Rodney

Hard to resist putting 2 cents into the pot on this one. I agree that the democrats missed out on an exceptional opportunity by not fully backing Gore. I don't see this from the perspective that he was actually electable though. Hang in with me here k? A large number of people thought Gore should have won against Bush. (thats a given) Even more would consider that he still deserved his shot. But something happened that (I think) has injured the democratic party subtantially. By failing to unite behind their own candidate (the one was perceived to have gotten robbed out of the top job) they sent a message that its not about who is best for the job but that politics and personal interest rules over all. How Hillary even got into the mix is still a mystery to me but its seems clear she sunk Gores ship before it got a chance to leave port. Someone high up decided Hillary was more electible than Gore and others in decision making positions backed that decision up. The end effect is that where the Democrats were moving forward as one now they are multidirectionless. Their main chance to correct their course and send a clear message that all Democrats are fully backing Obama seems scuttled... again by the Hillary Clinton camp. What is going on? I think where the Democrats had an opportunity to sit in the White house for many years to come they've let their personal aspirations erode that to less than an even chance. Its not unlike Sen. McCain's choice for a running mate. (Nothing against her... I speak of the division it seems likely to make in the most conservative minds of Republicans at large) Its a strange thing. Its almost as if both parties have been trying their utmost not to get elected. Meanwhile, Obama pretty much on his own and despite the politics of it all continues to move forward with his eyes continually on the prize. I find that to be the most interesting and compeling aspect of it all. Apparently this was suppose to be Hillary's win but this young upstart has gone and overturned the apple cart. Politics and partisanships aside I think Obama will make a fine President. The real question is... Will the nation rally behind him?

Its great to have you back in action Mark. You weren't gone long but it seemed like ages.

Steve, The walk cycle has some sharpness/popping to it but that second animation is very nice! Smoothing out the curves in the timeline might soften the walk up. I'd say that both the modeling and rigging of your old model worked out quite well.

Wasn't able to get it downloaed with Internet Explorer but got it via Firefox. Very odd... but thanks to Raf for sharing and Jason for hosting!

Hi Guy! Thanks for taking the time to post. Its okay to lurk... really it is. I did that a few years myself. But its oh so much more fun to join in and make you presence known. (as you've just done) If nothing else it reminds everyone here their efforts are appreciated. Every day I log in to the A:M Forum someone gives me more good reasons to continue on. You said it well and I wholeheartedly agree, "You guys rock!"

Historical note of interest: If you follow Caroline's links/suggestions you'll find three names of significance demonstrating their knowledge of lip sync. All cut their teeth lipsyncing in Animation:Master. Gary C. Martin (http://www.garycmartin.com/mouth_shapes.html Keith Lango http://www.keithlango.com/tutorials/old/lipSync.htm Jason Osipa http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/047178920...cr_dp_orig_subj Another thought to consider when lipsyncing: Don't neglect to use the eyes/eye brows and body posture/poses to help convey what the character is saying. In some cases you may find you need to use very little lipsync at all. The classic example is the Muppets (and puppetry in general). Few would claim the lipsync with such characters is realistic or particularly articulate yet audiences easily get the message and never complain. I've yet to hear anyone say concerning the Muppets... "Yuck! Just look at that bad lipsync".

Unfortunately TGA isn't the internets main format. I almost wish it was but there are good reasons to use lossy images like JPG. At least the give faster viewing times. Its interesting you bring up decaling a bottle here as I just got done viewing an old video tutorial on just that subject. I'd definitely recommend using cylindrical. Also, you will generally want to hide the parts of the bottle you don't want to have effected by the decal. I'll download your file and see what there is to see. You image makes me think you need to apply the decal to a second group that doesn't have transparency applied to it. If you add it to group with Transparency you get a transparent decal. Make sense?

Thats a very nice model Jody. Nice rendering too BTW. You're a real champ. I was going to ignore this comment from Michael... but cannot. Say what Michael??? Splines are ideal for modeling box shapes as well as organics and creatures. The great thing about modeling box shapes is that once you've modeled a few you can reuse them over and over again to create all manner of new box-shapey-things. You are limited only by your imagination. There's a whole collection of images at http://www.hash.com/stills/ to demonstrate the versatility that artists have in modeling with splines. Of course there is Jody's spaceship example here too that demonstrates A:M's modeling capabilities. Sorry... back to your regularly programmed modeling session.

Nice update Ernest! Way to keep the suspense going. I see you've added two Trailers as well. The downside of this of all this of course is that it takes a lot less time to consume/view an episode than to make one. That's the reality. The effort you are putting into it sure makes it worth the wait though. You've still got me hooked. Thoughts for the future: Don't got all commercial on me here but... if you offer a 'Subject 99' TShirt one of these days and I'll purchase one to show my support. "A free coffee pot with every episode"... now why didn't I think of that marketing strategy. You are making this too fun. Much success to you in the effort.

You've already got the grass effect looking great. Very nice.

Myron, What is it that you are trying to do? (any specific tutorials you need translated?) If you have Photopaint you already have the tools and ease of use you need. Knowing how straightforward photopaint is and how similar it is to these other programs mentioned I think investing in another program will defeat your purpose here. Once you've learned one program much of what you've learned will easily translate to other programs too. Folks around here will be glad to help you through the rough spots. (See how many responded here!) Learning curve? You don't need one of those. Skip the learning curve!

Wonderful imagery. With story and music to match this is sure to garner some wonderful reviews from the festival circuit. Two years more to wait so see the film??? Yikes. Looks like we need to visit a film festival. Good luck at the festivals Dusan!

If anyone knows an A:M User from Tailand... that's where Klum is from. Besides the tutorials and assistance we can get here...there's really nothing like having someone local. Anyone else from Tailand besides Klum around here?

