Rodney

I ran across this little gem of a render today while I was formatting a few floppy disks. On one disk there was this picture of a robot... one of my first in 3D... I'm posting it here not because it was done in Animation:Master (it wasn't) but rather because It reminds me that we all have to start this journey into storytelling at some point in life. We wouldn't all be here in the A:M Community if it were otherwise. As I recall I had made my mind up to pursue 3D graphics as a means to tell a story by the time I rendered this. Sad in one way... just cylinders and spheres really. But exciting in another way... I can see I was already on my way. As humbling as it may be... tis my journey to travel. A very uneducated Rodney creates one of his first scenes in CorelDream.

Parlo, Good Answer and graphic too! Really captures my imagination. Some of the fastest animating I've done was with a sphere filling in for my character as 'he' moved around proxy walls and objects made from basic blocks. If you ever find yourself with some free time I'd love to see a comparison shot of the proxy model animated and the final model animated. I find these behind the scenes type of things facinating! I think this is important for people new to Animation:Master to realize too. While you are working on perfecting your character you can be animating with the proxy model! Cool!

Parlo, Watching your work makes me wonder.... Do you animate with the full model for your whole project? What about during real-time preview and during the process of creating your scenes? Just curious.

Looks like a really fun idea! Best of all should be relatively straightforward to animate. Tell you daughter.... sure.... why not!

William, You and JohnL3D must drink from the same water fountain or something..... Both your efforts and experimentation concerning what Animation Master is capable of doing are great resource to the A:M Community. Keep up the fine work. Some day.... There needs to be a compliation called... The A:M Laboratory: by JohnL3d and William Gaylord. 'Twill be all the rage... Nice Work! I need to go back and review your site more as I see several new things since my last visit.

John, I don't suppose you have any more 2D drawing/sketches of your World that you'd be willing to share? Looks like you are almost eliglible for a fan club!

I guess so! Nothing to critique here... just want to say awesome work! Makin' me thirsty too! Makes me want to sing the song from the old commercial, "It's the real thing... Coca Colas is... It's the real thing!" Emphasis on the 'real'!

It is a little known fact that he is the firstborn son of a spacefaring earthman and a lovely alien princess from the planet Yelor... Shortly after his birth he was rocketed to earth when his native planet became unstable and... Ohhh.... oopps.... that's not it..... What gives.... John what IS up with the Yellow skin!! P.S. Meant to ask him that before too but we have a hard time keeping John locked in a chat room... Sneaky little bugger...

Eeeek. Sorry for the delay... I sometimes miss a post here and there. If you need response from anyone in particular it might be advised to email them as well as post... that way it won't see that you are being ingnored. Which is DEFINITELY NOT the case. Having said THAT...How can I resist to offer my 2 cents on your excellent project! I like it! I love your whole project! I need to stare some more at the screenshot to do the 'ol travelin' home to Japan thing... A few thoughts First on the animation fight: As Steve suggested the action is REALLY fast... wow! Fast may be the effect you are going for... but on it's own outside of a 'frame' scene or "Click to see a demonstration of the move" it appears too fast. Question: At the end of the move should the character still be in the same stance... or does the 'official' move allow for a step back. Some form of action as the end would help 'finish' the shot. Concerning the screenshot: Hmmmm... I've had a bit of trouble myself geting good still shots with samuai and swords... It can be a trick to get a good shot every so many frames... but... this is important. Thinking about still frames can help tell your stories in powerful ways when you animate all those frames together. A very valuable tip that makes for some of the best shots in animation is silhouetting. If you can color your model black and 'see' the character at important frames (critical moments) in the scene you have mastered the art of silhouetting in animation. While your screenshot may not be designed to show us that 'moment' in that particular scene I'll take a moment to elaborate a little more on the subject. (Hope you don't mind). In particular I want to comment on what I see that looks 'right' to my eye! Location Toshisan is set in the scene in a perfect stance beneath the torii gates...He is postioned directed in the path of any threat to the way that is kept by those inside. He is their protector. I note that the foward foot extends outward from the torii threshold indicating on offensive nature... guarding the sanctity of the area within the gate. The rear foot is inside... showing that Toshisan has freedom to move in and out of the gates... while denying entry to others where necessary. The imagery sends important messages that deliver the story to the viewer on more than just one level... Bravo! There are a few things that catch my eye... and make me wonder what might be the message (if any) behind the image... The torii gate itelf appears just a I remember some of the modern metal gates in Japan. It feels somehow out of place though... especially with the color yellow/gold(?). The color makes my ask... why gold? You may have the answer to that question.... We for now do not know.... Most of the gates I've seen are red... and built of wood. Although they vary greatly as I'm sure you know. It might be interesting to know why this particular clan has a gold gate. Hmmmmm.... I don't know much about Aikido... my ignorance might be now on view for all to see! Enough from me for now. Keep up the great work Sharky! Most impressive!

