Meher Krishna Patel – Pandas Guide
/ python, software
Tatev Aslanyan – Machine Learning for Beginners 2024: Theory to Practice with Python Project
/ A.I., python, software

 

Especially Crafted For:

  • Budding Data Scientists and Python enthusiasts
  • Innovators in Machine Learning and AI fields
  • Engineers looking to transition into ML roles
  • Product Managers eager to incorporate ML insights
  • Educational pioneers and high school students exploring tech
  • Anyone intrigued by the potential of ML and Python
Romain Chauliac – LightIt a lighting script for Maya and Arnold
/ lighting, production

LightIt is a script for Maya and Arnold that will help you and improve your lighting workflow.
Thanks to preset studio lighting components (lights, backdrop…), high quality studio scenes and HDRI library manager.

 

 

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/393emJ

 

https://wzx.gumroad.com/l/lightit

Vahan Sosoyan MakeHDR – an OpenFX open source plug-in for merging multiple LDR images into a single HDRI
/ lighting, software

https://github.com/Sosoyan/make-hdr

 

Feature notes

  • Merge up to 16 inputs with 8, 10 or 12 bit depth processing
  • User friendly logarithmic Tone Mapping controls within the tool
  • Advanced controls such as Sampling rate and Smoothness

 

Available at cross platform on Linux, MacOS and Windows Works consistent in compositing applications like Nuke, Fusion, Natron.

Meta’s Quest headsets add spatial video and pinch controls to compete with Vision Pro
/ hardware, photography

https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/1/24058088/meta-quest-3-spatial-video-vision-pro

 

The spatial video support will allow wearers to view 3D footage captured with Apple’s headset or an iPhone 15 Pro / Pro Max.

 

Tim Peters – the Zen of Python
/ jokes, production, python, software

A Zen of Python is a list of 19 guiding principles for writing beautiful code. Zen of Python was written by Tim Peters and later added to Python.

 

Here is how you can access the Zen of Python.

import this
print(this)

Output:

The Zen of Python, by Tim Peters

  • Beautiful is better than ugly.
  • Explicit is better than implicit.
  • Simple is better than complex.
  • Complex is better than complicated.
  • Flat is better than nested.
  • Sparse is better than dense.
  • Readability counts.
  • Special cases aren’t special enough to break the rules.
  • Although practicality beats purity.
  • Errors should never pass silently.
  • Unless explicitly silenced.
  • In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.
  • There should be one– and preferably only one –obvious way to do it.
  • Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you’re Dutch.
  • Now is better than never.
  • Although never is often better than *right* now.
  • If the implementation is hard to explain, it’s a bad idea.
  • If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.
  • Namespaces are one honking great idea — let’s do more of those!

 

Goga Tandashvili – bas-relief master
/ design
@moltenimmersiveart Goga Tandashvili is a master of the art of Bas-Relief. Using this technique, he creates stunning figures that are slightly raised from a flat surface, bringing scenes inspired by the natural world to life. #Art #Artists #GogaTandashvili #BasReliefSculpture #ArtInspiredByNature #ImpressionistArt #BasRelief #Sculptures #Sculptor #Molten #MoltenArt #MoltenImmersiveArt #MoltenAffect #Curation #Curator #ArtCuration #ArtCurator #DorothyDiStefano ♬ original sound – Molten Immersive Art

 

Tim Bowman – Compositing best practices
/ production

https://hellothisistim.com/blog/comp-rules/

 

    • Rule 1: Keep it simple.
    • Rule 2: Faster is better.
    • Rule 3: Build trust.
    • Rule 4: You won’t be the last person to work on it.
    • Rule 5: Check your work.
    • Rule 6: Every rule has an exception.
    • Rule 7: Facilitate changes.
Alan Friedman Takes Stunning Hi-Res Photographs of the Sun in His Backyard
/ photography

https://www.boredpanda.com/high-resolution-sun-pictures-alan-friedman/

 

https://avertedimagination.squarespace.com/

 

He uses a small (3 ½” aperture) telescope with a Hydrogen Alpha filter and an industrial webcam to capture the surface of the Sun, which looks surprisingly calm and fluffy in the incredible photos.

 

Elon Musk on the universe being the answer
/ quotes

“The real problem is trying to formulate a question for something we do not know already”

 

CupiX Vista – reconstruct environments from off the shelf 360 cameras
/ photogrammetry, software

https://www.cupixvista.com/

CupixVista is a new Al that can convert 360° video footage into the 3D map and virtual tour.

 

 

 

The Hollywood VFX Jobs Most At-Risk From AI
/ A.I., ves

 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/ai-hollywood-workers-job-cuts-1235811009/

 

Over the next three years, it estimates that nearly 204,000 positions will be adversely affected.

 

In November, former Dreamworks founder Jeffrey Katzenberg said the tech will replace 90 percent of jobs on animated films.

 

Roughly a third of respondents surveyed predicted that AI will displace sound editors, 3D modelers, re-recording mixers and audio and video technicians within three years, while a quarter said that sound designers, compositors and graphic designers are likely to be affected.

 

Roughly a third of respondents surveyed predicted that AI will displace sound editors, 3D modelers, re-recording mixers and audio and video technicians within three years, while a quarter said that sound designers, compositors and graphic designers are likely to be affected.

 

AI tools may increasingly be used to help create images that can streamline character design and storyboarding process, lowering demand for concept artists, illustrators and animators.

 

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-01-30/ai-artificial-intelligence-impact-report-entertainment-industry

 

According to the study, the job tasks most likely to be impacted by AI in the film and TV industry are 3-D modeling, character and environment design, voice generation and cloning and compositing, followed by sound design, tools programming, script writing, animation and rigging, concept art/visual development and light/texture generation.

 

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/artist-rights/union-study-says-generative-ai-will-disrupt-204000-jobs-three-years-237495.html

THOMAS MANSENCAL – The Apparent Simplicity of RGB Rendering
/ colour

 

https://thomasmansencal.substack.com/p/the-apparent-simplicity-of-rgb-rendering

 

The primary goal of physically-based rendering (PBR) is to create a simulation that accurately reproduces the imaging process of electro-magnetic spectrum radiation incident to an observer. This simulation should be indistinguishable from reality for a similar observer.

 

Because a camera is not sensitive to incident light the same way than a human observer, the images it captures are transformed to be colorimetric. A project might require infrared imaging simulation, a portion of the electro-magnetic spectrum that is invisible to us. Radically different observers might image the same scene but the act of observing does not change the intrinsic properties of the objects being imaged. Consequently, the physical modelling of the virtual scene should be independent of the observer.