Will I-Clone drive the next animated blockbuster? Maybe not - but if you're into real-time - and you spend any time on the internet you're bound to see their work. You may even find yourself interacting with a character created with Reallusion software.

Download the hi-rez video here.

Browse all Digital Arts episodes.

Other ISNTV shows.

Click on the video below to find out how to keep those pesky eyelashes in place while your character, blinks, smirks, sneezes, or ...whatever.

You can pull down the high-resolution eyelash tutorial here.

And...if you'd rather have a pdf to work from - check out my tutorial, Seeing Eyes Part 2 - Handling Eyelashes with Blendshapes. And, as always - check out the Artist/Animator Community site for more tips, tricks and tutorials on digital content creation.

More tutorials and interviews available on the ISNTV Digital Arts homepage.

All the best,

- Pitz

Noted modeler, texturer,  character-rigger and all-around DCC whiz, Ryan Bird walks you through the process in his tutorial, Creating Textures for Characters in Autodesk Maya*

Don't let the title fool you - most of what he says pretty much applies to creating any texture for any model - so have a read :) !  And check out the Artist/Animator Community site for this and all kinds of neat DCC tutorials.  - Pitz

Check the Artist/Animator area for Color and Light Audri's second installment in her series on the basics of art and lighting.

- Pitz

But are we addicted to our digital workflows? Are we headed for a digital meltdown: Dark Ages II, the sequel?

I recently had the extreme pleasure of interviewing two unique and amazing composer/musicians - Justin Lassen whose Synaesthesia  combines digital artwork and audio in a way that is truly magical, and two-time Grammy Award Nominee, Carmen Rizzo who has found a way to take musical elements from every corner of the earth and turn them into incredibly personal, powerful music everyone can understand and appreciate.

I posed the digital meltdown question and more to them at GDC in San Francisco - how do they deal with it - what does the technology do for them - and what do they wish it did for them? Their answers were not only surprising and informative - they were entertaining as heck.
- Pitz
Watch them here:

Carmen Rizzo can take accoustic music from the far corners of the earth mix it with a sound whose DNA comes from the most inner reaches of computer technology, and turn it into music that takes you into an entirely new world.

Whether this two-time Grammy Nominee is producing a song for Samantha James, touring with Huun Huur Tu, co-writing music for Alanis Morissette, Coldplay,or Cirque du Soleil, remixing, or going solo - Carmen Rizzo is a fearless explorer of sound.

How does technology help him explore?  What does it do - what does he wish it did? Click on the video link below to find out.

Link to Carmen's label, Electrofone Music

Click here for a complete schedule of Intel events at GDC.

- Pitz

For the high-resolution version, click here.

How much time do you have left to create?

Hearing sound, seeing color - composer, musician, artist, Justin Lassen epitomizes the essence of synaesthesia, and his work of the same name, Synaesthesia, a project 5 years in the making that pairs him with some of most gifted CG artists in the world,  so closely intertwines the relationship between sound and visuals it's nearly impossible to separate them. 

Be sure and join us this Thursday, at 3:30 PM PST  for a live DigitalArts ISNTV interview with this often dark - yet always inspiring artist.

We'll talk a bit about how digital technology helps him create - did you ever wonder what would have happened if Mozart had Core i7, SSD drives, and fully optimized, threaded software like Cakewalk's Sonar to create his compositions?  How much more time would he have had to create?   But I expect we'll also talk a bit about the implications of creating art that lives...digitally.  Could it be we're digitally producing Dark Ages the Sequel? Could it all be wiped out in an instant?

But we'll also delve into just  how someone with so many interests (chemistry, gymnastics, mastering musical instruments to name a few) found the inner freedom to concentrate on all of them!

Click here for a full list of Intel activities at GDC.

- Pitz

But every now and then, an Award Winner sends a message that goes beyond them - one meant to help others be successful, and when they do that it needs to be called out.  Michael Giacchino sent a personal message to every kid looking through the music shop window, or picking up a crayon to draw with for the first time.

"Get out there and do it. Its not a waste of time."

This week at the Game Developers Conference I'll have the pleasure of  interviewing two amazing composers for Digital Arts, Justin Lassen, whose musical compositions not only bring out the best in the visuals that inspire him, but take you to places beyond this world, and Carmen Rizzo, whose compositions somehow bring the best musical elements from the furthest reaches of this planet together in harmony.

If you are creative - you have a pretty good idea of the roadblocks out there for a kid with a dream.  Justin and Carmen are two extremely  successful "grown-up creative kids." I'll be challenging them not only to talk about how technology has helped them achieve their dreams - but how they found the strength to push on and follow-through on their childhood dreams of living as creative beings.

All of us - at whatever age - still face those hurdles.  Thank you, Michael Giacchino, for your message to all of us. And thank you also to Michael's parents, teachers, and colleagues for sending the right message too. He really couldn't have done this without you.

Below is the full text of Academy Award Winner Michael Giacchino's acceptance speech. Original Score for the animated feature, UP.

"Thank you, guys. When I was... I was nine and I asked my dad, "Can I have your movie camera? That old, wind-up 8 millimeter camera that was in your drawer?" And he goes, "Sure, take it." And I took it and I started making movies with it and I started being as creative as I could, and never once in my life did my parents ever say, "What you're doing is a waste of time." Never. And I grew up, I had teachers, I had colleagues, I had people that I worked with all through my life who always told me what you're doing is not a waste of time. So that was normal to me that it was OK to do that. I know there are kids out there that don't have that support system so if you're out there and you're listening, listen to me: If you want to be creative, get out there and do it. It's not a waste of time. Do it. OK? Thank you. Thank you."  - Michael Giacchino

- Pitz

Still - I can't help but be awed by what is possible these days because of the technology.  Have a look at the Artist/Animator Community , scroll down to the videos and take a gander at the latest demo from the guys at Project Offset.  Or click on the pic below.

