Just seen this site. It looks to be only a week old and has amassed a huge following. It has a large database of recent movies although the quality is very dodgy!

One feature I have to admit that I like is the thumbs up and down for the links. You get to see the percentage of people who have verified the link as working and not working. Its really helpful for seeing if a link is corrupted before you click it.

I’ve tried searching for a couple movies here (they have Akira:))). I wouldn’t recommend going here instead of the cinema just yet or even ditching your DVD collection. Its more useful for finding old movies you’ve seen before and can’t be bothered to dig out the crates or get back from your mates!!

www.movies-links.tv

How long will this site last before they shut it down?! Who knows!! Enjoy!!

Blender 3D!! Simple!

GET BLENDER NOW!!!

Blender is open source and packs a lot of features found only on high end 3D software which costs in the thousands of pounds/dollars –[insert local denomination]–!!

I haven’t produced any 3D recently however the feature set offered by blender is close catching up to the feature set offered by the big boys.

Not only this, but if you goto the download page for blender you will quickly notice that this software runs most major platforms and looks and performs well on each of them. I’ve even run it on a PocketPC and I was blown away just to see it working on the thing!

Once thing I would say is that the workflow differs greatly from other major 3D applications. Whether you are coming from one of these or just dabbling, I would advise you to read the online help.

I purchased the official blender manual around 2 years ago as free information on blender was a little sparse around then. While I still believe its a great investment for anyone who is serious about creating anything in blender, the official sites documentation now looks like a sufficient place to start. There are also many video tutorials around the internet and communities supporting the creation of 3D graphics using Blender 3D

Did I mention it was free?!!

Download it and have a go! and watch this space!!

–// Official Site :
Blender Home Page
Blender Features Link
Blender Download Link

–// Related Sites
Blender Nation – Blender Blog
Blender Artists – Blender Community
Wiki Books Link Pdf downloadable version available here.
Elephants Dream - Worlds first ‘Open Movie’ made with Blender 3D

Tanaka Tatsuyuki has to be in my artist top-10, and has been responsible for some of the most sophisticated animations in the industry. He forged his name in the late 80’s whilst working freelance as a key animator on the arm mutation scene in the cult anime classic Akira.

Tanaka Tatsuyuki

Since then he has joined with a few other artist (including another favorite of mine) at Studio 4°C. He now spends his time creating illustrations, manga, and short animations and other commissioned works.

His book titled Cannabis Works is a joy to read and study. It features works from across his career and continues in the theme of strange sinister acts in derelict surroundings.

The book features a lot of pastel colors, greys and black and pieces tend to have a green tinge finish. I’m not sure if this is his signature however videos I have seen produced by him have this weird finish too.

His backgrounds are as highly just as detailed as the main characters within any scene, some maybe more so. His ability to accurately render the technology and surrounding artefacts like pipes and bolts help to give this artists works a very convincingly macabre atmosphere.

If like me you love his style you may consider getting your hands on a copy of Comickers Vol 2 where he details his creation process. Be warned though, as he sketches don’t give much away. If you are looking for construction lines often left behind by other artists, forget it! His ‘ruff sketches’ are …. like finished works… they’re hot!!

See the arm mutation scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47bPtC7g3-8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKt3yNLKWbo

Related and juicy:
Akira (アキラ) Sound Clip by Geinoh Yamashirogumi Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdSjCBUg8yY
Pay attention to how the guy at 8min54sec hammers bars off that instrument and mutes the ring-out with the other hand whilst half asleep! – WOW!!!

Akira (アキラ) Sound Clip by Geinoh Yamashirogumi Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuQH84IfJKg
Loving Mr Yamashiros Apple Mac @4min 13.

Yup! Another new(ish) product from Google.

Go is the new programming language developed by Google with its accompanying compiler Ogle and below character as its mascot:

Although you may get beaten up for wearing any clothing featuring the mascot, the language does actually sound exiting and I thought it was worth mentioning.

This new programming language has a focus on concurrency, garbage collection, and expressiveness. This essentially, means you can separate tasks out into separate processes and have them running all at the same time, whilst at the same time, any unused items of code in memory get destroyed in real-time optimising performance, and lastly that the code uses syntax closer to human speech so its easier for programmers and non programmers alike to interpret and write code. This last factor is one on the increase in new frameworks, although it has long been one of the key features of scripted languages like lisp, smalltalk, ruby and perl.

The golang site is actually powered using this language, and it looks like the language was born out of and is geared toward creating server solutions. I see another David Heinmeir Hanson and new scripting language emerging soon!!

Sorry guys about the pages. Some seem to fall apart and some tweaks are yet to be applied to this blog.

Unfortunatly there’s not enuff day left in my time!

I’ll have this fixed asap… Zzz!