took the photos, I saw the crumbs, grease spots, and broken coffee beans I missed during the session when I uploaded the RAW files. And my favorite photo of the red pepper turned out to be a little "suggestive" in the way it was positioned. (Well, at least he looked happy.)

I'd still like to work as a food stylist--but for someone else, not myself!

Death of the Hair Weasel by Papina

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:00:00 GMT

There is a great disturbance in The (Hair) Force today. My beloved EZComb, aka The Hair Weasel, had an untimely demise this morning. Read my previous post about finding the perfect hair accessory.

http://www.the3dstudio.com/blog_detail.aspx?id=716

I have composed this short poem it its honor.

It was a nice summer fling

But this morning it went...ping.

Raining down, the beads did ring

To the corners of the room.

I suspect I still will find

When they're long since out of mind

And I fall on my behind...

I should have gone and got the broom.

But don't cry for me; I am not in distress. There is another in the package, a better one, so now I will proudly wear the crystal beads. I have definitely traded up, and I am not missing joy. (DTR)

Young Love by Papina

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:13:00 GMT

I took this at our first-ever neighborhood block party yesterday. I dunno, I kind of like it. These two teens collaborated on a chalk drawing in the midst of the activity, and I thought it was really sweet. I like the photo because of what you don't see, which is too much of them! (No model release necessary, hahaha!) No, seriously. I kind of like how you see just a glimpse of his hand, her knees. They are close together, but in an innocent and charming way. I took it at a slight angle to convey that dizzying aspect of infatuation. I think it's romantic.

(This was before the water balloons got out of control, of course!)

Any comments you have would be appreciated. Does this photo convey any kind of feeling to you? Would you have cropped it tighter? I wanted to get those little hearts in there. Thanks.

Oh gee! Mochi! by Papina

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:31:00 GMT

I hope I'm not offending the tradition of Japanese mochi by drizzling them with chocolate sauce. After I got this shot...they were delicious! My backdrop setup is a hilarious hodge-podge of cardboard, paper clips, a sweater drying rack. Whatever works, right?

Kittens, Kitten, Kittens by Papina

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:09:00 GMT

Remember my post about the animals? There are three kittens left to adopt, plus the mom (one year old and really sweet disposition). I'm not sure if I got all three in these--they sort of look alike to me! But you'd want to meet them anyway. Remember, if you want to adopt any and live in the Chicago area, write a comment with your contact info (will not be published) and I will send you the information. C'mon--how cute is this?

proud mom...

Musical Chickens and Glowing Scorpions by Papina

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:02:00 GMT

Not that there was ever any question that I am the weirdest member of my family, but I think my title is secured forever. I never thought I'd say these words: Today I taught a chicken to play the piano.

I am totally serious. I did my first day of volunteering at a place that trains animal actors for stage shows, movies, and school exhibitions. In addition to scooping the you-know-what, feeding and watering, and just general socializing with some of the resident thespians, I learned how to train new kittens to sit up on a stool and how to teach a chicken to plunk on a colorful toy keyboard. Okay, the chicken had already had some lessons and shows promise. She tried to bully me at first by plunking one note and then staring at me, waiting for the reward cup, but I encouraged her do at least three notes in a row. She's doing pretty well--look out, Elton John!

You cannot imagine what it is like to be in a large room with 12 trained cats, all wanting to be your best friend; the purring is deafening. One of them likes to jump on your back and wants to sit draped on your shoulders. Like all the cats here, he has claws. (Note to self: next time wear thicker t-shirt.) They are so well cared-for and loved. What a life!

There are different kinds of animals, from the house pet and barnyard variety to the strangely exotic. There is a Rat Room, with about two dozen residents. I love ratties as much as I love cats, so that room is what I hope heaven is like. (For me. For you, it may resemble the other place.) The Rat Room also has the tarantula, the glow-in-the-dark scorpion, and the hissing beetles. I will refrain from making any jokes in there. The last thing I need is to be heckled by insects.

The binturong is something I never expected. He's supposed to be some sort of bear-cat but there is little about him that looks like a bear to me except his claws. He quite hairy with a tail about as long as the rest of his body, but has such sweetness in his eyes. I can't wait to get to know him better. I never did see the kinkajou; he stayed napping under a nest of newspapers.

