Spitting Image? I Don’t Think So!

JWise Photo of the Day

Jessica Aldridge having issues.

Allegedly this is my daughter Jessica Aldridge, sorry but I don’t see the resemblance. I’d like to tell you this is her morning face, or her not feeling good face, or OMG I’m so pissed off at you dad face, but the truth is that this is the “I’m so happy to see you again” – face. On occasion she just shows up at our door out of the blue looking to connect with the “Normal” half of her family, please don’t ask what the other side is like (I don’t want to speak poorly of Sparky and Piggy – I think these are euphemisms for “the other half,” but am not certain). She threatens us with promises to hang out for a while. Is it too late to ask for a paternity test?

Crochetoline

JWise Photo of the Day

Caroline Wise wearing a knitted shawl she made.

Caroline has remained busy with her favorite hobby, if one could call it by the singular, it should be hobbies. My wife is an admitted fiber junkie, addicted to all things crafted with fiber. This shawl was crocheted over the course of a month for the purpose of being auctioned off for charity. She’s asked me to point out that the fiber is 80% wool and 20% possum from New Zealand. Weird that people still have hobbies that create things in the real world.

First Step In Making My Soundtrack

JWise Photo of the Day

audioGL_02022013

The world is not silent, even in silence, and so a soundtrack is in order. I’ve chosen three tools to help me accomplish the making of a soundtrack; AudioGL (pictured) – this is a 3D synthesizer that will soon be emerging from its Beta state. Also being employed is Ableton, a digital audio workstation, and finally, Adobe’s Audition where I’ll be able to mix, denoise, and perform other post-production work as I assemble the audio component that will accompany my grand scheme. The link below is my first attempt at creating an audible atmosphere.

John_Atmo1_01

Creating Ver. 5.0

JWise Photo of the Day

Blender 3D modeling software showing a terrain

Teaching myself new tricks is part of the process of self-reinvention. I have chosen to embark in a direction that will (hopefully) see me creating a world for the body of work I have created over the past 25 or so years and be a showcase for that which I am yet to create. I’m calling the process; The creation of John Ver. 5.0

This is a small peak into the tools I’ll be using, or that will be using me, to explore how far I can push my skills. In addition to Blender for 3D modeling and Unity 3D game engine, I’ll be working extensively with Photoshop CS6, Premiere video editing software, nD02 and dDo from Quixel, MakeHuman, 3D Coat for sculpting, After Effects, and a few others in order for me to realize the environment I’m aiming for. It’s an ambitious task that I am now 34 days into, these screen captures represent a small bit of progress where I have created a landscape in Blender and have brought it into Unity as my first “Game” asset.

Precisely what I’m building, that I’m not ready to share yet, but the Oculus Rift will play a SIGNIFICANT role.

Unity 3D game creation software displaying the terrain from Blender

Hawaii – Day 13

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Kahili Mountain Park on Kauai, Hawaii

Tossed and turned from 4:00 this morning until finally peeling ourselves out of bed at 6:00 to indulge in our Kauai ritual of making tropical oatmeal with our remaining pineapple and apple bananas. With things packed two days ago, we only needed to straighten up and sweep out the cabin before throwing our bags in the car. Prior to locking up, we grabbed the Poke Bentos and our coveted sweet potato haupia pie that we bought yesterday, knowing that on Christmas day, we’d be relegated to eating something ugly at the airport and we were going to have nothing to do with that.

Caroline Wise at Poipu Beach on Kauai, Hawaii

Down the bumpy dirt road and once more through the tree tunnel to Poipu. Luck would have it that a passing pod of whales was swimming by. The only things missing are the sun and a rainbow. Caroline jumped back into the sea for one last communion with the fishes and with that, we headed over to drop the snorkel gear, fill the tank of the rental car, and drive to the airport. We are in the outdoor waiting area after only needing a few minutes in security on this slow day. Pop open the bento lunches and split dessert. Boarding was just 15 minutes after our last bite before catching the short hop over to Oahu before the long haul back to Phoenix. Vacation in Hawaii is now over, Mahalo.