AMSpector

As per the instructions in Exercise 5, Take A Walk, I posed the character along with the video; the only difference being that I was using my own character rigged with the new 2008 Rig instead of the rabbit. I posted my first results... which were pretty bad. Taking into account that I may need additional keyframes to achieve a decent human walk cycle, I started over. The walk is OK at best, but the slippage is keeping me from being able to move to the next exercise. I've included a screenshot of the stride settings, etc. See below: Does anything look out of the ordinary?

I am trying to use the 'stride length' feature to create a reusable walk cycle action.

Hi, I am trying to create a usable walk cycle action using my own character rather than the rabbit, but the feet are slipping in the action? I've included a small frame-by-frame video below for reference. Walk.zip I tried searching the forum and found some excellent walk tutorials, but I haven't found a specific post where this issue is addressed. I wonder if anyone can point me in the right direction? Thanks

Render Mode, Render Lock Mode, etc.; it all works fine for me. I did have a problem with OpenGL on this new machine, but after switching to Direct 3D, all problems went away. Dell T5400 Precision Workstation Intel Xeon X5460 Quad Core 3.16GHz Vista Ultimate 32Bit SP1 22' Dell UltraSharp LCD Nvidia Quadro FX 3700 512MB DiretX 10 4GB RAM

I have Photoshop and I have yet to use it for character development. If you have a pencil, paper and a scanner, you can scan your drawings and save them on your computer. You can then use them in Animation:Master as Rotoscopes to bring them to life as 3D characters. I agree with everyone else however, that there is a point in the creation process (Mapping, Decaling, etc.) where programs like Photoshop, Gimp, 3DPainter, or even Paint Shop Pro will be instrumental in adding realism and/or detail to your characters and sets. I haven't gotten that far yet, but I've already bookmarked several great tutorials from the forum. I hadn't thought of the promotional aspects that Rodney mentions above, but it makes perfect sense.

I had that same concern about 3D modeling and animation, I can draw pretty well if my subject already exists, but I've never been good at just drawing out of my head. After watching the Animation:Master Demonstration (very large file - 134MB) I realized that probably wouldn't matter very much, and I was right. Watching the creation of Victor Navone's alien was all it took. I'm just a beginner, but I'm already working on my second character and a set within which to animate them. Several others have already created videos of their animations; all within a couple of months of buying the program. I'm not that fast, but I'm having fun playing catchup. Welcome!

LOL... I didn't know I could translate the neck that way, very cool! Thanks

Ahhh.... never mind about the fingers, I was being an idiot. The controls were in there: But what about turning off the "Head_Controller", will that cause problems somehow? Thanks

Turning "Head_Controller" off enabled the "Neck_Geom", but is that a good thing? See screenshot. Also, I can't find an equivalent pose folder to enable the finger bones, the ones shown below do not seem to do the trick. Thanks.

Hi, Can someone point the way to enabling the Neck and Finger bones for the 2008 Rig? I can see them in Bones Mode, but they're not there in an Action. Thanks

After modeling and rigging a character, I decided to test it on the walk cycle from TaoA:M. Having spent so much time in the Project Workspace, I got use to double clicking on an item when I needed to start something new... I did this for a new Choreography Action as well, thinking I could do the walk cycle that way. However, near the end of the process I discovered that I did not have access to the "Has Stride Length" setting. Can this be turned on somehow inside a Choreography Action? I decided to render what I had, even though it isn't constrained to a path: SarahWalkTest2a.mov Also, I need to enable the Neck and Finger bones for the 2008 rig, but I'm not sure how. Can these be turned on? Thanks [Edit] I guess I should have posted this in the TaoA:M forum?

Ongoing debacles apparently: http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardwa...cleID=212500729 http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2337045,00.asp I would still love to have a screamin Mac to play with someday.

I've been a real stickler for grouping the various parts of the model, and I've exported each segment as individual models. Maybe I could generate several versions of the torso-arms-legs, for example, then I'd have interchangeable parts. I'm amazed at how much you've accomplished in such a short period of time. Looking forward to your next animation!

Awesome character, great colors; it's a pleasure to pour over your work. Thank you for making it available!! It's interesting that it was modeled in a pose, does this affect the rigging installation process much? Is there a preference? And the shirt is not symmetrical. In the 2008 Rig, CP weighting is done on one half first, then mirrored. Would such a shirt cause a problem? The reason I ask is that I'm at the point with the model I've been working on where I'm ready to do clothing. I keep wondering if I'd have been better off creating a clothed model, but that would lock it into one look. Of course, that wouldn't matter if my character was as cool as this one. Am I making it harder on myself by creating the full form, then clothing it later? I'm asking these questions of the community at large BTW.

Apparently, a horse can shift its weight to its hindquarters and launch its front half into the air (using its head as the lead), without any effort from the front legs at all:

Awesome!! Sorry it took so long to respond, I've been slammed with work. I still haven't tested the model, but I'll get around to it in the AM perhaps. Thanks again for taking the time to fix it. Would it be rude to ask that you remove the download link to the model? I have yet to determine whether it is good enough for the project that's spinning around in my head. If I end up using it, then it may become copyrighted. If not, then I may offer it to the community after it's completed. Right now it is a nude model, so maybe it isn't proper that it's available for download? Not sure. What is the general rule of thumb for project files that are uploaded at the request of the person offering their help? I certainly do not want to step on any toes... again. Thanks

Thanks, I really appreciate you taking the time to look at this. See model below: |Edit| My version of A:M is 15.0e

It appears that I only have one foot controller installed, and it moves both feet during translation. Is it possible that it is merely turned off somewhere? Or maybe t I left out a step in the instructions? I'm attaching a screenshot. I'm assuming user error first... Thanks.

I was about to start a new topic about that, but then I saw your edit. I did have a problem with the MirrorBones plugin on an earlier version of the model, but I realized that the CP's were probably not 100% the same on both sides (I did some fine tuning and forgot to turn on Mirror Mode). So I literally deleted the left side entirely and worked on it until I got a perfect CFA. Then I started over with the 2008 Rig instructions; including CP weighting... which I found just as challenging as modeling... . This time around, the Mirror Bones procedure appears to have worked perfectly (although the Balance Left Foot was turned off). Looking forward to the face rig installer. Thanks

It worked perfectly as far as I can tell. As soon as I dropped the new Relationships folder onto my character, it appeared to replace the old folder with no questions asked. I did see an asterisk next to the folder afterwords. I was wondering where those hand bones went... Thanks for your help!!

I am in the process of cp weighting (page 71), so I guess that means I'm in the middle of an install. I'm not sure what you mean by "drag the relationship folder from the new installer to your model". How would I do that exactly? How would I gain access to the new relationship folder? Do I import the new installer into an older version of the model, and then "drag" the new folder over? Thanks.

Awesome, thanks!

No worries, thanks.

I have a question about the placement of the "Balance Right Foot" bone: I noticed that there is nothing in the instructions about translating it on the Z axis (from a side view) to the base of the Right Foot Geom, so is it supposed to be out in front of the model? Or have I missed something? Thanks.

Is it possible to configure A:M to zoom on the mouse pointer? I realize I can use the Bound Zoom when I need to zoom in on a specific area, and that works great, but using the scroll wheel and mouse pointer together to zoom in on a target area has become second nature... Just curious.