this blog is officially older than one and happy new year!

hehe. normally, i should've celebrated my blog's birthday 27 days ago, but being the reckless person i am, i didn't even notice. so what happened in the 392 days that this blog has been on?:

-i'm not sure about how many people are reading my babblings. i think there is a way of accessing that data; if only i knew how to...

-the number of my commenters are significantly more obvious: 1! thank you, i will never forget this. you make me think that at least one person cares:) oh, wait a minute. way back early, there was someone else that commented, too. i thank her/him, but s/he technically disappeared later on.

-how many jobs have been finished since the opening of my blog-in other words, does this blog help me realize projects? a book cover and bookmark, a stop-motion workshop and its outcome as short film, thosands of lessons (do they count?), a set of web icons, a documentary for national tv (teamwork and not yet out), my own portfolio and business card, various illustrations for shutterstock, couple of flash animations, lots of photos...

-how many jobs are still incomplete? a lamp, a shopping bag, a 3d animated short... all the big stuff, actually. hmm. not good. but let's look forward, shall we? or i'll be really pissed at myself. grrr.

-i have travelled to canada and back, to two holiday destinations, various places at the countryside, my hometown and a small unrealistic city. gotta travel more!

-grumbling here has been really fun, although at times i feel like i'm talking to myself. but blogging kind of is that, i guess.

-i forgot to remake my blog.

-i forgot to add a great blogroll to the side:(

-i would like to get more traffic, but i don't want to sound needy promoting my blog. it is not commercial after all.

anyway, happy new year to you all:) have a great great time! i'll be out of town yet again. who knows what i'll be up to?

rebel against technology

ok. i'm not modelling the bag in 3d. doing so seemed kind of

pointless. maybe i am fed up with the 'whatever you do, make it 3d' attitude. it's not going to be cnc'ed anyway (cnc on wikipedia for the non-designer folks). there are millions of ways to present an idea, aren't there? i'll try and explore them a little. or i can die of boredom. seriously, sometimes i get fed up with 3d so badly, i can procrastinate up to infinity...

nowadays i get this identity crisis. am i the person i resolved to be ten years ago? twenty years ago? i feel i owe that person. that child. i don't want to betray her. but i feel i am... i don't want to keep the paths that i don't feel i belong to. are you the person you resolved to be ten years ago?

hmm. i also have this habit of exaggerating my emotions. i feel that living in denial is much worse than exaggerating true feelings, though. i don't know. all i know is i'll feel much better when i finish this baggy baggy. graphic design gods, come and help me!

can't help it

well, i'm not really crazy about advertising blockbusters; i don't think they need my advertisement. but i must say: avatar! i want to be a na'vi, too:) words can't describe the experience. you have to see for yourself. the characters. models. the scenes. the textures. the lighting. the movements. i even dream at night about our blue friends. soooo beautiful!

jealousy.

amnesia

this is pathetic. when i don't use a program for 6 months, it's like i've never ever used it. the menus look as if from another planet. does that happen to you? i just wanted to fit these two stupid curves to get a nice curved surface. the sad thing is, i've done this like one million times before. how do i do it? help!!!

i was planning to show you a nice fancy render of my baggy bag, but i'm stuck in the first level. game over for me tonight. i'm going to kill my fury by watching pointless tv. next round coming soon:)

a better solution?

i think this is more like it... we don't want to use too long stripes of material... or do we? i don't know. anyway, i'll prototype it. ¡viva el diseño!

sorry about the 'sketchy' look so far. i hope to start modelling this lady right away... then i can get you more fun imagery. ¡viva la visualizaciòn!

hmm! i like the cold weather and the lack of sun soo much:)

dinner is ready

gee, i think announcing sometihng on the web does motivate me to finish it, after all!

i must happily anounce that i finished my mini workshop film, with the sound effects and all. hehe. i even uploaded it for some private downloading. i'm still hesitating on publicly uploading it, because of a possibility of repeating the workshop... i'm crossing my fingers!

the same goes with this one, hopefully. now that i am publishing my bag on the web, i have to finish it. and it's time that i did! i've been muttering about it for such a long time... it is becoming annoying even for me. if only i could get a few dimensions correctly...

this cold weather gives me the headache

i sometimes feel like i have nothing more to give to the world. have i dried out? is there anything left in me after giving it all? is this the way i am supposed to live? maybe i am doing something wrong. or i shouldn't feel exhausted, should i?

