They say that horses sweat, men perspire, but women merely glow. Well, I must be a horse then, because I am writing this bathed in a pool of my own heat-induced moisture, desperately hoping and praying for the evening to come around quickly with its promise of rain and thunderstorms that will, with any luck, cool things down a bit. I was in Menorca during a heat wave, many years ago, when the mercury broke 110F and it wasn't as bad as this, despite the fact that presently the temperature isn't even breaking 90. My exhaustion is exacerbated by the terrible night I had, due primarily to the heat. Then, just as I was slipping into the cool embrace of slumber, a thunderstorm started right on top of me. It was 2.30am last time I looked at the clock. I was awake at 7.00am. I hate 7.00am.
Still, regardless of the kind of night I have tonight, at least I get to sleep in tomorrow.
Anyway, as I sit here hoping that the beads of perspiration on my brow don't roll off my face and land in the laptop, causing it to explode, I am filled with the hope that I shall soon be posting some more pictures here on DeviantArt. A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be taken to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour at Leavesden, also known as "Harry Potter World" to some. I've never seen Harry Potter as a matter of principle - I loathe JK Rowling and the one time I tried to read the first Harry Potter book I was taken aback at how poorly written it was (in my opinion, though others tell me that she is a master of the written word...go figure...) - so I must confess to not being thrilled about the prospect of spending several hours immersing myself in its cinematic universe. However, much to my surprise I absolutely loved it. The craftsmanship and creativity that went into the films is absolutely gobsmacking. So astonished was I by what I saw that not only did I start watching the Harry Potter films upon my return home, but I took over 350 photos while at the studio. I'd better check on the website that it's okay to post up pictures...knowing my luck they're for personal use only and can't be displayed on a public website, but if I can then I'll upload some next week.
I'm also starting to make something of a breakthrough with Daz3D. Using their Hexagon modelling program I've made quite a few bits and pieces - buildings, clothing and so on - and I'm beginning to get the hang of UV Mapping. Right now I'm doing some modelling in Hexagon, importing to Daz3D for rendering, then running the render through GIMP to make the renders look like watercolor paintings. I'm quite pleased with the results, so I'll be sharing some of those next week as well.
As always, time moves ever onwards, so I shall have to take my leave and get on with the things I really should be doing today (as opposed to the things I really would like to be doing today).
Take care, Interweb Folk!