The Lingaraj Temple is an old sanctuary arranged in the city of Bhubaneswar and is the biggest one arranged in the city. Committed to Lord Shiva as the name proposes, the sanctuary was implicit in the seventh century by King JajatiKeshari. It is exceptionally respected as a result of the way that the Linga here, which is the phallic type of Lord Shiva, is accepted to have shown up normally. It ascends to a gigantic statue of 8 creeps over the floor level and is around 8 feet in the distance across as well. Lingaraj Temple is situated in the old piece of Bhubaneswar Town and can be effortlessly arrived at utilizing nearby vehicles.
The legislature of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), drove by Prime Minister Naveen Patnaik, declared plans on Thursday to create and embellish Bhubaneshwar’s biggest sanctuary, the Lingaraj Temple. The undertaking is important for a bigger arrangement to build up the sanctuary, which incorporates the development of Kedar Park, a recreation center situated at the forefront of Lingeshwar Temple, just as the development of an amphitheater and different offices.
The Lingaraj Temple is individually divided into two parts, Kapileswar and Lingeshwar, both in the heart of Bhubaneswar. There is also a caste known as Badu in the Lingeshwar temple, which serves the temple but is not a brahmin. Despite the fact that they have no innate help in the LingARaj sanctuary, they are important for the network of admirers, as Kapileshwar is inside the sacrosanct limits of Bhubaneswar and speaks to a holy limit in Bhubaneswar.
Although the Lingaraj Temple is dedicated to Siva and the Kapileswar Temple was dedicated to the Dewan who advises LingARaj, the Mallia is part of the sacred community. Although it does not have many worshippers visiting it, they still work there every day, just like the Bhubaneswar temple.
Non-Hindus are not allowed to enter the temple, but you can take pictures and have a look at the entire temple from an elevated platform that was built especially for tourists outside the temple complex. The sanctuary can be seen from the perception deck outside the sanctuary or from within.
It is said that when the development of the Lingaraj Temple was approaching finishing, the Jagannath culture started to fill in Odisha. It is believed that after Viceroy Lord Curzon was refused access to the majestic Lingaraj Temple because he was not Hindu, he instructed his men to erect a lookout tower on the compound walls of his complex. The temple worshipped Vishnu and Shiva, and when the “Lingaraja” temple was fully built, Jagannath, a form of the Vishna sect, had grown up, as historians believe, as evidenced by its presence in various parts of India.
Itas said that while the construction of the temple was nearing completion, the Jagannath cult began to take on its form, a fact attested by the fact that both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu were worshipped here in this temple. Therefore, historians believe that the Harihara form, which coexists with the Lingaraj cult, existed in the temples. The harmony between the two sects can be seen in every temple where both deities are worshipped. Although she was mainly dedicated to Siva, she worshipped these two gods as equals, and so the gate at “Lingaraja” marked the gatekeepers (devas) and the gates at “Harais” (forms derived from Shiva or Vishu).
Sevaka (i.e., Palia Badu) enters the temple with Kalasa (water) and sprints water on the Shivalinga in the temples. Entering the temple, one can see a trident consisting of the head of Shiva and the body of Vishnu, as well as the arms and legs of Jagannath and Siva.
The temple is so-called to signify that the worship able deity of the temple was Lord Shiva. Lingaraja means King of Lingam, which means that King Lingam is a phallic form of Shiva, and Lingaraj means not to be bad.
If you have any doubts about how this temple has radiated a spiritual atmosphere over the years, take a look at the following important tips for visiting the Lingaraj Temple. Our guide will explain how to reach the Lingaraj Temple and how it functions as the temple of Shiva, son of Shiva.
The temple have a large number of believers on the auspicious day of Shivaratri, the main feast of the Lingaraja temple. A visit to the temple in January and March is a must for any follower of Shiva, as it will help you experience the divinity and Shivaratri celebrations in the temples. If you visit the temple of Lord Jagannatha in Puri, you can also visit the Lingaraj Temple. Open your shoes outside the temple. You can visit this temple during the holy month of January, February, March, April, and May.
The Lingaraj Temple plays a very important role in the Shivaratri festival, as the devotees go to the temple to offer food and dance in front of the Shiva statue. The temple also has a statue of the ruler Ganga, who was introduced to us by the great Hindu saint, Lord Shiva, during his visit to Puri in the 16th century.
Another important aspect of this temple is that it means the concretization of the Shaivism and Vaishnavism sects in Orrisa. This is the first of its kind in the world and bears the name of Lord Shiva, the patron saint of all religious sects in India.
It is certain that the Lingaraj Temple is saturated with truly significant Hindu customs is as yet a social symbol.
However, it is accepted that a few pieces of the sanctuary were assembled initially in the sixth century yet was redesigned and was work in a completely fledged manner just in the eleventh century. There is additionally a notice of this sanctuary in the Brahma Purana which is an adored sacred writing of the Hindu religion. It’s said that while the development of the sanctuaries was nearly culmination, the jagannath religion began taking its shape and this reality has been affirmed by the proof that Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu are worshipped here at this sanctuary.
The sanctuary is one of the most established structures of Bharat and is accepted to be a structure that is around 1000 years of age. There is a fanciful story related with the sanctuary which discloses to us that once Lord Shiva disclosed to his darling Parvathi, why he favors the city of Bhubaneshwar more than Banaras. After hearing the story, Parvathi set out on the excursion to discover a declaration to reality. Along these lines, she appeared as typical female steers and went out investigating the city. While she was on her excursion, two devils came into her way who needed to wed her. Even after her persistent refusal, they continued after her thus so as to protect herself, she disappeared them and set herself free. After the frequency, Lord Shiva made the Bindu Sara Lake so as to acquire time everlasting to space.
To understand the rich heritage, progressive architecture, and multiple colors of Indian culture one must visit Ellora caves which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site (declared in 1983) based in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. here you would find more than 100 caves and these are a great example of amalgamation of different cultures like Hinduism, Buddhism and Jain culture since the caves depict the concerning monuments, artworks, god, goddesses, and portrays the mythological stories that can be found in Vaishnavism, Shaktism and the glimpses can be seen in the two potential and powerful Indian epics,the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. hardly anywhere one could see such gigantism in art and it is rightly one of the largest rock-cut monastery (viharas) – temple (caityas) complexes all over the globe and unification of different cultures or beliefs enrich its majestic existence. Out of 100 caves, we have 34 caves that are open for tourists. Ellora Caves and its affluent sculptures ,rich architecture can be dated from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1000,hence it brings the ancient Indian civilization, its history to light. It showcases the true essence of Indian civilization and its magnificence and the magnanimity of the Indian culture. The nearest Ajanta Caves are equally impressive and mesmerizing. Among the 34 caves, 12 are Buddhist caves, 17 are Hindu temples, and 5 are Jain temples. The architecture mastery is of different level, but it must be said that the Hindu temples are the most enthralling and have hypnotized aura whereas the Buddhist caves are less ornamental. Cave No. 16: Kailasa Cave It is a wonder of the eyes. Cave No. 16, the Kailasa Cave, named after the renowned Kailasa Range, of the great Himalayas. This cave is heartily dedicated to Lord Shiva, a prominent Hindu od. The temples of this Caves are, at first,delved horizontally into the rock face, whereas this Kailasa Caves is strikingly different from these. This particular cave is excavated downward from a basaltic slope exposing the entire time to the dazzling sunlight. One can find numerous other shrines that are carved from this same rock and those are also dedicated to different Hindu Gods and Goddesses, naming few like Ganga, Saraswati, Yamuna,the ten avatars (incarnations) of Lord Vishnu, Indra, Agni, Vayu, Ardhanarishvara (half Shiva, half Parvati), and many more. This Kailasa Cave is rightly described as –a great wonder of the world – among the rock-cut monuments. its dramatic and skilled construction still amazes the world, the greatness of its architecture is unparalleled. Cave No. 10: Vishwakarma Cave it is a buudhist cave, and among these Buddhist caves, Cave No. 10, the Vishwakarma Cave,is the most notable, a chaitya worship hall is built approximately in 650 CE. This cave is created by giving the rocks a beautiful and unimaginable appearance of wooden beams and this great art therefore is also called Carpenter’s Cave. This cave contains a calm, restful, and yet a charismatic 15-foot statue of Lord Buddha seated in a