Rodney

Can you elaborate on this a little? What do you mean by this, fastest network switch? And what exactly is that?

IMO this is one of the best kept secrets in the animation biz... It's still small enough to be personal and isn't overly commercial as of yet. http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/ Is there anyone from the A:M Forum planning to attend? I haven't heard that Hash Inc is considering setting up shop but if they are I'd be even more likely to attend. Dates are: November 16th through the 18th. Location: Burbank, California I know some folks that have attended and they thoroughly enjoyed being able to interact with artists and animators of like interests.

This will be of interest to those of you putting on your Director and Cinematographer hats and moving into production. Animation World Network is hosting a series of videos with a emphasis on Staging and Blocking and at this point there are about a dozen or so short lessons online. More is to be added over time. While the Poser-like quality of blocking may be a bit of a turn off there is a lot of information covered and those patient enough to watch all of the videos will begin to understand how to apply some of the lessons to their own projects. Subjects such as Deep Staging will be of particular value as they allow the camera to gain the best vantage point in staging characters with a minimum of movement. High-End Animation Directing One that I particularly enjoyed is Lesson 5: Deep Staging - Static In one part, the lesson discusses how to set up a scene with seven people without making everything too crowded. In another lesson on Pivoting Characters the lesson talks about how to direct an audience into think a tertiary character is just an unimportant background character but due through staging have them enter into the conversation. If you are considering Staging and Blocking of shots, give these a look. Each lesson is only a few minutes long. Obviously the goal is to sell the Master Series DVDs but the free videos will also be useful Here's a brief write up and testimonial: Well... Brad Blackbourn says so, so there ya go.

I was thinking of Paul today and so I read back through 'Paul's Playground'. What a stellar talent and inspiration.

I'm not trying to move this topic away from your cartoony skull so I'll try to keep it there while talking of negative lights. One of the reasons I like using negative lights (beside the control it gives us over making cool images) is that they are something we can't really use in the real world. We can't set up lights on a real world setting to suck all the light out of an area like we can in CG. The closest we can get in real life is to use filters, compositing or post effects (which we can also use in CG). And we can learn a lot about the use of color through use of negative lights... figuring out for instance that negative red equates to blue, etc. help in better understanding our mixing of regular lighting and color. I will note also that when lighting a scene it's good to work with surfaces that are (at least initially) mid gray in tone. Once things start to look right then we can shift the underlying color. The one thing that I think you could add to your animation would be to further consider the environment. You've got a far background, a mid ground and a foreground and it would be nice to see something that takes advantage of that. It could be something as simple as a few layers of whispy fog/smoke, or leaves floating, or a bat flying and if they move from the far back to the front so much the better as that will strengthen the illusion that these characters aren't there on a flat screen but are moving through real space, even if they themselves aren't moving through it. Another aspect of this is to consider what is immediately off screen. Perhaps the shadow of a tree that isn't in the shot can still be seen upon the ground. Perhaps moments before a bat flies by, its shadow it seen on a character. These are things that suggest there is an environment larger world than what we are just seeing with the camera. Sometimes this environmental effect can be brought into play by a slow movement of the camera... a slight tracking around the character.... a pull in... or a pushing outward. It's easy to overdo all of that camera movement and it should be calculated to add to the mood and not to detract. Color tinting itself can also heighten the environmental effect. Apologies for the tangent... your work has got me thinking about the lighting of sets!

Gotta love those negative lights. The only thing you've got to watch out for with them (well... probably not the only thing but...) is shadows. Negative lights tend to make shadows go negative as well. The fix for that is to turn off Cast Shadows in the Light and if necessary set up a second light to cast the 'real' shadows. The negative shadows might work well in spooky situations however. Great stuff Matt!

