How to Create a 3D Prototype

If paper mache isn’t going to cut it and you need a scalable 3D model for a work or your advanced schooling, finding ways to create the prototype simply and inexpensively can be challenging.

Create a 2D Design

Product prototyping requires a detailed drawing at the 2D level before it can be rendered in 3D. Use software and detailed specifications to create as detailed a design as possible. Look for potential problems or holes in the design while examining the 2D drawings. Anything you might have missed will be pointed out on the 3D prototype, but by then you’ll likely not want to invest in another model – no matter how cost efficient.

Bid Out the Project

Once you have a workable design at the 2D level, bit out the 3D-rendering aspect of the project to companies who specialize in this sort of development. In addition to bids, be sure to closely examine their portfolios of past projects as well as speaking to references about the quality of the workmanship and professionalism of the workers.

Work Closely with the Selected Company

Work closely with your selected company to explain the project. Ideally your designs should show the prototype in great detail, but be sure to discuss any lingering details of the design before the programmers and artists begin work. Stay in communication with the rendering company during the process.

Easy Step By Step Instructions for Creating a 3D Prototype

• Include as many details and layers to the product at the 2D level
• Bid out your project to rendering companies and specialists
• Work closely with your selected company to see your prototype created correctly

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions When Creating a 3D Prototype

Seeing things built from your imagination or designs can be awe-inspiring. Be sure to document the process somehow. You’ll be glad you did down the road.

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How To Download And Set Up an FTP Program

There are a number of things about designing and building your own website which cause confusion and uncertainty to those who are new to this activity. FTP, which stands for File Transfer Protocol, is one of those things that always seems to confuse and intimidate people who are new to website design. Part of this confusion is probably because the full name ‘File Transfer Protocol’ seems to shed no light on understanding what it is, what it does, or what it is used for. In this article I shall attempt to shine a light on this mysterious creature and take the reader through the process of downloading and installing a free and popular program to make FTP available to them.

First, to shed some light on the name ‘FTP’, or File Transfer Protocol’: the word ‘Protocol’ is used in it’s usual everyday sense that it is a set of rules or guidelines by which something is done. So, simply put, a File Transfer Protocol is a set of rules or guidelines by which files can be transferred from one computer to another over the internet or a network. This sometimes doesn’t make any sense to people who don’t understand computers because they don’t realize that many different computers use many different codes. If you have a file on one kind of computer and you want to use it on another kind of computer then without a set of guidelines, or a ‘protocol’, to ‘translate’ the file from one computer to another it would not be possible. FTP is a form of code which helps you when you move a file from one computer to another. Think of FTP as a ‘translator’ or ‘interpreter’ working in the United Nations so that all the different countries can talk to each other and settle their differences.

And that’s it: simple isn’t it? Often people don’t believe it is quite as simple as that but it is. There is nothing else to understand about FTP unless you are about to start programming, which you’re not.

The other thing that helps to make FTP appear confusing and complex is the fact that you often use a program to do it: These are called ‘FTP Clients’. FTP Clients manage the ‘translation’ from one computer to another and will allow you to upload files, which is to send files to the server; or download files, which is to get files from the server. They will also allow you to make changes to files on the server. FTP and the FTP Client are essential ingredients of a web designer, or website owner’s toolkit. There are very many different designs of FTP Clients, many are free and many will cost money to buy. Many operating systems have an FTP client integrated within them and browsers such as Firefox have an FTP client which can be installed and used as part of the browser. You will need to have an account with a web host before using an FTP Client, but so long as you do have a web hosting account then you can use an FTP Client to transfer your site and all your files to the web host, and back again.

One of the most popular free FTP Clients is ‘FileZilla’; it is easy to download and use and, if you are using Windows XP, then I can take you through the steps – although I doubt they are very different if you are using another operating system. I am using Firefox 2, and so if you are using any other browser there may be some slight differences, but nothing major:

The simplest way to download Filezilla is to go to the Google search page and type ‘download.com filezilla’ into the search field and the very top result will be for Filezilla at the download.com website. Click on the link and you will see the name of Filezilla with a big blue link below it saying ‘download now’. Click that and a small window will appear with a button saying ‘save file’ – click to save the file and you will download the software automatically. It will take a few seconds to download.

