#// that made a lot of the face sliders / editors stop working

[simantopia]

i wanna say that crisp's mother abandoned him as a child to go do whatever she wants. (wanna say either her own artistic endeavors, or it's a homer's mother situation where she's an activist hippie) not just for "le sad backstory" but to also reflect how crispin himself is willing to do anything for whatever he wants -- regardless if it hurts somebody [he loves] or not.

tbh, crispin doesn't even blame her one bit. is he sad about not having a mother or that his mother chose something else over him? deep down, perhaps. but like, he's also a selfish person so, in his eyes, it was something normal.

she never tried to reconnect with him either. likely disapproving of the foundry. (not viewing it as "actual" activism, but instead a hypocritical marketing ploy. therefore, being critical of it and her son) and really? she doesn't consider herself to be his mother because she wasn't in his life for long. not much of a mother and she knows it. so in her head, what's the point of reconnecting?

[maulthots]

Coloring Tutorial: Gradient Edition

Some people have asked for a coloring tutorial for these gifsets, so here we go.

The tricky thing about making a coloring tutorial for these sets is that I color them in different ways depending on the gif, so I’ll start with a gradient tutorial and then potentially go from there.

In my experience, gradients work best when you have a character on a black/dark background, like Magnus is here. Try to find scenes where the character is either against black or where you can artificially create a black background. In examples like this where you do have a lot of dark backgrounds, the gradient also generally looks best when you’re going from black to a color that isn’t too light; the example above is pushing the envelope in my opinion.

First, I made the gif, which you can make however it suits you. My gif, pre-coloring, looks like this:

Magnus is against a fairly dark background on the left, which suits me perfectly. Next, above all the layers, I added a Color Fill layer set to black (000000) and added a Layer Mask. I masked out that extra face because I don’t want it in my gif. Now, it looks like this:

Next, I added my base layers, which are Levels, Curves, Brightness/Contrast, and Selective Color; you can see the settings in the screenshots below:

Now, you may ask, why do you do it this way? The answer is, I have no idea and I just fiddled until something worked for most scenes. Generally speaking, the only thing I adjust in these four base layers is the middle slider in Levels. It seems to look best when that slider is at the lower end of the curve, if you will, but before it tapers off.

With Shadowhunters and specifically in season 2, you may also have to deal with scenes that are too yellow. I didn’t have to in this example, but I tend to use another Selective Color layer; for Yellow, I remove yellow and sometimes cyan. If you don’t like using Selective Color, try using Color Balance or something.

Anyway, now my layers are ordered like this:

And my gif looks like this:

Normally, if I were not adding a gradient, I would add another Selective Color layer for Black and darken up the blacks so you wouldn’t be able to see where I masked. In this case, I don’t need to.

Next, add a new blank layer to the top of the group, and make sure this layer is selected for the next part. Choose the gradient tool in your Tools panel and click the gradient at the top of your window near the File menu. The Gradient Editor opens, allowing you to choose the color of your stops. Double-click the first stop and choose black (000000). Double-click the second stop and choose whatever color you’re ending your gradient on.

Next, draw your gradient in a horizontal line; you’re drawing from right to left in this example. Start near the right side of Magnus’ face and end a little bit from the edge of the gif. 

My gif now looks like this:

Yikes! 

Next, you’re going to change the blending mode. Make sure you select your gradient layer, and make sure you select the first frame in your Timeline; otherwise, the blending mode may not persist across your entire gif. 

The blending mode drop-down list is located at the top of the Layers panel. It says “Normal” by default, which is why you can’t see Magnus at all. In this example, I chose “Lighten.” 

My gif now looks like this:

The blending modes are really fun, and you can end up with some really interesting results, so I encourage you to play around with the modes and the colors to get what you’re going for.

[haggsyy]

Digital Video Production

07/10/2019

Week 4

Transition Masking & Promotional Video Scouting

This week, we started to look at mask transitioning in videos and how they can help smoothly change location/time of day depending on your video. A great tool we can use to get a smooth straight video shot is called the Digi-Slider. This allowed us to put the camera on top, screw it on and use a crack on the end of the rails to slowly crack the camera along at our desired speed and angle. A motor can be used to do the same thing, but the engine was too slow and was unnecessary to what we wanted, so we went back to doing it by hand on the equipment.

