Rodney

Very nice! That stone work in the background makes me think of what they might be looking for in Tin Woodsman of Oz. Check out Mrs. Yoop castle sketches and see if you don't agree. Rodney

I agree. Great character. Even though the competition was tough again this time around I think he would have made into into my top 4. Even if you don't win in the contest I hope you'll be considered for the CD. I like him! Best, Rodney

Thanks Curtis, Useful Links is due for an update. We've let it slide just a bit... It looks like the A:M Loft site is down. It would be sad if it is permanently down. A:M Loft is still useful but it gets less useful every year as plugin creators add additional functionality to A:M. Most of what is in A:M loft can be made with plugins such as the Extruder and Duplicator wizards... and need I mention Emilio's Sweeper plugin? I don't think the skinning feature has yet to be brought forward. With that you could set a group of splines in 3D space and A:M Loft would connect them all in a mesh... pretty neat. It is still useful and a nice little program (IMO). Rodney

Welcome to the A:M Community Quentin!

I want to say more than this but all I can say really is VERY NICE! You are a talent Ken. Simple but elegant.

I like it Ken. It looks a bit too perfect to my eye. Especially as these guys are always zooming around and 'boinging' into things... probably breaking things as they do. How about lookout towers that have stack upon stack of these things strapped haphazardly together to dizzying heights? (There is a tall tree canopy in parts of this thick forest area perhaps? Maybe all around the edges of the clearing?) Anyway... very nice. I love the straps/ropes/vines/whatever. Really cool. Rodney

Pengy, I like it... really looking forward to seeing your work animated. Post more pics!

...or you could give an uber-level newbie Rodney-type guy access to all of your screenshots taken while you build/install the rig and he would attempt to put text to the process here in the Rigging & Relationships forum. The experts could tweak still further and then someone with a bit of voice talent could take that product and narrate the whole thing. (uber-level newbie Rodney-types don't do voicework much) Well... something like that anyway. I guess the goal would be to make a TAoA:M type exercise out of it eventually too. Rodney

Just wanted to note that I got a chance to download and play with Squetchy Thom for a few minutes. My first impression: "WOW! Even I can animate with this rig!" Yesterday I was concerned about the 2001 Rig going away. Today I am no longer concerned. Impressive.

On behalf of the USAF Public Affairs office I say, "You are very welcome". Rodney

Nice pics and description DL. Seeing behind the scenes like this really gets me going for some reason. Makes me want to create scenes in 3D. BTW - I keep hoping you might demo your secret recipe for murky painterly style backgrounds too. Beautiful stuff! Rodney

Meow, (interesting name BTW!) Hang in there it gets better. I can't really answer your query about computer systems but there are plenty here in the forum that not only can but will. I generally just buy something cheap and >cringe I've lost most of whatever tech savy I used to have. As a writer you have an edge that many animators don't in storytelling. Good luck to you on your animated endeavors. ...and welcome to the A:M Community! Rodney

Animating is fun... animating with friends... now that is something to be happy about. Glad to see you've all started in on the TAoA:M Exercises.. Rodney

Oooo. Good Idea! I don't think these are NATO grade but that just might work. Michael, For a limited time only I'll post the pics as I'm abusing Hash Inc bandwidth. These images are cut down in size to 40% so if you need any of them full rez/quality just say the word and I'll grab the original. Sorry... I don't think there are any barf bags (NATO or otherwise)... www.hash.com/amtutes/Temp/C130DetailCleared.zip Rodney

Michael, Great to have you back! I got the go ahead to share approx. 60 photos of a C130E. I'm not sure how much good they might do you but I'll try to smash down the file sizes and get them to you. I didn't take the pics so they aren't from the perspective of someone modeling in 3D but still might be useful. Rodney

People often say they want solid Comment & Criticism... well there you have it (LOL). Without having seen the animation yet I'd say that's specific enough. It'd be nice to see more of the same C&C to pick and choose from throughout the forum. I'm looking forward to seeing your work Mark in light of the suggestions but also because you are TAoA:M alumini; royalty in my book! Downloading now...

Arpana, I've already said hello in a way after your Exercise 1 post but here is an official "Hello" here. It's great to see Animation:Master is making inroads in India. While I don't know how many A:M Users might be active there I hope you find yourself in a welcome commnunity of animators there. I know you'll be welcome here. So... Welcome to the A:M Community! Rodney

Robert, I was just wondering when we'd hear from you again. Looks great as usual! More than great actually. I should say as well I really like your walker. I like it a lot more than the ship. If you still intend to use your flying ship(s) perhaps you could have them hovering around it to give a sense of scale. Are you planning to put the tower back in or is that gone for good? Glad to see you are still working it! Rodney

Funny stuff for sure... as said especially if no one was hurt. The other side of C130s of course I got to relive today. Starting at 0400hrs local we unsuccessfully tried to launch on our mission. We fly for about 20 minutes gauge goes into the red and we are headed back home. After repairs on the ground and subsequent delay find us taxiing for another takeoff. No go. Back for more/different repairs. Third times a charm right? Wrong. Almost at the same place 20 minutes out the exact same gauge lets us know that repairs didn't quite get the the job done the first time. So almost 10 hours after getting armed and ready to fly I'm home again... having never really left at all. So goes another day in the life of the C130. Michael, I don't board a plane without thinking of your work on your model. I wanna see more animation too! Can we get a flying shot in the air? That'd be sweet. Rodney

Such a wonderful character! It's easy to see the animation/storytelling potential in the images you've posted and thinking of the name alone conjures up even more imagery of Captain Barnstorm in animated action. Bravo! Rodney

Very impressive. If I may ask... are your modeling from blueprint rotoscopes? Drawings? Or something else? Inquiring minds wanna know. Rodney

So far so good!

Very very nice additions. You have incredible patience I'll certainly give you that. Now all you have to do is reverse the image and make it look like its a reflection in the windows of a door. JUST KIDDING!!! I'm sure you could tweak forever but I think I'm done suggesting. Looks great to me! Really incredible imagery. Rodney

Michael said: Yes Sir, I'm still hanging in here. I'm not short though... I won't act it while anyone is watching at least. I don't think I'm quite as old as the C130 but I'm starting to feel my age. I need to start thinking past 20 though because it'll be there before I know it. My how time flies... literally. If you need some close ups of details I might be able to get the greenlight to send some to you. You know the mundane stuff like the seating, general textures, barf bags etc. Of course you could probably find more than I could provide out there on the internet though. James, I've never seen a single person jump from a C130 so it makes good sense that other planes are generally used for that task nowadays. I have seen the step extensions and gear for jumping out of C130 though so I'd guess its still done from time to time. Then of course there is always just running and jumping off the back ramp... As for me... I guess I go down with the plane and crew.** As the old saying goes, "No sense jumping out of a perfectly good plane". **I have yet to see a parachute reserved for me on a C130 flight. This could be bad... Rodney

I don't disagree. That's while I qualified it with 'from where I sit'. Where I am right now all I see are lots and lots of C130s. I get to fly on one every 3 days or so too. I will admit though that for someone that has been in the Air Force for 17 years I don't know squat about planes. I like em though. Rodney