Now look for the new icon on your desktop; it will be called ‘Filezilla set up’ or something similar. Double click the icon. The first thing you will see is a small window asking you to select your language, make sure it says English (or whatever your preferred language is) then click the ‘ok’ button. A license agreement window will appear; click ‘next’. The next page will ask you to ‘choose components’ – ion most cases the defaults are perfectly ok for most installations so I suggest you agree with the selection and click ‘next’. You will now be asked where you want to install the software, in most cases the default location is your program folder, which is fine; if you want to install it elsewhere then type the location in here, otherwise just click ‘next’. You will now be asked to choose a start menu folder, again, the default will be fine, click ‘next’. You will now be asked to decide on some general settings, if you are using a shared computer then select ‘use secure mode’ otherwise leave all settings as they are and click ‘Install’. The software will now be installed onto your computer; this will only take a few seconds and then you will be asked to close the window – click ‘close’.

You will now have a new icon on your desktop, coloured maroon and blue with a big ‘FZ’ on it and called ‘Filezilla’. You can put the original download file into your recycle bin and delete. Double click the new icon to start your FTP Client.

To use the FTP Client to transfer files between your computer and your web host you will first have to set it up. After double clicking to start up the FTP Client, click on the ‘File’ menu and select ‘Site Manager’. A new window will appear, find the button which says ‘new site’ and click it. A folder will appear in the main area of the window, type the name of your site into the new folder which appears.

Get your login details for your web host, because you’ll need them now. Under ‘Host’ type in the FTP address of your website; this will be a website address beginning with ‘ftp’ in a format such as: ftp.siteforge.net or else it will be a number series in a format such as: 88.88.888.88 – either will do. If the boxes below are greyed out then your site manager is set to anonymous login. To input your login details deselect ‘anonymous’ and select ‘normal’ for Logon and input your username and password for accessing your web host. You can now click ‘connect’ and your FTP Client will connect to your web host and you can upload or download files for your site.

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How to Build Link Popularity Naturally

There is a huge market for links in the webmaster community, but true link popularity can’t be bought. Incoming links can be purchased, but those must mix with authentic links from quality websites to give your website true link popularity.

Link Popularity

You are likely wondering, what is link popularity? The answer is simple enough. Link popularity is a measure of how popular and purposeful your website is based on the number of other quality websites that link to it. The more websites that include a link to your site, the better your site looks.

Incoming links are a sign that your website has something to say and is worth visiting. The more reputable the other websites are that link to yours the more important your site looks in search engines. Link popularity is just one of many factors that the major search engines consider when placing websites in their servers and on search result pages.

Build Link Popularity

There are many ways to build link popularity, but many webmasters try and skip the more authentic means and buy links instead. Paid links are frowned upon by major search engines, so it is far better to generate authentic links rather than buying one. You can use the following methods to build your own link popularity.

Submit your Website to Directories

By submitting your website to popular and well respected directories, you’ll automatically be gaining links back to your pages.

Use Article Marketing

Article marketing consists of writing articles for article directories or other sites and including a link back to your site as part of the article. As the articles are picked up on other websites, your link spread throughout the internet community. A solid article marketing campaign with quality articles likely to interest others in your niche can generate hundreds of links.

Use a Press Release

When you have something major to report, a press release will announce your event to the world via distribution and media outlets. As other websites pick up the news covered in your report, your link, which is naturally included in the release, is spread across the internet.

Build Your Own Popularity

Spend some time getting to know others in your webmaster community. If you know many other people and they know you and your site, it will grow naturally by word of mouth.

Participate in Forums

Webmaster and niche forums are an excellent place to advertise your website. Throw a link in your signature and you might gain a link from the site if it is not designated “no follow,” but other forum members will see your signature and visit your site hopefully earning you a natural link form their sites.

