XecretCode
Visual tools for creative minds
Welcome
My name is Nick Pudent. I'm a Montreal-based graphics software developer and consultant. Here’s my curriculum vitae:
Work Experience
(2006-present) XecretCode - Founder & Programmer
At XecretCode, I do consulting and develop the Xsong visual songwriting software. The user interface is completely implemented in OpenGL and XML for ultimate portability and flexibility. This project has allowed me to get acquainted with Xcode and ObjectiveC++ (a feature of GCC allowing C++ and Objective-C to coexist). Other libraries used: STL, Boost (filesystem, date, algorithms), PortAudio, PortMidi, Cairo, Glitz and Libsnd.
Final software can be demonstrated upon request.
(2004-2006) HumanCore - Founder & Programmer
I developed the HumanCore software to address the needs of forensic medicine (forensic cranio-facial reconstruction). The software allows one to reconstitute the outside appearance of a person from medical bone images (photos & X-rays) and scans (DICOM CT scans and laser). The software was commercialized to clients in the United States and Canada.I did everything on my own from product requirements (visited two mortuaries and assisted to preparations for an autopsy), coding, testing, writing the manual, designing the PHP web site to sales and marketing. I’ve also negotiated commercial agreements with several US-based partners.This product got national press coverage across Canada.
Final software can be demonstrated upon request.
(1996-2003) Reflex Systems - Founder & VP of R&D
At Reflex, I founded, developed a new software package (Reflex|DRAMA) and raised 1.8 million in private equity in Canada and Switzerland. The Reflex|DRAMA software was designed to produce anatomically correct humans for game and content creation applications. I assembled an small (6-15) R&D team made of top programmers from Canada and the US (Montreal’s Polytechnic, Walterloo, MIT). I invented and subsequently patented a new method of 3d human description loosely based on discreet geometric "DNA" building blocks. Reflex also got some exposure at the Siggraph and E3 trade shows.
(1992-1996) J. Prudent, Consultant
I started my career in software development as a graphical user interface consultant on the Microsoft Windows platform. I also developed CAD tools (AutoCAD’s AutoLISP), industrial machine vision as well as countless geometric utilities for industrial designers and drafters (file conversion, rapid prototyping & printing).
Knowledge
Selected Technical Achievements
- Invention and implementation of the Symbolic DNA system for anatomical human representation.
- Advanced surface modeler (NURBS, polygonal & subdivision surfaces).
- Geometric compiler for the automated assembly of human musculo-skeletal geometry (rigs).
- Adaptive ray tracing renderer.
- Module to compute the direct intersection between Bezier surfaces and arbitrary rays. That internal ray tracing was fundamental in obtaining “dynamic” internal body reconfiguration.
- Dynamic property sheet-based user interface. Data from the property sheet is used for editing, data I/O and basic animation.
- OpenGL user interface portable to Windows, Linux and Mac OS-X.
- Implementation of a scripting language adapted to the creation of 3D humans.
Main Languages
- C++ (since 1992)
- C (since 1988)
- Objective-C (since 2006)
- PHP (since 2004)
- SQL (since 2005)
- HTML (since 1996)
- CSS (since 2005)
APIs
- OpenGL (cross-platform 3d graphic library)
- OpenSceneGraph (cross platform 3D scene graph library)
- Win32 & MFC (Micosoft Windows programming library)
- Cocoa (Apple NextStep /OS-X)
- STL (Standard Template Library)
- Boost (STL extensions)
- PortAudio (digital audio)
- PortMidi (music composition)
- Libsnd
- Cairo
- Glitz
Development Tools
- VisualC++
- Xcode/GCC (Mac OS-X development environment)
- Subversion (SVN)
- Visual SourceSafe
- Adobe Creative Suite (PhotoShop, Illustrator, PageMill)
- Zend Development environment (PHP)
Patent
Courses
- Introduction and advanced cranio-facial reconstruction course with Betty Pat. Gatliff. Scottsdale, Arizona.
- Various forensic anthropology workshops at AAFS (American Academy of Forensic Sciences) conference.
Qualities
- Tenacity – I always finish what I start and strive to find the most elegant solutions to every problem.
- Productivity – To date, I have written several hundred thousands lines of codes in C, C++ and PHP.
- Positive attitude – Even under pressure and deadlines. Nothing significant can be achieved without a positive attitude.
- High-quality work - I strive to produce “world class” code and products. My code is always documented, readable and maintainable.
- Artistic sensibility – Being an artist myself (music and graphics), I understand how to support and build tools that are going be used by such clientele.
Other Interests
- Songwriting (intermediate)
- Digital music recording and production (advanced - Digidesign ProTools user).
- Character drawing and cartoons. (advanced)
- Hardware design and micro controller programming. (beginner)