The kittens I helped train are shelter cats being fostered and trained for adoption. There are five funny, rambunctious, mostly gray tabbies. If you live in the northern Illinois area and are interested in adopting a healthy litter-trained kitty or two with great social skills, leave me your contact information in a comment. I won't publish the comment, but I'll give you more information on how you can see these guys and make them a loving part of your household.

I can't wait to go back--this time with my camera. Duh! Never leave home without it!

Kiss your friends...with the clone tool by Papina

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:41:00 GMT

When you take candid shots of your friends, if you see something undesirable in the image, then please, open up PhotoShop or PhotoShop Elements and spend a few minutes correcting.

We all know about Red Eye and how easy that is to fix, and almost every photo needs a little cropping, but if you take it a step further you can take an "okay" photo to good or even great. You don't need to be an expert retoucher. Just grab the clone tool and do a number on those pit stains!

I recently took photos of tango friends (let's call them Jack and Jill) right after they had finished dancing in the oppressive humidity of a Chicago summer evening. It was a nice photo of them once it was cropped, but could have been a little more flattering. (I will only show parts of the photographs to respect their privacy.)

In the first photo you can see Jill's glasses fell victim to my flash. A little clone tool took that right out. Could I have gone further and been more precise with these adjustments? Sure, but these are just snaps, not photos for publications. Every little bit helps.

Before & After

Poor Jack. He really looked like he needed an iced drink after this dance. But the Healing Brush and the Clone Tool helped make him look more refreshed. Why the Healing Brush? I didn't want to loose the texture of the shirt in the larger areas. The Clone Tool was used for some of the smaller spots.

Now here's were I got a little more involved. Jack has a ruddy complexion and gets even redder when he exerts--everybody who knows him knows that. I look out some of the sweat droplets on his face and neck that caused a pixel or two to reflect, and then loosely lasso'd the face as a selection to adjust the color. I just took the red down a bit. There was no sense giving him a different skin tone that he actually has or pretending he hadn't just danced by taking all the red out, but I didn't want him to look like he was about to have a coronary! And it's much too early in the year to be thinking of Santa Claus. This action brought the color to closer to skin on his neck.

So remember it's not just your stock photos for sale that need attention. Spend a few minutes cleaning up your ordinary snapshots so they look good. It's good practice for you, and your friends will love you for it. Here's a tip: after the next party, present the host/hostess with a CD of the best snaps as a thank you gift--you'll be invited back, for sure!

As Seen On This Blog! by Papina

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:29:00 GMT

I must share a good consumer item when I find one!

I love my latest purchase: The EZ Comb (or, as I like to call it, "The Pocket Hair Weasel"). They should really call it "combs" because you get two for--you guessed it--$9.99. I hate spending money on little pieces of junk that don't do what they are meant to, but these things are easy to put in and work very well without popping out your eyeballs. I look forward to taking photos outdoors without my hair flying in my mouth or in front of the lens.

I also bought an Aerobed. It's summer in Chicago, so for the next three months it will feel like there is a heavy-breathing Saint Bernard sitting on my chest, licking my face. The Aerobed will allow me to sleep downstairs on the flood-proof (see previous post) ceramic tile floor on those nights it is like a tropical crematorium upstairs. I tried it out last night and slept eight hours STRAIGHT. That has happened maybe three times in my life. Gotta love those 20% off coupons, too. And having an excuse to waste huge chunks of time enjoying the free air conditioning in Bed, Bath & Beyond staring up at the Wall of Kitchen Gadgets is always a plus. Long live BB&B and (some of) "as seen on TV."

Rain Check by Papina

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:12:00 GMT

This is the latest chapter in Papina's House of Perpetual Soppiness.

It was a dark and stormy night...Okay, it was really daytime. I was home during a wicked storm (see how being laid off can be a good thing?) and heard water running somewhere. I thought a window was open and I was hearing the rain splashing in the gutters, but no.

I followed the sound downstairs and was greeted with a huge puddle on the floor in front of the patio door. That sound of running water was coming from inside. Water was running in a steady drip from the top of the doorframe!