Promote You Site

Internet marketing is all about marketing. The more people you have visiting your website on a daily basis, the more people are likely to bookmark or link to your site from other places. Promote your site in as many ways as you can to get your name out there and start getting traffic. With a consistent campaign, traffic will grow and so will your link popularity.

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How To Build a Website

There are many methods you can choose when you decide to build a website. The method you select will depend on your knowledge of coding and/or programming. If you are a total novice to the web designer industry then there are programs that allow you to drag and drop items, place text via text boxes and change the colors with a click of a button. These are known as WYSIWYG editors (what you see is what you get), they are very helpful in order to get a nice looking website up and running in a short amount of time if you have no html (hyper text markup language, the coding used to build websites) knowledge. The main downside to using a WYSIWYG editor is that the coding will be full of rubbish and useless variables which will give you the disadvantage in the search engines as messy code will confuse the bots and penalize you for it. You could go through each page after it has been made and take out unnecessary bits of code making the page clean and user friendly, but by doing this you will have to have a good knowledge of html so you would be better starting from scratch in the first place.

If you are fairly comfortable with the way html works, you can make a website by just using notepad and saving the file with the .html extension at the end. This method is not used as often in today’s world as you can get programs such as Microsoft Front Page and Macromedia Dreamweaver. These both allow you to see a WYSIWYG view, a core code view and a split view in which you can make something and then tidy the code up straight after saving you a lot of hassle in the end. My favorite out of these two (and probably the most popular) is Macromedia Dreamweaver as it has inbuilt FTP access so you can manage a whole website from the one interface. By using the remote view, you’re able to see what’s on the server. This allows you to make adjustments and update your revisions directly to your server. Once complete, you can view the changes immediately in through the domain name the site is linked to.

The main benefit of this is being able to see what your website looks like in different browsers as they interpret the code in different ways which can make your site look absolutely fine in Windows Internet Explorer but completely messed up in Mozilla Firefox. While the majority of users use Internet Explorer you still have to make it compatible with Firefox as a small percentage use it and you would be loosing vital traffic if your site is not compatible with it. You are best downloading the main browsers (explorer, firefox, opera and any other you are willing to) and checking your site on a regular basis in each making it look the same in each one. Another way around it is to complete your site and then pick the next browser and adjust the code until it matches and then move onto the next one.

If you are not using a WYSIWYG editor then I always find it best to design each page in a program such as Adobe Photoshop so you can get the feel of the layout and color scheme before you actually start making the site in a code editor. The benefit of this is you may start coding your website and decide you want to change bits around, this is a lot harder once you have integrated the code into your website so by making the final layout in Photoshop and moving bits around with ease, it will make your life easier in the long run. Also it’s always easier to follow a template then thinking from scratch making it up as you go along.

Once you have mastered the basic html code and getting a website how you want it to look you can then move onto the more advanced coding which will make your website stand out from the rest of the competition in your niche. There are other variations of code such a PHP and JavaScript which you can learn in order to add more advanced features into your website.

Another common method of making websites in today’s world is using a CMS (content management system) which will make it easier to update and maintain your website once you have made a basic template adding ‘PHP includes’ where you want the data to appear. There are many free CMS templates available in which you can download for free and use to give a professional look to your website.

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How to Add a Contact Form to a Website

If you’re not a coding genius, but want to put a clever contact form on your website, you have few options. Contact forms are almost always a good idea as they allow visitors to communicate with you and send you files and information as you please. A contact form doesn’t require the user to send a separate email or to pick up the phone and call – practically unheard of in this day of online usage.

Pay Someone

If you don’t know how to code a website to add a contact page or the template you’re using doesn’t have one, you can always pay someone to do a site redesign or to create a simple form to use on an existing page. Anytime you require a full-fledged custom service, however, you can expect to pay a pretty penny – especially if you want it done correctly the first time.

Make One Yourself

You might be able to get by with a standard template and a few modifications. If your original site had some sort of contact form or contact information, modifications might be simple to make. You’ll need to dig into your files and pull out a “Coding for Dummies” book or online tutorial to see what changes you need to make, but you might be surprised at how quickly you can piece something together.

