MJL

WOW! Hello folks. I've been away from the forum for a while, and things have sure changed up while I've been gone. I'm using version 15.0J+ There have been a couple of new versions released. Is it possible to purchase a new CD version or is the only way to upgrade the yearly download option? Although I haven't been animating, I've been using A:M as an artistic tool to create "photo" borders. Before I left I was fairly confident in my modeling skills but stalled out learning rigging. I've decided that I want to attempt to animate a short piece, and to do this I'm gonna need to call upon the generosity that I've always found with the members of this forum.I'll need a little help with two things: (to start with, at least) 1. there used to be a water motion generator that Mark(?)created and donated to the A:M community 2. How to make a lightning bolt. I would appreciate any guidance and help. Thanks in advance Myron

LOL Too much Facebook, I found myself looking for the "like" button. Excellent work as always, Gene.

I am so saddened to hear of Paul's passing. My heart is filled with so much to say, but the weight of the news has stifled the saying of it. We'll all miss you Paul.

Life has kept me from the forum much more than I like and I haven't been keeping up. One of the things keeping me busy is working on this project. I've decided that I can only absorb so much new stuff in each project, but I AM making progress. John thanks for your help with the newton stuff, but I decided to do it the old fashioned way. I got the bitmapplus material working, (needs tweaking, I know) and did the breaking apart in an action. I know it isn't as smooth as it should be but its a start and can be tweaked as well. Thank you all for your generous help in getting me this far. sDissolving_Logo.mov

Thank you all for your support. It means a lot.

Get out your galoshes, it's gonna get mushy. Nancy and Rob, (flipped a coin for the billing order) as well as a slew of others, from the first moment I set my digital foot on this forum, have shown such extreme kindness and generosity such as you have just demonstrated on this thread. I have made a lot of progress with this amazing software and having still only scratched the surface, am in awe of you guys. Your CONTINUAL help to all of us who are constantly asking is appreciated more than you can know. From the bottom (and top) of my heart, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO. We now return you to our regularly scheduled folderol.

I don't understand the "Bake" concept and at this moment trying to comprehend it might make my head explode. I did render out some Darktree images and got them into Bitmap Plus Materials. I was thinking that the [/b]Blend[/b] property was animatable, but evidently I was wrong. Isn't there a way I could just animate the decals? I seem to remember seeing something a while back on that.

Great Job, Mark. Your usual high standard. Looking forward the next episode!

Thanks again, Nancy. I've had a chance to play around with this. This was a feature of A:M that I've had no knowledge or experience with. You have opened up a whole new world for me. Some days my ignorance seems so vast that you could fill encyclopedias with it. Myron

You had this reply ready and waiting, didn't you, Nancy? Because you KNEW I'd be asking (begging?) for it. Thank you so very much, I believe you've given me the necessary information from which to extrapolate success. Thanks

Now you've done it, Nancy, you've convinced me. But, once again, when I search for Bitmap Plus and/or tutorial there is way too much unfocused information to wade through. So. . . . . can you point me to a tutorial type edumacational imparting treatise of some kind to alleviate this dearth of knowledge from which I suffer?

I did a search for material effectors, Rob, and came up with 19 pages of miscellaneous stuff, including this post. Can you point me a bit more specifically?

These letters are made is sections, like bricks. I wish them to go from shiny and new to old and rusty over a period of about 2 seconds. Hold for anther two, then begin falling apart. At first a few pieces, then faster, then all at once drop to the floor (about twice the 'letter height' ) in a pile. Animating the material strength wold handle the first part, but how would I go about that. This is a Darktree/Simbiont material. Would it be worth setting up a Newton simulation for the falling apart? I've never worked with Newton before. (I've heard he is a nice guy, but can be difficult to get along with.) Lock.prj

Great stylistic continuity!

Great stuff, Mark. Incredible "look". You have upped your game to the next level. I'm looking forward to what's to come.

You had twice as many fan votes as the other video, the judges gotcha. And you only lost by a half of a percentage point. #%$^@& Judges!

He looks like a "Mastermind"!

From the looks of it, you can do whatever you choose to. Superb!

For me it's a toss up between the mountain scene and the gold logo reflected.

Of course! Absolutely! Have a super Happy Birthday, Rodney!

Which one is the self portrait?

Thanks, Mark, I had hoped that would be the case. I'll give it a run and keep you posted. (My first attempt at rigging.....Drumroll......)

I've got two characters (at least) to rig for my upcoming project. One is my old pal Knuckles McGurke whom I got right up to the point of rigging some time ago and never did. (Rigging has always intimidated me.) The other character is one that started as a reworked head from one of the Extra's DVD models. Neither one was CFA'd. I really want to use the 2008 rig for these characters and as I began to start I noticed on the first page of the instruction PDF that one of the requirements was a symmetrical (CFA) model. Is it possible to install the rig in a non symmetrical model and make whatever adjustments neccessary, by reassigning cp's? Thanks.

One last post, here is a shot of Gala at work. She is a barmaid in the first 20 seconds of my new video production.

Thanks for the help and info, Nancy, once again. I've copied your last post and put it in my desktop folder that is entitled "Nancy's Decals" and have it archived. I deleted the transparency decal with no ill effect Mark, Thanks. Robert, any input that I get from you always helps. Gala will now be able to do her job more than adequately.