CONVERGENCE
NEXT: Duane Loose Joins GameCloud
Yogi Berra once said: “When you see a crossroads…Take It!” or something like that.
Not so much a crossroads as an opportunity that is too good to pass up: I’m joining GameCloud/Augmentum as a Senior Art Director in a start-up game studio they’re establishing in, of all places, Temecula. 20 minutes down the road.
They are a fine company, led by great people and I know I’m going to enjoy this next step in the journey.
alphaZED will continue to exist as my personal website. I have stories to tell, tools to learn and art to make – not to mention the odd opinion here and there. So please feel free to stop by now and then for the further adventures of Insane Duane. Weed Pottle will continue to master the website. He was doing it for free anyhow.
I have to say that I’m grateful for the many people who have helped me on the way in the past 3 years. Thanks to all. I’ve learned a lot of important lessons, some of them twice.
See you around the blogiverse
Dr_D
Inspiration: The Third & The Seventh: ALEX ROMAN
A few years back the work of Joseph Kosenski and his company KD Labs created a fusion of CG, Architecture, Animation and Story Telling. The work is incredibly inspiring to me. Now comes The Third & The Seventh by Alex Roman. I find myself, once again, inspired and feeling proud that we have artists capable of using the tools at our disposal to create beauty and wonder.
The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.
Here’s a compositing breakdown showing how some of the shots were put together.
Compositing Breakdown (T&S) from Alex Roman on Vimeo.
…and an walkthrough of how the Exeter Shot was made – showing Alex’s approach to 3d and Post.
Making of: Exeter Shot from Alex Roman on Vimeo.
A Boomer in a Millennial World
I’m teaching a class at AI San Diego on advanced materials and lighting. Prepping for that new/old experience I’ve spent two full days in faculty meetings. Meetings are often mind numbing affairs – I’d much rather be art-ing. But these were exceptional and endurable – mainly due to the quality of the information and the passion, professionalism and experience of the directors, deans and faculty at this school – they’re great! I’ve never met so many Dr.’s in one setting before. 
Ai San Diego has the vibe and I’m glad to be a part time part of it.
One of the more memorable elements of the meetings was a presentation and discussion regarding the generation of students we’re teaching, the so-called “Millennials”. The discussion and points raised concerning them was intriguing and enlightening. As I thought about the points made I realized that the last time I taught (the early 1990’s at Cal State and MIT) I was teaching the generation of artists that are now the teachers of the Millennials – Gen X/Y. I’ve skipped a whole generation… › Continue reading
Clients = Audience / User Experience and Designing Products in the New Media Age
Our clients are our audience. They experience our products emotionally, visually, physically in the same way they experience a TV show, a video game or film. They are highly socialized – connecting with us and with each other through facebook, twitter and a dozen other interrelated viral tools. It makes perfect sense to build our products with our audience in mind. And it’s the focus on the user experience (UX) from Industrial Design, User Interface, Product Use information all the way through the death of the product and how it’s recycled and resurrected that matters. Product Design must transform to be a single holistic UX continuum in order to leverage the power of our audience and provide a product story they believe in, understand, embrace and, more importantly, champion. › Continue reading