preaching and calm posture. A large Bodhi Tree can also be seen as carved at the back ofLord Buddha. Among the Buddhist caves, this Viswakarma cave is dedicated to Chaitya Griha (prayer hall). The extensive and skilled artworks through which this cave is decorated, portray the characters like entertainers, musicians, meditating monks, and dancers along with the male and female deities. Jain Caves: In the extreme north of the Ellora caves, there are five caves that are popularly known as Jain Caves as they belong to the Digambara sect which is supposedly excavated in the 9th and early 10th centuries. Relatively these caves are smaller than the others. But this does not make these caves less attractive as these are equally equipped with highly efficient and detailed carvings. But unlike the Hindu caves, the main focus for these caves is laid on the portrayal of the 24 Jinas (spiritual conquerors who have gained liberation from the endless painful cycle of rebirth). The gods and goddesses that are depicted on the walls of these caves are primarily from the Jain belief such as Yaksa (male nature deity), Yaksi (female nature deity), and human devotees and admirers mostly from the Jain mythologies. The 5 caves are – 1) Chotta Kailasa (Cave 30), 2) Cave 31 (mainly carvings of Parshvanatha guarded by Yaksa Dharanendra and Gommateshvara along with sculptures of Vardhaman and several other animals), 3) The Indra Sabha (Cave 32), 4) The Jagannatha Sabha (Cave 33), 5) Cave 34 (this cave is not particularly deciphered yet but beautiful carvings of different Jain mythological characters and sculptures can be found here). Inscriptions of Ellora Caves: From the 6th century onwards, different inscriptions can be found at Ellora Caves. Among numerous inscriptions, the most notable and remarkable one is by Rashtrakuta Dantiduga that was written on the back wall of the front mandapa of cave 15 which states that he had offered his prayers and offerings at that temple. Similarly, Jagannath Sabha (Jain Cave 33) carries 3 inscriptions that depict the name of the monks and donors. On the other hand, one of the inscriptions of the Parshvanatha temple tells the name of the donor, Vardhanapura, dated 1247 CE. In the same way, The Great Kailasa Temple’s inscriptions take the name of Krishna I. These various inscriptions are actually the story-teller of ancient India and become a pivotal part of the rich Indian heritage. Paintings of Ellora Caves: Ellora caves are decorated with different colorful and charming paintings which are the true portrait of ancient India mirroring the past glory and culture of India. Since the ages, the colors have survived illustrating the splendid paintings. Even, there are various painted carvings and the efficiency and the proficiency of these paintings are breathtaking. These paintings mostly talk about the gods and goddesses, mythological stories and characters, different animals, donors, monks, important pilgrims, and many more. Witnessing these paintings and painted carvings are similar to witnessing the people from the past and their lives. Present Condition and Damage: Historical records have been there to prove the fact that these caves were visited regularly in the past. The main reason for it is that the geographical location of Ellora caves was within the sight of a trade route. Pilgrims from different religions used to use it as shelter, especially Ellora was famous among the Buddhist monks for their meditation and preaching place and in the 9th and 10th centuries, they used to visit Ellora caves very frequently. Later on different foreign invasions, especially Muslim invasions have made permanent damages of the beauty and its treasures. Apart from the mutilation made by the invaders, the natural causes, especially with the time are also responsible for the ruins and the damages of Ellora caves. Though the government is trying to save and preserve Ellora caves diligently. Ellora Caves the assets of rich Indian culture and architecture. This protected monument is under the Archaeological Survey of India. These caves date back to the great Rashtrakuta dynasty, approximately 1500 years ago. The Ellora Caves with delicate and intrinsic artworks along with spirituality are the epitome of aesthetic experience.
Rajasthan, India is the ideal place for the globetrotters where they can find the treasures which unfold the history of the glorious India that is the amalgamation of rich architecture and proud account of Indian royals. One of the remarkable and finest examples of Rajasthan’s jewels is Mehrangarh Fort, based in Jodhpur city of Rajasthan, India. The history of Mehrangarh fort is dated from 1459 as it is believed that the fort is built around the year 1459 by one of the Jodhpur Royal families, Rao Jodha, the chief person of the Rathore Dynasty. History: Rao Jodha being an expert and experienced king, decided to move his capital from Mandore, Jodhpur to a safer place as he believed that the thousand years old Mandore Fort had become weaker in terms of security and could no longer sustain and he considered Mehrangarh as the safe place for the Royal Family. So he shifted his capital to Mehrangarh and built this renowned fort which was previously known as Bhakurcheeria, literally meaning the Mountain of Birds. There is a popular story of Cheeria Nathji and Shri Karni Mata, the female warrior sage of Rajasthan, behind this establishment. There was a bizarre custom among this royal Rathore clan and that was to bury anyone alive in the proposed land, which was considered as the auspicious one. So, following the tradition, Rao Jodha also buried Raja Ram Meghwal, a person from the Meghwal caste to ensure this place to be fortunate and providential. And surprisingly Raja Ram Meghwal sacrificed himself willingly. In return, the family of Raja Ram was promised to stay under the secure umbrella of the Rathore dynasty. And the Rathore family never failed to keep this promise. Even today, this Meghwal family lives in Raj Bagh, “Raja Ram Meghwal’s” Garden. Significance of the Name: Primarily this Mehrangarh was known as Mihirgarh and later on changed its name to Mehrangarh. Mihirgarh literally means the Fort of Sun or Sun-Fort as etymologically in Sanskrit Mihir means Sun and Garh mean Fort. Thus Mehrangarh emerged as the Sun-Fort. Additionally, Sun-God is the principal deity (Kul Devta) of the Rathore clan. Historically this fort stands from the year 1459, but the remaining that we perceive today is dated from the 17th century onwards, from the time of King Jaswant Singh of Marwar. Location: This huge fort is positioned 410 feet (125 m) above the city and is guarded by heavy and powerful walls. The walls of the fort are as high as 118 feet (36 m) and massively thick as 69 feet (21 m). It is believed that the chief personnel who were responsible for building this beauty were from the Khandwaliya community, one of the well-known and antiqued communities of Rajasthan. The beauty of the Mehrangarh Fort: This enthralling fort is one of the massive forts of Rajasthan and still well-maintained. The intricate artworks and the carvings of the walls of the fort are lavishing and eye-catching. Once you enter the fort, you will be taken aback by the majestic grace of the fort. The extensive and all-embracing courtyards are amazing whereas the ornamental palaces within it will take you back to the glorified part of India. Among the several palaces of Mehrangarh Fort, the most enchanting ones are Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace), Phool Mahal (Flower Palace), Sheesha Mahal (Mirror Mahal), Sileh Khana, and Daulat Khana. From the top of the fort, the view of the entire city is mesmerizing and the spiral road to and from the city, making several loops seems like a sleeping anaconda. Famous Gates of Mehrangarh Fort: To enter the fort you have to come across the chain of seven enormous gates. Among these seven gates the most famous ones are as follows: Jai Pol – Jai Pol means the Gate of Victory and it was constructed by Maharaja Man Singh, the popular and distinguished king of Rathore rulers, in the year 1806. He built this gate as the memorial of his triumph in the battle against Jaipur and Bikaner. Fateh Pol – It was erected to mark the triumph against the Mughals in the year 1707. Dedh Kamagra Pol – It is the second gate and it tells the story of the power and impact of the wars. This gate is engraved with the marks of cannonballs that were fired by the ravaging soldiers of Jaipur. Loha Pol – It is the last gate, which allows you to enter the main complex of the fort. This speaks for the vanity and horrific custom of past India. To the left side of this gate, there can be found the handprints of the Ranis (Queens), who sacrificed their lives by jumping into the funeral pyre of their husband, Maharaja Man Singh, in the year 1843. This is the ‘Sari custom or ‘Jahar-vrata’ which was prevalent in then India and was considered as a noble one.
Krishna is a very important Indian divinity and it would not be hyperbolic to say that Lord Krishna, his life, his teachings are the heart and soul of Indian philosophy, the Indian way of life, thought process of billions of population to look at life and the world irrespective of religion caste and gender. His ‘leelakahini’ is not only a treasure for ancient Indian literature, but its continuation still can be seen in 21st-century literature and its popular culture. His life still fascinates writers, philosophers, devotees; his teachings are still relevant as they were in the days of ‘The Mahabharata’. India is a land of very complex religious philosophy; Krishna’s life, his words, just enhanced that complexity multi-folded; and it can’t be denied that this complexity, coexistence of opposite thoughts, freedom of interpretations of the texts made the philosophy of this land very interesting and its characters fascinating.
