September 30, 2016 (Fri)

No creative work today, though I thought some about the project.  It no longer inspires me with dread, which is nice.

Bunch of paid work, always good.  Not enough to pay bills, but what can you do.

Got a failing hard drive which I'm trying to rescue, that and the laundry has kept me occupied. 

See you tomorrow.

September 29, 2016 (Thurs)

A decent but not spectacular amount of paid work today, and no creative work at all.

Actually, it's worse than that--the idea of firing up Flash seems more and more like a chore than an avenue for creative expression.

Oh well--I'm sure this isn't permanent.  I just have to find an idea that will break this stalemate.  Which, believe it or not, I feel confident will happen.

On to tomorrow.

September 28, 2016 (Wed)

Another nothing day, both in paid hours and in creative work.  I played the Flash bit I'd done for part three, and while I "admire" it, I don't think it "works" the way I want it to. 

I looked through some photos to see if anything inspired me for a different direction; so far, not really.

Every now and then, there's a day like this.  Let's hope it's a while before I get another one.

See you tomorrow.

September 27, 2016 (Tues)

Some paid work today, always good, but then a glimpse into my future paycheck.  Argh.

No creative work today.  Last night, after posting, I experimented with Bones and found they were easier than I thought...but the artwork limitations of Flash continue to frustrate me.  I want more than basic detail, but that seems to be beyond Flash's capability...yet if I import PhotoShop art, Flash has a hard time with this...

I suspect it's time for more exploring.  Which...is generally a good thing.

See you tomorrow.

September 26, 2016 (Mon)

No creative work today.  I just don't seem to have any drive for it right now. 

Lots of paid work, which is always good.

I'm starting to think I started off on the wrong food for Part Three.  May have to rethink.  Or not.  Nothing is really "working" at the moment, either soldiering on or starting from scratch.  Both seem like paths not really worth following.

See you tomorrow.

September 25, 2016 (Sun)

An odd day.  I created several bits of artwork for Flash project part three, and even animated the opening, but I didn't feel satisfied at all.  Not sure what the problem is.

Perhaps I'm not stretching myself enough...maybe I'm just repeating what I already know, and I'm unconsciously feeling that I should be exploring different aspects of Flash.

I don't know.  Anyway, not a terrible day, just odd.

See you tomorrow.

September 24, 2016 (Sat)

Not much creative work done today, and I really wasn't expecting anything to happen.  I went out and shot some pictures, and I started working on a background for "part three" of the Flash animation project.

But that doesn't bother me, I'm still pretty stoked from the audio work I did for part 2.  As I've said, a day or two of "nothing much" isn't considered a terrible thing, nowadays.  If nothing else, at least I'm thinking about creative processes and planning projects, all of which was beyond me a couple of months ago.  In that regard, I have few complaints.

In the rest of life, on the other hand...but let's not go there.  This is about creative work, not about the relentless tendency of the universe to swat me on a whim. 

Oops.  Anyway, see you tomorrow.

September 23, 2016 (Fri)

Lots of paid work today, which is great.  But--I also completed the audio on Part 2!  So that's pretty nice.  Of course, it made me think Part 1 needs some tweaking...which may or may not happen.

Curse struck again.

Tiny Hobo let me pet her, briefly.

Overall, a decent day.

September 22, 2016 (Thurs)

Not much creative work, but lots of paid work.  I added some sound to the latest Flash project, and it looks (and sounds) pretty good so far.

Problems with the speakers which made work frustrating.  Otherwise an okay day.

See you tomorrow.

September 21, 2016 (Wed)

I created mouths for the creatures the other day, and today I animated them and added them to the project.

And I have to say, it looks good.

It also means, the drawing/animating part is done for this section.  I still have to do the soundtrack, and I've recorded some source files to adapt, so nothing's completely done yet.  Still, I like having the sense of accomplishment.  I almost feel...good.  Wonder what will come along to destroy that?

UPDATE:  Well, nothing showed up to wreck things, aside from 2: my continual addiction, and (I think) the fear of completing things.  After I wrote the three paragraphs above, I got an itch, and started (for lack of a better phrase) "extending the narrative."

In other words, more graphic ideas occurred, and I drew and/or animated those ideas.  And while I think the current project is stronger for what I did today, it did mean that I could lean back and say, "Ah, well, no audio work; visual bit's not done; still it will be finished.   Eventually."