hm hm hmmm. here you go. i love this lady. and her music.

watermark

here you go. this is my first attempt in 'copyrighting' my images. i'm not even sure if the progress i made is worth copyrighting, and i think you actually do something quite different than ruining your image with some ghost lettering, but i wanted to try anyway. hehe. a logo could be more 'chic', i guess. hmmm.

i'm finally back to working on my industrial design projects. i promise, no more new projects until the present ones are finished!:) i drew a 1/1 scale technical drawing of the parts of my shopping bag (i know, very old school, but i will always be crazy about hand drawing-go rulers, pencils, and marquers!). i'll go on with the actual 'bag' part and then back to 3d modelling. will i be able to present my idea in a 'woa!' way? let's see. tricky part again.

brr, it's been tough to convince myself to work again.

sonido

it is amazing how much difference sound effects and music make while watching an animation. we'll be able to see that difference in a short while. i wish i had time to do the sound effects of mine before i showcased it in front of 30-40 people... or 50?

say hi to the puppets:)

hehe. i will be able to upload the video i made from this workshop on the internet. tomorrow, hopefully. today i'm too tired. sorry, no youtube at the moment:) can't we just like-stop? the flow is too heavy for me right now.

por fin

i just finished my beloved workshop and i am now working on the outcome of it. which is an animated short. i was really moved with the participation. happy:) of course somethings had to go wrong. i forgot to edit the film with proper timing (which is actually what i'm doing now). hopefully tomorrow i can show the real deal, if it's not too late already. some titles, some thanks... i am dancing happy dances. will try to upload some photos that my friends and hubby took.

yippi!

i'm about to fly

there are only 2 days left until my workshop. agggg! meanwhile, let me entertain you with this guy, who only serves for my teaching purposes. he helps me explain the importance of... materials:) boy, i really miss industrial design. i'm all designed up after the workshop:) some real stuff wouldn't hurt. are you coming?

cheque

is there a thing like 'too many layers of paint'? if you apply the paint over and over and over, the puppet gets kind of... thick. will that be a problem while they are acting? i don't know. let me see:

1.escape from city-check
2.paint puppets one more time-check
3.rehearsal for workshop-need a human actor!
4.party-check in a few hours:)

oh, i'm being called for an acting part:) see you around!

a small break from everything

after all the workshop, festival, grading and preparing-for-classes craziness, i have found a 4.5 days rest:) not being happy with the color of my puppets, i think i still will have to work a little. i will have to do one last 'rehearsal'. maybe one short escape from the city and maybe one party, too:D

i'm glad that i don't see nightmares any more.

voila! i'm waiting for you:)

yes, here is the poster. my workshop will take place during the 'animation celebration' from 1st to 4th december. what will i be doing? well, you'll have to come and see for yourselves:) the date and place might vary a little. during my beloved influenza, i had to keep at home, meaning i missed the last meeting on the event. i will update in a while. i'm excited!!! brrr.

edit: i changed the poster to fit the actual time and place. the university is maltepe, of course:)

observando

aagg! my puppets can't stand waiting for their time!! there is still at least a week for them to remain secret, so basically this is all i can give of them right now. but hey, i will inform everyone about the event. so that i can be even more humiliated if i can't make it. hehe. anyway, it is a two hour stop-motion workshop. i'm soo excited. here you can see that there is a lot of brutal painting going on, which, in fact i start to believe has not been a good idea. why oh why is there no undo in the real world?

i'm expecting you, too! please come! i'll upload my poster in a short while:)

cover your cough

i have been ill with a strange kind of influenza. i hope it's not the influenza that has been travelling around for a few months. the one that i shall not name here. hmmm. it feels very...different this time. oink?

birds eye

caution! spoiler ahead! hehe.

i recently watched up; and... although i was fond of the general dreamlike imagery.. i don't know; i think i was disappointed on the storyline and the characters. why do they set our expectations so high? i was instantly allergic to the talking dogs, i guess. but there was lots of lovely stuff, too. the flying home. the 'grumpy' old man:) his wife. i would like to see some alternative work from alternative studios i guess. what do you think?

