#Polish software house

[thomasrayan12]

polish software house

Polish software house have become synonymous with innovation, quality, and reliability in the global technology landscape. While we cannot provide an exact count of these establishments, there are over 2,000 software development companies in Poland as of my last knowledge update. This number is expected to have grown since then, underlining the country's position as a top choice for outsourcing software development needs. 

[magnoliaroad]

4 Seasons Back Yard Remodel + Crystal Yard

My 4 seasons remodels of the Petz 5 Back Yard are now available for download! And because I went on a bit of a side-quest, I’ve also made a bonus version, a fantasy, crystal back yard!

You can read my creator's notes below:

I somewhat wonder if it's fair to criticize the original Petz 5 playscenes too harshly. It's possible that the development team faced tight deadlines or budget constraints, factors that may not have been entirely within their control. However, regardless of the circumstances, the end result was a disappointingly sloppy product, and it's difficult to ignore some of the glaring flaws. While I can understand that the developers were working with dated software, there are certain flaws that can't be attributed to software limitations. Rather, they seem to reflect a clear lack of attention to detail. Here's what I mean.

The more you look at it, the harder it is to decide which flaw is the worst. The blatant MS paint spray paint "touch-up" in the upper left, that there was no effort put into blending in the skybox, or that they neglected to add textures to the roof.

Alright, enough ranting there. None of this is to say my playscenes are perfect either, but they were a labor of love and I hope that this is evident in the final results.

SPRING

I smoothed out the grass texture to give it a more velvety, manicured lawn appearance. I brightened up the dingy looking fence to a more brighter white. The original playscene had a hole in the fence, and while it might add "character", I opted to cover over it for a more polished look. I added bushes behind the fence to cover up the skybox and to conceal the bottom of the houses.

Speaking of houses. Wow these needed a big work-up. The texture work (or lack of) on these is just bad. I'm no expert in house construction, but even mostly-brick houses will have some accents like trims to break up the monotony of a fully-brick façade.

Because of how fuzzy the brick texture is in the original, I drew in the mortar lines of the bricks to enhance the texture. I added roof shingles, siding, and trim boards to the house to make it look more like a typical suburban house. Despite these edits, it's still not a "great" house - the way it looks through the windows, it looks like the house is one room lol. I wish I could put better houses in the backdrop but because Tinker doesn't allow me to edit the animated blinds, I'm constrained to keeping them the shape that they are. Oh well. We can use our imagination.

I added landscaping rocks to make the flower bed look nicer. I also added some landscaping details like bushes, garden lights, and string lights for ambiance.

[ Enlarged picture of the garden light I made ]

I also worked to improve the skyboxes in all 4 seasons of the of the Back Yard playscenes. It would be lengthy to get into the details of all that but here's a before and after of the night skybox. You got to love them high-quality MS paint stars in the original.

SUMMER

I had a hard time with the summer one because it was hard to come up with ways to make it look different from the spring version. I did make the grass, bushes, and tree leaves slightly more vibrant. Originally I had some flowers by the bushes but I just wasn't really happy with them. At the last minute, I made the decision to remove them entirely. This makes the playscene a little more "plain" but I think some people may want a more "plain", undecorated version so that they can dress it up how they want with toyz.

FALL

Fall is my favorite season, so this was a joy to make. I toned down the color of the grass and added fall landscaping motifs. Recoloring the tree's leaves was done by using Photoshop's gradient map feature. If time permits, I may do a tutorial on this in the future.

Gradient mapping is a powerful tool for recoloring almost anything. It can give way better results than methods such as hue/saturation, replace color, etc. And thanks to photoshop actions, applying this recolor to all the animation frames took just a couple of minutes.

Unfortunately, the fall leaves look "bright" in the nighttime version of the playscene. There does not seem to be a way to implement a darker version of these leaves for the nighttime playscene. If you look at the sprites in Tinker, you'll see that there are two sets of animations for Leaves A, B, and C and they're labeled "PropsAd" and "PropsAn", which would lead you to think that the developers originally intended for there to be a set of leaves for the day time, and a darker set for the night time. I guess the developers scrapped this idea because this does not work in the actual gameplay. When I experimented with this, the game appears to randomly display the nighttime sprite even during the day time, effectively ruining the intended affect. I'm not sure why the developers scrapped this. Either they had issues coding this properly or were just didn't want to put in the effort to make two sets of leaves.

WINTER

Instead of doing recolored leaves for this scene, I made all the leaves transparent and added holiday lighting to the tree. I know the lights aren't perfect - it was kind of hard to make out which direction a branch was going, so it has hard to maintain 'perfect' perspective.

CRYSTAL YARD

This is a bonus playscene that I made because I got a little side-tracked as I was working on the 4 seasons back yards. This is inspired by the Suramar zone from World of Warcraft, so it has a bit of that fantasy, night-elf feel and color scheme. It's been years since I've played WoW but I still appreciate the enchanting aesthetic of the elven zones.

I used gradient mapping again to recolor the leaves to give it this lavender, shimmery, iridescent look. I did a little bit of gaussian blurring and layer effects to make them look a little more "glowy" than the originals.

As before, Tinker won't let me edit the blinds, so it limited what edits I could do to the houses. I would love it if I could have done curtains instead or something. I did my best to make these houses look a little less suburban and more elven. It's not perfect but it was rough working with what I had.

KNOWN ISSUES / THINGS I COULDN'T EDIT

As far as I'm aware, there is no way to turn off the snow effect for seasons like summer where it wouldn't make sense. This probably involves some code-editing that is beyond my technical skillset.

The winter playscene still has the green grass footprint when your petz walk. The sprites for these are not housed within the .env itself but in the Petz 5 Rez.dll file. It would probably involve a bit of tweaking in the code to switch the sprites to something else.

The fall leaves are "bright" in the night time version because there is no way to implement a second, darker set of leaves.

I cannot edit the blinds animation. Tinker gives you an error when you try to edit this sprite. This unfortunately limits what edits I can make to the house and the fence because of where the sprite is positioned.

If anyone does know of solutions to these, do let me know as I'd love to enhance these scenes further!

ICONS

Making the icons for these was also a fun little project. For some odd reason though, the game puts a stray pixel over them when I import them through LnzPro. I did my best to disguise them but there does not seem to be a way to fix that.

BEFORE / AFTER

With all that rambling out of the way, visit my main page over at Magnolia Road > Resources > Playscenes to download the goodies!

[thefloatingwriter]

I'd adore more of your wiress and beetee hcs if you had any more to share maybe

thank you so much for this ask anon i love any excuse to talk about them. i can’t tell if you want just beetee and wiress or them separately but i’ll give you both because i have lots of thoughts.

Beetee:

he was born on july 23rd, 21 ADD.

he has five siblings, two brothers and three sisters. he’s the oldest. in order they are: adeline (six years younger), roent (eight years younger), tera and ruther (ten years younger), and dayta (thirteen years younger).

he grew up really poor, his family barely making ends meet. his father died when he was fourteen and his mother kind of lost herself after that.

because of that, he became his siblings only real parental figure when he was really young.

his favorite color is blue.

he won the 40th at nineteen. it was the oldest a victor ever was at the time of their victory.

he dismantled an old computer he found in the trash and then put it back together when he was six.

he’s either still up at three in the morning or is out at nine pm. there’s no in between.

he also wakes up really early every single morning. wiress thinks he’s insane.

he’s actually pretty tall.

he knows how to ice skate.

he prefers cold weather over warm weather.

he loves the snow.

he’s a dog person.

he’s really good with kids.

