No worries, sorry for the false alarm. This is only a test!
Thanks!
Author: Damion Hill
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
I wanted to quickly wish everyone happy holidays! It’s a great opportunity to take the time out of our busy lives and spend it with the ones we love.
FREE & PERPETUAL TOOLS
NO MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION
We all have to pay monthly for utilities. Unless you live in a cabin in the woods, removed from society, you pay for the essentials. Water, power, maybe gas, and possibly internet. But when paying monthly for your tools, how does that make you feel? Some individuals see it as an opportunity to compensate the creators of said tools to continue making updates. But what about the rest of us?
Some of you have been alive longer than I. However, I remember transitioning from a more analog world to almost all digital. With that, Software development. Throughout the years, I have used all types of tools for audio production, video creation, and digital art. Most of these companies survived for a very long time. So, what did they do to last so long without a subscription model for so many years? My guess; is they used innovation. They created features and upgrades that made purchasing a new version so attractive. What happened?
Honestly, my opinion is moot. However, I feel innovation has been tossed aside for a lazy approach to business. Namely companies like Adobe, Avid, Autodesk, and so many others. It’s become a safety net for large conglomerates. I listed the three companies above because they’re the worst offenders of lackluster innovation. They have not fixed or updated any bugs and have become bloated heaps of trash. I know that is a pretty harsh comment. But it’s true. I have used free, open-source applications recently and have had better results. I have had minimal to no crashes compared to the giants above. So, you’re probably wondering… What are these amazingly innovative, free, or perpetual tools? See my list below…
BLENDER
Per Blender’s website: “Blender is licensed as GNU GPL, owned by its contributors. For that reason, Blender is free and Open Source software, forever.”
Note: I use this application almost every day. I have minimal issues compared to “superior software.” What better way to create in 2D/3D and keep your overhead extremely low!
AFFINITY PRODUCTS BY SERIF
Affinity products are not free. However, they are very inexpensive. Normally, they’re roughly $60 for each application. They offer sales on a regular basis that are around 40-50% off! They offer three applications that I personally love using. They are Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher. As one would guess, they are alternatives to Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Publisher. Are they better? They have a light price point, they’re efficiant and extremely user friendly.
Check them out!
APPLE LOGIC PRO X
Apple has been pretty contraversial for years. They offer great stable hardware and, in my opinion, very stable applications. Is the hardware expensive and over hyped? Probably. However, if you have used Logic Pro, then you know it’s a contender with Avid. So much so, that I sold my Pro Tools HD system back when Avid switched to their subscription model. That’s probably around version 12. I purchased a Universal Audio Apollo quad-core interface and Logic Pro. I couldn’t be happier. It’s a stable system. My kids even use it to write their own music. Mixing and mastering in it is also a breeze. It’s just designed for music. It’s not free but pretty inexpensive for a pro application. It’s always been $299 and you always get updates for free.
BLACKMAGIC DESIGNS
DAVINCI RESOLVE
A lot of you who use video editing software probably already know about DaVinci Resolve. It’s similar to Adobe Premier or other video editors. But here’s the best part… The main application and a big host of tools are all FREE! Yes, there’s a paid version. However, the editing and color panels alone are worth it. To pay $295 for the Studio version of the application is a steal! I could write an entire article just on DaVinci Resolve alone. It’s amazing! Go check it out!
These are just a handful of really great tools for creatives looking to save money. Don’t let the big guys scare you into thinking you HAVE to pay monthly for great tools. It’s just not true. Below, I will list all of the free, open-source, or affordable applications that I use daily.
- ActorCore AccuRIG
- Affinity Products (Photo, Designer, Publisher)
- Apple Logic Pro X
- Blender
- BVHacker
- Davinci Resolve Free/Paid
- FSpy
- Handbrake
- LibraCAD
- Quixel Mixer
- Quixel Bridge
- Quixel Megascans (need an unreal engine account to be free)
- Storyboarder
- TerreSculptor
- Unreal Engine
IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR!
It’s that time of year when I subjugate my family to me filming them as we pick out our Christmas tree and decorate it. I’m pretty sure the kids are used to it at this point. My wife could do without it though.
Enjoy!
WHY 3D OVER PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY?
