Future of robertleger.net

// July 11, 2010

Originally, I wanted to record a litte video-speech for you, but it’s so friggin’ hot over here in Germany and you don’t want to see me all sweaty ;)

I’ve come to a point with this website, where I seriously think about how to keep it going. From a mere private blog it has evolved to a small community for Cinema 4D training. Your comments and emails have been very motivating and the general acknowledgement has been great, too. For me, a big advantage is that these little teasers offer a playground to experiment and to do stuff without any client in the back. Bottom line: I’d love to go on!

But I’d also love to take it a step further. This site has to be redone. As said, it was started as a private blog. There are some major problems, like readability and database-connections, for example. The Countparts idea was nice to start with, but eventually it turned out to be quite limiting for finding new tutorial subjects.

Then there’s the problem of webspace: It’s almost full and I need to get a larger server. Also, the demand to record the tutorials in HD has been around for a while and I can totally understand it, but this would require even more webspace (more costs). I could switch to Vimeo HD, but that’s not for free, either. And obviously, although the site it great fun for me, I don’t want to loose money by running it.

So…

I’ll be on vacation soon. And when I return at the end of July, I’ll almost immediately go into the studio to finalize my band’s album. So in between, there’s enough time for me to think about everything, check out some possibilities and make up my mind about the future of this website.

I guess, in the end, it narrows down to two possibilities: robertleger.net will either return with a huge bang, or not at all. Of course, I’ll do my best to avoid the latter :)

Thanks everyone for being part of the community so far. In case I find some WiFi over there in Indonesia, I’ll post some greetings on my Facebook account.

Stay tuned!
Robert

Posted in photo, website // 25 Comments

gestalten.tv podcast

// July 8, 2010

Some say that “design is art with a purpose“. That may be a bit too imprecise to count as a definition of what design is… but what we can claim for sure is that design has something to do with art, right? ;)

Therefore it is always good to look at what’s going on in the art world. Unfortunately, we are the generation of lazy internet slaves, who stare at the monitor all day instead of going to museum. So here’s the solution: let the museum come to the internet :)

There is a very good podcast out there, called gestalten.tv (also available in HD), that comes out twice a month and features a very broad variety of different art sectors. It’s about industrial design, architecture, exhibitions, music, just to name a few. And always, there’s an interview with the artist itself.

So, watch it and embrace the inspirations. Maybe it gives you insight in art/design areas that you never would have discovered because it’s not the type being featured on motionographer.

In extreme cases, art can be a bit difficult to understand and you find yourself wondering “why on earth is that bathtube nailed to the wall?”… but isn’t that part of the purpose of art: to make you reflect on something or on your reactions to it? That, at least, usually is my excuse for not understanding a piece of art ;)

Posted in inspiration // 3 Comments

HOWTO: use the Range Mapper Part 2 + stuff

// July 4, 2010

Watch this second part of the Range Mapper tutorial to learn about setting up complex and animated materials using the layers-shader. Also, witness me fail miserably while using the trigonometric-node to achieve the animation of the circles for that little hummingbird’s probe. In a short quicktip I’ll show you how to set up a useful Hypernurbs-Controller. And as if that’s not enough, we’ll take a look at how to set up the stipes using the Cinema 4D Hair Dynamics.

Have fun!

Posted in counterparts // 23 Comments

HOWTO: use the linear-function in C4D – Range Mapper Part 1

// June 27, 2010

In the first part of this HOWTO we will take apart the Metal Flowers – Teaser and deal with the modelling (using the underrated Mograph Extrude Deformer) and the animation of the blossoms (using the powerful Range Mapper xpresso node).

I’ll start recording the second part of the tutorial early next week, so if there’s someting else in particular you’d like to know about the teaser, drop me a line in the comments and I’ll see if I can cover it, as well.

Posted in counterparts // 38 Comments

Metal Flowers – Teaser

// June 19, 2010

Here’s the teaser-clip for the upcoming HOWTO. It’s funny, how things can start with a single idea and turn into something much more complex. Originally, I just wanted to make a Counterparts tutorial that explains the equivalent to the linear-function of After Effects. But as that wasn’t very satisfying to me, I decided to build a bit of a story around it, which then lead to further interesting techniques and so on. But I guess that’s the way for me to do these tutorials. You know, I want to explore and learn on the way, myself. That might take a bit longer to prepare, but eventually is a lot more fun for me and for you, as well… i hope :)

Obviously, I cannot explain every single technique in one HOWTO, but I will try to cover the most important ones. What I will put in for sure though, is the modelling and the animation of the flowers and, of course, I’m going to show you what the heck all this has to do with the linear-function ;)

Have fun and don’t forget to turn on the speakers!

Posted in counterparts, design, motion // 47 Comments