Wiress:

she was born on november 6th, 29 ADD.

she has an older sister named barbara (four years older).

she’s polish and her last name is lisiecki.

she’s an acrobat and singer.

her family was richer than most residents of three. her father was a software developer until he passed (i have a lot of dead dads in my hcs). her mother ran a sort of theatre group/circus to entertain capitol and three citizens. it’s where wiress learned acrobatics.

her hair is naturally curly.

she won the 48th when she was eighteen.

she’s really good with crowds but hates one-on-one talking.

her favorite color is lilac.

she had a cat before she won named fleur. fleur went on to have three kittens named iris, leni, and luna.

she loves the smell of lavender.

she is not a morning person at all. she can barely function in the mornings.

she loves both coffee and tea.

she has a giant sweet tooth.

she cannot cook. like seriously. last time she tried she started a fire and almost burnt her house down.

she was always a naturally curious person. as a child she snuck into the woods surrounding three and took walks for hours. it scared her mother senseless every time she up and disappeared and she always sent barbara out to go find her.

her district token was a woven purple bracelet her sister made for her when she was younger.

Wiress and Beetee:

this is basically canon but they can talk with their eyes/just understand each other without saying anything. the other victors have made a game out of figuring out what they’re talking about.

beetee’s token was his glasses for both of his games, so for the 75th he took his wedding band and added two silver stripes on the sides out of the metal.

most of the victors have absolutely no idea what their relationship is. like some of them think they’re just really good friends, some of them think they’re dating casually, and some are like, “no they’ve been married for a decade.”

he was her mentor. the 48th was the only year where both tributes were from “richer families” (i.e. three’s version of merchant families). atlas, the other victor from three, came from a merchant family but beetee didn’t and there’s a lot of animosity between the poorer and richer people in three (similar to twelve but if like everyone acted like mrs. mellark) so he was really worried that wiress was going to be rude or disrespectful. and then he meets the sweetest eighteen year old he’s ever met who sings for fun and hums to herself when she’s anxious. safe to say he was surprised.

beetee really hates explaining stuff so when wiress comes along they can sometimes forget they have to explain stuff to people and they won’t get it if they give them The Look even though they both get what that means. they don’t even mean to but they can be hanging out with anyone and make them feel like they’re third-wheeling.

bonus:

Beetee adjusts his glasses as he squints at the computer in front of him. “Our brains are made of the same wires.”

Wiress looks over at him, a small smile playing on her lips. “That’s genuinely the most romantic thing you have ever said to me.”

(this is 100% going in a fic but why do i have the best ideas for random lines at one in the morning like why can’t inspiration hit at a normal time ffs)

sorry this took a minute for me to post <3 i hope you like these! anyway, again anon ilysm for this ask seriously i love love love talking about them.

[lolitakirstein]

Hey Neighbor PT 10

WC:1.3k~

Previous

AO3 page

Toji

“So what exactly are you wanting me to do, sir?” the lanky male asks Toji. The computer opened and reflected in his oversized glasses.

“I am curious myself,” Shiu sits with his ankle over his knee, staring at Toji from across the kitchen table. “Your text from last night was quite unexpected”

Toji is seated with his forearms braced on the table, a slight frown on his face and a tiredness in his eyes. Which was to be expected since he hadn’t slept a wink the previous night. His mind spun from thoughts of you and this mysterious guy that had interrupted his owning up everything to you. He battled back and forth with his mind–should he really try to find out who this was or should he allow you to live your life and make your own choices? As the sun peaked over the horizon, he came to the middle ground, sorta. He’d find out who this guy was, but that was it! No background checks, no sending out people to his house, and definitely not wiping him off the planet and out of your life. Just a normal hacking of a phone.

“I need to see messages on y/n phone.” Toji answers.

Shiu’s eyes widen, taken back for a moment. Then, his face turns to one of joy. “Ah, already? The agreement must’ve been–”

“This isn’t about the agreement,” Toji interrupts, brusquely. He turns towards the hacker. “Just tell me you can do it.”

The hacker wrings his hands over his keyboard, clearly nervous in the presence of the infamous Toji Fushiguro. “Uhm, I can put spyware on it? Do you have the phone?”

“No, do it remotely. She uses an Apple phone and computer. I’m sure she has messages coming through her computer on the messaging app.” He demands.

“If we are in the range of her wifi, I can crack through her password, and then the software can gather all her credentials–logins and passwords. Then, we just enter those into the messaging app.” The hacker spoke quickly, clearly excited to show off his abilities.

“Do it,” he orders.

~

A day off work was never really a day off. Being so busy with work and honestly being lazy, the house chores had fallen behind. Though you have been living here for a few months now, the house still screams “Grandmother’s house.” You just hadn’t had the heart or the mental strength to get rid of things. Grief made you hang on to it as much as possible Until the smell of her house was replaced with your soft vanilla and lavender smell. You started in the bedroom, packing away old clothes to take to donation centers and replacing the bed sheets with ones that were more you—A soft purple comforter and an overabundance of pillows.

After folding the new bath towels and placing them in the upstairs hallway closet, you look up at the ceiling and the hatch to the attic ladder. You had been dreading going up there for a few reasons. Spiders, dust, dirt, mold, and the wild idea that someone might be up there living for all you knew. Another reason was what you DID know was up there. Pictures, memories of people you would never see again, and memories of moments you’ll never experience. But, today was the day. It had to be done.

Straightening your shoulder, you pull the string and allow the ladder to unfold to the floor. Surprisingly, no dead bodies tumbled down and no clouds of dust poured. You climbed the stairs, holding your phone as a flashlight. Once at the top, you notice it’s not the crypt you expected. It could be a spare room, the floors barely showed signs of neglect, neat stacks of books in the corner, and enough room to stand. Another string hung from the rafters to a light that still worked.

Getting to work, you pull dusty boxes from the corners, carry them to the floor below, gather the books to sort through and sweep the floor. Once satisfied with your cleaning, you gather your supplies and turn off the light. You switch all the supplies to one hand as you shuffle to the ladder.

The canister of furniture polish slips from your arm and rolls to the side of the attic. You chase after it, using your phone light again in the dark. The light bounced off the can and another glint of metal on the wall you hadn’t noticed.

Upon further inspection, you see a small gap in the wall, metal peaking out behind it. Using your phone light, a two-foot by two-foot section of the wall seems to be cut into the wall. YOu dig your finger into the exposed groove and gift it a sideways push. After getting stuck a few times, the panel recedes into the wall at the right, and the content behind it is revealed.

A silver safe about the size of a mini fridge sits behind the wall, a thin layer of dust coating it. A keypad blinks in the upper corner. You take a chance and attempt to pull the handle, hoping it would open—another part of you hoped it wouldn’t. Scared to see what was in it.

After 3 more tugs of the handle, you give up. It clearly needs a passcode. You try a few—1234, 11111, 2222 —-- before again giving up in case it had a system that locked it completely for an undetermined amount of time.

Finally, you climb back down the ladder, Confused, which seems to be your everyday emotion these days. You might as well have a giant question mark above your head

What the fuck is going on?

Toji

“I was able to hack into her cloud and find her contacts. I reverse-searched the number of the last message she received. It comes back to a Connor J. Falco but it appears he’s gone by a multitude of aliases. Here are some of the text messages I was able to—”

“I’m not going to read her messages, just give me what info you have on the guy,” Toji interrupts, slightly closing the laptop that the hacker had rotated around for him to see.

“Isn’t your concern that she is…involved with this man? Romantically?” Shiu chimes in from the living room where he is sitting on the floor with Megumi, playing with action figures. “ I believe I’d want to know what they were discussing, hmmm?”

“That’s—her business,” Toji replies, knowing how ridiculous it sounds.

“Doesn’t hacking into her phone inadvertently—”

“Just give me info on the guy,” Toji says to the hacker. He knows it doesn’t make sense. He tries to ease the guilt of spying by telling himself it’s only half spying. And it’s not spying on you, you were just the obstacle to get to the real prey. He wouldn’t read any of your messages or look through your photos and social media. That’s where he drew the line—the very thin one.

