Apple Kit and iPad art

Apple have released a slew of nifty new hardware of late (pics via the Apple site) - look at all this lovely design sense.

iMac

Yes, it doesnt seem that long since the last refresh, but the iMac now has more grunt inside the classy case. The 27" version can now sport an ATI5750 which is very nice for this form factor.

Magic Trackpad

To accompany the iMac we now have a special pad like all the laptops allowing us to use all the gestures we are now used to on a desktop. This seems like an obvious evolution really - perhaps it should be part of a WACOM tablet so we can get both sets of functionality.

iPhone 4

Plenty of hype around the new version of the ubiquitous stunner that is the iPhone. A pretty good set of feature enhancements for us, though I actually feel the squarer look makes it look more like an ordinary phone.
Coming with the new phone was iOS 4 which also gives us new software enhancements and we can use it on our older phones. It did take an afternoon to backup, install and sync through the upgrade of my current iPhone 3G. I already have folders in place which is nice.

iPad
While not so new anymore, they are starting to be seen in numbers - I am still contemplating one for sketching and comics (plus it would be fun for gaming).

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By way of an example of the artwork being done on the iPad, here are some pieces by Shaun Mullen using the Layers and SketchbookPro apps and a Pogo stylus - more.


[Images by Shaun Mullen via Flickr]

Tiago Artwork

I always enjoy finding and exploring the work of artists on CGPortfolio. Tiago Hoisel has a gallery of digital painting work that draws together caricatures and a host of light hearted cartoony characters including animals.

Here are a few examples of Tiago's art - I really like this kind of work, I should spend more time working in this style. I would love to get this sort of quality and recognisability.



[Tiago Hoisel artwork via his CGPortfolio gallery]

Starcraft2 Cinematic Wonders and Lego

Blizzard are masters of the cinematic trailer. Not only are their games of the highest quality, the trailers that inspire us all to dive into those worlds are magnificent. Case in point - the promo trailers for the long awaited Starcraft sequel.



and this too:


These videos show off a class in storytelling over the wonderful audiovisual pieces. I like the characters they have built into this world, considering when we are playing there are no characters - just sacrificable transformed resources. These characters add personality and for me a desire to play the Terrans, even though once in the RTS environment I will no doubt be all Zergie.

See the Blizzard site for other trailers to inspire!

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Perhaps just as inspirational is this clever little piece of Lego Starcraft work:

Blogging and Scott Pilgrim

Well it has been a long gap in the stream of blogginess that lives here in Oinkfrogland - so it is time to remedy that with a slew of things that warrant some attention and then to get back into creating works - likely around the Cartographer world.

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To get things going everyone should enjoy themselves with the trailer for Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Lotsa fun and a quite unique blending of comics and gaming with a light hearted real world. I think the film is brave, even though it is very mainstream and I think (from the trailers) may invite a whole style of movie that integrates effects and graphics in this way...



Plus check out the youtube channel with the remixes as well.

Cinematics using CryEngine3

'The Wall' trailer for Crysis 2 is a rather special piece of work as it is created within the game engine itself and holds up to full CG rendered animations. Here is a vid of the creation and then the whole thing again. The process they go through is very much like a film piece, the same elements and concerns.

The Making of The Wall on Maverick.





Plus check the E3 2010 Vids.

EPOC Headset

I am really looking forward to trying a neural sensing headset like this baby from emotiv - enter the EPOC Headset. I am intrigued how it will really function, what I would need to do/think about in order to use it effectively. I am wondering if it will be like voice recognition and need some training, perhaps it is just my brain that will need the training.
Regardless - it has got to be fun and interfacing it looks like a dream with the unit driving key inputs.


[Emotiv EPOC Headset via their site]

1st year design students in CryEngine

[Ricky Fan design image via his course blog]

The Architecture Program here at UNSW Built Environment in first year design has students creating schemes which are then modelled in SketchUp and brought into the CryEngine. Here are a few examples of their work (student blogs):
Ivan Hruszecky
Yuking Yao
Matt O'Brien
Ricky Fan
Nicholas Zappia



I love seeing these young enthusiastic designers taking so fluidly to these technologies and pushing them even where they form only a minor part of a course.

RSAnimate

The folk at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) have some amazing animations that accompany some fascinating talks. It shows the value that some talented artistry can bring to a topic, which is already interesting enough - but now is truly mesmerising.








This is an inspired merging of science, thought and art.

Dragon Crash

[Dragon Crash image by Viktor Titov via his CGPortfolio]

I loved this image by Viktor Titov of his crashing Dragon - inspired a little tribute post here. Wandering around in CGPortfolio is always always inspirational in lotsa ways. I love the comical feel he brings out while keeping the lines swishy and imprecise. Here are a couple more images from his gallery to lure you in.

[Gallery images by Viktor Titov via his CGPortfolio]

iPhone 4 arriveth

Well, it is pretty hard to escape the hype and activity on the blogotwitterosphere when Apple do things. Well hot on the heels of the iPad comes their new version of the truly awesome device that is the iPhone - enter iPhone 4. The news headlines now on TV are all about "the big glitch" though.
The 3GS iPhone is wonderful, and I dont doubt this one will be even better armed with the nicer screen, cameras and the OS upgrade. My 3G iPhone is now another generation behind, but is still a lovely piece of tech.


