The importance of self-motivation

Abandoning the goals you set for yourself - don't be that person.

Today, I'm going to try something new. This post is not going to talk about the ordinary CG-related stuff, neither is it going to focus on anything that's related to technology. Before we jump right in, I find it necessary to profess that this post does not fulfill the role of bravado. This article is not intended to depict how prosperous I am, it is designed to give its readers an idea of where self-motivation comes from and how one can uphold it.

I want to cover the single most important topic that affects all of our lives: motivation. Specifically the kind of motivation that stems from yourself, from the inside. 

I'm mainly bringing this up because most people set ridiculous goals for themselves once New Year's Eve is lurking around the corner only to abandon them a few days later. I have been there myself. 

Before we explore the concepts that can help you attain the results you are looking for, let's establish why the sheer idea of having such a thing as a New Year's resolution is not very effective, the essential question here being: 

Why do you set a goal for yourself starting January 1st of the next year, when you could already start today?

People might have individual answers to that question, but for me personally the only one I can think of from the top of my head is: You are constructing an elaborate escape plan for yourself that allows you to stay inside your comfort zone just a little longer. Due to that exact problem I am convinced these resolutions do not help your cause at all.

Making excuses for yourself will inherently result in failure

I personally found that, when conceiving objectives for yourself, you should start making them a reality ASAP. This greatly increases the odds of being able to carry some of that initial momentum over into your daily routine.
As long as that initial motivation is still fresh, it is surprisingly easy to pursue the aims you set for yourself, working towards the desired outcome. However, as that original momentum subsides, many people will abandon their plans, finding that they become too tedious to uphold.

Once the motivation fades, people will fall back into their comfort zone, instead of pushing its boundaries. 

Some will make excuses for themselves that allow them to give up, here are some common examples:

1. The goals I set for myself were unrealistic.
   If you figured you could cultivate The Rock's physique within 2 months then yes, that was indeed an unrealistic goal. The important thing here is to strike a balance between reaching for the stars and selling yourself under value. It is actually better to start off with smaller goals and as you achieve those, gradually increasing the stakes as the euphoria you get from achieving those smaller goals will help you stay motivated in the long run. Nevertheless it is important to have an ultimate goal you long for.
2. I just have so much going on right now, I'm not able to do this anymore.
   This is probably one of the most common excuses people make for themselves, for example when they decided they are going to start working out and then, after a while, when they get home from work/college they feel tired and lack the motivation to go on. In cases like these, you'll need to man up and push through that initial pain period. Sticking to the workout example, a way to overcome this excuse would be to start working out at home, dedicating around 15 minutes a day to exercise. Although this may not yield the same results as going to the gym, it is far less tedious than having to go to the gym and back every time and once you are starting to see an improvement in your strength/endurance you will get hooked and going to the gym or just generally dedicating more time to your workout will come to you naturally.
   After all, investing a few minutes every day is better than spending them watching mind-numbing TV.
3. It's just a stupid dream, I need to become more down to earth and stop living with my head in the clouds.
   Most of the time, when this excuse comes up, it is due to the fact that somebody in your life told you that you're a dreamer or that you won't amount to anything either way.
   If that's the case, ask yourself this: Why do you care so much about that person's opinion? An important lesson to learn in this context is that most people will make such snide remarks simply because putting others down will make them feel better about themselves.
   The proper mindset here is: You know best what you want out of life and if achieving the desired goal adds significant value to your life then keep pursuing your dreams. Giving up simply because people tell you to expresses a lack of confidence and self-esteem.
   If this doesn't convince you, become aware of the fact that stars such as Shaun White or Jared Leto were told they would never amount to anything and yet somehow managed to push through this wall of destructive criticism.

Why is self-motivation the go-to means of pursuing your dreams?

Well, for one thing, you can't possibly rely on other people to keep you motivated. They have dreams and lives of their own, that require their full attention, also, most people are narcissists that do not give a damn about anything but themselves.
The beauty of self-motivation stems from the fact that it is independent of most, if not all, external circumstances and is maintained inside your own mind.
Most problems we face on a day to day basis root in our own minds, such as vanity, laziness or a tendency for a lack of drive. Having a motivation that comes from the inside helps to contain these flaws.

Building a master plan that allows you to go after the unattainable 

In our adolescence, we all have at least one big dream we want to achieve. Some people will relentlessly pursue it, others will give up, ending up in jobs/locations they don't really like, ultimately settling for less.

The question that arises is: How can you keep yourself from settling for second best?

