One Hundred Peace Breaths Exercise

Image Copyright e-mandala.net

This exercise is better performed while sitting.

Close your eyes. Hold both hands relaxed on top of your knees. With the thumb, the index and the middle finger of one of your hands hold the thumb of the other hand.

Breathe in through your nose, fill up slowly your lungs and stomach. Focus on your breathing. Relax and release all air through your nose or mouth, while mentally counting “one”.

Repeat this process by moving to the next finger and count up. If you find your mind wandering around too much, go back to zero. Try to reach one hundred without putting too much effort.

Once reaching the one hundredth breath becomes easier, try going through the exercise without using your fingers to count.

Share at least one hundred peace breaths with the world every day.

T.E.D.D.Y. - A Sketching Interface For 2D to 3D Freeform Design

Takeo Igarashi, Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, at The University of Tokyo, has released a new version of his 3D Modeling and Painting research prototype named SmoothTeddy.

What differentiates this tool from others is that you create and modify the model by drawing 2D freeform strokes which are translated into 3D polygonal surfaces. The interface is intuitive enough that even young children are able to construct interesting models after a short tutorial. Some example models are here.

More complex model manipulations like extruding, smoothing and bending are supported, via simple interactions. I believe it’s better to see it in action to appreciate the beauty of this concept. Take a look at the clip below or go here.

People with drawing tablets (e.g. Wacom Graphire or Intuos) would be able to enjoy this software better, but that shouldn’t discourage others to try it. You can download it for free here (requires to have Java installed).

Bill Gates' Commemoration Presentation

Not a lot to say. Just enjoy this classic!

The Simpsons Come Of Age

Would you believe it if I told you that the TV show “The Simpsons” turned 18 years old last Sunday (September 10, 2006)?

To think that it all started as a series of small shorts that aired before and after ad breaks on The Tracey Ullman Show (1987-1989)… It’s definitely being a long way since then.

What a better way of celebrating this coming of age than driving down memory lane and enjoying a glance through all the 48 original episodes, courtesy of the really great people at Simpson Crazy.

It’s amazing to be able to witness first-hand the quick evolution, at the level of drawing and voice acting of this popular series. Some of my favourite are:

• The Pacifier (MG05)
• House of Cards (MG12)
• Bart's Little Fantasy (MG41)

You can enjoy the shorts here.

Walker Scene

While cleaning up some older folders in my hard drive I found a short render of another final project, this time for the first level course of the Computer Animation Certificate - Maya at Concordia University.

Hope you enjoy it!

The Best Magic Effect for Girls

'Little Bro' KYT is trying to win a contest to appear on the DVD release of THE ILLUSIONIST, starring Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti and Jessica Biel.

It’s about making a video that showcases your best illusion / magic trick.

Please, don’t forget to register, leave some nice comments and rate the video (5 stars!!!)

If you want to share the video with your friends, you can send them this link: http://www.kytmagic.com/

Good luck boyo!

Kroco - Gym Scene

This is the result of my animation project for the summer semester, as part of the Computer Animation Certificate - Maya at Concordia University.

Everything in the movie was created by me but for the background and tattoos, courtesy of Google Image and the music, "Eye of the Tiger", by Survivor. You can buy a copy of the CD here. Enjoy!