He is considered as the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu who is a very important connector in the Indian Trinity System- Brahma, the creator, who created the world (but he is not the world); Vishnu, the protector of the world created by Brahma; and then comes Shiva, the destroyer, who destroys the world at each end of the cycle of time and prepare it for another creation. Without this trinity, one cant understand this philosophy and obviously Lord Krishna. Dharma plays a very important role in Hinduism, which is pretty different from the so-called available translation i.e. religion. In Hinduism, every creature and even every emotion, in a nutshell, everything all around in cosmos has their own Dharma like a lion’s dharma is to prey, a king’s dharma is to rule properly. With Dharma, coexists Adharma (negative of Dharma); it is the balance between Dharma and Adharma that keeps the Universe; whenever Adharma would suppress Dharma, the balance of Universe would be disturbed, and at that juncture, the fall of society would start, when this imbalance would threaten the creation, an intervention is needed to restore the balance. As it is mentioned that it is the duty of Lord Vishnu (the 2nd god in the trinity) to protect the world, therefore he takes the responsibility to protect Dharma by descending on the earth through various incarnations. He took various incarnations like Matsya, Varaha, Lord Rama, Lord Parashurama, etc. like them Lord Krishna is also an incarnation of Lord Vishnu (believed to be 8th, it can vary), Lord Krishna was one of his human incarnations that as the time goes became a prolific character in Hindu identity, his importance in Hindu life suppresses other important incarnations like Lord Rama, even sometimes Lord Vishnu himself.
Sources of Krishna’s story The basic sources of Krishna’s mythology are the epic Mahabharata and its 5th-century-CE appendix, the Harivamsha, and the Puranas, particularly Books X and XI of the Bhagavata-Purana. Phases of Krishna’s Life If we look deeper into Krishna’s life we would come across 3 different phases, and 3 different emergences of Krishna’s character. The first phase is his childhood where his Raas Leela, relationship with his mother, his mischievous pranks, miracles have filled the air of Brindaban. It is these stories that are still celebrated through various folklores, songs, dances. In the second phase, we get a warrior Krishna who killed Kangsa and the whole Aryavarta (the land of nobles, or particularly an ancient name of the land of Vedic civilization, not Indian state as we know today) came to know about his existence; The third stage is the politician Krishna, it is this stage that makes him immortal, the greatest teacher ; Folklores still celebrate the 1st stage of his life but it will not be wrong to say that without the 3rd stage, Krishna would not be the most important character. Now let’s try to get a tiny glimpse of this great lover, warrior, and politician’s life.
1st phase (birth and growing up days in Gokul) Birth story His birth story is very fascinating. Kansa was a ruthless ruler of Mathura, he had a sister Devaki, whom he loved very much. But unfortunately through Akashvani, Kansa came to know that Devaki’s 8th son would be the reason for his death, so he killed Devaki’s 7 sons, but Vasudeva (husband of Devaki) took the precaution of hiding Krishna in the remote village of Vrindavana where the boy was brought up as a simple cowherd (in this guise he can be referred to as Govinda). Family at Vrindavana
Krishna’s foster parents at Vrindavana were Nanda and Yashoda, his sister is Subhadra, and his brother Balarama. His ‘Raasleela’ With his dark, beautiful look he was the center of attraction in Vrindavana, Gopis (wives of Cow herders) got attracted by him, his majestic quality with flute and dance made him the most desirable living being among Gopis in Vrindavana. There are many stories of him regarding dancing with Gopis, irritating them while they were bathing or taking water, theft of Makhan( his favorite food) by him, and his mother’s immense and blind love for kanhaiya (Krishna’s name). these stories are being called Raasleela of Lord Krishna.
(But a fascinating thing is, Never, in a natural conversation among Indians, Raasleela is a glorified word to use, it is used to portray the uncontrolled or undesirable life. But whenever the word gets placed with Krishna, it gets a heavenly touch and becomes majestic-this duality is a part of the complexity in Indian philosophies that can be ignored in this article.)
Radha-Krishna
These two names cant get justice if used singularly, it is said if Krishna is the story then Radha is the summary, and rightly so. Radha was a wife of a cow herder (Gopi) who falls in immense love with Krishna, Krishna accepted her affection and love and thus started a fascinating immortal love story of the world, still, this love story gets celebrated, worshipped among Indians. One can find various temples dedicated to Radha and Krishna. (names are normally taken in this order)
Other events His childhood is also filled with various stories of miracle-his various killings and thrashings of prominent enemies such as the ogress Putana, the giant bull Danava, the giant snake Kaliya, and the king of the Hayas, taking Govardhana mountain in one finger.
These are not mere stories, a deep philosophical connection is attached to these. Kansa represents Adharma, Mathura needed to be saved from his tyranny. To protect dharma, a mother sacrificed her 7 children, so that the 8th one could bear and destroy Kangsa- this is a story of utmost sacrifice for Dharma (and this sense is recurrent in Hindu philosophy). His love story with Radha is of great significance even in so-called modern societies, Radha was married, even though this love story has always been celebrated as the ultimate representation of love, affection. The aesthetics of this immortal love shows that Love as a feeling is much beyond marriage as an institution, this story and how greatly it has been accepted throughout the ages needs a greater study.
Thus in the first phase of his life, his dual existence is greatly felt – Krishna is both a god disguised as a mortal and a prince disguised as a commoner. 2nd phase (Warrior Krishna) Here we see the emergence of a warrior, who came to Mathura, killed Kangsa, and saved the people from his tyranny. Kansa was a powerful king, his death gave shockwaves to Aryabarta, Krishna won, established himself as a warrior, and made Mathura his kingdom. But in this process, he made Jarasandha, the most powerful king of that time, his arch-enemy since Kangsa was his son-in-law and he wanted to kill Krishna to take revenge. Jarasandha attacked Mathura, he was too powerful for Krishna to defend, hence he left the battlefield and went to Dwarika, built a city there, and made that his new kingdom.
This is a very important time of his life since now he is arriving at his 3rd stage. His loss again Jarasandha and leaving the battlefield gave him a bad name in his lifetime. In this meantime he got married to Satyabhama, this marriage was much strategic than organic. Satyabhama was a daughter of a wealthy person who had a huge influence in the Yadav clan (Krishna belonged to this clan). Hence this marriage gave him money, acceptance as a king in society. 3rd phase (politician Krishna) This is the most important phase for all of Aryavarta, this phase will teach you the meaning of life, dharma, death; in this phase, you would come across the bloodiest war ever fought in human history. (the war of Mahabharata) ‘The Mahabharata’ war Krishna suddenly got himself involved in the internal power politics of the Kuru Clan (Pandavas and Kurus). He took sided with Pandavas because he believed Dharma was on the side of Pandavas. Basically, the Mahabharata war was the reason for land disputes between the families of Dhritarashtra and Pandu; Draupadi’s Vastraharan, Pandavas exile in the forest were the direct reasons for this great war. But Krishna colored this war as Dharmayudh (the war to protect Dharma), and he got the whole Aryavarta involved in this war; the politics he played in the dispute of the kuru clan, and strategies he took in the war, made him the greatest politician ever existed;
Krishna’s words, the philosophy that we witness in the Mahabharata are of great importance to Hinduism, he was like fresh air in the time when Aryavarta was facing moral decline; kings were indulged in suppression, respect for women started to decline, people were blindly following the old exiting rituals in the name of Dharma; Krishna gave a new perspective on the way of life, he broke the rules of society (he got married to Rukmini by forcing her to escape from her marriage); his conflict with Bheeshma represents the friction between the old ritualistic society and the new Dharma centric philosophy that Krishna taught. Krishna and the Mahabharata Krishna did not directly get involved in this war, he promised not to take weapons, instead, he would be Sarthi of Arjun’s chariot. Arjun here became the representation of a human devotee and Krishna as God, it shows that God would not help you directly, instead, it would show you the righteous path, but it is you who have to take the decision and have to be prepared for the consequences of your decision. This is the basis of Karma philosophy, which is an intrinsic value of Bharatvarsha. The Gita In the time of war, the great warrior refused to fight, because in opposition there were family members of him (his teacher, grandparent, brothers); he refused to fight, as any human being he got confused about what to do and what not, at that Time his Saarthi lord Krishna persuaded him to fight the war, and this conversation, known as The Gita, is the treasure trove for Hindu philosophy, it is the best gift that Hinduism gave to the world. Gita will teach you what is Dharma, what is life, What is death, what you should do and what you not, but none of these were authoritative, it is left open-ended, the complexity of the thoughts, the open-mindedness of the text made it such a fascinating text to study. It is a text that leads you to the path of self-realization. As a statesman and diplomat par excellence, no one compares with him. That is why Krishna and the Gita became the inspiration for India’s Independence Movement for Tilak, Aurobindo, and Gandhi.
