Alive and kickin'

It's been 3 years since my last post. I'm sure nobody expects me to post anything but oh well, why the hell not.
If anyone is wondering what have I been up to during these last years - I studied graphic design, got a gf and recently moved to the UK. BTW, if you need a logo, check out my portfolio website and get in touch.
Anyway, as some of you might have noticed, there's a new Quake game around, called Quake Champions. At first, before the beta, I thought it's gonna be very gimmicky (like TF2 or Overwatch) but it turned out much better than I expected and I really like the game. Once they add demo support I'll try to find some time to create a frag movie. I already have a perfect tune ready. I'm excited and I hope you are as well:)

Dobry Sztos

Hey guys, due to lack of free time and motivation I decided to drop the av3k movie project. If anyone is interested in the timestamped demos, just let me know, I'll be more than happy to see someone make use of them.

For those interested in what am I up to these days, I'm working part-time, studying and trying to set up a graphic design studio with a good friend of mine. Right now we're building the brand, taking part in contests, looking for opportunities, etc. It's still small, but we're working on it at a constant pace.

If you're interested - check it out:
Facebook
Instagram
dobrysztos.pl (under construction)

Oi2

So the xmas break ended a while ago, I kept going through demos and watched all of the demos from the spreadsheet, DHS2013 and FaceIT legends demos. I found a couple of movie worthy frags, but nothing jaw-dropping really. I've downloaded a whole lot of other demos from different events, probably gonna download more soon, BUT right now I don't have the time to view them. The semester is about to end so I'm really busy with uni stuff.

Concerning my last post and possible abandoning the project, don't worry, even if I'll think that making av3k movie is a waste of time because of the content quality, I'll surely release the timestapped demos so that any willing moviemaker could pick them up and make an av3k movie instead of me.. And yeah the quality of footage so far wasn't that good, it's a bit sad that I was more fired up watching my own dm17 demos, *sigh*.

As proof that I'm busy with uni stuff, here's a doghouse concept for a dog pound. :)

Oi!

So yeah, again it's been ages since my last post. Just giving everyone a little heads up about the situation. I've been going through Av3k demos for the past 2 days, mostly because of the Xmas break and some free time on my hands.Otherwise, I'm busy with all kind of things, and actually I'm seriously considering dropping this movie project. It depends on the quality of frags I'll find - I won't bother working on a movie with 'decent content'. Expect more info soon once I go through all the demos. Peace!

Platonic solids

Few days ago I came back from a mandatory university trip which took place in a small village located on the Baltic Sea coast. There all the students were given 2 different assignments which resulted in various installations and performances.

My group came up with an idea of using platonic solids as objects that are moved by wind. I really dig the geometry and contrast between nature and something so mathematical.

These pictures were made by my friend who was part of the group. If you want to see more of her stuff, check out her site.

I also put together a short video. It was quite hard to pick out useable footage but I somehow managed to make a decent clip.

 

I really like the whole concept and one day I'd like to make something alike, but more professionally so to say.

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Anyway, it looks like I'll have more free time on my hands during this semester. I'll do my best to catch up with all my old projects and bring this blog back to life. I know I've been repeating that over and over again but seriously I really want to. Stay tuned!

Wanna help?

Oi! So I have a day off today and just enough free time to put together a post. A couple of days ago the thread about av3k movie project was bumped and after some thinking I decided to listen to this one fellow and make a spreadsheet with some of the demos so people could view them and take part in the making of the video.

So if anyone is interested and has a bit of free time, feel free to grab a demo or two, watch it, look for interesting frags/moments and edit the document. Oh and don't forget to write down your name next to the info you've entered, otherwise I won't know who to list in the credits :) Cheers!

Heeeeeeeeey!

Sooo, I'm so damn busy these days.. I'm in Germany, trying to earn some extra cash. In my free time I'm working on my thesis (right now I'm learning CLIPS programming language, it's exclusively  for expert systems - a kind of artificial intelligence). There are also some other things I have to finish for uni. All that ^ is due for September.. So yeah, the av3k video project will have to be postponed, but don't worry, I really want to do it.. I just can't right now.

Instead, here's a four-leaf clover I found in the park while waiting for my job interview. Needless to say, I got the job :)

PureData, sounds and signals

During the last few days I learned a lot of new things. One of them being a visual programming language called PureData:

Pure Data (aka Pd) is an open source visual programming language. Pd enables musicians, visual artists, performers, researchers, and developers to create software graphically, without writing lines of code. Pd is used to process and generate sound, video, 2D/3D graphics, and interface sensors, input devices, and MIDI. Pd can easily work over local and remote networks to integrate wearable technology, motor systems, lighting rigs, and other equipment. Pd is suitable for learning basic multimedia processing and visual programming methods as well as for realizing complex systems for large-scale projects.