The obvious answer would be: Stay motivated. However, that answer is completely void of any content, therefor it becomes necessary to establish how you can develop the lasting motivation you crave.

Make a list

I know what you're thinking, this sounds like something a kid with OCD would do. In reality, this list, as it contains both the milestones you set for yourself and the problems you may run into, will greatly aid your cause. For one thing, it will help you become aware of the specifics, maybe even give you a time-frame to work with. For another, it will point out the intricacies that come with your endeavor. 

Find and/or build a group of like-minded people

While this is only partially a form of self-motivation, it will become incredibly helpful once your inner spirits run low, as the community can give you a gentle kick in the ass and encourage you to keep going. Also, the collective mind of the group can be surprisingly inspiring, helping you to come up with even better game plans.

Keep reassessing your goals

Set an interval for yourself. Then, every time that interval of time has passed, take a moment to pause and assess your progress. Essential questions at this stage are:

1. Am I at track with the milestones I set for myself?
2. Have the external circumstances changed? Is this going to be reflected in the outcome?
3. Am I happier than I was before? / Do I feel more achieved?
4. Do I need to make minor adjustments?

Start tapping into the reserve

Sticking with the initial example of a regular workout, the worst thing to do is to stop once you start experiencing pain.
Instead, find a way to unlock the potential that lies inside of yourself. An extraordinarily powerful tool to achieve this is cognitive dissonance, a concept originating in social psychology.
In brief, applied to the topic of this post, cognitive dissonance describes an incongruence between where you are and where you want to be.
This incongruence will ultimately cause you to push harder, closing the gap between the dream and the status quo.
The overwhelming feeling of being sick and tired, unwilling or even incapable to go on, is normal at times. Although some people do experience it more frequently than others.Once again, the most important thing at this point is to not give in to these self-doubts and maintain an objective mindset, instead of falling prey to your subjective emotions. 

This post is already getting longer than I originally anticipated. That is mostly due to the extensive nature of its topic. Nevertheless, I can confidently say that the concepts I personally find to work best have been covered. If you want to dig deeper into the matter, there is a ton of reading material out there that will help provide insight on how to become the best self one can be. I will conveniently post them below.

Additional material:

Self-Esteem: A Proven Program of Cognitive Techniques for Assessing, Improving, and Maintaining Your Self-Esteem

The Mind-Made Prison

or also, to some extent 

The Game (primarily concerned with a sub-culture of pickup artists, it still is a good read that deals with rewiring your desire to succeed)

  

The promised update

Changes keep happening.

Since I promised last week that I am going to keep you updated on my current project, you can probably guess what this post is going to be about.
I haven't been able to do too much work on it this week, as with 2 exams and 3 major presentations coming up this week I was busy preparing myself, mentally and physically.

Nevertheless, I managed to squeeze out a few design ideas that ended up completely changing the silhouette of the building. For one thing I had neglected the need for a bathroom of some sort, for another, the planned staircase filled me with displeasure and so I just swapped it for a ladder (talk about minimalism). I am also going to swap the supporting pillars for something a little more high-tech and sturdy. After all, the current generation was never expected to be anything more than a placeholder.

I have also started with some rudimentary blueprints and concepts for the environment which will hopefully be turned into something a little more useful once I find the time to do so.

Either way, other than that, there really isn't much to talk about this week.I hope you guys found this post useful.

Back after a long absence

It's been a while.

I know I haven't posted on here in a long time. If I wasn't busy working on my research paper or studying for exams I felt blocked in terms of my cretive work. The summer vacation didn't provide the anticipated relief either. I couldn't bring myself to get done anything CG-related. After all, self-doubt and discouragement are no strangers in the industry. Allan McKay, a genius in the field of VFX recently published an article on the topic. If you can find the time, I recommend you read it, as it has helped me out a lot and I am certain, if you are facing similar issues, you will find it just as useful.

Allan McKay's article on how to reach the unattainable 

This article and some events in my personal life have pushed me to reconsider targeting a career in CG and I am glad to announce that I am officially back. At present, I have started a study on a piece for architectural visualization. You can find a screenshot below.

Figure 1: the current stage of concepting; blocking in basic shapes

The idea

As you can probably tell, I am going for residential architecture. This is still an early concept and I might actually end up switching a lot of it around, as I always do, however, my mind is generally set on a modern tenement in the hills, creating contrast. Another key element for me is to make sure that there is a sufficient amount of light in the building that can, if required, be dimmed. In the current stage of concepting it has become very clear that a lack of light is not going to be an issue. As far as the use of props goes I might actually revisit some of my older pieces of furniture I have modelled over the course of my learning process. There really is no need to model assets from scratch when you are free to choose from several older pieces of yours. As long as you deem them good enough, that is. The third and last key aspect of the design is the mix of symmetric and asymmetric elements.It makes the entire residence seem less organized and more organic, all the while maintaining a certain contemporary style, being composed of very basic shapes.

