Nosferatu
-
Posts
415 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by Nosferatu
-
-
Well, if it's a flat road/table, once you've dropped the object, you can drag it from within the camera and it will stay at the same level.
But I understand it's not the same thing. I imagine collision detection like that would use alot of computer resources. Maybe it's possible though.....so get your feature request into AM: Reports. It would be a cool thing to be able to do.
I used it all the time in my old program back in the late '90's and as I recall there was hardly any performance hit at all. And my PC then must have been well under 400 MHz.
The whole problem is that a placed object will stay at the same level and not adjust to a surface. Currently I'm using a banked track for my vehicles to travel along, and it would be great to place the vehicle, key it, then move it along "X" feet and key it again. Of course I can do that now but I have to be ultra careful that all 4 tires don't sink below the track surface. Imagine how workflow would be improved if I could just slide my vehicle to the track, inspect the tires for "flushness", make appropriate rotational adjustments, and on it goes.
I didn't even consider sending it as a feature request...I thought it would be a job for a plugin. I'll go ahead and send it in as a request.
Nos
-
Is it possible to create a plugin that simply detects two surfaces touching thereby preventing one object from intersecting another? In other words, simply enabling the animator to drag one object against another in real time within the chor (the purpose would simply be for positioning...no dynamic calculations necessary).
Cloth does it, but I don't know how you would set it up to do what you're after...it may or may not work for your problem.
Yes, that' the idea I'm after, just a simple sensing of surfaces touching. It would be so much easier to animate vehicles on an irregular road, and there would be countless other uses. It's nice to be able to drag an object around in the chor and judge its position by sensing its collisions with other objects.
-
Drop your glass model over your table model in the choreography window (from the top view)
That works great for the kind of scenario you're describing, but it won't work for moving a vehicle along an irregular surface or for lateral positioning.
NewtonPhysics can do this example
and yes a objecttype vehicle for the newton plugin is also on my todo list .
But I'm not sure how to implement the movement . In the way demonstratet in the example (model assigned to a path , then baked) or with forces (forward,brake and turning left,right).
Steffen,
Is it possible to create a plugin that simply detects two surfaces touching thereby preventing one object from intersecting another? In other words, simply enabling the animator to drag one object against another in real time within the chor (the purpose would simply be for positioning...no dynamic calculations necessary).
I'll send you a blank check if you can do it! David, do you have a spare blank check?
Nos
-
Back in the mid 90's (1890's...I'm very old) I used to used to model with RayDS and it had a great feature for positioning models relative to each other. You could actually move models to butt up against each other as the program would sense their surfaces touching. So putting a glass on a table was simply a matter of dragging it to the surface until the glass stopped moving.
Is this possible to acheive in A:M or is there a technical challenge that won't allow it?
Boy, would love to be able to have my vehicles sense the road surface.
I realize there is a "surface constraint", but it doesn't seem to lend itself to a vehicle travelling long distances.
What do you plugin Masters think? Is this possible to do? I would pay a healthy wad of cash to have that capability.
Nos
-
Excellent, John. Very useful. Thanks for sharing.
Nos
-
What is thy bidding, Master?
Nos
-
Wow...What software did you use to make that capture?
Nos
-
Cool...Thanks for sharing.
Nos
-
Try setting the magnitude property on the force. Even if you want the default of 100%, click in the box to highlight it and then hit "Enter" on your keyboard. I find it sometimes has to be reset like that.
Nos
-
Excellent work. Worth the price of admission. Very reminiscent of Lynch and the Brothers Quay, not to mention Svankmajer.
Sound-wise, I would almost think that you had gotten Splett to come back from the grave for one more go-round.
Very inspiring work because all your elements and pacing are very congruous. There is WAY more sophistication here than meets the eye.
Nos
-
What's the easiest way to make the camera revolve around a center? In other programs, I could move the 'geometric center' of the object. In this case, do I need to move the 'camera bone'?
1. Put a null in the center of focus.
2. Scale it large for easy access.
3. Constrain the camera to "translate-to" and "aim at" the null. Turn ON "compensate mode" while setting each constraint.
Now you can rotate the null around it's "y" axis and the camera will spin around the null at a fixed distance.
(if you convert the nulls rotation type to "euler" you can just type in 360 in the "y" rotation property to set a keyframe for a complete turn. Be sure to key the "0" location first.)
