pia12254

Hey guys, Thanks for the comments so far!!!! Here's an update. Hi res... Update 1- HiRes And low res... Update 1- LowRes John and Rodney, I've added in a couple of blinks. I might work on their timing a little more. Part of the problem with the blink on Kee Kat is that if his eyes are making any kind of expression other than the default pose his eyelids don't close all the way on Eye Close Left so I have to actually raise his lower eyelid a little to make them close. Hope it doesn't look to weird. I will incorporate your suggestions on the "Can you keep a secret?" line when I render out my next update. His expression is very symmetrical and seems kind of "canned" I guess. Keep it coming...

Hey there, I just finished this animation for the Art of Animation Tutorial. I first did the lipsync (manually...I didn't really like the results from the dopesheet) and then did the rest of the animation in the Choreography. Here is the Hi-res version (about 3MB). Kee Kat Secret Hi-Res And a lower res version (250kb). Kee Kat's Secret I really want critiques/comments on how to make it better. I feel like I am at a point where I can make the characters "move around" but I want to start getting to where I can really make them have a believable performance. Any help is appreciated. Here is the link to the basic lipsync animation...the lipsync is a little hard to see in the "finished" animation. Just lipsync

Apprentice...under Frank Silas....! aaaaggggggghhhhhhhhh (insert drool here)....

Just my $.02. I think the apprenticeship idea is a great one. I think it is the best way to learn a craft/art of this sort. Just look at the overwhelming popularity of Animation Mentor (which hasn't even begun yet). I think, even though we would be doing this on a smaller scale the model is a good one to follow. I for one would be happy to work on someone elses project in exchange for personal critique/direction. What better way to learn? Anyway, just my thoughts.

I know it wasn't the best job but if I get the model I can probably try and do a quicky rig job to at least make him move... Just let me know!

Hey guys, I am using 10.5 (r?)...I'm not sure why it would behave so strangely? Even if you have a later version like 11.0, it seems like it should still work. As for the hips not bending in the right place...yeah, this is the first character I've ever rigged with TSM and probably the 2nd/3rd I've ever tried to rig...not my forte! Sorry about that. I don't know if you can adjust it now that it has been run through the Setup Machine. I kind of think not based on my own attempts. As for the premade actions that come with Hash CD...they will not work because the actions are built for the Hash rig which is different from the Setup Machine rig. I forgot to send you the run action I had built...sorry again! But it was pretty simple so you can probably replicate it pretty easily. If you still want it later I will try and post it when I get back to my computer. Later fellas.

Right on dude! I love to see CG mixed with live action/still....it gets your mind going as to the possibilities. Definitely get SynthEyes!!! I just got it and it is amazing! I have never really used a motion tracking software before and only understood the basic principles. Since I got SynthEyes a few days ago I have spent a total of maybe 5-6 hours on it and have tracked and composited the demo as well as a couple of my own test shots. It is so much fun! And I want to have someone else doing it to keep me motivated. Also, I'm trying to think of cool/easy ways to apply it so if you can think of anything that would be cool to try let me know. Later dude. Keep up the good work...and get SynthEyes.

Hey guys, Here is the rigged version. I don't think the hands really work...not enough detail really to make it worthwhile. I ran it through WeightMover so it has some control point weighting applied to prevent creases at joints etc. However, to really make it flawless will probably take more work (smartskin, fan bones etc.). Let me know if you need anything else! mc2b_RiggedA.mdl

Hey Roughy, Sure thing man. I don't know how people usually exchange projects here. I have seen people just post the link as an attachment within a post so I will do that as soon as I get the chance. When you guys get some cool stills/animations done be sure and show us! Later.

Hey Sevenar, Yeah dude, you're welcome to the rigged version. I just set it up with Weight Mover and The Setup Machine. I just got the Setup Machine and this is really the first thing I've rigged with it. It is an amazing rig to animate with!!!! Without the fingers I think it only has like 10-12 bones to animate everything...and you can get the coolest poses with it. Just let me know how you want me to get it to you. It is actually on my computer at work and I might not be in tomorrow or Friday so it might be as late as Monday...

Ah ha! Finally a workaround for the cheap wanker that doesn't want to pay for web space... I am trying to insert the run cycle as an animated .gif. Hope it works. Sevenar, I think it will probably work for what you are describing. Although the hands are very basic and may need to be reworked.

...Trying to attach run cycle....arrghhh.... Any ideas why it won't let me attach a video file??? It is only 29 frames long and I have tried .mov, .wmv., .avi and it keeps sayng, "You cannot upload this type of file". I'm sure it is something obvious but I have uploaded things in the past and not had problems... any ideas?

