CyberCarnage.com.au

Unlike 2009, I’m not going to have a whole list of goals. My main goal for 2010 is to welcome my little princess into the world and be the best dad that I can be. Everything else just doesn’t come close in importance. I am so looking forward to being a dad and a little scared at the same time.

42 days to go until she is due :) (Not that I’m counting or anything… NOT!)

2010 is going to be the best year yet!

Another year has come to an end and what a full year it has been, but more importantly what a full year 2010 is going to be!

Before I get into the 2010 goodness, I’ll give a quick reflection of 2009 and the goals I set. This was the first time I actually document any yearly goals (and followed up here with the mid year review), so the reflection will be quite a novel experience. Here we go:

1. Create a personal web site (www.cybercarnage.com.au) and keep it maintained:

Started of really well, but come the start of August, the posting came to a stand still. The lack of posts can be attributed to two things:

1. The subject of the last couple of posts, our little princess being conceived :)
2. Starting  new job at Stargate Global Consulting.

2. Get a six pack:

This started off really well and they were pretty bitchin, but have been on decline for a while and have now converted from a six pack to a slab.

3. Start lifting weights

Started and stopped. I;’m just not making to the gym enough and have any decent routine set. I still get to the gym 1-2 time per week, but just for cardio sessions.

4. Get a new job

Got it! For the last 6 months I’ve been working at Stargate Global Consulting and have been enjoying it. 2010 is going to be big.

5. Spend more quality time with the wife

Maybe a little too much here ;) Nah, all good and I can’t get enough. Too bad that work thing keeps getting in the way…

6. Spend more time with my friends and loved ones

I found a solution to this. Get rid of all friends! Nah, I did quite well. Twitter is awesome in keeping up with friends and he odd appearance at user groups and community events helps too. UFC PPV night has been good too with catching up with non-geek friends.

7. More 3D!

Just haven’t been able to apply myself here, but my art interest has shifted to Illustration and I try to get as much of this in as possible.

8. Create a 3D animation Short Film

This fizzled away. Might give it a go some time in the future, but for now its priority has dropped considerably.

9. Read more

The comic book addition is here to stay and I’ve built up quite a large (and constantly growing) trade library. It is currently sitting at approx 165 trades and I’m expecting anther 50-60 trades to arrive in the mail over the next month or so (mostly XMas gift funded). Heaps I know, but it isn’t really as expensive as it sounds. With the $AUD doing so well and me buying the books in packs mostly off eBay, they tend to average around $12 per trade. As each trade has anywhere for 4-12 issues per book, that isn’t bad since single issues cost around $6 each these days. Also, if I were to buy the trades at the local comic book stores, then it would cost me a whole lot more as they start at $20. So I’m doing quite well. Intensity will drop off this year as I’ve padded out most of the back catalogue and will only need to maintain the new issues as they arrive.

For those wondering if I’ve read them all, I haven’t but have read around 75 of them. I like to try to think of it as stock piling for my retirement (only 36 years to go). I might need to do a post in the future to chronicle the little library I’ve put together, but it is safe to say that I’m a Marvel Zombie. Not that it is all Marvel, but a good 70%.

The best get of 2009 was that I was able to scrape together a complete run of the Wolverine series (in single issue form) dating back to 1982. That is one big run and a lot of Wolverine comics!

10. Stop biting my nails

Epic Fail!

11. Have more fun

Success! And a whole lot more to come.

All in all, it was a really good year.

Oh, and BTW: Happy New Year

32 weeks in and princess (FYI: She’s a Girl) is coming along nicely and we’ve just had another ultrasound to check on her progress.

Here are some of the ultrasound images:

Yep, there is a baby on the way and we couldn't be happier. Here is the the first pic of “J.R”

J.R is due on the 11th Feb 2010 :)

Well, my name is as part of the NASA’s “Send Your Name to Mars” promotion:

Fill in your information below and your name will be included with others on a microchip on the Mars Science Laboratory rover heading to Mars in 2011!

Nerdy? Indeed it is :)

More experimentation, but this time I used a 3D program called Poser Pro to get the shape of the image.

