GWai | Q & A's - Software

What is the main software you use?

Griff: Adobe CS3 (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Acrobat, etc.). Caligari trueSpace, Lightwave, Maya, Cinema, FormZ, and loads of utility software.

Which operating system/s do you use on your PC’s?

Griff: With the PC’s, I mainly use XP Pro, although I do have one workstation that uses Dual-core 32-bit Vista, and another Quad-core PC that uses 64-bit Vista. I experiment all the time with new hardware and software combinations, as I need to keep moving with the times. I don’t have too much time to tinker, so I use a fairly structured and iterative approach. It’s a pain though, as keeping all my computers going and in top form takes hours out of my time. I am not a fiddler though, and my motto is: “If it works, don’t fix it!”

If it works, don’t fix it!

You mentioned that you have written some plug-ins and special software?

Griff: Yes, in a past career I used to do quite a bit of programming. I have written and continue to write PS compatible plug-ins, quite a bit of Python, and I’m really into Java. The big problem is time, so I have to be very disciplined about my schedule.

You use a number of 3D applications. Which is your favourite?

Griff: Yes, I have used most of the 3D applications out there. I use Caligari trueSpace, FormZ, Lightwave, Maya, Electric Image, Renderman and Cinema.

My favourite by far is trueSpace from Caligari. I love using the immersive interface. Personally, I don’t like or even really appreciate the CAD approach to three-dimensional art. To me, creating and manipulating objects using CAD methods is akin to those wacky scientists in those old sci-fi films awkwardly manipulating objects with those clunky mechanical hands behind glass screens. I prefer the real time ‘immersive’ feel of trueSpace. When I discovered trueSpace it was a breath of fresh air, and has given me new vigour and interest in producing artwork.

I use a combination of 2D and 3D, and I would be disappointed if a someone looking at my work could tell which package/s I have used to create it.

With trueSpace, I didn't even have to read the manual; it just seemed obvious. I find the trueSpace user interface intuitive, easy to use, and logical. I just love the ability to create, immerse, and lose myself in trueSpace's real-time workspace. I have read that a number of 3D artists out there have struggled. I am not sure why this is. I have the hugest respect for those guys at Caligari... They’re awesome!

I have the hugest respect for those guys at Caligari... They’re just awesome!

Of all the work you have done over the years, do you have a favourite?

Griff: I suppose my favourite project tends to be the one I am working on at the time. Each piece tells a story, and just looking at any one of them takes me back instantly to what was happening at the time. There are always deadlines... deadlines... deadlines.... and I tend (but not always) to work on a few projects at once.

The project I am most pleased with is the triple engine project (Jet Ski, Snowmobile and Motorcycle). The client needed three engines that had to be fictitious, yet visually and mechanically plausible. They were to be used in product marketing for printing products.

The deadline was seven days! At first I thought it would be impossible, but I like a challenge. I spent a day researching the three engine types, and then just got stuck in to the work. I locked myself away, put the coffee machine on maximum turbo, and didn’t really look up until it was all done. The client was very happy, and so was I... well relieved!!

I locked myself away, put the coffee machine on maximum turbo,
and didn’t really look up until it was all done.
The client was very happy, and so was I... well relieved!!

That project was great. I don’t mean that in a big-headed way, but because I achieved something that I thought was just completely impossible.

What do you like least about software, what’s your biggest bugbear?

Griff: Mmm... Don’t get me started! To be honest, nearly all software is a great achievement. I think if most people knew the blood, sweat and tears that goes into any software application or utility, they’d be amazed, and a little more grateful about the miracles that we all take for granted today. Also, it’s easy to criticise the big software companies, but their work has changed the world.

No, the thing/s that I hate the most today are viruses, SPAM, and computer and Internet related crime. The authorities just are not taking it seriously, and sweeping under the carpet. The newspaper and media headline bank robberies, and commercial thefts, yet 100 times those amounts are being stolen from under the publics nose, and no one is doing anything about it. It’s BIG ‘business’ if I can call it that, and the big banks never admit to it in public. The thin edge of the wedge is your average SPAM that hits your inbox.

I have known good honest businesses ‘go under’ due to SPAM and Denial of Service attack, viruses, and all such like. People have lost their employment, income, houses, and security due to this. Virus hackers ‘get off’ on what is the next ‘great hack’. Not in my book. I was a hacker in the truest sense when I was growing up with computers. A hacker was an experimenter, an explorer in a thirst for knowledge. Not a vandal, fraudster or thief. Organised gangs are getting in on the act, that’s what scares and disgusts me. I help anyone I know to protect themselves, which is increasingly difficult.

Okay, touched a nerve there. What do you most like about software?

Griff: It’s so clever, malleable, logical, creative, and the tools are getting better everyday. If I’d had the tools available today when I was programming, I’d probably still be doing it for a living. I am just in awe at how software has matured in the last few years.

Q & A’s about SOFTWARE

Questions & Answers - Software

Compilation of edited transcripts from recent interviews (2002-8)