In this video, I discuss how I am refining my approach to being consistent. I am no longer focused on consistently posting on my blog daily but instead consistently minding my priorities and waiting until I have time to create a higher-quality post.
Back to the Basics
I am glad I decided to backpedal from trying to export Adobe Substance Modler files into Adobe Substance Painter and just focus on getting better at Modeler. I like how this more advanced tutorial made use of the boolean functionality, symmetry, and repetition. This video also showed some simple yet creative ways to quickly create dynamic shapes only using the clay and erase tool.
A 2D diorama builds over several days in the virtual 3D space. Here is what I came up with from day 1.
Here is an image of the pen drawing I reference in the VLOG video. I made a painting from this once but it didn’t capture the currents in the water and the air like designed. I am hoping to catch that more here.
In the first video, I set up some blank plates that I plan to use to create my Diorama.
In retrospect, it might have been better to set each plane on a unique layer per the Boolean intersect issues I had in the second video. Or, I just don’t really understand how those Boolean intersects yet. (Bahoolian!)
In the second video, you can taste my pain as I struggle with getting the Boolean to intersect not delete my entire piece. I also need help with camera placement and zooming in on my work. In other words, if you want to skip a video this is the one to skip! See the pink triangle!? That’s how you know it’s the Boolean Intersect action.
In the final video, I get the background and mountain plate set.
Welcome to Day 8 of my 30-day 3D Design Challenge. Today I am looking at instancing and right away I can see how useful this function will be in 3D design. I was thinking and I can’t quite think of an equivalent to this in 2D design in Photoshop. We are truly entering into a uniquely 3D design element here.
You can create a single object and then create a link and mirror it. You can place it where you want and then when you alter it with a tool all the other “instances” of that object also change in the same way. So this is very similar to Semetry but the mirrored objects can be placed in arbitrary positions. If you think about it this really can only be done in the 3D environment.
Instancing also applies to groups. So you can create a group of objects or layers and then choose to make a link and then reproduce the group using instancing. Watch as I trip over my toes and listen as I stumble over my tongue!
Welcome to Day 7 of my 30-day 3D Design Challenge. I watched the instructional video on Symmetry and repetition two nights ago and I decided that the video begins adding too many steps for my understanding of the topic of Symmetry and Repetition. When the video jumped to adding symmetry and repetition at the layer level, then the multiple layers global, and then upped it to the group level I had a feeling that this is something I understand right now but someday soon I will be working in a project and get stuck or confused about what I am controlling. So, I have decided to break this topic into two parts. I covered Part 1 – Symmetry and Repetition on the layer level yesterday and Part 2 – Symmetry and Repetition on the multiple layer global level with nothing selected and also the group level on Day 07.
Now that I have completed day 07, I feel symmetry and repetition on the group level are not as confusing as I feared. The point is that:
There is no difference editing semetricly on multiple layers on the global level or having those layers grouped into a single layer.
The true benefit of having layers ungrouped is that you can select a specific layer and then modify that layer without affecting the other layers.
In the video I keep falling into “trainer mode” and then I realize I don’t know how to do this yet! I promise I’m not trying to man-splain…
Day 4 of my 3D Modeling 30-Day Challenge I have been wondering if Adobe 3D Modeler should be used for creating organic outdoor landscapes. It makes sense that this sort of scene would come up in the topic of “Resolution” because this file became very large very quickly.
In the video, I say that “I noticed resolution but it didn’t really click on what that was.” So, for the record: I know what resolution is and I should have brought more of my Adobe Photoshop knowledge to the table. What I meant to say was that it didn’t click how relevant or significant the resolution would be to file size. Then add to that the ramifications of delay to process certain morphs, smoothing, or the simple act of saving or opening the file.
I timed opening the file at 17 seconds but I noticed I missed 2 seconds in the beginning so it was probably an actual 15. Then I lowered the resolution, saved, and timed reopening the file. I lowered the resolution so low that the ground was actually damaged and had holes in it. So, too far! but the open time went down to 4 seconds with an actual of probably 1 or 2 seconds. So definitely improved the file-open time with a lower resolution.
