Better living through computer graphics

This video has popped up on pretty much every tech (and some non-tech) blog I visit, and it's totally justified. Alex Roman made a short film about architecture that is mind-blowingly beautiful and technically amazing. I couldn't believe this entire thing was made from CG. Even at full-screen, I couldn't tell it was CG because the animation is so ridiculously photorealistic, especially in the beginning. Have a look below. Do yourself a favor and put it on full-screen.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

For those who still don't believe this is all CG, check is out:

Compositing Breakdown (T&S) from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

I'm stressed out as fuck

So, to relieve some of that stress, I'll revisit this blog, which I more or less abandoned months ago. The thing is, I've got two presentations tomorrow and lots of stuff to design. I'll be working til at least 3 in the morning tonight. But I've got sketches done!

Adult life is tougher than what I had imagined as a child (or hoped for). Recently I've been reminiscing about how stupid I was to complain about life as a kept kid. I didn't have to pay for anything and got everything. Oh well, those days are gone, so I should probably worry about today. And these projects. And the presentations tomorrow.

Back to work.

Oh, and thanks, mom and dad, for the braces and those Nike Cortez shoes you got me way back when.


In Bataan, Philippines

Cheap Polaroids, digitally

Polaroid photography is gratifying...instantly and long-term. There's a comforting quality to the vintagey color palette and the blurriness of the photo. And best of all, it's already framed. After seeing Audrey's newly posted Polaroids, I was sure that I could find a quick Photoshop filter online that would give me the results I wanted. To my surprise, there were plenty of tutorials on how to fake the white Polaroid border, but nothing that would actually change the image quality.

After a couple hours of tinkering with color balance, saturation, density, constrast, levels, etc., I came up with a decent Photoshop action that mimics a Polaroid. Here are the before and after files (special thanks to the guy I stole the original photo from on Flickr).



Original:


I'll post the Photoshop action soon for anyone who's intersted.

Week in review, plus: some future stuff

• Stressed out at work again for another pitch/book


• Designed a kick-ass logo and business card for Lee and his startup


• David nearly went banaaannas over a disgruntled client email


• Finally picked out and put together a montage of some Polaroid 669 and 665 (discontinued!!) photos taken with various Land cameras; the Polaroid group I started in 2001 on Yahoo! Groups still has people posting...though I rarely check it anymore :(


• Rediscovered Ross (the dress for less store, not the fantastic web author); they carry lots of great kitchen brands for cheap (calphalon, anonlon, pyrex, faberware, cuisinart, kitchenaid, etc.)


• Audrey deleted me from her MySpace friends, citing that I'm "evil" and my "bitchiness knows no bounds"; Brian gets off scot-free; I petition for a recount


• Redeemed and hand-picked my pound of candy from See's; I'm certain the term "like a kid in a candy store" originated there


• Tomorrow I will win a plasma TV at Golden Gate Fields; I will also win lots of money


• Come Monday, Jocelyn and I will wander the halls of Gyro aimlessly due to the week-long loss of our leader who'd rather be in Hawaii

Work in progress (top) and live and in action (bottom).