(Sigh)
That makes six unpleasant water "incidents" in the eight years I have lived here: a burst pipe, backed up sewer, neighbor's toilet overflowed, the Big Flood of '08, sink overflowed (oops, that was me), and now this one. Cursed! Cursed I say!

Wait a minute. I just realized I have four pictures in my place that have images of water in them. I may have unwittingly been asking the universe for this all along. So, I've been thinking...

What if I replace those pictures with...

and...

and, of course...

let's not forget...

So the next time the weather gets bad at my house...

It might be more fun to mop up.

How To Take Photographs in Public (and not get arrested) by Papina

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:46:00 GMT

Be very respectful and tread cautiously when taking photographs of people or property if you don't want to risk getting into a conflict. I almost got into hot water recently by forgetting some rules of conduct--and not realizing how even an amateur photographer with gear can appear to others.

I wandered around my town last weekend, looking to gain more experience using my camera, get some good texture shots to post on T3DS, and just find interesting things to practice with in Photoshop.

I know better than to take shots of recognizeable people (and especially children) without permission and a signed release. I took shots of trees, street signs, and then I found a house for sale by owner. I took shots of the For Sale sign on the lawn, the front of the house, and then (BIG MISTAKE) moved in closer to take a shot of the lockbox on the door. I thought the three shots put together in a montage would make a generic statement on the economy, mortgage crisis, that sort of thing. But I forgot that an image of property should be treated like that of a person.

The owner opened the door and wanted to know why I was taking photographs. I told him I was just an amateur, explained I wanted shots of a home for sale for a personal project, and asked it it was all right. I even said I intended to delete the phone number off the sign, in case that was his concern. He thought about it for a few seconds and then said no. "I don't want to be on the news, I just want to sell my house." I remained cheery and polite, but let him watch as I deleted the photos. And then I got the heck out of there. At least he didn't call the police.

I know, I should have rung the bell and asked permission first, and then asked him to sign a property release. Brazenly walking up onto his property and asking permission after the fact (that is, after I got caught) showed disrespect, and is probably illegal. I admit it, I was chagrined, and I won't do it again. I understand that he felt his privacy was invaded. But what I couldn't understand was why he was thought I could (or would) ever put his house...on the news.

Anyone driving by with a camera phone could take a picture of a For Sale sign, so that surely wasn't the issue. I had my Canon Rebel XSi with the okay-for-now-but-not-great 18-55 mm lens, a sunshield, and an inexpensive monopod. Even though I'm a 5-foot-tall, middle-aged woman, and not even close to looking like Geraldo Rivera, with that stuff attached to the camera and walking up to the door to take photographs, I surely appeared like a rag-tag member of the paparazzi. Maybe it was the Princeton t-shirt?

Okay, I learned from that and didn't get arrested. Close call--no harm, no foul.

The next day I went to a boarding stable in town, and based on the previous experience (and not wearing the Princeton t-shirt), sought out the owner, introduced myself, explained my purpose for being there, and asked permission to take some shots in the barn and around the pasture. She was very sweet and agreed, and I took pictures of the tack, sunlight streaming in, a close-up of a woman brushing her horse's butt, with her permission, of course.

I got a grand idea and gave the stable owner some cards and proposed I could be available to take photos of horses with their owners--practice for me, free photos for them. She said yes, but added: "...as long as they're not going to be in the National Enquirer or anything."

You've got to be kidding me. Here we go again. I said, smiling, "Not unless the horse is with Brad Pitt or Madonna adopting another baby." She laughed and accepted my cards.

These incidents got me thinking about how it has become more difficult to find (live) subjects to photograph, especially now that I have a decent DSLR. People who see me out taking shots of inanimate objects sometimes approach and ask if I am a photographer, meaning professional photographer. I don't think my gear looks professional at all, but I guess it does to those who only take snaps at family gatherings and wouldn't consider a higher-end consumer camera.

But what's with all the paranoia? If people are concerned about ending up on YouTube or the news , or having their family photo used as an ad for a Czech grocery store, when they see anyone point a camera at them or their "stuff", they're going to freak. The bigger the lens, the more attention that gets called to the photographer trying to work. Maybe because I'm small, I make the camera look bigger.

