Hello Again! It's another fine Friday in January and the new year is well under way. The topic for tonight is music and the focus will be on rhythm. I've always been fascinated by unusual and ethnic rhythm patterns. The combination of an odd rhythm with a strange instrument sound or sample can be both startling and beautiful. I've started an experimental piece that has that starts in a very conventional meter but gradually becomes more chaotic and less rhythmic. Adding a complex rhythm over a straight 4/4 or 3/4 meter can lend spice and interest to an otherwise bland arrangement. One of my favorite tricks is to start with a straight 4/4 kick/snare pattern and then add a hit every 3 beats on brushed cymbal or closed hi-hat. There are a lot of good DXi and VSTi drum machines out there, and most commercial software studios include some facility for grid entry of patterns. Devote some time to learning one and you'll soon be creating your own killer back beats. Give it a try!
The picture of the week was created using Bryce. Click on the image for a full-sized view The DVD/Movie of the week was Whale Rider, an excellent film from New Zealand.
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it. Bye for now!
Happy New Year! It's the first Friday of 2009 and it's chilly here in the Gray Cat's loft. The topic for tonight is writing and the focus will be on writing comedy. We've all had the opportunity to tell a joke we've heard but it's far harder to create a new joke. There is in fact an art to crafting a good joke and to combine a series of jokes on a theme. Brevity is a key skill and the silences between words or phrases can be as important as the words themselves. The meter and timing of a joke is rather poetic and at times nearly musical. The other side of writing comedy is performance and the real test of a good joke whether or not anyone will laugh at it. I've recently started attending comedy open mike nights at the local coffee bar and a nearby Mexican restaurant. These informal events allow anyone with courage or experience to try their hand at stand-up comedy. The seasoned pros will often try out new material while the newbies can get their feet wet in a rather forgiving venue. The process of trying your jokes can be daunting, but with practice it gets easier and the jokes that survive and get refined can form the basis of an act. I'll have more on the ins and outs of comedy writing and performance in a future post.
The brand new year 2009 holds promise and hope to balance the fear and uncertainty of the last year. Let's all try to embrace the positive and to give of ourselves in 2009. Help others if you can and keep the hope alive. Make every day an opportunity and seize the moment!
The picture of the week was created using Project Dogwaffle. Click on the image for a full-sized view Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it. Bye for now!
Hello again! It's another late post and the last one of the year. Holiday madness and a full couple of weekends have played havoc with my schedule. For this latest and belated update I have my annual list of my favorite games of the year. My top five for 2008 were:
#5. Civilization III. One of the best turn-based strategy games ever.
#1. Forged Alliance. The sequel to Supreme Commander is pure addictive RTS goodness.
And that's it for this final report of the year. I'll be back with the first post of 2009 soon.
The loops of the week are a set of electronic percussion parts. The picture of the week was created using Project Dogwaffle. Click on the image for a full-sized view The DVD/Movie of the week was The Squid and the Whale. Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it. Bye for now!
Welcome Back! It's Friday once more and it's starting to feel more like Winter here. This week's posting is my 100th and it's hard to believe that over 2 years have passed since I relaunched Mark's Digital Arts. This week I'd like to thank all the good people who have contributed in some way to this web-log. I'll start with my lady love Bella who has always given me good suggestions along with hugs and smooches. My family, especially my highly creative nieces and nephew, have been a continual source of inspiration. Thanks to my BFF buddy Mark, who really should learn to explore his artistic side. Thanks for all the good reviews and kind words to C.K. Lester, a grand master of the Euphoria programming language and a heck of a good guy. A huge thank you to Steve, my sometime musical collaborator in New Zealand. You're a great guitarist and producer and I know you'll go far with your music. Thanks for all the humor and the serious writing to Ben of the Straight Scotch blog. Thanks for all the music suggestions and good vibes to April, of Dorkmuffin. I miss you kiddo. Thanks for including me in the band to Patrick, Michael, Randy, Todd, and Dutch of 3½. Thanks and hugs to Alejandra and Patrick, the other 2 thirds of the Experimental Film Group. Finally, thanks to Mom and Dad, for encouraging me to make music, and to write, and to create art. Here's to the next 100 posts and lots more tools, techniques, sites and tips to share. Thanks again to one and all!
The picture of the week was created using Bryce. Click on the image for a full-sized view The DVD/Movie of the week was Amelie. This film, like it's title character is both eccentric and charming.
Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it. Bye for now!
Cool December greetings! It's a rather quiet day here in the Gray Cat's loft. The topic for tonight is computer graphics and the focus will be on Carrara 5 Pro. I've mostly used and written about the Bryce 5 and Anim8or because they're both good programs and available as free software. I acquired Carrara 5 Pro as a featured free program on a 3D Now magazine disk, but it should also be available at a good discount because there is a later version. The application has always had something of a reputation as a good lower-cost alternative to some of the more powerful and costly 3D packages. I like the marvelous range of options and presets in C5P. You can create a 3D scene quickly using a wizard or roll your own from scratch. Every aspect of creating still or animation from modeling to finished rendering is included as are a number of sample scenes, models and textures. I like how easy Carrara 5 is to use and the high quality of the finished 3D art. It takes a good amount of learning and practice to get good results, but the training time is worth it. Another very cool feature is that Carrara will take advantage of the 2nd processor on a dual-core CPU when rendering. The only drawback is that Carrara doesn't have quite the same recognition as the bigger programs such as 3D Studio Max or Maya. C5P is a great balance between price, performance, and features. If you can get your hands on a copy, then be sure to give this excellent 3D application a try.
Hello! November is nearly done and in a couple of weeks this humble web log will see it's 100th entry. That's right mi agigos y amigas, Mark's Digital Arts is hitting the century milestone and I'm already looking for some special way to celebrate the event. The topic for this week is shopping in honor of Black Friday and the big Thanksgiving Weekend. This year the annual retail shopping binge was far more understated than in years past. The current bleak economy meant fewer shoppers to tussle over the deals. I hit the stores fairly early in search of some gifts for family members and friends and as a seasoned bargain hunter I'd done my homework. Check the the online or newspaper ads for the best deals beforehand. Plan a route for which stores you intend to hit with the best deals and must-have items at the top. Be prepared for the inevitable disappointments if the items you want are sold out. This year parking and checkout were a breeze, unlike in years past when I'd have to park several blocks away from the store and wait in a long line to make the purchase. Circuit City, earned my dubious “bait and switch” award for having a number of full-priced DVDs and video games mixed into the bargain bin with the sale items. No wonder those guys are facing bankruptcy. I'm done with most of my gift shopping now and need to find time to write cards and wrap the Xmas goodies. And that's my report from the trenches on a rather quiet Black Friday. Feel free to send me any shopping triumphs or misadventures you might have experienced.
Good Evening! Ugh, I'm late once more this week but hopefully this will be the last time for the year. It's Saturday night and I'm here with a fresh new entry, hot and straight out of the oven. I'm pressed for time this week so there won't be any new music loops and the entry will consist of an update of all my current projects. The experimental film group has cast an actress and I'm continuing to work on the music for the film. Work on the CSS enhanced version of my web site is moving ahead, though I seem to end up spending more time on graphic design then I'd like. I've also started work on some animated titles for new video project. I'll be back in about a week with more stuff.
The picture of the week was created using Bryce. Click on the image for a full-sized view The movie/DVD of the week was The Blues Brothers Send your comments and feedback and I’ll read it all and respond to some of it. Bye for now!
