Staying true to the spirit of using open source programs for this particular project, the initial ideation sketch (as shown below) was created using My Paint on a Tablet PC. My Paint is an open source digital painting tool that is rather similar to Artrage and Sketch book Pro.

Unfortunately, My Paint does not seems to be able to detect pressure sensitivity on the Tablet PC (although Artrage on the same Tablet PC is able to do so).  I have heard that My Paint running on the Linux is able to detect pressure sensitivity of Pen strokes. However, on my Win XP machine it failed to do so.

By the way, the concept is meant to be an unmanned reconnaissance craft.

After the ideation sketches, I proceed to the 3D modelling phase. Below is a screenshot of the initial 3D modelling done in Blender 2.5. Typical of this kind of modelling work, the mirror and subdivision modifiers are used quite a fair bit. As of this writing, there are still much to do.

For this piece, I intend to eventually render the final image using the Cycles Renderer. Cycles is a new GPU-enable unbiased rendering engine currently still in early development phase.

Update (10th August):

Below is the latest update of New Concept Craft. The surfaces have been refined and a test render is been done using Cycles Renderer. There are still much detailings to be done.

Packt Open Source specialises in selling books on Open Source software and actively contributes to the popular adoption and growth of open source technology. During March this year, it was announced that its donations to Open Source projects has exceeded the $300,000 mark.

The discounted books on offer now include those for open source applications such as Blender 3D, Inkscape, Drupal, Python, Php and Java. The title that is of particular interest to 3D enthusiasts is Blender 2.5 Lighting and Rendering. This book covers Blender lighting, compositing, and rendering.

For 2D graphic enthusiasts and designers, a title of interest is Inkscape 0.48 for Web Designers. This book talks about creating website layout designs, images, and icons using Inkscape the popular open source Vector Graphics and Illustration program.

This promotion will be on for a limited period of time only (until end of July ?)

For a complete listing of the books on offer, go to:

http://www.packtpub.com/article/packts-best-selling-open-source-books-offer

For a period of several days there were thousands of downloads and previews.

I have been experimenting with the Windows version of it from Graphicall.org and I must say, it is very impressive, even at this early stage of its development.

The material creation process is quite easy. However, to take full advantage of it, an understanding of nodes is essential. Because Cycles is a true Global Illumination renderer, creating photorealistic rendering is comparatively easier than the current system used by Blender Internal Render. Of course, you will have to understand some of the techniques typical of rendering using such engines. However, unlike the case of the current Blender Internal, few or no extensive tweaking are required to get realistic results. Users of GI renderers such as V-ray, Keyshots should have no problem figuring out how to use it.

Cycles sports a level of interactive feedback that supersedes that of the current system. The preview render can be updated on the fly. This is somewhat similar to modern rendering programs such as Octane Renderer, Keyshot and Hypershot.

What is really exciting about Cycles is that it will eventually be an integral part of Blender and that it is GPU-accelerated. The latter means that with the right graphic-card, photorealistic rendering with Blender/Cycles can be multiple-times faster that CPU-based systems. Cycles relies on Nvidia CUDA  (Compute Unified Device Architecture) for GPU acceleration.  In another word, Cycles can utilise your Graphic card (if it is CUDA-supported) to compute the render instead of the traditional CPU on the motherboard. So, gaming cards with CUDA-enabled such as the GTX460, 480 (etc…) can take advantage of the GPU acceleration feature of Cycles. What used to take hours to render using CPU can take only minutes to be rendered using powerful CUDA enabled Nvidia Graphic cards.

Note: To use GPU, under the Camera Panel, select GPU from the Device option. This is as shown below.

Does Cycle require CUDA-enabled cards to run? No. Any typical computer configuration that can run the standard Blender version will work.

As of this writing, Cycles is at the pre-alpha stage. You can get experimental versions of it from Graphicall.org.

The showcase of student works will be held in Lasalle College of the Arts Building located at 1 McNally Street (Singapore 187940). Exhibits will be located in the PD 360 Creative Pod, Block D level 4 (412) of the Building.

The exhibition starts from 20th May 2011, 6.30 pm onwards.

Displayed works will include concept renderings plus physical models of students’ works related to the Alien versus Predator theme.

For those, not familiar will the location of Lasalle, it is situation next to Sim Lim Square (in Bugis). It is a majestic black building with see-through interiors, so prominent that you can’t miss it.