It's an odd state in which to find oneself.  Yes, on the one hand, I think it made the scene stronger.  On the other hand, it means that "finishing" something is just a goal, not an end in itself.  What an odd way to complain about creative energies being stoked...but there is that hesitant bit.

Never finishing something is a means of pushing the "judging" aspect off for a bit.  To the extent that there's no "final product" and hence no judgement.  

I suspect I will have to do the same thing I did last time--publish and be damned, rather than refine forever.

Still, there's no audio track yet.  So that's...a goal.  Not an end, but a goal. 

Oh well, thanks as always for reading.

September 20, 2016 (Tues)

First off, alas on the drinking bit of the other two days.  A lapse was inevitable, alas again.

Lots of paid work, which is great, though exhausting.  Tuckered out around 3, though I went ahead and worked another hour.  Paid hours = future.

In creative work, I created (in PhotoShop) and animated (in Flash) shadows for my whale creatures.  Both look excellent and make me more enthused to continue on the project, rather than make me think I know nothing.  So that's good; encouragement is better than discouragement (despite the fact that I actually know nothing).  And that makes plans to move forward more interesting.

Anyway, thanks for visiting, see you tomorrow.

September 19, 2016 (Mon)

Not much today, creativity wise.  I animated the other beast's wings, and realize that I really know very little about how to do what I want to do.  Also, a bit frustrating as things that worked yesterday didn't work today.  Not sure what the difference is, but I fear I was a touch overconfident yesterday.

Not much paid-for work today, which is worrisome.

Oh well, tomorrow will be here in a couple of minutes.  Day two of no drinking.

September 18, 2016 (Sun)

Only a little creative work today, but possibly quite important.  I made two morphing animations for wings for my ghost whale, and then exported them as movie clips.  I was then able to import them in, copy the whale's path, and apply that path to them. 

So, rather than a tedious attempt to match things up frame-by-frame, they flowed together quite nicely, flapping all the way.

So, the project looks...pretty good.  I won't say "great," because all of the above happened in a rather small timeframe and it lacks a bit of finesse.  So it may get redone.  The important thing is, I know how to do it again.

Not much else.  Didn't get drunk tonight.  See you tomorrow.

September 17, 2016 (Sat)

No creative work today, but that doesn't bother me.  Every now and then I think a day off is fine.  I have been thinking about a basic Flash "worksheet" (do this, don't do that) based on my own experience, but that's just an idea.

A long hike on a rather arduous (for me) trail, followed by mowing the lawn.  And, a bit earlier, playing with a new "friend" (stray cat) out in the back.  She likes treats but doesn't want to be approached...but she really likes treats.

Anyway, that's all for now.  See you tomorrow.

September 16, 2016 (Fri)

Mostly working with graphics today, finding out what fits in Flash, and how to make what I do fit.

I experimented with animation today, trying to get some wings to flap.  In the end, I got something like what I wanted, but of course to copy an animated sequence from one Flash file to another is a secret the internet is keeping for the moment.  I'd still prefer to morph the images, rather than squash them, but I've barely learned to ride the bicycle without one foot on the ground; racing down the hill will take a while.

Did some audio work as well, though haven't applied any of it yet.

While the progress is slow, I do have to admit I'm enjoying having a project to put some time and effort into.  Since work seems to be declining, it's at least something to do other than sleep.

See you tomorrow.

September 15, 2016 (Thurs)

Lots of work on Flash, both today and yesterday after I posted.  This particular piece started as a silly little thing, and it has inspired me to make it into something else.  I may have said that yesterday, but it bears repeating.  I'm starting to enjoy the creative process.

I'm at the point where I want to start adding internal motion to objects...instead of having them drift across the screen, I want to see wings flapping, or some other type of motion that's not just...drifting.  So while I'm going to continue to create artwork for this, there may be less Flash and more PhotoShop while I figure out the next steps.

Disappointing paycheck today.  Oh well, one must learn to live with it.

On to tomorrow.

September 14, 2016 (Wed)

Well, I spent much more time than I expected on the little Flash thing I'd done, and now I'm much more interested in it.  I can see it growing into something worth pursuing.  Added a zoom, created some sound effects and other video noise, and in the end...I like it.

Some paid work, so there's that.  Not much else to report...probably a good thing I suppose.

See you tomorrow.

September 13, 2016 (Tues)

Nothing creative done, though I started exploring some options.  Ideas flow in, but no concrete work as yet has resulted.

Paid work okay, lots of driving.

Despair level high.

But no worries.  See you tomorrow.

September 12, 2016 (Mon)

Nothing creative done today.  Spent the whole day doing paying work. 

