Reading Lamps and Smoking Jackets

[93rdCanadian]

There are some grains of truth in all my sci-fi and fantasy writing. But on the copyright pages they say, clearly, "This book is a work of fiction."

Bob

The best sci-fi novels have a way of knowing together the facts with fiction. Michael Crichton is my favorite author because he is so skilled at weaving fact and fiction. I highly recommend any of his novels for a great immersive read.

 

[deluxestogie]

How to eat a cheesy snack while reading a book.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

I purchased this a year ago, for something to read while on my road trip last June. The content is pretty densely packed, so I just read a little bit of it per month. This morning, when my electricity was shut off for 3 hours ("In order to provide you with the best possible service, we will be improving equipment on the..."), I pushed all the way through page 138 (from about page 130).

Blender is a truly wonderful, free, open-source, 3-D environment creation tool. Open-source also means that it has been carefully organized by a committee of 1000 geeks. A list of the keyboard shortcuts fills four printed pages.

Bob

Bob, have you played with Blender since you read the book? Any samples of your work from it?

 

[deluxestogie]

That is a tough question. I have mostly utilized my graphics applications to create objects that appear embedded within the cover images of my fantasy novels (e.g. a six-armed troll-like Sarcoptis beast). I have used 3dsMax, Fusion, Photoshop, Paintshop, Gimp, Poser, Bryce, Blender, Inkscape, Hexagon, DAZ Studio, and others, often going back and forth, importing, exporting, re-scaling. Create a basic object in one, modifying it in another, altering textures in yet another, then scaling, clothifying and draping it in another.... It's not so much the right tool for the right job, but rather, "how the hell can I get this effect?"


The Sarcoptis

I've gone through the Blender tutorials, and created some whole human shapes, just heads, and just objects, but I was unable to locate any of them on my computer. (They are there, alright, but in hiding.)

Regarding Blender in particular, the application is sometimes tedious (Everybody knows that selecting an object with a RIGHT click is better!), but quite powerful. Given that I have not yet mastered all the features of my Photoshop 6.0 (20+ years old), I have hardly scratched the surface of Blender. That particular Blender book presents superb illustrations, though the author's approach tends to be strongly project-driven. He wants you to create his objects his way. In as much as Blender is FREE...FREE....FREE, I find it hard to complain. [My $1000+ version of 3dsMax worked on Windows XP, but would require a modest $800 more to update to Windows Vista. Screw them!]

Why do you ask?

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

I've seen your cover art and somewhere sometime were some other images you had produced that I really liked but I can't remember where I saw them. I was curious about the process and wondering if you would mind sharing more or if you had some interesting projects going on recently.

 

[deluxestogie]

The forum member who initiated this thread may be annoyed that you are attempting to hijack it!

I'll ponder starting a thread in the General Discussions on 2D/3D art for cover graphics (a rabbit hole large enough for an anaconda to glide through). It has nothing to do with tobacco, even though the process involved a whole lot of tobacco. Meanwhile, I do have a web page with some sample art, mostly used for the cover of Ternaria. (click on each image of that page to view the enlargement and a discussion of its method below)

Dreamsplice - Gallery

www.dreamsplice.com

Creating all the content for high fantasy novels also entails map making. Yikes! So I yet again spent too much time learning Campaign Cartographer:

Campaign Cartographer 3 (CC3) RPG and fantasy map making software

Campaign Cartographer 3 is the leading map making software for games (RPGs, miniatures and wargaming). CC3 gives you fingertip control of both the big picture and the small details. Want a large scale map of your adventuring world? A detailed dungeon floorplan? An historical battlefield littered...

www.profantasy.com

A sample:



And, of course, creating the actual cover requires Adobe Illustrator.

Although my son and I have not yet completed vol 3 of our fantasy series (heaven knows when that will happen), I completed the cover art a couple of years ago:





I also have a propensity for including in the front cover image, scarcely detectable objects that are enlarged and clarified on the back cover image or spine image. The hazy rectangle is a background to improve the readability of back cover copy (text).



[Can you find on the front cover the person shown on the back cover?] The cover for Guardian of the Ruins used 3dsmax, Bryce, Poser, Photoshop, Paintshop and Adobe Illustrator. It was created in 2004.

That first fantasy volume (Guardian of the Ruins) was printed in a multi-thousand-dollar print run, and actively hawked to book reviewers and wholesalers, which was the only option back in 2004. For print-on-demand books (all my current books), fancy cover art is less for consumer marketing than for personal vanity.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

I know. I just finished rereading volumes one and two so it was still fresh on my mind and send us both down the rabbit hole. In my defense I did recieve express written prior permission from the originator of the Smoking Lamps and Reading Jackets thread to venture down various rabbit holes and squirrel nests with very little recrimination or retaliation from said OP. Sort of.

 

[GreenDragon]

This evenings read.

 

[BarG]

I used to read till they made the print phone book small. I loved sci Fi and Tom Clancy stuff .

 

[BarG]

I remember wanting to read the phone book and I couldn't,40 years ago. Reading glasses help, I'm at 250,s to

300. lol it really is funny.

 

[deluxestogie]

What's a phone book?

 

[Oldfella]

Apparently something to read when you have nothing else to do. Me, I'd rather play with baccy stuff. Don't have one, so can't read one.
Oldfella

 

[deluxestogie]

As an undergraduate student (1968), I earned a few dollars (only a few) for delivering about 150 St. Louis phone books, one to each home in one small suburban subdivision. Each one was about 3" thick. They entirely filled my beat-up, full-size, Greenbrier van to the ceiling, and nearly broke the suspension. These massive phone books were updated annually, and printed and delivered (mercifully by someone else) to every home in the country with a phone. And every one of the gazillion telephone booths nationwide contained at least one. Lots of trees.

Bob

 

[BarG]

I used em to let my fingers do the walking,, 30 not 40 yrs ago , my bad. All I wanted was pizza delivery.

 

[GreenDragon]

Listened to this book over the weekend. It is both interesting and relaxing at the same time. Highly recommend.

The author is an ecology professor who found an area of true old growth forest in the Tennessee mountains and visited it several times a week for a whole year, and describes what he saw and what it means.

 

[deluxestogie]

In print:

The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature: Haskell, David George: 9780143122944: Amazon.com: Books

Buy The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders

www.amazon.com

$13.97

Bob

 

[BarG]

I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a book today

 

[BarG]

Heard that, what a shame

 

[deluxestogie]

Whew! I finally finished the 558 pages of History of the Arab Peoples. There are a lot of interesting threads and connections in there. I did find it somewhat depressing to once again confirm that "great" cultures are, in the broadest picture, about manipulating the microcosm of history, legend, myth and religion, in order for the strong to gain more wealth and greater power. It seldom seems to be about the intrinsic values of a culture's heritage and its unique people. It's certainly true about all western civilizations, as well as Genghis Kahn, Ancient China, Ancient Rome, Egypt, the Byzantines, the Ottomans, etc. Cherry-pick the past to justify present desires and actions.

Next up in my reading queue (thanks to this thread):

Bob

 

[Redleaf]

Bob, believe it or not I was just recently wondering if you had read that book after I recommended it. I’m sure you will enjoy it.