A Blender Quickstart is my first Udemy course (my 8th Blender course). It is available for free. This course is a quick tour of many Blender features, it is in real-time (only about 1.5 hours). It is not long on explanation, but it will give you an introduction to:

• Modeling
• UV unwrapping
• Texturing
• Rigging
• Animating
• Rendering

All done in the form of a project. From scratch you'll build and animate a pencil. I hope you enjoy it.

CBUG Meetup

Join us:

Colorado Blender User Group meetup.
Oct 30th, 6:30-8pm.
Fika Coffeehouse in Parker.

https://www.facebook.com/events/590684804312404/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming&source=1

Four Rules for Recruiters

I have four rules for recruiters, usually (but not always) I delete a recruiter email immediately if they violate any one.

1. Address me by name (many recruiters do not bother such a simple courtesy).
2. Talk to me about the position (many recruiters say in their first contact "do you or someone you know..")
3. The position offered is actually inline with my current skill-set.
4. Recruiter is respectful in each contact.

Simple, aren't they? You'd be surprised at how few can meet this criteria. 

JSFL Rocks

I've always loved being able to automate repetitive tasks. Whether using AppleScript with Quark or Lingo with Director in the 1990s, to shell scripting Solaris and OSX, Illustrator with JavaScript, or Python with Blender.

For some reason, I've neglected JSFL with Flash (JavaScript automation for Flash Professional). It's been in the software since 2004. Recently I started looking into it, given the amount of documentation on the subject I think I know why I waited, but now I wish I didn't. The thrill of being able to type a few lines of code to save you time and drudgery is addictive when it hits.

I just had a small but practical real world use of my newfound JSFL skills on a FLA I am building. I'd created 9 symbols and set there base class to flash.display.Sprite as I made each one. After the fact, I decided that the 9 symbols that I'd made sprites should really be flash.display.MovieClip. In less time than it'd take to open up each one's property dialog and reassign its base class, I was able to type run the following in my script:

function changeBase(){
for each( var i in fl.getDocumentDOM().library.items){
i.linkageBaseClass = "flash.display.MovieClip";
}
}
changeBase();

If you've never tried JSFL before, here are some simple steps to get started.

1. Create a text document with the JSFL extension.
2. Add your code.
3. From Flash, select Commands -> Run Command...
4. Find your JSFL file (from step 1)

Start simple with a file like this, hello.jsfl:

alert("Hello, world!");

Then wrap it in a function:

function hello(){

alert("Hello, world!");

}

hello();

The code outside the function is what actually executes. This makes it easy to add additional functions and test. Eventually, you can create a gui for your code in Flash and create your own tools that appear under Window -> Other Panels, but that's a post for another day. In the meantime, here is some more info from Adobe's site as well as a PDF reference.

iPad Art

I finally have my own iPad and I broke it in with a first for me, a sketch entirely created on an iPad. The sketch features the star of four of my Blender training courses.

I did the initial line work in Adobe Ideas, then brought it into ArtRage for some painting, finally I imported that into Photoshop Express to do some adjustments. Drawing and painting with your finger takes some getting used to, but it can be fun.

Astra Itinera on Facebook

I have a Facebook page for my game Astra Itinera. Check it out for the latest news and tips. Note: You do not have to be a member of Facebook to browse the page.

Astra Itinera

My first iPad game, Astra Itinera, is now available on iTunes! Astra Itinera is a turn-based strategy game. Check out the Facebook page.

Astra Itinera grew out of my AS3 Strategy Games tutorial series. If you'd like to learn how to create random terrains, use connected component labeling, A* (a-star) pathfinding, state machines and more, check out the tutorial

Recommended by MacMost.com: "The interface is simple, but the game play is deep."

Mentioned in the CartoonSmart.com blog.