Planet Blender

15 tips every computer geek should know to stay healthy
goplexian.com | animation, modeling, scripting - 2010-09-02 18:16:00

(I will be writing a Blender related article once per week on Mondays, and therefore since this is neither Monday nor a Blender related article you are free to consider this an irregular bonus article.)

Now I must admit that in general I am not a fan of these types of lifehacker style articles. I often find them to be boring, or honestly a bit ridiculous, and yet despite that such articles often become immensely popular on social networking sites. This article will be a notable exception of course.

Just for example, I'm sure there are at least a dozen or so "10 tips every CEO should know" articles circulating around the internet at this very moment, each with hundreds of thousands of page views. I find it hard to imagine though that there are roving bands of CEO's scouring the depths of the internet looking for tips written by bloggers. It seems far more likely that the traffic such articles generate largely comes from people who are not and who never will be CEO of anything, but who only generate buzz about such articles in the hopes that mentioning "CEO" on twitter will make them look cool.

But on the other hand I do think it would be pretty ironic if the result of this little rant becomes people starting to twitter "CEO" along with maybe a link to this article, and of course I would have no choice but to instantly follow anyone cool enough to do so.

With that happy thought in mind the aim of this article is not to educate CEO's, the reach is a much more practical audience, if you use a computer whether it be for digital art or programming or even data entry then you will probably find these tips helpful.

I hope these points do not come across as simple minded despite their simple nature, often times small adjustments can have major effects, and while applying these suggestions will probably neither save your life nor make you a more attractive person I believe that they just might actually improve the quality of a persons life in equal measure to the extent which they incorporate them into their everyday routines. But as the author I'm likely to be biased.

So without further ado I present 15 tips every computer geek should know to stay healthy.

Live long, and prosper.

1) Drink more water.

Without over exaggerating I think it is safe to say that most people spend their life in a constant state of minor dehydration. People simply do not drink enough water. Not doing so has a serious impact upon your mood, your perception, and your ability to think rationally, these are all very important things in the computer industry, or any industry for that matter. Most people don't realize however that your body only has a limited rate of absorption you cant just chug a liter of water and expect that your daily hydration needs have been satisfied, yet I see this happen all the time.

2) Stretch your back and neck regularly.



You would think that sitting in a chair and not really moving would be quite easy on the body, but the problem with that is that the body was made to move and so when we sit for long hours at a time our joints become stiff, our muscles turn to jelly, and our bones crumble to dust. OK, well maybe I'm exaggerating a bit.

Stretching is one of the cheapest and easiest things to do, you don't need to join a yoga class or get dressed in skimpy white exercise outfits or flop around on the floor, although I'm certainly glad that some of you do. *ahem*

3) Stretch your hands and fingers.

Carpel tunnel syndrome is painful and it sucks, and not being able to use a computer can have a serious impact on your paycheck if you are self employed. Take care of those hands. A few simple stretches every day can go a long way to keeping you out of the doctors office. Ask Google for a list of proper stretching techniques.

4) Set timers and take breaks


Here is a picture of my timer settings. I find this to be invaluable. Every 45 minutes I take a 7 minute break, during the break I get up, do a couple quick stretches, walk around a bit, drink some water. Break time goes by surprisingly fast. I personally find that this style keeps me not only awake but also eager to be back at my desk so I can continue with my work.

Of course your boss might not think this to be such a great idea, but I find it hard to believe that even the strictest boss would mind if you stood up and stretched a bit or grabbed a quick glass of water once per hour. The trouble is that without a timer I will simply forget to do it. So if you're like me then get yourself a timer and make it a part of your routine.

Here are a few applications which you can use to set timers.

For Linux I use a Gnome app called Alarm Clock. For OSX you can use TimeOut. And for Windows you can use Bigstretch.


5) Relax your eyes regularly.

Many people in developing nations have a tradition of doing eye exercises, what they do is they stare at distant objects and try to focus on them, they claim that doing this helps to improve vision. Western medicine says that these eye exercises don't really have any measurable effect upon a person's vision, but Western medicine does agree that relaxing your eyes by focusing on objects at different distances is beneficial for preventing eye strain.

Basically the problem is that when you use a computer you end up focusing for several hours at a point no more than 2 feet in front of you. Eye focus doesn't happen by magic, focus is the result of tiny muscles pulling your eye into a particular shape which brings a certain distance into focus. Now when you spend many hours per day making your eye muscles just focus at just one distance then they can get tired and sore. So change it up, focus on something far away during your breaks, at least 30 feet away from you, or preferably if you have a window in your office then go and stare at the mountains for a while, you might even find doing so to be relaxing.

6) Redshift your computer monitor at night.


