While Stimson operates as a collaborative, with three fellow principals sharing leadership with Lauren and Stephen and a trusted team of 40 clustering on about 120 projects a year, its ethos flows directly from the couple and their divergent approaches. Good design, like a good marriage, requires compromiseand time. Commissioned gardens tend to unfold over years with extensive illustrations and planning. (This collaborative approach has attracted AD100 firms like Ashe Leandro, Clements Design, Olson Kundig, and RP Miller.)At their own home, the Stimsons improvise, their limited resources fueling creativity. (We have similar tastes to our clients, Lauren says with a wry smile, just not the same budgets.) When the couple acquired the property, they focused on sensitively reclaiming the land from overgrowth and invasive species, but drew no master plan, preferring to let things evolve organically. Since then, theyve added a grange hall and a studio (designed by OPAL architects) that accommodates on-site colleagues. The rest of the firm works remotely or out of a loft office in Cambridge.American Milking Devons graze in the lower pasture.Photo: Ngoc DoanCharbrook marks a homecoming for Stephen, whose family once stewarded some of this land and also owned a sprawling dairy farm down the road, with roots stretching back 12 generations. (Stimson now operates its own nursery on 12 acres of the old tract, while nephews manage the rest.) Lauren grew up roaming the woods just two towns over. Her parents, who met when her father served in the Peace Corps in the Philippines, prompting her mother to immigrate to the United States, now live across the street from Charbrook.Stephen launched the first iteration of the firm on Cape Cod in 1992. Now, more than 30 years on, its portfolio rolls wide and deep, linking extraordinary New England and Northeast private homes with innovative public projects. Such ambitious endeavors range from Phil Hardberger Park in San Antonio, Texas, where they restored an endangered oak savanna and brush forest ecosystem on a mile-wide swath of former cattle ranch, to crafting a new comprehensive accessibility plan for Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine and rebuilding a natural riverbed after a centuries-old dam and reservoir recently failed in Clevelands Doan Brook watershed. The firm has also overseen myriad projects on the campuses of Harvard, Brown, Northeastern, MIT, Boston College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (Lauren and Stephens alma mater, where they recently helped establish a scholarship fund for BIPOC landscape architecture candidates in an effort to invite deeper diversity into the field).

Behind the Scenes: Iron Sentinel By Alina Khan on January 21, 2025 Behind the Scenes Dive into Yusuf Salih zdemirs creative journey as he masterfully crafts a medieval knight, blending realism and fantasy through intricate armor design, detailed texturing, and dynamic posing.INTRODUCTIONHello, Im Yusuf Salih Ozdemir (y2art). My journey into the creative world began at a very young age with graphic design, and today it has positioned me as a 3D artist. I describe myself as a 3D generalist because the effort to bring every idea in my mind to life is a constant source of happiness for me.My interest in games encouraged me to deepen my knowledge in this field, leading me to complete a masters degree in Game Design. Throughout this journey, I had the opportunity to mentor game companies in Turkiye and deliver talks at universities. Additionally, I manage the Blender Turkiye Toplulugu Discord server, which consists of over 2,000 members, where we collaborate on exciting projects together.For me, 3D art is not just a profession but also a space where I express and discover myself. Meeting new people, learning something fresh, and generating creative ideas at every step of this journey are my greatest sources of motivation.INSPIRATIONRecently, I had been focusing a lot on characters and was interested in working on armor instead of clothing, but it was just an idea. That is, until I watched The Elder Scrolls Online Cinematic Trailer. The knight in the trailer caught my attention so much that I immediately started working on it.PROCESSAll Stages: Concept, References (PureRef) Base Shapes, Models (Blender) High Details (ZBrush) UV Mapping (Blender) Bake, Texturing (Substance Painter) Rig, Pose, Render (Blender) Concept, ReferencesIn the initial stage, I examined various medieval outfits from many places selling them. This was an important step in gaining a deeper understanding of the clothing from that era.However, when working digitally, we have the opportunity to overlook certain details if we decide they are unnecessary. Therefore, my goal was to achieve a realistic appearance while also giving the character a slightly fantastical vibe.Base Shapes, ModelsFirst, I used the basic female model from ZBrush. Since I had previous experience with hard surface modeling, creating the armor was not difficult.After establishing the base on the character, I added the necessary modifiers to build the armor. I shaped the entire armor in this way.I completed the model, but it didn't fully satisfy me. So, I examined my references more closely and tried several alternatives to find the armor that would best convey the feeling I wanted.High DetailsAfter finalizing the armor design, I completed the entire character's armor and sword using the same technique. Then, I moved on to adding more details in ZBrush.Since the character is a knight, I aimed to give her a somewhat aggressive appearance, starting by sculpting the face. I added details like cracks and dents to the armor and applied wrinkle effects to areas like the cape.Additionally, I wanted the helmet to be removable, so I needed to incorporate details that allowed the hair and hood to open and close. Considering the character needed to be game-ready, I began creating the hair using hair cards. While I experimented with many alternative hair alphas, I ultimately chose to work with just three of them. To make the hood open and close, I applied a shape key to the head area and sculpted accordingly. This approach allowed me to complete the characters visual and functional details effectively.UV MappingDuring the UV stage, since I wanted to make this character game-ready and designed with detachable elements, I kept the texel density of the invisible parts inside the armor much lower compared to the outer sides. To avoid losing detail, I increased the number of materials. Therefore, I assigned a separate material to each part of the armor, ensuring that areas like the body, shoulder pads, shoes, etc., each had their own material.Bake, TexturingI switched to Substance Painter for texturing and performed a high-to-low bake. To easily access every part of the character, I made sure to keep both the individual pieces and the full character in a single file. After a clean bake, I began creating high-quality textures.By creating my own smart materials, I painted down to the finest details. I used "Texturing XYZ" for the detailed displacement texture on the face. However, before achieving the final result, I had to make several changes to the tattoos, colors, blood, and some minimal details.Rig, Pose, RenderI was really excited to see the final version of my character in T-pose. The next step was to add a pose and take a render. For this, I rigged the character using the ARP addon. There were some weight issues in certain areas, which I manually corrected. To add effects to the cape, I weighted half of it and applied a cloth simulation, making it responsive to wind. I actually wanted to create an animation and render a video, but although the processes I mentioned may seem short here, they took quite a bit of time. Therefore, I decided to apply a pose and take a render of my character from a nice angle.Finally, the most enjoyable part for me was the post-process. I started by adding a background, then increased the contrast and brightened the darker areas to make the details of my character stand out more. After that, I finished my project with some general touch-ups. I hope this article has answered any questions you had and inspired you as well. Your feedback is highly valuable to me; I would be happy to hear your thoughts and suggestions.RENDER: Iron Sentinel And that's it. Thank you for reading my article. I hope you have a nice day!If you have any questions or feedback, please dont hesitate to share your thoughts.About the Artist Yusuf Salih zdemir is a 3D Generalist from Turkiye. He is currently working as a Lead 3D Artist at a gaming company. Links

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MindfulHow do you remaster an overlooked cult classic like Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles? By leaning into how "fun and quirky" it is, says the developerThe even goofier side of The Phantom Menace.Image credit: VG247/Aspyr Article by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on Jan. 21, 2025 The surprise remaster of Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is right around the corner. I and other retro Star Wars gaming sickos are celebrating already, but before its January 23 release across all modern platforms, I had the opportunity to shoot Aspyr some burning questions about the process of revisiting such an overlooked Star Wars oldie.The developer-publisher is no stranger to remastering classic Star Wars games, and even though 2024's Battlefront Collection faced a rough kickoff due to some baffling choices and overall lack of polish at launch, its hit rate has been remarkable: Episode I - Racer, KOTOR 1 & 2 (Switch), The Force Unleashed (Switch), and Bounty Hunter, among others, all successfully refreshed the originals for old and new fans alike. We've yet to see whether Jedi Power Battles is a Forced-powered win or another fall to the dark side, but color me excited.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Chris Bashaar, Director of Product at Aspyr, was kind enough to shed some light on why and how Aspyr and Lucasfilm Games remastered the (originally divisive) arcade-like beat 'em up. The developer has been steadily working its way through LucasArts' rich back catalogue, and even though games like The Phantom Menace have been rescued by Disney and Lucasfilm as straightforward re-releases instead, most of the Star Wars titles we millennials blasted through in the late 1990s and early 2000s are getting a new coat of paint.Elsewhere, Aspyr has also been killing it with the recent remasters of Soul Reaver 1 & 2 and Tomb Raider's original trilogy (soon to be followed up by IV-VI), so Star Wars hasn't captured them if you're worried about that. Image credit: Lucasfilm Games, AspyrThe following Q&A has been editorialized, trimmed, and rearranged for clarity and cohesion."The decision to bring it back stemmed from the perfect combination of fan nostalgia, the games 25th anniversary, and the opportunity to introduce it to a new generation. Lucasfilm Games has been an incredible partner, and together we recognized that now was the right time to celebrate this cult classic," Bashaar explained. While the 'direct tie-in' Phantom Menace game (developed externally by Big Ape Productions) was released in 1999, Jedi Power Battles, a wacky retelling of sorts of the first prequel movie, was internally developed at LucasArts and dropped the following year. With the Battlefront Collection also dropping during a marked anniversary (the original's 20th), we have to wonder what might be coming from Aspyr this year...Of course, 2005's Revenge of the Sith tie-in, another underrated fan-favorite, comes to mind, but Bashaar sidestepped the question, stating Aspyr the team was "just focused on bringing Jedi Power Battles to players." All right then, keep your secrets (the Disney snipers are scary, we get it). He did note, however, that "Lucasfilm Games has been an incredible partner" so far.I believe most fanatics of this game, myself included, will admit Jedi Power Battles wasn't like good good, but it's looser approach to the property and charming bits won you over if you stuck with it (it's infamously hard, at least in its original PS1 iteration). At Aspyr, Bashaar notes that "several members of our team grew up playing Jedi Power Battles... That personal connection really fueled the passion behind this remaster. Its not just about bringing back a gameits about honoring the fun, quirky spirit that made the original so memorable." If you've paid attention to the trailers (we're sharing the co-op-centric one below), it's easy to see what he means by that.Players who only experienced the PS1 version might also be confused by some of the visuals and overall art work the remaster sports. It actually isn't a huge 'redo' of that initial release, but a direct upgrade of "the Dreamcast version because it was the most refined iteration of the original game." Again, he's not wrong, check out this longplay of the Dreamcast release; on top of looking sharper and running much better, a number of changes were made to tricky areas and jumps. The team has, however, kept some of the superior UI elements from the PS1 release around: "We upscaled its textures, re-baked lighting, and improved overall visual fidelity, all while staying true to the games aesthetic. We also preserved some elements from the PlayStation release, like parts of its iconic UI, to keep that nostalgic connection intact."A big selling point of the remaster is all the new playable content that comes with it, which fully transforms the game into a generous 'couch co-op' package that doubles down on playstyle variety and flexibility to experience all the levels. Since most of the new character and cheat additions work with assets that were already there, was it all leftover and unfinished from the original development or brought to life by Aspyr for the first time?"We are adding all-new content, including 13 newly playable characters. We wanted to expand the game in ways that felt organic to the Star Wars galaxy. These elements were carefully crafted to enhance the gameplay experience while staying true to the spirit of the original. We are all about additions not revisions so nostalgic players are going to feel that classicness back 25 years ago." You can even play as Jar Jar Binks and make him fall to his death repeatedly! Image credit: Lucasfilm Games, AspyrA downside to the unlockable characters in the original (Captain Panaka, Padm Amidala, and Darth Maul) was that they couldn't be leveled up, not even to get extra HP and more Force capacity. It seems that hasn't changed for none of the remaster's bonus characters, as they're designed as a challenging, extra way to experience the game: "The 13 new playable characters are part of a New Game + experience without progression, unlockable by beating the main campaign once. Except for the Loader Droid, which requires a cheat. Youll have to stay tuned to get that code." Prepare accordingly for wilder runs.Another big question mark every time a new Star Wars game (old or new) releases is where Lucasfilm is at regarding the public perception of events and content depicted in them, as the Story Group has been safeguarding a firm canon continuity for well over a decade now. All retro Star Wars games are either considered Legends or their own, what-if, madcap thing. Jedi Power Battles is clearly one of the latter. But still, this franchise is strictly controlled, so how does that work when you're remastering a very silly game?"Lucasfilm Games worked closely with us to ensure everything aligns with the Star Wars galaxy. Their collaboration allowed us to add new content, like characters, that feel authentic to the franchise." I mean, I'm fairly sure random mercenaries aren't able to uppercut and send Jedi Knights flying, but yes, that's an Ishi Tib model that looks like a background alien from the movies. I dig this mix of attention to detail and flexibility. Let Star Wars be silly and over-the-top more often! Image credit: Lucasfilm Games, AspyrThe general 'silliness' of Jedi Power Battles also extended to its sound effects, with Yoda's classic laugh playing for absolutely no reason (other than it being really f**king hilarious) every time you picked up an item or power-up. The good news is that none of those have been cut or remade, and the same goes for John Williams' fantastic Episode I soundtrack. "All the original audio and music remain unchanged to preserve the authenticity of the experience," Bashaar confirmed.Last but not least, we asked Aspyr about the matter of those wonky platforming sections (which, in all honestly, are part of the original game's challenge) and whether something has been done about them. It wasn't an easy thing to figure out and decide on, it seems: "This is a very heated debate for us at Aspyr. While yes, those mushrooms on Naboo are particularly tough to navigate, especially as a first time player, the designers made those jumps with a very particular intent. If you break down the jump mechanics, forward momentum doesnt apply on a double jump. This is very unique to Jedi Power Battles compared to other contemporaries. If we alter jumps, or the jumping mechanic, the knock-on effects start to remove the charm of the design. What I can say is, single-jump those mushrooms and itll be a much easier platforming section." It must be noted the Dreamcast port already saw big improvements to many sections, but long story short: Git gud. Image credit: Lucasfilm Games, AspyrStar Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is coming to PC (Steam and GOG), PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S plus One, and Nintendo Switch on January 23.

