| Non-Astronomy Related Fun This page shows some
of our non-astronomy related activities. While we are deeply interested
in astrophysics and astronomy, there are some things of interest that
are not 2-million (or billion) light years away from Earth.
The Car: I have had this 1972 Corvette since I was about 20 years old. Paint is a Candy Brandywine over a Charcoal Grey underbase. Latest update to the engine is a new set of competition-prepared heads by Thunder Valley Automotive (Corvette specialists in Central Minnesota). What a difference in how the car runs and sounds...many thanks to Mike at Thunder Valley for such a great job on those heads! The thing now sounds like it would run an 11-second quarter-mile. (NOTE: Official 1/4 mile E.T. has NOT been tested yet...so any bragging at this point is premature.)  Blender 3D, Punch! VIACAD 2D/3D and Punch! Home and Landscape Design Yet another area of interest is constructing 3-D models on the computer. I use several 3D modeling and rendering programs, but my workflow currently consists primarily of: 1) "Blender", (Now at v2.78) . Superb! 2) Punch! Home Design and Landscape Pro for when I need to create a model quickly. 3) Punch! VIACAD 2D/3D, V9 (but not as much now that I have purchased the "pro" version below). 4) Punch! ViaCAD Pro V9 (supercharged version of 2D/3D version described above). The following are just a few examples of the many projects I have completed using the software listed above. The 3D model below is of a home in St. Cloud currently under
restoration after a fire several years ago. The model was created using
Blender (v2.77a) and took some significant effort due to the level of
detail inherent in the design. The standard "Blender Render" engine was
used (i.e. not cycles). This home is a great example of the
Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style and was built around 1890. It was
originally known as the "Foley House" , and is (at least in my opinion)
one of the most beautiful houses in St. Cloud.
 I created the two 3D Mausoleum
models below in Blender (mesh
modeled, textured and rendered). I'm not trying to spread too
much gloom here, it's just that mausoleums can have some very
interesting and detailed architectural features, and as such, they
are fun and challenging to create. (For people familiar with Blender,
note that the 3D models rendered below use the standard Blender
rendering
engine and not the "cycles" engine.)
  Below is the same model
as above using the Blender 3D "freestyle" rendering mode. Pretty cool!
 I
created the pond scene below using Blender in an attempt to
create something more organic or "natural" than a building or
structure. Note that even the grass is a 3D model using the blender
particle engine.
 Again, I created the two 3D house models
below in Blender (mesh
modeled, textured and rendered).
  Below is the core of a nuclear
reactor that I created, modeled and
rendered in Blender 2.74, showing the Cerenkov radiation glow.
The normal Blender rendering engine was used (i.e. not
cycles).
Also note that no "nodes" were used for the lighting or glow.
All
lighting effects, including the glow, were accomplished
directly
from the
main Blender Material and Texture panels.
 I constructed the model of the UV Laser below using Punch! ViaCAD 2D/3D V9. I just happened to see a boxed version in a local store and was curious as to its 3D functionality, so I purchased it. Thus far, I am very pleased with results. The image of the UV Laser below was modeled entirely in ViaCAD 2D/3D V9. I then imported the model to Blender 2.74 for rendering. Please note that I did NOT use Blender to modify the base model in any way. Once the model was completed in ViaCAD 2D/3D V9, I simply exported from VIACAD and imported the model to Blender 2.74, assigned materials to the model, and rendered it. In short, I really liked the end result. I find that I can create certain base 3D models very quickly in ViaCAD. I must say that I am very impressed with the 3D functionality of ViaCAD 2D/3D V9 at its relatively low cost. As a result, I also purchased ViaCAD Pro v9, which is working well for me thus far and includes more realistic rendering capabilites (among other things) than ViaCAD 2D/3D. Finally, please note that I have no business association with Punch! or ViaCAD. I am just an end-user. However, I felt compelled to write something positive about it here because I was surprized by the functionality of VIACAD 2D/3D V9 at what I consider to be a very reasonable price.  Below shows prototyping the framing of a shed we built. Blender was used to design the shed before building. Blender can be very useful for so many purposes...  Finally, I created the 3D Home
models below using Punch! Home and Landscape Design Pro (modeled,
textured and rendered). While the Blender program is capable of
producing extreme detail, the Punch software is designed specifically
for designing homes and landscaping. As such, I am able to sketch and
prototype models and ideas somewhat more quickly in the Punch software
than I can in Blender.
The
house below is a 2nd-Empire style home I designed with the
Punch!
software. It features a Mansard roof and about 1500 square
feet
on the first floor. The ceilings are 9'. Footprint dimensions are about
40' wide
by 37' deep. The house is not overly huge and could be built, but would
likely be expensive because very few people build houses like this
anymore.
  Hmmmm...Just
designed the one below for fun. It is not too huge, but I
didn't
put any thought into how it could actually be built.
 "Creeper" Analog Synthesizer (VST) Using Synthedit: Here's an image of a 2-Oscillator analog VST synthesizer I built using Synthedit (C++ base). I use the finished synth with Mixcraft and am very happy with how it sounds and works. I provided some unique modulation capabilities, like the ability for LFO1 to modulate LFO2. It really can generate some creepy sounds (like emulating a theramin), so I called it "Creeper". Sounds great when mixed with a Hammond and some distorted guitars. The image below isn't all that great, but if you know about analog synthesizers, you can see enough to get the general idea of how it works.  Entertainment Center: Just a couple images of a "pseudo-gothic" entertainment center we built in our garage. We designed and built this unit from scratch and not from a purchased plan, so it took some time to complete (about 2-months). It was designed and modeled in Blender 3D prior to building it.   The Cats: Maya had a reasonably high opinion of herself, but did not charge royalties for publishing her image here because we had leveraged the fact that we feed her. Maya passed away unexpectedly in 2011 from a heart condition. This was a terrible loss. Even some of our friends that are not "partial" to cats liked Maya.   Shortly
after Maya's passing, we rescued the following two torties
shown below. "Leah" is the white tortie, and "Neutron" is the dark
tortie. These are the first torties we have ever had.
We love these guys, but when people say that torties can be "strong
willed", they are not kidding...LOTS of personality in these two!
Absolutely goofy and fun.
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All images and 3D designs on this page are copyright (c) Tim Tasto and Becky Tasto. Please contact us by e-mail..."dsastro <at> cloudnet <dot> com" to discuss use of the images or designs. Non-astronomy Entertainment Center Goth Cat Tortie Blender 3D Punch Home Design
Landscape Tim Tasto Architecture 3D Modeling
Analog synthesizer synthedit VIACAD richardson romanesque |