Rodney

It'll be good to see you more often here! I've often bemoaned the fact that there are few A:M users locally but then I see the same lack of interest for computer character animation from any approach too. And then to compound the matter there is a dearth of interest in other creative endeavors that align with that also. My theory is that a lot of the interest that is there is largely superficial and follows the path of consumers rather than creators although I realize that might apply to me just as well as anyone else. We often get inspired by what we see and experience but lose interest when the going gets rough and work must be done. You represent someone with the patience (and insight) to rig characters and that sets you even further apart. While a bit lonely... at least on the plus side... that's a great problem to have. All the more reason to hang out here in the A:M Forum with each other. Also: I don't want to downplay the importance of getting together in person wherever and wheever we can. I do wish we could do that more often. If you get the chance you should drop in on Saturday Live Answer Sessions. It's not quite the same as being there in person but it's a close second. Those sessions only last an hour (which is a good thing so people don't get burnt out) but nothing says folks can't still hang out together thereafter.

Here's the basic usage video: xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=U6wtw6W4x3I

Thanks for the heads up on the first link. It apparently had the closing bracket included in the URL. The URL just takes you to the documentation of the method and that link is available via the download site also. Some of that depends on flow and continuity which will produce that economy and the user should be able to specify. Use the brush tool and then paint the preferred flow directly on the model and the subsequent retopologizing will follow. As for patch density I think the default target for density is set way too high for our needs although that might work well in other programs. That default was 999 or something and dropping it to 300 worked pretty well on a simple model.

Here's a free program that might be useful for those that want to get at quad based topologies quickly. It's based on fairly recent paper about 'instant field aligned meshes' (Link to project page here: http://igl.ethz.ch/projects/instant-meshes/ Binary files are available for Windows, Mac and Linux here as is the source code: http://igl.ethz.ch/projects/instant-meshes/ The quick tests I did turned out quite good. DIsclaimer: Don't think this will keep your textures mapped.... it won't as it's not that kind of program but rather one that works deeply on topology.

Some of you may recall Jeffrey Dates 'Day Off the Dead' short from many years ago when he was an avid A:M user. Like many others Jeff used his time with A:M to move into the animation industry and is still quite active in animation. He has been working for The Mill of late and their efforts at The Mill to promote real time character animation has recently made the news https://www.cartoonbrew.com/vfx/how-the-mill-is-embracing-real-time-for-character-animation-157603.html

Agree. Very nice character with great personality built right in to the splinage. Nicely done.

I find it a little amusing that there isn't much clamor for Stable Neo Hookian Flesh Simulation as of yet. It hasn't qualified as a popular buzz word or hasn't been promoted to the point where people deem it necessary. Give it a name that will roll off the tongue a little better etc. and it's sure to join the rest of the must have features in 3D software. On the surface this technology basically equates to gaining a level of performance mostly achieved through approaches like A:M's smartskin. This isn't to suggest that the improvements outlined don't go well beyond that of course but the complexity involved in setting up such simulations is hardly trivial. And that's why PIXAR is one of the few entities that can take advantage of such research and development and one could argue one of a select few who actually need it. The concept of skin moving over bone isn't particularly difficult to achieve but the preservation of volumes while doing so can certainly be challenging. At any rate, it would appear that PIXAR is finally catching up to A:M's smartskin and adding some new bells and whistles in the process.

As opposed to the less stable neo hookian flesh simulations... PDF and video are available here: http://graphics.pixar.com/library/StableElasticity/ Addititional info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Hookean_solid

The AV1 video format continues to move forward with support from all major browsers forthcoming and expected hardware to fully support the format by 2020. Here's a recent article that fills in some additional information and that reports on some of the competing technology: The article also captures some of posturing from those that expect to lose revenue due to the impending release of the patent free format. https://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-youtube-streaming-video-is-about-to-get-a-lot-faster-av1-compression/

Very nice Robert! Love the comedic timing.

Onward and upward... or... forward!