adesso, back to work:)

plasticinized

i'm in preparation of some other weird stuff, too. sometimes i feel that i'm afraid to... finish things. do you get that feeling, too? i have a deadline approaching. i've already announced that i will do this demo. i've prepared lots of models. and it's not all that much time consuming (although it is a little bit). but suddenly i feel that i'll never be able to make it. suddenly i find tons of other stuff to do. like folding the clothes. or cleaning my desktop. or sleeping. this happens to me all the time. why oh why? i've always managed to keep to my deadlines, but this stupid feeling always has to nag my head in the process. i'll never get wise i guess.

detail

i can't show you yet what i'm working on, but i can give you a sneak peek. not even near being finished. i'm quite happy that it is friday:) this work will be shown in a couple of weeks. arg!!! what will be the reaction? no idea. by the way, i think this will be the first time my work is exhibited in a non-commercial setting. hmm. let's see how that feels. i hope i'll like it! do you think there is such a thing as non-commercial?;)

don't go to the biennale the last day

today i went to the biennale. what did i think? good subject, surprisingly real. i must say there were some works that i really enjoyed seeing. there should be thousands of more audience, though. which is an unrealistic expectation. i think that is what bothers me. the artist and the actual audience are pretty much the same person. which is kind of weird. oh, and they ran out of booklets when i went there. grrr! do you have a spare one for me? please?

by the way, i did find a subject for the demo and have been working on it like crazy. my nights are becoming more and more sleepless. it is kind of fun, though. i'll let you know about the specifics when things are clearer. they almost never are, aren't they?

la cabeza loca

hehe not only have i not been able to find a subject for my demo, i announced that i would do it in front of a handful of people. i better find something or i will be in serious trouble. strangely enough, i have been feeling quite happy and relaxed. what to do now? oh, i can extend my announcement to hundreds of people, so that my embarrassment will be even bigger if i can't manage it.

la cabeza rota

i have to think like crazy. there will be an upcoming event and i want to do a demo! the problem is, i'm either too busy preparing lessons etc. or too tired to even move my finger. grrr! no matter what, i have to do it! i'm desperately in need of time to prepare a demo... can i have some 12 hours added to a day? or i can cut off 3 hours of my sleep maybe? no?

oh no! not another project!

well i told you i was an industrial designer, didn't i? i can almost hear you scream 'you didn't even finish your last 500 projects! what the heck is this?'

let me clear this up: i do love working on multiple projects at the same time. even if it drives me a little crazy. i promise, i'll finish each of them before i die:)

so what are the other projects waiting in line?
-the weird lamp (industrial design)
-bobo and the alien at the beach (animation)
-various stock images and footage (illustration and animation)
-weekly teaching exercises (3d model, design, animation)
-one workshop/demo i would like to perform (animation, character design)
-a poster for the demo (graphic design)

see? putting them together, they are not at all too many. am i trying to convince you, or myself? hmmm.

anyway, about the photo: can you guess what this one is? it's no bigger than a credit card in dimensions. you can see clearly that sewing is not my strogest asset:) but i'm working on it. and i must warn you, we have a sewing machine, too! imagine what wonders i can create with that:P

don't keep us waiting!

i have been asked to design my 3rd book cover! the problem is, first the book needs to be written:) that'll happen soon, i'm sure. or one day...

i've got a lot going on my mind. i have to prepare lessons like crazy. still i'm glad that i can find time to deal with my own projects. and feel depressed evey now and then:) it's important to have time to fully embrace depression. and to stare at the walls.

some nice photos coming soon! when there are no images, i hardly find anything to talk about. hmmm.

shutter speed

today one of my friends took lots of pictures of the work done in my classroom. yes, i do some teaching:) i was really excited about the results; he did a fantastic job! i can't wait to see them printed for an exhibition... i hope i can handle that! i'll keep you informed.

hurray

hey look! these guys are cheering. maybe i can follow their example:)

guarida

i feel totally uninspired. i haven't been blogging for ages. what happened? i have no idea. suddenly i am out of everything. no ideas. no motivation. no desire. i don't even want to look at things. will it ever come back? i don't know. it's too early to tell. i'm not even enjoying a single page i'm reading.

is there a chance that i can realize my dreams? hmm. we don't talk like that in our blogs now, do we?

i'll check back later when. when?

what now?

i am now working with a different computer than my usual one. no photos or images unfortunately. i have begun a whole new life since our trip to vancouver and got used to it. but i still feel that 'the other side' is real. i hope it will be, in a short while.