Krishna holds all the colors of the rainbow of human life, extending to the boundless universe, represented by the peacock feather he wears, and the all-encompassing cosmic form he assumes, Vishvarupa. Importance of Krishna in modern life As time goes our lives become more materialistic, our connection to the inner self and our inner self’s connection to the cosmos have decreased greatly; Gita can help us to explore our inner strength, our connection to the universe, would teach us the Dharma, for which we should even fight against our own; it teaches us the concepts of death, life, karma, and moksha; it teaches us the universality of human being, it connects us with everything in cosmos. Krishna said there is no way which is good or bad, one should always choose a lesser bad path to move- this is a revolutionary thought that comes from ancient Hindu philosophy. Krishna was always surrounded by enemies, he fought them and became the victor and proved himself the most important person in Hindu philosophy.
He was a great epitome of practicality, many times he took the path that would not seem righteous but that was the need of time, that was the practicality. He was the first who removed the rigid concept of right and wrong and brought practicality as a reference frame to chose among them. But as it is said in Hinduism, even Gods can’t break the rules they created, even they are not above the rule, Krishna too faces the wrath of the society of the mischiefs done by him in the war. Gandhari cursed him, and Krishna even being God accepted the curse, accepted that fall of his clan, and his death.
He had numerous shades in his characters, maybe no other character in the world is as diverse as him, he is the only one who would give you a thousand reasons to worship him and thousand reasons to denounce him; and maybe that’s why even after thousands of years he is as young, as fascinating, as an intelligent character one can come across.
Writing a blog sounds easy to do but trust me, it is not only about compiling some good words on a particular topic; it is more than just words. You have to scratch your head to make your blog attractive, SEO friendly, and a lot more. And for all these, the picture plays a pivotal role to make your blog pop up.
Again, finding out a good and appropriate photo agency for your site or blog takes a hell of a lot of time. Still, people cannot find it out because you need to keep in mind the pricing, what you are getting from the agency, the quality of the images, the appropriateness, and also the legal aspect which is really important.
You may say that there are free photo agencies from where you can get free photos for your content, yes, indeed you can. But the hidden part is that there are also considerable legal risks while you are choosing an image from these free sites.
After seeing a lot of complications and headache that a blogger face while picking the best and proper photo agency for his or her blog, I have come here to lighten up your burden. Yes, today I am going to talk about the best photo agencies for you from where you can get the best quality photos without any legal complications for your blog to bloom it further. No matter what your content or niche is, you can still find an appropriate and quality one for your blog.
So without wasting more time, let’s go forward with the curtailed list of best photo agencies which will ease down your anxiety and burden.
Let’s begin.
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Canva photos provide you a number of options to make your blog dazzling, standing out in the crowd. It is very popular among not only the bloggers but also among Twitter, LinkedIn users.
What’s Unique in It:
Its Blog Title Design template is probably the best for the users. It really works smoothly with the clients’ satisfaction. The ever best part that Canva has created is its infographics template. It makes your work simpler, easier, and a lot more alluring.
Pricing:
With just USD 12 per month, you can get access to 50,000,000+ images. Here, I must say that they have few images for free to use but only USD 12 per month, and then BOOM! You are in the world of their massive collection of high quality and mesmerizing photos. That sounds quite wonderful and cost-effective too.
Story Blocks:
If you want to add some stories into the story of your blog, Story Blocks is your next web-destination. They have a huge collection of videos and a massive library of 408,000 images.
What’s Unique in It:
No matter, if you are a freelance creator, a YouTuber, or a part of a larger community, they have licensing that will help you to cover your blog or project appropriately with unlimited distribution.
Pricing:
The best part of Story Blocks is that they have dynamic and flexible plans and subscriptions for their users to make their experience better and excellent with Story Blocks. Only you need USD 9.00 and you have an access to their enormous library of high-quality images. From there you can choose the appropriate one for you. But, I guess, every picture of their library is alluring.
Here, one thing needs to mention that with only USD 5.00 you can also have an access to download but only to 5 images. But, only USD 9.00 and the entire library is open for you to use, seem more convincing, and cost-effective.
123RF
123RF’s database is the one ideal for you which can mesmerize and allure you easily with their gigantic, over 69 million stock of images, audio clip, vectors, and footage. Quite a giant library! Isn’t it?
What’s Unique in It:
You can also have an access to their advanced features and services such as 123RF Editor. This unique and potent feature lets you edit easily and swiftly the images using the filters available on their site. The surprise does not end here. You can also add texts and can even create covers for your social media pages or accounts. This is a highly suitable and preferable agency that suits all the bloggers or content creators out there, ranging from the startup blogger to the large media company.
Pricing:
Now, you must be thinking, such a brilliant agency with so many features must be very expensive for you. But trust me, it is not. They have two types of plans. The first one is On-Demand (from 0.70 per credit) and the second one is the Subscription Plan (from 0.18 per image). But among all the plans, the best one for the users is the yearly ones. Here, a USD 59 per month (for one year plan) will save you around USD 253 and will offer you to download JPEG/EPS files per day.
Shutterstock
If you search anything on Google and go to the ‘Images’ option and you have not found at least a single image with the Shutterstock branding, it is not simply possible. It is so popular all over the globe that I thought of not excluding it and obviously with valid reasons. Find out why I as well as the entire world are so crazy about Shutterstock.
What’s Unique in It:
Firstly the database of Shutterstock is massive. Its library contains more than 100 million images. Isn’t it enormous? And secondly, each day 50,000 new images are added to their database making it a gigantic beast. Now, you can understand why people are passionate about Shutterstock; it has the largest royalty-free collection.
So, you can fathom what it means; whatever you want, you can get that in here that too with lots of varieties.
Pricing:
Shutterstock has different plans and subscriptions according to the requirements of the users. The basic pricing starts from 49 USD per month with which you can download 10 images. There are 50, 350, 750 images download options with different prices and the entire details are given on their official website.
They have also launched ‘On-Demand Packs’ for adapted to the users’ benefits and requirements. The uniqueness of this plan is, no commitment is needed here from your side. Once you pay 49 USD, you can download 5 images any time within a year. For 29 images you have to pay 229 USD. This is a kind of one-time payment for one year.
This is my curtailed list of best photo agencies for a blogger. Now a few things you have to keep in mind before going for any agency, be it from the list or beyond it.
Always go through the images at first before signing up. Look through the images and decide whether they are appropriate for you and can serve your purpose. Then only pay for that. Do your own little research on the agency and then op for anyone.
One more thing, I want to mention. If you are a newbie in this industry and just pushing yourself to get started, it is always advisable to click your own photos. For a beginner, it is a bit hard to find out any cost-effective agency that can provide you your desired images at a pocket pinch. So my opinion is that create your own photos, no matter how ‘imperfect’ they are. They might not be as beautiful as the images in the library of these agencies, but still, they are unique and they are your creation. It is totally all right to use them in your blog.
Using your own Images will always add some extra values to your post and also it will create an individuality that will enable you to stand out in the crowd. It also portrays that you are not only writing but also you are experiencing your writing through the images and you are well aware of the content that you are creating.
This is a small tip for you.
I hope that this article is beneficial for you. And from here you will definitely find the ideal one suitable and profitable for you. Do not forget to make me know, which agency you have picked up and how your journey and experience are with that.
Do you like to create your 3D scene or are you looking for an excellent rendering engine? In both cases, I have a single solution for you, that is Daz3D. You need not roam anywhere anymore because this is the software all you need to create a 3D scene. On top of anything, it is free. Sounds exciting, right! Without wasting more time, let’s venture out A-Z about this brilliant software.
What is Daz Studio and Daz3D?
The Daz studio is a type of software petition or application and it’s for public use which is free by the Daz 3d. Daz studio is a 3D technology that is innovative and newly built creation and the application that it provides is utilized to produce animated cartoons, animated videos, and pictures. All the activities which are animated are possible by Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. The Renders can be built by leveraging and 3Delight (a type of program) that is the rendering device or the prerender engine. The engines which are the boat for free with Daz studio, or with a variation of purchasable option, which is an add-on with render engine which is plugins for the Daz studio from several dealers and another type of company.
The important disparities between Daz studio and another type of application are, for example, Poser, it is a similar application like Daz 3D which has comprised and got backing for its several eras of the “Genesis”, that is a technology and it is used as a simulation for the people animated cartoon characters and configuration.
Some important information regarding Daz Studio and Daz3D:-
The Daz 3D has many interpretations of the animated sculptures of figures and people’s identity or character. In 2012, they have initiated a very considerable technology for animation. Rather, of a single animation character or the figure occurring sculpture or designed separately, Daz3D has shifted to their Genesis setting, which is originated as for morphs from any other root screen. There are two types of innovative disparities that are created: the capacity for figures to be combined into a very large diversity of the patterns. For example, clothes, hair, and other types of extra morphs that do not only work for all animated personalities or the characters but it has shrilly shifted with the animated characters.
