Getting Out of the Comfort Zone!

I'm linking this post to SITS "A post you wish more people had read because this was a project that I did over the summer, in my 3-d digital media class. I worked my butt off on this project and I felt like nobody got to see it:( I'm really proud of my train station. My kids joked that I should have put a picture of myself sleeping in the corner of my train station. And believe me, I became so familiar with the space that I felt like I did live there. I hope you like my little virtual world as much as I do:) I wish I could give you the real tour. It looks so cool zooming around the space with the camera. Thanks for indulging me:)

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It's been over a week since my last post. That's a long time! I've been busy finishing up the class I've been taking this summer. As you can read in previous posts, I took another Digital Media class, 3-d modeling and Animation. We learned mostly 3-d modeling and just touched on animation at the end. Yesterday was the last day of class and I turned in six renderings of my final project, a train station with train. I'm not a gamer and never got into the whole virtual environment world. The whole concept was foreign to me. Many times during the course of this class I felt like a fish out of water. Every time I tackled something new, polygons, NURBS, texture, lighting, animating I literally left class with a pounding headache. However, every time I completed a task I felt like a genious!:)

I spent endless hours modeling my train station, and texturing it. I ran out of time to truly explore lighting ( I'm a little dissatisfied with how that part turned out because I didn't put much time into that aspect of it). Yesterday was the last day of class and for better or for worse this was what I turned in.

The train was my first project. When I complete my train I felt on top of the world!



This is a cross section shot of the overall station. I modeled the light pendants after the ones I have hanging in my own house:)



This is a shot of the upper level(there are three) This is the entrance and ticket booths(I didn't really get to finish the detail of the booths)

Here is a shot from the bottom level. Would have liked to put spot lights on the artwork(ran out of time). My train station is a mini art gallery too. I included paintings of trains from famous artists(Monet, Munch, Warhol, Magritte). I also added little decorative and architectural details such as, marble inlay, marble stair and finials, and wood trim.



This is a shot of the seating on the second level, the "lounge". The chairs took me 7 hours! AND I'm still not 100 % happy with it!


Here is a birds eye view.



I found the perfect brick carved relief sculpture to add to the scene! I'm trying to retrace my steps to give proper credit to the wonderful artist who did this work. When I find it I'll post it.

So there you have it! I did it! Stepped out of my comfort zone and it feels great! Now excuse me while I go find a nice warm soft cozy place to retreat:)

To see earlier steps in this process click here

Have a wonderful day and don't forget to step out of your comfort zone every now and then!:)

Just thinking on Mosaic Monday...

Yesterday the boys went fishing. I sat up on the hilltop as I watched them being boys. It was a beautiful sight! As I gazed at them in the distanced I imagined that all three boys were mine.(Two are mine and one is my older son's friend). I find that I do this quite often when one of my son's has a friend along. I think, how nice it would be to have three boys that are close in age. My boys are 12 and 8.(the friend is 10). One right in the middle would have been perfect (so I think).(I always get a little sad thinking that that could never be now.)

Then all of a sudden my perspective changed! I realized if I had three there would be no room for the friend to come along. I also thought if the three, down on the dock, were all mine one would be pushed in the water by now! The reason all three are getting along so nicely is because one is a novelty. Also, at the end of the day, I have two mouths to feed (with the occasional third as a welcomed guest). It's almost like being a grandparent to the third. You get to enjoy him for a while and than send him home for the parents to deal with:)
So my perspective has changed! I love having my two with an occasional ever changing third party to enjoy and send home:)
What I learned:
When you're feeling a little down about your situation, take a moment and view it from another angle. You may be surprised at what you see. And you may really find that you are happy with what you have!
Enjoy your Mosaic Monday! @ Mary's little red house:)

OMG!!

I've been working on the railroad...
Yes I've been working on my 3-D modeling class project. I promised to update as I made progress! Judging from the response to my last post I gather that it's not too exciting. Well I've completely scraped the station I was working on(I kinda knew I'd do that) and started over! I'm finally getting the hang of it. I just hope I can finish in time. I haven't even begun to texturize and add lighting. I think I'm in a bit of a jam:(
Here's what I have so far...I worked on the banister all day...all day...all the live long day...

This station also has two levels. It has six tracks. The concept is to make it a train station/art gallery.

This is the upper level. I still need to add the stairs.

Here's a view from the lower level tunnel.

Here's another upper level view.

I worked on this banister all day! I'm very proud of it!:)
Maya is one tough program but the possibilities are endless once you get the hang of it. (Not that I've gotten the hand of it yet)
I hope you'll check back in to see what the final project looks like.

Working in 3-D

Three more weeks of my 3-D modeling class! I'm finding it hard to stay motivated. Maybe because it's summer and the kids are home. Maybe because I'm thinking about redecorating and gardening. Maybe it's just because 3-D modeling is not my thing. I love the idea of creating interior spaces and decorating them but maybe not in the virtual sense. I am not a video gamer and I'm not really crazy about animated films. However, I have always had respect for it as an art form. AND now I have even more respect for animation artist, since I've been working in Maya 2008 this semester.

So my final project is to create a subway station for my train. If the computer screen was a piece of paper I would crumple this up and start over again!

