Watching Ads and getting paid to do it!

So I found one of those websites that pay you for watching ads.   Basically the idea is to recruit people to your "Village" of people.  You can only get into a village by either recruiting people or clicking on someone referral link.  You can not simply just "Add" people, so their is a form of structure as to get your village up high, which it has no limit btw.  People in the "Village" watching ads per week generate money for each other on a monthly basis that can be paid through paypal

So if you feel like giving it a try heres a link to my page, what you'll have to do is watch a 2 minute video that will play after you click, then sign up after you've watched the video.  Once you've joined you'll be thrown into my tree and then we can start making money!  Only takes a few minutes to do also! 

http://www.varolo.com/village/LavonTBG

Folding paper, lots and lots of paper!

Usually you just fold a lot of paper for what goes underneath your scenery to give it "Shape" .  So we get to make use of a ton of paper.   Basically the end result for your paper is whats above.  You'll need A LOT of paper, since this will be going where our characters will be walking.  See now why we added that extra support from the previous post?  So how do you get the paper to what's above?  Basically you place your palm in the middle of the paper and roll the surrounding edges inward to give it a fluff.  You're basically trying to get the paper to look like the top of a mushroom once you have enough of these we'll make use of them in the next entry.

Adding support to where our characters will be moving about

So we need to add some more support to where are characters will be actively moving.  So you know what that means?  We need more cardboard and more duct tape! 

Let's put up another wall much like how we did our scenery outline wall but let's put up two separate sections of where our characters will be.

We'll need some support for below the characters feet so I'm just going to grab a book, roll it in duct tape place it where the characters will be walking.  Next we'll place cardboard over the book tape it down and cut off the excess cardboard. 

Your final product for your area should look something similar to what's below kinda even, kinda not.

Planning the layout of your scene and plotting your characters path.

So today we're planning where everything will be that the person watching the video will be seeing.  Without giving away everything here's a picture below with what I have planned for my scenery and yes that says "Beaver Dam"

Next let's make a few lines where our two characters will be moving in our little environment. 

We need to know exactly where our characters will be moving, Why?  We'll have to add some extra support later so they'll be able to stand properly and be level.  But we'll be doing that in the next blog entry.

So I went and picked up a few supplies today.

Went a bought a few things today, paint, cardboard, rocks, new turf, some glue, a spray bottle with the measurements for the glue on the side, foam brushes and some plaster cloth.  Spent a total of $58.64 cents, the cost of this project is slowly starting to add up.  Since I first spent roughly $50ish when I first started building.  Still I'm having fun making this and I think that is all that matters.

I don't know about you guys, but I work a minimal wage job delivering pizza and I'm a full time student.  Spent close to sixty bucks is a lot of money to me.  But I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end.

100 Followers!

So today I did it, I hit 100 followers after only two weeks!  I'm happy that you guys have decided to follow and read my silly blogs.  So guys, thanks for the follows, and for commenting and giving your input on my project.  Thanks!  I'll have a new post later today once I get home from college work.

Making your first outline and cutting your scenery wall!

Next we need to get a marker and a ruler for starting our base outline.

 

 I am going three inches up from where the base and scenery wall meet.  And trying to make as even as a line as possible, even though with a ruler I still suck.  Doesn't rally matter as much as you'll see in the end.

Next I did an outline of what I would like for the scenery back drop to be like for my environment.  Keep in mind heavily of the areas in front of it and to the sides you don't want your area looking to crazy.  I think I edited this one segment of the wall 20 times before I finally cut it out.

I won't beat you down with more pictures of my wall when you will soon see the cut version of it anyway and besides you should be making your own unique environment, not copying someone else.:-P

Once you have something grab your cutting tool.....

In my case a kitchen knife lol, I couldn't find our scissors.

Make sure you are giving your outline wall some support since right now it doesn't have much and you don't want it bend messing up your cut.  Once you've finished cutting along your series of lines you should have something that looks like this.

Tomorrow I'll be showing the layout of the inner portion of the environment to show what the scenery will consist of along with mapping out the characters path.

Finishing the base and adding the wall for the scenery outline.

Continuing from the last blog where I ran out of duct tape.


The next process is basic repeat the last few steps over and over until you have connected six boxes such as the pictures below

From the top

And from the bottom 

Next we will be adding the scenery outline wall to the base.

Next let's cut up some of our cardboard boxes into a few sheets so we use them for our wall like so.

Once you've got a few pieces of cardboard like the above picture it's time to break out the legendary ductape and get to strapping it to the base!  Remember it has to be sturdy we'll be adding an inner wall later once we cut out the outline.

 Different side views of the wall.

 And another

Remember a secure base is a happy base.  In the event you have to move this thing, which is highly likely, you'll want something that won't give and crack your environment.

Do this around the entire base until you have something like what is below.

A little off topic but still cool none the less.

So there's this gadget for blogger you can get here

http://blog.xmlgadgets.com/google-friend-connect/top-10-members-google-friend-connect-gadget/?utm_source=top10&utm_medium=GFC&utm_campaign=Gadget

It basically tells you the top ten members that have been visiting your page that also have the gadget installed on their page also.  Let's you keep up with how much some people visit your blog.  Adding an even further stalker appeal.

So how about that er.... Paint?

So a few of you guys were asking about what kind of paint is used for the terrain.  You're actually not painting the different shades of green.  The only time you do paint is a dark brown coat once your plaster cloth has dried.  Basically you make the grass using different versions of pre-exisiting "Turf" or whatever.  Check the picture below.

Basically you take you spray glue bottle that has been diluted with a tad bit of water and spray the dry plaster cloth.  You then fill the little sauce cup (That has a few holes in the lid) with your selected prefence of green turf.  The turn feels grainy, kinda like salt, but no, kinda like those strings or little pieces of carpet that get away.  You then lightly sprinkle your green turf over the area and let it dry.  Once it drys you may need to brush off the excessive amount of turf if the need is there.  Other than that, that's how you make your green scenery!  Easy, am I right or what?

From the beginning....

First I would like to say that I am trying my best to do this with spending as little as possible and with items I find around my home.  Second, I have horrible grammar :P.  Lastly, I messed up taking pictures so for the first portion their won't be as many pictures.

First I basically just screwed a sheet of plywood into a $15-20 table from Wal-Mart.  The table before hand was kinda slumped in the middle and you want a perfect level on your platform.

Second I took some random cardboard boxes that were the same we had around our home.  They really don't have to be the same since you can easily make them match.  Tape the bottom of the inside of the box together to make it sturdy, also do the same for the top of the box and connect them where they touch on the side

and other side of the bottom of the boxes.


I also ran out of tape for the next part so I will have to edit this either later tonight, or tomorrow when I get more tape.  <3

Scenery

Today I started some light work on a project I have been procrastinating for several years.  The basics of the project started when my friend Jay and I wanted to make a series of videos using stop animation.  Now after six years I have finally started work on it.  The characters I am working on are to made using clay and the scenery for certain scenes will potentially be made with basil wood and the same materials and method that most would use to build an environment for model trains.  Below are a few pictures of the hour or so of work that I've put in so far.  I was just trying to get a feel for somethings as to what measurements etc I would be using, other than that practice makes perfect!

 I decided to make the first room that the first video will go into.

 I figured it would be essential to get a light feel for the room and to see exactly where the figures would be moving through the environment.  Helps to plan out the later scene.

 So this was my first stab at making a pretty basic terrain. 

 I still have A LOT of touch ups to do, but like I said, practice makes perfect!

If you have any suggestions or feedback positive or negative, feel free to leave them below!