The Daz studio has funded the trade of import and export of several types of layouts for Daz3D items and the character animation to authorize the use of these 3d videos. It has also authorized the content or idea to be used in other types of applications. The Daz3D application is also available and usable for free to the public through the registration is necessary for Daz3D. In version 1.7, the logo was developed and styled as the “DAZStudio”.
In the year of 2017, the Daz 3D started offering the hexagon and the Daz studio together and that too at free of cost, and hence, it enhanced the 3D designing abilities to the Daz studio grant. Daz 3D is a new, unique, and different concept in the field application software development. With the help of the Daz3D type of technology and software, the animation and gaming industries are now able to do more modifications in animated games. Daz3D software application is not only able to give a great configuration but, this application can also provide an object identification application because in Daz3D, the existing software algorithm program, is expertly based on human figures, characteristics and it can do modification with itself. That is why it is also able in human and object identification.
Uses of Daz Studio and Daz3D in video games:-
In the global market of video game business, have you ever thought about how any video game is developed? Daz 3D software is a sufficient and very powerful application to create any kind of animated videos. This software application can create a very complex configuration that can be helpful to gain a market base. With the help of Daz3D, you can program or make any 3D scene, lighting, and you can also create lots of 3D animated characters. Daz 3D is also able to modify your camera settings and you can almost click render. The Daz3D software is mostly used by any animation programmer because with it you can do photography and edit the pictures. For example, you can click a picture of any kind of virtual event or scene. The programming of Daz3D is very helpful because it can do modifications almost by itself in any animated video or program.
How does it work?
If you want to know how Daz3D works, you must try Daz3D application software. When you would begin to use this software, first try to set up the layout. This can give you the authority to pick an interface that you want to go with. Go in your system Window>Workspace> select the layout. This is the starting of the Daz 3D application. After that, when a pop-up window on your screen appears, then you need to pick your desired layout with the help of this procedure.
After doing all these steps mentioned in the above paragraph, you are ready for programming or to create any scenes. Next, you have to go on the Smart Content tab. If you can’t find that tab, you just click right on the space on your windowpane. Then, you can pick Add Pane which is tab. The tab would give you the authority to add other types of tabs. These tabs help you to make your animation configuration more efficient. You can do a lot of changes in your video and editing. The Daz 3D software works with the help of the Genesis platform. The Genesis took off through the various editions since the launch in the year of 2011. The Genesis platform permits you and gives the flexibility to modify and move the character. It also helps to give the preferred shapes to the characters and enables the developer to make the characters’ clothes and animated confutation of any video game.
Genesis 2 divided the characters built and helped those different parts of the characters to get modified according to the developer’s wish. It’s mainly able to give a small and tiny structure. The Genesis platform is mostly used for making sculptures and figures of any software application. This platform is very useful and important for Daz3D software. But Genesis 2 faced problems while giving instructions to any program. It had various other defects and hence, it was transformed into a newer version Genesis 3, in the year of 2015. Because of the defects, Genesis 2 was modified to Genesis 3 by bringing many important changes to make it more able and user friendly like the transformation of Genesis base characters. The updated version kept the promise and became more popular.
Some important information on DazStudio and Daz3D
Do you know about Iray, 3Delight, Lux? These are also used in the addition of Daz3D application software. These all are used for making any 3D videos, or for rendering all animated videos or figures. If you try to make any kind of animated video or animated picture, you must have taken the help of all of these applications. But Daz3D gives you some special features which can help you to create any type of gaming program. It’s a physical-based rendering software that can give you easy access to use any software content. When you get to know the use of Daz3D software, you can do lots of changes with your scenes which are great advantages for you. If you want to do lots of modifications to your animated content, you have to understand all the animated scenes, characters, and pictures that you have made. After that, you can use modification and configuration tools to edit your content. These modifications will enhance your animation experience better.
For making Daz3D more efficient and capable they upgraded to Genesis 3. This Genesis characters and figures have been utilized by the Triaxle Weight Mapes along with several types of the other business platforms that are using the Dual Quaternion. So, these kinds of changes in Genesis 3 give the allowance to Daz3D characteristics to make themselves more consistent in comparison to other kinds of 3D application software platforms and animated game developing programs. All these activities make Daz3D more efficient but the whole software is still not able to perform well.
After that, another innovative path has come for Daz3D software and other animated gaming software. Genesis 8 vault in the edition has come through the evolution of Genesis 3 to Genesis 8, which was in the decree to deal with difficulty in the calling assemblies. Although Genesis has reached their fourth edition of Daz3D, most of the Daz3D flagship personalities are now on 8 Genesis. Now the Daz3D is shifted with the version of all Genesis to fit with any identity edition. So, Daz 3D is a type of application software which can give you a chance to make a better animation content. Overall Daz 3d is a good application for animation work.
I hope you have everything in here that you needed to know about this genius software. Now, build your 3D scene and enjoy it!
Program That You Need to Use If You Want to Use Real Life Person in Your Architectural Presentation
If you’re an engineer or architect and your boss is not happy with your project and presentation, visualize your design. Yes, I am talking about the use of 3D models. And trust me, after that, you can boss your boss. Going one step further, you can incorporate 3D built real-life people in your project. No one can turn away his/her face from your presentation. If you really want to upgrade yourself in your architectural or engineering project design or presentation or want to lag behind your colleagues in the race of promotion and grab the opportunity, you should be aware of 3D modeling, especially the 3D character-building program.
Real-life person 3D model:
This is the most popular one among the 3D models and has been used in many projects successfully. For this the best programs and tools, according to me, are iClone and Character Creator.
Before going into the depth of the entire process, first understand them – what they are, how they function, and then we will proceed further to know the entire procedure of their functioning. Stay with me.
What is iClone:
iClone, which is incubated, developed, and marketed by Reallusion, is the fastest real-time 3D animation and rendering software program in the market, which helps you to produce professional animations in different fields. It uses a 3D videogame engine for the real-time 3D animation to make an instant on-screen rendering.
Know about the Character Creator:
The Character Creator offers its users an easy, simple, and fun way to find out a look for their characters, according to their requirements. It is just like the Japanese Kisekae (electronic paper dolls). Here you need to pick, choose, and select items from a variety of lists to decorate and ornate your character. The company provides its consumers with this facility as free of cost and promises, it will remain the same for its users.
Character Creator 3 (CC) is a powerful, stand-alone tool that creates stylized or realistic looking, animation ready 3D characters that connect seamlessly with industry-Standard solutions for use with iClone, Maya, Unreal Engine 4, Unity, CryEngine, or any other 3D tools. A highly-morphable character base is utilized for this character creating system. That can be morphed and blended through sliders, to create unique character designs through the use of shape morphs, customizable high-resolution skin textures, material outfits, accessories, and more – according to Reallusion.
I hope, you have enjoyed the ‘ride’. Now it’s time to now, how things work and how can you build your character. Don’t worry; it is going to be as smooth and exciting as the previous.
How can you get your character using iClone and Character Creator:
For iClone 7 users, they will be getting a free copy of the “Character Creator 3 for iClone” edition. But now, if you are looking there for some extra features like texture and polygon optimization functions, or built-in pipeline functions with GoZ and OBJ/FBX export capabilities, you need to lose your pocket a bit; I mean, you need to go for Character Creator 3 Pipeline Edition which is a paid version
At first, you need to know about the User Interface.
On the left-hand side, you would have the content manager, where all the contents can be seen
On the right-hand side, there is a modify panel, where options are available to modify. You morph the item according to your requirements.
In content manager, there are several sections
Actor project mainly for morphs, there we have several categories like head, body, teeth, and eyes
Then we have a section called character skin, it also has sub-categories like makeup.
Then the section of hair comes. In this section availability of choosing options depends on whether it is free or subscribed. In free versions, there are normally 3 hair bases from which you can select.
If you roam through the content manager tab, you would find several essential folders, but for that, you need to scratch your pocket as they are for purchase only. You can easily purchase to have more options regarding character creation. Like you would get some base shirts in the free version but there are many other options of dresses in essential folders that need to be purchased (like skirts, shorts, full dresses).
Content Store is available to purchase those very easily.
Then in content manager at the extreme right, you would find accessories like sunglasses, beautiful hats to make the character look more attractive and appealing as per your requirements.
Above the categories of content manager, you would get an option to unlock the content manager table and float it, and it makes it more user friendly. The icons inside can be arranged in a vertical or horizontal way at the convenience of the user; the option to change the alignment is available in that undocking panel.
User experience has given priority here. A user can change the view of the categories of the content manager very easily according to their convenience. For example, you can go through the option of the eye, click on it, and the press ctrl+1, and it would change the view the way you want like list, thumbnail, medium size icon, or large size icon, and so on.
