Rodney

Steve, If you and I could ever get to the point where we could rip into a model like these guys... we'd be dangerous. Your skills are impressive Mark. Very impressive.

By George I think you've got it. Thanks John! I'll check it out.

Thanks! More of a gradient material but that's great too.* I've added it to the Extra DVD Collection. Maybe I need to demo the Toon Gradient output method? *The prop was missing so I'll just extract the material.

Any gradient you'd like to contribute will be greatfully accepted.

That would be great Mark. I'll upload the cybergirl model asap (tonight). I should dress her up though at least a little though. Maybe just a TShirt and shorts? Suggestions?

The more the merrier! Who else would like to learn how to rig a model with the Squetch Rig?

(What are you trying to do scare me with that avatar!) Why that would be the plugin that places multiple objects on a path. Seriously, I just discovered it myself but I assume it's a Steffen Gross plugin. I'll Wink you up a tutorial demonstration of it. You could probably do something similar with the Sweeper plugin from Emilio.

Very cool Dhar. Such simple yet effective use of animation. Outstanding work... I want to see the real thing in action too!

I'll try to post (or at least move toward the Extra DVD) some various examples of Camera settings to show some of the options available to us. For instance; I have a multicamera model that uses 24 cameras in a Matrix-like setup. Not really finished... so not of much use. But the idea is there... and building multicamera rigs is really easy now with the 'Multiple Objects on a Path' plugin. I have a camera showing how to step through frames, reverse sequences etc. This is stuff you could do without a camera but still nice to know you can do it in A:M if you'd need to. Gradients from the Toon Renderer are also on my list but they are a separate collection. I have the bare bones beginning of an Excel Spreadsheet that controls camera settings... Lots of projects started... few finished. If they had a purpose to exist that might make them much more likely to finished and documented. The Extra DVD might provide a place to put them so others could build from the basic ideas. Rodney

Exactly! A mini-demo reel-type thingy that would incorporate the various elements of modeling, decaling, animating in a single image or short sequence of images. Gotta keep the file size small though as I want to keep the DVD space for othe resources. This should fit into what Jody is working on for Render Statistics for the DVD as well.

I'd like to collect a few Cameras to add to the Extra DVD as it seems like it might be a great resource to explore. In particular I'm interested in collecting a variety of render styles with settings for people to examine on the DVD. If you have an old project laying around gathering dust you can import it into v13 and see what settings are there. If its a keeper save the camera as an external .CAM file and share it here. If you'd prefer your particular settings to be revealed when the DVD is released that is fine too. You can send the files to me via email if you prefer. Attached is the plain ol' default v13 camera. All settings are (of course) default! Note: The forum will not let you upload files with the extension .CAM so you will either have to rename the extension or zip the camera up for posting. As .CAM files tend to be pretty small... we can fit a wholelotahooploada .CAMeras on the DVD. Most likely the same model/animation will be rendered with each camera so everyone can properly determine what particular look, sequence, file format etc. they'd like to use with their own projects. If people want to discuss their settings at length we may ask for this topic to be moved a more appropriate area of the forum. Anyone interested in a little exploration? Defaultv13Camera.zip

Beautiful stuff! Tell me you've secretly been using some of Hash Inc's v14 features. More please! Added: I don't suppose you've ever worked with Sergi Camara have you? Love his book on animation. That's quite an impressive list of credits you have; Duck Tales the Movie, Talespin, Goomer, Batman, Asterix... All Dogs Go to Heaven II, Nightmare before Christmas... nice! ...and Pokoyo! That one seems to be a favorite of a lot of animators these days. I think Victor Navone has a link on his site. Bravo!

Now that would be a whole lot of projects! I'll send you an email.

Did you buy your copy (first copy) of A:M used? A:M Reports isn't the place to send that request. Attack Will Pickering directly with an email at: w i l l p @ h a s h . c o m* or email: support@hash.com *Without all the lovely spaces... I don't wanna be responsible for him getting more spam. I've learned to live with it on my end though.

Great topic! Drawing helps to simplify the idea. Sometimes translating the concept to a sketch provides just enough information to let the modeler know what is required and what can be disgarded. In some cases the sketch may reveal weakness in the design that would have only been found after many hours of laborious work. If discovered too late in the process that means a lot of re-modeling and wasted effort. Rotoscopes (and drawings in general) are an excellent tool to promote effective design to ensure the model is setup for successful animation. *Looks like much of what I've posted has already been said here.

There is a plan in the works to re-collect John's projects into one easy to browse location. I've been procrastinatin' of late but I haven't forgotten the project. Anyone that would like to assist in collecting John's projects please let John (or me) know. John's projects are a treasure trove of great FX, experimentation... and entertainment!

Go Dude! At the rate you are going you'll be making full length feature films by next week. Keep up the momentum. For some reason your model reminds me of the Animation Mentor characters. Different... but similar. Maybe its just the character you've been animating into him. Very nice work.

Hey... I remember visiting that one long long ago. Thanks for the link John.

Is it just me or did Rodger Reynolds reorganize his tutorials? Maybe not... but great stuff either way. Rodger covers: - Using Rotoscopes - Modeling Mechanical Surfaces - Automotive Modeling - Adding Bones to a Vehicle - Modeling Bump Decals - Adding Rivets: CP's or Decals? - Modeling Edges and Corners - Modeling Trees - Modeling a Concrete Block Wall - Examples of Hardware Modeling - Miscellaneous models in progress Check it out! Mechanical Modeling in Animation:Master by Rodger Reynolds

Too short. Need to see more! What you have thus far is nice though. Suggestion: The WMV format may be problematic some here in the forum (I like it though). When posting a WMV file it might be wise to offer another format for Mac users where possible. Rodney

Quite impressive coming from v5! That was nice. Even better because I get the 'UCI' and military significance of the intro. Hope you did well on your UCI and the inspectors were impressed!

Presenting Part IV in the Squetch Rig Installation tutorial series by David Simmons. If you have not yet reviewed Parts I through III please download and view those first. Squetch Rig Installation (Part I) Squetch Rig Installation (Part II) Squetch Rig Installation (Part III) Now on to Part IV! Here David tests his installation of the Face Rig, Hand Gizmo and other elements of the Squetch Rig. Among other things he explains why the order of poses might be important to you. He demonstrates useful ways to optimize the rig and covers steps to perfect your rig's Forward and Inverse Kinematic constraints. Don't miss the information at the end of the tutorials covering adjustment of the Squetch Pivot Bone to ensure your character is ready for squetching. Squetch Rig Installation (Part IV) with David Simmons (42MB Zip file) Presentations are in MOV format encoded with H.264 which requires Quicktime 7. Other formats will follow. Commentary and exploration is encouraged. Let David know what you think! ---------------------------- Additional Information ---------------------------- The Rigging and Relationships forum has an onongoing discussion of the Squetch Rig. There you will also find the plugin and files used with these tutorials. Download the Install Rig Plugin!

Thanks John! Thats much easier to see.

Doh! Too small John. I just got glasses and not even they will help me see things that small. I can see the effect you were going for though.

If you are on a PC* I'd say you need a restart of your system. *Which I see that you are.