Many people come home from working at a computer all day and immediately turn on their computer at home. If you are one of them then you should really look into installing either redshift or f.lux to help relieve evening eye strain.

The idea behind these applications is that your computer screen is essentially a white light-bulb, during the daytime this is fine behavior because the surrounding light is also white, but at night staring into a white light-bulb can cause your brain to think it is still daytime outside and it can also cause eye fatigue over time. When you use redshit or f.lux they will adjust the light temperature of your computer monitor to a cooler setting after the sun goes down, this cooler color is more similar to natural evening light. This is easier on  your eyes and in theory the cooler color also sends signals to your brain that evening has arrived and that it should start getting ready to sleep.

7) Place a light source behind your monitor.

The idea behind this tip is that, again, your monitor is essentially a white light bulb, and that as you are watching your monitor your eyes have a tendency to roam around and they will at times look above and beside the monitor. If the area above and beside the monitor is dark then this can cause your eye aperture to open wider so that your eye can take in more light and see that darker area better, but then your gaze returns to viewing the brightly lit monitor and this causes the aperture to tightens up again. Repeat this a thousand times per night and you will quickly understand why the muscles around your eyes begin to feel sore. Placing a light behind your monitor brightens that area allowing your eye to make less adjustments as it roams back and forth thus causing less pain and fatigue over time.

8) Buy a kindle if you do a lot of online book or document reading.

The Amazon Kindle has the best electronic display for reading on the market today, the monitor technology is called e-ink and it is designed to mimic real printed paper. One of the draw backs is that it doesn't have a very fast refresh rate so it is not suitable as a regular monitor where  you might want to play video games or see highly interactive media, but it is perfect for reading books and documents.

Amazon just released a new version of the Kindle and so far it seems to have gotten very good reviews. In fact as of today the Amazon order page says that they are all sold out and that they are currently expecting about a 20 day delay from the time you order it until the time you will receive it. For Amazon's flagship product that is a very long delay indeed, so I guess they must be doing quite well with it.

9) Buy a bigger monitor, two of them.

The monitor is the thing you look at for 100% of your computer usage time. It makes a lot of sense that if there is one area where you are going to spend a bit more money this would be it. Having a bigger monitor will not only impress your friends but it will also reduce eye strain, at least in theory. While you are at it, also increase you font settings, there is no point having a huge monitor only to strain yourself with tiny fonts.

10) Go for a walk and get at least 30 minutes of fresh air and sunlight every day.

You may be thinking that I recommend this for the health benefit of sunlight producing vitamin D but actually that is not the case, 30 minutes a day is not nearly enough time to get the proper amount of vitamin D your body needs especially if you live in North America or Northern Europe. If you are worried about vitamin D you should really just take a supplement, thats what I do anyway.

The reason I say to go for a walk and get some air and sunshine is actually more just for the relaxation benefits. Working with computers can be a stressful activity even if you happen to enjoy the work itself as I do. Regularly taking a step away from the office and breathing some fresh air and getting a bit of sun can help ease some of that tension, and it may even help you to sleep better at night. Walking is also a good chance to relax your eyes. Regular walking can also keep you regular in the bathroom which shouldn't be overlooked either.

11) Get your beauty sleep.

Sleep deprivation can lead to mental disorders.

Trouble sleeping is often sighted as a problem for people who spend long hours working with computers.

For me personally this is something which I've always struggled with. I developed insomnia in grade 9 and I've struggled with it just about every night from then till now.

I wish there was one super tip I could give for getting a good nights sleep but I honestly don't think there is one, everyone is a little different and so there is no tip that will work for everyone. One thing that seems to be rather consistent though is that late night computer usage is unhelpful. If you do use your computer late at night then really, please, for your own sake apply tip #6 and install a redshift application on your computer at home. Also, turn off the computer at least an hour before you want to go to sleep.

In addition to redshift and turning off the computer, the other thing that I've found to be helpful is that if I can not sleep I get up and grab a note pad and turn on a very low watt bulb and as I stand there I write or drawing about whatever comes to mind. After about 15 minutes of that I want to sit down but instead of sitting down I hop back into bed. It isn't a magic bullet but usually this works for me.

12) Wake up early.

You might ask how can a person wake up early if they didn't get enough sleep, well the truth is that it doesn't matter how much sleep you get you can always wake up, but of course you might not stay awake very long if you don't get out of the bed. Your body is a machine and it thrives on consistency. I always try to get up at the same time every day no matter how much sleep I've had.

13) Eat breakfast every day, as soon as you wake up.

I can get a small bowl of cereal ready and finish eating it in under a minute. Your body is a machine, a bio-mechanical engine if you will, and the engine needs fuel. For me personally I find that having a bowl of cereal first thing in the morning is just as energizing as having that first cup of coffee, of course I do also like to drink coffee, but I usually have my first cup around 10am.

