What skills do you need to be a 3D animator? First of all, you must be able to draw. Additionally, you should be familiar with the process of creating a storyline and know a little about acting. Added skills that would help greatly would be sculpting experience and a knowledge of anatomy. Even though animators use computers to create animations, the ability to draw is one skill they absolutely must have. Due to the number of employment applications received by the big Hollywood animation studios, If you aren't fantastic at drawing, you can forget about ever getting hired by one. So where do all the animators who can draw good but not great work? Well, making films is not the only job animators can get. They also work in industrial design, architecture, interior design, on the Internet, producing media such as CD-ROMs, creating computer games, and many other fields.

Additionally, an animator position is not the only job available in the animation field. Animators are supported by storyboard artists, graphic designers, layout artists, animator's assistants, background artists, in-betweeners, and many others.

Regardless of where you work, you're probably not going to start at the top rung of the ladder. Most people who aspire to eventually work as animators start their animation career as an in-betweener. This job can help you to learn the basics of professional animation and get paid for it. The in-betweener's job is to help the animator's assistants to fill in the movement between key drawings. These in-between drawings are called transition drawings.

On the other hand, people who are more interested in the technical aspects of animation might get their start as a storyboard artist's assistant. The storyboard is the outline of the film that the animators work from, and the storyboard artist creates it from the script. An assistant usually starts their career by doing clean up and revisions, with the aim to eventually prepare portions of the storyboard with instruction and assistance from the artist.

Most likely the biggest future advances in animation will occur in 3D animation, so if you want to be on the cutting edge, that's what you want to learn. New techniques are being developed all the time, while many old ones are continually being updated to keep pace with all the technological advancements that are occuring in the field. Nary a week passes without news of some improvement in either the hardware or software used for 3D animation. If you intend to work in the field, be prepared to continually re-educate yourself. The good news is that many employers will either provide the training or foot the bill.

If you want to read more about beginning a 3D animation career, head on over to The Animation School Guide at http://www.animationschoolguide.com

Most students new to piano playing really want to know what to do with the left hand. They think the left hand holds the secret to great improvisations and music. While it's true that the left hand has usually been the captain of the piano ship when it comes to setting arrangements, the right can also join in.

Look, the right hand is where most of us create our melodies. It's considered easier than the workhorse part the left has to do with creating arpeggios, ostinatos and the like. But, we can also use the right hand to create arpeggios and ostinato patterns.

For example, in the Lesson "April Rain," the right hand plays closed position seventh chords as arpeggios while the right plays bass notes as melody. This is not a new technique by far but it's not usually used in New Age piano playing.

And like any other technique, it takes a while before you feel comfortable enough to play a left-hand melody using bass notes. The piano is such a versatile instrument because unlike many other instruments, the notes are all laid out for you. You can switch hands, criss-cross hands, and do many other things with a piano keyboard that you just can't do with something like a saxophone or even a guitar!

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music's online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Visit http://www.quiescencemusic.com now and get a FREE piano lesson!

Video is Powerful Stuff - and the best advice I can give anyone just starting out in Internet Marketing, or for that matter any type of online marketing, is the use of video landing pages to maximize your profits.

Video is such a Powerful medium to work with these days, and if you have not included video landing pages within your sites, then you are truly missing out on the biggest opportunity the Internet marketer has at his or her disposal today. It is by far the best way to increase your sales, subscribers and product awareness, bar none.

How to Create you own video landing pages

The methods I used to create video, are not all that difficult once you know the basics, and you must be prepared to spend time learning the software and techniques, and yes, you are going to need to spend some money, but no where near as much as you may think, more on that later. In fact many of the methods and techniques I use, can be acquired very easily, and some of the software used can be found either in the public domain and supplied FREE.

Do you need a Video Production Company ?

Time and time again I hear the same thing...well it's alright for you, you have been making videos for a number of years, you know what you are doing, and how to do it....... and in some respects they are right.

I agree that I have been learning the skills over the years that enable me to produce reasonable quality videos, they are not the best you will ever see, far from it, but they are just good enough to get the message across.

And that is all you need to do to compete with everyone else, just good enough.

What I mean is, don't beat yourself up over it by thinking that you are going to be competing with the big Hollywood productions, because your not, and they don't have to have all the latest video effects either.

All that is really required, is good sound, a clear picture and easy to read titles, and most importantly they should have quality content, full of content that cannot be explained in any other form or shown better than with the use of video. Look upon it like a "show & tell" and just be yourself.

