pixelplucker

Hooks are used to reduce the number of patches.

Can always buy a pizza locally and use that USPS Ship Anywheres flat rate box... not sure how to bubble wrap one though... I'm pretty sure Domino's wouldn't get one there in under 30 min...

Happy B-Day! Guess we won't mind if you take the day off

You'll end up with some stretching if you apply a map and don't have the option to average out the uv's. Best bet is to use procedrals then bake them into an image map and do any tweaking in 3d Paint. You may also have some luck with bitmap plus since that takes an image and maps it like a procedral. This will give you the option of using seamless tiled textures as a base. I have used the dark trees and had good results. Shift right click on the bake option should bring up the dialog to change the resolution.

Really cool snake! Love it!

Amazing model! I have had some issues in the past where the patches would be funky as you showed. I got in the habit of going pig tail crazy to make sure I have continuous splines in the right direction and then deleting them after. I always marvel at models like yours and others that do such fantastic mechanical models with splines. Models like that even put most poly and nurb guys to shame!

You should be able to use any version above 5 (post script level 2) so long it is just a simple vector object. I use version 7 here, sometimes from my old Illustrator 7 or an export from Canvas as version 7 and they work good. There might be an issue using newer versions of Illustrator if you keep pdf compatibility option checked. If any of you need bitmaps converted to clean ai's I do own Imagaro Z pro which does excellent work on generating clean low point paths so feel free to toss them over.

Maybe bug the good folks at Turbosquid and have them offer AM files? Might open up avenues for rigging, actions etc for the people here to sell.

EPS is encapsulated post script file. It is a block of data that is contains various information such as spot color, vector coordinates etc etc. Most desktop publishing programs use it for logos and vector graphics. EPS files can contain pictures embeded or referenced where ai files can't. Keep in mind that Adobe has their own proprietary version of EPS and the proper eps files don't reference or have extra code in them pointing back do Adobe or other sites. An eps file also should have a bound box that you don't see but acts as a contianer for placement. This needs to be removed to be a clean ai file otherwise if you try to just extrude the eps file out you may just end up with a block. Newer Adobe Illustrator ai files may have issues if pdf compatibility is kept on and if live trace feature on text isn't converted to outlines. If your using ai files just for 3d, the older versions of illustrator are good options (pre CS series). You may be able to find a copy cheap on ebay.

I couldn't find any free converters for eps to ai, if you need, just email me an eps (not an svg from inkscape) and I can convert it for you. You may want to check on ebay for an old copy of illustrator, anything pre-cs series make clean vectors and tiny files. I'll keep looking around for a free converter, might be one on sourceforge.net.

Try this, I just constrained the light to a null so you can rotate the null to move the light in a circle and if you move the null up and down it would spiral. ... didnt see Robs post till after I made the prj, D'oh! rotate_light.prj

Rather than booleans, make a cookie cutter or transparency hole, this will allow you to move them around. I did a cheese factory that had the roof cut away, I first applied them and positioned them as "color" then when I was happy with the positioning I changed the channel properties. Simple way and renders very fast and no chance of long splines causing artifacts.

There are several sites that might bring you more money in for selling models, biggest is Turbo Squid. Turbo Squid specializes mostly in Max models but also offer obj files and 3ds files. Not sure if they would sell AM native files but wouldn't hurt to ask. If you plan on just exporting out obj and/or 3ds files then you could also check out Daz3d and Content Paradise. Daz3d sells a ton of content for their Poser compatible Daz Studio and they also sell Carrara and Bryce. Content Paradise pretty much specializes in Poser compatible files. There is tons of competition. Selling sets of models or model packs might be ok if there is a substantial number of models but you would probably be better off selling them individually or consider selling them individually as well as a set. Individual models are easier for the resellers to categorize them and easier for the buyer to look for the right model for their projects. To sell on your own might be a stretch and may actually cost you more hosting than the return you might get through a big reseller. You can get an idea what people get for the models, and the sellers take anything from 20-50% of the costs you see on the sites. Models look good and I would think they might get you some return, see what else is out there and it wouldn't hurt to try.

found a descent pic of a bug for ya, the body is glossy and smooth.

Does look good, I would use an environmental reflection map on the water drops and kick the refraction up some..1.2 or so? Also do lady bugs have bump maps like that on their bodies? Thought the exoskeleton is smooth.

Good to know that AM handles that large a number of patches. Amazing.

You have a visual sample of what you mean?

Looking good, cars are tough to model.

LOL nice, looks like a medium drink to me though, no supersize?

Toss another in the back yacking on a cell phone to make it all look authentic

Thats some nice modeling! I used to do tons of mechanical models and animations for a customer of mine in the plastic injection mold business. Way back then we used 3ds Max and Electric Image. Never knew if AM was around in the mid-late 90's.

I've run into this before, what I do is set the "File Name" first along with the file type then choose the "Format". Kind of odd but seems to be the work around here.

Those look great! No Reaper or Moses?

Very cool robot! LOL @ 10W-40 tinis hehe

How would the spring simulator work on an object without distorting it? I never tried the spring simulator in AM yet. If you could use the sweeper plug in an action and animate the path or create some sort of constraint system on just the path it would work great.