Rodney

I'm liking his proportions thus far. It immediately suggests "Strong!".

I think I... mostly followed you there. I got to the point where the camera view and perspective view were about the same and then I figured I wasn't doing what you intended. Let me check here... By I assume you to mean a very slight movement. Just enough to get us out of camera view. Zooming out then get the camera in view in our perspective view. Since the mission is accomplished at this point... and the camera view and the perspective view are the same... I get confused. This is a healthy workaround because the camera then is always going to see what is in perspective view. Right? Or maybe no? Perhaps I'm just not tracking on what we are specifically looking for here. Back I go to run through that a few more times to make sure. Are you suggesting this methodology as the means to get a Camera to echo the Perspective view? Or is this research for exploring further? Or both? From my vantage point this is the feature that was requested. (In three steps!) Added: Then once the perspective and camera views are the same the user can move back and forth between standard camera settings and perspective view Although at that point it's best just to use the camera commands as that will be the perspective view too. From the Tech Ref:

Looking good so far Lloyd! Edit: I looked back up through this topic and that previous guy sure does have personality. There are enough characters in your movie that hopefully you can use that guy too. The earlier concept is immediately disarming (cute). This new one is considerably more menacing (stern). It'll be fun to see where you go with this.

Here's a generic camera's settings from a Chor (for comparison): A:M Choreography File Name=Camera1 End=0 0 100 Rotate=0 0 0 1 Length=100 Value=166 202 240 FocalLength=70 Value=Targa FileName= Value=FrameRange EndFrame=1:0 Value=TRUE TVSafe=Off And Cameras can be saved out as separate .CAM files and while I haven't yet confirmed this, their coordinates seem to be similarly stored: ProductVersion=17 Release=17.0 PC Name=Camera End=0 0 100 Rotate=0 0 0 1 Length=100 FileName=untitled.avi LastModifiedBy=Rodney FileInfoPos=248 If .CAM files do store coordinates then this might allow for a secondary approach in creating/saving/exporting a Camera with the current window's view settings. To the user success in this instance might look like this: Right click/Plugins/Wizards/New Camera (Current View). A dialogue box might then pop up with additional options for the user such as to save a .CAM file with Camera coordinate settings from the current window view. The default might be to have the new Camera open import from the saved .COM file into the current view.

A definite improvement! Nicely done.

Attached (for general reference) is the dialogue box that pops up when double clicking on the view settings in the lower right corner. It is this information that we can use to generate our automated camera view.

Well, as a shot across the bow of this thing... When a Project file is saved those View Settings are saved into the [WINDOWPLACEMENT] tags in a Project file after the closing [/FileInfo] tag: Thusly: (Example) A:M Project File Name=Perspective View 001 CurrentView=6 Mode=1 FrontView=4.62824 0 0 BackView=-1 0 0 LeftView=-1 0 0 RightView=-1 0 0 TopView=-1 0 0 BottomView=-1 0 0 BirdsEyeView=3.72257 0 -4.10523 43 0 27 WindowPosition=0 1 -1 -1 -8 -28 478 0 717 580 Name=Perspective View 002 ModelName=Perspective View 001 Time=0 CurrentView=6 Mode=4 FrontView=1.33949 -41.3619 -8.30078 BackView=-1 0 0 LeftView=-1 0 0 RightView=-1 0 0 TopView=-1 0 0 BottomView=-1 0 0 BirdsEyeView=0.437259 113.257 -119.164 -45 0 -35 WindowPosition=0 1 -1 -1 -1 -1 239 0 478 580 Name=Perspective View 003 Time=0 CurrentView=100 Mode=5 FrontView=0.538107 100.497 -92.8555 BackView=-1 0 0 LeftView=-1 0 0 RightView=-1 0 0 TopView=-1 0 0 BottomView=-1 0 0 BirdsEyeView=-1 0 0 30 0 30 WindowPosition=0 1 -1 -1 -1 -1 0 0 239 580 Perhaps there are other authorized view tags but thus far I see only three containers that store them: For the uninitiated, double clicking on the numbers down there will pull up the View Settings dialogue box. Disclaimer: I don't think typing settings into the dialogue box always works to change the active view. Aside: An external plugin that created a Camera at the location of the current Window View might need only to save a Project file to disk or memory, then locate and transfer the coordinates of the window to the newly created Camera. An internal plugin might be able to do something sleeker depending on where view settings are stored in disc cache or memory. In other words, in addition to the current 'New/Camera' option there might be a 'New/Camera (current view)' option that would transfer the current window view coordinates into the settings for the new Camera. The process for creating a Camera would then be like it is now but with a new option to automatically set the new camera to the current window view. To further explore what success might look like note that currently when creating a new Camera (in an Action) the Camera is placed at Mouse position with no other orientation copied from the window view. An extension of this might be to have hold down the SHIFT key while creating a new Camera which would tell A:M that the user desires to have the new Camera assume the Window's current view. Anticipated problem with the above: It is not entirely clear to me how we would get the Position to set the camera from the current view although it seems it could be derived from the Perspective (angle) and the Zoom of the current window setting view.