Our job is to make subjects feel at ease, not feel like their privacy is being invaded. (Where are all the people who used to like getting their picture taken? I miss them.)

So what can we do to get some good property shots, and not get shot at? No, it isn't hide in the bushes! Be nice. Ask permission first. Have model/property releases ready to be signed. Offer to provide a print of the subject (remember what's foremost in people's minds: what's in it for me). Keep a sense of humor. Be prepared that some people will say no. Say thank you. Move on to the next subject.

It might take more attempts, but you will get your shot eventually. And then you won't end up on the news!

Tutorial: Make Your Own Customized Camera Bag by Papina

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:06:00 GMT

...and put the money you saved toward your next new lens! I will show you how you can easily and inexpensively adapt a decent travel bag (or six-pack cooler!) into a lightweight, customized camera bag. It won't be sturdy enough to check on a plane, but will provide moderate protection for storage or a casual shoot where you don't want a lot of weight.

While looking for a suitable camera bag for my new DSLR, I have been using a zippered, soft-sided insulated tote because it was all I had on hand. It's 12" wide x 9" deep x 12" high, and although padded somewhat, I didn't think it was enough to protect the camera. Then I priced new soft-sided camera bags, and suddenly that tote was starting to look like it had possibilities.

To adapt a bag, you will need to do a little sewing, or perhaps use a bonding liquid (from a fabric or craft store). I had almost everything I needed on hand already. I purchased a package of four foam rubber seat cushions (16"x16"x1") from Walmart for $7.95. The tote bag I started with also has a Velco-close pocket in front, perfect for storing a filter box, pen, lens cloth, etc. The main part of the bag has a zipper that goes around three sides.

The first step is to cut pieces of foam to fit the bottom, sides, and top of the tote. You can also cut piece(s) to divide the main area to separate the camera body from additional lenses. Don't worry about being too precise--no one is going to see the foam because it will be covered, but a little bigger is better than smaller--the foam can be molded around your equipment.

The foam is soft and dense, but there are some fine crumbles that come from having cut it, and the rubber naturally attracts hair. The foam pieces need to be wrapped in fabric. (I already had some strong, lightweight nylon from the fabric store remnant bin.)

Fold the fabric over each piece of foam, surrounding it like a book cover on a book, with a generous amount of overhang on the three edges.

Pin around the foam and trim the fabric, leaving about 1-1/4" on the three raw edges. Remove the foam and sew one of the short edges and the long edge together, making a bag. Turn the bag inside out, insert the foam piece, and sew up the remaining short edge.

Insert the various completed pieces in the camera bag; they will hold each other in place, or use a few stitches to hold them together. I used Velco to anchor the divider piece to the bottom piece. Be sure to tack the back edge of the top piece to the top edge of the back piece with a few stitches so that it hinges but won't fall out of the bag.

The foam pieces are not attached to tote bag itself, so if I want to use the padding in a different bag, I can just lift the entire thing out. I used the space between the foam pieces and the side of the bag to store those all-important model releases!

This took me about two hours to make, which includes trying to remember how to thread my sewing machine.

Pebbles by Papina

Fri, 29 May 2009 17:50:00 GMT

Worked like a dog on this yesterday. I took the photo (river rocks that I have surrounding candles in the bathroom!), and tried to make it a seamless texture. It kinda/sorta worked. Which I guess really means, no, it didn't work! I touched up the seams okay, I think, but I didn't think it tiled all that well. I tried it x5 and x25 and it looked like cheesy carpeting in an office complex.

Maybe this was biting off more than I could chew to make something out of this shot.

And speaking of chewing (because, you know, food is my life), I've seen candy-coated chocolates that look exactly like this. It takes some guts to actually put them in your mouth and chomp down, but they were pretty good. But I digress...

I could really use some feedback about how you think I did with the photo retouching, and any tips on seamless tiling. I think it's that black "rotten raisin" stone in the upper left that was giving me the most grief and stuck out. I tried to make a bump map from a tutorial I found online, but I must have goofed somewhere, because it didn't do a thing. Thanks for any words of wisdom you can give.

Cut-out Fun by Papina

Wed, 27 May 2009 02:21:00 GMT

Original photo taken at a hotel, but as you can see, I cut off the top. Time to edit!

