The Software Tools I Use (and why)

A little overview of my process.

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the Power of Functional Design

I love old tools. This lathe came from my grandfather’s attic, and it’s probably about three times my age. It was made in a time when things were meant to work, and work well. You bought a lathe (or a sewing machine, or an iron, or a mixer) because it would indeed simplify your life. If a product worked well, it meant less time spent maintaining the equipment, and more time using it. If a product was simple in function, it was easily adaptable to different needs.

This is a motor with a leather drive belt leading to a simple spindle and X-Y jig. Some would consider it crude. I consider it to be a flexible, robust product designed with the end-user in mind. Here’s why I think so…

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Pirate Story

As I wrote yesterday, the Pirates Online website now has Desktop Galleon available for download (PC only). I thought it would be fun to show some of the process that led to the final imagery. Read on!

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Desktop Galleon realeased!

I just checked Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean website (piratesonline.com) and found that Desktop Galleon is finally available for public download! I did the pirate map image (as well as the table and props) from scratch, all of the illustration, the Desktop Galleon logo, and most of the icons and GUI in the game. Very fun project, and so cool to do work for Disney!! Click here to see the full map.

I think the biggest challenge of doing on-screen design is the lack of consistency from monitor to monitor. The colors looked great to me on a well-calibrated monitor, but on an average PC they’re pretty dark, and on an average Mac they’re pretty pale. Ah, color!

Speechless.

CATIA V5. Running on my Mac. And it’s FAST. Excuse me, I’ve got to go change my shorts.