i started teaching, teaching and more teaching. i hope to learn a lot on the way. some of the lessons i give involve glues, scisscors, all kinds of old clothes and various sorts of paper. i want to smell uhu all around:)

sometimes i can't believe i'm working full-time again. so strange... wait a minute, do i have to wake up early everyday? hehe. i sometimes have to pry myself out of bed. and suddenly i have lost interest in any kind of house maintenance. does that ever pass?

i will be updating with more work. some must-see vancouver photos are still waiting in line. and an art event that really thrills me! do i have anything to be unhappy about?

clock tower on top of apartment

this is from one of our favorite streets, the beloved robson. it is, you know, the shopping street, with all the fancy brands. the visitor's guide told that we would be seeing celebrities down robson, but we haven't seen any. i want my money back! oh wait, the tourist guide was free. darn.

haven't i missed blogging about things i make, rather than places i see? you bet i have! maybe one or two more travel photos. then back to basics. i miss working!

the real vancouver...

no, actually there is not one real vancouver. the new. the glamorous. the rich. the sporty. the kind. the multinational. the gourmet. the art-loving. the poor. the homeless. the old. the dirty.

i don't know, don't you think any city in the world is kind of a mixture of all these? wait a minute, then every city in the world would be the same, right? but they are not. hmmm. it's been a while since i've been back home. let's see how many more entries will be on the lovely city...

run for your life!

the lovely stanley park in vancouver. it takes more than one day to walk through all the trails. there is a nice beach way all around the park. watch the rollerbladers! there are huge trees and you have a great chance of running into wild animals. or so they say. the wildest animal we saw was a black squirrel. it is nice to see a big untouched forest two minutes from downtown. wanna go hiking?

so how's the nightlife in vancouver?

hm... depends on what you mean by 'night'. practically we couldn't find any open bar/pub after 11 pm. i am serious. maybe the ones that are open are gone underground... but how can we poor tourists know about those? we usually go out at 11 pm to have a drink; so this is the dialogue with the bartenders: 'wellcome guys, we are closing in 15 minutes, so you'll have to drink fast.' and live music... what live music? one more fact: no drinking outside after 10 pm. it's a clean city. a sober, clean city. except for the underground clubs:)

yes, we are at the seaside, but...

this is jericho beach. not the kind of beach that i am used to. i had never seen a real tide before. the water just mooooooooves. i don't think i would want to get into the ocean, although i'm a big sea fan. the water is just... dark. and it's not very clear either. people usually run, cycle, walk, sunbathe (in vancouver?), play beachball or barbeque here. but not swim.

i wonder how it looks like when it's windy?

hablamos la misma lengua

what do you think about this guy? (image courtesy of hubby) we looked at him and thought 'whoa, design-fish!' doesn't he look... calculated? simple design, very clear. good job, little fishy!

the vancouver aquarium was a blast, by the way. (and yes, we are doing all the touristy stuff). never could imagine sooooooo many weird creatures down the water. this image was from before seattle, but i couldn't resist the temptation of showing this fella.

the irressistable rightness of portland...

too much travelling. not enough blogging. this is the incredible lovely beautiful non-state-tax-paying portland:) so the prices are actually what is written on the label!! we were so happy about this, we even forgot the fact that us dollar is more expensive than canadian dollar, and ended up spending even more! cute...

portland felt so... right! how could a city be so small, and so lively at the same time? we absolutely loved walking in the streets. everything looked so amazing. wanna go back some time?

i hope you like the photos so far; no worries, more will be coming:)

where's the music in seattle?

seattle was really chaotic. we didn't like it all that much, especially after the calm of vancouver. but maybe we went to the wrong places. i don't know... i was a little stressed out crossing the border, but nothing in particular happened. cars, cars, cars and more cars. is a reality of the u.s.

am i a tourist or what?

it has actually been more than one week since we have been to the place shown here. with my speed of updating, the journey will take about 2 years to blog about:) this was a really neat neighborhood in vancouver, called gastown. it is as touristy as can be. but i loved the buildings, the shops...everything! not to forget this weird bus-like thing. we actually bought souvenirs!

we need to go where the locals go!

i know, i know. it's been forever since i updated. and we are not even where i am picturing now. but i'm trying my best, right? this is a public market in vancouver, granville island. the island is like a toy town, with all the colorful small buildings. there are many small arts and crafts shops here. the public market located in the island has lots of fresh fruits, cheese, meat, candies... all sorts of things, and quite inexpensive ones, too! it was really a surprise to see it. we were able find some good food (a rarity in this continent!) and enjoy it around the locals. the serving sizes are huge, so we buy one meal to share...