I was curious about Ken's comment about the model not animating well. I also wanted to see what it was like to work with a model that had been converted. I rigged the little guy and did a quick run cycle. It looks like the patches do cause all kinds of crazy render artifacts...too bad, he would be a cool model to animate! Maybe if someone used the converted model as a reference it would be easier to just build in AM...of course, I'm not the one whose going to do that so I guess "easy" is a relative term... He is pretty spline heavy but he seems to pose fairly well without too much distortion. I only spent about 30 mintues rigging him (maybe that's a lot...I'm pretty slow :-) ) so I think with work you could get him to work pretty well. If I did it right, I think I attached the run cycle.

Hey Zach, Thanks! You inspired me to try this. By the way, what is Film GIMP? Yeah, SynthEyes is pretty cool. I could hardly believe that it was used in Master and Commander and those other big films! At least there are some people who aren't afraid to use an amazing program just because it costs less. Later.

Hey Zach, Here's the clip. Nothing much really...I just get so excited when I see 3d combined with live action. The video clip is something I shot to try with Icarus and I had problems getting it to track well. This composite is still very rough but the idea of the matter and its possibilities intrigue me. Thanks for the encouragement! (I had to attach the file as QT Sorenson, it wouldn't let me attach a WMV format..?) SynthEyesTest.mov

Hey Zach, Thanks for the reply. I finally got it working now thanks to you. I think I had tried all the correct steps...just not all at the same time! :-) I actually broke down and purchased SynthEyes. I had been trying to get Icarus to work for some time and while it worked in some limited circumstances I had trouble getting very consistent results. Once I saw your example it helped me make the decision. I bought/downloaded SynthEyes today and I have already tracked and composited an image from some of my own footage that I am happy with. Go SynthEyes! Thanks again Zach.

Quick Question Zach... I am trying out the Syntheyes demo as well after watching your clip and I am having trouble getting it to render out a version I can composite. I have changed the default ground plane to receive shadows/shadow only. However, when I do that it doen't render any shadows whatsoever... I have tried to render the image out with the Alpha buffer, Shadow buffer etc. without any result. How did you do yours? Did you composite the final image or is it all from within AM? If so, what was your method? Thanks in advance! Great clip by the way.

I really like the Photoshop workaround...very cool! I have used Actions and Automate Batch a few times and it can be a lifesaver for multitudes of seperate pictures or pic sequences... The suggestion I was going to make is maybe try a simple Luma Key and have it key out darker. It seems to work pretty well for that type of thing. Just another thought. Hope you got it working!

Anybody know why this is rendering the way it is? I am just trying to render out a wireframe version of a football stadium I built and it has started looking all weird. I rendered one out like a day ago at 320x240 and it looked fine...now I'm not sure what the problem is. Any ideas? Edit: I just tried rendering it out again at 320x240 and it seems to work fine. It is just when I try a larger resolution (D1, DV etc.) that I get the weirdness in the rendering artifacts... Does this help? I am trying to get it rendered out today for a job so any help is appreciated! :-)

I like him! I think it is great looking. Can't wait to see him finished and animated! Keep it up.

Man, I loved the animation. Especially the first part where he jumps onto the pole! I thought the pose and motion were hilarious. Right on. I agree with the other person as well who said you are definitely improving with each successive animation. Keep it up.

Thanks Jim! One of my co-workers mentioned the head looks more like Gary Coleman than Gollum.... I must say I have to agree...not exactly what I was going for though. I referenced the Colin Freeman tutorial as I modeled the head so maybe there are resemblances of his kid as well (sorry Colin). Anyway, I'll take all the crits I get and hopefully have something that looks more like Gollum and less like Gary Coleman.

I am attempting to model the head of Gollum. I used a couple images from the web as rotoscopes and modeled from that. I think the head looks ok as a model (better than other stuff I've done) but the only problem is it does not really look like Gollum. Can anyone tell me what they think the problem is? Maybe his head is too boxy/square? Also, is it too spline heavy? Any ideas for where to lighten it up would be helpful as well. Thanks! Thanks for any input. Gollum Side Gollum Wireframe Front Gollum Wireframe Side Gollum Wireframe Perspective

Thanks for the feedback! I'll try the suggestions and see what happens. I had tried a multipass render and it made the image look offset (almost like a stereo image)...? Thanks again!

Can't get the clips to download.... Curious to see them though! :-)