Alongside looking at & experimenting with Transitioning Masking, in preparation for our client promotion video, I started to look at promotional videos to get an idea of what kind of camera shots & angles to use in my own promotional video. A small problem occurred, any of the current YMCA/Youth Organisation videos, in general, were not up to power with what I wanted to use. To work around this, I researched and found a few promotional videos that had good lighting, how they shot their shots with their space, how they made use of Rack focus etc. Some of the promotional videos can be found below after the Mask Transitioning.

Static Mask Transition

Below, as you can see there is a short video based on Mask Transitioning with a static subject. In this case, I had someone stand in front of the camera to the side, they stayed static while the camera on the Digi-Slider was cranked across, this went on until the subject standing on the right went out of frame on the left side. I did this in two different locations so that it would be obvious in the finished video to show that we have gone from one location to the other, in our case, we went next door where its a different scenery and lighting which you can see below. The shot itself would be classed as a Horizontal Pan Shot because the camera is moving across the scene. In location two, the same was done in location one but I didn’t need to have a subject in front of the camera as the subject in location one is all I need to help do the transitioning as location two comes in after the subject comes into the frame. At the end of the video below, you can see what each clip looks like before they were edited in Adobe Premiere Pro to get an idea of what I filmed and where the masking started.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90rvZItNU4E

Movement Mask Transition

Similar to the video above, I created another Mask Transitioning video but the change this time was from going from a static subject to a moving subject, the roles of the camera and subject are essentially switched, the camera remains still. In contrast, the subject is moving across the camera frame. I wanted to experiment with both types of masking to see which one I could possibly use in my own promotional video, one of the promotional videos below has done this with a moving subject which I feel will work in my own video. This video was easier to do, not just because this is my second attempt. Still, the subject was more natural to mask I had the subject stand further away and have a straighter line to follow, in this case, it was the subject’s leg, the leg had fewer key-points to mask round, so it was not only easier but was also faster to do. The video shows the subject walking across the screen, as the subject is doing this, the subject’s legs are the barrier in which is edited to be the transitioning mark, as the subject walks, the second location comes into the frame while location one is removed. Like the last video, at the end of this video, you can see what each of the clips looked like before being edited.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIcvKd7PWE4

Promotional Video Research & Analysis 1

At the start of this first promotional video of a coffee shop, it opens the scene cinematic by slowly opening the view frame until it stops near the top. The scene begins with the shop front with people casually walking out before it suddenly changes to the inside of the shop using mask transitioning, which I practised earlier. They use a person cycling across the frame to do this to have it seem like a natural effect as the street it was filmed on was busy, its to help blend it in smoothly. Once inside, there is a number of close-up shots that fade into enough that shows the process of how they make a coffee before focusing on the customers going about their business relaxing. 

There is no music but just with the natural sounds of the machines and people creating the coffee and a customer flicking through a book to show that the coffee is a quiet/peaceful relaxing environment. This is however paired with upbeat music that is synced with the knife chopping, each chop the knife does, the beat of the music is synced. The upbeat music helps to show that it is a positive environment where you can work, talk and enjoy a cup of coffee, 0:33 in the video is an example of this where the guy is talking with the staff and appears cheerful and relaxed.

The video uses a lot of short, quick clips to show off a large amount of the cafe, the video demonstrates all the different kinds of customers that the cafe receives and what activities people get up to, from working to chatting to eating & drinking. The majority of it is close-ups to show the quality of the coffee-making process, the individual grains, the sandwich making, people’s facial expressions. Of course, there are mid-long-shots in there like at 0:35 of the old man sketching which also includes a slow-moving, shallow focus pan shot of the guy doing this to make the shot appear the camera is not interrupting the guy concentrating, sneak peeks of people.

At 0:26, it is a close-up shot of a guy working on his laptop with a drink in the same, not only does this help fill up the shot as, without it, it would be too empty, but with the drink in the frame, it is half full which is intentional as it allows the background to seep through the glass that the audience can see to tie the background and front together nicely.