cold

this is what we first saw of canada. a lot of wet areas and seemingly bare land. we passed very near the north pole, and even the heating of the plane couldn't keep us warm. the flight was so long and boring, watching a film was of no help. we caught a glimpse of some glaciers. that was quite a sight. if it was quite a sight, where is the photo? hm?

we are here!

hi, we arrived at our destination. ok, it is canada, vancouver actually! tomorrow some photos may come. for now it seems a bit chilly in the evening. very natural, very expensive, very calm. too calm maybe? the journey was long and boring. well, since we are coming from turkey, that is no surprise! am i jet lagged? no, but i'm tired! we even managed to fit in a mini-walk around the outer part of town.

i'm out for now. hope the power adapters we bought from back home work;)

just hours

hi, just a quick post to remind that tomorrow morning i'll be flying. i am changing continents on the northern hemisphere. let's see if i can connect there as soon as i go:) see you! lots of drawings and pictures are due.

vamos a viajar

this blog will turn into a travel blog with the snap of my fingers:) hehe, that's a joke. but for the next few weeks, my main focus will be travelling and getting to know new places. i'm sure there will be lots of design inspiration, artworks, buildings and tons of stuff i can't even imagine right now. not to forget animals ;) remember my 'i love nature' days? i will make you suffer even more! i'm sure at times i will be quite depressed and out of place. i know that's a normal thing, but at the time i won't be able to help myself and be a pain in the rear. for the first time in my life i'm going to fly over an ocean. brrr! don't worry, i'll give the specifics over time. did i say i will fly over an ocean? i mean row:P i'm planning to sell these baskets to supply me some food. and some water. and some petroleum in case i get tired. and some sunscreen.

sentimientos

somebody help me!!!!

hehe. actually today i am much more relaxed. i even watched some tv yesterday. but then i remembered why i don't watch tv.

meetings, business calls, emails, work, work, work, preparations. i know i'm going to forget something even from today. because i always do.

i feel like my status as a designer is pending now, which i hope will change soon!

ambiguity

august... no time to blog. i've been working and studying like crazy. i've been seeing nightmares all the time. the problem is this: i'm preparing for a journey far faaar away. is this going to be just a vacation? i don't know. i will try to keep up with the blog and the journey information. sometimes i might not be able to. there is a lot of stress around, and my mind is sooo busy. i'm leaving at the end of the month.

i don't want to be absent all the time. hope to calm down a bit soon!

what about all the design stuff?

insignificant post

blah. i think i'm going to catch a cold. sore throat, headache down to the sinuses, overall exhaustion. wait a minute, it could be heat stroke too. i spent 3 whole days walking under the dessert sun!

we love the sun anyways:)

read on!

texts texts texts... these days i have to do a lot of reading. i love it! i wish i had more time to focus better, but when is there enough time, anyway? i better get used to it, because soon it will be my life...

i have been away from academic reading for a looong time. now i'm back! i feel totally illiterate. (couldn't even spell illiterate correctly!). you know, i always feel like a child . i don't know anything about anything. no matter how much i read, i feel more and more illiterate with every book, every sentence, every phrase. but i'm not afraid! i'm going to eat you up, all you texts! i will smell you, tickle you, grasp you, kick you!

do you involuntarily connect everything to everything after you read couple of texts? i think i do!

more texture!

hehe i've been absent quite a while, haven't i? i've been out of town, which is my favorite activity nowadays. not only nowadays, but always. i need to get out of town.

besides swimming and eating whatever comes to my sight, i took some photos. i even saw one wild animal (which was really surprising for me) for the first time in my life. in the daylight. can you guess which ferocious wild animal i saw? sorry, no photos of it because the ones i took were quite shaky. so i made this into a riddle. hint: it has a domestic version, too.

you know by now that i'm amazed by texture. here i leave you with one. i think this is made of reed, used as a roof material. look at the gaps and the mismatched pieces. the non-uniformity of the string that holds the reeds together. there is always some randomness in which things are handled in this geography. i think i sometimes (not always) i like it. ok, my quest for textures will go on. do you have some textural research material, too?

bye bye july. although i am quite crazy about summer, daylight and hot weather, i never liked you. and i like your younger brother, august even less. what a month! september is ok. may and june are the best;)

short circuit

oops, what's wrong with the girl's neck?

