Rodney

Michael, I just want to say... your recent C130 animations are a real treat. The accuracy and level of detail you've got in your C130 already is quite impressive. Kinda gave me shivers when I saw your model in action. Seeing your mini-movies really made me want to go out and share the files with everyone I know who works around them. I figure they would appreciate the effort you've put into it. The designers of the C130 get a lot of respect from me. Those planes are tough and versatile to say the least. The ease of configuration allowing various cargo (whether PAX, rolling stock or pallets) to be transported is simply amazing. I hope you keep a version that isn't a gunship. From where I sit the C130 as a transport Aircraft still is the workhorse of the U.S. Air Force. Rodney

jon, I think I like your current sophie more than one more Chibi version'd. Looking mighty good thus far. You can always make a Chibier version from the the one you have now at a later date. Rodney

Drat drat drat... and BUMP. Zach, Do you still have this project file?

Wow. Better answer than I could have even expected! That shows how a talented individual like yourself can use the internet to best advantage. I imagine there is nothing quite like being able to use models/resources you've already created to make a little extra money either I imagine. I'm sure it reinforces the fact that your time experimenting and exploring was time well spent. You are an inspiration to all of us aspiring animators/artists. Keep on keepin' on! Rodney

Very nice! Looks like you've been busy. Your storyline has me intrigued. Some great possibilities for animation. Rodney

Drat... not quite an update but it'll do! Love the Kows, Kiwi and of kourse... the Kapsules. /me always wanna see more of your work. K? Rodney

Some plugin cost a lot more than $15. That sounds quite reasonable. It usually boils down to how much you need what it can produce. An added benefit of supporting A:M Plugin creators is that it will help to support their continuing development of other cool products. Rodney

Wow. Very impressive. It immediately reminded me of some basement hallways in a hospital I visited years back. I agree that the lines that are appearing... that separate walls from floors and ceiling are a bit to stark. If there is any way you could break up the line a bit that would really sell it. I keep thinking that there must be someone that mops and waxes that floor from time to time too... maybe some evidence or wear (or waxy buildup) would be nice. Very Nice! Rodney

Very nice Will! I'm not so sure about the Christmas tree but then again I don't know the intent of the ad/company. I am curious... Was this the genesis of your Kong or did you make Kong prior to the ad and just find a fit for it in the project? Either way... great imagery. Rodney

Mish, You should consider starting a Work In Progress (WIP) in that area of the forum. You could then post your work and ask for feedback there. The preferred place to post the results from your TAoAM exercises is in the individual Exercise areas. It can be a little confusing at the beginning but following this link would get you going: The Art of Animation:Master (Online Certification and Information) Concerning the 'Newbie' tag. It'll stay there until you get involved in the forum (200 posts or more). So completing the TAoAM exercises and posting your WIPs should just about do it. Best, Rodney

Beautiful work! Have you investigated Marcel Bricman's BitMap Style plugin? (Not to be confused with Marcel's Bitmap Plus which also might be worth the look) A combination of Bitmap Style and John Henderson's suggestions in the post might do the job. Rodney Edit: Whoops! I missed this part of your post: As you suggest I don't think Marcel's latest and greatest will work with A:M 2000. Sorry.

Michel (Mish), I like your logo/shield. I want to learn Arabic so the text part really caught my attention. If you have stability issues don't be shy about posting your questions just keep in mind there is a place especially designed for posting trouble reports. A:M Reports is the place that will get the problems seen by the guys that can work the fixes. If you haven't already found it here is a link: A:M Reports You said: By all means please do! Trevor, I've seen your other posts but certainly had no idea of the long path you've taken to get to where you are now. I've never been run over by a bus(!) but that sounds entirely too painful. Hope you are fully recovered. You are definitely on the right track in tackling the exercises in TAoAM. Welcome to you both Mish and Trevor! Rodney Any other lurkers out there ready to come out of the shadows?

Jeff (JD), Greetings from another Illinois native (well... I'm from there at least and most of my family still lives there). It sounds like you bring a good foundation of skills with you as you take the plunge into 3D Character Animation. That should serve you well. Make yourself at home. I think perhaps now more than ever is the best time to be an Animation:Master user. Welcome to the A:M Community. Rodney

Your blog is always a great read. Perhaps strangely, I especially enjoyed your commentary on your frustrations and the Law of Diminishing Returns. I like your advice of moving on to something new and of learning something new with each attempt. Kinda like reliving my early days with A:M. Rodney

A warm welcome to Ken Heslip (the world's fastest modeler) and now moderator of the Software Tutorials Forum. Welcome aboard Ken! There are a lot of projects in the works in the A:M Community and the Software Tutorials Forum is one to watch. Some exciting projects are in waiting in the wings... Keep checking in and let us know how we are doing. K? Rodney

