Recently I’ve been searching for a new apartment. Partly this is because I like a change of habitat every year or so, but with rising gas prices, I’m also looking to move closer to work.

The other day, I checked out a place that is literally only 10 minutes away. It is a really nice place, in a good neighborhood, and it has relatively cheap rent. Being 10 minutes away from DDA would dramatically increase my free-time during the week - I’d save 2 hours of commute every day. On the other hand, I’d have a roommate again, something that I wasn’t too fond of in the past.

The roommate is nice enough. She is a 49-year old woman with a dog and not too much else. She doesn’t have Internet or a computer, but doesn’t mind if I bring mine so I can work on my personal portfolio of 3d animation, 2d animation, and web interactive projects, or play my video games. The apartment does seem a little small though for the two of us - while I would have my own bedroom, I don’t know how I would feel about sharing such a small living area at this point.

Sometimes we need to accept conditions we wouldn’t necessarily like, just to get by financially. It may only be a temporary thing. I am looking at other places too - there’s a place I’m checking out today that seems promising. Wherever I move, I’ll still be here at DDA doing the best video production, animation, and web design in the Philadelphia area!

I picked up a new game yesterday for my Nintendo DS. It’s called “The World Ends with You.” I was initially turned on to this game by the rave reviews of the game play by the enthusiastic press. After having played the game for myself, however, I have to say that it is the design aesthetic that really hooked me.

The look is very reminiscent of Japanese anime cartoons, however, it has an edgy quality to it that I can’t quite describe. It is simultaneously stylish and gritty, like the well-thought out graffiti murals that are intentionally done on the walls of inner city parks.

I love the style of this game, and it is games like this that inspire me with my work in 2D animation. At DDA I have an incredible opportunity to work with the uniquely talented artists who excel at fusing their own creative flair with a professional style. Whether it is Carrie expertly designing a professional corporate website, Judy hand crafting an eye-catching trade show brochure, or Melissa going wild on one of her amazingly inventive and unique character designs for animation, DDA’s artists are second to none. While our inspirations and influences come from a vast number of sources, the creative talent at work here at DDA is always a joy to watch in action!

This morning on the way to work, I was listening to the SETI Institute podcast. They were discussing the search for extra-terrestrial life, and what we would want to send them if we ever found life out there listening to us.

The scientist they were interviewing made the interesting observation that it is more than likely that they have been listening to us for at least the past 50 years, throughout the age of television. His opinion was that this “cacophony of humanity” was far more accurate a representation of life on Earth, especially modern life, than some Shakespearian manuscript or clip of Mozart’s music.

In the Information Age, we on this planet have become a media-centric society. We use television, the internet, and radio to gather information from around the world, almost instantaneously. Working at DDA, I have the privilege of being on the cutting edge of the newest and most innovative media and animation technologies. It’s exciting to think that what we accomplish in 3d and 2d animation, video editing, and web design may be among the things being broadcast into space to possibly be viewed by intelligent life!

We are more connected to the rest of the planet than we ever have been before. With such a small world, it is only a matter of time, I believe, before outer space begins to get smaller as well!

One of the things I find most fascinating about  3d animation in modern video games is that it has to be dynamic. Until recently, animators could get away with creating a set of 5 or 10 canned animations for each situation that may occur with a character (and in rarer situations, they might use only 1 or 2!) Eventually, with the introduction of Havok physics and its ragdoll technique, a lot of possibilities opened for many game animations to be created not by animators, but calculated by the CPU. Dynamic 3D physics engines have been blowing up the 3D and video game scene these past few years, and huge advances are being made everyday.

Take Euphoria, NaturalMotion’s new proprietary physics engine that handles character physics and environmental interactions in a way never before seen in 3D animation. Currently, you can find the Euphoria engine in Rockstar’s new Grand Theft Auto IV, as well as LucasArts’ upcoming Star Wars and Indiana Jones titles. Watch some of the videos and see for yourself what makes this engine so incredibly awesome.

Euphoria takes character physics to a whole new level by integrating self-preservation AI, advanced hit detection and interaction, and adding a sense of the environment to the character. This makes the model truly come to life, interacting with everything around it in a dynamic and realistic way that changes every time it is simulated. Euphoria truly is the next step in dynamic character animation, and I am excited for the day when common users like me can finally get their hands on it!

I spend a lot of my free time playing video games. Like, a real lot. Games have been my passion since my Dad brought home my first system, the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Games have been my motivation and inspiration for becoming an animator - by learning 3D programs and basic scripting languages, I am building myself the necessary tool-set to go into independent game development on my own.

At Dynamic Digital Advertising,  I have been given numerous opportunities to work on web interactives that have tested my game design and programming skills. Between creating simple platforming games, point-and-click interactions, and even basic 3d to Flash integration, I am quickly building a portfolio of skills that I can apply to my own personal work. And the best part? I get paid for it too!

Games can greatly increase or intrigue your company’s customer base. You can have educational games, training tools that help explain something your company does or train employees. You can also have games for entertainment, that keep customers coming back to your site again and again to complete the next addictive puzzle. There are even social interaction games, that allow customers to interact with each other and your business, forming a close community that can be an asset for any small or large company.

