We’re coming to DENVER! Save the date & book your place!

[gkas]

OK.. The BEST shortcut was from Beki during the backpack presentation.

You take a rectangle, turn on node editing, right click on a vector, hit 'to Arc (A)'. Tadaaaa, your vector is converted to the correct Arc. Very cool...

Definitely learned a lot of great stuff.

[highpockets]

I was partial to Todd's curved text in "Spilling the Beans Text Effects" and using "Edit Text Spacing and Curve" to curve text. Very Cool!!!

[honesttjohn]

Got to talk to the Avid CNC rep (I got one) and meet Doug Pinney and Ron Reed, Neat! Always great to see Todd and Michael Tyler.

Nice to see finished things from Gary Johnson, BUT ..... would have been better to see how they were created and painted, not just say
paint this. Scott Thompson offered to show "how" to paint 3d models and carvings, but was rebuffed.

There should be more time spent teaching, demonstrating, and explaining. If you noticed, most of us were "mature" individuals - some (like me) who have a slower learning curve using all this new technology. Once a person gets discouraged and gives up, they very seldom go back and try again. Such is the case with Beki. After a few do this, put this here, looks good, etc I began to lose interest. She just assumed we all knew and understood everything she was doing and how to do it because she's so well versed in it. Not necessarily true.

It just seems like things are advancing too fast and becoming more complicated. Sucks to get old and set in one's ways.

Had a good time, though, meeting some of those who we only converse with on the internet and seeing friends we've met thru the years.

[carbidetooth]

I suspect I know how you feel, honestjohn. Watching Beki or Edward fly through something that would take me much, much longer is kind of daunting.

The other side of the coin is that it can all be re-watched, just like the tutorial videos. I'm old analog guy too, but I look forward to learning new things about the software and don't sweat the longer learning curve. For the most part if I feel like I'm moving forward, I'm happy. That's the nature of learning, no?

My take is this: A lot of info is presented in a limited window of time. I gathered what nuggets of wisdom I could with the thought that I can flesh out processes and understanding at my (slower) pace later. Not sure what one could do differently to make the process more effective, but I imagine you'd have an ear with Vectric if you had ideas.

FWIW, I suspect I could listen to Beki or Edward read a dictionary and find it interesting, if not soothing. Fast paced but concise, not littered with "ums" and "ahs". But then my mom was an English Teacher, so my perspective may be weird.

I was also surprised and curious about the demographic of the group, I wonder what the mean age was (I'm 63)? Cheers to all Vectritians, wherever they might be along the path!

If I had one beef, it would be that I couldn't always hear so well. Which I could probably solve if I wasn't such a tightwad and hadn't spent so much on a CNC router!

[RebeccaJ]

Hey All,

Thank you for your feedback we really appreciate it With all the User Groups that we host we try our best to ensure that we have content that can be reached across all user levels, so that there are (as mentioned by carbidetooth) "nuggets of wisdom" that all users can take away from each session All of the Vectric presentations are carefully put together and are recorded in advance so that you can go back, pause and rewind, where we add much more training material to the videos themselves so that you get the most from each presentation. With a 40 minute window to present (which over the years we feel is the sweet Goldilocks amount of time to sit through an individual project) there can be in some instances a limited amount of time to cram everything into a live demo, which is why we make the videos too. We’re glad that you all had a great time and again are very welcoming of feedback, and we look forward to receiving the feedback from all the attendees in the mail out we sent last week as we are constantly looking to improve these events
Thanks,
Beki

[Adrian]

There should be more time spent teaching, demonstrating, and explaining. If you noticed, most of us were "mature" individuals - some (like me) who have a slower learning curve using all this new technology. Once a person gets discouraged and gives up, they very seldom go back and try again. Such is the case with Beki. After a few do this, put this here, looks good, etc I began to lose interest. She just assumed we all knew and understood everything she was doing and how to do it because she's so well versed in it. Not necessarily true.

The flip side of that is that it can get very frustrating for people who are getting it straightaway. Without streaming people based on their ability to pick up new information you're always going to have people at either end of the spectrum who are either bored or out of their depth. The UGM's are, IMO, pitched correctly in being demonstrations of what the software can do rather than trying to teach people how to do those things. Everyone gets all the presentations etc in digital format that they can watch back and follow along with at their own pace later.

[WNC_Ed]

Personally I thought the UGM was spectacular. I really learned a lot!
Vectric is a First class company and the UGM was first class all the way.
Thank you Vectric team for a job well done!

I am already looking forward to next year.
Speaking of next year, and having attended and exhibited at trade shows for a couple of industries and a few companies all over the country for 30+ years I thought I would share my perception of best and worst trade show cities. Trade shows and UGM are similar in that you are busy during the day and free to enjoy the area afterwards.

Worst:
Las Vegas - while everyone can find something they like about Vegas, no one attends the events.
Philly - I have exhibited and attended countless trade shows in Philly, I have never heard anyone happy about going there for a trade show. Maybe just me but walking around Philly doesn't feel safe.

Best:
Louisville, KY - Centrally located in the US & everyone there seems friendly.
New Orleans - One of my favorite trade show venues. Also, centrally located in the US.
San Antonio - The Riverwalk at night makes this a spectacular venue.
Denver - Plenty to do in close proximity.

[gkas]

I had a great time, and reached brain overload This was my first UGM, and I'm ready for more. The videos are a great way to review the presentations. I also think that the 40 minute length is pretty good. Paired with the videos, they make a nice presentation. The two day conference length is great. I think with three days, we would lose some audience focus. For me, my butt can only take two days of hotel chairs.

[Rcnewcomb]

You take a rectangle, turn on node editing, right click on a vector, hit 'to Arc (A)'. Tadaaaa, your vector is converted to the correct Arc.

I used that this weekend. It's shortcuts like this that can save hours over the next few years.

[dbowlin]

A video on short cuts would be great.
I vote for three days.
When I still worked I attended, UGM with software distributor that broke demos out to smaller class rooms formats over multiple times each day. That way you could attend a demo several times if you wanted to or skip an hour to take a break.
I think it should be in Denver all the time.

Thanks for the great meeting.
Dale

[jbarbour]

Now that we have had a week for the “gee-whiz” to settle and the star-struck “I talked with (fill in your favorite Vectric stars here)!!” to fade a bit, I just want to say that this was an excellent experience, and one I will definitely repeat. A rousing THANK YOU to all who had a hand in making this happen.

[gkas]

I can't find it anywhere...... Where is the presentation on turning a 3D model into a relief model. I've looked all over V&CO and the thumb drive. That's one I need to watch at least a dozen times....

tnx,
Gerry K

[mezalick]

Gerry,
I just added that topic to my Level 2 training sessions.
Here's the original video from James Booth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSeghY_IhL4&t=291s

Michael

[mtylerfl]

I can't find it anywhere...... Where is the presentation on turning a 3D model into a relief model. I've looked all over V&CO and the thumb drive. That's one I need to watch at least a dozen times....

tnx,
Gerry K

Hi Gerry,

That was the Emboss tutorial given by Edward. It's not on the USB. It was an addition to the program as a fill-in for a speaker who couldn't attend at the last-minute.

[gkas]

I can't find it anywhere...... Where is the presentation on turning a 3D model into a relief model. I've looked all over V&CO and the thumb drive. That's one I need to watch at least a dozen times....

tnx,
Gerry K

Hi Gerry,

That was the Emboss tutorial given by Edward. It's not on the USB. It was an addition to the program as a fill-in for a speaker who couldn't attend at the last-minute.

I thought it was going to be added to the V&CO for download. Tnx Michael & Michael