So what have I been up to?
Photoshop is for simple folk; I use my computer to make circuits!

This is Overkill. It’s the main circuit board that will go into every single Genpet package. Why is it titled overkill? Cuz it is. Out of lazyness, I chose to design one frelling beast of a circuit, rather than 5 different tailored versions.

It has pads for 3x TIP120’s, 4 servos, 4 LED’s, 1x PIC (microchip + support circuitry), and one AUX connector for my 2nd circuit that goes into the packaging. The second circuit simply has flashing leds for the heart monitor.

I’ve also been making slight progress on the packaging for the creatures, but it’s still not right.. not gonna go into production till I’m satisfied..

Bas showed me a new gadget that impressed. That’s me talking to him and his roommate in Germany, but we’re talking from WITHIN Internet explorer. The webcam stuff is entirely FLASH based.

Apparently getting the new type of chip programmed and running wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Me and Rob spent the better part of an afternoon on it. Finally though it’s all good. We had to add some VERY specific code to the beginning of our programming and I finally got it. Microchip also shipped my samples form the Thailand warehouse and they arrived here in 1 day.

Also bought my Airbrush compressor today for painting the Thesis creatures. $96. small and portable.

Well everything's just upside down now!

I was all set to save money on PIC's by using 555 timers for the majority of my thesis circuits. (previous entry)

Background: Pic's are programmable microchips, they cost $8 and have cpu's, ram, rom I/o pins. You’ve seen other PDIP style packages (black rectangle shapes) around..(first picture). PIC’s generally use Oscillators to acquire their timing and clock cycles (second picture).

So what’s new?

The custom 555 circuit I mentioned last entry was gonna total $4 after capacitors etc which was half cost of my 16f84a chips, but yesterday I was reading about PIC’s for most of the day, and found the 16F628 !!! Rob mentioned it but hadn’t really gone into learning it yet. So I did.

Wowies!
It’s about $5 ($3 less than the 16F84a) and it has DOUBLE the code space 2k instead of 1k, as well as other features, but the kicker is it has a built in OSCILLATOR! That’s the clock that tells the chip how fast to run and what to do, it’s like the chips pulse. The clocks aren’t a big deal, but it eats up 2 pins as well as costing an extra $1 (multiply by 18 for thesis)

So do I build a multi-piece circuit with difficult to design timings with 555's and hardware programming just to save $1?

BUT WAIT! There’s more! If you order now, we'll throw the PIC in for FREE! Operators are standing by!

Yes, Microchip.com is sending me FREE samples! About $50 worth! So the cost of using a PIC is… 5cents for the socket!
So do I wrestle with capacitors and resistors to get the right delay? Or do I simply program "pause 8000" for my 8 second delay I want… hmmm tough choice.

What else did I do? Well I played with my motor shipment yesterday of course! It’s what I need that circuit to control.
And my Gear motors are AMAZING! Everything I could have EVER hoped for!!
Not only are they geared, but they have a built in circuit. When you send them a short + signal, they spin 1 full rotation exactly and then stop! And they do it in about 1-2 seconds (slow and nice) (in comparison to a normal motor that simply spins insanely fast non stop).

These will be the basis for the chest breathing mechanism of the animatronics in each.

I cut some more corners on thesis last night, couldn't sleep, just thinking and worked on it (only happens when I have to wake up for 7:30) ..., it caught my attention,... why are 18 things ALL moving. That would look like a circus. Very busy. Too busy. And I’m never about busy. I’m about subtle. People know that. Thus, you see the problem.

So I will make only 5 genpets move, and 12 will be 'sleeping' with only there chests rising up and down. They’re still animatronic I guess, but far easier than my original vision. But it makes more sense. So Hei, cool. I’m all for better yet simpler.

Beyond making things easier, it also cuts down costs. While there’s still at least 1 gear motor in each sleeper, I don’t need a microchip to do such a simple action. I can make a custom circuit based on a 555 timer IC. The cost of chip goes from $7 -> $1 for 12 of the packages. Not to mention servos etc I would have used on those packages. This will allow me to focus more on the quality of a few.