Lee Jones has studied Internet Marketing stratergies since june 2006. Has worked full-time at home for over 26 years, and now creates video and internet marketing products. Most of his time is concentrated in helping others with their own home base business. visit: http://www.lee-jones.com/blog

When you are writing a blog it is important to understand who your target market is and to acknowledge them whenever you can. Hollywood producers have been doing this forever! Blog writing is no different. You are typically writing a blog to get fans. Fans are people who read every single post you write and usually leave a comment. It doesn't matter if the fan is being positive or negative, as long as you have people reading your blog and commenting, they can be considered as fans. Some blogs are literally held together by these unrelenting fans who stick with the blog writer until the very end. Think of your fans as your most loyal customers and treat them as such.

If you don't know who your target market is, then you really should not be writing blogs. If you have a rough idea about who your target market is, but can't narrow it down, then try a variety of references and see which one the market responds to. For example, if I am writing a blog about a violent video game there is a high chance the readers will have an interest in violent movies. I might use this piece of information to include a reference to an upcoming Tarantino movie. This does 4 things. It lets the readers know I am just like them, that I understand them, that I am up-to-date on current events and it will also get my blog into search results when the movie comes out. The latter is another little tip that I'll chuck in as a bonus for you loyal article readers.

Any kind of blog can have references that their target market will respond to. Someone who blogs about new ways to cook chicken might include a reference to a related episode of Oprah. This is where creativity comes into play. These "references" could even make your blog stand out and reach a wider audience. Writing a blog about a boring book review might put readers to sleep, but if you throw a reference to the possibility of that book being turned into a movie starring Tom Hanks, then you instantly have some great reading material on your hands. The references you include in your blog can be funny, informative or just plain silly. The type of reference you include will typically be on par with your style of blog voice (see Blog Writing Tips 1).

Finally, when you make a reference, it's a good idea to add a hyperlink (if you got the information online). The link shows that you are not just making stuff up, as well as crediting the original sources, which is quite possibly the most important rule of the blogworld.

In conclusion...

- Identify fans of your blog. Whether they be positive or negative. Treat them as loyal customers.

- Throw in as many relevant references to culture, news or current events as possible to keep the target market interested. If you can't work out what references to use then try different ones and see which one the readers respond to the most. Make sure these references are in line with your blog voice style. i.e. A funny blog writer will include funny references that are often silly and trivial.

- If you got the reference from an online source, please add a hyperlink and properly credit your source. The referenced website will see your link and hopefully network with your blog.

http://www.mobgizmo.com

http://www.mobileactive.com

http://www.youtube.com/chrisg276

What propels human innovation? Well, we know where the funding comes from. We know that funding comes when a Return on Investment is available. What do people spend money on? Well, think of Maslows hierarchy of needs. People want to maintain self preservation, so you will find the greatest technological money flows in those things, which protect the sanctity of life; things such as Health Care and Medical advances, security and military. People also wish respect from their fellow man. They want to look good; thus you will find consumer items such as make-up, clothing, sports cars, etc. Humans also want companionship and entertainment and so we see advances in movie special effects, computer games and now the Japanese are developing human female robots. Today they advertise them as maids, receptionists and servers. But in the true spirit of Kama Sutra, you can bet that those Japanese robotic engineers will soon be designing Blonde Hair Blue Eyed sex robots to serve their will.

These Japanese scientists have unveiled the most human-looking robot to date, well at least in the public domain. Secret research is being done now which looks towards the future to build robots so real they will fool humans, in other words they maybe sitting next to you and you would never even know it. The Japanese scientists call their new robot android Repliee Q1 Expo. She flutters her eyelids in normal human increments, looks like she is breathing and moves her hands just like a human would. This robot has over 42 actuators. But indeed, this is merely the first step in human type robotics.

We all know that the Internet is used most in recreational use for surfing websites, such as pornography, chat, online dating and personal communications of the sort. It should be obvious that the near future of robotic androids will be used for sexual pleasure. Isaac Asimov and others have cited this as the most probable use. Not only have science fiction authors put these futuristic predicts forth but Hollywood has as well in several movies such as A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

Using tactile sensors and the latest Haptics research the Japanese scientists are well on their way to the development of their next marketable technology. The Repliee Q1 Expo has 42 actuators, but some of the MIT robots, will mimic the human nerves in the hand already have 250 sensors. New skin technologies will allow the robots to have real human skin grown in petri dishes and these might also be incorporated in the sexual revolution of robots. Want to learn more about Repliee Q1 Expo;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4714135.stm

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

P2P file sharing programs are free. Period. But there are P2P scam sites out there
that want you to pay them instead. P2P scam sites are rogue companies that have
set up shop to fleece unsuspecting music downloaders looking for file sharing
programs by charging a fee for an otherwise free service.



No P2P file sharing software costs money. Exceptions would be a site asking
members to make a monetary donation to help pay for bandwidth, hosting costs,
and other administrative costs.



Some P2P file sharing programs offer "pro" versions of their free software. But again,
their basic service is free to the public. I want you to fully understand this, because
paying a P2P scam site money can not only make your wallet a bit lighter, it can also
make your computer vulnerable to dangerous spyware.



