Contoured Rust-scape

Fencepost of the Week #65

Not sure I've covered any metal fenceposts before - they don't generally have much growing on them, but the corrosion itself can bring forth beautiful forms.

Anyway, these are from an old metal gate on Long Road Track in the Waitakere Ranges.

Space Ribbon reveal

I've been messing around with an idea for a procedurally generated racing game: One player (can be AI) flies a spaceship which vomits racetrack out of its rear end as it zooms through space. The other players drive along this road and try and catch up!

The prototype is producing some really fun, vertigogenous courses. It will probably work best as quick-fire races 1-2 minutes long with scoring done over several races.

Anyway, here's a video of 4 AI drivers chasing me down:

Not sure when something playable will be available - it has some rough edges, no scoring, no sound and I need to attend to the graphical styling before unleash it, too.

Watch this space, but don't hold your breath! :-P

Favolaschia calocera

Monday Mushroom #59

Favolaschia calocera - sharing a rotten twig with some blue-green lichen.

This is a favourite fungus from my first mushroom season in New Zealand. But the small, bright orange fruiting bodies only arrived in this country about 50 years ago.

Favolaschia calocera - growing on a pine cone in a plantation.

They may be native to Madagascar, where they were first recorded, or their true origin may be somewhere in Asia. Either way, they are firmly established in New Zealand - very common even in the native forests where most foreign fungi cede the field to New Zealand's distincitve native biota.

Translucent Egg Cards

I found that some of my ink drawings on certain kinds of paper looked really beautiful when viewed from the back of the page while held up to the light. I wondered how I might use this property - lapshades that reveal extra detals when the lamp is turned on sprang to mind.

So far all I have done with them is to turn them into greetings cards. I paint the picture on the front of the card, then completely cover it with a cut-out drawing of an egg. When the card is held up to the light, the original painting is revealed, shining through the egg.

Tui Nestling painting ready to be covered up by an egg!

You will need to do some tests to find a paper and painting technique that works well when held up to the light. Also a way of attaching the egg to the front of the card that doesn't show up would be good - spraymount is probably ideal, I have used double-sided sticky tape here, but you can see its outline a little.

Tui Egg and Nestling