MMZ_TimeLord

Will, That looks great!!! We're missing you at the Hash Bash though... *HUGS*

Wow... five layers and only a little bit of break through... nicely done! Some tweaking on the sub step calculation may help lessen or eliminate that. As to the cloth stretching, probably increasing the stretch stiffness, but I'm not sure the effect that will have on the rest of the simulation. Keep going Paul, I look forward to more of your experiments.

Paul, Looks like the cape got stuck in the hair on test A09. Good experiments though... great job!

Rodger, It appears this is a Freightliner Towing vehicle. I don't think a 40 ft. ISO container would be what he wants. How about that FLD120 to put on the hook.

Excellent lip sync... can't see the lips, but the motion I see works VERY well. Great blog... I really enjoyed reading up on what techniques you've been using. Cheers!

What has changed mainly depends upon what version you are currently using. Are you on 2006, 2005, 2004 or earlier? There was quite a bit done with cloth in the last few versions as well as better hair shaders (MUHair, etc.) The choreography now has color changes depending upon which bones have a key frame in the current point in the time line. (They will turn from white to blue if they have a key frame.) Then there is SSS or (Sub Surface Scattering) which is a lighting/rendering technique the makes a more rubber/skin shading and lighting possible. Imagine a light behind the character... with SSS you can see some of the light source through the thin skin of the ears.) Much more as well.

In bones mode, add a 'light' instead of a bone. It acts like a bone, but works just like a light in the choreography. Hope that helps.

That's so simple! Pure genius!

Will, That looks awesome! Actually stitched the teeth into the model mesh... WOW... "I'm not worthy!" just doesn't say it.

Excellent model! Can't wait to see it in motion! Congrats on your winning entry!

I've used it a few times... it works great in AM. It's the AI Wizard if you didn't already know that. Any Illustrator file works fine. Check the tutorial here. Hope that helps. Cheers!

Looking good Will... It'll be great to see him in a full setting...

What technique are you using to put in sky lights now?

I think you are looking for this thread. Cheers!

Here is the link to the old tank tread tutorial article found on A.R.M. Cheers!

I can tell you the procedure you are following will NOT work on version 13 and up files. The file structure is completely different, unless you are willing to write a script to rewrite the sections appropriately. The data is there, but it is NOT arranged the same, period. If you have been able to import using your method, then you are probably importing models that are earlier than version 13 or even version 12... I'd have to look to make sure. I would seriously recommend the upgrade for another few reasons besides the features. The stability of 12 and up is superb and is even better than 8.5 was in my opinion. Also the speed of the software has gone up and will also be able to take advantage of newer video cards much better. The interface has changed for the better as well. Not to mention the new Extras DVD that has a TON of models on it for you to add to your projects. Anyway... whatever you decide... Cheers!

Yes, for small areas or complex models, 'SplitPatch' works great! I have about 5 or 6 plug-ins that I use that are quite handy. But Primitive and SplitPatch are the two I use the most.

Want an even quicker way? In a blank modeling window, right-click and select 'Plug-Ins -> Wizard -> primitive' from the dialog box that opens... select a 'sphere' from the drop down and then select the RadiusXZ, SegmentsXZ and the click on the 'Mangitude %' button, then click 'create'. Make sure the 'CP Smooth' option is checked. This should make you a sphere of any division size you want. I'm attaching the plug-in here as I'm not sure that A:M came with it. It's dated from back in September, 2005, but still works, even with V14.0 Alpha 5. Unzip it and place it in your "C:\Program Files\Hash Inc\V13.0\hxt" folder C: being whatever drive you installed A:M in. Hope that proves useful. primitive.zip

Might I suggest using a Emerald color and some specularity to look more like... well... Emerald. Seems to be just a bit too close on the opening scroll too... back off just a bit... otherwise the camera move looks pretty good. One idea for a more 'animated' logo, would be to have a bunch of Emerald gems jump into place to make the words or letters made of emerald jump into their respective positions. Just an idea... Looks like a good start! Cheers!

Glad you're feeling better... wonderful house! can't wait to see the grounds landscaped and some indoor shots of furnished rooms... Great work!

Nice logo 'punch'... I see these kinds of things all the time at the opening of games. Very well done.

The storyboards and animation are quite good. I would not worry about the storyboards... they are QUITE good enough for the visualization purpose for which they are intended.

When modeling, if your patch usage goes above 4,000 or 7,000 then A:M will slow down SIGNIFICANTLY. Easy way to check this is to right click on your model in the project workspace (PWS) and select 'info'. It should give you the patch count. If it's over one of the two numbers mentioned above, you may want to break your model up into sections and assemble them with an action. This is what I had to do with the Golden Gate Bridge project (I think it's on the Extras DVD).

Easy way to test whether it's decals or not is to turn off decals in your final render and leave everything else alone. If it's decals, then your solution could be as simple as re-decaling or reordering way you stamp the model. Good luck!

Beautiful job Rodger! My only comment on the building is the doors of the entry area. Isn't it cusomary for the two doors on the left to have their handles on the other side? Just an observation. Wonderful detail... now get to messing it up so it looks older.