Hi folks, I know it's been a while but I've been busy.

Dadster, if he want's to help, a bunch of us have been discussing how to give him "credit" that will be lasting, so that he could build a portfolio as it were.  If he needs "tools" we can get them for him through the net, I've already spent money and months on trying to use DAZ and have gotten NOWHERE, I would be glad to buy him some software if he can get some "basic" workups so that I can view them somewhere to see if we are on "the same page"..

I've bought a membership at Second Life and property.  I've also spent two days there getting used to the place.  Tomorrow I'm going to sign up for "seminars" on how to "morph" "primitives" and "add textures"... .the primitives are the normal ones, cylinders, cones, cubes etc.  These can be "stretched" etc, but the "meat" of it, if one is working "in Second Life" is "scripting" apparently lines of code that can be added to a "primitive" that give it texture, etc.

However, they said, that one can "learn" it in a few hours, but to do it well takes many more hours but noone will want to look at it, to get it to be really good takes many hours...

I'll work on it, but basically, I'm older than dirt, I know how to teach but not do this stuff...

There are many files that can be imported from GIMP, Blender, Maya, 3DSMax, Animation Master, many others....

Targas, "obj" "kmz" etc.  are files that can be imported, among others.  Apparently many of the programs can be used to make objects that can be imported and that is the recommended way to do it.


So.... after looking at buildings in SL, I've modified what is needed.

What is needed are:
a) 3 "oblong" rooms, arranged, as seen from above, and facing the building as an "upside down U"....
b) if one is standing on the ground, looking "into" the "U" as if you were holding a "horseshoe" in front of you and with the "legs" of the U toward your face... is a "courtyard".
c) an "arch" between the legs of the "U" and over the "courtyard" to form an "entrance arch".

a) The oblongs would need a "texture" on the inside and outside of the walls, floor inside and roof inside.
b) the courtyard would need a 'floor" and an "object" like a sculpture, fountain, maybe a table and chairs(the avatars can sit in chairs) These are readily purchaseable from places like DAZ if someone wants me to do that, but there are also probably versions in SL that can be modified.
c) the "arch" is probably a pretty important thing, because the building is "probably" going to be "along a street" and there are a LOT of really GREAT buildings that have had exteriors designed by folks using DAZ artwork and also there are at least two real architectural firms that the bigshots use to build their buildings for a web presence.
it does NOT need to be...."IMPRESSIVE"....it just needs to make a "kid" turn his or her head and say....now "THAT" looks interesting.
d) some "picture frames" into which a teacher's "art" in terms of a .bmp, jpg, etc, can be imported to use for teaching purposes, these would go on the walls in the rooms.

So...really not much, in terms of this is not going to be a "castle" or something with turrets, and flags, etc.

It may be that someone already has a "room" that would be perfectly acceptable, YOU folks are the artists with the touch or know someone, ... and that would be great!

One can get into SL for free, they just ask for an e-mail, and there are no spams etc.  It takes several HOURS to get yourself trained on how to move, etc.  I would recommend staying IN the training areas for at least 4 or 5 hours and that one touches ALL of the objects with information, they will give you a "card" to keep with information you can find easily later.

I don't know if one has to be a "premium member" to actually 'work" on stuff, I will try to find someone to ask tomorrow, but the premium membership is 9 bucks and I would gladly set up the account and pay for it while the work is being done, and if the person wants to take that over later then ok. I really don't know how it works at this stage.  However, there are "friends" there that can "share work", I'm going to check into that.

So.....again.....

THE WORK can be done with a commerical application, but open source would be great, but the "collaboration" of a "distributed" thing that will be then released to the world is what I want to try to get done.....then I just have to "use" it in a way that "works" to try to get a truly interactive method of teaching done instead of an old geezer standing in the front of a classroom boring people...

thanks for any help ahead of time!!

woodsmoke

Like I said elsewhere, I bought a raw camera and will post back.
woodsmoke

Hi
I've never really been able to work with any of the "stuff" processing proggys, and GIMP is one of them.

I just can't seem to wrap my mind around how to do it, and have never been good at remembering lengthy sets of steps.

However, I do use GIMP for some small touch up work and making animated gifs.(the same image altered in a different way and strung togehter with other similar ones).

However, I bought a RAW camera a few days ago and downloaded the RAW plugin for GIMP so I'll see how that goes and report back.

woodsmoke

HI
I bought a RAW camera a few days ago and noticed that Krita processes RAW files, so I'll give it a go around and post back as to results.
woodsmoke

Hi
there aren't really any "links" to anything. this is all off the shelf stuff, nothing new, the difference is in how I would put it all together.

Here's an example of a primitive that has been rendered 3D that is not true 3D in other words there is no "back" to it.  The primitive could have one side "with a skin on it" or something, to make this appearance, but the "player" would expect to be able to walk "around it".

Round Primitive

As to "rooms" there are literally hundreds of them for purchase.  I got suckered into spending a year with a guy that said he could put all this together and bought a couple of them for him, but like I said, I wasted a year on it....

DAZ 3D

And, I'd be glad to buy another one for someone to work on,  The problem is not "the room" the problem is understanding the software and all it's nuances. 

