Visual Effects then and now

Here's an image that has been spread around on FB alot these days.



1983... I wasn't even born yet! And now I'm a degree holder in Digital Animation.

Times have changed since the day of JAWS and even the classic King Kong!

Animatronics and Stop motion animation was THE defining tool back in pre-Digital Effects era. In fact one of the best case studies of the day is in fact King Kong past and present (and on a more updated note, TRON). I used to marvel at the awesomeness of Terminator 1 on Laser Disc! (And kids if you don't know what a laser disc is... go wiki).

At the time of the first generation of space invaders, people were blown away by the visuals and were literally Dodging bullets as they came by.

Yet now in my position of being able to create these 3D marvels, I look back and admire the art from the past. To some extent I always knew that the objects were "fake" yet I loved them all the same. It really wasn't purely the visuals but the experience of cinema and movie magic.

Reality on screen has taken a significant twist in terms of how you view it. Much like art. What is perceived to be real has now become hyper real.

My true moment of reckoning came when I was driving by the road one day. I took a look at the sky and was like

"Hey! What a beautiful day. And what beautiful clouds! Oh wait... Shouldn't those clouds have less of a back shadow and a slight feathering towards the trailing ends?"

Yup! That's me criticising mother nature itself! haha

At the end of the day, honestly, I guess I have a soft spot for the old school ways hahah.. It's my "I like to build things with my hands physically" side of me talking. You clearly know its a toy, but you marvel at how perfectly integrated it has been.

To all aspiring artists out there, some of the best quotes I have read in recent times came from 3DArtist Magazine.

"To teach art, you must learn it completely"

"If Leonardo Da Vinci was alive today he would be a computer programmer and an artist."

-Ryan Kingslien , the first product manager of zbrush.

Master your basics and use technology to enhance your workflow.

JJ

Androgynous upbringing

First thing's first, me and ma old buddy Yan have decided to commence on a 8 week art project to do paintings of dragons and stuff and launch a gallery before he goes to the states... I'll try to update as it goes along. (fingers crossed)
Ok back to topic.

Five-year-old raised ‘gender neutral’ says it’s ‘silly’ to differentiate between boys and girls

"Sasha Laxton, whose parents chose to bring him up as ‘gender neutral’, is seen giggling in the video with his mother, Beck, as she questions him about colours associated with girls and boys. "

Read the rest here http://sg.news.yahoo.com/five-year-old-raised-gender-neutral.html

Now isn't that the silliest thing ever. In my blog of observations 2012, article 14 states ...

“#014 To a large extent children are all part of a social experiment called parenting.”

Bad enough children have to deal with mad examinations, growing up with inflation and the extremely high cost of living (well depends on where you live.. Singapore is just a tad bit ridiculous) The last thing they will want to deal with is child abuse and peer bullying. (I hear the sissy chants in my head already)

I understand the view point of these parents but as much as you want to reduce your child's prejudice, the world isn't as kind as to allow such an event. The kids in primary school aren't going to be so kind as to NOT LAUGH at another boy who doesn't mind wearing a dress. I'm not saying we should just give up and conform. I grew up with 2 sisters and that meant I was using barbie dolls to fight transformers at the age of 3. But who cares. (ok maybe I shouldn't have said that)

Intentionally hiding the gender of a child and intentionally cross dressing him will lead to problems in the future. As much as I want to believe in sexual equality, tell the mother to be the gentleman of the house and the father to be the motherly figure and I'm sure they will have an awkward situation. Too much equality and too much balance will result in imbalance.

He should be taught to respect girls and be dutiful as a man. If he doesn't want to be prejudice then treat everyone kindly. Not dressing him up as a girl and telling him "It's ok! Men and women should wear what ever they want!". Me and many other men I know can carry off a pink flashy shirt with no problems nor questions on our sexuality therefor instilling confidence in the child should be far more important than confusing him with "global colour theories" etc.

Men and Women are built differently. Period. The societal norms were probably created by egotistical males with inflated egos of the past. But they were also created in the course of nature. Physical advantages naturally allow men to overpower women. That's it! He who wins the war writes history.

At the end of the day, my statement on children being a social experiment is based on how I see parents training their kids, coupled with the forced structure of our local education system. I'm not saying its good or bad. But as parents, we should always aim for the best methods in instilling our ideals (good or bad) into our next generation.

Chinese traditions of honouring your parents etc are all keepers because they add a positive impact to society. If you want your child to be un-baised to the opposite sex. Groom him up to be a fine gentleman and everything will fall into place naturally.

JJ

A little celebration a little sorrow a perspective renewed

As the Chinese saying goes.
Yi Chang Huan Xi Yi Chang kong.

Normally used to describe a situation whereby you get happy over something followed by an immediate disappointment.

I was somewhat annoyed by the secretive nature, of Chris' description over our new year gathering, and was hoping that it was not for the worse. I finally got some heads up before leaving the house and thank god nothing was wrong. So I finally arrived and saw the surprise! Gabriel Zeng had come back to Singapore and is back for good!nothing less! Our truly first proper reunion in many many years!



Yet prior to that I received some distressing sms's while driving and I can only hope that there is a peaceful solution to it.

My resolution for CNY has been to become the "Nice Guy!" (Jared's thumbs up pose) that I used to be and of course gain back my happiness in more ways than one. The first step is to remove profanities from my vocabulary and find inner peace. Put to the test, it is really easy to simply cut out cussing and swearing verbally, but it takes a lot of meditation to remove it from your mind as well.

Non the less I think it is a good step to self improvement. What's done is done and in the words of a Singaporean, "Sorry no cure" all we can really do is to change ourselves and make things better a step at a time.

My buddy once told me

"I don't believe people can change. I've seen enough shit to believe that."

my reply was

"I believe that it's those who believe that people can change who are truly capable of change and are able to make the effort to do so."

