JTalbotski

!!!!!Thunderous applause!!!! Thank you David! You and the other riggers are doing what most can't do (I can't) or don't want to do ( I don't). But without it we don't have a movie. Jim

Well, I want to third the sentiment. The rig will be the vehicle that the animators use to bring life to the characters. It's as important as ANY part of the project. The easier it is for them to animate with this rig, the better the quality of movie we will be able to output. Your effort and the other riggers effort will be appreciated daily when the animating starts. About Scarecrow, it wasn't ready on Wednesday either. When the rig is ready, let me know and I'll send the scarecrow model to Mark. Thanks, Jim

You've got a great cartoony style! The pilot charcater is wonderful and the farm scene looks just right for kids. You don't post often enough. These are very well done. I'd like to see more, especially when you start animating. Bravo! Jim

That's very nice! You're really progressing with your project. I have no experience with toon renders. But do you have transparency set on any patches? Or it might be your cookie cut map? Please keep posting, it will be fun to watch as it develops. Jim

Nice model! He looks like he could be a character from a children's book. Nice job! Looking forward to seeing him move, Jim

Very nice modeling! Just enough detail and accuracy to be believable but not overloaded with photorealistic expectation. You should try porcelain with this model. It will smooth out some of the waviness in certain areas. Any chance for a new wireframe view? Keep updating! Jim

Nice jeans texturing. The fringe looks very nice! When I gave Schlitzy ansd BlueJeanBaby their cloth texture I used patch images, not a projection map. With patch images, you make a named group of the area you want textured amnd drop a decal onto the named group in the PWS. You will have to rotate some of the patches' images by selecting the patch with the patch select tool (shift-p), right-clicking/control-clicking on the patch and choosing rotate image. 5 point patches don't take patch images as well as 4 pointers. The 5 pointers will have 4 of the patch images arranged inside to fill it. Hope that helps, Jim

Along with modeling and texturing, another equally important aspect of rendering a character is the lighting. Looking at any model in the modeling window to judge the textures will be disappointing. I suggest you set up a chor with the traditional 3 lights, main light, fill and rim. I don't recommend the default lighting that comes with a new A:M choreography (I just don't like it). Then render your model and judge the texturing from that render. To help, I've attached a sample lighting project that I uploaded before. It's a simple 3 light set up. Feel free to move the lights to make your model look it's best. Don't be afraid to put some more color in the skin tones. But not super bright strong colors. Use softer muted colors. Jim SAMPLE_LIGHTING.prj

Oh, sure, Shaun...nice try....that's real water and you know it... Just kidding, excellent results! Jim

I like the style, too! I assume the people who drive the car are just as stylized. Thanks for showing your work, Jim

Here ya go: http://www.hash.com/animationcontest/blairpages/biped.htm Jim (I did a Google search for Preston Blair run cycle)

Neat! Looks easy to animate. Nice style. Jim

Hi Andy, Great work! You've somehow captured a painterly look to the face, with the chiseled planes of his face looking like brush strokes. It looks like your time away has been productive! Jim

Noah, Not only can you model wonderful, beautiful women, but you can animate, too! Wow! Are you doing all this by yourself? Impressive! Jim

Hey, I think I like the silent R2 better! Just kidding! That's a great model, Chris. Congratulations! Jim

Been there, done that. Hint: Save many versions (dozens, hundreds) as you model. You will be glad you did in these circumstances. Jim

Hi Joseph, I really like to youthful look to the character. Nice job! The thing that bothers me a bit is the way the head sticks out to the front. I know that's very bear-like, but the size of his head in relation to his body makes it look like he will tip over. Maybe you can adjust that as you pose him, but then you will always have to make that adjustment. I hope you keep updating this thread! Jim

Nice work, Matt. It's a shame it didn't make the competition. It is definitely worth finishing the way you want it to be. It sort of looks finished now... yeah... that's the ticket. Enter it anyway! Jim

Audacity is free and it's a multiplatform app. http://audacity.sourceforge.net Jim

David, It reads much better now. I'm imagining the sounds that might be in this when you get to that point. The test "pull" he does on her could be histerical. And the sound of the implants, too. I'm thinking there will be no lipsync, is that right? The sound track could be just fun sound effects and music. Thanks for showing your updates! Jim

Steffen, I can't get the Mac version of A:M to be aware of the polymodifier, so I can't really tell what the cloth system is doing for the pants Thom is wearing. I noticed in the project that the pants are assigned to the leg bones just like the leg geometry. So, what is the cloth doing, that just assigning the cp's isn't doing? Jim

Well, I thought he was wearing surgeon's gloves and was performing a sex change operation. Just pulling new parts out of the pink "male" character. Jim

Ha! Okay....this is getting wierder and wierder! But I'm looking forward to seeing more. Jim

Nice model, Frank! I hope you took advantage of the AI or font wizard for some of that detail. Jim

Congratulations! That's a gorgeous model. I wonder if the real car comes with a warning about cutting off your head, the way that door functions. Yikes! Jim