Models In Motion: Stargate Atlantis

This is a montage of stills and video of the City of Atlantis I built for the "Stargate Atlantis" series. I built the model for use from season 2 until the end of the show for the in-house FX crew. The geometry was created with Luxology's Modo. The texturing and lighting were done in Newtek's Lightwave.

The model was then distributed to other studios for use in their visual effects shots. Aside from standing in as the primary Atlantian base, this model was also used to populate the Replicator city of Azuras. I created a few extra key buildings for up close camera shots of that planet as well.

For a look at some stills, head on over to my gallery:
Stargate - Portfolio

Models in Motion: Terminator T-888

A look at the T-888 model I built for "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" TV show. I used Modo to build the geometry and initial texturing. The model was then delivered to the VFX house in Lightwave format and exported to Maya for animation as well.

Final textures were also tweaked in house for their needs. I started the model using the original T-800 as reference. However, the model went thru several changes based on the concept artwork from VFX Supervisor James Lima. Animation done by other artists.

For a better look at the model, check it out in my gallery:
Portfolio - Terminator

Google updates Chrome Beta for Mac

The beta version of Chrome for Mac has been updated with support for Chrome extensions. This update also brings bookmark syncing, bookmark manager, cookie manager, and task manager.

Altho it's still beta, it renders pages very snappy. See video below from the Google Chrome Blog.

• Google Chrome Extensions Gallery
• Google Chrome Blog

MotionX-GPS Drive for iPhone

MotionX-GPS Drive is an excellent navigation app on the iPhone. If you have a 3G or 3GS iPhone, this app provides turn-by-turn directions with VOICE, for both driving and walking. The application itself is just $0.99. You get the first 30 days of Voice navigation for FREE. At which point you can opt to purchase the Voice capability for $25.00 per year, or $3.00 per month.

The application remains functional after the 30 days. However, if you spring for the Voice add-on, you also get features like audio prompts, 3D maps, auto re-routing if you miss a turn, and the ability to take traffic conditions into account when calculating routes. MotionX, integrates nicely with the ipod and phone functions, for a seamless transition between calls, audio, and GPS navigation. I've been using it for a while now both locally and traveling around the US, with great success. For the initial cost of entry, I find this to be the best bang for your buck with very accurate performance. Check out the video below for a demo.

• MotionX GPS Drive - Via iTunes
• MotionX GPS Drive - Website