14) Cut out any high fructose corn syrup.

Seriously that stuff is poison, and it is in more things than you probably realize.

15) Socialize. 

Don't be a shut in. Kick yourself out of that plush chair and go make some friends.

And, no, subscribing to my blog doesn't count, but I wont hold it against you.

Blender 2.5 Quizzes
BlenderNation - 2010-09-02 15:20:35

An enjoyable little time-waster: test your Blender 2.5 knowledge with a Blender quizz. Right now there are four quizzes to take, and more will appear in the future. Demohero writes: Hi everybody. I...

[read the full article on blendernation.com]

Holiday Assignments - Some *** time required
Aligorith's Lair - 2010-09-02 05:11:00

SketchUp 8 available to download
Blender 3D Architect - 2010-09-02 02:37:54

The workflow of an architectural visualization project often involves the use of several types of files, coming from softwares like AutoCAD and SketchUp. In the past months I `m starting to receive more and more projects created with SketchUp. Since SketchUp is an easy tool to create volumetric models, most architects or small companies without [...] Related posts:

1. SketchUp 7.1 released with free plugin to import DWG and DXF files This week an update for SketchUp was released with a...
2. Modeling for architecture: Plugin with more extrude options for SketchUp One of the best tools to use along with Blender...
3. Free download of furniture models for architectural visualization If there is one thing that we really need to...

Weekly update August 12-31
Freestyle integration into Blender - 2010-09-02 01:11:15

Since the last blog post, the dev team was working on several issues reported by branch users.  Two bugs causing a crash of the Freestyle renderer were successfully fixed, thanks to the provision of a .blend file by Cloud_GL for bug hunting.  One of the bugs was related to the use of movie file formats such [...]

Create a Shattered Glass Title Animation
Blender Guru - 2010-09-02 00:09:21

If you’ve spent anytime watching television, you’ve probably seen at least one commercial or trailer showing slow motion shattered glass. And if you’re like me you’ve probably obsessed over this effect and let it play in your head on repeat until the wee hours of the morning instead of sleeping.

It’s an effect that’s always been on my ‘to-do’ list, but never reached my ‘actually doing’ list until now.

The finished result

In this tutorial you will discover how to:

• Use the explode modifier correctly to break apart your mesh
• Slow down time by tweaking particle settings
• Use force fields to give your particles an extra ‘kick’
• Create thousands of shards of glass in one fell swoop
• Color grade your work ‘hollywood style’

Note: This tutorial uses Blender 2.53 Beta. Download it here.

Watch the tutorial

>>Download the starting .blend<<

>>Download the finished .blend<<

Chapter marks

Bored? Skip to the good bits.

• 2:50 – Part 1: Text and Particles
• 18:07 – Part 2: Lighting
• 19:45 – Part 3: Materials
• 21:33 – Part 4: Compositing

The first person to replicate the van scene from Inception get’s a beer! :)

Take part in the Live Chat this Saturday!

This Saturday I will be opening the UStream once again to discuss a topic that is close to most artists: Criticism.

In the art world, criticism is as sure as death and taxes, but how many people know how to take it well? In this Live Cast session I will sharing with you some painful lessons that I’ve learned over the years and why criticism is one of the most important tools for improving as an artist ;)

Just log on at the designated time below and chat with me in real-time.

Time: Saturday 2PM GMT

Where: UStream – The Blender Guru Show

Topic: How to take criticism like a champ!

Don’t wanna miss it? Join the Live Cast newsletter and I’ll send you an email one hour before we go live each week:

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you create something cool with it, show it off in the comment section!

PS. In the next few days I’ll be announcing a few changes to the site, including new projects and new tutors, so stay tuned!

while the cat is away…
tube - 2010-09-01 19:14:14

So Bassam’s been away in Bulgaria for a couple of weeks and Henri and I mostly had the studio to ourselves.  I’ve been working on a mushroom generator for a couple of timelapses – not that tube will be filled with glowing mushrooms, more that we wanted something half way between the ivy generator and a fully fledged particle system.  Henri modeled some funky mushrooms and together we spun together a quick demo video just to show off some of the effects that are possible, and to exercise our fetish for indirect lighting and luminous pink.

Mushroom Generator Blender 2.5 from Henri Hebeisen and Josh Wedlake on Vimeo.