At 0:30, the editor uses another mask transition, similar to at the start, they use it to change locations within the shop. even though the shop appears to be small inside, they use the mask transition for a smoother & snappier transition instead of doing a pan shot which, not only would it make the scene longer but would make the area appear bigger which wouldn’t match the rest of the video, they keep their scenes consistent. They use a series of close-up shots for the majority of the video to have this small shop feeling while maximising the frame with their depth of field. An example of this is at 0:41 where the camera is behind the counter at the coffee machines, its a shallow focus of the focus being on the couple in the background getting served. Again at 0:55 but instead the camera is outside facing the shop through the window but with the depth of field swapped so that the subjects, the couple closest to the camera is focused while the background isn’t, they are maximising the space while keeping the video compact.

They end the video with the music stopped, the only sound you can hear is the diegetic sounds of the shop filled with customers going about their business and the staff creating coffee. It helps to bring the video to a subtle, quiet close while keeping it professional by subtly displaying the coffee shop’s logo at the end. The background is blurred to emphasise the logo to make it stand out, especially with the bright red colour against the dark background colours.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Dx-o3vfJY

Promotional Video Research & Analysis 2

The video you see below is the second promotional video that I am analysis in hopes of getting inspiration for my own promotional video for my client. This video, compared to the coffee shop video above takes a slightly different route in terms of filming, they have made it seem as if they have captured the moment by filming as if they weren’t there, to begin with. The way I plan on filming the promotional video is going to be like the video below, as if I am not there, I want the people in the video to go about their daily business at the locations they are at to have a natural, true experience captured on film. The area in which the video takes place is nearly the opposite of the coffee video, the coffee video was mainly inside. In contrast, this video is mostly outdoors where people are hanging about together doing various physical activities, for my video, it will be mainly inside to have as much consistent, balanced high-key lighting as I can.

At 0:04, they start with a slight low-angle, wide moving shot of the “ Elmar's in the Valley”, this would be your establishment shot that is commonly seen at the start of films to show the location of the film. This could be ideal for the YMCA location as the outside of its building is well-kept and is reasonably modern looking, which I feel would be an excellent opening for the promotional video.

At 0:20, they have captured a child eating off a plate in a close-up with the shallow focus going on, the child is in focus when the background isn’t. Think of this, now instead of having a child eating, what about having someone doing arts & crafts or doing homework in a similar set-up, close-up shallow focused shot, this would work in the YMCA as their subgroup PAKT does this on a regular basis throughout the week. The child in the frame is not looking at the camera, it is as if he doesn’t notice the camera is there, which helps to show off his natural facial expressions when eating the food. The child is offset to the right, following the Rule of Thirds of always (if appropriate) having the subject positioned off-centred to show more of the background and the contents, in this case, it helps to show the food in front of the child as well as the adults in the background enjoying themselves. 

At 0:31, they have changed their camera shot & angles to a much more open, high-angle wide shot of a large number of people talking to each other among multiple tables while waiters are walking by. The camera is positioned behind a set of railings, supposedly on a raised level of the building even though you notice the grey railings among the warm brown colours of the background. This is done intentionally to break up the background as there is a lot of brown going on with the tables and chairs, the grey railing gives nice contrast while not making it an eye-sore.

At 0:43, they have a low angled wide-shot of the gift shop, but with no people in the frame, it is to show how small the shop is while showing off the products, if people were in the frame, you wouldn't be able to see what was there. One idea that came from this for my video is that I could possibly have a section where I film an empty room that’s usually busy but then have it transition, maybe a mask transition into when the room is compact to show how popular and the range of people who come to the YMCA.

At 0:56, they have captured a group dancing having fun, the group are not professionals, you can see the girl with blonde hair get hit by the man in the white shirt’s hand by mistake, but both still have fun. This helps show the audience that you don’t have to be good at an activity to have fun, and if you mess up, you will not be made fun or criticised about it. The shot isn’t staged, it’s all-natural, which helps to display the naturalness of the activity and makes the people in the shot relaxed meaning they have more fun dancing.

At 1:30, they finished with an extreme-wide-shot panning down from above outdoors to show the large green area that the place has that can be used for a variety of activities. In my video, I would love to finish like this, but in the YMCA or RAOB, they don’t have a big outdoor area like this or anything similar. What could be done, however, for the YMCA at least is finished how the video started, outside the front of the YMCA but panning down for a nice ending.