So...see you tomorrow!

September 11, 2016 (Sun)

Not much today.  Honestly, I'm too poor to go out and do fun things, so I spend pretty much the entire day indoors.

I did manage to do a fun little Flash animation...2 seconds long or so, but with some interesting animation and with sound. 

I still don't have animation down, yet.  I can do simple movement of objects, back, forth, up down, and so on...but rotating things is beyond my grasp as yet.  I thought that if I made my artwork into Flash "symbols" I could attach what are called "Bones" and rotate them that way...and I kind of succeeded.  Problem is, other things got attached and I ended up with something I didn't want.

Still, it's nice that I can fire up Flash and not feel intimidated.  I used to launch PhotoShop, make a couple of marks, then quit because the program was so amazingly complex that I couldn't do anything.  I no longer do that with PhotoShop, and while I would not say I have any grasp of Flash, at least...I can open it and not feel intimidated into immediately quitting.  So there's that.

Thanks for listening, see you tomorrow.

September 10, 2016 (Sat)

Somewhat lousy day, but I did do a brief Flash animation much faster than I thought I could.  That seems like something.

I also have a vague idea of what I want to do next...another Flash animation, an idea I had some years back, but knew then that I did not have the ability.  So I did some preliminary artwork for that.

And that was about it.  Thanks for stopping by; see you tomorrow.

September 9, 2016 (Fri)

Nothing creative done today.  Well, a silly PhotoShop thing, but other than that, no.  Still...it's kind of nice to think that "a silly PhotoShop thing" is considered nothing, when previously that would have been tons of work and a sweaty brow, followed by a boast.

I think what I have to do next, is continue with Flash, but try some character animation.  Not a fully blown character who speaks, but something more than shifting panes. 

Still thinking about what direction that should take...which is better than just stalling.

Cat is still alive, and circumstances seem better...just wish I knew what caused this state, what to do about it, and where it will end.

Oh, and finally, took a couple of steps to solve the mail problem from earlier in the week.  It probably won't get solved the way I want it to, but at least I'm taking steps instead of just dreading everything.

That would probably be a good epitaph for me.  "Dreaded Everything."

See you tomorrow.

September 8, 2016 (Thurs)

Nothing creative today.

Got some nice feedback on the YouTube posting.  Always nice, nice feedback.

Lots of paid work.  Similarly, that's also always nice.

Crap has been pre-loaded for tomorrow. 

And I think I might have murdered my cat.  Or pre-murdered.  Oh merciful God why did you invent pets.

All in all, a terrible day.  One I feel will be used as an example, should some damned soul be forced to write my life story.  Although, I supposed said damned soul could write the end, if he just borrowed the notes from the damned soul who decided on the beginning.

Ugh.  See you tomorrow.

September 7, 2016 (Wed)

So, after dwelling on this last night, I decided it was time to post my Flash project to YouTube.  And there it is.  I'm a bit disappointed with myself, as I hadn't noticed the right edge--it's got a white line down it.  Ah well, it's practice, it's a learning tool, and I'm not unhappy with it.

The question now is what to tackle next. 

Update, later that same day.  

So, yeah, I basically did nothing today.   After posting to YouTube, I felt empty and depressed (as I feared).  With the project "done" I felt as if there were no more steps in front of me, kind of lost in a heavy mist.  So I need to start another project.

But I'm not even sure what the next project should be.  I'm thinking I should continue with Flash, as I've made a bit of progress.  Though I really don't feel anywhere close to comfortable with it.  A day or so of thinking may provide an idea or two.

Maybe some character animation, or something with a bit of objects in motion, not just passing across the screen.

We'll see tomorrow.  See you then.

September 6, 2016 (Tues)

Actually a decent day...until the mail arrived.  You don't want to know.

Got some decent pay-hours in.  More tomorrow, too.

Spent a lot of time tweaking audio for Flash. Using Audacity, of course; if you're working in Flash, you are pretty much out of luck on the audio side.  You need to make sure that your sound files are in good working order before you import them in, or it'll end in tears.  Same with anything resembling artwork; use PhotoShop to create anything decent.  It's hard to know what Flash is actually good at, other than simple animation.  Maybe that's enough.

Decided to over-complicate some graphic stuff in the project, because why not, and wondered...am I just afraid of finishing this one project?  Because after this, yeah, there could be refinements in what I'm doing, but the next logical step is character animation, and I feel way unprepared for that.  So perhaps I am subconsciously trying to make sure the current project is always tweakable, so I can run out that excuse.  And always have something to post here. 

