First, I want to express how deeply moved and profoundly grateful my wife and I are for the wonderful messages of support and reassurance we received from so many of you regarding the passing of our son Jordan earlier this month; we are overwhelmed at the kindness and concern offered us, and it has helped as we move along our path of healing. Please know we are more grateful than words can ever say, and extend our thankfulness to a merciful Heavenly Father who has sent us so much peace and comfort.
As mentioned in the backer’s update I sent out last week, Jordan had requested (multiple times) that I post more frequently, resisting the impulse to always make a full-scale production, and be willing instead to offer glimpses into the process of making The Price, be they up-beat and hopeful or frustrated and discouraging.
To honor his request, I’m sharing an image today that illustrates one of the grueling realities of using computers: they are dumb. Stupid. Imbecilic, actually.
They will only do what you tell them to; only that, and exactly that, no more and no less.
For example, you can tell them precisely what a 3D model’s shape looks like through sculpting programs (we are using Pixologic’s phenomenal ZBrush); you can also make custom wrappings for each part of their exterior (called texture maps) to give the surfaces the color and detail you want; finally, you combine those with shaders to make the maps and surfaces appear to reflect light and cast shadows as if they were actually made of the materials they represent, like skin, clothing, metal or hair. (If you’d like some examples, you can refer to this previous post.)
With me so far? Once you have the computer understanding all of that, then you have to deal with explaining what to do with your creation when you want to move it around, say, to create a specific pose by bending the arms so the character appears to be holding his hands behind his back (pondering something of great significance, no doubt). Take a look at the image below:
The rendering on the left shows what can happen if you tell the computer most of what it needs to know. If you compare it to the ‘fixed’ version on the right, you can immediately see that some crucial information is missing — like how the bones of the elbow should stay rigid and poke out from the bending muscles, and that those muscles shouldn’t look ‘deflated’ when compressed.
So, since I don’t really want the ‘Macaroni-Neil’ on the left as the star of the film, we have to keep explaining things until the computer figures out how to make the ‘Much-More-Buff-Neil’ on the right.
Without burying you in the myriad of technical acrobatics that have been attempted, suffice it to say that we are trying to find a way through the correct combination of programs and creative problem solving to get our point across to these unwieldy boxes we slavishly sit in front of each day.
I hope this was somewhat enjoyable (or even informative), but regardless of this posting’s entertainment value, I’m sure Jordan has a satisfied smile on his face. Until next time, stay strong, stay positive, and do something creative!!!
– Christopher