We see ads every day. Most of these ads are focused on a specific product or service that requires an image or a bunch of images to drive sales. You may not know this, but some of that imagery may not be actual photographs… What??? They may be 3D modeled products that look like the real thing. Why would anyone want a fake image over a real one? It sounds like some crazy deep fake merchandising going on. In fact, you probably see rendered ads all the time and don’t even know it. Lets find out why anyone would think this is a good idea…
Creating imagery for a product has been around for a long time. Before photography was used, people used hand drawn or hand carved wood negatives for a printing press. We’ve come a long way! Once photography came on the scene, everything changed. Ads became more creative and alluring. In this day in age, with computer technology, we can go beyond just a digital photo and some savvy photoshop skills.
So, why don’t we see more of this 3D working for ads? The fact you don’t notice is a good sign you’ve been fooled. However, there is a large amount of work being done with a camera and some touch up software. So, lets get to the point… why 3D? I’ll keep it simple for this article…
Lets say for a moment you’re planning a photoshoot for a new slew of soft drinks. You’ve got all sorts of fancy rigs to capture a can splashing into a cooler full of ice. It looks so refreshing while it splashes water everywhere. You’ve spent a couple days getting every detail you can. You’re ready to send the photos to get touched up and you get the call… the customer wants to change the labeling. “Nooooo!” What can you do? Now, you have to go back and re shoot everything all over again. This is where 3D shines!
So, you get the call that the customer has changed labeling for all the soft drinks you just modeled, Textured, and rendered. In this situation, you already have your shots setup. Just swap out the UV mapped labels and re render. No more days of re shoots or being over budget.
When building your scenes, you still have to setup lighting like you would for a real photoshoot. You’ll use an HDRI (High Dynamic Range Image) to simulate the room, world, and natural lighting. You still use black cards for absorbing light and reflectors to bounce light. All your photography rules still apply. But once you have your scene built, you can reuse it over and over. No more setting up heavy lights and backdrops. It’s all lightweight for you so you can leave the heavy lifting to your computer. The list of positives just keeps coming. But I’ll spare you from that.
So, in review, 3D product rendering really can save the day and save your customer’s pocketbook. There’s always a place for product photography. Not all situations warrant a 3D object instead of a real one. But lets keep 3D in the back of your mind the next time your customer wants to show off their newest product or services, okay?
Affinity Products V2!
In case if many of you didn’t know about affinity, this article is to bring you up to speed on their products. I’ll only dive in a little bit and let you learn more about their products with the link below. I’ve been using them for over 5 years. Not once have I since thought about needing Adobe Creative Cloud since these guys came into my life!
They currently have three main products available at the moment. Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, and Affinity Publisher. I have purchased all versions and love their ease of use and familiar adobe style user interface. Usability between all three products are simple and seamless, unlike their competitor. They’re very lightweight and quick to open so you can get to work fast. I find Designer’s functionality much more pleasing to use over Illustrator, which is what got me hooked on their products at the beginning.
Saving or exporting file formats is a breeze. See formats below…
- Publisher template (.aftemplate)
- Adobe® Photoshop® PSD
- TIFF (layers preserved)
- PNG
- JPG
- Progressive JPG
- GIF
- SVG
- EPS
- EXR (Open EXR)
- HDR (Radiance)
- PDF (can also be opened in Adobe® Illustrator®)
- PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3, PDF/X-4
- Affinity common file format
Also, import formats are…
- Adobe® Photoshop® PSD
- Adobe® Photoshop® PSB
- Extensive RAW import library (including CR3)
- DNG
- PNG
- TIFF
- JPG
- GIF
- TGA
- SVG
- EPS
- PDF/X
- EXR (Open EXR)
- HDR (Radiance)
- Adobe® Illustrator® AI (containing PDF stream)
- Legacy Adobe® Illustrator® AI files
- Adobe® FreeHand® (versions 9 to 11)
- Affinity Designer native file (for desktop only)
- Affinity Publisher native file (includes page navigation)
- HEIF with depth map (as separate layer)
What’s the price? Each application is a one time payment of $69.99. But they tend to offer sales often at almost 50% off. Since writing this, they’ve released their version 2 of each application and are offering them at 40% off! So, that’s $40.99. Go buy them all!
