4 ms·

This can happen accidentally as well. For example, the default Windows 10 wallpaper was created using a physical model, an array of projectors, and a smoke mach

This can happen accidentally as well. For example, the default Windows 10 wallpaper was created using a physical model, an array of projectors, and a smoke machine. Alas, the end result turned out to be indistinguishable from CG. [1] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewmXizBqjl0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewmXizBqjl0

pfranz 4y ago
I think for building anything (art, code, furniture) the tools help you find the result. Building it a second time is much easier and requires a lot less sophistication.
- actionfromafar 4y ago
  Yes, I don't know what to say. I just want to emphasize what you say, because it's apparently an alien concept to many people. Tools and process inform the art. How could it not be that way, really? "Cool C64 demo you have there buddy, I could do that in Unity in an afternoon". Yes, but would you? (Edit: and even if you did, it would be a copy of a unique style born out of specific circumstances.)
wkat4242 4y ago
Wow I never knew this, thanks
reeeeee 4y ago
That's nice and all, but isn't that a huge waste of time/money/resources? What is the advantage of doing it this way over just creating a wallpaper digitally?
- BulgarianIdiot 4y ago
  Big old corporations suck at efficiency. Much like the government does.
  - astrange 4y ago
    Practical effects aren't that inefficient. A lot of product photos that people think are renders are real photos too, just done with a Phase One.
- Dalewyn 4y ago
  Why, you might ask? Because why the hell not? This kind of maximal efficiency attitude is precisely why programs aren't "fun" anymore. Oftentimes, taking the scenic route instead of the highway is how you awe and inspire people; I know I was. If anyone reading this remembers the 90s and early 00s with Easter Eggs and other fun programs with character, y'all know what I'm talking about.
  - bombolo 4y ago
    But nobody even knows they didn't take the highway. We are all surprised it wasn't a render.
  - CyberDildonics 4y ago
    This kind of maximal efficiency attitude It's a company, efficiency is money. That's why companies exist. why programs aren't "fun" anymore Programs have nothing to do with this, you grabbed that out of thin air. This is about making an image. Oftentimes, taking the scenic route instead of the highway is how you awe and inspire people; I know I was. That's good advice for vacation, not a professional environment where someone is paying you for results.
    - Dalewyn 4y ago
      You clearly don't know what computing was like back when developers' passions were oozing out of pretty much everything they wrote. Even something as mundane as an icon left an impression. These kinds of "Wait... Seriously? Wow!" stories play a big role in inspiring the next generation to come and do the work of the future. We're seeing far less of them now in computing, and everyone wonders why the younger generations aren't as inspired about technology anymore. When everything is a brutal race to the bottom to fleece you for every damn bit you're worth, damn right everyone's going to find greener pastures to be inspired by.
      - CyberDildonics 4y ago
        What are you even talking about here? This was about people taking a photo for a windows logo.
- michaelt 4y ago
  With products like Windows, there's a chance that the desktop background, the startup chime and suchlike will end up as iconic as the Coca-Cola logo. The designers would have told the CEO that this is going to be seen by 100x more people than a Superbowl ad spot, and 100x as many times per person too. So getting the perfect image/sound made for the cost of a single superbowl ad is a great deal. Of course, whether they've succeeded at producing the perfect image is another matter. The Windows 95 startup chime was composed by Brian Eno, so MS are used to paying for this stuff.
- CyberDildonics 4y ago
  In this case specifically it deals with light going through a pattern and into mist, which is going to have a lot light scattering inside an uneven volume. This still takes a lot of time to render and will be more difficult to match to a photograph than other things.
Dalewyn 4y ago
Similarly the Windows XP hill, which everyone thought was just pretty CG until it turned out it was a pretty photo of a very real hill.
- junon 4y ago
  A winery, no? During a few years where the vines were disease ridden or something like this.
  - dagw 4y ago
    https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Windows-XP-Bliss-Hill-Sonoma-Charles-O-Rear-15976588.php https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Windows-XP-Bliss-Hill-... The picture was apparently taken before it became part of a winery.
- maupin 4y ago
  Wait, did people really think it wasn't a photo?
junon 4y ago
I'm genuinely shocked this wasn't CGI. TIL.