Also, if your model didn't have a hole in the middle you might be able to simply extrude and shape and then use 'Remove Internal patches'. The issue you'll run into with your current shape is that the process will likely get confused about which patches are internal and which are external.

I should have mentioned also that it is useful to change the offset for copy/pasting or duplicating to zero (0) so that the copy of the spline is at a known location. If you know the bevel needs to be at a specific distance from the original spline you might adjust the offset to that but understand that the Connect wizard will move the splines to connect them with a new Control Point if they fall within the wizards set tolerance. So, it helps to consider those tolerances and offsets.

Hi Bill, While there is no direct Bevel plugin or wizard that I am aware of there are several ways to get at what you are after. I will say that my primary method would very likely be to just stitch the bevel in as that is mostly habit to me. Depending on the layout of spline you might be able to use the Split Patch plugin... but I don't think that will be your best bet. The method I just tried that worked quite well is to use the Connect wizard. The process is to copy the spline that you want to have beveled and then place that where you want the bevel (I scaled it down slightly). Even better would be to copy that spline twice for use on both sides of the spline you wish to bevel. Then make sure the new spline(s) are as near as possible to where you want them stitched into the model. Then invoke the Connect wizard (which by default should connect splines with new Control Points where those splines cross. The tolerance can be changed if you don't want to mess with small tolerances. Forgive the cheesy attempt to replicate your model but here's an example of a spline automatically stitched into the model via Connect wizard in order to use it as a bevel: I uploaded the images in reverse order but in the second image you can see the selected spline that was copied and connected to create the bevel in the first image)

Tore, I hope you wont let this unfortunate event dissuade you from your enjoyment of using A:M. I'm sure Robert had the best of intentions in mind even if it did not come across that way. As for A:M reports, we all know Steffen is under no obligation to take on anything reported just as it is equally important that users should report what is of interest to them personally. Hang in there!

Don't forget that we can apply decals via the Chor windows too. Both of your methods will work in that way with the added benefit of stamping models from the camera view. And... the decal can be applied while in muscle mode too. The best way to get that done is likely to drag/drop the image from the Library or Image listing in the PWS directly onto the Model name/container in the PWS. The option to apply as Decal or Rotoscope will then appear.

I like him! (needs a blaster)

Mmmmm... looks like chocolate. Tinkering Gnome in Hawaii.... I'm not sure I can resist doing something with that...

Very interesting. Thanks for the deeper look. You've given us a lot to think about.

Very intriguing. Would love to hear more about your 'scanning' technique.

I thought the same until I experimented with the destructive powers of shattering objects with Bullet Physics. That alone might be useful in making props, effects and such. When shattering an object it primarily follows the groups assigned to the object so that could yield some artistically driven breakages. (That breakage is used in conjunction with the Explode_Rebuild Wizard)

Yes, if internally viewing icons inside A:M just updating the icons themselves is not going to fix a problem like that. The entire UI must be updated to accommodate SVG (or equivalent) icons. BUT... good news! It appears that the icon you are displaying is on your desktop and that is a function of the operating system so... that may be doable at our level. I recall someone once getting quite frustrated by the frequent updates to A:M and not having a different icon to tell them apart. At the time I don't believe he realized he had the power in his own hands to change those icons to anything he wanted. I have been assuming that Tore was talking primarily about A:M's internal icons but we don't want to leave the external ones out either.

Here's a test of a minimal improvement set where the current Navigation icons are just cleaned up. I'd have to check to see if the sharper edges are easier or harder on the eyes. On the left is current (Large icons) while on the right the a default level cleanup. Edit: What isn't particular useful here... when reduced back down to 'current' size the sharper detail looks like the original. So, I think it was already about as cleaned up as it could get.

As per usual I don't but my sense is that images are crisper if not slightly better lit (with minimal changes from the defaults that is)

You know... I even found that topic via search before but I didn't catch the part where you emphasize what is occurring while NOT using multipass. Since I thought it pertained to Multipass I moved on too quickly. Hmmm... yes. Something to chew on. Thanks Robert!