In June I went to Vietnam and Cambodia. Though the purpose of my trip was just to explore the world, as a digital artist I couldn't help but to take hundreds of pictures throughout the course of my trip to use as textures. The locals seemed to be fairly intrigued by Westerners in general, and downright perplexed by a Westerner climbing on top of a bench to take a photo of the tile on the ground. In Siem Reap (the city nearest Angkor Wat), I befriended my motorcycle-taxi driver who, though he only makes maybe $15 a day, volunteers at the Children's Training Centre, teaching what English he knows. When I got home I was trying to think of something I could do to help the Children's Training Center and figured I could sell my photographs and donate the proceeds to the school.

     

Thus Digital Covenant Textures is born. I am selling a CD of 100 seamless textures. The CD is $30 and you can purchase it on this website (see below). So, if you're a 3d artist always in search of textures you can use in your scenes, grab yourself a copy and know that you'll be helping a good cause at the same time!









      

The Digital Covenant Textures CD contains:

100 seamless textures -
     all textures are made from photographs I personally took in
     Vietnam and Cambodia. Textures are of several types: brick, tile,
     wood, doors, reliefs, etc.
     Samples below

Over 100 additional photos -
     you can use to pull textures out of or to inspire your scenes
     Photos are of both modern urban environments (Hanoi, Saigon)
     as well as ancient temples (Ankor Wat, Perfume Pagoda, etc).
     All photos are 3264 x 2448 jpg's.


About the Cause

Now, Why is this the best charity to contribute to? Why not help by providing water to children in Africa or donating to Child's Play? Honestly I don't have any good reasons. If you have another charity you'd rather donate to by all means go ahead. All I know is that the guys I met at the CTC are good people making a difference in their society and trying to help them is better than doing nothing. Plus, as far as I know this is the only charity that gives you textures in return! Now, a bit about the orgainization, pulled from a pamphlet I got there:

"Children Training Centre (CTC) is a compassionate, non-profitable, local organization dedicated to improving the welfare of children. Our mission is to provide education, life skills, and a friendly environment for children who have been denied of these, due to their circumstances of: poverty, loss of a parent, A.I.D.S or victims of landmines.

"Our Goal: CTC aims to:

"Provide the education and training necessary for these children to give them a chance of a brighter future.

"Reduce the number of orphans living in poor conditions.

"Change the society, starting by traning the children."


Where does the money go?

The CD costs $30. $10 goes to the cost of shipping, printing the CD, pay-pal's fee, and starting to pay back the talented Adam Knight (www.akfx.com), who painted the seamlessness of the textures. The remaining $20 dollars will go straight to the CTC. As I've been working on this I've been in contact with the CTC and they tell me that they would be able to use the money to pay for student's study materials and to restore their building (I've been there, it needs it).

Every donation goes straight to the CTC.


My Goal:

 I hope to sell at least 50 copies, which would be a nice, round, $1,000 donation to the CTC! However, giving more is always better.

       


Here's a quick look at some of the textures on the CD. Note that these are much smaller than the actual images, which are mostly 2000 - 3200 pixels wide, and have been cropped.


        







So, step up! The CD is $30 USD, which includes shipping to the US and Canada (sorry, no intercontinental orders at the moment). Alternatively, if you've somehow stumbled here but have no use for awesomely unique textures, but still want to contribute, you can donate.

 - or -
Shipping: Orders usually ship in 2-3 business days.
Special note: due to the potential quantity of orders, all orders placed during SIGGRAPH may not ship for 4-6 business days. Sorry, there's just one of me.

Any questions, comments, or concerns, please email:

sarnold at usc dot edu


Other Stuff:
Photos from my trip:
Vietnam_01
Vietnam_02
Vietnam_03
         
External Links:

Scott's site

Adam's site