Download a Contact Form

A third option is to let someone else do the work for you for far less than you’d have to pay for a custom design. A flash contact form is a simple image that pops up on a particular page of your website after you download it and get it set up correctly. You pay the asking price, get the files and get the form set up. Then it’s ready to go.

If you use this option, you can expand upon the basics, but trying out different kinds of contact forms. If you’re not sure what the best options are for your site, you can start with a basic form and then offer users a place to upload multiple attachments if it seems more practical down the road. You can also upgrade your contact form to the latest style time and time again without much of an additional expense.

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How to Play Hide and Seek

As seen on TV, physical games and activities can help to keep children healthy and fit. Hide and seek is a classic game that uses both creativity and physical ability to play. It will also keep your children entertained for hours. There are many versions of hide and seek, but here’s how to play the most basic.

Establish the Players

The first step in hide and seek is to determine the players. You must know who will be hiding and who will be seeking. There is one “it” or seeker, and the rest of the players will be hiding in the designated area. A homebase should be determined such as tree or banister, and the perimeters of the play area can be outlined for all players as well.

Count to 100

“It” hides his eyes on the home base and begins a slow and loud count. You can have the seeker count as low as ten or as high as one hundred, but twenty-five or thirty ought to do it. While he’s counting, the rest of the players are running to find hiding places. They hide themselves and wait for the next phase of the game.

Hide and Seek!

The seeker reaches the magical number and begins looking for the hiders. While he is seeking, the hiders are looking for an opportunity to race past him back to the home base. If the seeker finds you while you are hiding (or racing back to base) you are the new “it.” If all the players make it back to base before the seeker can find them, he must hide his eyes again and play another round as “it.” The game continues indefinitely.

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How to Set Up an Outdoor Living Area

The patio or deck can be a natural extension of your home if you like to spend time outside. You can make the most of this outdoor living by creating a full outside living area. The degree of complexity is a personal decision, but a well designed outdoor living area will receive plenty of use.

Set Up Location

The first step in an outdoor living area is finding the right location for your seating. You may already have a large covered patio or gazebo. You may find that you’d like to lay a new section of patio or build a deck to accommodate your new outdoor living area. Arrange your location before moving ahead.

Set Up Seating

Once a location has been determined, preferably near the rest of the home, it is time purchase and arrange comfortable seating. Seating can be as simple as a patio table and chairs or it can be a collection of chairs, chaise lounges, benches, swings and cushions. The style of the seating as well as the number of seats is up to you.

Arrange the seating in a circular fashion for large groups, or in small clusters to encourage more intimate conversations. If you will be using an outdoor fireplace, be sure to place seating well away from the center where the fireplace will be located.

Set Up a Focus

If you would like a focus for your outdoor living area, arrange an outdoor fireplace, a table or other large item in the center of your seating to help bring the living area together. A table may limit seats, so you might create a small living area or multiple clusters if using a table. A large fire pit or fireplace can accommodate many seats, but be sure to keep seats well away from any blaze or sparks.

Accessorize

Finally, dress up your outdoor living area with potted plants, lawn decorations and special touches such as urns or wall fountains. Arrange plants and other accessories around the perimeter of the seating arrangement to make the outdoor living area feel cozy and contained.

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How to Build a Garden Path

A well-designed garden path not only leads you through your garden, but keeps your feet dry and protects your plants from being damaged. Ideally, a path invites you into the garden, leading you under beautiful branches and around trickling fountains, and even over garden bridges. By following a few easy steps, you can build a garden path that does all of this and even more.

Plan Your Route

Whether your path is intended to lead from the driveway through the garden to the front door, or from the patio to a secluded bench, the first step is to plan your route. If your path is prone to heavy traffic and is more utilitarian than superfluous, a straight and wide path that gets the traveler where they want to go is best. This doesn’t mean your path will be boring.

