NDo2 - the great normal map generator and more!

"Hand-paint normals using all of your custom brushes... "
NDo2 is an exciting new feature. Can't wait to give it a shot!

Bringing ZBrush to Life: Advanced Visualization Techniques by Andrew F. Smith

There is a digital sculpting workshop coming soon at Siggraph 2011 in Vancouver and I like the way the textures were broke down specificly for character skin rendering. It's an good example when using with the "fastSkinSSS" MR shader. It seems could be a fun and educational one.
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Bringing ZBrush to Life: Advanced Visualization Techniques

http://www.siggraph.org/s2011/for_attendees/digital-artistry-sessions
SUNDAY, 7 AUGUST 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM

Cool mechanical design from Kill Zone 3!

http://kotaku.com/5814734/the-towering-mechanical-art-of-killzone-3/gallery/
Found this today and really like its style...
>>It has such amazing weapons, vehicles and technology. They look like they're from the future, sure, but they also look like they work, get dirty and break down, just like they do in the real world, a rarity in video game science fiction design...

Autodesk Project Skyline

Autodesk looks to build the future of game development with Project Skyline, first shown at GDC 2011

HTC Puccini 4G LTE Tablet with HTC Scribe

I really like HTC's attempt to make the painting experience more closer to Wacom level(hopefully). Besides, please realease the SDK to the public, then consumer will have more apps which supporting Scribe to choose from. http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/05/26/htc-puccini-4g-lte-tablet-with-htc-scribe-production-begins-in-june/

Simultaneous Contrast

I have posted too much tech related things recently:). Guess it's time to review some of the most important concepts in color theory. Let's look at Simultaneous Contrast first.

How to pick two colors side by side to make a painting overall balanced while make the main subject stand out? It's a process of intensive decision-making among the effective colors. To achieve the most simultaneous contrast, complementary colors give you it. However it's a wild beast and can easily go out of your control. The more you know color theory and wisely use the color palette will help achieve the more successful results. It works to both traditional and digital art medium. I found the article from COLOR VISION & ART very informative and got lots of examples comparing art in the past(before 1900) and nowadays.
Check it out here-
http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/contrast.html

Another precise and easy to understand explanation by Richard McKinley :

http://pastelpointersblog.artistsnetwork.com/2007/07/30/WhatDoesSimultaneousContrastMean.aspx

Simultaneous contrast teaches us that everything is affected by its opposite. Something will look lighter when placed next to something dark, and warmer when placed next to something cool, and visa versa...

The middle value strip looks darker or lighter depending on its relationship to the other values.

Open Camera Controller

A very cool project for having "extra" fun with your digital SLR!  : )
Warning: for hardcore DSLR users only!!

http://www.hdrlabs.com/occ/index.html

Lightsmith - craft your own studio light in 3d

Lightsmith is a great companion to the classic, all-encompassing sIBL-environments. It enables you to art direct the lighting, even create a studio lighting from scratch, and still benefit from the richness in color and dynamic range that only HDR images can provide.

http://www.hdrlabs.com/news/index.php?id=7570319429120807798

SONY OLED

PVM-2541 and PVM-1741, the most professional and advanced monitors ever by Sony.
http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/video/channels-monitors_displays/video-prenab2011_oled_training/?XID=V:www.engadget.com

Destructive Technology

Watching a presentation by Ben Cousins in GDC 2010 and learned a new term(it's new to me ; ) called Destructive Technology and realized there are tons of things around us belongs to this genre.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_technology

Quote:
Christensen defines a disruptive innovation as a product or service designed for a new set of customers.

"Generally, disruptive innovations were technologically straightforward, consisting of off-the-shelf components put together in a product architecture that was often simpler than prior approaches. They offered less of what customers in established markets wanted and so could rarely be initially employed there. They offered a different package of attributes valued only in emerging markets remote from, and unimportant to, the mainstream."

Photometric lighting related info in Maya 2011

mia_photometric_light - new in 2011
This shader takes all the guesswork out of balancing the photon energy with the light intensity by performing a numerical integration of the chosen intensity distribution to calculate the proper photon energy, as well as taking care of adapting the photon density to the distribution. This is all done automatically.

To use this shader, simply use the same instance of the shader as both light and photon shader on a light source. The light must have an origin (in other words, the shader does not work on an infinite light source). The light must be set to emit photons, and must be given a non-zero energy value (although the actual value will be overriden by the shader, a non-zero energy value is required; otherwise mental ray for Maya will not emit any photons at all for the light). The exponent should always be 2. If the light is a spotlight, a spread value should be used.

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A nice application example by Jakub Sporek
http://www.fushal.net/2010/12/true-photometric-lights-in-maya-and.html

CryEngine3 new features - the future of realtime rendering

http://mycryengine.com/index.php?conid=8

Using Kinect 3D scanner to hack 3D printing

This is cool! I don't have kinect yet ... But very excited to see how it could be applied on 3d printing.

http://www.shapeways.com/blog/archives/753-Kinect-3D-Scanner-Hack-for-3D-Printing.html

3d prints

3D Printing!

http://www.shapeways.com/tutorials/
Very informative site providing tutorials about 3d printing tips as well as rules for different materials. Of course, they do have the printing services for you, and more.

It's all about the colorS we can see!

http://dba.med.sc.edu/price/irf/Adobe_tg/models/rgbcmy.html
Good information and clear illustrated explanation about human percievable color space(CIE model) as well as the relation among sRGB and CMYK Gamuts.
If you you are really into color space world, dig into CIE families in the links on the same page. Very informative stuffs.

http://www.techmind.org/colour/
This link offers both technical and easy to understand information guiding you into the world of colors. Great info!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIE_1931_color_space
And of course, never forget this one from wikipidedia. :)

The Father of The Color Theory of Human Colour Perception

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 – 1832
“Every decided color does a certain violence to the eye and forces it to opposition.”

Goethe's colour wheel