You may find yourself getting lost just looking at the individual blades of grass, the floating cinders and the billowing smoke - but once you see the detail in this truly grisly giant - and you realize he hears you, you may forget all about the cool physics and HDR lighting - and run like heck!

Special thanks to Offset Community Mgr, John Tilton for sending the vid!

Please give us your feedback here and on the new Project Offset Forum on ISN!

- Pitz

I'm not even sure how long it's been since I first met Tommy Tallarico at one of the San Jose GDCs way back when...  Coming from the animation side of things (and knowing how a well-timed bit of great audio has often saved a sorry shot of bad animation) I was very interested to find out how the top folks in game audio went about the job of creating music and effects that make game visuals pop.

I remember talking and jamming with Tommy along with a wild assemblage of other game music musicians and composers, and realized that I was waaaay behind the curve in understanding the impact of game audio.

From there it's been many years of GDC's, E3s and not nearly enough weekends at George Sanger's (the Fatman  and another Game Audio giant) Project BBQ - the premiere thinktank for all things Game and PC Audio, many hours of serious and not-so-serious gameplay. After all that, I've come to realize that game music is much, much more than a mood creator - it is actually just as deeply embedded in the gamer's psyche as the game characters themselves, with video game soundtracks flying off the e-shelves of online music stores.

Tommy &  Jack are the folks who dreamed up and provide the heart and soul of Video Games Live.  And if you've played anything from Pong to Mario Bros. to WOW or are anxiously waiting for the next mega game release - VGL is a show that will not only take you back - it will take you to places you can't even imagine. And you WILL have serious fun getting there.

Intel has proudly sponsored several of the VGL shows - and I hope we will be sponsoring many, many more!

- Pitz

Today's show is a slightly different format. Steve Pitzel community manager for Artist/Animator and Media will talk with Son Kim, uber modeler and winner of Project Offset’s first User Created Content contest, Son Kim.

Download link to a high quality MP4 video file of the show (about 150MB)

Show notes:
• Where did you first learn about Project Offset?
• What got you get interested in building 3D CG characters?
• What tools do you like to use.
• Any tips and tricks that you want to share with our viewers.
• What are your future plans?

I am always looking for community feedback and questions. You can email them to visualizethis@intel.com

You can watch Visualize This! live alternate Tuesdays at noon Pacific on Intel Software Network TV, our new 24/7 interactive video channel. Come chat with us, or browse the On Demand section to see past episodes of our shows.

What's the most annoying part of modeling and animation? What do you hate doing the most? What's the part you look forward to?

What would you like to learn about modeling and animation that no one seems to talk about?

Jump on and join the conversation - and above all, be animated!

- Pitz

The method I show in this tutorial is only one of many ways of modeling musculature. Rather than model an entire character out of a single subdivided cube, this technique involves connecting many muscle-shaped loaves within a torso template or outline to achieve the same goal.

Why try it this way? It can help overcome three painful muscle modeling problems:

1) It forces you to really think about anatomical landmarks of the body and how they interconnect (helpful both in modeling and animation).

2) The muscles will automatically have well-defined edges (these can be smoothed out and hidden as needed).

3) The muscles will have a natural flow in their most common direction of deformation or movement.

Do I admire the folks who can just sit there and model some fantastical character out of a single cube? Absolutely!!! But we've all seen those tutorials, and a lot of folks, like me, hit at least one point where we say, "how the heck did they get from there to here???"

Try building your character out of meatloaf just once - I think you'll actually find it's a fairly intuitive process.

And...as an added bonus... you can download the torso model to use as a torso primitive for your own work. All that I ask is that you upload your improvements to the model or show us what you've done with it so the entire community can share!

As always - please feel free to offer any additions or alternate methods by commenting on this Blog, commenting on the tutorial itself, or by submitting your tips, tricks and tutorials to the Animate This! Tutorial Challenge (http://software.intel.com/en-us/contests/animatethis/contests.php)! You'll win points toward our Black Belt program - and the 5 best tips, tricks and tutorials each month receive $100 in vouchers at www.gnomonology.com !

- Pitz

Check out Yeong-hao's interview in the Featured Artist area of the Artist/Animator site (http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/artist-animator/) to learn what it takes to be a professional concept artist and level designer from a real pro.

You'll also come away with some insights into the Offset Editor - one of the tools created by the magicians at PO that give this project its unique look and feel.

For you mega-fan's and artists -send your modeling, texturing, lighting and animation tips to the Animate This! Tutorial challenge (which will also add to your Intel Blackbelt points btw)!

- Pitz

These 3D "How To's" are pretty simple - one graphic to show what's being covered in the tutorial - and then a list of steps to make it happen.  Although you can feel free to add as many pics as you like or even videos, you don't need to add any at all (although, heck we're talking digital art here, so we like graphics :) ).

Both of these tutorials really cover the same thing - a simple character setup to help you animate eyes.  They're both valid entries though - since each handles the same problem but in different ways.

To add an image in the body of your tutorial, you'll be asked to create a folder on our server - and then upload the pic to that folder. From there, use the option "add to the editor" to bring the image into your tutorial.

The Bob3Dguy tutorial on Orient Constraints also has a neat little thumbnail image in the title - which is a separate option on the entry form.

One other thing to note - there is a comment on the Joe3D tutorial that adds functionality - or, in this case, takes care of another issue related to Joe3D's tutorial.  I call a comment like this an "Adder," and yes, it's also a valid entry for the contest and eligible for the Gnomology tutorial vouchers we give out  if it's one of the better entries made that month.

So go ahead! Submit away. You can even upload .pdfs and Word Docs if you'd rather not play with our entry editor.

All the best,

- Pitz