I am not a big fan of their music selection in the video, it is a bit too repetitive, and in some scenes, they could have matched what was going on in the scene with the beat of the song, but they never did. An example of this would have been the guy playing the guitar at 0:53, his hand could have strung to the beat of the song but never did. This would have tied the song into the video a lot firmer, but they still did an excellent job of putting each shot together, I do like how the music slowly picks upbeat as the shots become faster/busier, its as if it's telling you there is a lot that goes on at this place. If I do the YMCA for my video, I want my music to be similar to this, but with a bit less repetitiveness, the quicked pace throughout the video is what I want to include to make it as if there isn’t enough time to show it all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfZm_lwJaD8

[truemedian]

Kotaku Reacts To Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Screenshot: NintendoTwo weeks have passed since Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out, and almost everyone on the Kotaku staff has poured themselves into trying to make our new desert islands feel like home. It’s been...a process—full of blood, sweat, and a lot of broken axes—and we have some thoughts about it.Hopefully by now you’ve read fellow staff writer Ian Walker’s excellent review of the game, but in addition, we wanted to share the opinions, reactions, personal tribulations, and success stories of others on the staff as we survive Tom Nook’s fascinating new time share scheme together.

“My shitty house”—Maddy MyersScreenshot: Nintendo Maddy MyersI do not play simulation games. I spend no time at all on character creators. I’ve never played an Animal Crossing game before. And yet, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has become a game that I play almost every single day.I’m not sure if I’m even enjoying it. But I do know that it’s fulfilling a hyper-specific need for me right now. As an introverted person who already works from home, I don’t get a lot of social interaction in my daily life, outside of spending time with my equally introverted girlfriend. Before covid-19 happened, I would get a lot of low-impact socializing done in a typical week by chatting with the cashier at the grocery store, or making small talk with the other people at my gym. All of that is gone now.Instead, I make small talk with Timmy and Tommy. I discuss exercise with Flip, the jock monkey villager who lives in my Animal Crossing town. And, of course, I decorate my crappy Animal Crossing apartment and I invite my real-life friends over to (virtually) see it, and then I apologize to them, because it looks even worse than my actual real-life apartment. Animal Crossing allows me to perfectly recreate all the awkward but somehow fulfilling social interactions that I used to have when society still functioned.Will I keep logging in to Animal Crossing every day after the covid-19 pandemic has passed us over? Probably not. But until then, it’s given me a chance to see what it is that other people enjoy about this genre. It’s also made me realize that I need to seriously work on my interior decorating skills.

Ian WalkerI only own two pairs of jeans in real life, but I’m rapidly running out of room for all the clothes I buy in Animal Crossing. Here are some of my outfits:Mike FaheyOn the day Animal Crossing: New Horizons launched, the 512-gigabyte micro SD card in my Switch died. Four days later, after my wife had started playing, her Switch suddenly stopped charging. While trying to get her Switch to work, my system, purchased mere weeks before the game’s launch, stopped outputting video. As I normally play in TV mode, that’s not great. I have a Switch Lite, but I ran it over with my wheelchair and cracked the screen.Nintendo’s warranty repair is down, so I have to wait until the world returns to normal to get any of these consoles repaired. With Nintendo supply down, it’s nearly impossible to buy a new Switch right now. So my wife went on eBay and purchased a refurbished Switch tablet for $250. That’s how much fun we’re having bonding over Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

I can’t play when she can’t play. It’s just too sad. I feel bad sharing items I get, clothing I wear, and bugs I collect with her. For the several days we got to play together, by which I mean in the same room, it was much easier to forget pressing real-world concerns for a little while.We stayed up late to harvest bells. We got up early to see what occurred on our islands as we slept. The chores we must perform on our islands are much more entertaining than the ones we must perform in real life. They are still chores, but they pass the time and make us happy.Bklurbbbb...Natalie DegraffinriedI’ve spent 105 hours playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons over the span of a couple weeks. I suppose I kind of like Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Or my OCD is back with a vengeance. I keep going to celebrations for inclines and bridges even though I’m tired of them, so it’s probably the OCD.

I didn’t think I could take the fine art of min-maxing to higher heights, but here I am in an endless cycle of Nook tickets, tarantula grinding, and organizing my inventory by item valuation. It’s all to fund my Able Sisters shopping problem, ultimately. I look fly as hell, though.

Min-maxing in Animal Crossing is not for the faint of heart, nor is it always a great way to play. It might be even harder to do now that the seasons have changed. Will that stop me? No. I’ll keep getting upgrades and obsessively trying to pay them off in the same day. Do what gives you peace, I say.Just don’t be a fucking goober like my friend.