Sounds more complex then it is.
Phil
Phil,
Just wondering...is compensating the "aim at" null necessary? I can't see the reason for needing a compensation on that.
THanks,
Nos
-
Yes, I think the new cap would look more realistic in the scene. I wish I had a bottle to open so I could test.
Nos
-
Rodger,
Regarding the cap, I can't help but think that a real cap would have a sharper bend angle because of the way an opener leverages itself against the middle of the cap. Yours tends to curve up at a gradual slope.
The bottle looks absolutely awesome. Just wondering, how many passes?
Nos
-
Looks really great so far, Kevin. This has the potential to be a great piece. Good old Boneless Thom is getting to be a regular Alfred Hitchcock with his cameo appearances!
It seems to me that the overall ambience may be a bit high. If you had the fireplace and candle as the main light sources, thereby making the back of the tree and presents much darker, the tree lights might look a lot more convincing.
The picture has an overall great composition, as I can tell you already know. I'll bet if you play with the lighting and eliminate the ambience it will really come alive.
Nos
-
what I do is make the falloff properties 60% this gives a nice bright appearence, if thats not enough then I create a LIGHT LIST and have lights shine on his eyes.......
Darklimit, You win the grand prize! Your idea about adjusting the falloff properties worked perfectly, though I'm not sure exactly why that serves to brighten the center of the sphere. Thanks for the great idea.
And thanks to all for your great suggestions!
Nos
-
I cant help you regarding the light problem, actually I have had similar problems myself with "glass materials" that shuts out light, without knowing why...
I'm posting this just to let you know that your model is GREAT. Gives me associations to "bob the builder", and that is in a positive way
Regards
Stian
Thanks, Stian. I appreciate the encouragement!
Nos
I'd consider a light list as well.
It gives you more control, and we NEED control lol
Good work Nos!
David
Thanks, David. I'll let you know how it turns out with the light list method.
Nos
Is there a way I can brighten up his eyes without washing out the pupils? I'd rather not use geometry for the irises unless I absolutely have to.
Why add more lights than neccessary? I suggest the Oren-Nayer diffuse render shader, and just adjust the brightness. Light lists, in my not-so-humble-opinion, are a pain in the ***.
I agree, it's going to be a pain. I don't know anything about this Oren-Nayer shader where can I find/learn about it?
Nos
-
Thanks, guys, I'll try a light list. I haven't played with that yet, but I assume by using a light list I can have the lights affect the pupils only and not the glasses.
Nos
-
The lenses are clear, but they do block a lot of light to his eyes. I tried bumping up the ambience on the eyeballs, but that has the effect of washing out his irises (simple color decals).
Is there a way I can brighten up his eyes without washing out the pupils? I'd rather not use geometry for the irises unless I absolutely have to.
Thanks!
Nos
-
Looks awesome. By the factors you mention, it looks like an 80 to 100 foot jet to me.
Nos
-
Rodney,
Would you please put me into the contest? Thanks!
Nos
-
David,
I have good results with vehicles when I sink the tires below the surface by a virtual inch or inch and a half. It makes it look like the weight of the vehicle is flattening the bottom of the tires. If your tires aren't rotating, you can bulge them at the bottom, too.
I would assume that you have to have the sunlight corresponding with the actual time of day you are depicting, is that right? All I can suggest is giving the sunlight a bluish cast. This makes it look a little more realistic in my scenes.
Now how on earth are you accomplishing those great road surfaces? I'm really struggling with this. My textures invariably go bonkers at render time, no matter what I do.
Your work gets better and better with every project. I'm genuinely impressed.
Nos
-
I'd like to see the general discussion forums returned to the top of the page. The current layout is fairly non-intuitive and requires a lot of scrolling around before getting down to business. Just my opinion.
Nos
-
Looks pretty good. You might consider having him look back at Mister Thatcher after he says "60 years" to see Mr. T's reaction. This would add a feeling of resolution to the scene.
Nos
-
Beautiful work, DarkLimit.
Would you please explain how you did the terrain? I'm going to need something similar for a project i'm working on.
Inspiring stuff there!
Nos
Navone Incredibles tutorial
in Animation
Posted
Great job, Ken. Looks very convincing.
Nos