Rob, You could render the can out separately to a sequence of TGAs or even AVI...blurring or softening it. Then composite the DV footage over the top of the blurred A:M can. Multiple Rotoscope might be best to do the trick. Kill all the lighting before you render though. you don't want the lighting to shine on the image rotoscopes.... unless you do.... in which case..... nevermind that last one.

WoozleWuzzle eh? I assume there is more than one WoozleWuzzle? No? Looks interesting! Nothing really to say at this point concerning 'how' he's modeled. You are off to a good start! As you tweak and refine keep flexibility in mind. What the character may be required in you stories/animations may dictate where you adjust and place your focus... ...try some mental exercises of visualizing WW (If I may call him that) climbing a ladder... reading a book... lounging in the yard... assuming he does things like that... The character must be ready to act out your story... and from what I can see... looks like it will be an interesting story! Keep postin'

At first I was going to say.... too slow... in the first part. But NO... perfect. It is actually.... very..... relaxing.......... Both capture the whole oriental environmnet/feeling very well... bravo! Reminds me of Japan! Almost thought I was back there for a moment. Thanks for that!

Hey that's a winner! Doesn't bother me a bit that there isn't any running first... the momentum of the character and our own imagination fills in that blank for us! I like! ...and 70K to boot! Wow! Great Job...Rob!

Awesome news Jim! Its so interesting that I was just talking to someone about that very model in #hash3D last night!!! I am too happy for you. And now I get to see the picture again too! And people don't have to think I imagined it. Isn't life sweet.

...and you are already on the 4th issue of your bugbots comic!!!! http://www.bugbots.com/pagelocator.html Where have I been!!! *Checked out your comics and website! Nice! You sir, are a very versatile talent. From New York post 911 sketches to comics about bugs... it looks like you enjoy your talent too. ...and now... you are moving even further into the 3D world. I look forward to seeing a lot more from you!

Lots of great comic book styles showing up on the list recently! Loving it! Gerry meet Javier.... Javier.... Gerry! And there are other great talents out there as well. I hadn't realized you had a whole team thing going on... wow! Looking forward to more! More links please!!! Zack... where are you..... A:M comics.... thaz gonna haffa be da nex projex.....

If you are having a artist block... I'd suggest doing a google search on "droid" or ' "robot" +image '. You will probably have to narrow the search even further to stem the flood of ideas..... According to Hash Inc (and just about everybody else) Story is King! Think about the story that your character will/may be involved in. That usually will get the ideas flowing.

Reminding me of good 'ol Brian Prince.... (don't know that you have his patience for detail within the detail though) It already is really nice! I like the 'story' that is being told in the image... Playing with the lighting would make this piece REALLY sweet. For instance the light seems to come from pretty much everywhere all at the same time... as suggested a bit of variation in the sky would improve the scene a lot too. Nice work!

I think you've done more real world/3D compositing than I have.... So far.... so good! Old Guys/Gals.... these young people are takin' over... better whachout!!!

Mike, Not sure exactly what you are trying to model.... unless is is a droid type thing There are many resources available to A:M users. For modeling... I would suggest downloading a 'free' model or two... or take one from your CD... and inspect it to see how it is built. Start by modeling some basic things.... Lathing.... Extruding..... The New Users Page has some very good places to get started...

Robert, I don't know if Mr. Sharky liked your breakdown BUT I liked it! Jolly Good Show! Can't view the animation just now... but will just as soon as I'm able. Personally, I think we got a lot MORE than we paid for! So... Thanks Again!

Very Nice! I like. Can you post a spline shot? I assume that is a decal we see on him. It is always amazing to me to see the creative differences in every model... yours is no exception.... kind of a 'wish' I would have thought of that moment. I can almost see him in action already!

Jim, Glad to see you're alive and well. When talking to someone about 'dreamy photo' style rendering is became painfully obvious to me that you were missing in action! Justin, et al, We all dropped the ball on putting the tutorial links in an easy to find location... Don't know WHAT we were thinking.... trying to save Jim the hit in bandwidth I guess... Yeah... that was it! Didn't want everyone to visit the page at the same time! Lookin' forward to more posts by that guy... Jim... James... Justin... John... Jeffrey... whatever...

Pengy, Nice work thus far! I'm no lush > *hic* Keep it up!

Your avatar reminds me of the good 'ol days of comics... Your drawn avatar style in particular has the look of early Dave Cockrum (XMEN) and Bob Layton (IRONMAN)! ...and if anyones says, "Who???"... *sigh* and double *sigh*. Nice work thus far transforming your avatar into 3D. I have a bunch of things I hope to transform myself..... one of these days! Keep up the good work!