“Connor J Falco is an independent contractor, though I can’t find anything about what exactly he is contracted to do. Small online presence, just moved to town from overseas. No criminal records, no past traffic infractions.”

“See? An upstanding citizen.” Shiu laughs. “Completely harmless.”

“However,” the hacker clears his throat. “That’s just for Connor.”

“What do you mean?” Shiu stands behind the laptop.

“His other alias,” Toji answers. He knew this was what would happen. Whatever persona this guy was showing y/n was no doubt clean. It was his other personas that worried him.

“Correct. And Dmitri Sokolov?” The hacker nods and turns the laptop around for Toji to see. “He has quite a disturbing criminal history.”

Toji slides the laptop closer, clicking through the pages of court records and mugshots both international and domestic. From white-collar to violent crimes. His heart hammers in his chest. These weren’t petty crimes, this guy has experience.

“Shit.”

[thekalpar]

This is a Grift and You Shouldn't Fall for It

I want to talk about an article I saw from thebookseller.com that came out Monday which talks about a new AI-powered publishing platform called Spines which wants to disrupt the publishing industry by providing a new platform. I encourage you to read the actual article here, but I want to address how they are, based on my own observation as an independent author, a grift and why you shouldn’t fall for it.

Let’s address the first concern which I and probably a few other people have when presented with Spines’s goal of publishing 8,000 books in 2025 alone. Doing a very quick, unscientific google search, we can find that of the biggest traditional publishers in the United States, only Penguin Random House and Harper Collins publish more than 8,000 books a year, and these are massive global corporations. The next two largest, Hachette Book Group and Simon & Schuster, publish only roughly 2,000 books a year and these are still some of the big boys on the block. So the goal of publishing 8,000 books a year is certainly ambitious for Spines. How is this going to be done?

There are two possibilities and one is that a lot of this is going to be books produced in part or entirely by plagiarism software (“AI”). I want to acknowledge that as a real possibility, but I want to go forward with the good-faith assumption that there will be a significant number of passionate people who have poured their heart and soul into writing a book and are going to be taken advantage of by these techbros. Even before plagiarism software became widely available, self-publishing on Amazon had exploded and we saw millions of books self-published in just an ebook form every year. So I imagine that these people, who are self-publishing on Amazon and other places, are probably the market for Spines.

Now how do I know this is a scam? I do not have a ton of experience is self-publishing because I’ve only published two books at time of writing, but I do have recent hands-on experience which makes me qualified. There isn’t a lot of info in the article on what services Spines is offering but we get an exact number on cost as well as types of services in the article. “Spines costs $1,200 to $5,000 to automate proofreading, cover design, metadata optimisation and limited translation services, starting with Spanish.” Now, this may, on the low end, be cheaper than hiring professionals to do this kind of work, but it’s still going to be a scam because you’re going to get a shoddy product.

Let’s start with proofreading, which is under the umbrella of editing but is one of several types of editing. As Reedsy explains, there are four distinct types of editing, all of which come with specific costs. First there is editorial assessment, which is when you have a very, very rough draft and need some direction on writing it. (I have not yet done editorial assessment because I have been fortunate enough to be plagued with the knowledge of what I’m writing.) This is very broad advice which an AI cannot provide but a human can. Second is developmental editing for a finished manuscript, which is where you have an editor go through, provide specific feedback on areas for improvement and suggestions, and point out any major issues. This is where you get into rewrites and polishing a manuscript to a finished product. Again, and AI cannot do this.

So we finally come to copy editing and proofreading. Now, I’m going to fold them together although they are technically distinct because copy editing includes proofreading as well as making sure capitalization is consistent, tenses remain consistent, you don’t repeat yourself too much, all the little things which help polish the rough edges off of your manuscript. Proofreading is checking for spelling and typos, as well as grammar issues and any formatting issues. AI can do this, as tools like Grammarly exist for this sort of thing for a couple years now. (I wouldn’t recommend using Grammarly, but that’s a separate rant for a separate day.) Plus, you know, spellcheck which has been around since the 1990s. Technically this is a task which AI can do, but it can still make mistakes such as with homophones (the train went threw the tunnel). And with so many free tools available if you’re going to have AI do this task, why pay someone else to do it? AI is not going to give you insightful, meaningful feedback on your manuscript, but it will do spellcheck for you and LibreOffice does that for free anyway. So paying to have AI proofread your manuscripts doesn’t make any financial sense.

Let’s move on to the next area they want to automate, cover design. Again, I have limited experience and I can say very definitively that you can get a good cover for about $750 USD from a professional artist who will produce what you want and will be able to keep things you like but change things you don’t with an incomplete project. Plagiarism software that creates images cannot do that. Unless they’re hiring artists to touch up and improve generated images (which I doubt), all Spines is offering is another service you can get for free or cheaper elsewhere online. I highly advise against generating your cover images, if only for the fact the computer cannot give you exactly what you want. You can feed prompts into it and maybe get something close enough, but if you have a specific image of what you want for your book cover you cannot get that from AI. There are a lot of ethical arguments against plagiarism software as well, but I won’t repeat those here just for brevity’s sake. Again, if you’re willing to use plagiarism software to make your book cover, which is what the guys at Spines are offering, then you can do that cheaper elsewhere.

The final one which I can speak with any authority on is metadata, which I’ve had to enter for my own books before and you can too. For those who don’t know, metadata is information attached to the book’s ISBN and publication info that provides info about the book. This can be basic info such as the intended audience, the genre, and the subject matter, but it can also be more granular like what type of fantasy novel you have (romantasy vs cozy). While it can be an annoying or frustrating task, such as when every word to describe my book flies out of my head when I have to actually describe it, it’s also fairly simple. And I’m going to be honest, I don’t expect the AI to do much more beyond algorithm scraping and suggesting metadata like “for you” and “trending”. (Sort of like those videos that spam every popular tag in the hope of getting traction.) So I seriously doubt that this will be a service worth any sum of money.

Finally I’m going to touch briefly on translation because I haven’t translated a book and I don’t know what goes into translating one either but I can make an educated guess that it’s going to be the equivalent of pasting your manuscript into Google Translate. If you’re willing to accept that level of quality, you can get it for free. If you want a good translation you’re going to have to shell out far more money to get an actual person to do it.

And all of this doesn’t even get to a very important part of publishing, ISBNs. If you’re self-publishing you absolutely want to buy your own ISBNs, and buy multiple because they cost less if you buy them in bulk and you will need separate ISBNs for both the print and digital editions of your books. I don’t know if Spines is offering ISBNs as part of their package, they certainly could, but for independent authors it’s best practice to use your own ISBNs because you can control those opposed to whatever platform you publish on.

So are the AI-powered services that Spines is going to provide be worth it? I highly doubt it. For the amount of money you’ll end up spending you’d be better off actually hiring humans to help you with your book and get it to a finished, polished state. I can’t see this company offering you anything that isn’t already available for free or nearly free elsewhere with the same lackluster quality. If you have something you’re writing, you’re passionate about it, and you want to publish it, I highly encourage you to get real human beings to help you improve it. Reedsy (which this is not an ad for) is the platform I have used to get in contact with editors and artists to help get my books out into the world. But I’m sure plenty of other independent authors can help you find all sorts of other people able and willing to help. Spines is merely charging you for the privilege of receiving substandard work spat out by a computer.

[myfriendtheurbanlegend]

A little bit of art progress

I try to keep track of a painting as it forms. Not keen on recording but thankfully Paintstorm has a quick export function.

Original post here.

Ideas come a little bit like a prompt. John Reese, Cura Te Ipsum, sitting on a table facing the viewer. There is shadow, there is light, there is a gun on the table. I thought I could have him take Megan’s keys with one hand, and point to the gun with the other.

I always start with the face. Digital painting allows me to get the finer details down before I work on the rest of it.