I'll be making use of this language in a project I'm taking part in. Basically, we'll be making a machine that reacts to sounds, draws shapes accordingly to them and possibly makes sounds itself. So it'll be a some sort of a musical instrument. Pd will analyze the incoming sounds and output signals used to control the machine. It's a quite complex problem but the more complicated the issue is, the more satisfaction solving it gives. :)

Here's a fragment of a simple example of the Pd "canvas", that's how the actual "code" looks like in PureData. Here we can see a simple MIDI synthesizer imitation that you can control using the computer keyboards' keys. The key object at the top, sends out a number whenever a keyboard key is pressed. Each key has a unique number. The object below is a number object, it's there only to show values of each pressed keys. The sel objects below send a signal only if they recieve the argument number. The big squares are called "bangs" and they indicate that a signal is passing through them (or can send signal themselves, when clicked on). Under them are message objects containing numbers corresponding to actual midi notes.

Apart from pd, I also learned a lot about sound itself. It's parameters, characteristics, etc. I needed to know more about it, because I had to know how to analyze it.

It's a big project and I'll most likely focus some more on it in the next semester. Right now, the current semester is about to end and I have to focus on finishing all current uni projects. I'll be making a motion tracking animation in the following days. It'll probably end up on my youtube channel so stay tuned.

The RL

Soo, yesterday I picked up the good ol' rocket launcher model and I'm going to continue my "remake" that I started a couple of months ago. I'm dropping ZBrush for the moment though, as I'll work mainly in Blender (got sorta used to it). I made a shitty FullHD render of the original model yesterday. Thought I'll share it with yall.

10K

Yesterday, the numbers of views of this blog has passed 10000. I'm really happy about reaching this milestone, and I'm looking forward to getting much more views in the future (when I'll finally write posts on a regular basis). :)

Happy easter!

It's this time of year again, happy easter people! (or Zombie Jesus Day) Have a good one :)
A while ago I was learning how to use CorelDraw and I made this simple "winter/easter themed" illustration, thought I'd share it with yall. Right now it's still winter here in Poland (it's unusual for winter to last so long), that's where the winter theme comes from.

If you're wondering why I didn't post anything new recently, well, uh I don't have a valid excuse :D I finally finished all the due stuff from my previous semester tho, (I felt at least ten times lighter afterwards, seriously) and I made 2 simple websites, but I won't show them cause they aren't anything special.

OH, and I played quake! There's this q3 iFT clanbase ladder that was brought back to life after a couple of years. Oddly enough it even has some activity going on. After talking to my good ol' buddies we managed to play an official ladder game. Feels good to be back. Hopefully we'll manage to catch some more games in the following weeks.

As for movie making, I'll try to start working on the dm17 movie in my free time. I promise! I'm also thinking about music for the next big projekt - Av3k movie! ;o

A skull

Yesterday I was messing around with some of my older models. Among them was a skull I sculpted in ZBrush around 2 years ago (damn, time sure flies!) but I never really rendered it properly. I made a simple render in blender. The results are quite cool:

Obviously, the sculpture itself has numerous flaws, with the teeth being the one that stands out the most. I might fix this skull one day, but first I'd like to finish some other stuff :)

Oh, btw! I actually managed to play a bit of quake recently and I even made some movie quality frags:) Really tempted to start working on a new video!! :)

Games, games, games!

I thought I'll write a bit about a couple of games I've played in the few past months.
I'll start off with Unmechanical

Unmechanical is a side-scrolling adventure puzzle game, with physics, stunning 3D graphics, great ambiance and what not! The movement in this game is also something you're not used to, as you'll be flying all of the time (well, almost). The only letdown is the length of the game, if I recall correctly I finished the game in one sitting.. and the ending is quite abrupt, feels like a sequel should be on it's way.. I don't want to spoil too much, but trust me, the game's really something. OH! and you can get it now from indie royale for a mare 4,04€ (right now) with four other games. (normally you'd have to pay 9€ for unmechanical alone!). So yeah, go check that out at indieroyale or if you still aren't convinced, check out the release trailer:



The 2nd game I wanted to post about is MIBO Arcade

 

MIBO Arcade is a fun little android game developed by my friend in his free time. To be frank, it turned out to be quite cool. It's a simple arcanoid conversion that's controlled using the smartphone's accelerometer (or alternatively, you can enable on-screen buttons in the options). The game features  multiple levels, replenishable health, double point bonuses, thrilling boss fights and more! All that accompanied by music of Binärpilot. 



