gazzamataz

@Robcat Thanks for you input m8 - much appreciated. I guess you are right a lot of people get into 3D because they have ideas/concepts of their own that they want to run with which I did. I would say that only a tiny number ever achieve commercial success. The actor Roger Moore said 'Getting into acting is 99% luck 1% talent' sorta… Working on my Bella Bear project was a launch pad for me into a career as a 3D artist since that it what I have been doing since 2010 after doing the course at Animation Mentor which I know that you did too. And I have worked on a big film and a few shorts as well a a TV show and loved every minute - mostly I don't look at my project as the next 'Harry Potter' or 'Wallace & Gromit' but more just fun to get a bit or recognition for and entertain people. If you have ideas and are creative you want to create after all. I think I will just rework a few of the flicks I have done and bring them up to date which will be quite satisfying. I have already done a couple but outside of AM and reworked two of the characters. Wagons roll!

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my pondering post - much appreciated! @Rodney HR Pufnstuf! OMG now you have jogged my memory! I remember watching this as a kid but I can hardly remember it - although I do remember Witchy Poo I think a fair bit of my project does stem from childhood memories, for me The Wombles and The Clangers whom I absolutely loved. I think my work is defo in that sort of arena. Whether it is still popular today who know but they have made a 3D version of The Clanger recently - I think. Funny thing is as I was writing this post I thought 'I think I will just do an update here and there rather than the whole flick I made'. I will take some of the short animations I did and revamp them with the animation skills I have acquired from my training at Animation Mentor and work I have done since. I also remember talking to a publisher and they said I think you should change the main character to the fairy 'Hannah Bannah' and have 'Bella' as here side-kick but I thought 'Nah!' not having none of that, they are the dynamic duo @Roger Interesting what you say about posting the stuff on YouTube, I did start a Facebook page for this stuff recently but it hasn't really moved much… And only this morning I was looking at adding a couple of the new flicks I have created. As for having time to do all this I am self employed and almost semi-retired so I do have a fair amount of time free to work on this. Trouble is the wife is always finding things for me to do and the grandchildren are very demanding LOL!

OK, one year later and I am posting again Some here might remember me from many years ago when I was using AM on daily basis to create my own characters and stories. Well I didn't get anywhere with my ideas other than a few smiles here and there. I tried publishers and some production companies to see if it generated any interest but never got much feedback so it was a bit of a dead duck. I did try the Children's Media Conference back in 2014 but again no interest and more recently another book publishers but that was a no go either. So my question or rather what I am thinking is should I revisit my project once more to see if I get anywhere with it or is the market for children’s characters and stories so saturated I should just tinker with my project for the fun of it? I know it is a question only I can answer but I would like to hear other people opinions since I know there are few people here who have done the same thing. Also with AI getting better and better the world of animation seems like it is going to get inundated with loads of stuff that looks all the same? Oh and here is the link to my project: Bella Bear. It's all a bit old now vintage 2006/7 but I think it could look a lot better. Looking forwards to other people's replies

Robcat I should have remembered that trick am putting it into action now. I have 12gb RAM so that should be 2gb per core which I think should be enough :-)

Thanks chaps! My computer is a six core i7 3.3 ghz jobbie 980x. I will show a version of the render later but I have noticed a few other anomallies like patches rendering black. It might be that I am running Windaz 7 and this version was designed for XP... I am intrigued by what Rodney means by from the old the new... Was 15 a marked difference?

Hi all! A very long time since I posted here :-) I am currently re-rendering my Bella Bear project at 1024 x 576 (16:9) HD ratio since it looks so dated in the format it is. I haven't done anymore work on the project but I just wanted to re-render it an familiarise myself with it again (all those hours I put into it). Anyway I have hit a stumbling block on one of the sections when it comes to rendering, I am getting perculiar shadows which I can get rid of using multi-pass but this ups the render times by a factor of four... I am using AM 14c, I know there is a newer version out there but I am loathe to re-render everything in that version since it might break things. I have rendered over a third of the project out fine until now so I wondered that if there was a newer version of 14c it would fix tis problem. If I remember back seven years I had the same problem then but cannot remember how I fixed it... Any enlightenment appreciated :-)

@Paul All I can do at this stage is point you at the website: Project Chapman 3D and say that the directors didn't want any Terry Gilliam style animations. The whole film is animation no real stuff and in a variety of styles, should be out in March. If you look at the website and the credits shoot you will see me prancing around there with all the other animators. Sorry if this is slightly off topic - back to Bella Bear :-)

I did :-) Robcat, do you know if it wasn't for you I would ever have done that course at Animation Mentor and learned so much about animation. This led on to bigger things to - thanks buddy Really starting to enjoy being back with my old project. With all the stuff I have learned I will be applying it and trying to finish this project at last...

