Fake news graphics!

New fake graphics package for season 5 of GOT.

http://vimeo.com/31270442

RAM issue and ASUS motherboards

I RMAed my faulty ASUS motherboard and it still threw a ram error. I pluged the ram in to slots B1 and B2 and it worked. I could send it back and get a different board with four functioning slots but forget it. I'll deal. This is the final straw with ASUS however. 3 boards with faulty slots and the first bad board popped up over 1.5 years ago. They clearly have some serious manufacturing problems that they refuse to address. Shame.

experiments in Image based lighting

Just completed my first experiment with Image Based Lighing.

In retrospect it would have been better to shoot on somethign better than a z1u. It made matchmoving a nightmare.

http://vimeo.com/30703971

RAM and motherboard QVL

Putting together the render farm her and keep getting ram errors with a "qualified" RAM on my ASUS mobo. I'm going to swap it with the ram Kingston recommends for this board. Guess the lesson is don't rely on the QVL from the motherboard manufacturer.

Light Manipulator for internal fluid light

At long last I've finished my MEL script that adds a directional light as a controler for a fluids internal light.

You must first select the fluid and then run the script.

This version creates a directional light and locator that whose translation is locked and whose visibility is off. At some point I might update it to exclude the creation of these two nodes.

Here's the code. I'll provide a link to download the file shortly.

string $fluidSelected[0] = `ls -sl `;
string $lightManipulator = "lightManipulator";
string $fluidAndLightMainipulator = $fluidSelected[0] + "_" + $lightManipulator;  //gets name of fluid and add "lightManipulater"

loadPlugin "C:/Program Files/Autodesk/Maya2012/bin/plug-ins/decomposeMatrix";
createNode decomposeMatrix -n decomposeM;

pickWalk -d down; //selects shape node of fluid conatiner
vector $fluidShapeLightVector = `getAttr ($fluidSelected[0] +".directionalLight")`; //retrieves vector value of fluids internal light

directionalLight -n $fluidAndLightMainipulator;// creates light that will be the manipulator

string $fluidAndLightMainipulatorProxy = $fluidAndLightMainipulator + "Proxy";

directionalLight -n $fluidAndLightMainipulatorProxy; // creates light that will be moved by manipulator
connectAttr -f ($fluidAndLightMainipulator + ".rotate") ($fluidAndLightMainipulatorProxy + ".rotate");
setAttr -lock true ($fluidAndLightMainipulatorProxy + ".t");
setAttr ($fluidAndLightMainipulatorProxy + "Shape" + ".overrideEnabled") 1;
setAttr ($fluidAndLightMainipulatorProxy + "Shape" + ".overrideVisibility") 0;

spaceLocator -n lightLocation;
setAttr lightLocation.translate ($fluidShapeLightVector.x) ($fluidShapeLightVector.y) ($fluidShapeLightVector.z);
connectAttr -f lightLocationShape.worldMatrix[0] decomposeM.inputMatrix;
setAttr lightLocationShape.overrideEnabled 1;
setAttr lightLocationShape.overrideVisibility 0;

string $fluidSelectedShapeArry[0] = `listRelatives -s $fluidSelected`;
string $fluidSelectedShape = $fluidSelectedShapeArry[0];
print $fluidSelectedShape;
connectAttr -f decomposeM.outputTranslate ($fluidSelectedShape + ".directionalLight");

vector $indtialLocatorTranslate = `getAttr lightLocation.translate`;
float $initialRotation[] = `angleBetween -euler -v1 0 0 1 -v2 ($indtialLocatorTranslate.x) ($indtialLocatorTranslate.y) ($indtialLocatorTranslate.z)`;
setAttr ($fluidAndLightMainipulator + ".rotate") $initialRotation[0] $initialRotation[1] $initialRotation[2];

select -r lightLocation;
select -add ($fluidAndLightMainipulatorProxy);
parent;

select -r fluid1_lightManipulator ;
select -add ($fluidSelected[0]) ;
parent;