That should be all for today, however I will make sure I keep you updated on the process of this project.
I've been thinking about ending this article with something corny, so suffice it to say:
Do what you love, it'll make your life infinitely better.

Alex  

GTX 770 - Battlefield 3

Building a gaming PC

A while back I started looking into the specs for the upcoming PS4 and Xbox One and couldn't help but wonder what it would cost to build a PC of similar specifications. Well, just as I was about to find my answer I was sidetracked and ended up buying myself some high end parts. I suppose that's just typical me.

The parts are as follows:

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6

CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4Ghz

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

RAM: 8Gb (2x4Gb) Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz CAS 7

HDD: WD Caviar Black 1Tb

GPU: Asus DirectCU II OC GTX 770

Case: Cooler Master Storm Trooper

PSU: EVGA NEX650G

All higher than the upcoming consoles' specs. Much higher. That's £1030 worth of computer parts (excluding Windows 7), enough to play most games maxed out. It's also much more expensive than even the Xbox One's £429 tag but for me, it was worth it.

Motherboard with CPU, cooler and RAM already inside
(Poor quality due to laziness, couldn't be bothered to bring out my SLR)

As soon as the parts arrived, I cleared my 27" iMac from the desk to allow for room to build (and generally lose tools and equipment). The CPU and RAM were nice and easy to insert, just plug and play. The CPU cooler was a little fiddly at first, but with the help of a friend it fitted on nicely (the wrong way round at first, but that was easily fixed). 

The Storm Trooper case originally had its front fans facing perpendicular, which would only cool the hard drives. With a little bit of tinkering, they can be turned 90 degrees to create a convection current throughout the case.

With extreme care, I attempted to insert the GTX 770 into the top PCIe. When I figured this wasn't working I applied a little pressure and 'click', it was in. Despite the nerve-racking experience I was happy to have the most expensive component inserted. Next was the dreaded cable management. I started with connecting the case I/O to the motherboard, USB 2 and 3s, power and reset buttons and so on. That was the easy part since the length of the GTX 770 made the SATA ports challenging to access. I would have removed the GPU, but it was about 1am and I wanted this thing finished. So with a little guessing (iMac owners are experienced at this) I managed to fix in the SATA ports for my HDD, DVD drive, eSATA and 'X-Dock'. The power cables were fairly easy to route, and thanks to my modular PSU they were nicely managed.

Then came the moment of truth: the first boot. After hooking up the computer to my cheap Samsung P2470HD (I know it defeats the purpose of a gaming PC but it's only temporary), I hit the power switch and turned on my newly built PC. The fans spun up, graphics card gave the green light and... the screen was blank. The motherboard didn't show any warning signs (with the sound test provided with the case), nor did it display any numbers on the LED counter. It took me about half an hour to realise that I had forgotten to hook up the CPU to the PSU, it couldn't have been more obvious. 

It was 3am and I had booted windows from the DVD drive first and was half way through the installation (Which took a surprisingly short amount time compared to when I set up Bootcamp, I didn't know just how slow Apple Superdrives were until a £15 LiteOn drive beat them).

Finally, the build was complete. All the divers ASRock had provided are installed and are working perfectly (I downloaded the Nvidia drivers online). Not bad for a spontaneous purchase if you ask me. I'll be posting some Benchmark tests here in the near future to show off my new PC.

Global Illumination in VRay

Here's another CG-related post.

Today, I want to talk about a very helpful set of algorithms that make your life as a 3D Artist just so much easier : Global Illumination
In order for you to understand what I'm talking about, we'll need to examine the concept behind global illumination a bit closer.As you might be aware (if you're not, you will be after reading the next few lines) global illumination is a technique supported by most of today's rendering engines.
It helps artists create more realistic lighting solutions, since it also adds indirect illumination (e.g. light bouncing off a wall) to the calculations that happen at render time, ultimately making the lighting look a lot more natural than pure direct illumination which is the light getting emitted directly from a light source.
I don't want to get too technical on you, so we are not going to dig too deeply into the different methods that exist for calculating global illumination, but the most common approaches are:

• ray tracing
• path tracing
• photon maps

VRay supports several different GI solvers (aka engines) and depending on what you are doing, you might prefer one over the other. However, before we can take a look at those, let's take a look at two different renders, one with, the other without indirect illumination.