Here is what I have so far (I think I'm going to start over from scratch)



This is a screen shot of the four different views. The idea was to create a train station/ mall/restaurant.


After the modeling is complete I will texturize(add color and textured surfaces) and light the scene. Heaven help me! I'm using my blog to get me motivated. If I think of this assignment as show and tell posts for my blog it may just get me moving.

Are you interested in seeing the finished train station? Then stay tuned! If you'd like to cheer me on, that might help too!:)(could always use the moral support)

Color Palette Generator

I just found this great site, Color Palette Generator while visiting a wonderful blog that is fairly new, Cozihome. I hope you'll check them out:)

As mentioned in my last post, I'm thinking of painting my master bedroom blue. Using the color palette generator I selected a personal photo of a stormy day at the beach, colors that I love, and upload to the site. PHoto of inspiration, Clearwater beach Fl 2009:

These are the generated colors:

Yes, this looks like the palette that I'm going for!

True Blue!

I have run the gamete in my head... What color should I paint the walls in my bedroom? At first I thought a passionate purple(that quickly passed), than I was sure shades of gray would be perfect, no wait green...green is so...green..... Now, I'm sure it should be a deep blue gray. I saw the color on the walls of the hotel lobby that I was stay in the other night. The color was perfect! It was deep but not dark and when the light hit it, it was almost light in hue. Like an endless night sky!
Here is a collection of photos for inspiration.

Blue and white kitchen with accents of black ( I see chalkboards:))

Orange is the complementary color of blue. My wood furniture is an orange. This is the blue that I'm picturing. Love the gold frame too, perfect for a chalkboard:)

This deep blue-green is nice too paired with a darker wood and chocolate brown. See how the color is deep but not dark?

Ah just beyond the funky lighting do I see a chalkboard?!

Know what else looks great against deep blue...?

Stenciled fireworks!! See more wonderful sstencil art on this great blog I found while looking for my inspiration photos!

Happy 4th of July!! Happy Birthday America!

Can you believe I still have this drawing on my kitchen door that I did last Memorial day 2009!! I just can't bare the thought of erasing it:)

P.S. If I ever get the paint from my imagination to the walls I will share pictures!

Have a great day!

Swimsuit Shopping!

Who likes swimsuit shopping?! Not me! I went shopping yesterday determined to find the right bathing suit for me. Things to consider when shopping for a suit:
1. Your age
2. Your figure type: pear, apple, hourglass, large bust, small bust, straight, long torso etc...
3. Lifestyle: Chasing kids, swimming laps, lounging with a martini, dancing on MTV etc...
4. Color and print
5 Price$

Considering all of these factors I finally found suits that I LOVE!!

My list:
1. Age-42
2. Figure type-hourglass
3. Lifestyle-between chasing kids, swimming laps and lounging with a martini ( I won't be dancing on MTV anytime soon)
4.Color and print- I prefer darker bolder colors and smaller graphic prints (I'm fair skinned)
5. Price- moderate to low

I started at Macy's
there were some good sales but the selection was limited to mostly two piece and tankinis
Next Dillards
Way too expensive, no sales
Khols
No one pieces
Bealls
I can't even remember what was there. It was that unimpressive
ROSS
BINGO!!! The selection was small but dead on! I tried on five suits and purchased 3!!

Two of the suits were by Christina Swimwear for $16.99 each retail price $88 ea!! These are very well made suits with support in all the right places!




The third suit is a Jantzen. Paid $11.99 (picture shown is not the exact suit but similar)


Grand total for all three suit $50!!

My advice check out the brand outlet stores first!! Ross, Marshall, T J Maxx etc...

Happy Shopping!

Summer Stock at Chalk it up!

Here's just a little update on what we are up to at Chalk it up!

First, the summer sale is going well! Check it out at our etsy shop:) We will be adding more framed chalkboards shortly!

Second, we're keeping the kids busy with swim practice everyday! The kids are loving it! And yes there is some computer time everyday, it's hard to keep them away but we try. We went to the mall one day and all they wanted to do was play at the Apple store. I was pretty amazing, it was the most crowded store in the mall. As I looked around at all of the amazing technology I thought, "Wow and I sell chalkboards!" What could be more opposite than an ipad?! Just goes to show, a classics a classic!


As you can imagine my home is filled with chalkboards! We find that we are using them more and more. One chalkboard keeps track of sales, another keeps track of the kids' summer earnings for chores, and another reinforces the Spanish words that they are learning this summer.(I'm doing Spanish lessons with the kids on Spanishdict.com) I also plan on framing a 16"x20" chalkboard to put in each of the kids' rooms. This will be for their things to do list;) The nice thing about using the chalkboards is less paper is used and they look stylish in any room.

On the down side, hubby, the chef, is working more than ever (yes I know in this economy that's a good thing) but they really need to hire more people. It seems that these days one person is doing the job of three or four because companies are afraid to hire for lack of business. Well, hopeful he will have one day off this week. He should be off on the fourth!! YAY!!

I hope you are all having a great summer!!

Oh, one more thing, I'm still taking my 3-D modeling class. It's a killer!! Maya is a tough program. I'm creating something that I hope to share in the next week or two. It's a difficult program to learn but FUN!!

Have a great and safe 4th of July!