The script is still heavily in development but if you like alpha stuff and you’re happy to do your own debugging, then feel free to download and run.

http://www.pasteall.org/15382/python

Essentially you need to model a couple of mushrooms (just a generic term – you can model flowers or trees or robotic arms) with some shapes for their animation which will be blended sequentially, some shapes for random variation, some shapes in which they bend up the y axis, a painted vertex group for shrinkwrapping the base of the mushroom, all scaling and rotation applied and the origin at the base of the mesh.

above: creating the shapes for auto animation

above: adding manual animation to a mushroom

You also need a target mesh which has nice topo (ideally no elongated tris or nasty convex quads), optionally painted vertex groups named OBmymushroomname… and MAmymushroommaterial… to control the distribution of your various materials and different object types, optionally a limit vertex group (ie only faces within this will receive mushrooms), and a lot of patience.  Select the mushrooms then make the target active and tab into edit mode, select the start face(s) then hit spacebar>Mushroomer (remembered to run the script first).

above: mission control, godspeed

Adjust the settings and hit go.  I suggest you run blender from the terminal so you can watch for progress and any hangups.  You might well want to abort if it starts slowing right down from too many mushrooms.

above: when its done

Development on this script has been a bit of a nightmare.  Currently it is not possible to create multiple linked objects and have different shape key and material animation blocks on them without having to duplicate the mesh and/or material blocks (thus unnecessarily eating up huge amount of memory and removing the possibility to edit the mesh for one mushroom and have all of the update).  This is in the blender bug tracker as #23546 and #23547.  If they get fixed you can uncomment the deep data path keyframe adding and enable all the code for migrating actions to object level.  Another limitation which slowed development is that it is currently not possible to merge two actions into one.  This is necessary if you are moving mesh level and material level animation data back to object level.  Essentially you need to combine two actions into one.  Not only is this not possible, but its also not possible to copy an fcurve in its entirity, but rather python has to iterate through very slowly copying every handle one by one, and even this is susceptible to some bugs (not yet reported).  This is because the collection of fcurves is read only even though each fcurve itself if read/write.  I was also held up by bug #23532 which prevented me from doing the action block combining in the NLA editor, and for a short while by bug #23548 which caused blender to crash when creating new fcurves.  Finally the script can’t currently support animation data on the mushrooms’ materials due to bugs #23593 and #23594 – I’ve chosen to block this feature rather than risk an inescapable hang and data loss – uncomment those lines at your own risk!  Fingers crossed the devs will iron these out sooner or later and the mushroom generator will be running faster, with lower memory requirements, smaller file sizes and more stability!

Its also been a sad day today as we waved goodbye to Henri who is on his way back to France as I write.  Its been great fun working together for the last 2 months.  Luckily we’ll only be a stones throw apart when we’re back at our separate homes in Toulouse and London.  If all goes well we’ll be at the Blender conference this October as well.  Rest assured, the world hasn’t seen the end of the glowing mushrooms saga – I’m hope we’ll have another chance to work together soon!

Call for Content: Blenderart #30
BlenderArt Magazine - 2010-09-01 18:05:12

It’s time again to start thinking about articles, tutorials and images for Issue # 30 of Blenderart Magazine.

The theme for this issue is “Once upon… an image? the art of one image storytelling”

This issue we are going to explore how to tell a story using a single image. We are looking for making of articles, tutorials and projects that focus on a single image that tells a story or conveys a specific message.

You are free to focus on any aspect of your image including:

• lighting
• composition /staging
• materials
• subject matter / modeling

Also wanted, great shaders, materials and node setups for great looking materials and effects.

Articles

Send in your articles to sandra
Subject: “Article submission Issue # 30 [your article name]”

Gallery Images

As usual you can also submit your best renders based on the theme of the issue. The theme of this issue is “Industrial Revolution”. Please note if the entry does not match with the theme it will not be published.

Send in your entries for gallery to gaurav
Subject: “Gallery submission Issue # 30″

Note: Image size should be of 1024x (width) at max.

Last date of submissions October 5, 2010.

Good luck!
Blenderart Team

Call for Content: Blenderart #30
ThruDreamsgate's Blog - 2010-09-01 18:03:59

It’s time again to start thinking about articles, tutorials and images for Issue # 30 of Blenderart Magazine. The theme for this issue is “Once upon… an image? the art of one image storytelling” This issue we are going to explore how to tell a story using a single image. We are looking for making [...]

A simple test image for anaglyphic (red-cyan) glasses
My World of VFX - 2010-09-01 18:03:54

A pair of red-cyan glasses for viewing anaglyphic stereoscopic images arrived just today and I noticed some ghosting in the images around the web. Quick googling didn’t give good results so made a simple test image myself so I can adjust my monitor’s colors to reduce the color leakage (not that it helped much.. a little but not much). Here it is, maybe now that this is here, quick googling will show it to others who need one. I’d be interested in hearing about how to create good anaglyphic imagery as at least for my current setup, the darker backgrounds seem to yield more ghosting than lighter backgrounds.