pfranz 4y ago

I think for building anything (art, code, furniture) the tools help you find the result. Building it a second time is much easier and requires a lot less sophistication.

actionfromafar 4y ago
Yes, I don't know what to say. I just want to emphasize what you say, because it's apparently an alien concept to many people. Tools and process inform the art. How could it not be that way, really? "Cool C64 demo you have there buddy, I could do that in Unity in an afternoon". Yes, but would you? (Edit: and even if you did, it would be a copy of a unique style born out of specific circumstances.)

wkat4242 4y ago

Wow I never knew this, thanks

reeeeee 4y ago

That's nice and all, but isn't that a huge waste of time/money/resources? What is the advantage of doing it this way over just creating a wallpaper digitally?

BulgarianIdiot 4y ago
Big old corporations suck at efficiency. Much like the government does.
- astrange 4y ago
  Practical effects aren't that inefficient. A lot of product photos that people think are renders are real photos too, just done with a Phase One.
Dalewyn 4y ago
Why, you might ask? Because why the hell not? This kind of maximal efficiency attitude is precisely why programs aren't "fun" anymore. Oftentimes, taking the scenic route instead of the highway is how you awe and inspire people; I know I was. If anyone reading this remembers the 90s and early 00s with Easter Eggs and other fun programs with character, y'all know what I'm talking about.
- bombolo 4y ago
  But nobody even knows they didn't take the highway. We are all surprised it wasn't a render.
- CyberDildonics 4y ago
  This kind of maximal efficiency attitude It's a company, efficiency is money. That's why companies exist. why programs aren't "fun" anymore Programs have nothing to do with this, you grabbed that out of thin air. This is about making an image. Oftentimes, taking the scenic route instead of the highway is how you awe and inspire people; I know I was. That's good advice for vacation, not a professional environment where someone is paying you for results.
  - Dalewyn 4y ago
    You clearly don't know what computing was like back when developers' passions were oozing out of pretty much everything they wrote. Even something as mundane as an icon left an impression. These kinds of "Wait... Seriously? Wow!" stories play a big role in inspiring the next generation to come and do the work of the future. We're seeing far less of them now in computing, and everyone wonders why the younger generations aren't as inspired about technology anymore. When everything is a brutal race to the bottom to fleece you for every damn bit you're worth, damn right everyone's going to find greener pastures to be inspired by.
    - CyberDildonics 4y ago
      What are you even talking about here? This was about people taking a photo for a windows logo.
michaelt 4y ago
With products like Windows, there's a chance that the desktop background, the startup chime and suchlike will end up as iconic as the Coca-Cola logo. The designers would have told the CEO that this is going to be seen by 100x more people than a Superbowl ad spot, and 100x as many times per person too. So getting the perfect image/sound made for the cost of a single superbowl ad is a great deal. Of course, whether they've succeeded at producing the perfect image is another matter. The Windows 95 startup chime was composed by Brian Eno, so MS are used to paying for this stuff.
CyberDildonics 4y ago
In this case specifically it deals with light going through a pattern and into mist, which is going to have a lot light scattering inside an uneven volume. This still takes a lot of time to render and will be more difficult to match to a photograph than other things.

Dalewyn 4y ago

Similarly the Windows XP hill, which everyone thought was just pretty CG until it turned out it was a pretty photo of a very real hill.

junon 4y ago
A winery, no? During a few years where the vines were disease ridden or something like this.
- dagw 4y ago
  https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Windows-XP-Bliss-Hill-Sonoma-Charles-O-Rear-15976588.php https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Windows-XP-Bliss-Hill-... The picture was apparently taken before it became part of a winery.
maupin 4y ago
Wait, did people really think it wasn't a photo?

junon 4y ago

I'm genuinely shocked this wasn't CGI. TIL.