http://planetrenders.net/forums/index.php?app=blog Community Blog List Syndication Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:37:46 +0000 bashaar@gmail.com (Planet Renders Forums) IP.Blog 60
But anyways, anyone ever wonder what drives tagging? And no, not boredom. We know you love it.]]> Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:32:00 +0000
But anyways, anyone ever wonder what drives tagging? And no, not boredom. We know you love it.]]> Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:31:00 +0000
But anyways, anyone ever wonder what drives tagging? And no, not boredom. We know you love it.]]> Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:31:00 +0000 Final Note...

• Hope you enjoyed reading the eighteenth issue of the planet renders magazine! If you've got any suggestions or complaints, you can express them by leaving comments on each separate article. Be sure to vote in the poll above as well.
  
  
  Want to get involved?
  
  
• We have plenty of blog contributor spots available for grabs. If you'd like to get involved, make an application in the correct forums. Again, I'll say that you don't necessarily have to be well known. You just have to be active, well mannered and have a decent grasp on the English language. Either way, it's nice having your name in a different color!
  
  
• Remember, if you want some quick pr points, you can write an article and you will be rewarded if it is featured in the next issue. Just pm your submission to one of the team. You also receive points for being featured in the Monthly Top 10. But since charity is more our thing, we are always looking for psd's that we can release each month. So donations are much appreciated.
  
  But most importantly..
  
  
• As we are planning to release a pdf magazine every quarter. We need layouts to be fully designed. The magazine will be submitted to dA so hopefully lots of people will see it. If you have any knowledge regarding anything from pdf files to online magazines, please come forward. Also we need people to design layouts, so again, if you are interested, come forward.
  
  
• Another quick thing that needs to be said: If you read anything in the magazine which is either false, offensive or inappropriate, please notify one of us as soon as possible.
  
  
• We hope you look forward to the next issue.

Page 16



]]> Thu, 29 Sep 2011 20:23:00 +0000

I s s u e 17
- A U G U S T 2 0 1 1 -

Cover art designed by: Tokyo Rose

Page 1]]> Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:50:00 +0000
We also have two guest writers this month; Silver, and Tokyo Rose

Remember, we're always on the lookout for new contributors.

Happy Reading!

- The Magazine Team

Page 2]]> Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:48:00 +0000
Welcome From the Team
Intro. to the Contributors

#1
Name: Jay
Alias: Sorrow

Featured Articles
N/A


#2
Name: Janne
Alias: Divi

Featured Articles
N/A


#3
Alias: Anything Pink

Featured Articles
N/A


#4
Name: Tim
Alias: Fury

Featured Articles
N/A


#5
Name: Rav
Alias: Rav

Featured Articles
N/A


#6
Name: Mikey
Alias: Mikey/Bootz

Featured Articles
N/A


#7
Name: Sentiment
Alias: Sentiment
Featured Articles
N/A


#8
Name: Matt
Alias: Tormenter

Featured Articles
N/A


#9
Name: Sean
Alias: Scorcho

Featured Articles
N/A


#10
Name: UBA Fatman UBA
Alias: UBA Fatman UBA
Featured Articles
N/A


#11
Name: NarutoGoku
Alias: NarutoGoku

Featured Articles
N/A


#12
Name: Stuart
Alias: Torak Firenze

Featured Articles
N/A


#13
Name: P-jay
Alias: flayr ?

Featured Articles
N/A


#14
Name: TTRibal
Alias: TTRibal

Featured Articles
N/A


#15
Name: Alex
Alias: AgainstAll

Featured Articles
N/A


#16
Name: Vanish
Alias: Vanish
N/A
Featured Articles
N/A



Page 3]]> Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:47:00 +0000 Contents

Page 1- Front Cover by Tokyo Rose
Page 2- A Note From the Team by the Blog Contributors
Page 3- Writer's Introduction
Page 4- Contents Page
Page 5- Color Basics Part 3 by Silver
Page 6- The History of Beer by Tokyo Rose
Page 7- August Top 10 by Tokyo Rose
Page 8- The Artist's Palette: Woad by Tokyo Rose
Page 9- LIBERTAS: Full Version by Tokyo Rose
Page 10- AUREUS: Full Version by Tokyo Rose
Page 11- ORBIS: Full Version by Tokyo Rose
Page 12- MARE SOMNIUM: Full Version by Tokyo Rose
Page 13- EMANIO: Full Version by Tokyo Rose
Page 14- BREAKING PAST THE MAXIMA: Full Version by Tokyo Rose
Page 15- Deciphering Fractals: A Beginner's Guide to Understanding Apophysis Gradient Pack by Tokyo Rose
Page 16- Deciphering Fractals: A Beginner's Guide to Understanding Apophysis Flame Pack by Tokyo Rose
Page 17- Closing Note






Page 4]]> Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:46:00 +0000



Color Basics Part 3 by: Silver


Page 5]]> Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:45:00 +0000 The History of Beer

Alright guys, this article is just for you... Especially when you consider that I think beer smells like pig swill.

:p


How the Egyptians made it. Source: Wikipedia.

It is not certain when beer originated, but historians are certain it was not before 10,000 BCE. Before that time conditions were not conductive to grain growth due to the last ice age still being in progress. Yet, by 4,000 BCE beer production was common place. So what happened in those 6,000 years? The first thing that happened was that the ice age ended; this led the Fertile Crescent to well... Becoming fertile. The uplands of this region tended to have natural occurring areas of wild wheat and barley after the climate settled. This happened a little after 10,000 BCE. So, how did this change influence our ancestors?