Basic face shape down, okayish likeness, shadows in place and colours picked. My reference was a POI promotional pic.

My colours originated from the wonderful diner scene. It’s intimate and soft, unlike the scene that follows.

Face done, and now it’s time for the rest of it. The arms are awkward so I fix them.

Now he looks much more comfortable, and imposing. I used a different reference for the hands. Now I had to set up the background.

I liked where this was going but the sea made it look like the house was partially underwater. So I went back to the drawing board.

I found this much better. The light coloured wall made him stand out more in my eyes.

Some more details. Reflections on the polished wood and glass and a very faint overlay to serve as the sun’s rays and I called it done. It was a complex and experimental piece, done on new software but overall I’m still happy with this.

[reyettaclaven]

Content Creation #2: Free Asset Libraries

When you're working on a build, sometimes you might find some weirdness. Carpet where tile should be, or wood that's a little too orange. Or maybe you're trying to build something out of prims or mesh kits, and don't quite have the skills to make your own textures yet.

Free PBR libraries online are your new best friend! My favorite is ambientCG. Check out this cool tile I just picked up for my bathroom there!

This tile only cost me L$30 in upload fees, and looks professionally done. You can grab it for yourself here.

I've also downloaded nice looking hardwood floors, mossy concrete, and some lovely polished marble. The one I get the most use out of is probably this simple rough wood texture.

When you download textures from this website for use within SL, make sure you get the "1k" zip files so you can upload them without needing to resize them.

You don't need to upload everything in the folder. At present, SL only supports a diffuse, normal, and specular layer. AmbientCG assets often come with color, normal, roughness, and displacement layers. Experiment with what looks best for your build. Typically, I use the color layer as my diffuse texture, the normal for the...well, normal layer, and then either the color or displacement layer for the specular. I like to upload everything as a temp upload and just fiddle until I like the way it looks before fully uploading anything.

For me, the best part of getting textures this way is all the options it opens up! I can completely modify these textures using an image editing program however I like before uploading them. So if say, I wanted to color every other tile a specific shade of blue, I could! Or if I wanted to change the tone and saturation level of those hardwood floors, that's an option too (so long as I know how to actually do that using the software I have).

You also have the added benefit of being able to demo the textures before you pay for them. Try them out in your actual build, swap-em out, change the colors and see the updates live inworld. Toss down a flat plane on your house's floor and, without messing up your house's textures, test and see if carpet would look good in there, or play around with new a brick accent wall! Add materials to an old side-table to bring it to the modern era! You'd be surprised how much heavy lifting a wood-textured normal map can do when combined with older textures. The possibilities are truly endless.

AmbientCG also has some files that are formatted specifically for use in substance painter too, for those of you making content that way!

[mariacallous]

Meduza's The Beet: Heels for freedom

Hello, and welcome back to The Beet!

Eilish Hart here, the editor of this weekly dispatch from Meduza that brings you original reporting from across Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. If someone forwarded you this email, sign up here to receive future issues of The Beet. Want to sample some more of our work first? Check out last week’s story about how independent journalism persists in Turkmenistan. And don’t miss my full interview with Access Now tech-legal counsel Natalia Krapiva, who kindly joined Meduza’s The Naked Pravda podcast to discuss recent revelations about the use of Pegasus spyware in Armenia during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and its aftermath.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Warsaw last Sunday for an anti-government march timed to coincide with the 34th anniversary of the partially-free elections that ushered in the fall of Poland’s Communist regime. With a parliamentary vote coming up in Poland later this year, and President Andrzej Duda now moving to water down a controversial piece of legislation that critics fear will be used to target the opposition, this is something to keep an eye on. But it’s not the topic of this week’s feature. Instead, we’re turning to Warsaw to celebrate the start of Pride Month with a story that takes us inside the Polish capital’s drag scene and introduces us to its late queen, Kim Lee. Journalist Joanna Kozlowska reports for The Beet.

Heels for freedom: Kim Lee and the history of Polish drag

By Joanna Kozlowska

Kim Lee in her Warsaw studio before a performance. 2019.

ZULA RABIKOWSKA

Just over a century ago, looking into the future after emerging from a world war and 120 years of foreign occupation, Poland abolished all aristocratic titles. Later, decades of Communism rendered all thoughts of royalty remote. Yet this year, the Polish capital has crowned a queen, and the choice may surprise some.

A short walk west from Warsaw’s main train station, stepping into the whitewashed mansion that houses a branch of the municipal museum, visitors are greeted by a riot of pastel colors. A black-haired figure in a sumptuous golden dress smiles from a poster near the entrance that reads, Kim Lee. The Queen of Warsaw. The museum’s latest blockbuster offering, the temporary exhibition celebrates an artist lovingly dubbed “Poland’s best and only Vietnamese drag queen,” whose life story is as stunning as the costumes assembled inside. 

“Kim Lee had to be real, because nobody could have made her up,” a column in Poland’s largest left-wing daily recently proclaimed. “If she were a character from a TV show, conservative reviewers would tear it apart. More progressive ones, too, might doubt the scriptwriters’ sanity.”

A display from the exhibition “Kim Lee. The Queen of Warsaw.” 2023.

TOMASZ KACZOR / MUZEUM WARSZAWY

Of the half dozen people The Beet’s correspondent interviewed who knew Kim Lee’s creator Andy Nguyen before COVID-19 cut his life short in 2020, all would agree. Nguyen’s story is indeed almost too unusual to be true. 

A star student in his native Vietnam, Nguyen came to Poland on a scholarship just as Communism was being dismantled. He got a research job at one of the country’s top physics institutes, only to see his pay fall to a pittance during the economic turmoil of the 1990s. He then worked odd jobs to support himself and his young family. For a time, the former scientist ran a market stall selling East Asian goods that a close friend compared to those at Warsaw’s now-demolished 10th-Anniversary Stadium. (Once the site of Communist Party galas, the stadium was later reduced to a sprawling outdoor bazaar where vendors from all over the former Eastern Bloc hawked pirated software, flouncy underwear, and dubious health remedies).  

Nguyen’s drag persona, Kim Lee, was born at the turn of the millennium and soon shot to stardom beyond the wildest dreams of anyone in Poland’s fledgling drag scene. “She whizzed into the mainstream like a meteor,” says Teo Łagowska, a performer with Warsaw’s Drag King Szarm Trio collective. 

Nguyen’s long-time partner, Remigiusz Szeląg, concurs. “Kim performed everywhere,” he recalls. “Non-stop, all over Poland, he was a fixture at ‘straight’ parties and club nights, at burlesque shows. He appeared on TV, on discussion panels. He twice gave lectures at the University of Warsaw — needless to say, in full drag.”

Andy Nguyen (Kim Lee) getting ready for a performance in his studio. Warsaw, 2019.

ZULA RABIKOWSKA

Pleasant surprises

Magdalena Staroszczyk, who curated the exhibition in Warsaw, has no doubt that it belongs in a public museum. She is visibly proud of bringing the project to fruition, not least given the Polish government’s enduring anti-LGBTQ stance. “Queer history should be just as present in various institutions as any other [history],” she underscores.

For almost a decade, Poland has made headlines for its ruling party’s dogged defense of “traditional values” that critics say amounts to little more than anti-LGBTQ policies. Successive electoral campaigns have seen the Law and Justice Party intimidate voters with the “rainbow menace,” while top officials — including Poland’s current president and education minister — have suggested that LGBTQ people don’t deserve equal rights. By October 2019, more than 60 local and regional councils had adopted anti-LGBTQ declarations, with right-leaning councilors decrying the spread of an “LGBT ideology” they claim threatens families. Local authorities and Polish courts have since scrapped some of these resolutions (in many cases for fear of losing E.U. funding), but a sense of deep unease remains. 

Both Szeląg and Krzysztof Tomasik, Nguyen’s friend of many years and the author of multiple books on Polish LGBTQ history, describe the Warsaw exhibition as a turning point for queer visibility. The show, Tomasik stresses, is housed in a state institution — a clear victory for those calling for greater inclusion, even if the museum’s financing comes from Warsaw’s relatively liberal city hall, rather than Poland’s Culture Ministry. 

Staroszczyk, the curator, sees Nguyen’s’s life and work as an integral part of Warsaw’s history. She also notes the artist’s close links to the city’s Wola district in particular, where the museum is located. Nguyen, a long-time resident of the neighborhood, kept more than 1,000 hand-sewn costumes in a space in Wola that became known as “Kim Lee’s Dressing Room.” He also performed in many local clubs, some of which popped up in the district’s shuttered factories. 

Nguyen choosing an outfit for a performance. 2019.

ZULA RABIKOWSKA

Nguyen sewing a costume in his studio. 2019.

ZULA RABIKOWSKA

Today, Wola retains a post-industrial feel, with the high-rises that used to house its workers towering over the museum’s Neoclassical pile. Staroszczyk says that neighbors have been venturing in to get what for many is their first taste of drag. 

“We have one neighbor in particular, an older lady who I’m told has seen the show several times already. She’s been delighted and has been bringing friends along. That was one of the pleasant surprises,” the curator says. 

Groups of retirees — most but not all of them women — regularly book guided tours of the exhibition, Staroszczyk adds.

Local councilors from the Law and Justice Party, meanwhile, questioned the rationale behind the exhibition, while some right-wing and Catholic publications accused the museum of promoting a “deviant lifestyle.” However, as of early June, there has been no sustained political or media campaign against the show, nor protests trying to disrupt it.

On an overcast Saturday in May, the exhibition was well-attended. Groups of visitors admired Kim Lee’s hand-crafted creations — from silk kimonos to voluminous gowns that wouldn’t look out of place in Bourbon-era Versailles — and attempted their own drag transformations, trying on frilly boas and curly blond wigs. Two middle-aged women giggled with delight as they posed before a mirror garlanded with flowers. One 19-year-old visitor named Maciek admitted he’d been surprised to discover that Kim Lee had sold out clubs years before RuPaul’s Drag Race — the U.S. reality competition series that brought drag to a wide audience — premiered on Polish Netflix in the early 2010s. 

The opening of the exhibition “Kim Lee. The Queen of Warsaw.” 2023.

TOMASZ KACZOR / MUZEUM WARSZAWY

Polish divas and a whiff of the West

Researcher Jakub Wojtaszczyk, whose book of interviews with Polish drag performers was published last June, says that self-described drag queens began appearing in the early to mid-1990s, not long after Communism’s collapse. Their acts often harked back to Polish “divas” from Communist times: cabaret star Violetta Villas with her layered, feathered gowns, 1960s sex symbol Kalina Jędrusik, who scandalized crowds with her backless outfits, and patrician mezzo-soprano Irena Santor were all clear favorites. 

One of the drag scene’s stalwarts, Lady Brigitte, recalls impersonating both Villas and Santor during her performances in the 1990s. She says that many queer men at the time embraced Villas as an icon. “She was a colorful flower, a bright light that seemed to have arrived [in Communist Poland] from America, she was bold and courageous, and above all, different,” the drag queen says. 

“Of course, we’d also tackle foreign figures like Cher and Tina Turner — you wanted to have that whiff of the West. But most of each show would revolve around Polish artists,” she explains. 

According to Ludmiła Janion, a cultural studies scholar at the University of Warsaw, the history of Polish “queer icons” goes much deeper. As she speaks, Janion pulls out photos of cross-dressing Polish actors from the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s, one of them the spitting image of U.S. dance pioneer Isadora Duncan. One of the extraordinary performances of that time, she says, comes from the 1937 comedy Neighbors (Piętro wyżej, in Polish). A glittering romp about a feud between two music-loving residents of a Warsaw townhouse, it shows cabaret heartthrob Eugeniusz Bodo wow an audience with his impersonation of the American actress Mae West. “Sex appeal is our womanly weapon,” Bodo sings as he whirls around the stage in a blond wig and a sparkling black dress. 

Eugeniusz Bodo (center) impersonating Mae West in the 1937 film “Neighbors”

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Some Polish film critics view the scene as a nod to LGBTQ audiences, pointing to the blossoming of queer culture in interwar Warsaw. “Bodo never got married. He wasn’t the type to chase after women,” Janion explains. “Of course, we can’t be sure that he was gay, but he was an ambiguous figure,” she adds, noting the actor’s string of cross-dressing characters during the brief but intense flourishing of Warsaw’s cabaret scene in the early 20th century. 

With the advent of Communism, this artistic freedom came to an end. Cross-dressing performances did not disappear, Janion says, but like much else, they retreated to the private sphere; to the semi-safety of high-rise apartments and tipsy evenings with friends. As a result, records of these “clothes-flipping parties” are sparse and hard to find. 

The parties themselves might have slipped into obscurity if Kim Lee hadn’t stopped to chat with an older gentleman who’d come to see her show one day in 2008. She soon found out that Andrzej Szwan, 69 at the time, had decades of “clothes-flipping” performances under his belt, even if his ornate costumes had scarcely left his building. With Nguyen’s help, Szwan transformed into one of Poland’s most eye-catching drag queens: Lulla la Polaca. Now 84, Szwan is still performing and much-loved by the media, including Vogue’s Polish edition and the country’s most august opinion magazines. 

However, researchers Janion and Wojtaszczyk disagree about whether the “clothes-flipping parties” of Communist times and earlier film and cabaret performances can be classed as drag. Wojtaszczyk would rather reserve the term for modern-day performers who choose to use it themselves, while Janion is happy to speak about “a continuum of drag performances” that involve cross-dressing, an audience, and a note of homoerotic tension.  

Andrzej Szwan (Lulla la Polaca) in the 2022 documentary film “Boylesque”

HBO

‘Sister, you’re the activist type’

Lulla la Polaca, for one, was quick to call herself a drag queen once she started performing publicly. She also proudly describes herself as an LGBTQ activist. Most people I speak to agree that the term could also apply to Kim Lee, though not all Polish drag performers embrace it. 

“I’d always say to her: sister, you’re the activist type,” recalls Polish drag queen Lady Brigitte, referencing a double act she and Kim put on in the 2000s. Lady Brigitte herself has a more ambivalent attitude towards activism (“I performed at fund-raisers, but they were mostly for homeless animals”), though she expresses admiration for Nguyen’s engagement with Polish LGBTQ groups at the time. 

“There must have been more than twenty,” Szeląg replies when asked how many queer rights organizations Nguyen was involved in during his lifetime. He adds that Nguyen was also active in Poland’s Vietnamese community — “although he liked to keep that part of his life separate,” initially for fear of negative reactions to his same-sex relationship and stage persona. 

These concerns ultimately proved unfounded, Szeląg maintains. “Poland’s Vietnamese community has undergone a great transformation,” he explains, describing various relatives and friends of Nguyen’s he’s met over the years. “A while ago, a journalist from London came to interview its members for a story. Asked about famous Polish-Vietnamese people, every single one mentioned Kim Lee.” 

In Kim Lee’s Dressing Room

PAT MIC / MUZEUM WARSZAWY

Szeląg and Tomasik say that Nguyen didn’t like to dwell on the racist taunts he sometimes faced. Be that as it may, he publicly weighed in on what Polishness could and should mean by starring in a music video that parodied Poland’s infamous 2014 Eurovision entry. “We are Slavic” by Polish singer Cleo and record producer Donatan, with its busty, butter-churning milkmaids and appeals for foreigners to “try Polish women,” prompted a collective groan from the country’s feminists and liberals. Donatan’s comments denigrating that year’s winner — Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst — only added fuel to the fire. 

Kim was not one to sling back insults. Instead, she twirled around a meadow in Polish folk dress, lip-syncing to lines about “hot Slavic blood” and Polish women “ruddy as fresh bread.” 

Wojtaszczyk and the drag performers The Beet’s correspondent interviewed also recalled Kim’s role in integrating Poland’s drag scene and raising its profile, whether through hosting “Miss Drag” pageants or judging competitions. Teo Łagowska and Agnieszka Małgowska of the Drag King Szarm Trio — the aforementioned Warsaw collective of female and gender-queer performers who embody mostly masculine characters — stressed that Kim advocated inclusivity within a scene that they say still sidelines groups like theirs.  

Nguyen’s untimely death from the coronavirus in 2020 was “a shock for Poland’s rainbow community,” Małgowska says. “We always thought that Kim would become a senior drag queen, like Lulla [la Polaca], that she would dance until the end of time,” she laments. 

In Kim Lee’s Dressing Room

PAT MIC / MUZEUM WARSZAWY

Szeląg, Tomasik, and Staroszczyk all spoke of the Museum of Warsaw exhibition as a means of mourning the artist and honoring his memory. Tomasik, the author and Kim’s long-time friend, says that a “terrible sadness” remains, but he also notes his satisfaction that Polish drag is finally beginning to get official recognition. “It’s an art with a decades-long history and its own icons,” he says. “These are just the first attempts to commemorate, remember, and honor them.”

[inkdragonworks]

When did you start making games?

As a kid I really liked drawing maps and levels based on games I liked: yoshi, megaman, crash bandicoot, sonic, gex, and oddworld.

I really liked the world map in mario world and drawing a bunch of those, thinking about what stages would be in them. With Megaman, I remember nintendo power showed all the robot masters for each of the previous games which I hadn't played yet (I had an SNES so only knew about X and 7). I made a bunch of levels based on what I thought the robot master's levels would've been like. With crash, I remember making a whole notebook using colored markers of like 70 stages.

I started actually making games sometime at the beginning of high school when I went to Digipen's summer camps, a 2 week thing where we used their then in-house Game Development software, ProjectFUN. ProjectFUN was something I saw advertised in one issue of Nintendo Power, where they showed a screenshot of the UI and it was the first time for me seeing a software like that, and was what led me to asking about Digipen and going to the summer program.

They let us download ProjectFUN for home, but I couldn't really figure out how to use it, and went with something else called BlitzBASIC. The stuff I made was... basic, very small arcadey stuff with rough ms paint graphics. I think this would have been around 2006-2008.

I don't think ProjectFUN is utilized at Digipen anymore as when I went there for college (before dropping out) we ended up using Game Maker, which I ended up liking a lot more.Here's the first game I ever made in it, a 2D puzzle platformer where you mirror your position across the screen: https://www.mediafire.com/file/luy7wj5t8h55f25/SplitUp.zip/file

There were two other game maker games I made in that class but they were a lot less polished cause of the excessive workload Digipen gave us, which is part of why I dropped out. But I ended up sticking with Game Maker and developing a lot of smaller, incomplete stuff with it, and making more complete stuff into today.

[occultpuppy]

get to know a simmer

I was tagged by @lilamausmaus - Thanks so much :)

show your wallpaper:

Phone > Desktop (Animated)

last song you listened to: Drum and Bass On The Roundabout

currently reading: Don't get sucked into too many books these days, most of my reading is through my job unless you count simblr stories lol

last movie: Ace Ventura Pet detective ... it's fucking lame how the plot of the movie is transphobia sponsored by the nfl

last show: I'm constantly stuck in a Dimension20 whole, the storytelling is so good and though I could never play ttrpg myself, it's cool to watch others be good at it :>

craving: nothing at the current moment other than long-term goals

what are you wearing right now: lol just changed from the leopard print sleep gown to more gremlin-casual Venom t-shirt and purple short shorts

how tall are you: 5'5-5'6 depending on the measure

piercings: old holes but I don't wear jewelry currently; I go in phases of either being covered in gold trinkets or bare

tattoos: 6 so far but want more, 2 on each forearm, 1 on my chest and 1 on my leg to match with my mom <3

glasses/contacts: used to but vision got better??

last thing you ate: breakfast! toast, eggs, sausage and nondairy cheese bc lactose intolerance

favourite colour: also phases. maroon/cranberry, gold, teal, deep ROYAL purple, cerulean, a verdant, void black, rich clover green and all the shades of browns/greys of the trees <3

current obsession: D20 honestly. Before that it was From Software Lore, collecting unique boots/shoes that I rarely wear and nail polish

any pets: one little purr machine named Kiki. Her other names are The Keek, Skreekus, The Scrunge, Scrungalista Evangalise, Skinny Raccoon, House Panther, Purrbaby, Kitten and other such variations

favourite fictional character: Kurt and Moon, my OC's which you all have seen Kurt simmed up before but I haven't done Moon. Maybe I should tho

last place you traveled: fuggin work. we dont go anywhere, we're poor af and my job is an hour commute so anytime at home is treasured lol

i'll tag @cantseemtohide @gingerbeardmansim @florwalsims

obviously no pressure yall but this was a fun to pick out what i was willing to share with the community and is a nice way to join in the buzz without the expectation. much love to all of those involved and have a great day :)

[1256986]

The Importance of Testing in the Software Development Lifecycle

Testing is one of the major components in creating high quality product in world of software development. What if you are building a house? If you wouldn’t want to finish the construction not checking whether the walls are strong, the doors close properly or the plumbing works, then why would you want to write without ensuring your content is well polished? Likewise, software testing makes sure that the product you have developed is there and following as planned and in support of product users.

What is Software Testing?

The actual process of running the software involves identifying errors, bugs, or issues in the software before it reaches the end users. It is the technique that will ensure that the software is working effectively, adequately performing, and secure. This is executed at various stages of SDLC while in planning and design, during development, and in deployment.

Why is Testing Important?

Find Bugs Early the sooner you find a bugs or issues in the software, the easier and cheaper it is to fix them. Testing allows developers to detect problems early in the development process, preventing larger issues down the road. It’s always easier to correct mistakes before the software reaches users.

Improves Software Quality Continuous testing ensures that a well-performing, friendly to use, and no bugs of critical importance are in software; this enhances the general quality of the product hence user satisfaction and complaints reduction in case of the produced end product.

Saves Time and Costs In many respects, testing may seem to add an extra step in time and resources, but actually, it saves them both in the long run. If bugs are missed, and the software is launched with major issues, costly fixes post-launch, lost time, and unhappy customers could be the results. The early testing avoids all such problems.

Ensures Security In nowadays global, safety is greater essential than ever. Software vulnerabilities can cause statistics breaches, loss of user information, and damage to a business enterprise’s recognition. Testing enables perceive those vulnerabilities earlier than the software goes stay, making sure the application is secure and protected from capability cyber-attacks.

Increases User Confidence When software works smoothly and doesn’t crash, users consider it more. By thoroughly testing an application, you’re offering a better consumer experience. This can bring about higher consumer retention, appropriate critiques, and hints, which might be important for the fulfillment of any software product.

Helps with Compliance In many “above and beyond” software areas of business, such as healthcare, finance, government etc. there are strict rules and regulations that have to be abided by. By testing the software, you are sure that the software complies with the industry standards and avoids legal or financial penalty.

Types of Software Testing

Testing comes in many varieties, for different reasons. Some common types include:

Unit Testing: This assessments character components or portions of code to guarantee they do function that way.

Integration Testing: It checks how separate parts of the system interact.

System Testing: It makes sure that his or her entire software system operates the way it’s supposed to.

User Acceptance Testing (UAT): It tests the software from the user’s point of view, to ensure it was built to fulfill the user’s needs and requirements.

Regression Testing: Verifies that new changes haven’t affected existing features.

Testing in Different Stages of the SDLC

Testing is neither a final step nor it happens at the end of the SDLC. Here’s how it fits into each stage:

Planning and Requirement Analysis: This phase acts as identifying what is to be tested from project requirements.

Design: Based on the software design, test cases are created to check as to how software will work once built.

Development: In fact, as developers code it, the software is built and unit tests are run, confirming that each piece of its code works correctly.

Testing/Verification: A lot of testing takes place in this – testing teams test the software for bugs, usability issues, performance.

Deployment: Final tests are done before its released so much is in place.

Maintenance: After the release of software, continuous testing is carried out to update the software to make it free of new issues.

Conclusion

In the Software Development Lifecycle, trying out is an crucial exercise that guarantees software works as anticipated, is stable, and provides a awesome user experience. Without trying out, even the most advanced and function-rich software can fail because of undetected insects or performance problems. By making checking out a concern at some point of the improvement system, builders can store time, reduce prices, enhance great, and build believe with users.

So, the following time you are developing software, consider: Test early, check often, and test very well. It’s a key step closer to growing software program that works flawlessly and meets the wishes of its users. Visit Eloiacs to find more about Software Development Services.

[serenhiscoxprofessionalpractice]

Live Project Week 6 (Final)

This week was the last class we had dedicated to this project as well as our meeting with the client to review our almost finished animations. My linework was almost finished and Madeleines had compiled all of our work to show in class. It was a really good feeling to see everyone's work come together, as it can be hard to visualise in class as we all work on separate assets. The end result was very professional looking and I was proud of myself and the team. As we received feedback from the clients, I took notes of what we needed to work on. Thankfully they were very complimentary and said we had a strong concept which was executed well. Their notes for the animation was to add some details to the houses at the beginning of the animation to make them more recognisable, as well as a slight tweak on the voiceover. Once we had reworked the script, I jumped back in to finishing the linework, I really tried to take my time whilst working on this portion of the project as I wanted the final result to be polished and professional. I did not want the features to be inconsistent or 'buzz' at all, I had a similar concern with the hair however I used the custom brush tool in TVPaint to create a stencil that I could go over with the lining brush, just to make sure the volume was maintained and that the hair wasn't distracting. For the scene where she is running, I really had to scale back on how many features I included, as she was very small on-screen and including the hair and ear details would make the design too muddled and hard to read. This created the challenge of deciding at what point would the features return as the camera zoomed in, I did not want it to look like I had just forgotten to line certain parts of the animation and so I staggered the return of the features as the camera got closer, and I feel that this worked well. Reflecting on this project now it's complete, I am so happy with the final outcome, from the animation itself, to the softwares I used, I feel that I really pushed myself to get out of my comfort zone and animate in a style alien to my own. I believe that this has been a super beneficial task for not only growing my skillset but my confidence in my animation abilities, I also managed to keep on track which i'm pleased with considering the short time frame and so I believe I managed my time well for this project. All of my group were really lovely as well and I enjoyed working with them all, there were no major issues and the project ran smoothly! Madde was a great group leader and I believe this process will be one I look back on fondly.

[graphypixllc]

Agency Business Brochure Template

Businesses must project a polished, professional image in today’s cutthroat market in order to draw in customers and stand out. Brochures are among the best ways to highlight the services, abilities, and knowledge of your firm. Brochures are effective marketing tools that assist organisations in communicating their value propositions in a condensed and eye-catching manner, whether they are printed or digital.

Why Use an Agency Business Brochure Template?

Time-saving Designing a brochure from scratch takes significant time and effort, especially if you lack design expertise. A ready-to-use template allows you to focus on content creation instead of worrying about layout, color schemes, and design elements. Simply customize the template with your agency’s details and you’re good to go.

Cost-effective Hiring a professional designer or agency to create a brochure can be expensive, particularly for smaller agencies with limited budgets. By using a template, you eliminate the need for a graphic designer, making it a more affordable option. Many brochure templates are available at reasonable prices, or even for free, allowing businesses to stay within budget.

Consistency in Branding Maintaining consistent branding across all marketing materials is crucial for establishing a professional image. Agency business brochure templates often come with pre-set color schemes, fonts, and layouts that align with modern design trends. With a template, you can ensure that your brochure complements your overall brand identity, from your website to your social media profiles.

Ideal for Agencies with Limited Design Resources Not every agency has an in-house design team or access to expensive design software. Using a brochure template allows agencies without extensive design experience to create high-quality marketing materials without feeling overwhelmed.

An agency business brochure template is an invaluable resource that can save time, reduce costs, and elevate the professionalism of your marketing materials. By selecting the right template and customizing it to fit your brand, you can create a brochure that effectively communicates your agency’s value to potential clients. Explore the various templates available and start building your agency’s marketing toolkit today!

[estatemailer]

How Can the Greatest Lead Generation Platforms and Real Estate Prospecting Help You Succeed?

Recognising the Benefits of Prospecting in Real Estate

Prospecting is the foundation of expansion in the real estate sector. Actively seeking out new customers, fostering current leads, and establishing worthwhile connections that may result in future business are all part ofreal estate prospecting. Since it generates a consistent flow of possible buyers and sellers, it is an essential component of an agent's job. Agents can create their brand, find prospective customers, and increase their chances of closing deals with an effective prospecting plan.

Dedication and an acute awareness of customer demands are essential for successful real estate prospecting. Regular outreach, such as sending emails, making phone calls, and holding open houses, fosters familiarity and trust. Early lead identification gives agents the edge in acquiring clients before their rivals do, enabling them to maintain an advantage in a cutthroat industry. Agents can convert prospective leads into devoted customers and build a solid network that generates future revenue by continuously concentrating on prospecting.

Finding the Greatest Platforms for Real Estate Lead Generation

Modern agents must use the Best Real Estate Lead Generation Platforms to expedite the client search. By facilitating agents' direct communication with prospective buyers and sellers, these platforms streamline the lead generation process. These technologies enable agents to find high-quality leads without wasting too much time on manual canvassing by offering useful data.

By increasing their online presence and enabling them to connect with a specific audience, real estate lead generating technologies help agents become more visible. Numerous systems give brokers access to prospective customers who are looking for real estate, guaranteeing that the leads are pertinent and prepared for interaction. With the help of these platforms, agents may promptly reply to prospective customers, giving them the information they require and creating a favourable first impression. Agents are able to concentrate their efforts on excellent leads as a consequence, which eventually raises the likelihood that prospects will become clients.

Utilizing Real Estate Agents' Favourite Software

In the real estate industry, proficiency is important, & the Best Software for Real Estate Agents may essentially enhance output. Transactions, scheduling, customer administration, and other tasks are handled by specialised software programs. Agents can focus on building relationships with clientele while streamlining their activities with the advanced tools.

Using Real Estate Marketing Tools to Enhance Impact

Utilizing real estate marketing tools is important in today's digital age to build a strong online visibility & captivate more customers. With the utilization of marketing tools, agents may promote listings, highlight their experience, & make a recognizable brand that attracts new customers. With the assistance of these versatile technologies, agents can link with a large audience with the help of email marketing, social media, & other online platforms.

Agents can rapidly create & distribute material that shows their properties in the best possible light with the assistance of proficient marketing tools. Agents can distinguish themselves from rivals by sustaining a constant & polished appearance with the utilization of tools for social media management & graphic creation. Email marketing solutions also permit agents to provide customised campaigns, informing their clients regarding market trends, open houses, & new listings. This interaction increments the possibility of referrals & regular clients by raising trust & keeping the agent at the forefront of the clientele mind.

