Springing back to life.

     Sadly, it has been too long. I've been searching for motivation and time to start working towards my goal. Learning all things game design. In my absence I have spent many hours learning and reading about java programming. Neglecting Blender, I decided today to work on a scene that was inspired by the desire for spring. Not that I dislike winter, that is not the issue at all. I just am really looking forward to the joys and outdoor fun that comes along with spring. With that being said... Let's get into the project...

     This is basically the finished project, as it has been a while and I forgot to take screen shots. However, I can still illustrate the process. The first thing I did was created a basic plane. Then using subdivision surface, I made 5 cuts. Next, I took the plane and added a sub-surf modifier onto it. I then created a material for the ground and gave it a dark brown, non-reflective color. Once that was finished I created a texture for the displacement modifier. Now, I don't remember exactly what settings I adjusted to get the rolling hills look. 

     In this image you can see that I cut away the majority of the original plane. This lightens the load on the computer quite a bit and since the audience only sees what the camera sees, then it is not required to have the rest there. Once the displacement modifier was all tweaked, I moved on to the grass. Using hair particles and tweaking the settings once more, I created the rolling grass-covered hills you see here. I will do a more thorough walk through later. Enjoy!

     -Eric

Learning Java and playing with Blender

     I have 2 new books on my Nook, both dealing with learning Java. I'm really liking the learning process for Java so far. I mean, it has just been mostly reading and looking at other authors code... but still interesting non the less. I'm starting to develop an idea of what I need to do in order to get things rolling in the right direction this time. I have neglected my Blender training, which I need to get back into.... There is so much I want to do but it seems that everything is being bottle necked by trying to learn as much as I can. I think, with Blender I will just work on modeling on my own instead of trying to continue learning more about it, until a later date. Then, using up my "learning time" on Java.
     I'll start posting some more models here soon, I'm thinking about doing a "Monday, Wednesday, Friday" modeling session. Something small each day to advance my modeling skills. Once I get to where I am modeling quickly and cleanly, I can start to add backgrounds or create scenes, maybe even animate a bit.
     As far as Java goes, I'm thinking that once I start learning to make some programs, I'll get links to them posted here. I'm thinking about doing some coding videos along with the animation videos. Maybe show the code for a simple game and then show the game, with a download link in the description. Could be fun.

     -Eric