Day 04 Resolution – 3D Model 30-Day ChallengeDavid Kolmer is an Instructional Designer and facilitator who does not know how to design in 3D. His goal in this rough cut series is to change that and be able to make a logo in 3D for his brand.
If you had to nail it down, what is consistency? How would you go about being more consistent?
31 days ago, I shared a post on Consistencyand I would like to follow up with my progress using this word to guide my 2023. I made some heavy claims at the end of that post and so far I am holding to all of them, and have even added a few, 31 days later. I have also added that I will not eat any processed sugar. That has grown into me learning about and following Ketogenic meal plans and bumping the gym visits from 2 days a week to 3 days a week. I have also started intermittent fasting with my newfound fullness of burning only fat and not sugar as fuel. It has been easy for me to not eat for 16 to 20 hours each day.
I hesitated to share my deeper feelings about this concept in my first post but I will do so here.
Consistently Who?
Consistency? Consistently me? … Well, who is that!? I change my mind all the time!
The Fleeting Soul
In college, I took a class called Introduction to Philosophical Problems with the great Professor Robert Money. We read a short trialogue, in which I remember many details other than the title of the work itself. (I will reach out to Prof. Money to get the deets if I can.) In this debate, a religious character is on their deathbed and then two colleges visit him. The two visitors are confused about how the religious person can be so calm. The religious character explains his faith in the traditional Socratic concept that the body will decay but when he dies his soul will separate from his body and travel to the afterlife. The character Philo challenges the mystic by claiming we change our perspective, mood, (basically our identity) from moment to moment. Philo the mystic asks how the religious man can believe in a single soul when we manage to change our mind or the full course of our lives in a single moment. Philo argues that there is a stream of souls passing through a person at any given moment.. and then of course the third character is an Aetheist and laughs at them for believing in souls at all.
I would say that Philo the mystic has a good case here. Maybe that is because I am agnostic. I’m not the atheist who will claim I can’t weigh the soul so it’s not real. However, the idea is by nature abstract. If I do have a soul then what is it? Is the mind the seat of the soul? I like this image of us having a continuous stream of souls passing through us because that is what life feels the most like. When I see pictures of myself from decades before, I sometimes have to take a moment to even recall that moment in time. Other times I can’t remember it at all. Getting old is a journey.
Is being consistent really about who you are? Or more about how you want to be perceived?
The Curse of the New Years Resolution
A friend asked how my “New Year’s Resolution” was going at a party two weekends ago. It struck me to the core. I thought, “I dare you label this effort a new years resolution! Besides, I wrote in my blog that I am trying out this word for the year. I intend to keep these plans.
This was my daughter’s birthday party where I ate veggies, pulled beef off the sandwiches, and served cake, but ate no cake. That’s not how I acted just two weeks before. Not even close. I would have had multiple sandwiches and two servings of cake, and I probably would have served beer at the party.
To be fair I drank more than my fair share of alcohol on new years night 2022 and then gave up alcohol the next day. So I suppose my friend’s statement of this being a “new years resolution” rings true. What bothers me is this understanding that people don’t follow New Year’s resolutions. To my benefit, I am also following my first two guiding principles, honesty, and consistency.
So, let’s start with a 1-month update on how How do I plan to implement consistency in my life, and how I’m doing…
I have given up caffeinated coffee since November 24th, 2022, and replaced it with adaptogenic mushroom beverages. I have added a cup of caffeine here and there but only when I’m working out.
I have consistently sat in meditation or yoga for at least 10 minutes a day.
I am not drinking any alcohol for January 2023 and plan to keep this going indefinitely.
I have hidden my cell phone when I am around my children and this has only been an issue once or twice when Zoom popped up from work.
I am building models and figures with my children less often than I would like, but the LEGO building has definitely increased, and I have stepped up to build some incredible aquariums for my kids which I can share later.
I am helping my children read books every day. I have also started flash cards with the younger child.
When I speak I am working on focusing on being calm and honest, and maintaining my true calm and thoughtful demeanor (as much as possible), this has remained a challenge for me but my new diet has helped me improve on this.