The steps used were as follows:

1. Get the desired pose constructed in poser and export the render.
2. Create a rough sketch by tracing the pose and manipulating the shape as desired.
3. Create clear, crisp lines forming the basis of the final image.
4. Add the details

I was reading about Paul’s trip to the Melbourne Zoo the other day and really like the photos that he posted. My favourite was the tiger photo, so I decided to give drawing it a go. I originally started drawing it by looking at the reference. It was coming alright, but as it was a digital illustration, I though it would be much easier to just trace it. So I did:

Freehand                  –                  Trace                  -                  Source

The freehand version was a little off ratio wise, but was coming up OK. It did allow me to experiment with some of the brushes available and mess around with the technique, which came in quite handy when doing the trace.

At the start of the year I set myself some goals and it is time to look back and see how I have progressed:

1. Create a personal web site (www.cybercarnage.com.au) and keep it maintained.

So far, so good. The site is up and running and 21 posts so far (not including this one). I’m very happy with the progress and hope to maintain this level of activity.

2. Get a six pack.

I peaked fitness wise just before Easter and had a not bad definition and was clearly visible. Then it has been all down hill since then and have found it hard to maintain a steady exercise schedule and good eating plan with the cold weather. Next spring maybe? Only regret is that I didn’t get a photo. Next time I’ll remember to do so.

3. Start lifting weights.

I had a good routine going for around six weeks, then Easter came and my routine died and I never got back into it. Tried a couple of time, but nothing has stuck. Same deal as the abs, next spring may bring better luck.

4. Get a new job.

I stopped looking around February when I started to enjoy the project I was working on more. Just last month a good opportunity came along and at the end of this week I will no longer be an employee of DWS. Starting July 13 I join Stargate Global Consulting. They are a lot similar to how SDM was before the “hostile” takeover. They are a Microsoft Gold partner and do a lot of work using the latest range of Microsoft server products (SharePoint, SQL Server, BizTalk, etc). I’m really looking forward to the challenges ahead. Wish me luck :)

5. Spend more quality time with the wife.

Going good. Went away during Easter and had a much needed break. We’ve been watching way too much Grey’s Anatomy lately, but having fun doing so.

6. Spend more time with my friends and loved ones.

I have been able to catch up with the old SDM crew here and there and keeping in touch via twitter. Haven’t been the greatest at catching up with other friends, but the monthly UFC PPV viewing @ my place has been cool (BTW: If you’re interested in coming tto, just le me know). I would like to spend more time with some of my friends, but have been slack in that department :(

7. More 3D!

I haven’t had enough time to concentrate on this and have shifted focus to illustration now. I did do a bit more self study and various exercises, but haven;t done anything for months. I may get back into this in the future, but not likely in the short term. On the plus side, my drawing has really taken off and expect a lot more on this front.

8. Create a 3D animation Short Film

Project cancelled for the time being. I’ve got some ideas for some other pet projects that I can do, but nothing to mention as of yet.

9. Read more

The comic book addiction is alive and well and my library is steadily growing and at a faster rate than I can keep up with. I keep telling myself that I need to stop purchasing more books until I’ve caught up, but that isn’t happening. I used to only read books from the Marvel universe, but have more recently started reading a lot more DC titles as of late. I prefer Batman over Superman, but the Death and Return of Superman trades are excellent, while the Superman For Tomorrow was crap! But that can be said with any title from any publisher. You have to take the good with the bad.

10. Stop biting my nails

Fail. ‘Nuff Said!

11. Have more fun

I have been. I did get an X-Box 360, but I use it more as a media player than a game machine. I did pick up Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe on the cheap and really enjoyed that.

That is all for now. I really should review my my list of goals, but I’ll leave that for another day (or year)

I just finished my next illustration. This time deviating from the Super Hero genre to mythical dragon vs dwarf scene. First I had an idea of a dwarf defending shielding himself from a dragons flames. Then I drew the following rough concepts to experiment with scene content and the dragon’s posture:

Once I knew how I wanted the scene layed out, I researched some reference images and put the final scene together: