TRIUMPHANT ARTISTS MEDIA RESOURCES - FREE TEXTURES, ARTICLES, STOCK FOOTAGE

	TEXTURE PACKS - 120+ SEAMLESS TEXTURES, WHICH YOU CAN DOWNLOAD FOR FREE! These seamless, tileable organic textures are suitable for use in web design and 3d art. Download the Texture Pack Here Better yet, there's now a second texture pack here for you to download! Texture Pack 2 These are useful for website backgrounds, or surfaces of 3d CGI models.
MAKING MOVIES:   AN EBOOK BY MATTHEW LYLES    HORNBOSTEL	This is an ebook Matthew Hornbostel wrote circa 2007, covering video production from his young, guerilla-directing point of view.  Included are sections like "Writing" (one of his weaker subjects), "Directing", "Editing," and "Visual Effects".   Hardly a professional's text, and definitely out of date, but it's loaded with inventive ideas, some of which may prove useful to other young artists entering the field. Download the Making Movies EBook
My other articles	More of Matthew Hornbostel's articles are available on Bukisa, including an article on conversion of video from 2d into 3d, an article about micro train sets, and articles about iPhone game creation, how to make perspective illusions, and articles on various other topics.  (Making MMOs, game design, game engines, creation of texture art... all sorts of topics!)
	STOCK FOOTAGE VALUE PACK It's especially good value because it's free. Various standard definition CG clips that I made in 2007 and 2008 are included in this package. Muzzleflashes, starfields, explosions, and more.  Lots of useful video clips. Download Stock Pack 1
	STOCK PACK #2. I have another stock footage pack.  It's loaded with REAL pyrotechnic effects, some of them in HD. Check it out HERE! Also: I'm planning a couple of new stock items: a water effects collection, due for release in late June, and a new organic texture collection, at the same time... These, plus the second Penny World, will be launched at the same time.  I'm aiming for June 29, 2011 (for these three items, as well as a discount on Stock Pack #2.)
More Stock Video, stock textures to be released for free as audience milestones are reached... MILESTONE 1: Liquid Stock Footage Additional Milestones will be discussed later... including release of small texture collections, and stock footage.	To encourage additional, more rapid traffic growth on TriumphantArtists.com, and as a thank you to everyone who has visited this website regularly, I'm setting a series of milestones.  When all three qualifications are met, the milestone has been met, and something cool will be released as freeware: MILESTONE 1 -100,000 total unique visitors, 20,000 bookmarks of TriumphantArtists.com, average of 1500 visitors/day during a month. When this website hits MILESTONE 1, which I think will likely happen within a few months, I will release a small sample collection of HD fluid effects stock footage, as a free, royalty-free download.  That is, a portion of the HD water effects collection will be made freeware.  It's a reward to everyone who took the time to visit this website and helped it become successful. Date  Total Unique Visitors Total bookmarks  Current visitors/day Feb. 23, 2011  79,000 14,000  900-1000 Mar. 9, 2011  82,100 14,500 600-700 May 14, 2011 93,400 15,500 700-800 June 10, 2011 98,000   16,000 600-700
OTHER RESOURCES, BY OTHER PEOPLE	Okay - here's what this comes down to:  I chose these items to list here because they are, hands down, some of the best values in independent video production... I've picked these off Amazon.com and I can vouch for them as they are items I myself have bought and used extensively. The DV Rebel's Guide:  I've referred to this book frequently, for years... it's by Stu Maschwitz, who owns a successful visual effects company (The Orphanage)... he's able to give all sorts of practical, no-nonsense advice on how to do low-budget video production that doesn't look low-budget.  This is a handbook that leaves my old "Making Movies" ebook in the dust. Action Essentials 2: If you want to have just one stock effects collection that covers all the bases, this is probably the one you want.  $99 buys you a huge pile of smoke effects, bullet hits, muzzle flashes, fire, water splashes, dirt blasts, and explosions, all broken down conveniently by category.  And they're all in HD.  You can buy my "Stock Pack 2", sure, or DetFilmsHD stock... but Video Copilot's stock is undoubtedly also a great option. Flip UltraHD: I'm not going to say that this is the best video camera out there, because it isn't... not by a long shot.  But it is one of the cheapest HD camcorders available anywhere.  720p HD, small and portable, user-friendly, surprisingly decent built-in audio, and a price tag in the $100 range.  If I want to shoot a video without lugging a ton of equipment with me, this is the camcorder I bring along. Photoshop Elements/Premiere Elements: Okay, guys, I use the full versions of Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and Premiere.  Those are great professional tools, but if you add them all up they come out to a $1000+ investment.  If you're starting out, these trimmed-down versions of Photoshop and Premiere are a better idea, as they retain all the essential image and video editing features for around a tenth the price of the full versions. Other ideas to consider: CompositeLab Pro: Like After Effects, only cheaper.  Useful for essential compositing tasks, and color grading.  I like FXhome's stuff; I've used both their compositing tools and their stock, and it's good stuff... even if not on par with AE's compositing tools. ChromaKey Greenscreen:  I use greenscreen a lot, and while you can paint a greenscreen on your wall like I did, a good cloth greenscreen like this is a nice way to keep the bright lime-green eyesore out of the way when you're not using it. Sanyo Xacti:  I have two of these.  Why?  They're 1080P HD (high-end HD), and better yet, they have 60 FPS recording options, good input/output options, and decent manual controls.  The 60 FPS setting means I can record things in high speed from multiple angles... which is awesome for miniature effects work and convincing slow-motion effects. Rode VideoMic: My single greatest regret on my older videos was the bad audio quality.  What use is witty dialogue if the audience can't hear it clearly?   This is a top-notch microphone, with great battery life.  It's mounted on my camcorder and I'm glad I have it.

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