I have not gone Disc Golfing much at all, but the ground is covered in ice right now so I have focused more on the gym.
“I will consider going to the gym once in a while.” This is the promise that I didn’t make but was able to keep. I started with 2 times a week but have bumped that up to 3 times a week. I am using the free Strong Lits App. and linking that up to send data to the YMCA app where I track my other activities from the gym and all steps counted by my phone.
Since following this new way of life, I have found some new ones.
I will not eat breakfast and will not eat after 7 PM.
I will not consume carbohydrates.
For now, I will not eat any food that has been found to increase the glycemic index. (Potatoes, carrots, apples, bread, candy, alcohol, etc.)
I will go to the gym three times a week and spend at least 15 minutes on the elliptical and then do a 5X5 Stronglifts set. (below)
What I like about the free StrongLifts app is it takes your weight and looks at how often you workout and then slowly increases the weight as you go. The great thing about resistance training is you continue to burn calories after you lift for repair.
No Sugar
I am not eating any sugar and I have also cut out fruit that increases the glycemic index. So not eating bananas, oranges, mango, grapes, raisins, dates, pears, etc. But I am eating berries, plums, kiwi fruit, grapefruit, etc.
I found a video, (or the video found me) about the benefits of cutting sugar by Dr. Berg.
Ketogenic
I have also given up starches and grains to switch over to burning fat as my fuel instead of sugar.
I have to say that burning fat is keeping me full for much longer. Intermittent fasting has been much easier than ever before and two weeks ago I only ate a huge salad with meat, eggs, and cheese at 1:30 PM and then hearty soup at 4 PM. That was it. That’s all I ate all day, and I feel super full! Last Monday I only ate one meal at 4 PM.
A Whole Lemon Blended with Tumeric
Another thing that I had heard about was throwing a whole lemon in a blender and blending it up with some ice, stevia, and water for a snack while “Fasting” There is a debate whether eating lemon juice during a fast will “Break the fast”. The juice from a whole lemon is 3 carbs. However, if you blend the whole lemon and drink it all it does not raise your glycemic index, i.e. does not cause you to generate insulin, so as far as a state of ketosis is concerned you are not breaking your fast. I have also started throwing a fresh rhizome of turmeric in this shake and taking it with a 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt.
Workout During my Fasting
Something I just started to try out was going to the gym during my fast and seeing how I felt. I did that this morning at 10 AM and I still didn’t feel hungry until 12:30 PM. Then I ate a shake with a whole avocado, some organic cream, walnuts, strawberries, raspberries, water, stevia, and ice. It’s 3:19 PM now and I’m still not hungry.
Striving for a New Self
Perhaps consistency is just striving for a path to keep me coming back to my best self; to keep me honest. I am going to consistently accept Lou Reed’s “New Found Man”. I am finding that I am coming back to things that worked for me in the past. It’s like I am living my life like a track list of “David’s Greatest Hits”. What’s interesting is that these are things that people have shared with me that worked for me and now I am going back to them. Just like the song by Lou Reed that was shared by my friend Bart Ringer.
If you have ever taken a class on play analysis or studied theater in school you might have heard the word stasis. Stasis is another word for peace or rest. When a play starts something happens that breaks the characters out of stasis and the play is about the action the characters take to return to stasis. I feel like when I was traveling the world and making a living doing theater, stunt work, and teaching English; my goal was to live in a state of broken stasis. I was young and that was a cool way to live, it made my life seem interesting, but it was exhausting. Now that I am older and I have kids and own a couple houses I think I have redefined that goal. All I want to do is find a way to return to stasis. I don’t listen to music because I think it’s cool anymore. I listen to it because it relaxes me.
Bigs up Your Vocation
I had a phone call with a mentor (an official unofficial sponsor) of mine who recommended a book titled “The Art of Work“. I started listening to the book soon after our call. I found a YouTube video where an AI bot is reading the whole book. It is creepy that a bot is reading me the book, but I kind of like it and I have been listening to the book while I organize spreadsheets of eLearning content I am curating. This book is giving me a path. It’s giving me a mental model of what building a career and mastering a trade can provide.