Riley MacLeodNew Horizons is my first Animal Crossing—our editor-in-chief Stephen talked the game up so much I got really curious about it. I only actually started playing this week, so everything feels very slow—when I get the itch to do something, I keep wanting to switch to Stardew Valley, but I’m really charmed by how happy the NPCs are when you do the simplest tasks and how often everyone claps for you. I also really like that your character runs around with their arms out. I put face paint on my guy and I can’t figure out how to get it off, so he just has face paint now I guess.

Ari NotisThe short version: This is the most annoying game I’ve ever played.And here’s how I really feel: At every turn, this stupid game presents a somehow brand-new hassle: how Blathers has to assess your fossils before you can donate them; how the Nook twins stop you to say thanks before you leave their shop, and how they say everything in not-quite-tandem (WTF is up with that); how you can only eat one fruit at a time; how your shovel is always breaking, your ax is always breaking, your net is always breaking; how two players can’t shop from the same person at the same time in co-op; how it’s impossible to dig a hole where you want; and how every damn day, that damn raccoon monster wastes my time to tell me there’s nothing new going on. I know there’s nothing new going on! This is Animal Crossing! Nothing new ever happens! This game is supposed to be an escape? Please. It’s at best a shoddy Xerox of life’s daily headaches.

Luke PlunkettEveryone says this is the game the world needs right now, but the last thing I need is a second mortgage hanging over my head. At least this one’s on the beach.Heather AlexandraI’ve never played an Animal Crossing game before now. In some ways, I missed out on many Nintendo games as my focus shifted off the Nintendo 64 in favor of the PlayStation and especially the modding scenes of PC games like Half-Life. When I needed a fix for homes away from home, I played Harvest Moon. That led to Stardew Valley and long hours on a co-op farm with a former partner. I enjoy the quiet of village sims and farming games. I also struggle to find the time for them.I haven’t taken the biggest plunge into ACNH. I had to focus on Nioh 2, then Doom Eternal, then Resident Evil 3. So 20-minute sojourns to my island every day were a rare and delicious treat. I can’t compare New Horizons to the others in the series, but I can say that it is an incredibly cozy game during a time when coziness seems rare. Sometimes, a good day means little more than some new wallpaper for your room. In other cases, it’s figuring out where to put that memorial statue you found. Animal Crossing is simple, but that simplicity is why you play it. Planting a new tree, inviting a new animal friend to your island. Small things that don’t feel small at all.Now, if only that freako rabbit would get off my island already...

Where every month is hoagie fest. Screenshot: Nintendo Ethan GachEvery night I shake all the trees, pick all the weeds, and smack objects with my axes until all of them break. In the morning I sell the stuff, and the cycle repeats. Conversations with other villagers scroll past as I smash the A button so I can get back to work. I buy everything I can from Tom Nook like I’m filling out a Sears Catalog Pokédex. I pay off all the loans thanks to the million bells I earned from New Horizons’ week-one infinite item glitch and subsequently invested in the Turnip market. I donate the wood and iron needed to build new homes for new residents. I capture new bugs and fish for the betterment of science. And all the while I wait like Vladimir and Estragon for an epiphany that will help contextualize each individual mundane task and help them culminate into a larger story I can derive some deeper sense of meaning and purpose from.Instead I’m left with a list of things that more closely resembles a CVS receipt. I suspect that’s a problem with me and not the game.Nathan GraysonFor the past week, I’ve been meaning to play through Doom Eternal and finally, properly dive into Control. Instead, I have mostly played Animal Crossing.I don’t really like it? I respect the relaxed pace it’s trying to establish, but by forcing players to step to its beat with fussy mechanics and NPCs who needlessly repeat themselves all the time, it’s managed to annoy me just as often as it’s lulled me into a state of balmy island bliss. Also, I’m bad at interior design, so right now my house looks like World of Warcraft’s Molten Core raid if Ragnaros was a disorganized college freshman who had no idea what to do with his dorm.Oh, and all my neighbors suck. In previous Animals Crossing (correct plural) , that didn’t matter so much, because I enjoyed doing little chores for them and feeling like I was creating a sense of community even among characters with whom I didn’t see eye to eye. In New Horizons, though, it’s all about land development, which feels less personal. I don’t want KK Slider to show up because I optimized my town. I want him to play some tunes for my villagers and me because he’s a chill, cool dude.All that said, this game has given me one of the coolest in-game moments I’ve experienced since we all got trapped inside our houses. I wrote about this at length in another piece, but the other night, DJ and streamer Clarke “Grimecraft” Nordhauser threw an in-game rave, and I attended. Surrounded by the avatars of people I did not know and dancing along with awkwardly improvised moves, I felt the same mixture of fear and exhilaration I’ve felt at countless shows in real life. After I shook my nerves (read: drank a glass of wine), it turned into a relaxing, nice time where everybody mostly talked about how good the music was and how much they appreciated the whole thing. Sometimes, a vacation can be 90 percent unpleasant, but then years later, all you remember is a soothing day on the beach or a perfect sunset. Animal Crossing has some really nice sunsets.

