Blender nearly broke me... again

The 3d modelling assignment of creating 2 rooms in a 1930s Birmingham flat I approached with pleasure.  Enthusiastically I researched furniture and fabric patterns of the period.  Merrily I printed out pictures of the type of stuff I was going to create, and happily I annotated what I liked and the importance of detail for authenticity.

When it came to actually modelling the items, however, I was as lost as I always had been.  By the end of an entire day's lesson, I had achieved only 3 walls and a floor and a squashed box for a fireplace.  Blender, I had forgotten, is a nightmare.  I left the class miserably, promising tutor Chris that I'd download the hateful program onto my laptop and go back to the first 3D guide: creating a wind turbine.

This I dutifully did and spent 2 days attempting to follow the guide with over 20 attempts, but without a tutor or fellow students there to help me I didn't get past the second page.  Eventually, the night before the next lesson, having googled "blender for idiots" and "very simple blender guides" and not even achieved a 3D heart - I was ready to call blender a day and admit defeat.  Whatever part of my brain required to 'get' blender was obviously missing...  I was a failure...

The next day I sat down in the lesson and tried again to create an armchair out of a box, and miraculously, sort of succeeded!  Inspired by this I carried on - I managed to model my fireplace to look like my 1930s one!  Before I knew it I was making the standard lamp and an art deco table!  Incredibly, something must have gone in from all those failed blender guides.

I am well behind everyone else in my class, but this process has been a torturous one and to have created what I have (I know it's not very realistic or impressive really) gives me the biggest sense of pride I've had so far this term!

That's all Folks!

Ah well, another term over.  All four module projects have been handed in this week which has brought some highs but also some pretty low points.

Monday - the radio show.  This went really well I think, mainly because I'd had the chance to practice the whole thing on Friday, so tweaked my script over the weekend and was more relaxed when I finally did it on Monday.  Would have liked the chance to hear it, but it was a relief to get it done.  Spent my hour's train journey home writing the report to go with it.

Tuesday, as I've already blogged was the completion of Website design.  Did my best, bit crap with the technology and the apple software, but still feeling quite good.

Wednesday was the completion of the Digital Graphic Design module - not so great.  Have really enjoyed this project - redesigning an old building and turning it into a cafe bar, and designing a graphics package to go with it.  Had done lots of research and lots of sketches, but nothing on photoshop because my 30 day trial had expired (gutted!)

The actual graphics package I handed in was not great.  As usual my computer skills let me down rather and I spent an awful lot of time not producing what I'd planned.  I felt like my final package lacked class and style and was incomplete.

I felt rather down by the time I left class on Wednesday, and more than a little exhausted, having spent 2 days not getting home till nearly 8pm, and knowing that the next day was the one I had been least looking forward to all along... the dreaded Blender completion day.

Blender

I could go on about how much time I have spent on train journeys with my laptop, sitting up in bed with my laptop, boring my children and anyone else who has come near me for the last few weeks about the horrors of Blender, but I think I've already covered that in previous blogs.

In the end the 1930s flat, although only one room was furnished, had a few elements which I felt a bit proud of.  It was a battle and I really don't feel, even now, that I have come anywhere near mastering the unbelievably confusing and complicated program that it is, but am so relieved to have achieved what I did and to have handed it in.

So... That's All Folks! (for this term anyway)

Long awaited TV Station website...

Phew!  And finally, after an incredibly long day of intense brain pain I am thrilled to present my TV website.  Not perfect by any means and I've spotted all sorts of mistakes, but but it works.



http://db.tt/bFoOQwMA

Web Design

Well, I can report that my website for the new TV station - is starting to look like a website!  The links all work to each of the 5 pages, and the Home page is looking pretty good.

The 'Facilities' page keeps the theme going from the Home page, but I'm awaiting confirmation of what the actual equipment is from Chris Headleand.  I was unuable to find a convincing photo of a studio film camera for this page, so instead used a cartoon image from google images, but it looks surprisingly ok:

I have contacted Ros Owen regarding a bunch of professional photographs taken in the studio and she has kindly provided me with a link to them and I will certainly use some of them on the 'examples' page perhaps, since I have nothing else for this page at the moment as the TV studio is not really up and running yet.  Will consult with Ian MacNeill as to where he thinks they would be most appropriate in a gallery format.

Looking at it, maybe it would be better to have the above picture as the backgraound image for the 'Facilities' page, similar to the way I have used Aaron on the desk on the Home page. Hmm... I've got a lot of work to do in the class before 5pm tomorrow...

For the 'Contact' page, I have inserted a contact sheet but I have the task of playing around with the style sheet and changing the text to fit my site (something I'm not looking forward to at all)

On the 'Location' page I have provided a link to Google maps and also found a nice picture of the college  to go next to it.

I will provided a link to the actual website when it's finished - ie after 5pm tomorrow, but for now, here's a great pic of the Creative Tech class in the studio with Chris Headleand: