Rodney

I know Robert Holmen created a very nice metallic red paint material so I know it can be done. Here's the topic. http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=35693 He's also got a project file with a metallic material applied to a beer can somewhere in the forum. Here it is: http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=35729 There are some other metallic materials that might serve the purpose with a tweak or two. For example, the galvanized metal in a few tin buckets that were contributed to A:M Exchange.

Very interesting!

This looks to be a positive development: jR8XBZRkkao The video doesn't go into detail but the general idea is to allow viewers to assist and support directly (translation, captioning and funding).

Given the variety of formats that can be exported I would guess there are conversions tools out there already. I haven't done much motion tracking so am not familiar with what is available.

Of possible interest... As of April of this year Autodesk released Toxik (now named Composite) and MatchMover which runs on Linux, Mac and Windows 64bit for free. Composite is a node based video/image compositor. As the UI isn't exactly intuitive I highly recommend reviewing all available videos and tutorials BEFORE diving in. The learning curve is a bit steep and the UI doesn't always react in accordance with the tutorials. Aside: I'm not aware of any way to access the custom channels created for the EXR format but that doesn't mean it can't be done. Accessing standard RGBA channels is straightforward enough. MatchMover is a 2D/3D tracker for image sequences. Various export formats are available but I didn't see any directly compatible with A:M. If you use A:M with other products you are probably already aware of this program. The autotracking feature appears to work quite well. Both products are no longer upgraded nor supported. You do need a login at Autodesk Exchange in order to download these and other programs. These may be of interest especially to those that don't have access to tracking and compositing programs.

I don't know how old that interview is but Simon Tofield has been successful enough that he's got a small staff of animators now; two in studio at last count but I see at least three animators and one cleanup artist in the various video credits. One of his videos outlines the history of 'Simon's Cat' and suggests he's largely the idea man these days who directs the (two) animators in his studio to animate his drawings. This small studio aspect is worthy of note because once success does arrive a one-artist studio isn't likely going to be able to maintain the desired level of quality and volume to meet demand. Two of the primary reasons for the success of 'Simon's Cat' is the episodic nature of each story that is both 1) short and 2) very entertaining. Both of these are major factors in succeeding with an audience with lots of time to kill and yet highly limited attention spans. And it doesn't hurt that Simon has obviously studied the elements of humor... and captured it in animation. The recurring elements that are most pronounced being repetition and exaggeration (with slight variations on the same theme in each iteration). In my view 'Simon's Cat' is the modern day equivalent of the old newspaper strips such as 'Peanuts' (and it succeeds very well with this!) A difference being that five or more gags/strips are captured in each animated episode. What amazes me is how much mileage they get from such very limited animation and it's this limited animation (as well as the black and white aspect which means they can forego color) that makes the strip viable even as it adds yet another level to the humor.

For additional videos featuring Ed Catmull: http://renderman.pixar.com/view/future-of-renderman

The following expresses a major shift that Disney/PIXAR has been moving toward over the past few years. I'm sure a lot of this is due to competition from other rendering solutions but it's also an acknowledgement that high priced entry points interfere with access and innovation. This is the strategic aspect they refer to as without this move they will certainly lose significant ground as other more accessible solution abound. *Emphasis added

Its a bit early to release this but some major changes to configuration and pricing are pending for Renderman and the Renderman suite of tools. A few details are now emerging at the Renderman site. Of note is the (free) non-commercial license. A commercial license is now a much more accessible $495 per seat. Ed Catmull has a (very) short video making the announcement here: http://renderman.pixar.com/view/non-commercial From the site: Note: I registered with my current renderer entered as "Animation:Master (Netrender)". One never knows when someone's interest at Disney/PIXAR might be piqued enough to experiment and further bridge the gap. For those that believe using Renderman is too far a stretch for A:M users it should be noted that at one time several plugins were created for converting A:M files to .RIB format for exactly that purpose. For those with a keen interest in programming and rendering it will be well worth your time to study Renderman as they continually invest in technology and lessons learned will apply elsewhere. For more information check out Renderman University. According to the Renderman FAQ the roll out is to coincide with SIGGRAPH 2014.

Heck, you made them as far as I'm concerned. I'd never even heard of Bliptv before watching an episode of Epic Gamin'. Stand tall and proud.

A product of another time fir sure. I actually enjoyed the movie. It had enough going on to hold me to the end and I was curious as to how it would turn out.