Since reviving this blog, it has been a great motivator, and I've done a lot of stuff...but sometimes the need to post overcomes the need to create.  Years ago, I used to do movie reviews, and at the time I couldn't enjoy movies because I was always thinking "Can I make a review of this?"

It might be a good idea to set a "publish-or-perish" deadline on projects.  A month, perhaps.  Sure, it's fun to tinker, but in the end, one must produce.

See you tomorrow.

September 5, 2016 (Mon)

Today was Labor Day, so no paid work.

Did a lot of driving to various nature spots and took some photos.  Not very many.  At one spot, a dog decided to follow me on the path (actually, he was out in front) so I was worried that he wouldn't come back and I'd be responsible.  So he was the main focus then.

Worked some on Flash.  Finally did the frame-by-frame animation, and it worked great.   It strobed pretty badly at first, until I realized that with the start and end frame of each image a keyframe, the animation popped back to a state which had no image, until the next image's start frame.  Removing the end keyframes for each image fixed that.

Got the audio where I wanted, using the elements I wanted...then hit a big snag.  The playback was fine on the stage, but when I tested the file in the preview player, there were loud pops--much louder than the sound track itself.  I tried various "Publish" settings, none of which had any impact.

A web search didn't really yield anything either.  I finally loaded the main audio culprit into Audacity and I did see that there were some areas where it "went out of the frame."

So I created a simpler version, and no popping.  Is it done?   Hm...not yet.  Changing the sound has changed the atmosphere I wanted, so I'm thinking of what I can do to get that back.  A couple of ideas but no work as of yet.

Update:  Did some sound work, and am much happier with the results.  Ready for YouTube?  Not yet....anyway, off to tomorrow.

September 4, 2016 (Sun)

Took a lot of photos today, and did a lot of driving.  Didn't really help, though I did see a bird I'd never seen before.

In regards to Flash, well, I was still frustrated by my inability to morph a brief sequence.  So I spent some time working on frame-by-frame images to try to get this thing to work.  That seems like a backwards way of doing things; frame-by-frame is how things were done in the pen-and-ink on a cell days.  I thought we were past that!

Ah well.  If it gets done, there's still ways to learn things.  Since I just now finished the last of the images, I have not had a chance to incorporate them into the project.  So I'll at least have something to report tomorrow.

Speaking of which, see you then.

September 3, 2016 (Sat)

Nothing much today.  Drove a lot, and took a few photos here and there.  Otherwise, just attempted to relax a bit and tried, unsuccessfully, not to worry.

See you tomorrow.

September 2, 2016 (Fri)

Did some more work on the Flash animation, and apart from the morph that eludes me, I think it's largely done.  Added some soundtrack stuff from Audacity into the mix and, apart from the morph, I like it.

Only a couple of earning hours today, which is worrisome.  But, hell, either I will live or not.

Sorry for being a downer today.  Sometimes it all just closes in.

September 1, 2016 (Thurs)

Some work on Flash, mostly frustrating;  I created some more layers in PhotoShop and wanted them to animate a bit differently, to do a little more than move in a line, or fade in.  I wanted them to change shape. 

However, even with some good instructions via the web, I can't seem to grasp the "shape tween" or "morph" functions very well.  Either that, or my graphics have some kind of flaw.  I tried another program I bought years ago and have never used til now (*cough*) called FantaMorph.  Well, some messing about with that told me that I have even more to learn....or perhaps a re-think is in order.


Still, while this was frustrating, it was not discouraging; it just means I have to dig a little deeper.  It took a long time until PhotoShop "made sense," and we're probably looking at a similar road for Flash.  Patience is a virtue.  That's what everyone says.

The good news for today is what I did in the "sound" realm.  I mentioned that I was a bit, um, dismayed by the soundtrack I recorded for the the Flash animation (the inspiration for this entire project, I feel I should add).  It seemed bad; weak and uncoordinated, and worse, uninteresting. And, I shudder to add, unusable.

Well, using Audacity, I clipped a "flaw" from the project (I think I banged the clarinet against something) and I was able to manipulate it into an entire soundtrack (or at least, the basis for one).  Very atmospheric and, dare I say, inspiring.  Very similar to when I was able to get Flash doing (sort of) what I wanted it to do--a feeling of rising over a hill.

Which means it will probably seem routine and too much like work in the next few days...but let's let the next few days decide that.

See you tomorrow.