After over a four year departure I have finally got around to revisiting my 'Bella Bear' project which some of you here might remember :-) I have taken one of my favourite shots from the short Bella Bear film I made back then and started to rework it following my spell at Animation Mentor and having worked on a few small film projects. Here is the original: Original And here is the newer version. Revisited It went a bit wonky at the end cos I added a refraction index to the glass on the spaceship of 1.4, but it is entertaining even if it isn't quite right. Better? I will be tarting things up to try and make it more showreel worthy over the next few weeks. It was rather fun getting to grips with the program again after such a long break - I felt like a beginner again…

Someone's enjoying themselves aren't they :-)

Darn it! That's just what I was going to say Ken…

Paul I like the set and the camera tracking is fun. As for the animation… well that is one fast rabbit, nearly faster than mine. But you need to add a lot more work to him to make it believable. Mind you you probably knew I was going to say that didn't you :-)

Nice work m8, but I wouldn't like too say much about the walk cycle, other than it is definitely robotic. Delve into the 'Animators Survival Kit' to get a few tips! Eggprops did indeed do a raptor and here is the link Eggprops Raptor. This was done many moons ago but is still a great model with nice texturing - they used skylight for the rendering in those days sigh! Looking forward to seeing some improvements in the animation, I know you can do the texturing

Dhar I was going point out a nasty CP on the characters face but it looks like everyone beat me Nice face there, although I wonder that that body it a tad too long? Coming along nicely, I'll bet your learning alot. I did with my first real model

Is Thom trying to skate? If he is that's quite a nice movement. And, yes you're right the arms do need a little attention

Nice splinage on that but the non-wire frame mode render needs to be a little lighter so we can see it better... Or did you render on a Mac? Never seen the show BTW so I don't have a clue how it compares...

It's not just the great models that Stian makes, it's the rate at which he seems to turn them out... I can't keep up. Do you have a day job? Or is that modeling in AM? You must have quite a powerful PC to model in such detail, do you assemble separate sections in the choreography?

I never thought that I would even get the half-flick done that I have Perseverance, patience and tenacity helps! Of which I sometimes lack - obsessions is better Thank you for your comment - I have never had one like that before. Things is I keep looking at other peoples work and all the texturing detail, AO and super lighting that are lifting there models and concepts. But if I wanted to do that I feel like I would be having to start again and it has taken me so long to get this far. It's like you get to the end of your race and feel that you have done well only to find everyone has overtaken you. Those other two stories are vintage 2004/5 BTW. Spent the first part of 2006/7 making the film.

Hot on the heels of showing everyone the first half of my first Bella Bear flick 'Spaceship' I decided to reveal the first half of the other two stories I have done even if they are only in storyboard format. So if your interested pop along to the Bella Bear Website and checkout 'Cakeshop' and 'Peg's Mansion'. One day I might even get around to animating these stories, probably by the time I reach 90-odd! But then again I might just win the lottery and can hire people to help me. Please, please, please... The Bella Bear Website

Dinocarl It's great to see a dinosaur model again, I think it was dinosaurs that helped to get me into 3D in the first place. I think your model is great but there is one thing that don't look quite right. The scaley bits like the arms, snout and feet look fab, but the body bits look a bit flat. Have a look at the bits on the image I have highlighted. Perhaps a hint at a rib or two, a little more definition in the gastrocnemius and the parson's nose. They just look a bit too much like a lump. What do you think?

Thank you fellow Hashers, comments most appreciated You'll have to wait and see woncha Actually, I will be taking a bit of a break from this to finish off some of my other projects and then I will get back to doing the last half. So expect to see the ending around December possibly, maybe, could be... All the frames are obviously from AM and put together using QuickTime Pro. I then drop the clips into Premiere where sounds are added and other bits. Finally, all three sections where pasted together and recompressed in QuickTime Pro using the H.264 codec. As for the movie playing in an web page, that's the easiest bit just type a link to the movie and it will play when you click the link. I have enabled streaming for this movie since it is so large. I am flattered - thank you very much It has taken a long time (could have been quicker if I didn't get sidetracked so easily) but I put this lot together over the last eighteen months, although most of the models and sets where done before then. I am not quite so sure that I have a great future ahead of me - I wish I had! There is a lot of competition out there. This project could still be improved here and there but it would never get finished by me alone. If I had the money I would hire several people to help me do it to a 'TWO' production standard Anyway, thanks for all the comments again.

Aston Martin DB5

It's a little rough and lumpy but it's there! Yes, the first half of Spaceship... Enjoy Spaceship Just navigate to the Spaceship link in the menu to the left. It's a bit large at 39 mb...

BTW How long did it take to model and texture this beast? And how long did it take to render? Did you use image-based lighting? You forgot to answer this bit, unless it is TOP SECRET

Excellent model m8, but I am inclined to agree that it needs some grime - it's way too shiny even for a yank plane Now to bore you all stiff historically, but is that the Tirpitz that is being bombed? If so what the planes bombing it would be Lancasters, and if it was the Bizmarck they should be swordfish - now that would make a good model a Fairley swordfish. I like the idea of putting you wins on the tail plane though, mind you I would I am a bit of a plane spotter BTW How long did it take to model and texture this beast? And how long did it take to render? Did you use image-based lighting?