Seana, Like you, I'm definitely interested in collecting and documenting the ins, outs and operation of A:M Libraries. I'll try to put something together and in the meantime we'll grab some useful links as well. Thanks for the interest in Libraries! Rodney To get us off and running lets examine the basics. What are A:M Libraries? A:M Libraries are text files that store the shortcut to Animation:Master's file formats. With Libraries you can collect, organize and manage your projects with ease. You can even leverage Animation:Master's drag and drop capabilities to maximize your workflow. Files that can be linked include: Projects (prj), Models (mdl), Actions (act), Choreographies (cho), Materials (mat) and HTML (Tutorial) text (tut). Of special note is this last one; Tutorial format (tut) allows HTML to be displayed in Animation:Master. It is important to note that the file format's Preview Image is not stored in the Library file. The Preview Image is stored in the resource itself which the Library points to. TALENT LIBRARIES Creating a Preview Image for a Library Object - Most of this text from the A:M Technical Reference Stay tuned for more information, links, tutorials and utilities about A:M Libraries. Rodney

Congratulations on getting the job done and on its way into the hands of the consumers Greg! Not a lot of people can say they've completed such a task. I say Bravo to you and your team! Rodney

Nice variation on the theme.

Please check out JohnL3D's latest tutorial. Its a great introduction to working with materials. Turning a Cartoon Horse into a Zebra - A Materials Tutorial by JohnL3D They'll be texturing models soon for 'Tin Woodsman of Oz'. If you have information on Materials and Texturing (or want to learn more) please visit the Materials Forum. It's forum 46 on your A:M dial. |

I really don't have any specific suggestions... but wanted to let you know you are doing great so far. I like him! He's really coming together. Rodney

Dana, Glad to see you are posting and asking questions. I agree completely with what Eric has said... don't follow the path I did... I'm still paying for it. Complete the exercises in the manual. You'll be really glad you did. To address each of your specific areas I might have once agreed with you here. This is not impossible but the problem here is... what kind of simple character? There are so many types and flavors of character... The easiest simple character to build would be one made out of lathed cylinders and spheres... but that really isn't what you want... you want a character. What I'd suggest is to grab a model from off of the CD and take it apart. Copy parts and paste them into other areas of 3D space... drag CPs around... stitch in splines.... then delete the whole thing and start from scratch. Don't be afraid to experiment... we learn best by making mistakes. Make lots of mistakes! This approach can be a successful one for some people. I don't recommend it though. It is far better to grab the 2001 skeleton from the A:M CD and move it into your character as outlined in the manual. It can be hard enough to add a premade rig/skeleton to a model. Being able to consistently add a rig to a model will be a very useful skill later when you learn how to build your own. Seeing what works (and perhaps doesn't work) in the 2001 rig will help you to better understand what will make your own rigs work in characters later. I'm not sure what you mean exactly but I assume the basics of path constraint animation, rotations etc. The manual covers all this and more. One thing the manual doesn't cover currently that you should investigate is animated distortion... that will not only prove useful... but is extremely fun! There are various levels that this can reach. I tend toward the simple side while the experts measure distances, recreate lighting, watch shadows carefully, etc etc. The easiest way to learn this however is just to dive in and test it for yourself. Render out a still image (or even an animated sequence) with the Alpha Channel turned on. Then bring that image back into A:M as a Rotoscope... a Layer... a Decal on a model/patch... render to see the results Rinse and repeat. The manual is great... tutorials are great... ...but nothing but nothing beats diving in and seeing what the options produce when you try them for the first (and second... and third... ) time. Best, Rodney

I haven't had a chance to look/work through Alonso's Tutorials but this one looks really neat: Cartoon Eyes Tutorial Very expressive cartoon eyes that (to me) break the CG mold and look a bit more like traditional animated character eyes.

Its great to have you posting here in the forum Curtis! I had a great time at SIGGRAPH. Keep posting! Rodney

I probably am not suppose to announce this but... errrrgggghhh.... its impossible for me to keep a secret. Alonso Soriano has been working hard to help aspiring animators realize their goals and get to animating. As such he initiated the Animation Bootcamp hosted in the Student Forum. Now he's moved to the next level and compiled a series of tutorials and enhanced his Bootcamp even more. With apologies to Alonso... Experience it here: http://www.hash.com/amtutes/Bootcamp/index.html ...and don't forget to post your Bootcamp results in the Student Forum - Forum #35 on your A:M dial. Rodney

Curtis, You're definitely going to have some problems with those areas where more than 2 splines intersect. Also, since the both side are mostly identical (I'm assuming) I'd suggest making half and then Copy/Flip/Attach. Rodney