[supremejones0]

Mixing Mastery: Building Seamless Sets to Wow Your Audience with Professional DJs like Supreme Jones, Maryland

A career as a DJ is more than just mixing tracks; it’s about curating an experience that captivates your audience and keeps them dancing all night long. The art of mixing, especially creating seamless sets, is an essential skill for any DJ aiming to build a lasting career in the music industry. DJs must develop the technical expertise to blend various genres, tempos, and tracks in a way that feels effortless while still creating excitement. This blog explores how to master the art of building seamless DJ sets and what it takes to stand out in an increasingly competitive field.

The Art of Selecting Tracks

Selecting the right tracks is the foundation of any successful DJ set. Experienced DJs such as Supreme Jones, Maryland stress that it’s essential to understand the mood and energy you want to evoke in your audience before you begin. Whether you're performing at a club, a festival, or a private event, the right combination of tracks can turn a good set into a great one. When choosing your tracks, consider factors like key, tempo, and energy level.

Understanding your audience is crucial when selecting the right tracks. Pay attention to the crowd’s reactions and choose songs that resonate with them. A successful DJ is able to read the room and select tracks that keep the energy high and the dance floor packed. Knowing how to mix different genres can add diversity to your set, but transitions should always feel smooth and natural.

The Importance of Timing and Pacing

Timing and pacing are critical when building a DJ set that keeps the crowd engaged. Professional DJs including Supreme Jones,Maryland explain that a well-paced set creates anticipation and builds a narrative that draws people in. You need to consider when to drop certain tracks, how long to keep a particular rhythm going, and when to introduce new elements. A fast-paced set may suit an energetic crowd, while a slower build-up could work better for a more intimate event.

The transition between tracks is also a key aspect of pacing. The way you mix in new tracks, whether by fading them in or using effects, dictates how smoothly the performance progresses. Rushing through songs or cramming too many tracks into a short time can feel overwhelming, while lingering on one track for too long can cause the crowd’s energy to dip.

Technical Skills for Seamless Mixing

Mastering the technical skills involved in DJing is indispensable for creating smooth and professional mixes. This includes learning how to beatmatch, use EQs, and transition between tracks in a way that sounds polished. Beatmatching, as described by experienced DJs like Supreme Jones, Maryland, is the process of syncing the tempos of two tracks to ensure that they play in harmony. It requires a good ear and the ability to adjust pitch and tempo manually or with the aid of DJ software.

Mastering EQs (equalizers) will allow you to shape the sound of your mix to avoid clashes between different frequencies. Using EQs appropriately ensures that low-end bass, mid-range vocals, and high-end instruments don’t compete with each other. Understanding when to use effects like reverb, delay, or filters to enhance the mix is equally vital. Technical proficiency allows you to create smooth, energetic transitions and maintain a consistent sound that is both cohesive and dynamic.

Building a Signature Style

Professional DJs such as Supreme Jones, Maryland underscore that while technical skills and track selection are fundamental, developing a unique style is what will set you apart from other DJs. Your style should reflect your personality, preferences, and the experiences you want to share with your audience. Are you into deep house, techno, hip-hop, or a fusion of genres? Whatever your preference, your signature style should be clear in every set you perform. Creating an identity as a DJ helps build a loyal following, as fans will come to know what to expect from your performances.

Incorporating remixes, mashups, and unique edits of popular tracks can further enhance your personal style. As you gain more experience, you’ll find ways to blend your own creative touches into the sets, offering something fresh and innovative. Your ability to put your own spin on tracks and keep your audience intrigued with new sounds is crucial in distinguishing yourself from the sea of DJs in the industry.

Practicing Regularly and Refining Your Craft

Like any profession, consistent practice is key to mastering the art of DJing. Experienced DJs including Supreme Jones, Maryland underline that whether you’re practicing at home or performing in front of a crowd, the more you DJ, the better you will become. Regular practice helps you fine-tune your skills, develop new techniques, and build a deeper understanding of how to read the crowd. It also allows you to experiment with different types of gear, explore new software, and perfect the art of mixing tracks in various environments.

Recording your mixes and listening to them afterward gives you a chance to evaluate your transitions, track selection, and overall performance. It’s easy to get lost in the moment when you’re behind the decks, but listening to recordings can provide valuable feedback. Over time, you’ll develop your own style and be able to adapt to different crowds and venues with ease.

Networking and Marketing Your DJ Career

Finally, building a successful DJ career goes beyond just being great at mixing. Networking and marketing are key elements in growing your brand and attracting new opportunities. Whether it’s connecting with other DJs, producers, or industry professionals, networking helps open doors to gigs, collaborations, and exposure. Social media plays a huge role in promoting your work, as platforms like Instagram, SoundCloud, and YouTube provide a space for you to showcase your mixes and interact with fans.

Building a successful DJ career requires a combination of technical skills, creativity, and an understanding of the audience. By selecting the right tracks, mastering transitions, and developing your unique style, you can craft seamless sets that leave a lasting impression. Remember, practice and persistence are essential to refining your craft, and networking is key to growing your DJ brand. With dedication, you can master the art of mixing and take your DJ career to new heights.

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Why Outsourcing 3D Animation is the Key to Faster Game Assets Development

The gaming industry thrives on innovation, compelling visuals, and immersive experiences. As developers push boundaries to deliver captivating worlds, the demand for high-quality 3D modeling, realistic game assets, and detailed 3D game environments has skyrocketed. However, achieving this level of detail and complexity can be time-intensive and resource-heavy. This is where outsourcing 3D animation emerges as a game-changer, providing developers with a strategic advantage for faster and more efficient game development.

Access to Specialized Talent

Outsourcing allows game developers to collaborate with skilled professionals specializing in 3D animation, 3D modeling games, and game asset design. These experts bring years of experience and creative insight to the table, ensuring that the quality of animations and assets meets industry standards. Instead of investing time and resources in training an in-house team, developers can leverage the expertise of seasoned artists who are adept at creating intricate 3D game environments and lifelike characters.

Faster Turnaround Times

Time is a critical factor in game development. Building in-house 3D animation pipelines can be slow and resource-intensive. Outsourcing teams are already equipped with state-of-the-art tools and proven workflows, enabling them to deliver high-quality outputs within tight deadlines. This accelerated production process ensures that developers can focus on core game mechanics and storylines while their outsourcing partners handle the heavy lifting of creating detailed game assets.

Cost-Effective Production

Hiring and maintaining an in-house team for 3D animation can be expensive, especially for indie developers or studios working on a budget. Outsourcing offers a cost-effective solution by allowing developers to pay for services as needed. This flexibility reduces overhead costs associated with software licenses, employee benefits, and training. Additionally, outsourcing to regions with lower production costs can further stretch a developer's budget without compromising quality.

Focus on Core Game Design

Outsourcing 3D animation frees up internal teams to focus on core aspects of game design, such as mechanics, user experience, and story development. By delegating tasks like creating game assets or building 3D game environments to external specialists, developers can concentrate on ensuring the gameplay is engaging and polished. This division of labor ensures that all facets of the game receive adequate attention without stretching the internal team too thin.

Scalability and Flexibility

Outsourcing partners can adjust their output accordingly if a project requires complex 3D modeling games or just a few specific game assets. This flexibility ensures that developers only pay for what they need, avoiding the inefficiencies of an underutilized in-house team.

Global Collaboration

Outsourcing opens doors to global collaboration, connecting developers with animation studios worldwide. Exposure to diverse creative perspectives can enrich the game's visual storytelling and aesthetic appeal. By working with international teams, developers can infuse their projects with fresh ideas and unique artistic styles, elevating the overall gaming experience.

Conclusion

Outsourcing 3D animation is more than just a cost-cutting measure—it is a strategic move that empowers game developers to streamline production, enhance quality, and meet market demands faster. By leveraging the expertise of specialized teams, studios can focus on creating innovative gameplay while leaving the intricacies of 3D modeling game asset creation, and environment design to the experts. Outsourcing is the key to faster, smarter game development in a competitive industry where speed and quality are paramount.

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