Calling all API developers

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If you are a developer and would like access to the API when it is released, please contact us at aviary_api(a)worth1000.com.

The API will allow third party developers to:

– Develop new ActionScript 3 based tools that use the Aviary platform framework (including our GUI and codebase).
– Develop new ActionScript 3 plugins and controls for use by other tools in the Aviary GUI framework.
– Access and sell third party digital works through the Aviary marketplace.
– Access and store digital works on our distributed file network, Rookery.
– Search for and return digital works from our distributed file network, Rookery.

The GUI uses the Cairngorm pattern framework, which will allow for easier integration into other tools.

Here are some mockups of the new GUI interface. Every aspect is templatable and customizable for whichever specific tool will be made:


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We also will include horizontal panels that are not featured in the screenshots (i.e. these would be good for applications that use timelines).]]>

A new Aviary family addition!

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Congratulations to team member Iz Derdik and his wife Efrat on giving birth to a baby boy!

I’m also opening up comments on this blog, beginning with this post, so please feel free to leave well wishes for the happy family here.]]>

Our new bird house

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And here’s our new mural wallpaper, purchased via the interface in our marketplace itself.





Of course, you’ll be able to buy your own mural wallpaper shortly. :)

Update! Our summer intern Josh put together a video of us putting up the mural. It took about 30 minutes total (the last segment taking about 20 minutes of that time to line up correctly).

<a href='http://vimeo.com/clip:257274' class='author' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'><b>flash video</b></a>

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Hummingbird will allow exporting to stereograms

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We now have the ability to export 3D texture maps in Hummingbird, which means that you can save your 3D models as autostereograms, and publish your own custom “Magic Eye style” book!

Stereograms are those potentially frustrating texture images where you shift the focus of your eyes (i.e. by crossing them or trying to see double) and see a hidden 3D object in the texture. For those of you who have never seen a stereogram before there’s a great explanation at Wikipedia. Some people can see it, some people can’t.

So how would it work? Simple. First a user makes a 3D model in Hummingbird and then chooses to export it as a stereogram.

Hummingbird then makes a 3D black and white texture map of the current scene.



Next a user chooses a texture pattern that can be applied. A user can make their texture in Phoenix (or in Peacock, Raven or Tern), can upload one from their desktop, or can use someone else’s texture.

We then automatically generate the stereogram as an image file:



See the hummingbird and torus?

Here’s another image with the same scene and a texture thrown together in Phoenix.



Finally, a user can lay out their collection of stereograms (or other people’s stereograms) as a book in Owl, our desktop publishing tool, and offer their book for sale in our market. And of course Aviary would track all rights, royalties and attributions from everyone involved.]]>

Some thoughts on Aviary shared.

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deliciousmint.net is doing a research project on web-based applications and sent a few questions our way. I got her permission to share her questions, along with our answers.

What was your inspiration behind starting Aviary?

We had a problem: Allowing users to sell their Worth1000 images was very inefficient because it attracted some angry copyright holders whose rights had been infringed and we had no way to verify what content was actually uploaded legally. Finally technology’s advances allowed us a way to perform that regulation in the form of a platform that tracks works from start to finish. There was nothing like it online and artists who don’t yet know they are artists ( i.e. people with non-artistic day jobs and hidden potential) need some sort of powerful free tool set to discover themselves. And so we conceived of Aviary.

How would you determine if your site is successful? What kind of usage are you aiming for, and how do you intend to generate this?

We already have a user based of almost half a million registered members at Worth1000, so we are confident we’ll have many users right from launch interested in using the service.

Where do you see Aviary heading in the future?

Open framework, so people can build their own tools into Aviary. Plugins for other third party desktop applications, so users are free to use whichever tool they like to create (not just ours), while still gaining the benefit of Aviary’s content platform. More power and a smaller gap between desktop applications and online applications as technology catches up.

Do you see Aviary as having socio-cultural impact? If so, how?

I hope it will make it feasible that businesses won’t feel they automatically need to charge for people to use their tools when they are used for fun. For example, most uses of Adobe Photoshop are probably non-commercial, yet the software (even the light version) is still prohibitively expensive. If we as the software industry can all provide ways for people to use our tools and services in financial partnership with us (instead of a client relationship with us), everyone wins.

Google is already doing this with each company they acquire (Urchin, Writely, Feedburner) and are providing an advertising marketplace where they ultimately make their money back.

What are your thoughts on the internet generating new communities?

That’s a whole different interview, but I have published some thoughts on the value of communities on my personal blog.

Are there now new notions of community in the digital age?

Well, I don’t think community is something that can be broadly defined anymore, if that’s what you’re looking for. 15 years ago community was interpreted along general terms: family, neighbors, school and religious organizations. Now it can mean anything and everything, no matter how niche.

Is Aviary beneficial to society? If so, how?

Yes, because it means free on-demand tools to create and refine content in different mediums? Before Aviary creation was mostly linear. Now it will be more tree-like (if you would visualize artwork created in it). The end result will be more refined, reusable and affordable content for the world.

Is everyday life being transformed through the use of sites such as yours? Are we moving closer to reaching the potential of the internet?

