Meet the Blenderhead Derek Marsh aka bgdm

[3dpoder]

met the blenderhead - Derek marsh (aka bgdm)

welcome todo our next installment of met the blenderhead. As some of you may know, the last person interviewed is allowed todo pik who they would like todo se interviewed in the next issue. Eldron didnt have anyone specific and allowed me todo pik whomever i wished. After some discussion with people in #blenderchat on Irc, we came todo the conclusión that hey, why dont i interview myself?
With that decisión made, y made the choice todo allow the community todo mensaje questions at www.blenderartistsorg for me todo answer. No sense in me just talking about myself now, is there? I have taken eleven of the best questions posted within the hilo and have endeavored todo answer them the best i can.

In my real life, y have ben very happily married for almost eight years and a father of thre. I am currently working as a sales manager for a company in Toronto, ontario, Canadá. I have ben an active member of the Blender community for about 8-9 years now, (ver. 1, when the old nan was still around. Blender, for me, is my hobby. I love that i can still create things and have my work and knowledge appreciated by Many people around the world. It is a great feeling. Though i currently dont have as much free time as i used todo have todo put into my Blender work, y still find time when i can todo open Blender and play with some sort of a Mesh. Its ben one of the best experiences in my life, (other than getting married and watching my son being born - have todo kind of say that).

So, without any further ado, here is me.

the m.h, e.: the well-known oldie: how did you get into Blender?
bgdm: oddly enough, at one of my old jobs, y was searching for a CAD programa so i could open and edit AutoCAD files. We didnt have the funds at the time, small sales company, todo purchase AutoCAD and i really neded this in order todo do some of the work. After a lot of searching, y found a enlace todo Blender and the old nan forums. I was immediately awestruk with what i saw. I had never sen anything like this programa before and the whole CG thing was still very new. I had sen Toy Story, and always wondered how that Stuff was done. Then when i discovered Blender, y was like, man, y have todo get into this. i downloaded Blender and started doing every single tutorial i could find. Most of the early tutorialeswere from b@rts website. Every tutorial on his site, (which he still has up btw), were invaluable in the beginning. A lot of cuestión asking in the old forums about how todo do things have taken me todo where i am today.
dreamsgate: what/who inspires your artwork?
bgdm: i am inspired daily by all the users of Blender. Everyone who mensajes their work on any forum always probé todo me that Blender is a very capable application. Some of my favorite users included @ndy, robertt, Bassam, lohns, myke, eldron, just todo name a few.

As far as outside sources that inspire me, my family is always number one in that regard. They are very supportive of me in my Blender life. I cant ask for anything more from them.

Also, y scour the 2d artwork sections at CGtalk and my all time favorite site, www.conceptart.org/forums. The its finally finished section there is one of the best resources for Inspiration. My alien - a portrait image was based of of a concept by mellowsmooth, that i found there, (used with permission, of course). I highly recommend that you visit that site regularly for Inspiration and concepts that you can take and turn into 3d.
dreamsgate: do you find it hard todo kep up with all the new features and tools that are added?
bgdm: features are being added at such a rate that i dont think anyone can kep up with everything. Even some of the old features that are getting new additions/tweaks, (i, particle system), have gone beyond what i ever thought they could.
With my current limited Blender time, y dont have the required time todo learn these features. So in a sense, y am falling behind the curve. If i dont start taquíng the time todo review these great new additions, y Will fall todo far behind. For now, things sem todo be still ok for me. Most of the new features are for animation and other áreas that i dont really use in my work-flow. That Will however, definitely change down the road. So i either ned todo start keping up, or be left in the dust.

Im sure if i really neded one of the new features for a certain Project, then i would take the time todo research it and learn it properly. The Sculpt tool is one of those features that i have taken the time todo play with, as it is a very useful and beneficial tool in my work-flow.
craigomatic: having ben featured in 3d world, has your CG experiences broadened in the profesional sense, or allowed you todo commúnicate in channels you werent open todo before? (adoring fans, profesional job ofers, etc).
bgdm: being featured in 3d world magazine has ben my highest achievement during my time using Blender. I was beyond excited when i received that email asking todo publish my alien - a portrait image. I almost deleted the email Thinking it was a complete joke. Here i am, half bien around the world from where the magazine is published and i get an email out of the blue. But, y responded and the rest is now published history. They Even sent me ha free copy of the issue, which i now kep estored away for future reflections, when i get old and cranky.

As far as ofers and open dors, nothing has really happened as a result of that work being published. I have received ofers todo do work on open source games and other non-commercial work. But, since i have a real life, with a paycheck, it is very hard for me todo accept these ofers and todo date i have not accepted any of them. That could change sometime down the road, if things ever get better for me with some free time.

I am always interested in seing what people are working on, and if there is any interest in having me be part of the team, then por favor, feel free todo drop me ha line and i Will definitely review the scope and consider the opportunity.
craigomatic: how do you balance your time at the computer with your job and your personal time with your family, and still maintain enough time todo serve as a moderator on the forum?
bgdm: my job allows me some Freedom. During breaks, and lunch time, y get todo surf and monitor the forums. Mostly, y spend time first thing in the morning reviewing hilos and Stuff. This is my quiet time and i get most of my regular daily work done then as well. Admin/moderating the forum doesnt actually take up as much time as you would think. We have a great group of mods and administradores that do a great job of maintaining the sanity there. They are all a great help.