Well if there's no room for improvement than we as humans have truly hit rock bottom haven't we? Nope. So I guess we all can change. :)

JJ

The year of the Black Water Dragon !

Happy Lunar New Year!

This is the year of the Black Water Dragon! (2012) I had a great feast with the guys this afternoon to celebrate this day and we were talking about the good old days with magic cards and the works. And with that, I am inspired to do a work of art with Black water dragon as my theme so stay tuned for that!

Here's a little forcast of the year ahead.

2012 General Summary

Earth Dragon in a Water Year.

As the Water Year is wealth for the Earth Dragon stronger, this is a mixed-blessing wealth year. Will benefit a Strong Earth Dragon more than a weak Earth Dragon.

• Birth Element which will enjoy a favourable/unfavourable year etc.
  • Strong Metal, weak Water, weak Wood
  • weak Metal, Strong Wood, weak Fire
  
  
• Compatible Animal Signs
  this year:-
  • Excellent - Rat, Rooster, Monkey
  • Avoid - Tiger Ox, Dog
  
  
• Good Travel Direction
  this year:-
  • Metal - North-West/West
  • Water - North

And here's my compatibility for the year...


Seems a little harsh... But on the bright side I'm VERY COMPATIBLE WITH RABBIT! and I'm supposed to be a weak wood Ox so thats looking to be good.




Oxen may inspire confidence in everyone they come into contact with, but can also be very demanding. They are generally known for their gentle, patient and hardworking nature although some tend to be eccentric, bigoted, and anger easily.

Romantic partners of the Ox have to put up with their fierce tempers although they speak very little, so keep in mind that they won’t be wasting their time flirting. They are remarkably stubborn, and hate to fail or be opposed, so relationships with Oxen don’t always work out. When Oxen realize that partnerships involve two people and two points of view, satisfying matches are possible.

Well I'm not superstitious by any means, but as always. If it doesn't hurt you, than go ahead and do whats recommended =))

JJ

Harmony and peace

In every conversation there are bound to be opinions.

Men are from mars, women are from venus is a book made famous about such issues. Things like men are always trying to solve the problem. Women are just wanting a listening ear. When men want a listening ear, women just can't stop talking. This yes and no game is all part of life. Yet the crux to communication is not just a simple acknowledgement of "I agree, I disagree".

The way I see it is a matter of understanding. You may not have to agree to someone's statement in order to understand it.

For instance,

Bob "I like subject A."
Jimmy "I dislike it very much!" Then Jimmy tries to convince Bob that there is something else better in the world.

Alas that forms the fundamentals of a debate, or in a worse case, dispute.

Some take an alternative route such as silence. To which the noiser feller would go "YES! I won!" but is that really the case? As much as how the kids use to say "Silence means consent!"(and by kids I swear I probably first heard these words come out from my unworldly childish teachers of the past) you and I know that silence doesn't mean anything at all! Much less consent.

Silence then becomes a double edged sword whereby it can give a wrong impression but at the same time it may save the day. More often than not. Less is more. And that is often the killer point in solving any disputes.

Here's my opinion. At the end of the day, silence is fine. However a lack of understanding is not. If Jimmy really hates subject A, that is his opinion and he does not have to force it down Bob's throat. Fair enough he can voice his opinions to let Bob know how nasty things can be, but one man's meat is another man's poison. And if this man chooses to be extreme about it, that is also his choice and there's no point arguing about it (unless its going to cost him his life) and trying to make him feel any less positive or negative.

At the end of the day, people disagree all the time. Even if you don't agree, the most important thing to note is that you should still try to understand the other party. By understanding I'm not saying that you have to share similar opinions, or even fully know the reasons for that person's choice; but rather, take a side step and understand the emotions of the person and why he felt that way.

With that, one may come to learn another facet of another's life and choices.

Some of these choices are like works of art. Sometimes you just add that extra stroke or chose that particular piece simply because you felt like it. THERE IS NO REASON. And even that is a good reason (unless overplayed)

And if you truly love somebody, than you should also learn to understand why he/she isn't able to understand you as well.

And the cycle continues

JJ

VIRAL Videos

I think I'm saying this too often
"every once in awhile you get to see...." this awesome XYZ

I'm Elmo and I know it!



Elmo! undoubtedly Sesame streets greatest mascot! hahah. Truly with the popularisation of facebook and the ease of access to video editing and the internet, such awesomeness becomes dime a dozen.

Which is why I'm working my arse off to develop a digital media diploma course with CSM academy international, and who knows one of my students may create the next big thing...

Oh I'm not supposed to talk about the course yet? Opps hahaha

Regards
JJ

Shocked

I still can't believe it ended. I've been feeling uneasy... So uneasy that I started feeling depressed. And now that I say it. It is over. I've ran it through my mind, but never thought it'd be possible. I really did want to spend the rest of my life with you, and everyone knew. My only aim was to make enough to satisfy your every need. And then I'd pop those final words, those words that are not meant to be. Is it over? Has it ended? My soul is so crushed I cannot see. For all my future was planned around you, suddenly I know not what to do. I've made the biggest mistake of my life many years ago of letting go of the best I've ever had. Then my heart bled a bit and I never found anyone else that came close. But through fate and storms we forged our bonds and sooner than later my wounds had healed. Yet I was foolish enough not once not twice and now I think I truly deserve this capital punishment. What's mended is now a bigger wound but non thats greater than that which I tore from your side. I now have my head bowed low, not wanting to repeat my first crushing mistake of giving up on my dream, but not worthy to seek forgiveness. This is the 2nd time I see my future lost. The 2nd time it's my mistake. My tears try to drown me but I'm just too fat that I'll float. Good night

JJ