Although the competition itself isn't going to be of much interest because of the limitations in who can enter there are some good things to take note of here that relate to us. They are especially noteworthy because often we neglect these areas to our own detriment when trying to create realistic models. The ideas are global in application and apply to all 3D applications: Five Tips for Perfect CG Portraits 01 REFERENCE Before beginning any actual modeling, collect as many reference images of the subject as possible. If conducting a photo shoot to get the references: Start from the front of the face then circle around at intervals of 45 degrees. Be careful to select images with similar focal lengths, sharpness and exposure. Select eight hero photos from what is shot. During the early stages of development, create a virtual camera which is used only for the reference work. On that camera, attach a background image plane that dynamically loads each of the reference images per frame. To aid in aligning the model to each of the images, keyframe the camera at every frame. In that way, whenever the Time Slider is changed, the view automatically changes to match the reference image behind it. (Note: There are other ways to set up Rotoscopes by this is the authors preference) 02 MODELLING The modelling phase is a careful balancing of technical construction and artistic sculpting. When building a model from scratch, establish the structure of the base model, then work in the detail. Avoid n-gons and triangles (i.e. three and five point patches). As the eyes are key to capturing someone’s personality, focus there first, working outwards, keeping in mind the proportions of, and distances between, the nose, lips and eyes. When laying out UVs on the face, place any texture seams where the hair parts on the top of the head. It's usually better to have minor distortion in a few areas than to have too many UV shells, especially when using displacement maps. 03 TEXTURING Preview and paint textures with a flat surface shading and no diffuse shading. Photoshop Layer Comps are the best way to manage variations of texture maps. Label each one with the corresponding version of the scene file and date in case it needs to be restored later. Since some applications don’t preserve Photoshop Adjustment Layers or Layer Comps, keep a separate painting PSD and a master PSD, with all of the integrated paint work and versions. The color map should have no baked-in shading, odd highlights or reflections, to ensure that it reacts properly to lighting. The specular map and any control maps for the Fresnel and Fresnel Edge intensities should coincide with the skin’s color and bump layers. 04 LIGHTING AND RENDERING Lighting can make or break the look of a character’s face. In fact, it’s one of the last big challenges for CG. Although we’re still some time away from a true physically based CG technology for simulating the interaction of light with human skin, it is possible to fool our audiences into believing a CG face is real. When lighting scenes, use a combination of HDR dome lighting with traditional key and rim spot lights. Final Gathering (Radiosity) is my preferred way to render and I usually set the Intensity of the dome to about 0.3 and the key light Intensity around 0.8. Consider placing ‘cards’ [planar objects positioned around the model to reflect light onto it] in optimum places. These have a flat surface shader to create Incandescence: this helps to achieve good eye reflections (that’s where you can win or lose a viewer) and simulate natural real-world lighting. 05 SHADERS Make sure basic shaders used are working properly by test-rendering them individually. Create bump or displacement passes (render those separately), keeping the general sculptural displacements in a separate layer from the fine pore-level details. Postpone the very fine level of detail of sculpting until the general colour map is done, so that small wrinkles, grooves and blemishes can be matched properly. Map a modified version of the colour map in the epidermal and subdermal layers. Map any Reflective Filter, Blend and Fall Off (Reflect Weight and Reflect Edge Weight) to a combination of the Bump and Specular maps, mixed with some Gaussian Noise. For the iris and lachrymal gland shaders, my Subsurface Scattering color is pure white, and about half the intensity of the one used on the skin. For the reflective parts of the eye, like the tears, conjunctiva and tear catcher surfaces, use a Phong shader with mostly transparent and reflective sheen dictated by fall-off perpendicular to the camera view. (Extracted information from the article and heavily edited by Rodney. All rights retained by the original author, Francisco A Cortina. Application specific terminology has been replaced by general terminology where deemed practical.)

Keep in mind that some of the Tech Talk (perhaps most or all of them) may require the Ensharpen Codec from Techsmith. You can find the download links for both Win and Mac on the bottom right of this page (you'll have to scroll down to it): http://www.techsmith.com/download.html

Disney stands to make sooooo much money off of this movie. The gaming side alone is big $. More video: http://video.disney.com/watch/vault-4c5af1b81a448d1e8087a91c This one starts out with a Newton Physics-type cascade of falling bricks: http://video.disney.com/watch/wrestling-4c...2c37e85ab9baead

It should be noted that the main reason for rendering out to sequential images is to ensure that if something bad happens (like all the power runs out in the middle of a render) you don't lose everything. When rendering to single images you would just have to pick up where the rendering left off. There is also the matter that rendering to a video file is going to require more memory because that video file has to be maintained in memory while the images are being added into it. With single images that memory... or at least a large portion of it, is freed up after each image is successfully rendered.

I'm really looking forward to this movie so thought I'd try to WIP together Ralph... from the upcoming Disney feature 'Wreck it Ralph". Disney's response to the other 'it's good to be a badguy' films from other companies. This is as far as I got before getting a little bored with him. I'm not pleased with the likeness but I like the eyes and may use them again. Edit: I was trying to be clever by making a reference to 'Runaway Ralph'... the famous children's storybook mouse. Before I was done typing I had confused myself! Wreck it Ralph is the Disney movie coming soon to theaters. There are at least two trailes for the movie currently in circulation: http://disney.go.com/wreck-it-ralph/ Trailer Number 2: Meet (Fix it) Felix: http://video.disney.com/watch/meet-felix-4...cf127d75ff3584a

Yes, unfortunately. This is an example of why we should not link to external images from the forum. They are only as reliable as the location we link to. I suppose you could contact David Rogers and request the files. He might still have them. If someone else in the forum downloaded the images or converted the tutorial to a PDF they could upload them and we could add the images back in. Note that the project file should still work fine with the text as it is. Also, if you haven't viewed Noel Pickering's Tech Talk on Compositing that's a good one: http://www.hash.com/ftp/pub/movies/techtal.../Composite.html

Hehe... Well, of course it is! Now that you mention it though... the theme music from H.R. Puffinstuff is stuck in my head. That's odd. I suppose it should be 'Puff the Magic Dragon'.