We have just reached the tipping point where streaming computing has become possible and communal thinking has become accepted. We’re not even close to reaching the zenith of the Internet’s usefulness.

Do you think there are problems associated with levels of regulation in uploaded / user generated material on the internet?

Certainly and that is precisely why we created Aviary. We need a framework that people can use to verify that content is unique and problem free.

Do you consider your site a web 2.0 site?

Everyone’s definition is different. I wouldn’t consider ours just a “site”. I’d consider it a web 2.0 “suite”. :-)

How would you define a web 2.0 website?

I can’t define it, but I can offer a parable: It’s an online garden: An entity that expands and becomes more rich and independently chaotic as time goes on.]]>

New Aviary tool announced: Tern, the Terrain Generator

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So now I introduce you to Tern, our Terrain Generator:



Tern will allow you to not just generate random natural scenes (of all different types), but also to have full control over the appearance of all scenes. If you want to generate a scene of a volcano on an island, no problem. If you want to generate a scene of an alien landscape, no problem. If you want to recreate the shape of Australia and show it from high overhead, no problem.

Tern will include the ability to fully control and generate high resolution realistic scenes including land, water, fog, clouds, sunsets and plants, all right in your browser.

And of course, like all our tools, the works produced within it will be rights and royalties managed.

Update We’ve now consolidated Tern into a plugin for Peacock, the filter factory of the entire Aviary suite.]]>

Techcrunch writeup yields some really great quotes on Aviary.

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Techcrunch last week and it resulted in a really great write up and encouraging comments on their blog and other blogs.

We took our time going through them to find the ones we particularly enjoyed:

Nick from Techcrunch said:

“The lingering question is whether online tools will be of a high enough caliber to produce marketable content. So far, signs are pointing to yes…”

Shelley commented nicely:

“I’m normally very conservative about new sites/services/applications based on the Web 2.0 cool-aid but I think there might be something to this… It really is that mapping of creative tools and marketing that makes this stand out.

Will this attract the already employed graphics artist? Unlikely. But this will open up a nice niche market for the skilled but new and/or underemployed or freelance graphics artist AND the small/medium business or personal site owner who doesn’t have a lot of bucks looking for some graphics to incorporate into their site (without worries of being sued for “theft”), or music to embed into their podcast or YouTube video… Whether it ends up becoming successful or not, at a minimum, it is innovative.

RIApedia said:

“While there is no shortage of online image editors on the web today, this is certainly the first project (that I’m aware of) that will bring such a full suite of functionality to content creation. Indeed, it’s hard not to compare the project to Adobe’s Master Collection. Will creative professionals be inclined to switch from desktop tools to their online counterparts? Will they have to switch to take advantage of the marketplace? According to the TechCrunch article, the tools are all created using Flex – which means that there’s also the potential that Aviary could create desktop versions of the tools using Adobe AIR. This is definitely a project I’ll be following. Stay tuned!”

Adobe’s Ryan Stewart said:

“This would be a great AIR story and already sounds like a great Flex story. Some of the commentary focuses on Adobe being in trouble because of all these free, browser-based tools that are coming out. But I actually think these tools and our software is complimentary. We cater to a professional crowd that needs the features, capability, and speed of a desktop application. The consumer/hobbyist market however could really use something like this that is easy to use and a bit lower level.”

Jeremiah McNichols said:

“Sounds too good, and too robust, to be true, yes? But all signs so far point to a polished set of apps, not least of which is a sample 3D rendering they posted to their blog today.

I am crossing my fingers and hoping that Aviary is one of those rare examples of a fresh idea totally changing the software landscape – in this case, developing web applications with extremely narrow functionality to eliminate bloat, streamline uptake, and provide a service in a way people didn’t know they needed until they found it, and later will not be able to imagine doing without. Time will tell.”

Nicolas Noben said:

“The project is quite a big one and a hard one to achieve. Also how do you trully replace photoshop or gimp by a flex application? As a flex developer myself, I am quite puzzled about the end result. However, the few samples presented on the site look quite professional and now we just have to wait”

And finally, a post that really thrilled us, by Joshua Jeffryes, because he completely gets what we’re doing:

“This is potentially huge…By creating a guarantee of authorship, Aviary could become a very powerful marketplace for work. It would protect end-buyers from copyright violation lawsuits from inadvertently using pirated work. Multimedia creators would have a strong incentive to use the tools to protect their work from being stolen. It’s a win for everyone involved.”

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New site design goes live!

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Because of the nature of Aviary being a creative suite, our site design plays an important part beyond just being window decoration for our content: Every bit of polish underlines the effort we are putting into all of our tools.

Also part of this design is an update to our tools page, with completed logos accompanying each tool.]]>

Hummingbird’s 3D rendering engine

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Hummingbird.

The original logo looked like this:



The new logo, rendered in 3D (as a rough first draft) looks like this:

http://a.viary.com/images/blog/hummingbird3d.swf

Spin it around for a very neat “pop off the screen” illusion.

This is of course, just a glimpse at the rendering engine itself, and does not show off it’s ability to render real-time lighting or animation. Maybe we’ll show that off next :)

Update! (7/5/2007 at 11:10:00 AM) Peter Kapelyan was kind enough to provide us with a higher resolution, animated hummingbird model.

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