these days i allowed myself to relax a little. i almost always have the feeling that i am missing something. did i get enough computer skills? did i miss to call that lady? did i pay the bills? am i missing a very important oppotunity right now? is everything ready for the application? (what application?-hehe there is always something to apply to, right?) am i working too much? too less? am i having too much fun? too little fun???? it's a crazy orchestra playing in my head, and i only want to push the mute button. i just want to stop sorting things out.

i'm going away for just a liiiittle bit. then i'll go crazy in my thoughts again:)= you can't help it too, can you?

someday i'll become a tree.

i promise.

vegetables are good for you

i found this really nice plant plugin for 3d, it's called xfrog. great for growing trees, plants, flowers, trees in wind, forests etc. offers great solutions! hope it comes handy when someday you need it...

i tried to install the trial version, but somehow i couldn't manage to make it work. does anybody know how to do it? no matter how hard i try, i can't set it right. if i can, i will post some 'results' here.

do you need doing plants in your 3d work too?

deluge

the weather was almost winter-esque today. i suddenly missed the hot weather! not much to say though, i've been feeling a little bit blah. hi to everybody. everybody?

look i'm growing weeds on my tires!

hehe this is by far the most amazing vehicle i have seen in months:) don't you love the color and the crazy toyish shape? i don't think it has been moving around for a loong while. if i had such a lady, i sure would be cruising around the city! (but we don't do that, do we? with all the pollution and energy consumption and stuff.) this lady actually claims to be a 'mobile disaster container', so not a really humorous subject, but i can't help but giggle at it. and i am truly crazy about the design (no-not being sarcastic at all). lovely, don't you think?

enough

i'm really fed up with all the 2d stuff i've been doing! i want to do 3d stuff. like real models, objects, revolving in the 3d space. don't get me wrong, i love doing 2d drawings. the last job i did for a website was really a blast (i promise to give links when it's out). but i miss modelling, texturing, rendering and for the most important part, designing things that will be real objects.

hehe this is the stuff that has been keeping me busy lately. i feel the same with the girl.

do you get fed up with whatever you are doing sometimes? do you feel like 'oh but i should be doing this (whatever you like most) instead!' am i the only one? am i?

grow

i really wonder when a child becomes an adult. i've never quite bought the idea that it happens 'when you make your own living'. does it happen when you hit 20? 30? when you have a child?

well, my job doesn't quite allow me to grow up. i wonder if i purposedly chose such a job to be able to remain a child. so 'making a living' didn't turn me into an adult. and i sure didn't feel grown up when i hit 20, nor when i hit 30. so this age counting thing doesn't help much, either. having a child is not an option right now, so i'll place my bets on that one, i guess.

i will need to make a choice quite soon; the deadline is approaching. i really feel exhausted because of the pressure of that. in the meanwhile, i have to keep working, which is good to feel sane:D but why do i have so much time to linger on the idea? can't we just skip a couple of weeks and get to the point?

hm.. i sense too many personal details. why don't we listen to some massive attack then?

wake up!!

right now i have no time, so i leave you with an alarm clock. don't set it a time when you are not home, or your neighbors will be pretty pissed off:)

more like it:)

hehe i've been experimenting foolishly. this brush thing is getting more and more interesting...

by the way, my friend who was building this gave birth on 8th june to a lovely girl... congratulations and a biiiiiggg hug to her and her hubby! i think she won't be able to check for a long time, but i'm really happy for them and wanted to mention, though a little late:)

i'm still kind of upset for coming back to the big city. responsibilities... why don't you just go away?

we love brushes

here's a quick way to pattern all over. if only my graphic tablet didn't break down. grr. do you have do-it-yourself brushes too?

volver

hi there, just a quick post to say i'm back from vacation. swollen legs and a broken heart because it is all over:)). i adore swimming! more and more work coming soon... by the way, none of the past promises are forgotten (blog makeover, design and animation project updates...) give me some time, por favor (as if i have forever;)

every end has a beginning

this is just about my last 'i love nature so much' photos (not that it's a lie:) for now. is this enough time for a vacation? hardly. but it is as usual, call of duty.

i have a special love for insects (well, most of them, let's say. i can write lots of entries on insects and my stories about them-both negative and positive). look at this grasshopper guy. he is beyond beautiful. i can examine his strange curves, folds and layers for hours. the unlucky guy seems to have lost one leg probably in an encounter with a killer bird. but the solutions that nature provides... fantastico!