You can close the control manager portion and modify the section to come to the main screen. Options to close them are available on the right side of those sections. After closing it if you again want it back, then two very easy processes are available.
Click F4 for a content manager to come back.
Click F6 to modify the section to come back.
If you want to know which file you are using on character then just right click on the file, and an explorer window would open as per the convenience of the user.
To create a character, at first, we have to go to the content manager, there we have Actor Projects. Under this category, you would get clothed versions and nude versions both.
Now after choosing your body base you can change the skin color, only just clicking on the icon, you can get your desirable body color. You can import that easily by dragging or by double-clicking.
In nude versions, different skin colors, face cutting, male, female all kinds of options are available to use. You can also filter your character’s body shape that ranging from fat, chubby to slim to muscle-packed body. Different options have different facial expressions, body morphs that help the user to diversify the work. To select any one of them you have to just double click on that project and it would be selected and would be appeared on the main screen.
Now focus on the minute details that are eyeballs color, hair color, skin type (wrinkled or young), and so on. You can choose from a variety of options. It’s really easy to filter.
After selecting the body (lets a male body) we can go to the next option morphs, to change the body morphs of the selected character. Here we get various existing templates to morph. The options available to morph are as follows—
Full body (we can literally change a muscular guy to a fat one)
Head
Body
Eye
Various options of modifications, like the different color size of eyes, different build structure of the body, different quality of body structure. If you just want to change the eyes of the structure, you have to just double click on the selected template. You would have the option of whether you want to change the eye or just the material of the eye as color, but eventually, it would have the same mesh.
While you roam around with a mouse on the body of the character, you will find the same yellow selected portion on the body like on handcuff muscle, abs area, etc. You can select on the specific portion and can change the body structure like dragging the muscle and make it stronger and vice versa. You can increase the bust size, then again on the back area, the body structure can be changed in a similar way. Many more things like making the figure barrel-chested with huge packs and abs can be done easily by selecting the portions and dragging it.
Now on the right-hand side, we have the modify toolbox. There we would get a series of modifications options. It has mainly 3 subsections and at the left side option we would have the option like actor and under that 2 options like Body and Head would be there.
Underbody there are various options like Full Body, Arm, Hand, Chest, Torso, Waist, Leg, Feet.
Under Head, we have a variety of options like Full Head, Skull, Forehead, Eye, Ear, Cheek, Nose, Mouth, Jaw, Cavity. All you have to do is to select according to your requirements.
Then we would have Actor Pants. That goes under the costume. You can make your designs of costume. Some clothes are there for free, and some you have to buy from iClone. The choice is yours.
When we modify any of the options like the ears, skull we would have to click on it and then on the toolbox, and right to that, the modification bar would be seen. We just have to change that to get what we desire. Like if we want to modify the neck, we would click on it; then on the right-hand toolbar, we would get two options like neck length and neck size. We can easily change that by dragging the ball right or left. We can also change it by using the number box by increasing the number of size or length and vice versa. It might be possible that the changes we have made, we would want to undo it, and want to return to the default. To do this we have to just simply double click the neck size option and it would be back in default.
Then out of the 3 icons in the middle, we have an appearance editor. In this section first, we have to select the option actor, then on the right side we would get an option “Activate Appearance Editor”. By clicking it, we can launch our appearance editor, and here we can modify different parts of our character’s skin, like the surface normals, the aging, and basically everything you can see on the character’s skin.
After activating the appearance editor, we would get the option of output size. Here we can change it depending on how much detailing on the character we want, the higher the output size, the higher the detailing.
Then we would get options like Body base, where most people are interested. Here through the options like ‘Tone’, we can change the skin color. If we drag the bar to the right, the tone would become darker. We have options like ‘Variation’, if we change it, it would give even tone or ambient occlusion effect on the surface. Then we have options like normal strength, but changing it would not change the tone. If we take it down, it would not change the mesh. It would simply modify the surface material, making the character look more ripper by creating curves on the body of your character.
Body Surface Normals – Here we can make the character look older or younger by changing the age effect, and there are other options like strong or weak.
Body Freckles – We can increase or decrease the freckles to change the appearance. Even we can change the density of the character’s shoulder.
Body Tan – This option gives real effects to the character. Various inputs under this option are available like tank top (as previously mentioned, there are several kinds of costumes available to use). If we select that, the area covered under the tank top would be normal, and the exposed area would be tanned down.
Body Decals – Various body decals inputs are available. It mainly has to do with tattoos. With body decals, we can move around anywhere in the body and change the capacity and values of that portion.
Then there are various other options to modify the tan of faces. We can also modify eyelashes, skin, head from this appearance editor toolbar.
Hair – After this, let’s proceed to one of the most vital body parts without which, your character will remain unrecognizable. Yes, hair it is. We can keep the character bald or add hair. Hair can be easily be chosen by the content manager. There are a variety of mind-boggling options are available, based on different colors and different styles. For this, simply we have to select the option we require, and it would be added to the character. And if we remove the hair, we can easily click on the hair on the right hand modify toolbar and it would be removed. So easy, right?
Dressing – The clothing section is on the left-hand side, inside the content manager toolbar. When we click that option, we would get various options for shirts, pants, and other costume options, from, and we can select our preferred options easily. Male-female both kinds of dresses and shoes are available to be chosen from.
You can even modify the existing clothes to get your desired costume. Here you just have to convert Marvelous Designer Clothes for Character Creator. Here, you have to go through some processes like you have to align the CC body template for the MD garment; then you need to prepare rigging which has low poly, in Maya, and then, you need to learn, how to transfer and bake textures. In this case, ZBrush is very helpful as it has features like garment refitting, high poly enhancement, retopology, and rigging.
Now we can modify the selected dress too. As an example, let’s say, we would like to modify the shirt. For this, we need to select the shirt option from modify toolbar and would select the activate appearance editor and many options would come like the aging of the shirt, dirt, making the color more strong, or fade, or procedural holes (click first and then click on enable, which would make very small holes on the shirt) along with several other options are also available to modify the appearance of the dress. Now after creating holes, the problem might be that through the hole the body would not be seen. To solve this, we have to select the shirt from the modify option, and then go to the ‘conform’ option on the top and deselect ‘hide intermesh’.
Your wait for your desired character is almost over. The last option is left, now that is ‘how to export’. This is easy too. Hold your breath and let’s proceed.
How to export your character to iClone:
Above content manager, there is a project toolbar, where we get options to export– 1. Export Selected Object, 2. Export Iavatar and 3. Send Character to iClone (from right to left).
Export Selected Object – If you chose this option then only the selected portion of the character would be exported. Hence, through this option, you can export a shirt, jeans, etc separately.
Export iAvatar – You can go to the file option, then export, and after that, you would get the iAvatar command. Alternatively, you can just select the iAvatar tool from the project toolbar.
After following any of the above-mentioned steps, you would be asked to set the resolutions of the texture images that the character contains. You have to browse and save the character as .iAvatar format to any of the preferred directory.
Send Character to iClone – On the left of Export iAvatar, you would get this option to send it to iClone directly. You just have to click the option and it would be sent.
Now, here on iClone, you can start making animations and changes that are required according to your needs. Here you can get a variety of options, ranging from changing facial expressions to body movements.
After Animation, How Can You Export the Character in Rendering Software Like Lumion or Twinmotion or Unreal Engine:
Now your final job is to export the character or FBX files from iClone to any rendering software like Lumion or Twinmotion or Unreal Engine.
In the previous version of iClone, you are needed to go through the 3D exchange software. So you are needed to purchase the iClone pipeline through the exchange pipeline and then you can export your FBX files via 3D exchange.
But now, with version 7, though we still need the 3D exchange pipeline, however, you can export directly from iClone your FBX files.
Go to the iClone website and then go to the top menu where you need to click on 3D animation and iClone. Then, on the top right click on the buy option. A couple of versions will appear on your screen. You need to make sure that you have the pipeline version of 3D exchange 7 and then you will be able to export FBX files directly from iClone.
Now come back to your iClone and look at the export option that you have. The objects that you want to export select them and go to file and then export. Export FBX now you will find various preset options are there like Unreal Engine, Unity, Maya, and so on. Make sure that your target tool frames-per-second is the same as the frames-per-second you chose here. Now do the export. Through Lime Exporter plugin. we can easily export files to Lumion, just in one click. For rendering in Twinmotion, click on the export icon and then you get several options like image and video – choose accordingly. And then export.
For export texture settings, we have the option to embed the textures in your FBX file. There, from a variety of options, you can choose what to embed and what not. If you don’t choose any texture file size will be less and it will create a different folder with the FBX suffix. There will be a different folder that is called texture which will be exported separately and this folder will contain the metallic and roughness maps as FBX files generally do not carry metallic and roughness maps.
