McDonald's in 3D

**click on the images to view them in detail**

Lat week, I went out to Little India with my friends for a photo-hunting outing. In the evening, we went to the newly opened City Square Mall for a meal. Stopped by McDonald's because they wanted ice cream. While sitting there, I drew inspiration from the nice clean look of the restaurant. Thus I thought of recreating the scene in 3ds. Took some reference shots of the bar stool-like chairs as I felt those were the more difficult to create.












This is my first time recreating a more complex scene since I started self-learning 3d a couple weeks back, so it's quite a challenge. And I took a whole day with it as I was still not very familiar with the max interface. Haha. Anyway, the first image above is not a photo, but what I've created. Hard to believe right? I myself was pretty much surprised at how realistic it looked even though I used very simple methods to create it. Below are a few images of some of the behind the scene stuff.. None of them are photos too. The only photos are the 2 reference shots I took above. Lol.

A clean render, without any materials applied.


My first try at creating the Mac's table


Creation of the tables with the bar-stool chairs and basic lighting


Simple wallpaper, made using photoshop

It is really satisfying to be able to make nice cool stuff so easily with 3ds max. Haha. I shall look for more things to recreate (that are within my abilities now of course!). And for the time being, I played around with my scene a little more and got the 2 images below. The good thing abt 3d creation is that you can slot your name anywhere you want. Like me, below. Lol. Hey, designers also can have fun ok..




To view my earlier works, visit my picassa account at
http://picasaweb.google.com/generationm88

Thanks!! ^.^

Good O' D50

This term.. I have a module on photography. Everyone in class has bought or upgraded their DSLR within 2009, including my teacher. I'm the only one with an older, lousier and discontinued Nikon D50. It's 4 years old and counting.

My camera cannot compete with the new models in terms of the colours and contrast of the photos, due to the older technology of my camera sensor. Newer DSLRs have features such as video, faster continuous photos, Live-View mode, a larger screen, larger ISO range and a much better CMOS sensor. They easily trump my D50 in almost every aspect.

But as everyone says, it's not the camera but the photographer. It doesn't matter if other cameras effortlessly beats mine. The D50 is the first DSLR I ever had. I've kept it in (relatively) good condition. It served me on many occasions without fail. In short, I love it very much. I'm proud of it.

Time To Continue

After a long break, I think I have a bit more motivation to carry on with this blog. I have lots of reasons to believe that no one ever comes to my blog already. But I don't mind. Lol.

I came to do designing for my degree because I didnt like academic studies. Yes, serious. And when I started school earlier this year, I thought I have finally left my past behind. Not that I want to or have anything to hide. But more specifically, I didn't like what I studied in JC. I took computing, that is, programming and webpage design and databases and etc. Needless to say, I failed horribly... Nah, just joking. I passed my A Levels. But honestly, I passed horribly. Had a C. And that partly was responsible for my attitude towards studying academic subjects.

Six months into my design course, I come face to face with my worst subject (not Chinese this time, just this time) yet again. But this time, I'm taking on HTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL and APACHE. And I thought design does not have anything to do with programming. But somehow, thanks to my computing background, I find it easier to understand the class. Maybe good things come to those who wait.. Actually, that last line had nothing to do with my situation but I just thought it seemed appropriate (and cool).. But whatever.

It's Been A While..

It's been exactly a month since I posted on this blog. While I am quite lazy to update, seeing how I have to sign in and write, I blame most of my absence on Facebook. After being introduced to Facebook, which previously was something I refused to join, I slowly found that it was much more interesting than I thought, comparing to the all so boring friendster.. Thus, I spend more time on Facebook and more occupied there to think abt blogging.

Luckily, nowadays, I find that Facebook is getting boring. So I may continue to blog here.. Unless I'm feeling too lazy and/or have nothing to say. Lol. The only thing I like abt Facebook now is that I can control who I want to view my uploaded videos, rather than uploading here where it is free for all and also close to none visit my blog at all. So for now, I will use Facebook mainly as a place where I upload my works, photos, special effects videos and other random videos that I made.