Before 10,000 BCE our ancestors were hunter-gatherers. This means that they were nomads, they were traveling the land hunting wild game, and gathering whatever edible vegetation they could find. After the climate changed, there were dense areas of wild cereal grains to be found. Naturally, they took advantage of this. An archaeologist in the 60s did an experiment, he found out using a simple Stone Age tool that he could gather about 16 pounds of grain in a day. He figured out a family working 8 hours per day for three weeks could gather a year's worth of grain. Why does this matter though? This matters because A. You would guard a year's worth of food wouldn't you? B. This led to the first permanent settlements.

Though, why would they be gathering cereal grains in the first place? The first usage of them was not for beer. It was for soup thickener, or gruel. But still, this supplemented their food supply. They could still hunt in a localized area, and still gather wild vegetation; but the risk of dying from starvation was a lot lower. By a little after 10,000 BCE there were sickles for harvesting, stone hearths for drying the grains, underground pits for storage, and even grindstones for processing! So what all does this have to do with beer? Let's just say beer was not invented, but discovered.


Barley. Source: Wikipedia.

How was beer discovered though? Before I answer that question, let's explore two weird properties wheat has. First off, it can develop a sweet taste if you expose it to water. It'll start to sprout, and then will start the conversion of starch into malt. Now this was of high value in the ancient world because there were not that many sweet things. Another weird thing about wheat is that if you leave a bowl of gruel out for a couple of days, it'll begin to ferment. You see, yeast is a fungus, they're everywhere, even floating in the air around you right now. When that gruel was left sitting out, a bunch of wild yeasts took residence in the bowl and started to ferment the sugar from the malt into alcohol. Yes, primitive beer. This was not the first alcohol though; wine and mead were probably already discovered. But those were both probably rare, there was no way to properly store wine, and the fruits it was made from were seasonal. Mead was made from honey, but wild honey occurs only in limited quantities. This new drink though was abundant; this was due to all of the wild grains growing in the area. Beer could also be easily stored without going bad.

Brewing became more advanced rather quickly. Brewers learned early on that they could get more reliable results by using the same mash tubs over and over again. They did not realize why, but the reason behind this was that yeast cultures had taken up residence in these containers. Thus, beer was becoming easier to produce. They also added in things like berries, herbs, and spices to produced flavored beer. So how many beers could be produced using these methods? Egyptian alone had 17 different beers, Mesopotamia had 20. They also had some of the first light beer and dark beers, thus beginning that eternal debate.


Dark beer. Good or not? Source: Wikipedia.

So now let's look at how beer influenced society. Beer was drunk originally from a shared pot. They used reed straws to do so; this was because beer at first had floating debris on top. Even after they learned how to filter the beer they still retained this drinking method. This is where our custom of sharing a drink with a friend came from, to buy a drink for someone is the same thing as this. Back then it meant that you could trust the fellow because he hadn't f***ed with your drink, i.e. not poisoned you. It was also seen as magical; this was due to the effects of intoxication and altered consciousness. They also viewed fermentation itself as magical. Beer to them was a gift from the gods; there were various myths on how the gods invented beer. One such myth was that of Osiris. Apparently he left some sprouted grain gruel out one day and forget in the sun, it fermented, and he found it like that. He shrugged his shoulders and just drank it; he liked it so much he passed the knowledge to mankind. It was also obviously a religious offering, commonly used in ceremonies, agricultural fertility rites, and funerals. So where did the idea of raising your glass to wish someone well come from then? Native Americans invented that one; they raised their glasses to the rising sun, or to their goddesses. Thus, today's custom is actually a modern echo of the idea that alcohol can invoke supernatural forces.


This is how maybe the brew looked like, but not how it was brewed. See the debris? Source: Wikipedia.

So what did beer have to do with civilization itself? Some anthropologists actually think it played a central role in the ancients adapting agriculture. Now let's think about their argument. Beer, in this theory, led to permanent settlements right? This was to guard food storage, and eventually lead to the rise of agriculture, which in turn led to food surpluses. Which later lead to some members of these societies being able to do activities that did not involve them trying to find food. Farming according to these anthropologists fully developed to maintain a steady supply of beer. Though, it was probably one factor of many.

Though it was quite the accomplishment, think about it, farming to fully develop took just a few thousand years. Before this there had been humanoid species on this planet for close to seven million years. The most they'd advanced to was hunter-gatherer societies. Yet in just a few thousand here was a complete civilization sprouting up due the complete adoption of agriculture.

So what benefits did beer give the ancients? Well, for one it made them settle down. As permanent settlements grew it grew harder and harder to return to the old ways. This was because a large civilization cannot be supplied via hunter-gatherer practices. Thus, they could not go back to the old ways. Another advantage of beer was that at first beer storage was not great. They had to drink it often times before it was fully fermented, otherwise the pot would not hold it. Now beer that's not fully fermented is low in alcohol content, but its rich in suspended yeast. This meant that the drink was very nutritious; it had high levels of protein, and vitamin B. This helped compensate for the decline of meat in the diet. Beer, I can't believe I'm fricken saying this, was also safer to drink. The water portion of beer had to be boiled after all. Water was usually not safe due to human waste contamination. The ancients were wary of water supplies and for good reason too! Any time you had a settlement near a water supply the waters would become foul (you can figure out what it became foul with can]]> Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:44:00 +0000