c-wheeler
-
Posts
855 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by c-wheeler
-
-
Hi All!
And thanks in advance to anyone taking the trouble to read this.
I've been applying the squetch rig to a head. The process went simply enough. I decided to go with bones for poses rather than muscle and the job is nearly complete, everything works OK apart from some minor glitches that I can fix, but I seem to have acquired a hair lip(see picture) when the model is used in an action.
The normal mesh is distorted in an action to produce a slight up curling on the left lip.
I have reset all(I think) compensates, but I think I may have done one two many. Can anyone suggest where to look?
Chris
-
It sounds like you might have muscle mode(f7) selected. The light should animate able in an action file provided you are in skeletal mode(f8)
In a cho file it should be click able in both cho mode and skeletal mode, but not muscle mode.
Chris
-
I noticed that on Squetchy Sam as well. I seems to be just the upper arms though. I would be interested in whats going on behind the scenes.
Chris
-
I recently did a short film set in an office.
All files needed where kept in a folder specifically for that project, since it was to be rendered on a number of machines without using net render.
The folder structure was similar to that used by Rusty Williamson(Thanks Rusty if your reading this-also thanks for the work you shared on resetting compensates). I wont post that, but basically if you keep everything together on a flash drive, you can easily switch between one machine and another.
In the project file I first set up the office with all the props etc, including all the buildings outside, but no lighting since the time of day was to change symbolically from morning to midnight and back to morning again.There were also props like a clock and calender that had to be set to different settings for each scene.
This was then saved outside the project as a _base cho file, and imported it back into the project as each scene was set up.
Once this was done for each scene the camera movement was set up, things like the clock and calender where adjusted to take into account changing days and times, the character was positioned (NOT ANIMATED) and lighting was then added.
Then everything not in shot was removed to cut down render times and conserve memory.This was then saved and renamed as scene_1,_2 etc.
I had already worked out a production schedule from the storyboard, so I knew that some scenes had similar lighting and setup, so once I had lit one scene, say scene_1, I was able to delete everything other than the lights and save this as scene_1_lighting.cho, then work on setting up the next scene.
When I was subsequently working on a scene with similar lighting or setup, I would then import the lighting .cho file into the scene and adjust accordingly or just import the whole scene.
Once I had setup and lit each scene, I generated a screen shot, and added this to the production sheet. This gave an indication of progress.
The animation was then completed in a number of passes.
I include the production schedule for general interest.
Hope this helps a little
Chris
-
I cannot confirm or deny but the environment is rather hot and sandy.
We all could use a little bit of your cabin-side scenery here thats for sure.
Well you take care now wherever you are.
Chris
-
Works for me! Thanks for going to the trouble of posting a tute sheet.
Chris
-
Apolagies for not updating this thread in a long time.(Hangs head in shame)
I can offer no excuses, other than pressure of work, heath,and overindulgance in my own film.
-
I like the look, but I feel the hands and neck seem out of scale for me.
Chris
-
I voted for more than 3, but didnt include the older ones or the rest of the household( or my wifes - she has I suppose 60 or so).
Does my ZX 80 still count as a computer? I could also include 2 spectrums as well.
-
Dhar - I'me not sure youve got the right model then.
Scrub that - If its just the arms, then youve probably not enabled the pose slider - check this pose is ON in the pose slider window. I suppose it should have been turned on in default, but it wasn't.
Ken
Has any animation been done with it already? Yes
Is it even going to be in the movie? I hope so
Is it the screen that blocks them from leaving? Yes
Has it only got arms for a few shots? Its just a few frames.
Monkey woot is going to be climbing all over it (in fact I think that animation has started) and it should match up with the one in there already. That shouldn't be a problem.Its an exact copy of the original, with added arms and legs that pop out with pose sliders. In the scene its just switched in for a few frames to move across the room, than switched back out
Where is it located and I'll take a look. I think its just the on/off pose
-
Hi Dhar, are you talking about this one:-Because if you change it, you will affect the animation already done with it.
Chris
-
I think you may have missed the point there, Phatso. If, on frame 00, you force a keyframe, then from THEN on you get every single bone channel in the action. If the model only has a few bones, no problem, but if youre using, for example, the posable squetch rig and face setup, well, it adds a lot of clutter and uses much more processing power just to manipulate.
For me, its far simpler just to key a few bones at the start to setup the action file.After that I always key on every 4th frame just to keep it neat.