[iPhone 4 promo images via the Apple site]

Pinger Peek

The Crysis team gearing up for E3 have released this trailer giving us a teaser trailer of 'The Pinger'. The visuals are the usual quality, but the audio here is what caught my attention, shows off the production values in play here:

Holiday Cameras go Lumix

Well, buying a digital camera can wind up being a log and winding narrative. Though we had some initial thoughts on the camera pair for our holiday, the internet is the bearer of a vast wealth of reviews, comparisons, opinions in text, image and video. So after some solid work on the net our thoughts waxed and waned from model to model, expanding the range of choices in a pair of categories until the field narrowed and a pair of victors emerged.

In the super-zoom category the Panasonic Lumix FZ35 won out for us over the Pentax x90 and the Canon SX20IS with others further behind. In the smaller form factor zoom with GPS units we are going with the Panasonic Lumix TZ10 which stepped ahead of the Sony HX5V. In both cases Panasonic have got their Image Quality (IQ) to a point where even stacked up against a feature here and there, in the end it is all about taking the best pictures and video. The decision here is far from decisive though, each and every camera has its strengths and weaknesses, in the end this pair of Leica lenses is what we will walk away with and be very happy.

I will post some post-purchase info in a few days!


[Panasonic camera images combined from pics via dcresource.com reviews]

Big Zoooomers

While looking at the mighty Sony HX5V as the more portable super-camera, there is the obvious diversion into the world of big zoom cameras (20-24x) that fall between the point'n'shoot digicams and the full DSLRs. I have to admit I havent delved deeply into this area, but here are a few of the cameras making themselves known in this sub-category.
Clearly these cams fall between the 'pocket' variety and the full body cameras in size. Thus they can sport bigger lenses capable of grabbing more light and they need quality image stabilisers or that massive zoom is no use at all. Here are 3 models that show the type of thing in this class: Pentax Optio X70, Nikon Coolpix P90 and the Canon Powershot SX20 IS.


[Images of big-zoom mid-range digicams via Steve's Digicams]

Irawan Images

[Heri Irawan imagery via CGPortfolio]

I enjoy spotting nifty portfolios on CGPortfolio and the work of Heri Irawan has been sitting in a tab on my browser for a while now just begging to make an appearance on this here blog. I like the delightful clarity of the images, plus we get beautiful girls, strange creatures and imaginative combinations.



[Heri Irawan imagery via CGPortfolio]

GPS Camera

With the rise of geotagging photos through Flickr and Picasa, it seems obvious that now I am looking at a new digicam that grabbing one with GPS would be an obvious step. With a European holiday in the mix, lining up the images with the locations in time would be a super improvement.
As it turns out, digital cameras armed with GPS just arent that common at all, indeed they are still completely special. I am not looking for a large DSLR camera, but a more compact shooter with video, decent zoom and as many features as a quality manufacturer can shove in there, including the GPS.



Interestingly the menu for this type of gadgetry seems to point wholly to the Sony HX5V. This little beauty not only brings the GPS/compass along, but looks like a lovely package of quality and technology that I can fit in a decent sized pocket. The more I look, the more I love the idea of this camera - drool.


[Sony HX5V promo pic via the AU Sony site]

Linkland:
Sony AU site
Sony Style showcase
Imaging-Resource review
Camera Labs review

===== EDIT =====

I should have found and noted the Panasonic DMC-TZ10 which also has GPS going. I still like the Sony one, but the TZ10 looks great anyhow. Links: dpreview and cameralabs.

Aurora Images

[Aurora images via the Abduzeebo post - all via Flickr]

These images arent digital, despite their similarity to Outland. Yes, our remarkable little world can show us things far beyond the normal blue sky with wispy clouds. The image set compiled on Abduzeedo shows a wonderful array of colours and forms. If we put this into a 3D environment, would people accept it or just think it was all fake?

Images are via Flickr actually: 1 2 3 4.


[Aurora images via the Abduzeebo post - all via Flickr]

9 dvd

Growing from Adam Acker's short film of the same name, 9 is a lovingly created world where humanity is gone and the wasteland rules. The characters are full of charm, each bringing enough quirkiness to their personalities to make the set fun to follow. The visuals are where the film stands out though and it does have that Burtonesque feel.



The various mechanical monsters are also very cool, quite creepy. I like the poster set for each of the characters, see below copies from the WeAreMovieGeeks post which also sports some concept art as well.





[9 posters via the wearemoviegeeks site]

Steampunk Imagery

After just watching 9 I was inspired to show a few images from a collection of Steampunk Wallpapers on HowToGeek. The images show off how cool the genre can be at various scales, with vast airships soaring over the countryside, rivets holding walking cities together and black smoke belching from infernal engines.



[steampunk wallpapers via HowtoGeek]

Mari - texture projection painting system cometh

There is a nice article on CGSociety covering the wizardry of a software toolset called Mari. A small army of texture artists on Avatar used this power to create the characters and landscape elements we all enjoyed on Pandora. Now it looks like The Foundry will bring it to market from Weta Digital...

Here are some of the youtube tech demos of Mari in action. While still in alpha - it is clearly already very capable...

CryEngine Mods and a Delorean

As I have been powering along with my Unity creation for Cartographer, I like coming across people doing cool things with other 3D engines, esp the CryEngine.

Here is a clever little mod bringing the time travelling coolness of a Delorean to the CryEngine world. This Back to the Future mod has some very nicely realised pieces:



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There are a few vids for The Other Side which uses the engine to create a 3D side-scrolling jumper-shooter game. This demo shows off the logic and has plenty of polish - I like the way the map zips around as the direction of movement changes.
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