Maya-3-D Modeling and Animation

I started another digital media class a few weeks ago. The course is called 3-D Modeling and Animation. The program is Maya 2008. I was only able to download Maya 2010 the newer version. I'm also using the mac at school, all new to me. This program seems overwhelming at first. At a few weeks of lessons I am finally starting to get the hang of it. The biggest challenge is navigating with the mouse and learning what all the tools do.

My first big project is this train.
The screen capture below is the textbooks version of the finished train.



Here is my train still a wip.


After we construct the train we will render it and build a subway station.

The final project will be a group project of creating a fictitious lego video game, cover, web page and review.

I'm really loving taking classes again. I think I may take two classes in the Fall, Intro to Digital Media and Adobe Illustrator. I'm not sure where this education will take me but for now I'm enjoying the journey!

A doodle of an idea!

Last Friday I subbed at the middle school. I always bring along my doodle bag just in case. The bag consists of 3"x5" index cards, a package of black ball point pens, a red plastic cup, and a snack(for me:))!
I tell the students that if they finish their assigned work early they can take one of the index cards(which I trace a circle on, using the red cup) and do a circle doodle. At first, they are not too impressed until I show them my circle doodle:)

For some silly reason this impresses them:)



Ok so now I have their attention. I talk to them about the humble doodle. I say, doodles are great because we don't expect anything from them, we don't judge them, we don't even really have to think to hard to do them, at least not consciously. They start doing their class assignment so they can finish up and get working on their all important doodle! Sometimes students are reluctant. I had a student that wasn't interested so I took out a doodle that I had started and asked him if he wanted to finish it. This seemed to motivate him and give him the confidence to doodle. That got me thinking. So on my lunch break I started several circle doodles. I gave the students the option of starting with a blank circle or one that I started. I was happy to see that most opted for blank circle. But it would have been interesting to see what they would have done with the ones that I started too. Here is a mosaic of those circles that I started.



I thought it might be fun to try a little doodle game on my doodle blog Doodle it Up! (poor little blog has been so neglected). If you'd like to play, head on over to Doodle it Up!

And don't forget to stop by Mary's little red house for Mosaic Monday!

The Coffee made me do it:)

Coffee has never been my thing. I like chocolate, so coffee and chocolate works for me. But lately I have been wondering if a cup of coffee in the morning is the thing I need to get my day going. So, for the past few days I have started my day with a cup. The results; it seems to clear my head and get me moving. More doing less thinking.

This morning I had a cup of coffee and seemed to have the energy and focus to do a chalkboard drawing(something I haven't had the desire to do in months)!

Could there be something to it?!

Now it's time to do my homework, laundry, clean the house and get something for diner tonight...
I think I may need the whole pot!

Have you had your coffee break today?

We need a beach condo!

Today was the chef's day off!! We decided to go to the beach that allows dogs. Lucy has never been to the beach before, so we weren't sure how she would like it. At 12:00 We packed up the car, put Lucy in the crate(she gets car sick sometimes and seems to do better in the crate) , put ice and drinks in the cooler, stopped at the store for some sandwiches and finally arrived at the beach at 2:30!
We gather up the beach bag, cooler , dog and kids and walked to the beach, and walked and walked and walked... (can you say, Creatively Fit?)




Until finally we arrived at the doggy beach!

The kids ran with Lucy down to the water. And before she knew it she was in the waves. This scared the you-know-what out of poor Lucy. After that she wanted nothing to do with the water. She was very happy in the dunes.



We figured if you can't beat em join em! So we joined Lucy in the dunes and took some goofy family pictures!



I finally did get Lucy to dip her paws in the water in some tide pools. She ran through the pools as she chased the birds!

After a few hours in the sun we packed up and headed home.

It would be so nice to have a condo at the beach. It seems like we pack so much into a day trip to the beach. It would be so nice to be able to stay for a few days and really relax! I'll have to add a beach condo to my vision blog!

Did I mention Lucy threw up twice on the way to the beach. She was too tired to get sick on the way home.

Hope your weekend was great!

Visit more mosaics at Mary's Little Red House

What's your guilty pleasure?