Actally, though, for someone who is "IN" to this, they don't even need one of the above "rooms" all I need is either a "half of a sphere" on the ground.  In doing this stuff the "sky" is half of a "ball" that is "sitting on" the ground, and the ground is just a flat surface.  These can then be modified by people who are familiar with the tools.  The "room" can just be a "box" sitting on the ground. The inside of the box has surfaces which can be rendered.

I understand all about "how" it is supposed to be done, I just can seem to "do" it.... you know what they say about teachers, those who "can" ..."do"...and those who "can't" ..."teach".... well, that is me in terms of this stuff.  I can actually "draw" on paper, and have "won" stuff, but, I can't seem to wrap my mind around this...

So... if you know somebody that knows somebody.... I'll be glad to buy primitives, if that is needed, or maybe there are "rooms" and "stuff" about which I don't know...

Thanks for the comment.... I can use all the help I can get.

woodsmoke

Hi
Well, evidently I started from the wrong place, I've been trying to convince the "folks at the top" that our/my project is worthwhile and worth getting some folks to work on, but apparently noone can see the big picture....

So....like they say down in the hills, if you want a house built hire a carpenter and forget the architect.

we/I desperately need someone who can "modify" some primitives to modify some primitives..... think take a round primitive and put a skin with "holes" or "dimples" on it...bout as simple as that...

we/I desperately need someone who can "mod" an OGRE or "CounterStrike" room to put a "skin on it"....nothing fancy, maybe make it 6 sided instead of four sided and then place the primitives so that can be shot at...

This is an "educational" thing....something that we think can truely revolutionize the education "scene".... if we can get it done, then we will rent a VERY SMALL room at Second Life for folks to enter and go from there to "the room", if there is good response, then put something up at YouTube...

We really do want this to be a "shining example of how the open source model of software development" can work....

If the proof of concept works, then a much more extensive version of it will be released under FOSS/GNU, and then schools can have students(hopefully) make primitives and room mods to suite particular situations, or...pay someone...

RELLY.....HELP! 
woodsmoke

Hi
I have never been able to get GIMP to save a file from a scan.

I can easily scan through GIMP...it does a marvelous job.  I can then select, crop you name it, but when I then try to save or save as.... such as a jpeg or a png, I get a box that says something to the effect of..."cannot save, unknown file type".... this is a GIMP information box, it has the fox symbol, not a scanner information box.

I usually "copy" and the "paste" into another application like KoulorPaint to be able to save it.

It seems, in my fuddy duddy brain, that I read something about this a year or so ago... but can't remember what it was....is there just something that I'm not doing to the image that will make it saveable or what?

thanks ahead of time

woodsmoke

I agree with you completely, if I can help, maybe "test run them" just holler.

woodsmoke

Ok
I know.....there is already a "tutorial" on making TUX "shiney" in "Grokking..", I downloaded it probably a year or two ago and have tried to do it several times.  And I just can't seem to get it to work, to make my TUX look "shiney" that is...



I'm not asking for anybody to actually do it to my particular image, but I tried to get him to look shiney by adding the things as shown in the tutorial, don't have a linky for it now particularly, but just couldn't get it to work right.  This might be a project for the "forum" as it were, ....an "enhanced" tutorial on how to make TUX shiney...

Maybe I'm speaking out of turn, if so then just say so and I'll remove this.

woodsmoke

Hi Dadster,

I read the above and thought I'd ask a question, I'm running Ubuntu Feisty, and looked for Ktoon in our repo and didn't see it.  Would you mind greatly posting upon what you are running it and how you installed?

woodsmoke

Hi
I recent'y downloaded Xara and plan start studying it during the vacation before next semester.  I tried the videos, the realplayer didn't work, I'm using the latest download and the Real site said it was up the current one.  The .wmv file did play in Xine.  These will be very helpful.

As a comment.  I think, don't actually know, that "Linux" was kind of in a ..."mode" for several years, and the mode included in it that one "learned it on their own"... and as a reference in another thread stated, "things" have made leaps and bounds in the last year, and I think, just my opinion, that the "video" will really accelerate the acceptance of a variety of proggys.

I myself have been experimenting with using "reKordmydesktop" at a forum to make learning how to do something easier.  I've been posting in the wiki rather than the forum itself.

Nice videos, I will be studying them!

woodsmoke

Gimp can easily be used for converting the size and format of pictures.  I also use it for making "avatar"/"icon" sized pictures for proggys that don't have icons and for forum avatars.

At one time I also use "babygimp", but have not been able to get it to "run/install" the last time I downloaded it.

I've tried adding "textures" and some items to pictures with GIMP but haven't had much luck,

However, the "blend function" works quite easily and I used it to make a couple of wallpapers for a distro.

woodsmoke

Hi JonC!

woodsmoke

Hi MeeMaw!

woodsmoke

I think, and it's just my thought, that your first choice possibly reflects a future good set of choices!

I'm trying to get in good with the admins so I thought I'd fawn all over the place in my first posts...

Hey....how about Fawn as a color?

just a joke! 

woodsmoke