Here, we need to convert the texture files to any image format (EMP, JPEG, Target PNG, etc.) for our FBX file. Target and PNG options are included exclusively for unity and Unreal Engines.
You will also have the options like ‘delete unused morphs’ and ‘delete hidden mesh.’
Done! Your desired character is ready. It’s truly easy to create and use. Why are you wasting your time! Start making your character and hit the market with your innovative project ideas using this iClone and Character Creator and grab the deal.
If you are an avid history lover coupled with the intoxication of adventure, your next destination is Peru, a majestic country which is lying in western South America and constantly invoking your inner spirit of an escapade to the land of the Inca Empire.
This country has so much to offer that, Peru is not all about Machu Pichhu. If we start unboxing the jewels of Peru, the epitome of the treasures must be Colca Canyon, a canyon of the Colca River, which is only 160 kilometers away from the twinkling white city and regional capital, Arequipa.
This canyon is the embodiment of terrific beauty as it is the deepest canyon, arguably the third deepest canyon of the world, reaching the depth of 3,210 meters which is two times deeper than Grand Canyon. This place has fully bloomed its petals with breathtaking grandeur along with a tantalizing backdrop that beseeches the backpackers from all around the globe.
This is a gem place for the trekkers. Various packages of trekking and touring are available here, ranging from one day tour to three days trekking. To quench your wanderlust, you need to buy permits (tourist ticket) legally to enter here.
While going to Colca Canyon, the breakfast-stop is Chivay, a place with rustic and organic charm and an excellent base for Colca Canyon hiking. Next, Cruz del Condor will cast spell on your eyes with the grace of the regal birds. Spending a night in the Colca Canyon Oasis will surely give you goosebumps. The trekking really will sweat you out as the hiking is heavy-duty.
Throughout the year, you can visit this canyon, but it would be advisable to plan your tour after the rainy season. There are some sightseeing places like an archaic church in Yanque and some more, but nothing stands in the same queue as Colca Canyon.
Verdon George, France:
The moment we think of France, the picture of Eiffel Tower floats before our eyes, but France is not all about Eiffel Tower. Rather, if you move towards southeastern France, an emerald green river, Verdon will surely snatch away your breath by her beauty. No, this is not the end of the awe-gasping elegance. Verdon river will mesmerize you with her majestic creation of the ‘Grand Canyon’ of Europe, Verdon George (in French, Gorge du Verdon), which is 25 kilometers long and the depth is up to 700 meters, lies In between the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Var departments, casting charms all over the place.
This crystalline turquoise river’s child, Verdon George takes its regal form in between the towns of Castellane and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, as here, the river oozes through the limestone mass, making an abyss of 700 meters deep. This canyon beseeches the tourists from the nook and corner of the globe, offering various adventurous activities, ranging from world-class hiking to climbing, to paragliding to kayaking, to canoeing, to river-rafting and the list never ends.
The backdrop of Verdon George, the limestone walls magnets the rock-climbers for its high walls, propounding a magnificent platform for multi-pitch climbing (having 1500 climbing routes). The view of Verdon George from Pont du Galetas bridge is enthralling as you witness the heavenly crystal water passes lazily with plenty of boats hovering on it. Geroge du Verdon road trip is also very famous among the globetrotters, as it gives them a glimpse of the captivating landscapes where Verdon river shines in the background.
Verdon George is busted with the tourists all over the year, but in the summertime, this place sells like a hot cake. So if you plan to head in summer, it’s better to start your day early. There are several routes to reach this gem; it’s better to use GPS. Restore your couple of hours to explore the exquisite Lac de Sainte-Croix. And certainly do not forget to paddle a boat and clicking upon reaching your alluring destination Verdon George.
Waimea Canyon, Hawai:
Waimea Canyon, also known as “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific” is on the fifth of our tailored list of the world’s most spectacular canyons. This geological wonder, Waimea Canyon which is positioned on the southeast part of “Garden Island” of Kauai, in Waimea, Hawai, is almost 16 kilometers long, having the depth of up to 900 meters. The mother of this canyon Waimea River’s cavernous notch resulting from the heavy rainfall on the central peak of Kauai, Mount Wai’ale’ale, is the reason behind the incubation of this spectacular canyon.
This kaleidoscopic land of reds, browns, and greens has arrested the hearts of many globetrotters. It is said that Mark Twain as the person who rendered the name “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific” to it. The tall red and brown walls of the canyon are the stark contrast to the velvet-greens of the island and this makes a picturesque topography of the area.
Here, Mother Nature has brushed a multi-hued canvas where light and shadow fabricates an unending show. The entire way to Waimea Canyon is full of panoramic views; you can halt anywhere on the rim of the canyon, and gaze at the quaint view as long as you want. Some famous lookouts are Waimea Canyon Lookout, Puu Hinahina Lookout, and Kalalau Lookout.
Once you have reached your destination, the volcanic reddish walls will welcome you with its magnificent beauty, vibrant color, and with a wide range of adventurous activities. This place offers you hiking, the most celebrated activity over here, with unending hiking trails of which some are Awaawaputhi Trail, Pihea Trail, and Cliff Canyon and Black Pipe Trail. If you are into sightseeing, Kokee State Park, Kokee Natural History Museum, Kokee Lodge Cabins, and Campground are the ones you need to head towards. Never forget to behold the grandeur sight of wide arched rainbows.
It is advisable to visit Waimea Canyon during the summertime (start your day as early as possible to inhale the breathless beauty) as the rainy season will disrupt you to drench yourself with the beauty of the place by clouding the views, and the colder days will not allow you to have water sports.
Have you ever wondered, how the blockbuster movies like Jungle Book, Lion King and Black Panther were made? What was the secret behind these picturesque films? If you are still pondering upon this, here is your platter. It’s none other than Quixel and its products which always come to rescue the designers to make their video or images super real with amazing real-like detailing. And the experts even miss to decipher which is real and which one is the creation of Quixel.
Wait, don’t know what Quixel is? Need not to worry. I am here to make your journey with Quixel super luxurious with massive information and smooth with simple detailing and enumeration. Your extravaganza is ready; here you go!
What is Quixel:
The simplest introduction of Quixel is, it is the leading company for photogrammetry (the use of photography in surveying and mapping to ascertain measurements between objects) assets. At the present time, the largest library of 2D and 3D assets is being held by Quixel, itself. It has been ruling the market throughout last decade.
Quixel aims for capturing the world in a beautiful and unique manner and is dedicated to bring the globe within your grip. All this is possible, is through their Megascans and Bridge software along with the other products namely, Quixel Mixer which is a material and texture editing app and Quixel Pricing. Altogether they produce spectacular photorealistic works for the enthusiasts.
Your knowledge of Quixel is incomplete without knowing their products, especially Quixel Megascans and Quixel Mixer. So, go forward with the reading.
All You Need to Know About Quixel Megascans:
Megascans is an enormous online library which scans real world objects, surfaces, materials, and vegetation in high-resolution. Megascans came into action in early 2015. As all of these are based in 3D, Megascans is mostly used to create ultra-realistic imageries for films and games. On the top of that, they can include both scanned resources as well as all the maps that are necessary to make something super realistic. Even the library can also support both realtime time rendering and offline rendering textures
About the incubation of Megascans, Teddy Bergsman co-founder of Quixel says, “The origins of Megascans stems from the need for a modern and vast library of high quality source materials. The idea behind Megascans as a massive online library of standardized scans formed in early 2011. As for the technology, I wanted to develop a portable scanner that could withstand extreme climates, to be used in remote locations for capturing both reflectance and geometrical properties of large interesting surfaces, in an automatic manner during any time of day.”
Epic Games welcomes Quixel into their family. The most exciting thing is that Megascans is all free now; as part of the Epic Games family, Quixel is now allowing all Unreal Engine users access to the Megascans library without spending a penny. “Building photorealistic 3D content is an expensive endeavor in game development and film production. By coming together with Quixel to make Megascans free for all use in Unreal Engine, this level of artistry is now available to everyone from triple-A studios to indies,” said Epic Games Founder and CEO Tim Sweeney.
Unreal Users are not the only ones who are benefitted from this, regardless of the users preferred engine, Quixel has also reduced their Megascans prices for all the users. And this is only possible because of the mighty umbrella provided the Epics.
How the Things work:-
3D Plants Building: The enormous job of building 3D plant assests is done only by breaking the actual plants into the smallest part design detail and then they are scanned from each angle, which are now turned into 2D images. Then they are stitched together scrupulously and diligently. All the works are done by the excellent artists and under their supervision.
