Playstation brand could face an uncertain future.

What’s going to happen to the Playstation brand in light of the PSN hacking incident?

This isn’t just an issue about console sales or which system is better, in an age where it is all too easy to steal someones identity, to have a high profile company like Sony, make such a HUGE mistake, is bad news. Yeah, they got hacked, but they are just as responsible for not making sure that they were secure. This breach has the potential to do untold millions of $$$$ in damage and they hid it from the public for almost a week. Then all they did was send out a lousy email, and not everyone even got it. The article was right in saying that the longer Sony waits before publicly owning up to this debacle the worse it’s going to get for them.

What Google Could Learn From Pixar

“Google has reached a pivotal moment in its history. What can it do to expand beyond its incredible core business, which is now reaching a more mature phase? For insight on how it can develop, let’s look to Pixar.”

Many of you have heard me express my reservation toward the new Thor movie and with good reason: Lately, most superhero movies have been sucking horribly. With the exception of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, and maybe the first Spiderman movie, these movies have been a huge let down.

Well, this trailer has changed my opinion. I’ll let the trailer speak for itself, but suffice it to say, it looks as though this movie has the potential to top The Dark Knight as the best superhero movie ever made. Should it not surpass The Dark Knight, it could still be a testament to how superhero movies should be made and offer clear and concise proof that Marvel Entertainment is clearly the only studio that knows how to properly adapt its properties into movies. Something that Columbia Pictures (Ghost Rider, Spiderman 1,2,&3) and 20th Century Fox (X-Men 1,2,3, Daredevil, Electra) can’t seem to figure out.

Enjoy.

I haven’t posted anything in quite awhile and though I’m not going recount everything that has happened since my last posting there are a few things that are worth mentioning.

What’s Been Going On?

First, I’m now working semi-full time as an instructor for Lone Star College at the Kingwood campus in the Game Design & Simulation department. The classes I teach are Intro to Game Development, Level Design, Project Development 1&2, and 3D Animation. I also teach other digital art related classes like Digital Imaging and Digital Illustration.

The Project Development classes are amazing and have given me an opportunity to direct our students on the creation of an original game for an actual client, a non profit organization called EarthQuest.

EarthQuest works with LSC - Kingwood game design students.

EarthQuest “hired” our students to work with Dr. Matt Gardner, the MIT scientist at EarthQuest, on applications to promote EarthQuest Institute’s involvement in the development of a theme park that will be located in New Caney. Gardner met with the students on a monthly basis to give feedback on their progress. Based on EarthQuest’s message of sustainability, students created games that will teach concepts of alternative energy sources and recycling in fun and engaging ways. The games will be available on the EarthQuest’s website in spring 2011.

Next, I’ve been busy with finishing up my BFA in Media Arts & Animation at the Art Institute of Houston. So far, that has been a very challenging and rewarding experience. As expected, I’m creating some lasting relationships with my peers that have the potential to turn into excellent networking opportunities later on. I’ll be posting some of the projects I’ve been working on in the future.

So, What’s Next?

Well, even though I’m busier than ever, I plan on keeping my portfolio/blog up-to-date and get back to the reasons I created this portfolio in the first place…..to promote my work, share cool industry news, and share my knowledge through tutorials. If you’ve been checking my portfolio periodically for updates and were disappointed in the lack of new material and posts, I’m sorry. I promise I’ll do better.

Coming soon will be more tutorials on UV mapping, texturing, toon shading, and rigging in 3ds max.

That’s all for now. As usual, you can follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Peace.

The Academy of Game Design and Development will prepare graduates to pursue career opportunities in the design and development of digital games, animation and multimedia applications. Courses in this program offer a foundation in game design and simulations through the study of 2D and 3D animation, graphics, conceptual art, lighting, and sound mixing.

Too bad I can’t move  to Canada. Maybe one day Houston, Texas will be able to attract a studio like Pixar.

From their website:

“Pixar Canada is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pixar Animation Studios, the creator of some of the world’s most beloved computer animated films, such as Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, Wall-E, and Up.

Located in beautiful Vancouver BC, Pixar Canada’s mission is to produce animated shorts and television specials, featuring characters from Pixar’s prior films.”

UV Master

Pixologic releases UV Master for creating UV unwraps on PC and Mac. Free for all registered ZBrush users.

I may not need to use 3ds Max to create my UV maps any more. UV Master for ZBrush seems to really eliminate the technical issues associated with creating (texture, normal, displacement, etc) maps. The makers of ZBrush just continues to amaze.

As much as I love the look of my site, there was one thing about it that really bothered me. I hated the fact that as a WordPress site, by default the home page would feature the blogroll.

Since I wanted to be able to make blog posts that were 3D industry related, but weren’t always directly related to my portfolio, I had to deal with those posts being the first thing visitors saw when they happened upon my site. This was unacceptable, so I created a static page (a page that doesn’t update with blog posts) as my home page that features a slide-show of some my 3D work (and yes more content will be added to it). I then created an actual blog page.

Now my site feels a little nicer and a little more polished. I’m not a web designer, so it may not be the best looking site, but I like it and thought I’d share my excitement with those who care to listen.

Peace.

Ok, first let me just say this, I’m a Robin Hood fanboy. I’ll admit it, so make fun of me if you want. The story of Robin Hood has fascinated me since childhood and I’ve enjoy every version of the story I’ve been able to see. From John Cleese’s Robin Hood in Time Bandits and Sean Connery’s Robin Hood in Robin and Marian to the Robin Hood spoofs by Monty Python and Mel Brooks (Robin Hood: Men in Tights was hilarious) and the animated versions, and even to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner, every one of them a classic.

Now we have a new Robin Hood story by Ridley Scott starring none other than Russell Crowe (one of my favorite actors). Looks like this new film will offer a grittier version of the Robin Hood story than any before it. Something I’ve always wanted to see, though Prince of Thieves came close. Now I realize some people might draw a couple comparisons to Gladiator (another Ridley Scott flick), but I think that will have more to do with Scott’s directorial style than anything else.

Of course whether or not the movie will be good remains to be seen, but since Ridley Scott (one of my favorite directors) is running the show, I’m pretty confident come May 14th, I’ll be in the theater on the edge of my seat geeking out over another Robin Hood classic like a little kid.

Force Unleashed 2

This game looks like it will be amazing!! The video speaks for itself. Check it out!