This blog is reserved for the other nonsense.. Haha.

VFX

I wanted to take up visual effects when doing my degree. However, now as I'm studying in Raffles Design, I'm currently taking up interactive media design cuz it's the only path to taking a degree in animation and visual effects in the school. But right now, what I'm learning is kind of not in my interest. ie. Graphic design.. Photoshop.. Illustrator.. I'm done with static jpegs man, gimme some video, mpegs, avi, mp4, mov work!!

Sadly, that will have to wait.. Sometimes I feel quite disappointed that I have to wait 2 years before I will get to learn abt what I really enjoy doing. So well, patience. Have to learn to make good images first before you learn to make good videos. Kind of like learning to walk first before you run. Lol.. But I already can run.. Heh!

In the meantime, I shall just make my videos as a hobby, to quench my insatiable thirst to working with videos.. Btw, I want a HD camcamera! Haha. Maybe a Creative Vado HD will suffice..? ^_^

TOL Blog Designer

I think I'm more or less the official blog designer of TOL's blog. But I don't mind, at least I have something to do or else I'll feel so awkward to be in a group and yet not be active. Lol..

IHM TOL Blog - http://ihmtol.blogspot.com/

Don't be surprised if you see similar design elements down at that blog.
Can't expect much from the same designer for now. Haha.

Finally Started School

Ok, I finally started school yesterday. Had my first day of lessons since I finished my A's couple years back. Lessons in RDI are fun. Yup. My tutor's from Columbia. He's fun and cheerful. Even from one session yesterday, I can tell I'm going to enjoy learning from him. Haha.

Classes are combined with the previous semester students. That makes our class abt 20 people strong. And I'm the only Singaporean there. Feel like a rare species. Lol. But nevertheless, it's fun. Get to meet people from different places and appreciate their ideas.

Currently I'm still quite free. Only need to go school on 3 days. Mondays are full day while Tuesdays and Thursdays are afternoon days. But that means more time for more homework. Lol. Until then, the remaining days are still my free days.

There are students in class that are only 16 years old. And I'm one of the oldest there, even though I'm 21. Haha. How I wish I could be like them, studying for degree at that age. But it's ok, I'm the only one that went thru A levels, though it doesnt seem like it's significant at all. Haha. But hey, I have one more cert than them. Lol, trying to console myself. Anyhow, I'm sure to have fun there.

Finally Gambit is Here!

I've watched the previous 3 X Men movies. And I must say I was actually quite disappointed with the characters. Yeah, sure you have the big names like Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Prof X, Jean Grey, etc.. But they always seem to miss out on one, intentional or otherwise.. And that is my favourite character.. Gambit!!

And now there is X Men Origins Wolverine. And of course, making his debut on the big screen for the very first time is Gambit. Yay! Ok, the show isn't released yet and I'm dying to watch it, keeping my eyes wide open to spot Gambit. But by what I've seen in the trailer so far, he has quite a role in the action scenes. Yes! The actor had better portray Gambit properly. Lol.. Loved the way he shoots the cards instead of throwing them like in the cartoon.. And how he Cajun Strike the ground which explodes in purple light.. =D

Here's how badly I like Gambit..


Lol.. I just wish I could charge the cards like he did.. =P

My "Dream" Phone

I was so bored today. I set aside some time to open up photoshop and think.

"So what could I design today? Hmm.. Why not make something with just simple shapes?"

And the iPhone came to mind, simple in design, yet captivating and elegant. Thus, I set off to design miPhone. Lol. Yeah, that's lame. Anyway, I didnt come out with a name so I'm not that lame after all. Oh, I added call buttons, much alike the Nokia 5800. I really like coloured slits for call buttons. Lol.

I think I can do better than this phone. Just need more time. Haha.

Lazy To Blog

Lol.. I'm feeling very lazy to blog nowadays.. Spending too much time on other websites. But anyway, I wonder how many people actually view my blog, apart from those who are active in my tagboard thing. Haha.