Chris
-
-
What Dhar Said, also
Whenever I start an animation, on frame 00 I always key in all the bones I am going to animate - also the pose sliders as well.
Chris
-
To get an animation on a tv screen or similar:-
Convert your file to tga's(AM is easy as anything)
This will give you a series of numbered stills.
When you import the images, click on "Animation or image Sequence".
This will import the whole sequence.
Then just apply the image as a decal. When this is rendered in a timeline, it should give you the animation
Hope this helps
Chris
-
A few more problems to sort out, so no WIP post today.
I loaded the new soundtrack into the project, and at first I couldnt get it to play. I checked the format,which was .WAV,all right, but still nothing. After re loading it in a few times, and checking it on acid, I finaly found out that under the "shortcut to KuKlips song"in the action file, the start was for some reason automaticlydeferred to 52 seconds each time I loaded it. Having set that to 00:00, this enabled the song to play. Simple, but not obvious to me. I still cant scrub through the sound though. Has this feature been deleted in v14?
Then the next problem was the soundtrack has a different length intro to the old one, so I played around with the start point until I could match up the frames with what was meant to be there.
Then I discovered I had made a terrible mistake. I read through some posts I had missed, and someone (Martin I think) had said something like" always make sure the fps is set to 24 for all TWO animating". Of course it was. Wasn't it? I'lle check. No.Oh darn.For some reason I had slipped in a 30fps, so when I switched it to 24, all my keys were in obsure frames, like 23.68. So I have been correcting that
Chris
-
You can import images in many different formats - jpg,jpeg,.png, tga, bmp,pcx,mov plus others I forget which.
So its very easy to import directly from a digital camera, the web, or another package. What hasn't been said is you can import a series of images, and use that as a rotoscope sequence to aid your animating - so for example you can use a series of still captures, or frames from a live action shot, as reference for acting or body position.
Chris
-
Thanks Martin, just got back from Brussels today after a nice romantic break. Didn't get out much, but I did manage to check out this place- the world comic strip museum:-
http://www.awn.com/mag/issue4.03/4.03pages...nsbrussels.php3
Set in a beutifull art nouveau building it houses an outstanding collection of Comic Strips and BD, my personal favourate. Nothing by Stan Lee though!.
Nose to the grindstone tomorrow,
Chris
-
Yesterdays update turned into a nightmare. The action file is OK, but when I tried to render I got into all sorts of problems.
The first time I tried- this is the same settings each time - It was going to take 8 mins. After rendering out I had 2 soundtracks, all mixed in a weird way. So I put it on again - 27 mins and it froze near the end. So I rendered it into tgas - still froze.Then I checked the settings - seemed to be ok, then rendered again.
This time got a message " Quicktime may not be installed". Well I knew it was, but did it work? No.
Then followed 2 hrs of trying to install an older version of QT - I had no idea that "You cant install this version of quicktime since you have a newer version on here already" would get so annoying.
Sodelete Quicktime, Itunes(how didthat get on here?, Ipod and anything else with an I in it, THEN go to system and delete the sneaky hidden bits, then clean the registry, then re-install older version......
AND IT STILL WONT WORK. but at least I can render files, even if the sound is rubbish...... OH,now the sound scrubbing feature on AMs stopped to.
This is the last update till tuesday. I am off to Brussels in Bel for the weekend!
-
I'me still getting sound distortion problems on rendering out a .mov file, so the sound on this is a bit screwy. I had thought it was using the same sound file in three instances(Woots reaction, KuKlips motion and his lipsynch) but since I have deleted them this doesnt seem the case.
A shorter update tonight - one thing, the jump and spin- The timing will be on twos rather than 4s where it is now. I just had to stop early.
Messed up earlier updates by making last nights too large, so I have re-posted it. Looking forward to cleaning this up now.
-
Yes too small!
Try rendering out as a sorenson 3 .mov file to at low resolution
Chris
-
A good start. I'me looking forward to seeing the rest of it. Make sure you get the superhero proportions right or he'll turn into a sidekick!
Chris
-
Excellent News!
-
OK
08:00 to 15:00
The action here doesnt match up with what I had in mind - but still take 1 and all that.
Its my intention to have him reach off screen for a sort of braising torch, swapping it for the snips. Then he puts it back and produces a pot of glue, sticking his hands slightly together.
C
edit Made this update too large! I will split it and repost
Crazy
in New Users
Posted
Just a thought - Does the little hand icon on the right of each object in the cho have a red cross through it? That means unclickable.