I suppose I could have left the "laurel and hearty" circle (nod to Mr. Mel Brooks), but decided to lasso the inner circle instead. Hahahahahaha. Needed lots of touch-up along the edge, but that seems to be something I do okay. Good practice.

This cut-out texture is now available for purchase. I don't know what's going on with her nose, but I like it. Maybe throngs of people have rubbed it for luck, like the schnoz on the Lincoln statue in Springfield or St. Paul's feet in the Basilica in Rome. I don't know what kind of extra luck you'd need in the Palmer House. It seems to me if you're staying there, you're already doing something right.

Jumping from 3D/photography/textures to perfect my skill with them all at the same time makes my brain hurt. On the plus side, since the studio where I worked closed last week, I will have more consecutive hours to immerse myself in my right brain. How's that for a positive spin?

(Are you a right-brainer or a left-brainer? Try this cool test:

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22556281-661,00.html)

I would also like to get a part-time gig as an assistant to a photo stylist so that I can learn that business, too. Since cooking and baking is my other main interest, working with a food stylist would be ideal. How can you go wrong--photography and (yeah, I know, inedible) food? If I could only figure out how to squeeze tango in that scenario, life might just be perfect. (ATTENTION CHICAGOLAND PHOTOGRAPHERS! If you have an assistant stylist position open, please contact me!)

Three Blind Mice? Troubleshooting a problem with C4D by Papina

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:40:00 GMT

I had to pull the plug (temporarily) on my new Intuit graphics tablet this weekend. I think all the mice running around my computer did not play well together.

I noticed the problem when I opened up C4D but was not able to get a drop-down box to stay put long enough to choose anything, nor could I get any objects to appear. I thought the program was corrupted (being the kind of person who thinks the worst and tends to panic easily), so I uninstalled (deinstalled?) and reinstalled the program several times with no success. Finally, I got a cube object to stick, but as soon as I went to do anything with it, it FLEW off the screen to...who knows where? (I still have no idea where it went. There is probably a 3D cube out in cyberspace crashed into the side of a space station model.) I did a Control+Z to get it back and tried to resize it...Yikes, it went huge! What the..?

It finally dawned on me what had changed since I last opened C4D was the addition of the new grahics tablet. The unpredictability of what was happening seemed to suggest "mouse trouble." I believe with my regular mouse, the wireless Intuit mouse, and the stylus, there were just too many mice competing for dominance. So I unplugged the tablet from the PC, closed it all down, and the next morning opened up C4D and all was well. It seems to have been a Lucky Guess from someone who doesn't know any better. (If I am wrong about this, please tell me!)

Apparently my PC is not powerful enough for the heavy programs of C4D, PhotoShop, Illustrator, a trial version of Autodesk SketchPro (love that) and the peripherals, so I will plug in the graphics tablet only when I need it. Oh well. Someday I'll get a more powerful system...when those lottery numbers come in.

I'll gladly take suggestions on what I need to do to make this all work. I am using Windows XP currently. (Quit rolling your eyes, Mac people.)

Thanks,

Papina

Our Daily Bread by Papina

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:19:00 GMT

I am new to 3D modeling, so I have no products on the site yet, but I do have some photographs in the Stock Photography section that I hope you will check out. Now that the Big Freeze is pretty much over in Chicago, I hope to get out and put some mileage on my new camera.

About me:

Then--actor (SAG), stuntwoman, improv comic, voiceover artist, illustrator...and anything else I could get that wasn't a real job.

Now--recording studio director (not music--audio textbooks) and reader, graphic artist (back in training), Argentine tango dancer, amateur cook/baker. (Ya gotta eat, right?)

My photographs and 3D models will probably reflect some of these interests. I'll post entries about my progress in both these areas.

This T3DS product recently sold. This isn't "food stylist" food, but real, edible food. And yes, it tasted as good as it looks here!

http://www.the3dstudio.com/product_details.aspx?id_product=50711

My other blog is at www.kivembuba.blogspot.com. Essays and rantings, mostly!

Cheers!

Papina

P.S. With my dance and stunt background, consider me for your Chicago area motion capture project! I'm 5'0", 100 lbs. I'm still SAG.