Rodney

Looks great Ken! Don't forget the cute little wings.

I thought some might get a kick out of this image. It's from a test I did earlier in the year related to Zack and my efforts to produce an A:M Magazine. I'd forgotten about this cover test though... now that I've found it I'll post before I lose it again. The idea was to trace back a bit of history in the A:M Community and feature certain artists and their creations. I think I did a 2001 and 2003 cover as well... but I fear they are misplaced on an old harddrive. I've lost my notes on who the artists are but Will Sutton's TAR is rather apparent. I believe, as the title suggests, that all characters were in the spotlight in the year 2002. The individual characters/images probably came from submissions for the 2002 CD Mascot contest. Cheers!

Here is what we've got thus far for followup questions. In keeping with the tradition of follow up questions to #hash3d lectures we are going to open the floor for questions. Here's your chance to query Martin Hash on A:M related topics. Note that Martin often answers questions in the A:M Forum as well. This particular Q&A is a followup to the #hash3d lecture. Posted: Oct 25 2004, 06:57 AM entity How far into pre-production is the mentioned "testbed" project...and where will it be available at the end of 2006? Is clumpyness for hair gone for good? Does the 'A:M I short' contest have anything to do with the 'Animated Feature film' Hash Inc. is going to be using to implement new features/changes/updates? If not, will the 'A:M I short' contest be a continuum of contests... or a one time thing? Why is it so difficult to restructure or change things in the "core" of Animation:Master? Why can't streaks have shadows/volume shading? Is that feature requested? Posted: Oct 25 2004, 09:56 AM binder3d I read the whole chat again and there is so much going on and so many cool things I think that every Hasher needs to read this! I think what Martin is planning is going to blow pople away! But what got me thinking again was Martin saying “The renderer is static (except for HDR)”. Why is it static? Does it mean that the render wont be changed except adding HDR? I think HDR is going to be great but does that mean nothing else will be added or changed? Ive been trying to use (photon mapping) and its great but not easy to learn. What is going to happen to photon mapping? Also, Will Hash add a paint program to AM like Zbrush? Posted: Oct 25 2004, 01:36 PM Julian This is a follow up to Christina’s questions. Does keeping the renderer static mean there isn't going to be graphics card-supported rendering? How about graphics card support for rendering polygon objects as props, at least? (I'm not sure how you'll get antialiasing to work, though.) Posted: Oct 27 2004, 08:26 AM jon I’m keenly interested in knowing any future plans or special considerations geared towards the realtime animation / gaming segment of animation: master users. Posted: Oct 27 2004, 08:46 AM hypnomike I'd be interested to know if The Art of Animation Master is going to be updated. Posted: Oct 27 2004, 08:50 AM Rodney How do you see educational methodologies and disciplines evolving in the future of 3D (character) animation and have you noticed any particular trends? How does Hash Inc address the educational needs of Animation:Master users? Do you have any insights that you can share with teachers? A lot of people are have realized the power of splines over the past few years but had to continue to live in a polygon world for one reason or another. Hash Inc's reasons for championing splines has been pretty well documented. Are there any situations where polygons outperform splines? Can you explain (once again) some of the primary differences and why you've championed splines over polygons? Posted: Oct 27 2004, 08:54 AM KenH Will Mac users with the Orangutang CD get the "Hair version" of AM without needing to upgrade to v12? Are you happy with how v12 is turning out? Posted: Oct 30 2004, 03:12 PM splinesmith I have two questions. Regarding what was mentioned of Hash doing a film, does Hash have any interest in hiring forum/list members to work on it and what kind of talents would they be looking for? Also in regard to the subject of the features in the next version of A:M (especially the cloth.) could we see some examples of what is in the works? Posted: Nov 3 2004, 11:50 AM PixelDust Are there any plans to update the materials editor, like changing it to a node-based editor similar to Darktree? *Note: Some of the cast and crew at Hash Inc are out on vacation. So, we still have a little time to sneak in a few questions. Thanks - Rodney

Like I always say... "It's a feature!" One of the (many) reasons I devote time to the A:M Community is because of the response and time others in the community (like John (Artbox) Henderson) gave me when I first started out. I don't expect to ever repay the debt I have to them. Besides that... they draw 'purty pitchers' in 3D!