“Me and my partner hanging out last night in AC”—Paul TamayoScreenshot: Nintendo Paul Tamayo I’ve already talked about how Animal Crossing: New Horizons couldn’t have come at a better time, but the ways it’s helping me keep in touch with friends by sending gifts in-game, getting help from my podcast listeners, and hopping on calls to visit each other’s islands has taken this game to another level for me. It’s also giving me the space to put care into my own island like it’s my own adorable bonsai tree. I get to care for it and improve upon it in a million different ways. My partner actually made the beautiful observation yesterday that even after island hopping through our friends’ islands, it really does feel good to return home to your own space. Read More Read the full article

[newstwitter-blog]

New Post has been published on News Twitter

New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/02/01/cnn-houston-day-trip-a-texans-texas-in-brenham-17/

CNN: Houston day trip: A Texan's Texas in Brenham

Say “rural Texas” to an old-school Houstonian, and you get a different picture. Often as not, their minds will run to the Brenham area about 75 miles northwest of downtown Houston.

It’s a nostalgic vision that Brenham-based Blue Bell Creameries imprinted on the minds of Texans for decades through its beloved commercials, which featured the Texas version of the American dream.

In the Blue Bell ice cream ads, longhorn steers graze in the shade of the abundant pecan trees that stud Brenham’s low hills, awash in the early spring with oceans of bluebonnets best viewed along 80 miles of Washington County back roads.

It’s the Texas of quaint country stores and rope swings and swimming holes, where mama calls the kids home through the screen door of a tin-roofed country house to a rustic kitchen table, where bowls of Blue Bell and cool glasses of fresh-squeezed lemonade await.

But there’s more to the Brenham area than a face-first dive into ice cream and nostalgia.

Yes, within a half-hour drive of the Washington County seat you will find the antiquing capital of Texas in Round Top. But you’ll also find culture ranging from longneck-friendly, boot-scootin’ country to fine wine, art galleries, Shakespeare and Beethoven. You’ll find burgers, barbecue and the state’s only Forbes five-star restaurant and accommodations ranging from camping to the super-deluxe.

It’s easy to see why some have called Washington and neighboring Austin and Fayette counties Texas’ largest, lowest-density big city.

Small town, big attraction

First, a little area history: As home to many of the “Old 300” (the first families of Anglo Texas), and the seat of revolt against Santa Anna’s Mexican government, these Brazos bottom cotton fields were the “birthplace of Texas.”

While lacking the oomph and human tragedy of the Alamo, Goliad or San Jacinto, hallowed grounds such as San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site and Independence Hall in Washington on the Brazos are indisputably the locales where the events by which Texas became Texas were set into motion.

With a population of about 20,000, Brenham should be the hub of any expedition into the area.

Its revitalized, Frank Capra-esque downtown is a jewel box of small-town defiance against the trend toward Walmart-based, chain-dominated edge cities.

It has boutique hotels, such as the ornate, antique B&B Ant Street Inn, with its fountained courtyard and Old South-themed rooms; Back Lot and other art galleries and professional plays at the Unity Theatre; and occasional concerts and vintage film screenings at The Barnhill Center, an arts complex that includes the town’s old one-screen Simon Theatre.