You know, that something you shouldn't like, but like it anyway! For me that would be the tv reality show, "The Real Housewifes of New York City" There's nothing "real" about them, there's nothing "housewife" about them but they are in New York City! Being from NY myself, anything that takes place there grabs my attention. I miss having access to that big beautiful city.

I love watching these crazy ladies run around the city, dining, partying, socializing, gossiping, shopping... I wish it was me, for a day or two. :)

I like to refer to them as the Real Yentas of NYC!:)



I'm not crazy about the photoshop job of this picture...

Anyway, I think my next guilty pleasure may have to be WORK OF ART (the next great artist) A new reality show on bravo starting June 9th.

This one may make my canvas green! But I'm hoping it will motivate and inspire me to start painting again. Who knows, maybe I'll be on the next season of Work of ART!:)

What's your guilty pleasure? I'd love to know...

And the Winner is...

That would be Beetle!! I don't have a blog to link you to. Beetle, if you have a blog that you would like to share with my readers I would be happy to link up!:)

Congratulation!! You have won this lovely little framed chalkboard and one 8"x10" unframed chalkboard.
If you would like to claim your prize please email me with the address you would like me to ship it to.:)

And thank you to everyone who entered my little giveaway and for sharing your wonderful birhtday memories with me

A Day of Music and Family!

Yesterday my mom and I met my sister at Universal Studios, CityWalk. My younger sister was there with her middle school orchestra. I'm so proud of my little sis! She is awesome at what she does!! Her orchestra played three songs. I took video but for some reason my computer is not reading it on my card:( I wanted to share some music with my blogger friends. Oh well, maybe next time.

Isn't my sister cute?! She looks like one of the kids! I can tell they adore her:) She has done remarkable work with them.
In this collage you can see her getting ready to conduct. There are also a couple of pictures of her and my mom wastin away again in Margarettaville! I wish we would have asked a passerby to take a picture of the three of us together.



Even though my sis is not a mom I think she deserves some recognition on mother's day for mentoring all of these young musician.

So Happy Mother's Day Sis, and Mom and every other mom and nurturer out there!!:)

Back to the Vision Board!

You may recall some earlier posts where I discussed my vision blog. You can read more about them HERE and HERE.
This is one of the pictures on my vision blog and board:



This is the pool I will have one day!
All things in good time!:) I believe it will happen but sometimes we must be patient, right?

This is the current backyard and my photoshopped version:



I called two pool places and sent them my plat survey. One informed me that the widest we would be able to go with a pool would be 7' which is basically a lap pool:



A lap pool would be great for an adult but for two wildly active boys it spells trouble. So it appear that as long as we are living in this house a pool is out of the question:( I'm really bummed:(

Luckily I have a backup vision!:)
I posted this picture to my vision blog over a year ago!:



It's not a pool but it will offer some shade and some addition indoor/outdoor living space! I even like the way the vines cover the fence! That's something that I can start on right away. Confederate jasmine is in bloom and on sale all over the place right now and it smells wonderful!

Added to the vision is a spa!



We definitely have room for that! I would like to somehow incorperate it into a semi natural landscape.

It's not about giving up on the original dream. Sometimes you just have to make the best out of your current situation!

I'll keep you posted as the vision comes into focus:)

Special Featured Blog!

I would like to introduce you to a new blog today! My Weight Loss Journey The author of this blog is my wonderful sister-in-law Stephanie:)


One week ago Stephanie had gastric bypass surgery. She made the decision to have this surgery because she was diabetic and has high blood pressure. When she learned that this procedure would help improve these conditions she asked her doctor if she would be a good candidate for the surgery. He advised her that she would be an excellent candidate and the decision was made!


When she told me she was planning on having the surgery I was a little scared for her because any surgery is scary but I was also excited for her because of the positive effect it would have on her life.

Stephanie has decided to blog about her experience and progress with gastric bypass surgery. I think it is very generous of her to share such a personal experience. I know this blog will be a valuable and a positive support to anybody who is thinking of having the surgery, who has had the surgery or knows someboby who is going through the same thing.

Thank you Stephanie for sharing your story.

I hope all of my readers will check out Stephanie's blog and let her know that you stopped by!

My Weight Loss Journey