That was my first impression (i.e that it was a dream) but I know you as being too smart of a storyteller to go with the first (easy) idea. I'd post my thoughts/guesses... but sometimes that tends to ruin the whole process of discovery (especially for other people!). I'd say you've got some really good clues in this first sequence for anyone who has been an avid follower of your strip.

Way to set up a story! It'll be interesting to see you get to that point in the story given the impossibility of that scenario from so many angles. Henrietta's response perhaps being the most telling... Color me intrigued.

It's interesting to note that in the sheet of batman symbols you just posted they all have very pronounced spikes in the wings. The symbol you modeled from is more rounded. My memory says something similar was used in a character called 'The Patriot' which was meant to portray an eagle. Edit: I converted the symbols you posted to spline outlines in case you want to use any of those in the future (see attached model file). BatSymbols_Outlines_only.mdl

If you die... and it turns out you win... can the rest of us share your trophy/winnings?

Looking good! (It's good to see you back in action) Take the following with a large does of 'whatever'... these are just my initial thoughts as they came to me. The Batman chest symbol I haven't looked closely at the reference material and you may just be stuck with poor design to work with but to me the bat-emblem looks more like a bird or pterodactyl than a bat. Some minor refinement might be in order here... again, I didn't even look back at the reference material. The attached image is something of an oversimplification but I wanted to point out those areas of greater concern in the three quarter angle you posted. There are three areas that look off to me: The neck and shoulders The crown of the head The (mostly upper) jawline. I believe these may look much better from the front view but in the 3/4 view large areas of bone are either missing or (in the case of the forehead) could be smoothed out considerably. This is a helmet Bruce Wayne is wearing so it should not too tightly conform to his physical anatomy. Note that my overdrawing leans more toward the animated look rather than graphic novel drawing but it's always easier to add more detail than to take it away. Once the basic outline is in place you can adjust it as necessary. All this for what it is worth. Looking very good from this end!

Mr. Hubble would be proud.

I like! I may have a use for this very soon. Thanks John!

As the original poster hasn't clarified their request (assuming it was a request) it's rather hard to say. The original post was mostly undecipherable and posted at the end of an unrelated thread.

I'm just using what is already in A:M. I'll leave the feature requesting to folks that need new features.

Interesting. This discussion has led me to some new (and I think very useful) discoveries. Example: Underlying principle to remember: While we cannot key A:M's window view settings we can save them via a Project file which effectively saves/keyframes those views. Process: Create a few windows (in any view Modeling, Action, Chor or all of the above) Set lengths of shots as appropriate (easier to do in Actions and Chors) Tile your windows so that you have a view on each window (either horizontally or vertically) Move things around in each window or alter your view of them in the window. For keyed shots use Actions or Chors (Models intrinsically don't have movement) Render to Real Time via and save each of the windows views. For ease and organization it can help to call each view appropriately. Example: The Model might be named (Perspectview002Model001Still), the Action simply (Perspectiveview001MovingObjects) and the Chor (Perspectiveview003MovingCamera). Once again... the windows themselves are your production keyframes so make sure you save the Project with those views. If the windows are in your way simply minimize them. Bring all the various renders back into A:M for editing or import them into your favorite video editor. This workflow provides a very fast 'rapid protyping' or vis-dev methodology for setting up scenes and rendering from any current (perspective) view. It allows the use freefloating views and camera views simultaneously as required by the user. Note: We could render to final as well but there is just something cool about rendering the real time preview. I've been looking for a good excuse to use that. Additional Notes: The only way that I know to save a perspective view outside of creating that perspective through a camera is to save the window in a Project. As far as I can tell, if you close the window you lose that specific perspective view. So save the Project so that you can recall that view. For sharing perspective views from one Project to another I'll have to look closer at how Project Files save their window views. Added: Freakin' awesome. Every day I learn something new.

