PlanB the Beginning.

Welcome to Finding Plan B: An Exploration of Creativity and Technology

Hello, and welcome to Finding Plan B. Here, we’ll delve into a variety of topics through tutorials and entertaining videos, exploring both the artistic and technical sides of the creative industry. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Marco Curado. I’ve been working as a Computer Graphics Supervisor in the VFX and animation industry for nearly 20 years. My journey began in the world of 2D animation, where I cut my teeth on TV series and commercials.

As my career progressed, I was drawn to the fascinating world of 3D and VFX. This led me to pursue a master’s degree in 3D animation, a decision driven by my background in 2D animation, where I engaged in character animation, background design, painting, and directing. As I immersed myself in 3D animation, I discovered a newfound passion for lighting and rendering. This was a revelation, melding my love for photography, painting, and programming with my traditional 2D skills was a truly rewarding experience. I’ve always been intrigued by the fusion of the technical and the artistic, and bringing these elements together felt nothing short of extraordinary.

What is Finding Plan B?

So, what exactly is Finding Plan B? As I mentioned earlier, there are several topics I’m keen to explore, photography, painting, and the technical aspects of my work, to name a few. I’ve even written some code to set up a Linux workstation, which I’ll be sharing with you. But at its core, Finding Plan B is about exploration, trying new methods, experimenting with different techniques, and learning from each other. I hope this blog becomes a place of interaction, where you can share your insights and experiences with me.

https://github.com/curadotd/linux_workstation_build

To give you a glimpse of my work, here’s my showreel, showcasing some of the projects I’ve worked on in recent years. You’ll notice that I’ve been involved in both the artistic and technical sides of things. For instance, in one of the shots from *Shang-Chi*, I was part of the technical team responsible for creating those massive, breathtaking environments.

The Technical Journey: Setting Up a Linux Workstation

Now that we’ve covered the introductions, let’s dive into the technical side of things. Some months ago, I had a conversation with an old university friend. We reminisced about the crazy days when we spent countless nights trying to set up our workstations, specifically to use Linux. It was a relentless cycle of formatting, reloading, and troubleshooting. These days, there’s a wealth of information available, video tutorials, blogs, and forums, but I’ve found that building a VFX or animation workstation with all the necessary libraries and programs can still be quite challenging. It’s a time-consuming process, often involving tedious tasks like tracking down libraries and dealing with the inevitable issues that arise with software updates.

To make things easier, I’ve been developing some convenience scripts to help rebuild my workstation whenever needed. I’m one of those people who enjoys tinkering, and over time, I’ve experimented with various Linux distributions, from Debian to Rocky Linux to Arch. Despite my explorations, I always seem to return to Arch Linux. Perhaps it’s the tinkerer in me that finds it so appealing.

This post will guide you through setting up Arch Linux as a workstation, specifically tailored for VFX and animation work. We’ll start with the basics and gradually build up from there.

Step-by-Step Arch Linux Installation

1. Preparing Your USB Drive

You'll need a USB drive with your chosen operating system. In this case, we’ll be using good old Arch Linux. Insert your USB drive, select the Arch Linux ISO, and boot into it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10L8aCY3VBs

2. Installation Process

- Boot up the Arch ISO and type `$archinstall`.

- Set your language to English and update the mirrors.

- Choose your region (for me, it’s Portugal) and select your keyboard layout (I use US but prefer British English).

- Proceed with partitioning the disk. I recommend using EXT4 and keeping everything in one partition.

3. Bootloader and Basic Configuration

- Choose GRUB as your bootloader.

- Enable swap and set your hostname (e.g., `lin-ws`).

- Create a user (e.g., `mcurado`) and set a password. Ensure this user has sudo privileges.

- Perform a minimal install to keep things lightweight.

4. Additional Configurations

- For audio, I prefer PipeWire as it integrates well with my setup.

- Install the Linux kernel for a more cutting-edge experience.

- Add some essential packages like Git and Vim.

5. Network and Time Zone Settings

- Configure your network settings and set the time zone (e.g., Europe/Lisbon).

- Enable automatic time sync and set up optional repositories like multi-lib if you plan to do some gaming.

6. Post-Installation Setup

Once Arch Linux is installed, reboot your system. After logging in, I recommend creating a Git folder in your home directory to store repositories. For example: `$mkdir ~/git`. Clone my workstation build scripts using `$git clone https://github.com/curadotd/linux_worstationbuild.git`.

Navigate to the cloned repository and start the initial setup script `$./first_install`, which installs base packages and graphics drivers. After the setup, reboot your system.

7. Desktop Environment Setup

- Install yay, a package manager, and some additional software, like fonts and desktop environments.

- Choose between window managers like DWM or desktop environments like Mate. I recommend starting with DWM, a minimalist window manager.

- Install a few customizations, including a theme, status information for the top bar, and a terminal (I use Kitty).

8. Final Configuration

After installing your desktop environment, customize the appearance with `$lxappearance` and choose a theme like Tokyo Night. Finally, set up your file explorer, Thunar, to match your desktop theme.

Finding Plan B: A Journey of Discovery

Finding Plan B is an ongoing exploration. At this point, I’m not entirely sure what shape it will take, but I envision it as a blend of tutorials and entertaining content, with a focus on photography, painting, programming, and VFX/animation. I hope you find this journey as enjoyable and useful as I do. Let’s continue exploring together, and see where this path leads us.

Thank you for joining me on this adventure. I look forward to your thoughts and interactions. Until next time, have a lovely day or evening, wherever you may be.

Peace out.