Beaver Bolender is a serious businessman. Why else would he bet his future on making cartoons for interior decorators?
Bolender and his partners, Bill Phillips and Larry Tobin, are convinced that computer animation will become de rigueur for decorators, architects and engineers of distinction in the next few years.
So last year, they spent $30,000 on a powerful personal computer and programmed it with 3D-Studio computer animation software. Phillips, a graphic artist with a background in computer retailing, has been honing his animation skills ever since.
3D-Studio allows users to apply hundreds of colors and surfaces to three-dimensional images created by AutoCad and other 3-D modeling software.
“He knew nothing about AutoCad and I knew nothing about 3D-Studio,” said Bolender, president of Drafting Alternatives, a computer service bureau in Ft. Lauderdale. “I said, `We have a team.’ “
The company’s tiny office is crammed with computers and a $50,000 Xerox blueprint plotter.
Bolender says he will try to persuade customers to use Drafting Alternatives not only to exchange these computerized drawings but also to let Phillips bring them to life.
Using 3D Studio, Phillips can fill in 3-D line drawings facet-by-facet with colors and textures to simulate hundreds of materials, such as roofing tiles, carpet, bricks and fabrics. He can then manipulate the drawings to create the 30 images needed to generate a second of full-motion animation. In coming months, he will also be able to capture images off videotape for use in animations.
“Ultimately, a lady will be able to go into a decorator shop and (videotape) drapes and patterns, and I can capture it and render her interior,” Phillips said.
Despite a free fall in computer prices and huge strides in animation software, ordering a 3-D simulation of your dream home remains too expensive for most. Costs start at about $100 per second of animation.