I'm going to attempt to bring this topic full circle and back on the original thought of the 5 elements of a good story. Let's see how this might look... The five key elements of a good story now enhanced with the five Os of a good story: Audience (who remains engaged): Ordinary: Objective: Obstacle: Overcome: Outcome: Content (what assets are maintained): Ordinary: Objective: Obstacle: Overcome: Outcome: Motivation(why forces are in place): Ordinary: Objective: Obstacle: Overcome: Outcome: Semiotics(where words and images are retained): Ordinary: Objective: Obstacle: Overcome: Outcome: Timing:(to what extent the story is sustained) Ordinary: Objective: Obstacle: Overcome: Outcome: Note that the 'when' of it is just the reciting of the story (the record of events that is played and replayed). This then forms a framework of how (very roughly) stories are created. As a for instance let's try to break down this last element on Timing: Timing: The Ordinary Timing. Within the context of the story what is the 'ordinary' pace of the story? Is it quiet and serene or is it all out action every moment with endless twists and turns? Another term for this might be the status quo. Principle characters will usually come into conflict with ordinary timing or they may be ripped out of that and seek to return that balance to their lives. The Objective Timing: This is the pace with which the characters would live their lives in their ideal world. This grants us insight into who these characters are. The objective must always be seen from the characters point of view. Where there are competing objectives there is conflict and the story will dictate how the timing of the conflicts play out. This is in stark contrast to Ordinary Timing and can be used to better understand the motivation of the character. Obstacles to Timing: What is preventing (or assisting) the characters in achieving their ideals. Obstacles tend to increase tension in the story and direct the characters to either maneuver around, climb over or break through to the other side. The obstacles represent friction that slows down the pace of the story and gives it texture... and provides room for the audience to breath and reflect before moving on to the next (more impossible) obstacle. Overcoming Timing: It is how the characters deal with the challenges they face and overcome them that forms the primary story. Quite often it is because the character steps out of the present... moves out of sync with the others characters... and even if losing the battle, achieves satisfaction. They have found their balance and equilibrium and things have been set right again. There is an aspect of this which I hope to delve into into the future that I believe will be a useful tool for motivating imaginary characters and concerns the character's OODA loop. Outcome Timing: This is a projection of what will happen as the story moves on when it is no longer specifically drawn out for the audience. It is the implication of events set in motion by the acts of the characters. Now the audience is free to imagine their own subsequent stories. And as we know from physics 101, an object in motion tends to stay in motion... we can therefore chart a trajectory for the story once it has gone off to live with the audience.

When filing a report you could link this topic and/or include this discussion (see attachment): Problems_with_Baked_Decals.pdf

Well, that's an oversimplification (i.e. not the case in all instances) but we have closed in on a significant problem area. Some of the test meshes shown here have geometry that can be avoided altogether (i.e. unnecessary 3 and 5 point patches) and if avoided would produce accurate bump maps.

Yes, but I'm just noting that the difference between what is rightly and wrongly bumped doesn't conform to the area of the patches themselves. That is particularly odd. It would make a lot more sense to me (normal wise) if it did. Where the patches overlap.. those seams... appears to be involved in this. We may be seeing two issues here: Baking is reversing the surface... Except where some specific splines (creating overlapping decal seams) exist. If it baking reversed everything then a workaround (and something that would lead to the ultimate fix) would be to simply invert the bump of whole image.

Yes! Thanks for the catch. I've been working in 'Feet Per Second' too much these days.

At first guess I'd say it might be your FPS (Feet Per Second) setting? Perhaps you have 'Stepped' turned on to something other than '1' in the Render Options? If it was set to '2' that would produce half of the images (i.e. it would only render every other frame). Note: I would always render out to a standard image file first rather than AVI or MOV but it's interesting to note that when rendering stepped frames .MOV and .AVI format become a more viable option because then we don't have to rename/renumber the resulting imagery. So that is one of the rare times where I do prefer to render to a movie format.

Hmmmm.... That looks to me more like a seam issue than one concerning normals as the oddness is directly over the splines.

I've ran into several useful thing regarding Storytelling since last posting here. Here is one that was from Michael Comet that was posted to the old CG-Char list (That's where folks hung out and shared information back in the heyday of computer animation): T For those with the nostalgic interest here is a write-up concerning CG-Char:

So something in the baking process is creating inverted areas on the decal? You mention projection so... I assume you are baking in A:M but then painting in 3DPaint. Could you apply a standard cylindrical decal and then project paint in 3DPaint?

I believe the purpose of the short was to test out the technology with subtle gestures and minimal effect. If that can be captured then it's easy to extrapolate to the extreme performances. Getting 3D to look like it was hand drawn and to be approachable in the same sense as if an artist was drawing it with his hands rather than manipulating a puppet has been something of a holy grail for Disney. I'm sure there are a lot of rough edges to work out but Disney has hit a new level of 2D/3D integration here. I can only hope that some of it will filter down to where the common artist can leverage the technology as well. For those that didn't see it at the youtube site here's a interview with the Director of 'Paperman', John Kahrs: Those are very short (only a minute or two). This is a long interview:

I could not resist ...