Lone Wolf Drafting, Down, But Not Out

Once again, it has been some time since my last post.  These past few months have been both challenging and rewarding, and things remain fluid even as I write this.

First, the challenges.  As some of you may or may not know, I have been struggling to keep my little company, Lone Wolf Drafting and Design, afloat in these hard economic times.  Eventually, the company went further under, and I had to stop servicing my clients.  Between the failing economy, aging hardware and out of date software, I could no longer continue my business as it was.

Lone Wolf Drafting and Design - It's not over yet, I hope.

So, it was time for some real soul searching. Do I want to save my company?  Do I want to continue being a sole proprietorship in an economy that punishes you for your hard work?  Do I want to really invest in new equipment as my client base shrinks due to their own economic struggles?  Can I justify the expense of new software just to keep up in a market that is changing day by day?

Well, the short answer is "yes, maybe, sort of".

However, in order to do any of this, I was going to have to divide and conquer; I was going to have to call in favors, pull together resources, and when none could be found, I would have to create work-arounds to get the job done. 

So first, new equipment.  Toward the end of 2012, it came to my attention that my old Mac and PC just were not up to the task of supporting new software, the hardware was just too old. 

My Mac is not this old, but in the face of new software, it felt like it!

This will run Windows 7, right?

The first option was to spend a RIDICULOUS amount of cash on a new Mac - around $13,000.00. 

It's a beautiful machine, but at 13 large, it was not an option.

That was just not going to happen.  I needed a new plan.

Enter in my tech guru, Rusty.  I have mentioned him before - Rusty has been instrumental in keeping my hardware running, and has helped me with all computer issues, great and small.  But this was a doozey.  We were going to have to build a brand new machine from the ground up.  We needed a new motherboard, new processor, new heat sink, memory, hard drives, the whole thing.  The only thing salvageable from my old machine was the case and the original hard drive - and that was to be for on-board storage only. So, I gathered up all my pennies, and old equipment (routers, hubs cables, keyboards, antennas, whatever I had that I thought he could use) and went to Rusty's to build a new machine.  Yep, Rusty didn't build it alone, I helped.  I wanted to know how it worked and why we were using specific components.  We salvaged a BioStar motherboard with 8 gigs of RAM from another of Rusty's machines, and from that, we were going to build this thing.  We included a Solid State 128 gig drive to hold all of my programs, and installed a Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card. This machine is a beast; it works amazingly well, with dual monitors - fantastic.

Super Graphics Card

Massive new heat sink.

The BioStar Motherboard.

The super processor.

Next, the software.  Fortunately, Autodesk is the maker of both new suites of software that I wanted to learn - Maya and 3DStudio Max/ Design Suite.  Autodesk offers both programs for free under their student licensing program.  The only restriction is that you CANNOT use the student versions to turn a profit.  No problem, Autodesk, and thanks for making that available.

Maya

Max

Next up, a tutor.  For my readers that have been with me for a while, you may remember me working on a project called MegaTokyo - a video game concept that is being developed by Steve Lundberg and Jade Phoenix - examples of my work on that project can be seen here.  Over the course of a year, Steve was showing my work to others, and offered to put me in touch with someone that could teach me new software.  Steve is a creative visionary with true heart and passion for what he does.  His game will truly be a work of art as he completes it, and I hope to have a small hand in helping him develop it, especially as I continue to learn new software.

But first, I have to learn it....

Enter in Bruce Buechner.  This guy is amazing at what he does.  A self taught 3D artist, an expert modeler, rendering artist, animator and rigger.  His work is really something to see.  He has also spent time as a studio recording technician, and has won 3 Grammies.  This guy is the real deal!  He is so talented at what he does, universities have used his work to teach their classes.  I came to know Bruce through Steve, as Bruce was one of the people Steve forwarded my work to. Without Steve's introduction to Bruce, I would have never come this far in my education.   Bruce has been kind enough to get online with me via Skype, Google Hangout, and even through text messaging on Yahoo on IMO to show me the ins and outs and what he knows.  You can see Bruce's tutorial videos here, on YouTube.com. His knowledge seems never ending, and I am forever grateful to both Bruce and Steve for all they have done, I am in their debt.

Here are a few of the models I have created since Bruce has taken the time to tutor me.

Train platform.

Fire hydrant based on Bruce's tutorial on his YouTube page.

Oil rig.

So, as of right now, Lone Wolf Drafting and Design is on hiatus.  I hope to maybe obtain some additional software that will allow me to continue my business, or I may start looking for employment using my newly acquired knowledge.  Either way, the start of 2013 is a rebuilding period; I will figure out what I am supposed to do, and what my next step is in the evolution of Lone Wolf Drafting and Design and in my professional life.

I will post again as soon as new developments arise.

Thanks for reading!