Shawn Olson Creative Arts

Art, Poetry, Photography, Writing and 3D

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Greetings Earthling. Welcome to my creative portal. My name is Shawn Olson. I'm a creative jack-of-all trades who has years of experience in 3ds Max, game development, web development, journalism, photography, graphics and parenting. You may know me as a technical artist for Black Mesa or as the developer of Wall Worm if you came here as a game developer. I now also work on USD workflows and capabilities in 3ds Max and Maya at Autodesk. All opinions here are my own.

If you need help with any of these things, then I'm your guy:

  • Problem Solving
  • 3D Environments
  • 3D Assets
  • 3ds Max pipelines
  • Game Design
  • Documentation
  • Journalistic Coverage
  • Application Education
  • Web Application Development

If you must know more about me, feel free to read A Short Biography. But more importantly, enjoy the various photos, poems, editorials and scripts across the site.

I always enjoy feedback from visitors. Feel free to send me an email with any comments, ideas, praise, criticism or corrections. Of course you can always interact with me on the Wall Worm forums or other 3D forums where I haunt.

Latest Articles

Sprite Tools

Posted on Feb 25, 2013 | Last Updated Jan 25, 2024

Sprite Tools is a free MAXScript for working with Sprites in 3ds Max. It can create sprite cards from animated textures or convert sprite sheets into animated textures.

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sprite, maxscript, 3ds max

Compare Values with Arbitrary Comparison Operator

JavaScript for comparing values when the operator to use is variable.
Posted on Dec 21, 2012 | Last Updated Dec 21, 2012

JavaScript function and sample code to dynamically compare two values. Accepts numeric and/or alphanumeric values and does a comparison on them based on a comparison parameter.

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javascript, compare, comparison, dynamic, script, operator, math, numeric, alphanumeric, example, free

Dots

Printable Dots Sheets for Children
Posted on Dec 6, 2012 | Last Updated Dec 6, 2012

Printable Dots game. Also includes instructions on playing this classic pen-and-paper game.

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dots, game, printable, instructions

Material Merger

Posted on Aug 8, 2012 | Last Updated Jun 2, 2020

A free MAXScript utility to combine mutliple materials and maps into single output materials and maps.

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maxscript, materials, render, composity, free

Ambush Bugs

Posted on Jul 30, 2012 | Last Updated Jul 30, 2012
Ambush Bug DaisyAmbush Bug Daisyambush bug on daisyAmbush Bug Stalking Pray

Photos of ambush bugs.

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ambush bug, insect, predator

Desktops are not extinct

Posted on Mar 8, 2012 | Last Updated Mar 8, 2012

Editorial discussing the notion that the time of the desktop is over. I argue that the advent of smart phones, tablets and mobile devices do not preclude the value of the desktop.

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computer, productivity, mobile device, ipad

Hiding in the Cracks

Posted on Feb 28, 2012 | Last Updated Feb 28, 2012

A poem about the illusion of discontinuity; questioning the static.

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Amazing Challenge VI

Posted on Dec 19, 2011 | Last Updated Dec 19, 2011

Find your way through this challenging maze.

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maze, challenge, puzzle

Creating a Tileable Texture from a Photo

Posted on Dec 7, 2011 | Last Updated May 29, 2022

Steps on making a tileable texture from a photo inside 3ds Max. Includes step-by-step instructions along with a video tutorial.

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tile, tileable, seamless, texture, photo, bitmap, 3ds max, viewport canvas
Wall Worm plugins and scripts for 3ds Max