July 2013 Tutorial: Packaging and Perspective

[Gare]

Now, "Be kind: rewind" is an archetypal LOL, Paul!

The parent company, Viacom, is notorious for making "wide turns" when it comes to marketing models and paradigms, and I'm not sure their core competence as a media company prepared them for taking on a chain of retail stores—when clearly ALL physical media outlets need to change or die—at an expense that has their accountants scratching their heads all too slowly.

If I were a mega-corporation (as Mr. Romney said, "Corporations are people, too!"), I'd look very closely at Amazon, and how they get both physical and digital goods to the market. They did "loss leaders" with eBooks and the Kindle Fire, and at the same time, Amazon has been profitable in a market segment that is tanking.

You can also get popcorn in "Snacks and Soft Drinks-Aisle 5" at Safeway, Paul.

Just in case the Blockbuster sign in your neighborhood is suddenly replaced with Store Closed, a chain I'm not familiar with.

-g

[pauland]

Store Closed

All too familiar around here.

Our town has the concept of a shopping centre as an island with car parks. The local planners have for many years been unable to agree how to bring the dated shopping centre forward and it's been in gradual decline, but seemed impervious to the recession - until the last 18 months or so when lots of stores started to close.

They have now agreed a new plan to rebuild the town centre, so half of it is now empty, pending demolition.

Of course, the newly planned centre will use up almost every bit of space available and we'll lose all of the things that were good about what we had - open spaces. There was a public outcry when it was revealed that a tiny bandstand at the centre is to be destroyed - it was rarely used for band playing but was provided for local charities and good causes to set up and sell their wares.

I would rather they had injected money into the existing center (1960's architecture), made up for the lack of maintenance over the years, and encouraged small stores and quirky businesses to come, to breathe some life into what we had.

Of course, profits don't flow so well for third parties if you don't knock down and rebuild and you always wonder if a little money has eased the decision making process in places.

I can't see the town being a better place afterwards. I hope it is. We'll see.

[mwenz]

I had some play time over the weekend, didn't finish so this might as well be chalked up to a WIP (that probably won't be finished).

I liked Gary's box rendering. So I redrew it (background remains one of those unfinished things). Added some type, a logo and a couple images.

[Gare]

I love it!

Add more text to the dodecahedron!

-g

[mwenz]

Thanks, Gary.

As time permits I may. Been working through the evenings on another project and when I knock off for the night, I typically don't want to see a computer until the next day. And this phone just won't run XDP for some reason...

[mwenz]

More words...which for most "words" on the items are the font names. Not all, most.

[Gare]

Your art expression here is subtle, and in that, I think it helps "unfold" some of the artistic possibilities in this piece, which was essentially a render with very little thought put into it.

Tell you what, Mike: can you think of a way to gently add a shadow beneath the dodecahedron? I think it needs it. Technically, the shading is very subtle in the image, photometrically the polyhedron is far enough from the ground plane you probably shouldn't see anything more than a faint smudge on the floor, but "attention to detail" is what lifts the Great to the Excellent, you know?

Try creating a polygon shape that approximates a pentagon, solor sample one of the darker tones in the image, not too dark, though, Feather the daylights out of it, and then use Stained Glass transparency, and drag the Opacity way down.

-g

[mwenz]

...Tell you what, Mike: can you think of a way to gently add a shadow beneath the dodecahedron? ...

Needs more than just the shadow. Wall and floor need work too--needs some texture and shadowing. Shadows were too hard all the way around.

WIP

This still needs work...but I am off to the current day job. Thanks, Gary.

[Gare]

The shadows might be hard and time-consuming, but you did them well, Mike. Shadows are part of "shading", and it was not immediately apparent to me that this is not my render, but a vector recreation you've done.

Hats off to you, if I wore one!

It's amazing what you, Rik, and other members do with gradients and other features to capture the look of photography. I am inspired to do future tutorials on the photorealsitic aspect of Xara.

-g

[ernie-f]

Oh, I see this thread yet. I like the perspective mould in Xara and use it often. A better bitmap support for the moulds and I'am happy.

Here is an E-book cover i made in February this year within Xara. The perspective mould I've used for the running icon-man, 3-d-extrude for the word �FLUCHT�.

From Germany, and Glory South of Bavaria

yours

Ernie

Edit: Here is my quick and dirty contribution to Gare's challange.