What can we say except... 'We are all a Work In Progress'.

My thought (silly I know) When I first saw your hand Mark I couldn't help but wonder if there was a way to have these hands completely detached from the body as fully functional yet separate components. Obviously this would work better with some characters moreso than with others (a cartoon gloved character comes to mind) but the idea would be to attach the hands as needed rather than to have them as an integral part of the whole.

Some people do their best work when they find themselves way down in the dumps. Its not always fun but its almost always motivational. The great thing about being down is that you know sooner or later things are going to look up again. The first thing to do is remember to look up! Have you ever used proxy models before? Some of the best animation starts with simple crudely built box models. Once you get the animation right... just substitute in the higher quality models.

Vern was remarkably restrained in his reply. A lot of folks would take a harsher view of such requests. You may not realize it but 'Make me a movie' is a considerable request. Most people will gladly help someone who is willing to help themself. Few are interested in working for free when they have their own projects to work on. Since this is a Work In Progress topic... why not take the time to model that one spaceship? You'll be amazed at your own abilities. Once they see your effort others may get enthused and join in your project too. Thats what 'Work In Progress' is all about. All it takes is the desire to begin.

It definitely helps to read the script.

I know you are looking for critiques so you can make the shot better... but I just want to say... Looks great! I confess I'm not that familiar with the pace of Super Mario's stylistic gameplay but I don't think you want the walk cycles and actions to be any more realistic. This is a great project to exaggerate on. Personally, I think it looks great. Very nice. The pace 'reads' like he is going to the bathroom stall because he knows there is a message there waiting for him. If that is the intent... I think you've nailed the pace.

Ooooo... nice tip Luuk! It should be noted that you must recreate your Path constraint after altering your Path. (Unless I'm missing something else here) To test this out I recommend dragging and dropping an object from your library... say... a sphere... or Thom onto a newly created path. Go into Modeling mode (while still in the Chor) and Add... then Delete a spline at the end of the Path you want the Model to move toward. Delete the old Model as necessary. Drag and Drop the model onto the path again... and you should see the Model follow the path in the opposite direction. Thanks for the tip Luuk. I've added it to my collection.

I've attached a basic test and project file to illustrate. My CPs aren't showing up in this one but the numbers should help identify where they are. All paths in this case are created in the same Model. Three splines/paths in all. The spline/path on top was created left to right. Two CPs. The spline/path under it was created right to left. Two CPs. The bottom spline/path was created with three CPs... bottom left... top center... bottom right. The arrows indicate the direction of the paths. In each case the sphere follows the spline/path as in the order in which it was originally designed. PathOfSpline000.mov DirectionOfPath.prj

George, I remember wondering that same thing many years ago. Problem is... I forgot what I discovered then. I believe the general rule is: The first CP you place determines where the spline will begin. The second CP placement determines the orientation and direction of the spline (path) created. The end of the path that is modified last will be considered the last position. Easy enough to test that theory. Where things can get confusing is where you don't necessarily know which CP was created first or second. Its easy to lose orientation in 3D space. Edited the general rule to include Luuk's tip (see below).

One of my favorite tutorials of all time. Now well represented in comic book format.

Bill, Its only a guess here but I'd say yes, you probably animated the props by mistake. Make sure you've saved your Project then go in and look at your Actions. If you have any keyframes set that aren't horizontal... that'd be your culprit. Its hard to say without seeing your project but look first at any keyframes not on frame zero. Also... once you get everything perfectly placed you may want to Export your Choreography as a Model. Then you won't have to worry about your objects moving at all. It seems like this method might work for you well as you could easily set up various scenes as different models for use/reuse later. Regarding the photo-look you are trying to avoid... Computers tend to render things too perfect. Since you are drawing elements of this anyway you might consider drawing over the top of your rendered lines. Perhaps render to grey and use that as the outline? That would definitely lose that effect you don't want as the lines would be all yours. Regarding cheating your other buildings... elements that you know for a fact you will not see from another perspective (say above or behind) you can model as partial objects... or... render those elements out and bring them back in as rotoscopes or layers. Here it might help to have a more specific target to attack. I notice the color here on these renders. Are you moving to color comics or is this just a stage before they get converted?

Very nice animation. Nice touch with the ending. Take the following with a large dose of 'only suggestion... do whatya wanna do with em'. Find ways to get the character to focus... putting attention on and into the act he is performing. Sometimes this is best accomplished by having the character lean into or toward the object of his attention. Have the character look at the object of interest... then look away if necessary. This helps the viewer see what the character is seeing. Subconsciously, the audience can then say 'Ah, I see' even though they really don't. Where this might apply to your meercat animation... If he could crouch down a bit that'd put tension in his body. A slight lean forward would let us know he expects to feel a little resistance from the bag. A slight reaction after he hits the bag might let us know he felt the impact. When Meerkat punches the bag from the side that's a good opportunity to have him look... then turn away. This telegraphs the upcoming punch for us. (Something you don't want to have real actors do in live action but something you really want to do in animation) We look at the bag with Meerkat. When he looks away... we look with him. When the punch goes to the bag... the circle of interest for us is completed. Now at the end Meerkat can lose his leaning toward the bag and this subconsiously sets both him and us up for the gag. The focus is no longer on the bag... we've lost interest in it... so we get hit with it too. This enhances the final shot even more as we almost feel as if we might have thrown the boot. Meerkat isn't there so... in a way... we did. Hopefully this makes sense to you. If it seems a bit touchy feely thats because it is. You want the audience to see and feel and react along with the characters. A little added emphasis in the look and the lean and the body tension of the character would do this. You've got wonderful work on view at your site... great interface/presentation too.