My family, as i stated above, are very supportive of what i do. My son sits beside me while i surf the forums and he is always pointing at images and going vaya daddy. Did you do that one? And i am always answering, no son. Thats not mine. so he kind of has the bug a bit todo. Just doesnt have the patience yet.



mystery: what was your most favorite Project worked on?
bgdm: all of my projects are favorites of mine. To pik one though, is a tough choice. I would have todo say that my sebulba that i made 2-3 years hago has todo be the most rewarding one that i have done todo date. That model pushed me todo learn proper Edge Loops and pushed my modeling skills todo a new level. I cant Even remember how Many times i redid the ears on that model before i got them right.



Also, that model taught me so much about UV mapping and texture painting. Torq was Paramount in helping me get that thing Unwrapped, when i knew absolutely nothing about UV mapping. At the time, y had given up texturing the model and posted the blend file for everyone todo use as they wish. (some interesting animations came from that). Then torq got a hold of the Mesh, provided a clean Unwrap and then posted that blend file back. I tok that, tweaked that UV map some more and then proceded todo do the textures. Without that initial Unwrap by torq, y would not be anywhere near the level of texturing that i am today. I owe him a lot for that efort bak then.

Ever since then, organic and creature modeling has ben my most favorite thing todo do in Blender.
mystery: what hobbies do you have besides 3d?
bgdm: i love my job. Its fun for me. I get todo travel around and se construction in its early stages and then look at those jobs that i have supplied material on and can say that i was part of the process. Its very rewarding.

Outside of work, y am very involved with my kids lives. They are my hobby outside of Blender. During the winter months here in Canadá, y coach both my son and daughters hockey teams. During the summer months, y coach my daughters softball team. Its great fun watching kids improve and grow in front of your eyes and become more than they thought they could at the start of the season.

My entire family enjoys camping. We pack the van full with tents and sleping bags and head north here in ontario. Its great fun and everyone has a god time. I Will be moving up there one of these days and retire from work todo sit on my Dock. Over look the Lake and just take in the days. If any of you ever get the chance todo visit ontario, definitely take the time todo head todo the Northern part. One of the most peaceful and beautiful places on the planet.
Álvaro: what is your advice for those blenderheads that not always find time and/or motivation todo start new projects?

Bgdm: tough question, because i run into this myself all the time. All i can really say is that when Inspiration hits you, run with it. Even if you dont se the Project th rouge todo its final stages, you Will no doubt learn something from what you have done. I have started more projects than i can count. With every one of them, y have taken something that has helped me on my next Project.

The time thing is the biggest issue. When i get that Inspiration todo open Blender and i get into the rhythm and flow of the modeling process, its great. Then something comes up and you have todo estop. You lose that drive and that momento you were in at the time. Its sometimes very hard todo get that back. Just be persistent in what you do and when something estops you from doing it, you just have todo pik up from where you left of and try and find that place you were in again. You can do it, because i have.



Macouno: you give away pretty much every Blender file you publish images from, what made you decide todo do so, and do you think more people should, (since hardly anyone actually does that)?
bgdm: blender has given me so much over the last years that i fel i have todo give something back. I am no coder, so i cant help in the development process. I wish i could. But im todo old and not patient enough todo learn coding. So todo me, giving the community some of my blend files is a bien for me todo give back. Its a los a bien for others todo learn and todo se how someone else approaches a certain Project. I may not be the best modeler, or the best at lighting, etc. But Even if someone looks at the file and says, vaya, now i get it. thats all that Matters. A blend file is a great learning tool.

I would encourage every Blender user todo mensaje their blend files for people todo se. Even if its todo get some help on how todo do something. It is an invaluable tool.

On the other hand, y do understand why people dont do it as well. You put a lot of hard work and time into something. You create a great piece that people appreciate. You want todo kep that for yourself. Its yours. That is how i fel about my texture work. That is why i typically dont mensaje my textures along with my blend files. Textures todo me are more art than the actual model itself. So those, y kep todo myself. Also, y have todo kep some of my trik up my sleve as well.
enriqolonius: do you like moderating the forum? Do you wish sometimes you were just one of us guys again?
bgdm: there are definitely times when i sit at my comp, reviewing mensajes as an admin and think, this is really a pain in the lower bak side. Deleting spambots, pming users warnings about conduct and other forum related Stuff can be very boring and very tedious Stuff. To be a regular forum user again would be great. No worries. No deleting hilos, etc.

Now, with that being said, the Stuff that does ned todo get done really doesnt take up that much time, when you look at it in the grand Scheme of things. There are Many features implemented that help and as i said above, we have a great team of administradores and mods that we all rely on. Being part of that team is rewarding.

alltaken: Blender has ben improving very, very quickly in terms of usability and functionality. If you could name one interfaz improvement which you have appreciated the most, and one interfaz annoyance which you would change if you could, what are they and what/how would you improve something.
bgdm: todo date, there really hasnt ben any interfaz changes that i have come todo really appreciate. There have ben some general clean ups and reorganizing of some things, but nothing that really stands out, which is really a shame. It is the number one complaint that everyone has that tries Blender, newbs and industry people included. And since it has ben the number one on everyones list, y dont know why it hasnt ben addressed todo date.

I have used LightWave 7 for some time. That application has a great menú based system. You can click th rouge it very quickly and get todo the tool that you want in an eficient manner. That is one thing that i would like todo se incorporated into Blender. Say in Edit Mode, you have a menú system that only shows tools that can be used in Edit Mode. Divided into modeling tools with subsets, editing tools divided into subsets, etc. It would have todo be very well thought out and planned todo get the eficiency required, but i found it very useful and easy in LightWave.

Dont get me wrong though. Blender has a great tool set and the use of the hotkeys, which i use constantly, is the most eficient bien todo move around in Blender. Learning those would be my biggest suggestion todo anyone starting in Blender. I am just stating that menú based system, similar todo LightWave, would help bring some more of the skeptical users into the Blender fold.
www.blenderart.org

.