Rodney

My take on this... I understand the need to keep it in A:M for new users but I think you may actually do this process a disservice if you spend a lot of time reworking it. Recreating the look of a spectacular scene in many steps that only took you a few with the help of a third party plugin is knoble and inspirational but I have to look at it and say... Why lie when the truth will do? Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't remake the scene in A:M alone but there has to be a better way. Perhaps a texture guru in the Materials Laboritory can assist. Perhaps you can substitute a basic material for the Darktree Simbiont. One of the goals here is to show that we only need A:M to build all these great scenes but if we really didn't... that kind of defeats the purpose. It'll be more frustrating for the user in the end if they get the wrong information. Example: I'll be quite impressed to see how Jim Talbot reworks his Leopard Queen image to exclude Photoshop. That aughta be good. Since Simbiot is a free extension perhaps you (or others) could put together a small writeup on how you can extend a scene with available 3rd Party products. The emphasis being that you can create such things in A:M alone... but other tools work with A:M too. By all means, rework the scene. But I doubt very much that Martin and crew mean for you to cripple your project and misinform their customers. That is a fine image by the way. My few thoughts on the matter. -Rodney

The understatement of 2005. This image has always been a personal favorite of mine: Charles Baggage Imagery

Charles, It's great to hear you are back in action! The older generation of A:M Users knows your work well. Here's to the new generation experiencing your talent too. Woo Hoo!

Here is the material if it will help. Looking at your picture again it seems I've got the colors reversed and the dark should be on the outside with the light toward the inside. One good way to adjust colors is to change attributes to high contrast colors tp get a feel for what changes they make to the material. In the case of this color changing an attribute to red... looking at the change... and then adjusting should do the trick. Right click the attached material and "Save Target as" to prevent it from opening as a textfile. Note that I'm not the originator of the material I've just tweaked and added. Richard O'Donovan, who I believe created the Keekat fur color, created it. -Rodney BlueFur.mat

That's some nice modeling. You might experiment with materials to get some of that airbrushed color look to the fur. Attached is a bad example but is meant to give the general idea. I think a variation of Keekat's fur might do the trick. -Rodney

Good info. Thanks!

Isn't there a GetChor() function or is that totally off the mark? I tried to dig up some info on it but alas... very little. Edit: Ah.. looks like it is ChorTime() and not GetChor()...

Rich, Awesome model. I hope people know they can find a similar one in the your genericman that you've posted here in the forum in the past. The last part of the animation; from the point where he begins to sit down reads 'depressed' quite well. The animation before that reads more 'dazed' or 'drugged' from where I'm viewing. I'll have to keep looking at it but I think going for more of a 'introspective' look where he has his eyes fully closed and/or appears to be looking off into the distance more might convey that his thoughts are wandering. What I'm getting at is that we as viewers need to sense that he is thinking about something that is depressing. Slooping/lowering the shoulders, lowering/tilting the head forward... I'm getting myself depressed as I type here... just a sec... What is his motivation? Why is he depressed? It may seem ridiculous but answers to such questions and either watching yourself or someone else go through the emotions would be a good study. I'm in little position to critique... but there you have my 2 cents. Rock on!

Slipin, You can read a lot more about the Extra CD Project here: A:M CD Communiity Project Some of the earlier posts in that area confuse the v12 CD with the Extra CD (Heck... we were all confused!) but we are moving forward with what is sure to be a great collection of resources. Who knows... with a bit of luck and a little more than wishful thinking it might be in everyone's hot little hands by SIGGRAPH. Thanks for the interest.

Slipin, Well... 1 out of 2 hopefully will count. Tech Talk #6 "Font Wizard" - Ken Baer 38 Megabytes There are also some good write-ups here in the forum on Font Wizard usage. Here is one: Font and AI Wizard discussion Concerning planet/earth creation... one of the best way to create one would be to locate one that is made already and dissect it. I believe there should be several earths on the A:M CD. If not we can find you one as most of the planets should be represented on the upcoming Extra CD.

Looking good thus far John! No suggestions or critiques... just moral support.

Zev, I like the improvements you've made with the possible exception of the red background. Red is fine but to have the whole background red seems a bit stark. The blue Brainmuffin suggested or a combination of bluish/purple colors might look really nice. Of course a lot might depend on your background in the room this will be projected in as well as how you want those viewing the screen to react. Red would seem to set the tone for some serious critiquing. If that is what you are after... Red might work. Here is a suggestion. Render the image out to TGA format *without* the background and try it against several different color schemes. Then later if you determine you want to change it again all you need to do is change the background. -Rodney

Tracje, Thanks for the Thanks! You mean... like here? Software Tutorials Index

JohnL3d is embarking on some tests of v12 cloth simulation. Perhaps we can adapt his studies and put them in a tutorial. That would be nice. Expressions more than perhaps any part of A:M may be a really good candidate for printable tutorials (i.e. PDF format). If you haven't watched Hash Inc's Tech Talk on expressions... Hash Inc Tech Talks ...and... Expressions in Hash Animation Master by Sotiris Gougousis That's an oldy but a goody!

Thanks guys! Feedback is always an important part of the tutorial making process. If you find any particular tutorial useful or find mistakes or areas for improvement all such things can be used to update and improve future tutorials. ...and an extra special thank you to those that take the time to create a tutorial. We know your time is valuable and we appreciate your efforts. Thanks again.

I played around with the toon line but never got it the way I like... more experimenting needed... I must say though... the toon look on Mike is rather good! The following two images are from the last frame of the Choreography. A:M Old Film, blur etc used with just a little touch up in photopaint to get rid of some little blue specks...

Hey! Thanks much. I've put off modeling Mike for years now... and well... now I may not really need to thanks to you. I have a soft spot for the old guy and in particular the old comic strips. I've always thought that using scenes from the old comics would be great animation practice. I still do. Thanks again. -Rodney

Finally! A role worthy of Thom. Looking forward to where you might be taking this. Keep on testing!

So... a request for modeling tutorials. Check. I've added KenH's latest to the growing number listed in the pinned index: Software Tutorials ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Modeling ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Working with Splines *New* Named Groups Avoid Creases in Modeling Advanced Lathing Methodologies

Stian, I want one of those! It's been facinating watching you put this ROV together. Seeing a project come together in this fashion is exactly what we as A:M Users could hope for in a WIP. Thanks!

Bump... because Hair in Animation:Master is cool.

Your subtle improvements are making a difference. This is frustrating in a way actually, because you keep refining what I thought were really fine shots already. I guess I need to hone my critical eye for the details. As always... looking forward you your next post!

David, You definitely have my interest. I've downloaded all your files from your WIP and keep hoping to find time to thoroughly check them out. Your tutorial will be most welcome.

Jost, First, let me say, your animations are entertaining. You really have style and a great sense of timing. You say you worked for it... but you make it look easy. Concerning paths... gah! Just when I think I've got them figured out I realize I don't. Just tonight I was wishing there was some way Constraining to a path would recognize CPs. Then maybe you could specify a speed based on the density of CPs along the path... slow for spline areas with lots of CPs and fast for those with fewer. To attempt to answer your question though. You should be able to select one or the other end of a path that is open. You can use Ease to take you to either end. Rodney Technical Reference information on Paths:Path Description etc. Path Constraints (Tutorial of sorts) Path Constraint Properties

You are on your way to great things Ross. Keep on experimenting. As you said... that's the fun part.