Figure 1: Scene without GI

Figure 2: Scene with GI

As you can see, the first render has some noticeable noise in areas where there is not enough light, whereas the render with indirect illumination enabled does no longer have any visible noise despite the mediocre render settings.
That's due to the fact that in the first render, light does not bounce, it just hits a surface and is immediately removed from the calculation, unless there are reflections or refractions that need to be taken care of.
In the second render, however, the light bounces multiple times, enabling light to bounce around corners. Also notice that the second render is a little bit brighter, since the walls get illuminated by bouncing light multiple times. Also, the image is more saturated. This may result in a need to adjust the exposure.

Moreover, the light bounced off of the objects inside the room adds a slight tint to the walls and while this is only a very subtle effect right now, one could easily turn up the GI multiplier to bring out those colors a bit further.

Always bare in mind though that any global illumination solver will add additional render time therefor it should only be used when needed.

So how do you turn Indirect Illumination on?

It's actually a lot easier than you might expect. Open up your render setup (hit F10), make sure VRay is set as your current renderer, then head over to the Indirect Illumination tab and check the "On" checkbox.

The following video should explain most of the features and the different GI Engines in VRay to an extent that should give you a basic understanding of how GI works in VRay. 

I also go over how to achieve flicker-free Irradiance Cache GI when rendering animations.

As a summarization, it is safe to say that:

• Brute Force GI is very slow and might cause noise in the render, however it is physically accurate and preserves details. Furthermore, it will not cause any flickering in animations.
• Light Cache is a very fast path tracing solver that creates instant previews and while it's not only quite easy to set up, it also produces very accurate results on edges and small objects, however it only works with VRay-Materials and it does not work very well with bump maps. It also might cause some subtle blur.
• Irradiance Cache is a lot more efficient than Brute Force GI since it is based on interpolation, however it blurs the smaller details in the image and it can create some flickering when used to render animations
• Photon Maps are fairly fast but they use extensive amounts of RAM and can introduce a lot of undesirable noise into the scene. They also cause trouble on hard edges due to their approximation algorithms 

In the video below, I employed the aforementioned methods to achieve a flicker-free GI solution:
I cached out the Irradiance Map for each frame from frame -2 to frame 502 using the Animation (prepass) mode:
Medium settings, 30 interpolation samples, about 15MB per frame

After succesfully saving the maps to disk, I then rendered the final sequence with my interpolation samples set to 10 and my interpolation frames set to 2, once again using the Animation(rendering) preset.

Furthermore, I disabled the secondary GI engine since its information was already stored in the irradiance cache maps I saved out earlier.

As seen above, I added 2 additional frames at the beginning and the end, but I only rendered the sequence from frame 0 to frame 500. There's a plausible reason for that:
The additional frames are used as interpolation frames for the irradiance map, otherwise the first and the last frames of the animation could have wound up with glitches such as noise or artifacting.
There's also a bit of warping going on, but that's because I eventually decided to retime the animation in post.


That's it for today, I hope you enjoyed this post and actually learned something from it.
Share the love.

Speed Modeling - Interior

I'm glad to announce that I'm back with another CG-related video. 

It's not a tutorial, however. It's a screen-capture of me creating a room for a class I'm taking at school.

The footage does obviously not depict the entire process, but it is a fair part of it.
As you can see in the video, I also started assigning material mock-ups. Those mock-ups make it a lot easier to adjust materials on the fly without having to go back and forth between the material editor and the scene just to change selections.

I had a little problem with getting my head around the shape of the keyhole at first, which is why I probably spent a lot more time on it than I should have, but nevertheless, I'm okay with the final result (which I'm also going to post below).

All of the content that went into this project is my original work. 

Textures were either hand-painted(for example the blackboard) or photographed on-site(floor). The entire modeling and lighting solution was done by me.

Lighting the scene in VRay was a real pleasure, thanks to how quickly the VRay Sun and its Skylight portals can be set up to create immersive and satisfying results. (the lights in this scene could probably have used some tweaking, but it was certainly good enough for school)

Here's a video of me painting some textures in Photoshop.

I'm using a Wacom Bamboo which happens to be a blessing from heaven ;)

And here's the final scene from two different perspectives. 

These were originally quite high-res (3840x2160), but for the sake of this post, I had to resize them.

The high-res version of the second render may be found here