Every once in awhile we see a desire for a feature that at it's core is actually a request to take away some current feature or function. This is one of those cases. This seems to be largely a perception issue because if the default view was the Camera view, instead of the free-floating view that is not treated as a standard keyable rendering camera view the we would already have the functionality we are looking for. (Translation: We appear to have the feature identified but as it is currently don't prefer to use it) At its core what seems to be the underlying request (although not necessarly from Carol8) is to remove the current Bird's Eye View and force the user to operate from within a Camera view that just happens to function with an option to default to what is commonly known as Bird's Eye View, i.e. a 30 degree forward/30 degree right/30 degree downward view on any object(s) in frame. So, now at this point we do have to ask, "Why not just use a Camera view?". I assume the answer is the flexibility we currently enjoy in the default (non-camera) viewport... as Robert has mentioned... which we can render from but cannot key for rendering so as to have it behave as standard Camera views do. So again, I find myself wondering what success looks like. At it's core it seems we are suggesting that all views should be from a keyable camera. If this is the case then we run into one additional problem/issue in that a Model or Action does not (strictly speaking) have a Camera assigned to it. Similarly a Chor can have it's Camera removed. Thus, strictly speaking a renderable camera is not required for viewing... although it is for all but real-time viewing?) This then seems to be the 'Perspective' that we are trying to refine that of the interface's port view in all windows (Model, Action, Chor... and likely Materials and the like also). It seems to me the suggested workaround to all this is a means to simply copy the current Translation and Rotation (I don't think Scale has any relationship to Zoom) of the current view and paste/duplicate those settings into a Camera. Am I getting closer?

If I understood this better I think we could build a tailor-made solution (for instance creating a single Null that is just in front of the Camera view and then moving that around... with the Camera following that view) . In short, the goal seems to be more than just moving around freely in 3D space to get a view on an object and then keying that because we can already do that in a variety of ways. For those opposed to mouse movement there is always rolling the numbers to change the Translation and Rotation via the Properties. This keys the movement automatically too. Mouse movement is an ideal way to move through a scene via a Camera's view although I haven't had a mouse connected to my laptop for a long time so I can experiment with that currently. I've seen demonstrations where folks walk through scenes this way beautifully. I'm trying to imagine what success looks like but still haven't got that quite locked into view. At it's core the real bugbear of this issue seems to be that we have too many views to choose from... i.e. we need our view (whatever it is) to be a/the camera view.

Okay, I give. Will someone explain what a Perspective View is exactly and/or alternatively, if a Bird's Eye view is the accepted Perspective View, why a Right Click and selecting 'Bird's Eye View' (Shortcut key Number 7) won't get you that view? Since we all seem to want this feature it might be good to know what it is. For many people it would seem to be that they are referring to an isometric view that can be achieved via a Right Click / Bird's Eye View / Zoom. For others, especially those that use 'Perspective View' and 'Bird's Eye View' interchangably, I'm no longer sure what they mean by 'Perspective View'. Please educate me.

Time sure does fly when you are having fun.

Lloyd, If you didn't get a lot of entries this time around, don't despair. I suspect running any contest simultaneously with the Mascot contest would make it more difficult. I wanted to animate an entry for "Heavy Push" but felt I should put effort into entering the annual mascot contest first as that one only comes around once a year and I had never entered before so wanted to get an entry in. These animation contests are great and I'm really glad you are running them! Running an animation contest every week would be just fine by me as there is nothing quite like pressing into animation every day to produce better animation. The schedule just needs to be bumped up against other events (contests, holidays, etc.) to be fully de-conflicted. If you didn't get enough entries I say brush this one off and run it again now that the Mascot contest has ended.

Hey Peter, For some of your requests you may require a solution through Hash Inc (such as for an isolated computer). In order to activate current versions of A:M you have to activate via internet. I don't know any way around that. Once activated though you can disconnect of course. Since I really don't know the process there, there are several people who have activated A:M on isolated computers before and I'll let them outline their process to you... As for how to know you've got the 64bit versions installed... With each release Jason Simmons posts the 32bit and 64bit installer links in the Latest Information Forum. You just click on the link and download. I usually rename the downloaded installer to add the version number in case I need to refer back to it or reinstall (which I don't recall ever needing to do). Once installed it'll be very obvious you have the 64bit version installed as there are several screen locations where it specifies 64bit is running. Of course you can run both 32bit and 64bit simultaneously. Welcome to the forum! Glad to have you with us. P.S. Jason was out at San Diego Comic Con recently (probably recovering now) so that might be why Hash Inc hasn't responded to any requests you've sent to them.

Looking forward to it Mark!

Welcome to the forum Carol! We may need a little more information here in order to understand your goal. The Choreography window by default always places the camera in a perspective view. This is generally considered a street level view where you (in the audience) are the viewer so the camera assumes the position of your perspective for viewing. If you Right Click in a window and select View on the menu you'll see several views to choose from one of which is the current Camera view. Other views include Right, Left, Top, Bottom, Front and Back as well as Bird's Eye View; a 30 degree downward (isometric) view from high and to the left of normal camera perspective view. You can also assume a view from any Light that you place in a Choreography. Those views for lights will appear along with the camera views when Right Clicking in a window. I suppose the most important thing to determine when choosing a view is what (or who) is looking at that scene. This will determine the perspective of the view. For instance, a child's perspective will be lower than that of an adult. A giant still higher and angled down to create a distorted view. The classic 'worm's eye view' is right at ground level looking up. Bottom line: You can have the view be anywhere you need it to be to tell your story.