If you have an android device, give it a shot and grab it for free from Google Play.

Back from the dead!

Uh oh, you guys might have thought that I'm dead. Na-ah! I'm back. Sorry for the really looong silence, I was trying to focus on my uni classes and some other personal stuff. Oh, I was also messing around 3D a lot, learned tons but there's still a lot to learn. I don't have anything particular to show off so I'll pass for now.
Um, so yeah, the winter semester at uni is about to end, once it's over I'll have time to work on something more enjoyable. I'd like to make a new ql movie or finish some of my old projects that I've left half done, like the rocket laucher model.. OH! yeah btw the model, an annonymous friend has made a real rocket launcher model out of screenshots that I've sent him. For more info check the comments under this post. He really made an awesome job, check it out!:)

So yeah, new stuff soon.

Machinarium!

 A while ago, a good friend of mine recommended me this little, point-and-click adventure game called Machinarium. It's a great indie game with lots of puzzles and amazing, hand-drawn art. While playing it, I was taken on a trip into a beautiful world, full of inspiring sights, mind-twisting riddles and a well thought-out story :) An interesting aspect of the game is that there are no dialogues - the game replaces speech with simple sign language, as a result, you don't need to know english to play:)

Go ahead and visit www.machinarium.net to play the free demo online, and if you like it, buy it! :)
Oh, and btw, try to pass it without using any of the hints! I did :)

New blog banner

Finally, I sat down and replaced the ugly "under construction" banner with a new decent one. It shows the new logo I was working on during vacations. Hope you like it:) I still have to finish this little animation, it's a transition between my old "logo" and the new one. Hopefully I'll manage to release it this year. :}

Mural gallery - Gdańsk Zaspa

As promissed, I've made a gallery of murals I've taken pictures of 3 weeks ago. Below I posted some closeups of some of the more interesting ones (or at least for me). For the complete gallery follow this link.

Next up is the mural gallery from Wrocław. Stay tuned:) Also, if you have some interesting street art in your city or neighbourhood it would be awesome if you'd leave a picture in the comments, I'd love to see it!=)

All your base are belong to us

Jeez, it was already a month since I last posted, damn time sure flies. A lot of things happened in the meanwhile. I passed my driving license exam, broke up with my gf, qualified for that 2nd course at my university.. Oh yeah, I have some damn cool classes now, like drawing, paiting, sculpting, basics of interior design, visual communication, product design, etc. All in all, interesting stuff. The downside is that I don't have time for slacking, and I have to buy a lot of stuff (large paper sheets, paint, paintbrushes, etc. etc.) But I guess it's all for the best. :) I'll try to post some of my work later.

Last month I visited Gdańsk and took photos of some more murals! yay! Here's a little teaser. A while ago I posted a picture of a mural made by the same author - "M-City".

I've already made a gallery of the photos of murals I've taken in Gdańsk, but I yet have to upload it somewhere.. picasa most likely. I also have to finally sort out the photos of murals from Wrocław.. soon!:D

Update

I've been very busy as of late and, to be honest, I still am. I applied for a 2nd course at my university, so if I'll manage to qualify, I'll be attending two courses simultaneously. I applied for industrial design, so I would have classes like drawing, painting, sculpting, etc. Pretty damn neat.

All the things I was working on are on low priority right now but I promise to get back to them as soon as possible. More news next week.

Logo change animation (WiP)

Right now I'm working on an animation that I want to release before my next project. It's going to be a sort of a transition, between my current "logo" and a new real one that I've recently come up with. My current "logo" or maybe more of a recognizable thing that I've used in my movies, is based on a quake 3 advert that I scanned from a gaming magazine ages ago.

The animation I'm working on, will show this scene, falling apart, and my new logo rising from the smoke. The idea itself is quite neat, but actually doing it, is quite tricky. To set up the scene in 3ds max, I'm using free stock 3d models that I found on the archive3d site. I had to scale up each of the models and put them in their place. This alone takes a lot of time, I'm not done yet, but here's what I've put together so far.

As you can see the models aren't the same as the ones in the advert, a lot of elements are missing, but I'll take care of it. I've already cut out some parts of the ad that I'm going to use as a background in the 3d scene. Then, I'll have to animate everything, make it fall apart. Then comes rendering. To be honest with you, I don't know how to make things look photorealistic.. YET! It's something I really want to learn and I'll be reading into it more soon. Then smoke some comes in, I'll most likely add it in AE since I've already found a nifty tutorial on it.

This all might still take a while, but I'll learn a lot of new things on the way, which I'll be able to use in my future projects. This animation will be quite a milestone. More news soon.