The opening of the book talks about how the meaning of the word “Vocation” has lost some of its glory. In the past, a vocation was a calling or a mission. It was often reserved for those being called to work for spiritual or religious endeavors. One thing that struck me is that the book lays out 7 layers of a master. I will write more about this in a future post but for now, I wanted to identify that the layers build on each other. You don’t just complete number 1 and then move on to number 2. You complete 1, Awareness, and that is the base that you use for #2 Apprenticeship.
So to apply this to my word for 2023 of Consistency, it should build off of my theme for 2022, Honesty. So having consistency without honesty will not work.
So for this year, I will be: Consistently Honest So, I’m getting closer to how to be Consistent.
Just getting drunk on new years eve and then waking up the next day and saying I will give up alcohol for January is the first step, but it’s not the path I need to be on. It is not my “path with heart”. If I write these things down and publish them to the world for all of my millions of readers, or even just a couple (thanks for the support Mom.); then I have put the idea out there and even if just one person reads it, I will feel more compelled to follow through.
So, consistently who? Well Consistently the new me. Who is that? Well, I think it’s more of a how. How do I want others to perceive me?
Hello, 2023! May you bring me focus and consistency.
I recently read a post written by a friend named Stephanie Gerald. She was inspired by a friend (who will remain unknown) to have a word for a year. Since this came at the beginning of a year and the end of another year it resounds of a new years resolution. However, living your life according to a word seems so much more possible than going to the gym every day. It’s an ideal, something to strive for. Stephanie was nice enough to share the words she has had from the past few years and I love them: Intentional, Courage, Power, and the newest one Grit, inspired by the great Angela Duckworth.
I wanted to steal one of Stephanie’s words because they were so grand and illustrious, but I realized I need to be honest. In a way, honesty was my word from 2022. as I shared in a previous blog post, HONESTY. Now if you have read ANY of my recent blog posts, you will know that I recently went to my first DEVLEARN conference, (and I promise I will get over that someday), but for now, it is still a huge landmark in my career and life in general. While I was there, the learning guild offered these windows of unlimited coffee, and boy did take advantage of that. There was also an espresso bar at the Dochebo booth and I knew the barista on a first-name basis. I don’t even need to mention how much free alcohol was available.
Me at the height of my caffeine addiction being chased by the angel of death at DEVLEARN.
Either way, by Friday I was revved up like a locomotive. I attended a class on Podcasts hosted by the profound Betty Danowitz, from If You Ask Betty. I don’t recall why but there was some sort of delay in the training and Betty asked if anyone knew any jokes. So guess who started shouting out his favorite dad jokes? Yes, if you answered me, then you are correct. After the third joke, Betty asked me to sit in the front row to be her co-host. This was flattering but I knew she was just trying to keep the Heckler close to her so she could keep an eye on him. (Betty Shared a picture of me in this state but it looks like my chat history doesn’t go that far back on Linked In. Either way that embarrassing photo is not the point.)
Now, I was very engaged in this course on Podcasts, and I’d like to start my podcast soon, but for now, I can gather my thoughts in this blog. As preparation, I have also started listening to the I Love Betty podcast and writing on it religiously. (I am wondering why she is not sponsoring my blog, but I need to remember to take baby steps.) One of the Podcasts that has resounded with me over time was with Tim Slade about building your brand. All the talk about choosing colors and fonts made sense and didn’t phase me, but one thing stood out, it shocked me. The goal is to be consistent with colors, fonts, and designs AND in your behavior. To be true to your real self all the time. Often, the only thing I am consistent at is being random. It’s not because I am overly scatterbrained or legitimately mad, but because my brand of humor is conceptual and abstract. So, I realized, I say and do random things to be funny. In other words, hoping it will make people like me more. However, this often backfires with people who don’t know me well. People think I am being serious and I offend them or concern them. Or even worse, they don’t laugh.
So now that I am being more honest with myself, and the world, I want to take it a step further and be more consistent. Well, how do I do that? I have already taken a few steps.
Improvement Dave 