Brenham punches well beyond its weight class in the dining department: 96 West offers Texas-style tapas (lamb tostadas, Texas beef sliders and bacon-wrapped quail, to name three), craft beer and one of the best wine lists between Houston and Austin, and chef Silvio DiGennaro offers sophisticated Southern Italian fare at Volare.

Got kids with you? At the Brenham Municipal Airport’s Southern Flyer Diner, waitresses in poodle skirts dish out tasty burgers, shakes and fries while the Cessnas and Gulfstreams descend mere feet away, their pilots often joining you in the diner.

If you or your little ones are of a Harry Potter bent, Newman’s Castle, one of Texas’ most eccentric attractions, awaits in nearby Bellville. Working by hand, the town baker has recreated a fairy tale stronghold, complete with moat, dungeon, high crenellated towers and working drawbridge, as his personal residence. Tours are available with advance reservations.

The legacy of German and Czech immigrant farmers who flocked to the Brenham area starting in the mid-19th century lives on. Their influence can be found at the Home Sweet Farm market and adjacent biergarten and in the kolaches and klobasniky (Czech-derived fruit- or cheese-filled and/or savory pastries, respectively) at Park Street Bakery.

From barbecue to five-star dining

Seekers of Texas-style barbecue have two options in Brenham: the venerable and down-home Nathan’s and Truth BBQ, run by young disciples of Austin pitmasters Aaron Franklin and John Lewis.

Truth has quickly become a destination for the Lone Star State’s army of fanatical smoked meat aficionados. (It’s open only for lunch from Thursday to Sunday, and they tend to sell out.)

A one-stop shop of local fare, the Chappell Hill Bakery & Deli, less than 15 minutes from Brenham in neighboring Chapell Hill, offers barbecue, kolaches, breakfast tacos and Blue Bell ice cream.

If the city lights of Brenham are a little too bright, the Inn at Dos Brisas is an unforgettable luxury ranch/resort experience on 300 acres 11 miles northeast of Brenham.

Dos Brisas offers guests their choice of a tranquil escape from the chaos of city life or a challenge-packed, dude ranch-style horseback adventure. Either way, a stay in one of the nine private Spanish-style casitas and mini-haciendas at Dos Brisas involves pampering with made-to-order gourmet breakfasts.

Executive chef Matt Padilla heads up the state’s only Forbes five-star kitchen, organic and farm-to-fork, accompanied by wine from the resort’s 7,000-bottle cellar. (Bed and breakfast packages start at $442 for casitas and $751 for haciendas).

A gourmet Texas ranch reboots the cowboy way

Centuries of folk art and Shakespeare

The back roads around Brenham abound in finds like few others in Texas.

Southwest of Brenham, the tiny hamlet of Round Top (population: 90) in neighboring Fayette County is home to one of Texas’ largest and oldest antique fairs, dozens of quaint bed and breakfasts (and dozens more in neighboring towns), and classical music concerts at Festival Hill, a multibuilding complex of historic structures, many of them salvaged from the wrecking ball in nearby towns.

Festival Hill hosts more than 50 events a year, ranging from poetry readings to classical guitar concerts to herbal forums. The All-American fare at Royers Round Top Cafe enjoys statewide renown, especially the scratch-baked pies.

Four miles east of Round Top, the unincorporated village of Winedale is home to both a 225-acre historic park of centuries-old Texas folk art and homesteads and the University of Texas’ Shakespeare program, where drama students live and recreate the Bard’s works in a 19th-century barn.

If twangy music be the food of thy love, you can hear it play on and on at the Kenney Store, a revamped country store 10 miles south of Brenham in northern Austin County, known far and wide for its tunes, its burgers and some of the coldest beer in Texas.

To the east of Brenham, Chappell Hill holds its annual Bluebonnet Festival in April and a Scarecrow Festival in October.

Brenham is worth a stop even for explorers heading out to see the dramatic scenery at Big Bend National Park or the Texas Hill Country.

But for a deep-dive into the charms of old-town Texas with a cultural bent, Brenham and its surroundings offer a combo of honky-tonk and Beethoven, beef brisket for lunch and pan-roasted wild turbot for dinner, the Bard in a barn and random castles in the country.

You’ll find it nowhere else but in and around Brenham, where every square inch of bluebonnet-graced earth exudes the essence of the modern Lone Star State.

A rare fourth-generation Houstonian, John Nova Lomax is a senior editor with Texas Monthly magazine.

This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link