do we designers all have to 'see' a solution to be exploited in our projects at every corner we look at?

black and white

is this a 'me and natural life' blog? no, it's not. then why are the last 4-5 posts on various animals in poor light? hehe. what can i say, inspiration comes from everywhere. and to be honest, there is not much else around here:) you wouldn't want to see even more cliche sea and sun photos, would you? all of the world's sea and sun photographers, please don't be mad at me. you are fantastic. it's just that... it's not you, it's me.

can somebody tell me what this weird chickenesque animal is? i really like the texture.

natural selection

being on vacation, you might assume that i would hardly think about blogging. wrong! with the amount of 'free time' (with the rest of my time being... 'slave' time... huh?) i spend here, i have even more appetite to enter some thoughts of mine:)

two days ago it was 'father's day'. i wonder if animals have a notion of father's day? do they even have a notion of 'father'? 'hey dad, wanna teach me night hunting?'

hehe. i saw this cute little hedgehog couple of days ago, wandering around at night. i guess she was looking for some bugs to eat, which are in much abundance here. a cat was trying to eat the poor lady, without much success. do you inspect wildlife curiously on vacation, too?

summer time

all the cells in my body are screaming as a chorus: 'vacation!' this year was a really tough one for me. you cannot believe how many changes i had to adapt to. my working schedule has totally changed. this affected my social schedule, the way i handle stress, my eating patterns, exercise routine, sleep quality, perspective on life... even my reading habits! completely. hehe and i started blogging, too:D do you feel that changing your working routine wears you out? maybe not changing it wears you out even more, hehe. i don't know, to me humans really are adaptive to any situation. you can think 'oh, i can't change my current situation (insert-for instance-leave job/travel around the world/move to another city/anything you wish), i will be totally lost and i won't be able to find harmony ever again...' well, there is no harmony in the first place, my dear! so don't expect to keep what is already absent. and don't worry, you'll figure a way out;)

now, where's my vacation?

reptile warning

for those of you who have snake phobia, beware! hehe. look at this guy... he's so cute. i wouldn't believe he could hurt anybody. would you? this fella was a little less than 20 cm long. he was wandering around under the sun. i wonder where his mother was?

deep frozen info

i've been reading this really nice book from rudolf arnheim, 'visual thinking'. apart from the disgusting cover (i had to stick my own cover to stand looking at the book), which is shameful for such a title, the book is fantastic! reminds me of the 'perception' lessons i took at undergraduate school. the book basically theorizes that thinking itself is visual, and the role of visual thinking has so long been underestimated. the book was written around the 1950's, but the concepts in it are still fresh and just mmm! yummy:) (hey, what kind of a book review is this?) perception, symbolism, fragmantation, signs... everybody joins the party!

is it possible to get your brain fried sitting in the 40+ degree heat?

ausente

whew. it's been quite a while. this is the longest time i guess without me updating. sorry for that, but these guys are part of the reason why i couldn't. being commercial and bla bla bla, i can't talk about it (sorry about the 'mysterious' stuff i have to put here). i can say i really had fun working these months.

today i actually watched coraline with bonus 3d glasses. apart from being technically superb, fabulous and incredible, i found something about the film really weird. i think the scenario was a bit odd to me. too creepy for a child to watch, and yet too childish for an adult... and 'the other side of the house' theme... haven't we seen that many times before? but i must say, the puppets, their animations, the expressions, the set, the visuals... i am lime green with envy:)

home hom hum

when i come to my hometown, i enjoy the delicious home-made food, feel cozy and totally out-of-place. i still work on current projects thanks to the holy internet and portable computer technology, but otherwise i cannot find anything to do, especially if i'm not meeting anyone. i wander around quite aimlessly. i feel without 'context'. i'm not sure it is too bad to be without context every once in a while, because you can see things in a different perspective. maybe life isn't too bad? maybe i will make it? (make it to what?)

what do you feel when you visit your hometown?

el productor

unfortunately i cannot yet provide a link for this activity i attended today, but it was a very nice and informative one (at least i can provide a link to the location). a certain bunch of lamp producers in a certain area (şişhane, to be specific) were discussed, and their future was envisioned, regarding design. it turned out that many of them don't yet care enough for design, which is not very surprising :) but it was really nice to see their production processes, philosophies etc. it was a tiring but nice experience to hear so many different ideas about lighting, which in my opinion, is a fantastic area. i left the building enlightened and content.

