Shared: Kelly Kin
Last night, I discovered that a friend of mine, Kelly Kin, is an amazing digital artist who specializes in a lot of 3D modeling and animation. She showed me a plethora of her works, all of which were very interesting and appealing to me. Most people don’t understand, but a lot of work goes into what Kelly does. It was just very fascinating to get a glimpse of how much blood and sweat goes into her work. Here are two of her works, each of which took months to complete. The first is a 30-second short animation titled “The Moon and the Well” and the second is a 3D demo featuring dynamic shading, textures, reflections, refractions, and hair scattering. I also want to mention that the second work actually isn’t final and may be completed in the next months ahead.
I am very inspired by the work she does. I have always loved graphic design, but I have always been limited by the software that I use, that being only Photoshop. As a result, I lack practically any skill in 3D art. Kelly suggested that I should try it out if ever given the chance. Thankfully as students, we are able to use Autodesk modeling software for free. I now have Autodesk Maya and 3ds Max installed. Both are pretty great, but I am starting to favor 3ds max more, as I’m not really committed to animation as Kelly is. Hopefully I can use these tools to better myself as a designer and find ways to merge these skills with programming.
The Lower Class
Anthony, a longtime high school friend of mine has been hard at work with The Lower Class:
The Lower Class is an alternative hip hop trio formed in San Marcos, composed of Josh Tatum (Pliny Science), Anthony Torres (imaGenius), Xavier Palin (Kartune). They are known for their humorous lyrics, layered references, and unconventional style. Each member brings their own approach to rapping that blends together seamlessly.
Here’s a small snippet of “Complex.” More music is available on their website, along with their album dropping on December 9, 2011.
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Shared: What I’ve learned in college
Ruben Mercado, a good high school friend of mine has written a short entry about what he has learned about about public and higher education while in college. College is a very important time of our lives. As long and stress-enduring it may seem, it will be over before we know it. As a college student myself, I felt that it was a very good read. Not only did it explain the importance of college, but it also tackled the fact that school just isn’t for everyone. Knowing exactly what to do after high school isn’t always easy. I feel that students, as well as non-students around our age should really take the time think about matters such as these before it’s too late.
I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life when I first came to college.
Honestly, I would imagine that is the case with most people when they first come to school. At 18 years old you’re still a kid, no matter how mature you want to convince the world you are. You’re not ready for signing leases at some dorm or apartment, taking care of yourself, staying on top of your own schedule, working, and all that other stuff. Of course there are exceptions but as someone who has worked with incoming first-time college students for 2 years, I can say from personal experience that this is often not the case.
In the 4 years I’ve been at a university, I’ve learned that not everyone needs to be here. Or at least, not everyone is ready to be here. There are various problems and examples, so I’ll try to go through each of the ones I’ve seen:
The public school system is terrible:
There are a lot of first-time college freshman that aren’t ready to go to college, period. Lets face it, high school is a joke. How many classes did you blow off totally and still manage a B or an A as long as you showed up and did the work? Hell, I remember teachers telling me that pretty much all we had to do to pass the class was show up and do the work! That isn’t learning. Too much of the public school system is devoted to teaching to a test and then dumping the data needed for that test once its over. No one learns anything long-term short of the most basic of skills, and it wastes time. AP classes and dual-credit are slight improvements but honestly that isn’t for everyone. Some people don’t have the motivation or the capability, which leads me to my next point.
Garage Sale
My close buddy Anthony, also known as imaGenius, is a passionate enthusiast when it comes to exploring the very unique aspects of music and everything that it has to offer. Today, he has released Garage Sale, a well organized assortment of thirty tracks featuring various sampled tracks that promotes music in the old school hip-hop style. If you have any musical listening interest in hip-hop, rap, pop, house or lounge, or even enjoy music from artists such as Lupe Fiasco, Common, Will I Am, or Kanye West, then I would encourage you to take a few moments to listen and enjoy it for what it is. Below you’ll find a just few of my favorite tracks as well as the download link to the entire mixtape so that you can experience it for yourself.
Download Here
When I Wake Up
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Your Life
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See
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Three
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I know where you got this one from, lol.