Let DDA work on your website’s next big idea for a game or interactive.  With our diverse skill set and creative and efficient talent, we can make games that entertain, educate, and excite!

At Dynamic Digital Advertising, Flash is a big part of our website design philosophy.

When I first started working at DDA, I knew I was going to have to take on responsibilities that were not covered in my training at school.  I never thought, however, that I would ever be tackling web design at all. In this web 2.0 world, Flash website design and coding skills are a must for any business trying to compete in the Internet marketing space. That’s why when I was asked to do Flash sites, I was more than happy to learn.

Now I’ve helped put together over a half-dozen flash pieces for the web. That’s not bad for  someone who had no web experience coming into the job. If it wasn’t for DDA, I probably wouldn’t even know my AS 3 from my ActionScript 2!

We take pride in our ability to create dynamic web 2.0 applications for your company or small business. Let me and the rest of the DDA video department put together your next Flash site, and rest assured that you will have a professional, innovative website that stands tall in the crowded 21st century web marketplace.

Last week I talked about some of the updates coming to the animation and IK controls in Lightwave V 9.5. I also hinted at the great new hair and fur plugins, which I will discuss in this post.

The plugin they are adding is based on Fiber Factory IV. FFIV’s creator, Jon Tindall, was hired by Newtek to implement the new plugin. They renamed it Fiber FX, and added a ton of new functionality. For those used to Fiber Factory, the original plugin, in its entirety, is included for free!

In Fiber FX (FFX,) multi-threaded volumetric processing is used to enhance render calculations. Also, you can now use the node editor to modify the look of the fibers.

All told, as a free addition to Lightwave 9, version 9.5 is, to me, one of the most exciting additions to any 3d program to date. Here’s hoping that v10’s additions will continue the free add-on trend!

At Dynamic Digital Advertising, it is important that we stay on top of the latest software that will help us achieve outstanding results in visual effects, video production, and 3d animation.

I was reading an interview today with Newtek’s Jay Roth about the upcoming Lightwave version 9.5. In it, he goes over some very interesting new features being implemented into Lightwave with this release.  Best of all? They’re free!

Firstly, they are adding a new animation system to Lightwave. Lightwave has always been known for its simple to use, but somewhat limited, animation and rigging tools. They work, but the user just doesn’t have the kind of control that can be found in programs like Maya or 3ds Max. However, to do it in Maya or Max one usually has to do a ton of extra scripting, and if you’re an animator like me and know next to nothing about software programming, this can be very difficult.

Lightwave 9.5 will have new tools for controlling parts of a rig that are usually very difficult to access. For instance, it has an up vector now, allowing better control of joints like knees and elbows. It also has a control for “Soft IK,” which slows down movement of a bone when it approaches its IK limits. This will help the animator eliminate bone pop, which is always a major source of frustration when working in character animation. Finally, a joint bone creation system will allow the creation of “stretchy bones,” helping animators make cartoony characters or strange alien life forms with extending limbs.

Stay tuned to my blog for more updates on features coming in Lightwave version 9.5. Next up - the new hair and fur plugin, Fiber FX!

Something’s going around here at the office. First Laura gets sick, then Jake, then Vinnie and I. We’re dropping like flies here!

Yesterday, I had to call out sick so as not to transmit my deadly cold to anyone else. It’s always a bummer when you have to call out from work. Not only do you miss out on a day’s pay, but you really fall behind on projects you were working on.

At Dynamic Digital Advertising, we are always receiving new animation, 3D modeling,  programming, and interactive jobs. We need to be on top of our work every day to keep on schedule, within budget and on track. I think everyone working at DDA does a fantastic job of that, too. But when you’re sick, it can really take the wind out of your sails.

I’m better now, or at very least (I believe) past the point of contagion. Thankfully, I was ahead of schedule on most of my projects so I don’t have too much catching up to do. With that said, I better get back to it!

Rendering high resolution images out of a 3D program such as Lightwave or 3D Studio Max can be a trial in patience.

Once you are sure all of the images are set up correctly, you have to click render and wait hours before you see a result. While there are previews you can enable which show you the rendered images as they process, on a single processor this is hardly ideal. This is because the processing power it takes to show the image detracts from the power available to render it. So, while it is good to preview your images, your best bet is to do a preliminary render at a low resolution, and then re-render the exact same thing at a higher resolution when ready.

The hardest part while rendering is waiting. In most 3D programs (and especially in Lightwave) you can do nothing else within the program while a render is processing. While you can use other programs to accomplish work, depending on your CPU speed you may experience a lot of slowdown. This will lead to increased render time and, occasionally (and worst of all), a system crash may occur. A mid-render crash is the absolute nightmare of a 3D animator since all the progress made on that rendered image is lost. If you’re doing an animation, unless you are saving frame-by-frame image sequences (as we at DDA always do), you’ll lose all progress in the animation, too.

While it is a taxing venture, rendering high-quality 3D images is something we take pride in here at Dynamic Digital Advertising. We work hard to provide clients with the best 3D images possible, to be used in animation, print advertising, television, or on the web. Whatever it is you need, let DDA render it!