Extensive Compatibility: The company claims, “We put in a lot of work to make sure these 3D plant assets are compatible with every kind of game, VFX, or visualization project. Levels of detail (LODs) are provided for each asset; ranging from extremely high-polygon counts to billboards, and everything in between.” And this is the key point which makes the assets instantly usable on every device, even including mobile phones.
Reaching Out the Needs of the Consumers: The company always intends to develop their custom assets and for that thy also collaborate and work with their clients closely. The assets are made and re-made keeping in mind the needs of the individual projects. For an example, recently they have collaborated with Unity Technologies, for their interactive demo project, Book of the Dead which was released early in 2018.
To quote Teddy Bergsmen, “For the past decade, we have travelled to every corner of the world to build…Our mission is to scan the world and to build an ecosystem that unlocks triple-A level artistry for everyone.”
The next thing we are going to discuss about is Quixel Mixer. Keep reading!
Know Quixel Mixer:
Quixel Mixer (also previously known as Megascans Studio, DDO and NDO ) is an all-in-one and stand-alone tool which is used for mixing up the scanned objects altogether foe creating ultra realistic surfaces with in a very short time. If you are familiar with Substance Painter and Substance Designer, Mixer is easier for you to grasp as they all do the same job, more or less.
According to the company, it can “create advanced custom material blends non-destructively, and generate large surfaced up to 100 x 100 m with impeccable tiling from smaller 1 x 1 m samples.” Like Quixel Megascans, the unrestricted version of Quixel Mixer is also free for a user even if (s)he has no active subscription. It works on both Windows and Mac.
Using Mixer along with Megascans and Unreal Engine, it becomes really powerful. So, once you know, how to use Mixer, you can design your own 3d paint meshes, Smart Materials and can also create ultra realistic tileable surfaces.
The first release Mixer 2020 comes up with properties “for texturing single objects and restyling Megascans assets, with Multi-channel 3D Painting, Megascans Smart Materials, Real-time 3D Curvature, Material ID Masking, Seamless Texture Projection and so much more.” Quixel and Epic both have pushed Mixer so far, into becoming an all-in-one tool and teetering and material app.
How Can You Use Megascans Textures for Revit and Sketchup Models?
After the illustrious discussion, now the application part has come up, that is, the procedure of using Megascans textures. Need not to worry, I am here with you till the end of the journey. Just follow me.
Quixel has thousands of 3D assets. If you go to Quixel website, click on the products at the right corner of your screen and browse mega scans. Now, you will find out that that they have a huge variety of elements that you can use, ranging from asphalt break to brushes displacements. All displacement you cannot actually use in Lumion because Lumion has just their own displacements and they won’t allow you to use your own displacement maps.
There you will also find collections, collections of all scanned objects as they put them together. For an example, all that are related to Iceland are put in one place. If you click on ‘mountain slope’, you will find everything related to it and can chose from there and use it in your asset. They will provide you a lots of variety of the same thing, be it rocks, leaves or grass. Everything you have in here is ready to use in your project.
On the top of that, if you click on one, you can also find the properties of the object, like resolution and other things. From here, you can download it directly, but it’s better to use their own software which is quick salt bridge.
Let me be your guide.
Go to bridge and download it.
Then we enter inside bridge and basically it’s the same design that you saw on that website but here it’s much easier because you can browse all the scans. And on the website you cannot decide which resolution you want so it’s better to here and in download sector settings you just decide what exactly you want.
For lumion what we need is albedo which is a color map, gloss-normal map and roughness. When you are done with this, just click download.
Now, let’s go to photoshop. Here you need to just import your albedo texture and normal map inside lumion. And your product is ready. Here you can find many editing options, adjust according to your need.
Again, go to the photoshop section, and import gloss and roughness. You need to put the gloss map inside the alpha channel of normal map and the roughness you need to do the same but inside the albedo.
Now save this as a target as you need to use the 32-bit channel. Repeat the same on gloss map. Go inside lumion and paste the material again. Now, select the target file and do the necessary changes from the settings.
Next, select normal map with the roughest Channel and save this.
Now we have PBR material inside lumion.
Now your task of building a 3D model starts.
For this, go inside Mixer, and select any model. Let’s try 4K textures. Select FBX, albedo gloss, normal and roughness and redownload it. Go to your folder and look for what you have downloaded. Again do the same; import albeto, gloss, normal and roughness. Put roughness inside albedo and the gloss inside the normal map. Save this.
Now go inside lumion and go to import to our newly downloaded 3D. Here we have zero and one. Put the zero on Megascan folder. You can rename it accordingly. Now go back to your 3D folder and select albedo and import the model here.
To build your model in more detailing, go to export settings and select high poly source, and redownload this altogether. Now import this high poly source and you will see the difference between the two meshes. Rename the newer one and put it in the mega scan folder.
Now, you have your model here imported. You can find the difference between two and decide which one you want to use. You can use same assets multiple times or can change the variety.
Many have been wandering about an honest review of Autodesk Advanced Steel software, developed by GRAITEC. Your search ends here. Here I have come up with my authentic review of this product, after using it for long 2 years. Have a look and decide for yourself.
What isAutodesk Advanced Steel:
Autodesk Advanced Steel is an all powerful and trouble-free BIM 3D modeling solutions suite developed by GRAITEC which runs on AutoCAD for structural steel engineering, architectural designing, mechanical engineering, fabrication, different engineering projects and detailing, to increase the accuracy of deliverables. GRAITEC’s This Autodesk Advance Steel by GRAITEC can be used either as a standalone/independent application or as a tool perform the software from within AutoCAD.
Advance Steel (AS) acts as an unit of a BIM (building information modeling) suite called ‘GRAITEC Advance,’ that quotes “automate the entire structural design and construction documentation process from engineering design and structural analysis to member optimization, detailing and fabrication.” Advance Concrete and Advance Design are the other two insiders of the suite.
This novel software comes up with tools allowing the users to procure interoperability flexibility and to be more combative in the world market of structural steel. It provides familiar interface that accelerates customization, application and performance which is very cost effective too.
Important Features of Autodesk Advanced Steel:
Supports all basic AutoCAD tasks and ideas.
Supports 3D modeling and 2D drawing
Provides Design Export, Design Analysis and Document Management
Has Mechatronics and Presentation Tools
Can import and export GTC, PSS, CIS/2, KISS (‘Keep it Simple, Steel), DWG, DXF, SDNF, DSTV, IFC 2×3 file formats.
Has sheet metal and plate work
Can create automatically bill / lists of materials and NC files.
Provides multi-user technology
Can automatically label and measure dimensions of the drawings
Can exchange data easily with Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Navisworks, Autodesk RobotTM Structural Analysis, and Autodesk BIM 360TM
Helps to boost up designing and detailing that consumes less time.
My Take on This:
I came across this champion software back in 2018 for my own project designing and what I found, the X-factor of Autodesk Advanced Steel is that it is super user-friendly, even for the beginners like me.
What strike me was that, usually steel detailing software runs in two ways, either they are stand-alone or run on AutoCAD, but this genius works both ways. Designing, detailing and fabrication take heck lot of a time, but this software ensures that it will save your time.
To know more about this power-packed software, let’s check out its pros and cons.
Benefits of Using Autodesk Advanced Steel:
It is fast, takes less time to accomplish the task and does skilled modeling.
It can work well both on 2D drawing and 3D modeling, according to the users’ choice.
It also provides hole making facility.
It is very friendly and easy to use, even for a beginner.
The Autodesk Advanced Steel provides detailed description and guidelines for different truss. Even the user can attach them to beams and columns.
Here one can easily export and import files.
Here, it is easier to transmit model from one software to another through ‘model share’ technology.
It allows the users to procure interoperability flexibility.
Its automated drawing creation module is noteworthy as allows users to generate general arrangements and fabrication drawings easily and within very short time duration.
The interaction between model and lay out can be done at ease.
After the completion of the design or drawing one can easily create lists, bill of materials (BOM), and NC files.
A long list of formats that includes customizable sorting, insertion of logos, content definition, and so on, is already given there. Users can simply chose from those predefined formats.
Some Drawbacks of Auto Advance Steel:
Here are the darker side of the ‘coin’, but how much it will bother you, that totally depends on your and users’ needs and expectations.
It does not have cycles and toolpath simulation.
It cannot process 2 1 / 2-Axis Milling, 3-Axis Milling, 4-Axis Milling and 5-Axis Milling.
For the large structures AS sometimes become unstable.
Sometimes, the Commands suddenly collapse.
Database connectivity and user defined cycles are absent here.
Overall, though the global market is full of giant competitors like, CADopia, ANSYS SpaceClaim, and Domus.Cad, this CAD software, Autodesk Advanced Steel is contented and excellent software which helps the users to continue their workflow at ease. Go for it!
pratyush2016 