Switching to Free Programs

Lately a lot of offices here in the Philippines have switched to open source programs to save on the cost of buying original programs. I did my research on some alternative open source software to their commercial counter part and found out that there are a lot of pretty good and efficient open source counterparts.

Here are some of the list of programs that I am currently using and their commercial counter parts.

Open Source: Blender
Commercial Counterpart: 3D Max

Open Source: DoubleCad
Commercial Counterpart: Autocad

Open Source: Gimpshop, Gimp
Commercial Counterpart: Adobe Photoshop

Open Source: Open Office
Commercial Counterpart: Microsoft Office

Open Source: Gantt Project, Open Project
Commercial Counterpart: MS Project

Open Source: Google Sketchup
Commercial Counterpart: 3D Max

There are a lot more open source programs available and I'm still trying out some of them. I'll post some updates after I finish testing them.

Check: www.osalt.com for more information on open source programs.

Greatest Music Artists of the 20th Century

My interest in art has exposed me in a lot of different forms of art. As a young boy I went to school were art and music was part of our curriculum. This was a big influence in my passion for art and music. 

I was fond of sketching and painting. Music on the other hand wasn't my strong point. I had a hard time learning how to play the violin.

Even though I loved listening to music, I did not have any talent to play any instrument. I didn't have the patience to learn how to play an instrument. 

As I became older my interest in music also grew. My choices of music became diverse. I never concentrated on a particular genre. I learned to appreciate music and not limit myself with one genre. 

Lately I began to appreciate more some music which had stand the test of time. The artists who made these songs were truly exceptional in the art of music. These are the artist who for lasted several generations. 

Here is my list of the 10 Greatest Music Artist which has influenced the music industry. I didn't arrange them accordingly because I think each one of the are equally  great. Each one has achieved incredible status in their own time and genre.

• John Winston Lennon October 9, 1940 – December 8,1980 was an English rock musician, singer, and songwriter who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles. Lennon along with Paul McCartney formed one of the most influential and successful songwriting partnerships and "wrote some of the most popular music in rock and roll history". Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and biting wit in his music, on film, in books, and at press conferences and interviews. He was controversial through his work as a peace activist and artist. Read More

• Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981 was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands: The Wailers (1964 – 1974) and Bob Marley & the Wailers (1974 – 1981). Marley remains the most widely known and revered performer of reggae music, and is credited for helping spread Jamaican music to the worldwide audience. Read More
• Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara) (5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer-songwriter, pianist, guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Queen (inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001). As a performer, he was known for his vocal prowess and flamboyant performances. As a songwriter, he composed many international hits, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Don't Stop Me Now", "We Are the Champions" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". Read More

• Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers". His professional career had stalled by the 1950s, but it was reborn in 1954 after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Read More

• James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. After initial success in Europe, he achieved fame in the United States following his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. Later, Hendrix headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. Read More

• Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977; middle name sometimes written Aron)a was an American singer, actor, and musician. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as "Elvis", and is also sometimes referred to as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" or "The King".

  In 1954, Presley began his career as one of the first performers of rockabilly, an uptempo fusion of country and rhythm and blues with a strong back beat. His novel versions of existing songs, mixing "black" and "white" sounds, made him popular—and controversial as did his uninhibited stage and television performances. He recorded songs in the rock and roll genre, with tracks like "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock" later embodying the style. Presley had a versatile voice and had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, including gospel, blues, ballads and pop. To date, he has been inducted into four music halls of fame. Read More

• Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958) is an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the "King of Pop" in subsequent years, five of his solo studio albums have become some of the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995). Read More

• Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone on August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, dancer, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Madonna moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance. After performing as member of the pop musical groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her self-titled debut album in 1983, and then produced three consecutive number-one studio albums on the Billboard 200 in the 1980s and four more since year 2000. Read More

• The Bee Gees were a singing trio of brothers — Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. They were born on the Isle of Man to English parents, lived in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, England, United Kingdom and during their childhood years moved to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, where they began their musical careers. Their worldwide success came when they returned to the United Kingdom and signed with producer Robert Stigwood. Read More

• The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup. Stewart, deemed unsuitable as a teen idol, was removed from the official lineup in 1963 but continued to work with the band as road manager and keyboardist until his death in 1985. Read More

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org

Google Sketchup Tutorials

 A couple of years ago, my office mate introduced me to a 3D software developed by Google. I was surprised by its versatility but was dismayed about the fact it didn't support some lighting plugins back then. 

I practiced on some of the online tutorials back then. I found the program to be very user friendly. It only takes a couple of days for someone who has no background in 3d modeling to learn this program. I never realized the true potential of the program until I saw most of my former classmates using the program in their renderings. 

Lately, I started using Sketchup again. Its been a while since I last used the program. I needed to practice it again. I'm relearning the things I've learned back then and discovered some new things along the way.

If you are interested in learning 3D modeling but don't have the patience to go to school. I suggest you learn this program through online tutorials. It's easy to use and a great tool to help you with your designs. Here are a couple of links to some tutorials in Sketchup:

• http://download.sketchup.com/
• http://sketchup.google.com/
• http://www.sketchucation.com/
• http://www.architectionary.com/

Four Unique Cave Houses

In the past prehistoric man used caves as shelter. They were dependent on these natural shelters before they knew how to build their own shelter. Nowadays we no longer live in caves, we build cozy houses with all the basic amenities needed to make life better.

It is surprising to know that even in this day and age there are still those who choose to live in a cave. Unlike the prehistoric cave used by our ancestors, these cave houses have all the amenities of any modern home.

 

Utah Cave House

Missouri Cave House. To know more about the Missouri Cave house visit their website at http://www.caveland.us/

Cuevas del Pino estate by UMMO Estudio 

Cave House loess plateau cave house Designed By Chinese Architects Hypersity

Foodscape - Miniature Landscape Photography made Edible Materials

I've been working on sample renderings on landscape designs for the past few weeks. Our marketing at LazyAnimation asked me to make sample renderings. He told me that he had potential clients that are interested in landscape renderings. The clients wanted to see if we were capable of creating landscape renderings. 

I began looking for some reference pictures of some gardens and landscapes on the net. I didn't have any idea what type of landscape I would model so I made some random searches on landscaping. I saw a lot of beautiful Japanese gardens which I tried to imitate. 

My next sample rendering assignment was for a park. I searched for some aerial photos of parks on google and found pictures of a surreal landscape. I opened the link and found a couple of interesting landscape pictures.

When I enlarged the pictures I was surprised to find out that the photos were made of food. The trees photo that looked like a thick forest of stout trees were actually made of broccoli. These stunning pieces of art were made by artist/ photographer Carl Warner. His photography skills made some wonderful foodscapes.

Visit http://www.carlwarner.com/ for more Foodscape photos.