So, school is starting for me soon. I can't wait for that. 1 week more to go! Raffles Design. Here I come! *zooms*..

Shitty Video

Hi.. I made a video abt my thoughts abt the word "shit". Lol. It's made out of fun. So don't take what I've said seriously. I also posted this on my Facebook account.

My voice and accent still sounds a little weird. But I'm still practising. Lol. Also the entire video was only done in a day, so excuse the rough animation too. Btw, everything was done by me. So it's not very professional. Regardless, enjoy!

'Errors' on Facebook is actually a virus!

If you've recently been receiving messages on Facebook that says so and so are having problems viewing your profile, don't be too quick to click on the link. Chances are that it is a virus. I posted this article which was on yesterday's newspaper, Fri 27 Feb. But I didn't realise Facebook photos can't be zoomed in. So I put it up here to for the benefit of those who want to read it. Haha.










Click on the pic for a larger view.

My Most Listened To Music - AudioCast 1 (Full)

Hey, this my first ever audiocast!

This audiocast is about me introducing some music and speaking my mind.

Ok, I created it just for the fun of it. But anyway, apologise for the poor audio quality. It's cuz I only have an old mic which cannot pick up my voice very well. Well, at least the songs sounds good. LOL.

This is the original version, abt 32 mins in length. Listen to it and leave comments so that I can improve. Thanks and enjoy.






Credits

Music Used:
1) Flo Rida - Low
2) Flo Rida feat Timbaland - Elevator
3) Flo Rida feat Will.i.am - In The Ayer
4) Flo Rida feat Sean Kingston - Roll
5) Flo Rida feat Keyshia - Right Round
6) Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Right Round
7) 50 Cent feat Justin Timberlake - Ayo Technology
8) Milow - Ayo Technology
9) Jackie Boyz - Zero Gravity
10) Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You
11) Leona Lewis - I Will Be
12) Lesley Roy - Unbeautiful
13) DJ Earworm - United States of Pop 2008


As for the picture in the video and the remix at the intro and outro, those were created by me.

5 Mins Illusion Challenge

We've all seen stage magicians doing their magic before. Some of them have really long "stories" and others have almost none. However, what is the most number of complete illusions that can be done in 5 mins? Here is Hans Klok to show you.

Sticky Notes

Sticky or Post It notes.. Small pieces of coloured paper which can be stuck anywhere. They can be used as reminders, notes, memos, bookmarks, etc. But have you ever used them for entertainment? LOL. Watch this video. Absolutely fantastic.



EepyBird's Sticky Note experiment from Eepybird on Vimeo.

New Facebook Account

I finally set up a Facebook account because of Daniel. Keep persuading me to set up one. So I eventually succumbed and just created one last night.

Now I have to go thru the long process of having to customise my profile page. Such a daunting task that I just left it as it is. Until I can muster my courage to move the mouse and tap away on the keyboard, Manfred's Facebook account will just be a big blank page. I did upload my display picture though. Yay! =P

Happy Chinese New Year 2009

Let me start off by wishing one and all a very Happy Chinese New Year 2009!

It's the year of the Ox or bull. So let's grab the bull by its horn and hold on tight for this unpredictable year. May God bless this year and keep all my friends and family safe from harm, healthy and happy.

Just a nice random post here. =)

New LG Watch Phone

Talk to the hand... literally. LG has recently unveiled a new Watch Phone. Basically, it's a digital wrist watch and a phone combined.

Some features:
- LCD Backlit Colour Touchscreen
- Phone with Touch Keypad
- Built in Speaker
- Built in Microphone
- SMS
- Music Player
- Wrist Watch
- Bluetooth 2.1

*Not a comprehensive list of features but you can read up more about it online.*

I think it's interesting to have a watch double up as a phone. But I wouldn't want to be caught talking to my hand in public whenever a call comes. I can pretty much imagine others looking at you and thinking, "eww, look at that dude, still so childish, trying to be cool and acting as if his watch is a phone". Which also reminds me of Power Rangers, where the rangers communicate with their base via the watch. So stupid. Thankfully the watch phone supports bluetooth so you can connect and talk via a bluetooth headset. However, no-one is going to wear a headset 24/7. So mostly, I may just use a regular phone for calls.