That's right. These scam sites are only interested in making money off you. As well
as actually taking your money by fooling you into paying them, they'll make money
off you by installing spyware on your PC, so that they can get paid by sharing your
online habits and personal information with others.



For music download beginners, all of this can be very confusing. Why? Because
these scam sites advertise all over the Internet. Search engines return results
chockful of these scams alongside the real P2P file sharing programs; their banner
ads riddle the Internet landscape; sites are promoting these scams to get their piece
of your money.



Most real P2P programs don't advertise much on the Internet. The reason is that
they're not money makers. It takes money to advertise, and who has more money--
the free P2P file sharing programs or the scam artists? You guessed it. P2P relies on
word of mouth. The scam sites rely primarily on advertising.

How Can I Tell a P2P Scam Site?

This is the easy part, if you know what you're looking for. P2P scam sites often use
phrases like 100% Legal, which is absolutely untrue. This is a trick they use
to prey on people interested in P2P file sharing programs, but who are worried
(rightly) about Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) lawsuits. Keep in
mind that sharing and downloading of copyrighted files is, at this moment, an
illegal activity.



Another tactic is to use fake endorsements and recommendations from legitimate
companies. Other cons are to use phrases like Direct Downloads!, Get Access
Now!, Download Unlimited Free Music!, and other phrases that are promising
you things they absolutely CANNOT deliver.

How Does It Work & How are They Doing It?

To be honest, I do not know the ins and outs of P2P scam sites. But I know this: all
P2P file sharing programs are free. Think about it a moment. It is because music
files are being shared free of charge (without artists receiving royalties) that
organizations like the RIAA are mad and suing.



These P2P scam sites are merely taking your money, downloading a little spyware to
your PC, then connecting you to one of the real P2P file sharing programs.



This is all convoluted by the nature of P2P, which is a series of servers networking
files to one another. Unless you're buying your music MP3 downloads from a
legitimate company, either per song/album or through a monthly subscription, you
cannot be sure where your music is coming from.



The legal status of P2P file sharing programs is confusing. We know that MP3 files
themselves are not illegal. For example, it's legal to possess MP3s, to rip your CDs
to your hard drive, and to burn CDs for your personal use. But, by sharing and/or
downloading these files, you are breaking copyright laws. To my knowledge, P2P
scam sites are not actually breaking any laws. But why pay for something you don't
have to?



One of the most common techniques these scam artists use is to set up sites that
are misspellings or derivations of popular P2P file sharing programs. KaZaA is
probably the most hijacked name being used these days.



Other sites may not actually charge you anything at all, but they'll "give you the
software for free" if you give them your email address. This too is a scam.
Because once again, they're just sending you along to a proper P2P program, but
after collecting your email address, they're selling it to third parties. Don't give
these scammers any of your personal information!



If you're on a website you trust, even this website, you may see ads by these scam
artists, preaching their lies about 100% blah, blah, blah. For your own security, don't
click on the links. They're still scams. (Many independent websites rely on ads to
pay the bills. We don't always have full control over what advertisements appear on
our sites. Keep in mind that most online advertisements are arranged and
distributed by third-party companies who pair up advertisements with appropriate
keywords. So a page that discusses "music downloads" is likely to have an ad from a
scam site singing their own false praises.)



On this note, there are sites all over the Internet that actually promote P2P
scam sites. Why? I have my opinions. First, these scam sites are paying large sums
of money to affiliates who promote their sites. For example, a scam site may be
charging you $29.95 for their non-service. Well, they're paying affiliates over half
(I've seen the pay-out as high as 75%) of that just for getting you, the visitor, to
their scam sites.

I Think I've Used One of these Scam Sites. What Do I Do Now?

Stop! Right now, stop using that service. If you've got some type of monthly
payment with them, stop paying them. Cancel your "membership," contact your
bank or credit card company, and stop paying them immediately! Secondly, your
computer has probably have been infected by spyware, and you need to remove it
right away. I recommend purchasing spyware-removal software like Pest Patrol
because they do the best job at clearing out spyware parasites.



If you've been pulled into a scam site, just rack it up to experience. Their ad copy is
very convincing, and you just wanted to "be legal" while downloading. Take heart in
knowing that you're not alone. But you're better off now, with this information at
your disposal.



In my opinion, this is another reason to consider not using P2P file sharing
programs as a means to get your online music. I think that these P2P scam sites will
increase in number, and will use more clever tactics to get your money and your
information. Until the peer-to-peer communities are regulated in some way, I fear
that these types of activities will get worse before they improve.

A former financial advisor and NYC book editor, Bill Paulk blends these two experiences by helping people make sound buying decisions. His passion, building digital music collections through MP3 downloads, is the subject of his first website. http://www.mp3-music-downloads-scout.com reviews and recommends the best in legal MP3 downloads.