Ross Smith

Wow! The Discovery Channel uses A:M? That's pretty cool... Err, wait. Were you contracted by them for the graphics, and you consequently used A:M, or is there more to the story? Sorry, just curious. If I got Discovery, I would love to see it. Any stuff on the web about it?

I don't think you'll find much complaint about dynamic bosom behavior on this forum. And I don't mean that in a back-handed, Poser-user kind of way -- I just mean that I've never seen it be a big deal. Speaking of big deals! Nice job with the dynamic constraints. Would you mind giving a little explanation of how you got those to work? I really like the characters. I enjoyed CrimeBomb when you first posted him, asking for help with the arms. He's coming along great -- I look forward to seeing an episode. On the other hand, Ms. Demeanor's walk test doesn't look as feminine as -- well -- the rest of her. Some people (I'm thinking of Parlo) can give you some really awesome tips about walk cycles, and particularly how you could exaggerate the hip swagger on this one to put it in the spirit that you look like you're going for. What are these guys for? Just something to practice with, or do you have a project in mind?

This is so damn funny. You've nailed this perfectly -- the expressions on the characters are priceless, and the bodily animation on Nose (inferring that that's it's name) is great. I can't really nitpick details, if there's any nit to pick at all. The performance takes over completely. Also, I like that little floating, translucent space in the background. As well as the gobbling noise when Nose runs.

Sharky, you have made serious strides in your ability to use Animation:Master. I really like the new texture-mapping on your character, and it is easy to see that you are becoming more skilled all the time. This is something I recommend. The top of the cheek, where it meets the bottom of the eye area, looks a little bit blocky. If you worked on that area a little, his face may look better. I really like his mouth and his teeth. Keep it up!

Just looking at this image and what I remember of Fay's dress, I believe the clothes are different enough to keep people from confusing the two -- especially if the color schemes are different. All the same, if you intend to do a re-design, you can easily avoid great similarities. I'm glad to hear you're putting more time into this project. It's always hard, scraping together enough time to dedicate to work like this, but it's always a pleasure to see your updates. Nice image, also. You're really pushing the envelope on toon rendering in Hash.

Wow! I had my doubts about the flat shading effect when you first gave us some screen caps of this fellow. The style is charming, and the excellent animation makes it feel (to me, at least) more hand-drawn. Quite a feat. When his feet hit the roof of the building after the rope swing, his right leg comes down with a swift stomp. It seems out of character for his otherwise dashing and graceful acrobatics. I noticed the same clipping problems, but they didn't interfere in the least with the performance. The character is there, and that's what it's all about. ...But that rope cut was a bit tricky to follow. More!

Interesting creature. Good job on the splining, too, the point layout looks well done. I would revise the knees. Obviously balance and weight are very important issues in animation, and just as Robcat said, making a character that strays from something we have automatic expectations for (like the human form) involves some extra work to ensure the audience understands how it moves. That being said, the knees look like they should bend a bit further, and maybe the thigh thickened up before it meets the knee. The knees are also unusually bald of detail compared to the rest of the model; it might be worth your while to add some kind of spur or protruding bone to emphasize its presence. Very imaginative! I'm looking forward to seeing it texturemapped.

Wow! That's a very handy utility right there... thanks for sharing.

Heheh! Pliers? That sounds brave. Wouldn't you risk a stinging to get that close? Or are the handles on your pliers a few feet long?

Really nice! I thought immediately of DarkLimit when I saw it. Texturemapping is excellent also. How did you light these sample shots on the white backdrops? The lighting looks very good.

Certainly looks great, Phil. I can see you circumvented issues with alpha channels by doing everything possible, as you said, to prevent anti-aliasing and using absolute black as the transparency color. That makes sense. It also makes sense that the render time for the hair would be much quicker without lighting. But doesn't that mean the composited hair layer has lighting unlike the model pass? It seems to me that only the flat, ambient light would affect the hair at that point, regardless of the scene lighting. This looks like great work in fast time, but I would appreciate it if you could help me resolve this bit of confusion. Also, when you render the model pass, do you disable the hair? I imagine that's a given for avoiding extra render time in the first place, unless the renderer does something I'm not aware of. (Definitely possible, since I don't really know how it works.) Thanks, Ross

Yowza. Well, you have to wonder what happens to his flesh when he lets his arms lay limp at his sides. Can you visualize what would happen? Right now his shape sorta reminds me of a kite -- rigid body with little legs hanging beneath. I would give serious consideration to reworking his underarm region. If you can make the point layout more given to a hinge in shape (or a ball-joint, even better), I think you'll save yourself a lot of worry. I really like the overall design, though. Great head! Also, check out the ARM if you want general advice about modeling for animation: http://www.lowrestv.com/arm Good luck.

Wow. Those are some of the best eye- and headlines I've ever seen. Excellent acting job -- and has come a long way since the WIP before it. It's amazing how much you can communicate with just the lids, no brows. I'm taking that lesson away, for sure. I just keep watching it over and over, staring at the mouth. The way his lips slighly favor up and right when he says the "shh" in "patience" adds so much character! No offense, but the lip sync in "No One" has nothing on this. "TRY your PATience", the fist motions are dead-on. I would not have made the decision to move the hands asymmetrically like that, but now I see that the stillness of his left emphasizes the motion of the right. I remember you told me you had the original footage for visual reference, but this is nothing short of great work. My only, lonely crit: at the very beginning, I think he pulls away from the podium too quickly. Not that it's bad, but I would try slowing it a little. More!

Thanks very much for the rig explanation! Very impressive. Sounds like you control all the tentacle movements with basically one null, right?

No kidding! That's awesome! Are all those white lines on his face and body some kind of complex reflection, or are they painted designs? Since he looks to be both metallic and monstrous, it could swing either way, and I'm curious enough to ask. Really imaginative!