Welcome to the forum Robby. If you haven't check out the Intro videos that's a great place to start: http://www.hash.com/startup/ And The Art of Animation:Master exercises are designed to get you up to speed quickly: http://www.hash.com/index.php?pcode=video_tutorials I would watch these through the first time just to get the information to begin to settle. Then go back through with a goal to implement what you are learning.

The reader can do a lot more than it use to but you'll need Acrobat Pro to embed 3D. Acrobat comes with a Creative Cloud subscription so if you have that suite of tools already you have the capability. For those on a tight budget, one could always farm that work out to someone with Acrobat Pro/CC so you wouldn't have to trouble yourself with it. I've never used that service but doubt it has the 3D embedding capability. The creators of the 3D tools used in Acrobat were charging a premium for its use (that is to say for the whole 3D embedding solution) as a plugin previously.

Thanks for the clarification Jason.

Oh yeah. It's great to see you back in action!

My mesh exported from A:M may have been more dense than necessary. I picked 16 subdivisions because I didn't want it to be too sharp and faceted. (I probably should have opted for 'variable') Ah, if only splines were the favored model format... life would be so much sweeter.

You want to make sure the texture is saved when exporting/converting the Model from OBJ (or whatever) to .U3D. Enable Advanced options in the Export panel of Meshlabs and look for the texture options on the last tab.

I am reminded that there are some pretty cool views in the options for 3D model viewing in PDF. One is the intersection/cut plane. I could see something like that being useful. Custom views of the model can be saved so that they can be used/viewed by via the dropdown menu. Those views can then be recalled/triggered via 3D comments. In such a way an interactive tutorial or walkthrough could be created.

I couldn't find my previous pdfs but here's a quicktest exporting/importing Shaggy from A:M through Meshlab into Acrobat. I believe that what I was going to go for was the A:M model file attached to a PDF rather than converted/embedded. That'd work well as attaching can be done with the freely available Acrobat viewer. I figured most folks with an interest would have a copy of A:M handy to view the files and a rendered image could accompany the file as the background of the actual PDF. Added: My memory says that the 3D model doesn't show in an online Acrobat Reader PDF browser window. Folks have to download the file first and then interact. shaggy.pdf

Meshlabs is the means I've used to get A:M Models into PDF files. I was contemplating doing something like this for model kits for the A:M Exchange area. Then... I realized how much work that was going to be. It's been a few months since I converted but I think Adobe Acrobat still does not accept OBJ files directly. But in Meshlab you can convert to U3D or PRC (as those are the only formats Acrobat PDF files can use). Disclaimer: I've only used U3D. Here's a write up from back in 2009 that appears to still be mostly accurate. The main difference being that Adobe 3D is now part of Adobe Pro. As I recall, that functionality (the ability to use 3D models) needs to be turned on in the preferences though.

Feels about the same here. Although my mouse has been on the fritz. Not sure what is up with that. Im not sure what server we on but i assume still the old one.

Yeah, when I first heard the announcement I was... "Big Hero 6"... who the heck? I recognized Sunfire but then again I don't think he's set to even be in the movie, at least not as the persona that appeared way back in the Roy Thomas/Neal Adams years of the X-Men. Perhaps Disney will surprise us. Perhaps he'll be mostly a background character so that the kids of the next generation can take the stage. Disney has long been looking to crack the code on the vast interest in anime and this certainly speaks to the 'boy and his robot', mega-monster and even 'boy is a robot') themes from when Japanese stop motion and animation first arrived on American TV screens. I didn't see a lot of anime when I was a kid but I definitely saw shows like 'Johnny Socko and his Flying Robot' and they made quite an impression on me. How to get it done in such a way as to merchandise characters and roll stories over into live experiences for their theme parks... that's an important piece of the puzzle. I'm not thrilled about all aspects of this film's premise but have confidence that Disney knows how to entertain.

My kind of fun... from Disney: vco0SpSz17g This certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea but there are some themes that are core to capturing the imagination of a youthful spirit. Such themes of creativity and invention... righteous empowerment even.. and the other naive curiosities that inspire us when young are often set aside as we enter adulthood. Returning to such timeless fascinations is why we watch movies in the first place.

You've got some great portfolio material in the various projects you've produced.

I downloaded and 'The Wobbling Dead' and have now watched it... twice! Fun aplenty! I had only seen a few episodes and I recognized those sequences immediately. You have a way with gags too! Congratulations on the roll out. That's another fine arrow in your quiver of productions. And thanks for the entertainment!