my rate of providing work might fall a bit, due to some upcoming trips, but i'll try to keep up;) until then, take care and if you can, swim a little bit...

hand crafted

this is my very professional:) looking mock-up of my design project (look at those proportions!) it took me several hours just to do this, and my hands hurt a little. real objects are tough;P we know by now that my project is a lamp, thanks to a kind comment:D... inspired by this ancient toy, i hope this solution works for what i try to achieve. i will try to wrap some cloth around it, and see if it still works... if it does, i will model it once more in 3d.

i know it is still an early stage, but i would like to document every step of the process. i think this is the first time i do this for my own project. do you document your working process, too?

ingredients: steel wire ca. 0.5 mm dia., nippers, chisel, wrench, soft jewelry wire ca. 1 mm dia., ruler (bring it to the table but don't use it for a more random look:), clamp (not shown).

shopping

finally i managed to buy the items on my shopping list, and i'm ready to start some model-making:)) sometimes i really get sick of spending time on the computer. so this is going to be a good change for a while. for a short while, of course...hm, real objects! can i handle this?:D

i hope to be able to take a photo, soon. until then, don't forget to get some nice sunshine in!

give the lady some credit

i made this illustration for the inside of a storybook. it was going to be black and white (high cost matters). which meant less work for me:) i am a big fan of color, color and everything color; but working in b/w has its really nice sides, too (apart from being less labor-intensive;). it helps you keep things quite simple and your image is less 'cluttered', therefore it is easier to draw attention to your subject. well, at least that is my take on the matter. maybe there is a much more obvious advantage of working in b/w, which i should have mentioned, like 'oooh but that's not the main point of working in b/w, it is this:...' well, i don't care. i like working in b/w because of these particular reasons and none other. hmf!

this lady is the sleeping beauty's beautiful yet vain stepmother. as we all know, she kind of spends her whole time checking in the mirror if she is still the hottest chick around. well lady, if you are so confident of yourself, why do you need to ask a stupid mirror in the first place? anyway, i think this gal is by far the most interesting character in the story with her insecure sneaky personality. at least she has some motive to do something! sleeping beauty, on the other hand, just kind of... waits?

*oops! i totally mixed up stories! i jumbled sleeping beauty with snow white, ending up in a hybrid story. hehe:) well, i can say the exact same things for the equally boring snow white, too:D

rocket science

because there is no air in space, there can't possibly be any fire on the back of a rocket, right? but, come to think of it, the fire can't possibly be green, too... so why don't we just sit down , relax and just think about the absurd physics that animation provides us?

turn on the lights

i cannot believe how hard rendering can be sometimes. you have to spend hours and hours of labor just to get a decent image. i am still far away from getting one, especially with the new technique that i'm trying. grrrr.

this is going to be my animated short's -did i mention it's name is 'beach party'? i don't recall- prop sand castle. little bobo is going to enjoy playing with the sand oh so dearly. but i want lots of sunshine! i want to get rid of the whole 'studio light' effect. but first the animations, por supuesto...

i know i am jumping from project to project, but that is simply how i work. hey, you wouldn't want to read about the same project over and over, right? i love me some multi-tasking:)

watch your head

when i came back from my surprise journey, i talked about how unreal this small city felt. does this place look real to you? it really is amazing. this is the old part of the city. the buildings are so worn out that they are about to collapse. like a deserted movie set. yet so strangely beautiful. it has been a week since i came back, but the sights still come to my mind, no matter how busy i am.

the rest of the city... soulless concrete apartments that i don't even want to set an eye on.

getting closer

i get a sense of relief when solutions come up little by little. of course, i still have a looong way to go; in fact no design is 100% solved at any time, as we know it. but i do get the feeling that somehow i might go somewhere with this. now i need to leave the computer once more and head into an electrician's and a 'draper' (i'm not sure about the english of this one-a place where buttons, needles etc. are sold). shopping list:

-aluminium/copper wire in various radii
-elastic band for panties (that's right)
-elastic cloth
let's see if this will work.

don't you like it when you get some side-ideas while thinking about design solutions? happens to me all the time. i am usually not sure what to do with them, or if they are worth any effort.

by the way, it is now easy to guess what this is, right? can you tell what i am trying to achieve?

sometimes it really stresses me out to do things in public, (now, this is not a ridiculous design, is it?) but there is no use hiding, i guess. i'll embrace all the humiliation if things turn out bad.