John, That just may be the prettiest image I've seen you post. Very nice technique there. -Rodney

Nice "take" too. The exageration works perfectly. If you are looking for critiques... I'll add: Say something with the eyes. Have him look left and right... and/or have his pupils pinpoint just prior to the "take". Very nice as it stands though! For those interested, I updated the part of The 'annotated' Art of Animation:Master dealing with eyes from page 63 and 64 of TAOA:M. It can be found HERE. There is a lot more going on with eyes before, during, and after a movement. The study of eyes is a facinating one that we'll try to capture elements of in the 'annotated'.

Nice John! I don't remember v11 hair being this easy!

That's really awesome Philip! Great stuff.

He looks a bit stiff. You should save a copy to the side of what you currently have and with another copy just exaggerate the heck out of it. When walking there should be a distinctive arc/swaying that I don't see in his movement. By exagerating I think you'll start to pick up where those arcs need to be. -Rodney

Nice! Yet another great character that would look make a great CD Mascot.

Thanks! I was trying to figure out where I'd seen that setup. For some reason your link just takes me to a front page. Not sure if this one will be better... Bill Young Interface based on Jason Osipa's "Stop Staring" book Kudos to both Jason and Bill!

Working here! Maybe it's fixed. Nice owl! Makes me think of Snowbird of Alpha Flight fame (for comic book fans). For the uninitiated, Snowbird is a shapechanger (from the Canadian Superhero group Alpha Flight) that can change into all manner of animals but always snow white in color. Really cool effects produced by John Byrne in the comics. Looking forward to seeing 'her' fly! -Rodney

That interface is just too too cool. If you have a version of your project that you could part with for the 2005 CD, A:M users would learn a lot from it. Awesome stuff. Cutting edge.

I remember seeing this before... not sure where though. Lots of fun... and great animation. For a moment I thought >Zack's Definitely need this one on A:M Films if it's not there already... maybe that's where I saw it?

Already was. I'll probably refresh it here in a little while. We could use about 30 more questions I think. After the lecture I think Martin would be up to the task of about a hundred or so.

That's what I'm talking about! Graham, That wasn't crude... that was fun! Excellent work IMO. I think you've got a couple kids there that may want to do more acting! It's never easy to get kids to perform the way you want them to. You did really well in this case. The backgrounds were really neat. Minor critiques. The greenscreening seemed to work really well until they step into Disneyland... I think you do this on purpose though. The haloing effect is so well known (to artists at least) that it seems to detract a bit... it's almost like they've gone from standing in front of a real world to entering one that isn't... a strange thing to my eye. In the castle/knight scene the knight's movement is... how shall we say it... a bit crude. If sped up with the slipping gone it'd probably be a bit scarey! Excellent work. I hope to try something with greenscreening myself someday and works like yours really inspire me. Thanks! Rodney

Sorry. Can't see anything. Just an Angel Fire page with nothing. -Rodney

Almost surreal. Neat!

Of all the luck... that last pic isn't showing. I'll check back though!

Yeah... but that's not a good excuse!!!

That makes me think that a timelapse sequence might be in order. Hopefully it doesn't cycle too quickly. Looking good!

What happen?? Outside of the Osprey tutorials John (Artbox) Henderson hasn't posted a WIP in ages. It's like he's gone missing or something! Are you working on another supersecret project? I'm in pain here John. It's the withdrawals... Got... ...to... ...see... ...MORE!

Neat! I love those 360 turnarounds... and you just presented it in a really neat way. It's one of the first times where I've seen a 360 turnaround really serve mutliple purposes with such simplicity. You've hit a bunch of them; background test, spline test, transparency test... Did I miss anything? Hard to see detail but it looks like you really did an awesome job modeling and keeping the splines to a minimum. Amazing stuff. More Please!

Keep those questions coming! Here are a few questions of my own. How do you see educational methodologies and disciplines evolving in the future of 3D (character) animation and have you noticed any particular trends? How does Hash Inc address the educational needs of Animation:Master users? Do you have any insights that you can share with teachers? Thanks! Rodney Baker Denver Colorado

Wow... and to think the most passes I've ever used is 16! Really nice effect/lighting/color that you've got. Great character in your character too! Looking forward to more adventures with Pzu.