Keeping It ClearWorried you're going to get confused about whether a DC film is canon to the DCU or not? Don't be, as Elseworlds films are getting their own unique opening to make the distinction clearThis'll save at least some of you from asking why there's two Batmen.Image credit: DC News by Oisin Kuhnke Contributor Published on Jan. 21, 2025 Keep calm, casual comic book film viewers, because DC is developing a special opening for Elseworlds film to make it clear what is and isn't canon.With DC opting to have a main canon universe with the option for unconnected Elseworlds films, it's understandable that some audience members might be a bit unsure of what is and isn't canon. You can't expect everyone to be as much of a nerd as we all are, staying up to date on the comings and goings of the DCU in such minutiae. Plus, eventually the DCU will likely get its own Batman separate from Robert Pattinson's, and I'm sure that'll make at least a few people go "hey what happened to Edward?" Lucky for this subset of people, DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has made it clear that Elseworlds films will have a distinct opening of their own.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. In response to a fan on Threads, who asked why shows like Harley Quinn and The Penguin don't use the DC Studios logo if they're now technically DC Studios shows. "All DC television & film projects are now under DC Studios," Gunn explained. "Because Harley Quinn was developed long before us we didnt think it was fair to put the DC Studio fanfare on there. On Penguin, which we had a small hand in developing, we have a different DC Studios anim at the end." Gunn then noted that they're "currently working on the DC Studios Elseworlds opening," meaning it'll be pretty clear what you're in for as soon as the film starts (going forwards at least). View on ThreadsTo see this content please enable targeting cookies.Presumably the first project to use that new opening will be the upcoming The Batman: Part 2, even if it has now been delayed for a second time all the way to 2027. Luckily, there will be some actual DCU projects to tide us over while we wait, like Gunn's Superman film, which is due out this coming July 11.

Wake me up when September ends.Last week, Nintendo gave us our first official look at Switch 2 and threw in a '2025' release window for good measure. While the House of Mario is yet to be more specific with its release date, publisher and accessory manufacturer Nacon has shared some narrower expectations (thanks, VGC).As noted on Twitter by industry analyst @MauroNL3, Nacon commented on the Switch 2 release date in its recent financial earnings report, noting that it expects Nintendo's next console to launch "in the first half of 2025/26" or some point between April and September 2025, for those frantically trying to remember when the fiscal year starts (don't worry, we were too).Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Meta announced on Tuesday that users will soon be able to add their WhatsApp account to their Accounts Center, a hub where users can manage connected experiences across their Facebook, Instagram, and Meta Quest accounts.With this integration, users will be able to cross-post their WhatsApp Status as Stories on Instagram and Facebook, getting rid of the need to post multiple times. It will also allow users to log in to multiple apps with the same account through the Single Sign On feature, which is an authentication option thatallows you to do things like use your Facebook account information to log into Instagram.Adding your WhatsApp account to Accounts Center is optional and off by default. Meta notes that your WhatsApp messages and calls will remain end-to-end encrypted if you choose to connect your WhatsApp account to the hub.Image Credits:MetaAccounts Center, which is found in the Settings section of Metas apps, was first introduced in 2020 as a way to give users the ability to manage their connected experiences across the companys services. Meta plans to roll out additional functionality to Accounts Center, such as the option to manage avatars, Meta AI stickers, and Imagine Me creations.The company says its rolling out the WhatsApp integration globally, but that it will take months for it to make it available to every user. When the integration is available, youll see the option in your WhatsApp settings. You may also see the integration when you try to take action across accounts, such as re-posting your Status to one of Metas other apps.

IMDb, the Amazon-owned online database that provides information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities, announced on Tuesday that its founder, Col Needham, is stepping down as CEO. Nikki Santoro, who has served as the Chief Operating Officer since 2021, has been appointed as his successor.Santoros appointment is significant, as she is the first woman to become the CEO and only the second person to hold the position. Needham founded IMDb in 1990 at the age of 23, steering the company into a powerhouse within the entertainment industry. After 35 years, hell transition to a new role as executive chair.According to Needham, Santoros ascension is well deserved. Nikkis strategic vision, deep understanding of our customers and products, and commitment to innovation have already delivered impressive business results during her tenure as COO. Her track record of driving growth and enhancing our products and services makes her the ideal person to guide IMDb into a new era, he said, in a statement.Santoro has been with the company since 2016, leading the company in expanding its database and improving its IMDbPro membership. She previously held leadership positions at Amazon, Microsoft, and The Weather Channel.

Breakdown & ShowreelsSecret Level: Concord Tale of the Implacable by Axis StudiosBy Vincent Frei - 21/01/2025 Step into the stunning world of Episode 13 from Tim Millers animated anthology, Secret Level. Crafted by Axis Studios, this episode showcases their final creative triumphs, a bittersweet reminder of a studio that left an indelible mark on animation! Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2025

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