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OT: designing Transformers, etc.

Great article Feng.

Awesome article man! Some great insight there. We dont realise what all goes into such a movie, all the research..

I saw episode one of Transformers and was really impressed. I havent seen episode II yet. The way the jet comes out of the sky and begins unfolding and lands on the street on its feet is simply amazing. Some awesome cinematography and CG.

I also liked the piece of creation, however its called. The block that can 'create artificial life' from mechanisms. It reminded me a bit of StarGate, the curved star lines and all. Great designs.


Thanks man for sharing this with us. Not only do Aces visit us here, but you from Star Wars and TransFormers. Too incredible!


In talking on students. I remember getting a job at a machine shop. I was going to try to buy them out and have them make my 'turbine engines' for my car I was going to produce, (yeah, I know, hilarious now, but then, I was really intent on making my own car). But.... I had never made things I had designed. I was both a draftsman and a manufacturer (machinist) all in one, and had to learn to manufacture things, be it from bending sheet metal and stamping things, to molds, to lathe and CNC machining work. My mind expanded 4 fold. I could now think in terms of realism as to how things work and are created, produced, manufactured.

I could then look at a design for a cool switch, and see how it would be manufactured, what it possibly couldnt do, what it could possibly do that no others could.. and how it might weather and later fail. Working on parts also show you how things will wear out... So the entire 'world' of mechanisms comes to life when you go from paper to metal, hands on.

What a journey. Great fun..


Bill
 
lol, i aint famous! Megan Fox is!! lol

thanks for the kind words.

Bill: i grew up loving this stuff, especially Star Wars and Indiana Jones. I'd play with anything i can find on these two movies. I guess my interest eventually turned into a career.

What you said is totally true. Designs are not random (at least in my field), but are thought out and executed. I know you like Apple stuff, and i have many designer friends working there. They sometimes spend an entire year just on UI flow...it's crazy. I've seen some stuff they are doing for next-gen Apple products...and it's mindblowingly cool! words can't describe...(or legally..haha)

as far as finding time for flightsim, i always leave about 1hr to 30min each night for it. It help relax me. Since i live in Singapore now, i can't fly for real anymore. Back in Los Angeles, i used to drive down to Santa Monica (only 5min from my house) airport and fly 2 to 3 times a week...now that's flight-siming! LOL

-feng
 
i gotta tell you, your very last line in the article was such an important thing to tell young people. :applause:

so many kids today look up to people in your industry. to give them such an important message can have significant impact. well done :medals:
 
FengZ said:
... Designs are not random (at least in my field), but are thought out and executed. ...
Click to expand...

Designs are not random in my discipline field either ... kinda hard to make machinery work properly when its just thrown together. :bump:
 
FengZ said:
the reporter wrote this article in very "plain language" so it's easy for people to understand...

-feng
Click to expand...

...and even included a bit of a grammatical fluff to make it more earthy... ;)

This is an excellent quote, Feng:

software and technology does not matter when you have good ideas. It's the back-end skills that are the keys to good design.
Click to expand...

That fairly well sums up what I tell prospective FS modelers whenever they inquire about "which modeling program is best."

My reply is very similar to your's, "...a tool is no better than the hands of the artist who wields it."
 
n4gix said:
.

My reply is very similar to your's, "...a tool is no better than the hands of the artist who wields it."
Click to expand...


Oh man.. So true.

I remember the first few times I set down to learn Gmax. What a daunting endeavor. I left it each time. It was to sophisticated. I was also trying to do everything the first time.

Then, I focused on one small thing. Learning one single tool, one command, memorizing it, and moving to the next. Then it all came together.

A guy I worked with from Art Center told me his dads favorite saying; How do you eat an Elephant? (Think of it. A mountain of steak? Is it humanly possible?) Ansere; one bite at a time. (His dad was the famous restaurant guru of the 90's).

So much to learn. Surely a huge, daunting task for a new student.....


Bill
 
Feng,

Is it possible... (cough cough) to um... suggest to your friends at Apple.. to um.. come out with a WiFi App program for iPhone/iPod Touch that would link it to the small version Apple wireless keyboard?

:kilroy:

I know one has been in the works in the private sectors (outside of Apple) but it would sure be cool to get one soon.

I have seen a couple of leaked out artist renditions of the new apples from the various Apple hangouts. They look amazing...........

These are leaked photos, so I dont think they are going to be produced. Only to tease us Apple freaks. lol...

I presently have the iMac Alum 24inch, and its sufficiently Star Trek level to me. Goodness. For the first week, I was trying to figure out how they put it together. There are no seams aside from the plastic back cover, and the glass. There is a small opening in the bottom with 2 screws for the memory cards, and thats it. No more screws, lol.. Alien technology. I found out later at my local Mac shop, that the glass on the front is the access door. Magnetic strips line the edges under black paint, and hold the glass firm to the casing. Under there, you access all the hardware. Incredible design thinking..... Who in the world has casing's like that?

Edit; It would be cool to see a full fledge, high power, extreme gaming computer from them. One that would make the old Alienware computers look like a windup toy....
 
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