On the plus side, I think having a watch that can blast music is a nice feature. I wouldn't mind having such a device. And yeah, that's about what I can say about this watch phone now. According to LG, it should be for sale later this year. So look out for it.

Meanwhile, here's the demo video for the LG Watch Phone at Consumers Electronic Show 2009 (CES 2009).

New Blog Design

I'm back! With a new blogskin and blog header picture. Was so tired with the last blogskin. It was so green and glaring. Just makes me want to go emo. Lol. That was illogical. So I changed to something simpler and more pleasing to the eye and yet looks elegant.

Well anyway, it's the new year and since my aim in life is to be a media designer, I figure a good way to get my brain to start churning out creativity is to design anything I can, thus for this year, one of my goal will be to create a new blog header at least once a month. If I don't, just shout to me in my tagboard. Lol.

Long Fingers

While I was driving back from camp today, I tuned in to 91.3. Listening to the Married Men chatting on the radio. They started talking about long fingers for men. Apparently, there was a research at some London university about long fingers. And the conclusion was the men with ring fingers longer than their indexes tend to be more financially sound or able to make money or somewhere around that line.. Wow.. I really can't help but wonder how did the researchers ever come to this conclusion. Lol..

Adding on to that, Rod Monteiro made a joke. Here goes: "In Singapore, if you find men who have pinkies (last fingers) longer than all the other fingers, that is the last finger nail has grown so long till it extends over all the other fingers, chances are their noses are very clean."

LOL.

Nearly Summoned!

I just booked out of camp today. Was driving back home but stopped by SPC at Yio Chu Kang Road area to pump more petrol. Nothing out of the ordinary. After paying, I drove off and decided to stop by Shop N Save at Kovan Center. I parked along the road in front of like 10 other vehicles. I figured that I would quickly run in and buy what I want and get out of there before any police come. Moreover, most of the other vehicles there were vacant. So I went in, bought my stuff and came out. SUAY! The police were there and like all the cars were gone save a couple. Mine was all alone further in front of the kerb. A policeman was writing on his pad in front of one of the cars that was left behind. I was so afraid that I got summoned but when I went to my car, the wipers had no slips or anything. Whew! I think the police might have just arrived when I came out. Luckily I didn't stay to buy anything else. I quickly drove off before any policeman come to my car. Haha!

Third Hand Smoke

Wow.. It's been a long time since I last posted..

Anyway, I've read today's copy of Mind Your Body. This is the first time I came across the term: "Third Hand Smoke". I'm sure you'll be thinking similarly, "is there such a thing as third hand smoke?" Haha.

Ok let's check it out. First hand smoke is the smoke that the smoker breathes in. Second hand smoke is the smoke that the smoker exhales and another person breathes it. And third hand smoke is not so much the smoke, but rather the left behind chemicals that linger around even after the smoke has dissipated.

As we all know, cigarettes are made of thousands of chemicals. And lighting a cigarette makes these chemicals react, produce smoke and leave behind the end product. To put it as an analogy, imagine you have paper. You burn the paper and you'll get smoke and ash. But even after the ash is cleaned up and the smoke dissipate, you can still smell the smoke and find small traces of ash around. That is pretty much what third hand smoke is about. After the smoke is gone, you can still smell it and find traces of its harmful substances around.

Why is it dangerous? Would you like to hug a pillow with leftover cigarette chemicals? Or drink from a cup with small pieces of ash? Furthermore, you get to consume the same harmful chemicals as a smoker would by smoking, thus you'll have a chance of developing the same disease as them even if you don't smoke. Yeah life is unfair, at least in this sense..

STOP SMOKING!
=)