What else? Less programming! That’s 12 chips I don’t need to program! I was already beginning to sweat about that one, as they all needed different programs (200 lines of code x 12 + hours and hours getting the timing right for that code).

What else? All-Electronics ran out of the gear motors I need. I only have 10 right now. Not all 30. 4 years they’ve had them, and they happen to be out now. And where else do you find a discontinued obscure Gearmotor out of Mac floppy drives? People seem to want an arm and a leg for old floppies and I’m not paying $17 for a friggin motor. (all-electronics replied to my email to say they’re not getting any more in).

Also, I’m rather happy with discoveries into frost FX and other SFX materials (thanks to Nigel for pointing me to Van Dykes Taxidermy). I’ll be making 2 faulty units and these materials will make them look amazing. One will look to have frosted up, another goo-a-fied (tis a real word, frell you). Frost FX is expensive, but so are servos and microchips. So the package costs the same in the end.

Acetate.
I need to make quick stencils for lights embedded in the packages, I was using electrical tape or double sided printing, but then it hit me. Overheads! They’re not perfect, but they do well enough, and they’re a HELL of a lot faster! And I can make glowing text etc,.. opens up things a bit. $20 for laser printer ones was sucky, but, my inkjet ones suck.

A prototype design of the Genpet is on my desk…. Starring up at me.
Whether I like it or not, I don’t know. It’s cute, but too baby like.
I’ve hit a lot of problems with these. Hollywood really screwed me over. Anything not mammalian generally looks alien. Reptile features? Alien. Tentacles or flippers? Alien. It sorta limits me into making something that doesn’t look all that genetically altered. And whatever I sculpt has to fit in a package. I’m feelin the burn. (note : burn refers to sculptures block, no exercize beyond going to the couch to play Halo2 has been accomplished).

LED Madness! Blue Led’s are usually $3 each. I found a place, that when bought at 100, they’re 30cents each!!!! Little difference there.
So my fresh checkers will use 2-4 blue Leds each (total at about 60). I’m also considering placing a heart rate monitor in each pack. It’s extra cost and work, but I really like how the one in the prototype package looks.

Glass eyes? $5 a pair…. With my edited design, only 5 will require glass eyes.. so it’s not a matter of cost,. I’m just deciding, is it right to buy eyes? Or do I need to make them? (I can use sculpy + gloss)
I’m anal about issues like that. Every other artist out there cuts corners, and pays people to make things for them, so where does that line lie? It’s a small thing,… but still… there are certain things that differentiate me from every other asshole out there that simply staples moss to the wall…

So I’ve been working everyday, from when I wake up, till I go to bed (and I bring my sketchbook to bed with me) and it’s beginning to pay off I think. I still lack final plastics designs and the genpets, but I’m getting close…

The_Genpets thing has me working endlessly, but without actually getting anywhere. It’s amazing how you can work for 8 hours and be exactly where you were when you started. The graphic design is done, but I just can’t get a good sculpture of the animals. Right now it’s holding up everything else. Tho Rob has convinced me to use Dragan servos. I cracked. Servos and foam latex.. I’m going pro.. the world is falling apart. (Things have gotta be bad when I drink coke)

Went to R Hiscotts and bought some cold cast polyurathane foam today. (chemical isntead of heat..) $64 and hopefully worth it. It’s a 2 part mix that reacts and expands so I won’t have to bake it in my oven, which means I can use silicon moulds instead of plaster. Yippie!! Ah, the small things in life that make me happy. It was also a beautiful day today, so like any art fag, I hid from the sun and threw on my aviators.
In other news, I got Internet TV running on my XBOX! So now in the morning I can watch BBC news while drinking my coffee. Pay for TV? Screw you Rogers, I have an XBOX. Xbox + Internet connection = everything I could ever hope and dream. When gutted, the plastic casing can also make a very good kitchen sink.

No really. I’m not kidding. It’s lined with metal and the xbox logo on the top centre is round and drain sized. In the least, one could fill it with holy water and use it as a wash basin.
I’m not fanatical, just religious (about my xbox).