‘Please Wait’ minimalist wallpaper

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Dave C

Not sure what the secret is of a popular post over on DeviantArt but, well, I made this very simple wallpaper (using Blender, of course) and posted two versions of it on DA. One with text and one without. This one, without text, seems very popular. Almost 170 views in one day and nearly half of those downloaded the picture.


Please Wait 01 by ~dodgydavec on deviantART

Normally my deviations get less than 10 views in TOTAL! So what’s the secret? Simplicity? Eye-catchingness? I know that’s not a word, but it’s all I could think of.

If you want to use the image as a wallpaper, click here and download it.

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Back Garden Waterfall in Blender 2.53 Beta

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Dave C

Still working on the CG for the little meerkats movie. I’ve completed my first scene which is a waterfall with a secret entrance in a back garden. I quite enjoyed putting all of the elements together. It’s really satisfying watching the bit come together as a whole. The grass, leaves, rock, wind effects, water effects and spray. That’s actually all it is. It looks like so much more. I’m certainly very happy with it.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvWqk_EV-ug

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My first ocean tests in Blender

Posted on June 7, 2010 by Dave C

I have been approached. Some chaps who have made a couple of flash animations involving certain ‘meerkat’ characters have approached me to create some VFX for their next instalment. All of the VFX so far involve water.

Soooo. I’m practising water stuff in Blender. This is my first reasonable result of an open ocean. I’m gonna keep trying to get the exact effect I’m looking for. A bit more choppy. A bit more well placed foam. Maybe a bit more ‘depth’ to the water. I am quite happy with it so far though.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn6o27z-6qg

If you could let me know what you think of it, any comments would be great. Thanks.

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Fluid Drop in 5 Stages

Posted on March 27, 2010 by Dave C

One of the things I love about Blender (apart from the price) is the diversity of the package. Besides freehand artwork, almost any graphics I want to do can be done with Blender. Earlier this week I decided I wanted to do a small fluid simulation. A simple drop of red paint in extreme close-up and slow motion. Continue reading →

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Paddling Man – Digital Painting

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Dave C

There I was on this Sunday afternoon just fiddling about with my laptop. I had my Bamboo Fun graphics tablet plugged in so I thought I’d have a mess about with mypaint, a brilliant little open-source painting package. Something that is very hard to find these days. A real PAINTING package. It’s free. It’s easy. It’s GREAT with a graphics tablet.

Anyway, I was just sketching. Making somethings out of nothings. Eventually, all of those little somethings ended up looking like this…

From Paintings and Drawings

Looks like a perfect Sunday afternoon to me :)

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Danté speaks for the first time

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Dave C

I’ve actually been working on this character since before I can remember. I think I started making him about three years ago. Then, due to computer and personal issues, took a long break. Well, now I’m back working on him more regularly, I’ve finally got him fully rigged (just a few shaped controls to finish) with full face controls.

So I thought it was about time I animated him. I asked my 6 year old son (7 very soon) to recite the words, “Hello, my name’s Danté.” while I filmed him. Here’s the final (3 second long) result…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G05YxhSLdo

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Use Blender 2.52 alpha to build a round brick wall

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Dave C

My first video tutorial in AGES (and only my second one ever from what I can recall). In this tutorial, I show how to build a circular brick wall using only one brick and three array modifiers. All done with an alpha version of Blender 2.52. You can download the latest build of Blender from graphicall.org.

Feel free to go to YouTube and rate, comment and/or subscribe on my videos. Also, feel free to join up here at DaveCollison.com.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnX1P5BRwyw

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The Worm That Turned (Out Quite Well)

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Dave C

More fun with Blender! I’ve made a worm. It was in response (as so many of my little projects are) to a question over on the Blender Underground Forums.

It took me about an hour to model this little chap and a couple of hours to sort out the funky little animation. Hope you all like it.

From 3D Gallery

Continue reading →

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Danté the Ant progress report

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Dave C

Things are going great with Danté. I’ve still got to rig his arms/hands and do a decent face rig. And some small repairs. But he’s looking good:

From 3D Gallery

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Bobbing, Spinning Box

Posted on February 14, 2010 by Dave C

Having not done much with the Blender fluid simulator in an awful long time, and out of curiosity which had been raised by a question, I’ve done this little animation.

Made in Blender 2.49b.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX_tPxTZC94

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