gazzamataz
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Posts posted by gazzamataz
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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!
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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
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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 :-)
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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?
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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 :-)
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@Paul
Would love to hear more about your recent work on the Graham Chapman movie. Very amusing and I can imagine it translating to screen very well in typical Python style. I hope that you can shed some light on that project in the near future.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 :-)
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If you model the glass dome so it has thickness like real glass would, you can avoid the fishbowl look.
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...
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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:
And here is the newer version.
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…
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@Paul wots your e-mail address these days m8?
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When I was a boy we were limited to two characters for variable names in our C-64 BASIC... and we liked it!
Crickey Rob you must be older than me
I only remember the 8 characters 3 for the suffix stuff… Mind you I did use a Commodore 64 but that was so long ago I don't even remember what I done on it
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Everyone
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!
Jason
This is the animation that won all those years ago: AM Animation Contest Winner 2001 Makes me cringe now…
Jake
Thank you for the compliments, although my work still needs much improvement. I haven't really used AM for a couple of years but really would love to finish my 'Bella Bear' project even if it is just for me.
The Ottoman is a project that is still being developed. I helped on the models and at the moment the rigging and animation is under way. Ther are quite a few ex-AMer's involved in it.
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Crickey I can hardly believe it! It was this time ten years ago I won the AM Animation Contest.
Still ain't got a proper animation job :-)
mind you thete is always my project to return to...
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Someone's enjoying themselves aren't they :-)
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Darn it! That's just what I was going to say Ken…
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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 :-)
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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
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Hiya
Haven't posted here for a little while. But just thought I would add my little bit about Macs. I have one of the first Core2Duo iMacs 20" and it luvvly, only got a ATI 1600 GPU but it does he job - not so well though for AM though. It is much more sluggish, the interface is glitchy and it generally slower for animating in the choreography and action windows.
The newer iMacs are definitely faster in the graphic department with the new ATI 2600 or whatever they are, they are about twice as fast. But there ain't much difference in the processor speeds from 2 to 2.4 ghz. Your best running Boot Camp and XP to get the best performance out of AM.
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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
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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
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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...
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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?
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You get so much personality into those models! (Okay, goblinality in one case.) I don't think I will ever be able to do that.
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.
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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...
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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?
Personal Project Thoughts
in Open Forum
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@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!