Plant interesting foliage along the path and add garden ornaments to keep the path attractive. A secondary path that might branch off of the main path can be narrower, since it is not expecting the heavy traffic flow, and might twist and turn a bit more. Instead of twisting and turning at random, make your curves seem practical—bending the path around an existing tree or placing a boulder in the nook of the curve.

Choose a Material

When choosing a material, it is important to consider again the purpose of your path, as well as your budget. You can use materials from sand or mulch, which can be free, to relatively expensive cut stone or pavers. Keep safety in mind. For primary paths, use a surface material that will be safe whether it is wet or dry, and will not slip or become uneven. Also, consider the style of your house. The material you use for your path should blend in or complement the style of the existing house and other structures.

Install the Path

The exact method of installation will depend on the type of material you chose. Regardless of the material, however, you will need to ensure good drainage so you are not creating a swamp or bog instead of a path. Additionally, you’ll probably use a base and some edging to ensure a level path. Once you have your path, you’ll love to use it and you will take great pride in knowing you created it.

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How to Attract Butterflies

If your perfect garden comes complete with flittering butterflies, you must attract them using the proper collection of plants. Fortunately, these plants are easy enough to find in nurseries and do not require a great deal of work outside of your normal gardening routines. All butterfly attracting plants have a similar element, however – they all possess a great deal of nectar.

Plant a Butterfly Friendly Garden

When you plant your garden, design it with butterflies in mind. Include flowering plants that have been proven to attract butterflies with their nectar. Some of those plants include lilies, lavender, thistle, blanket flower, and rock cress. Additionally any other flower, even wildflowers, with high amounts of nectar can attract butterflies.

Plant a large variety of bright and colorful plants. Arrange plants in clusters so that you have bold splashes of color in various sections of the garden. Butterflies are attracted to large riotous splashes of color, so don’t be timid when it comes to planting flowering shrubs or even trees.

Give Them Mud

Balance these flowers with a small water garden. Growing irises around a pond beside your butterfly garden can create a variety as well as give butterflies a full habitat right in your backyard. The pond can also help create a mud patch. Butterflies love to frolic in the mud, and you can make yours even more appealing with a few pieces of fermenting fruit.

Experiment over Time

Each season, try new plants with different colors and blooms to see if you can attract more butterflies and their caterpillars. Over the years you’ll soon find the perfect recipe for attracting the butterflies native to your area.

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How to Use Espalier

Espalier is a gardening technique that trains trees to grow along walls to save space in tight gardens and to create an unusual effect in your backyard. Espalier dates back to castle courtyards and monasteries, but you can use the technique in your own garden today for the same space saving and beautification purposes.

Prepare a Space

The location is everything with espalier. In most mild climates, a south facing wall is the ideal location for trees grown using espalier as the wall would absorb sun and warmth throughout the day. In some climates, however, the south facing wall may receive too much sun and heat which would be detrimental to the espalier effect. If this is the case where you live, consider an east or west facing wall. A north facing wall is almost never a good location for espalier.

The tree will planted only six to eight inches from the wall or fence, so prepare the soil adequately in this location as well as extending out from the fence to ensure a healthy root system. Prepare the fence or wall itself by installing a wire mesh or trellis behind where the tree will actually be planted.

Plant a Tree

Plant a young tree that grows well in your climate. Espalier can work well with fruit trees if they naturally grow in your area. Be sure you plant a young, supple tree as you will be training the branches over time to grow in a certain fashion. If you are not up for the training of the branches, you may be able to find trees already prepared for espalier planting in local nurseries. These can be more expensive than a standard young tree, but they will also save a great deal of time and effort.

Train the Tree

Once the tree is planted, water it well on a regular basis and allow it to establish a root system before beginning training. In the spring while the branches are especially soft, carefully bend them against the wall and use string or cloth to gently tie them into a design along your mesh or trellis. In cool weather, you can prune the branches that are not part of your actual design. Training will take a long period of time and some work on your part to keep branches tied correctly and unnecessary branches trimmed away. But eventually your tree will be a true asset to your garden.

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