Paul Forwood

Thanks for the tip, Matt! I'll try that and see if it changes anything. It all seems to work so well in realtime but the dynamic chains just seem to stiffen up when rendered: Choices_BVH__A08f.mov ***(I replaced the Sam Cooke version with a silent version)*** The bvh file that I am using had no description, it's name is simply a number, so when I first saw this character performing the actions I wasn't sure what he was doing. I thought he looked a little as though he was looking for something, perhaps in a cluttered shop. I then realised that he is carrying something so I'm adding a little creature, currently just a proxy. ---------------- Still sketching ideas for Fishin' and still working on getting the set for that long flying intro to look acceptable. Not great at the moment but I'm sure that I will settle on something soon.

Yes. You create your bvh container in an Action and import all the data into that. MoCap data is often captured at 60fps, but could be anything, and you get all of the bvh rig's bones keyed on every frame so the resulting timeline is much busier than your average hand-keyed Action. You could then go in and clean out the extraneous keys or try the key reduction command. (I've never dared to try that!)

! Ha! Just spheres. I have been trying to get dynamic chains to work in A:M15 but I get different results between realtime, shaded and final renders. I've tried both with and without pre-calculating spring systems but it still seems that something is damping down the dynamics. Is there a known problem with the current version? (A:M 15e). I'll post an example...

Create your cyclical Action, drop it on your character in a choreography and drag it to it's correct start location on the timeline. In the PWS, find your model, expand it's so that you can find the Action that you just applied. Expand it's properties and set the 'Repeat' value to whatever is required. If you don't see the "Repeat" option you probably have "Has Stride Length" set to "On" and will need to turn it off first. I know that it is not a button/switch but it is almost as simple as flipping a switch.

It's been a while. I've been dabbling with the intro for "Fishin'" but I haven't been able to properly focus on it for about a month. While I dabble away on one PC I also dabble on another trying silly things like this: ChoicesComp1.mov I just threw a bvh file onto my caveman model and this is what came out. I did have to key the toes as they aren't captured in the bvh file. There are obvious things that need attention such as the weighting, bone alignment, and he could probably lose a couple of translate-to constraints, but considering the size of this character's head in relation to the actor's head I'm pretty pleased with the results. The left shoulder just had to be realigned on one frame, with "Animate" mode off, and that fixed the alignment for the rest of the sequence, compensating for the over-sized head.

He looks great and certainly more appealing than the reference image.

That looks like a perfect solution to me!

That is a great looking model! Very well done! Enjoy your holiday.

Terrific looking character!

Particles?

These look very interesting!

Oh No!!! Not the birdie song! Sir Nigel and his Amazing Flying Finger.

Drag the sounds into your Choreography, or Action, and then select and drag them in the timeline to the required frame. (Alternatively you could add them to music file in Audacity if you are sure that you want to lock everything down.) 1) A couple of points that you probably have covered already but just incase... The cow is currently sliding before the train hits her. To correct this copy her position at frame 0 to the frame before the train hits her, and possibly the frame before too. Adjust the curves if neccesary. 2) The path that the train is easing along should be raised to align the wheels with the top of the rails. Just incase...

Bravo!!!

Excellente, Jaff! Maybe more impact/weight when the ball lands on his shoulders? ---- Edit: Perhaps a slight raising of the shoulders and elbows as the ball makes contact and pushes the torso down. Only slightly though...I think.

Nice start!

Hey, those look good! Franky needs his ball though.

Beautiful work, Stian!!!

Great improvements in your modelling, Gene! I think the Shaggy comparison is because of the colour.

This is coming on in leaps and bounds. Well done! One thing to be careful of when texturing wooden surfaces is the grain. Wood grain runs the length of the timber, like very tiny, tightly packed straws which draw water up into every part of the tree. In the attached image I have roughly marked the areas that need some attention. The facia boards that run along the edges of the roof and the braces on the doors should be retextured so that the grain runs along their length rather than across it. Other than that it is all coming together beautifully. Nice subtle use of fog.

All the best on your new venture, Mark!

If you taper the hairs from .01 at the root to something like .1 for most of the hair's length and then back to .01 at the tip it with give the appearance of denser hair without looking like there are tree trunks growing out of the scalp. You can also add transparency to the ends if neccesary. Not yet but as I requested this very feature for particles, and hair is a form of particles, it may be available in A:M 15f when it is released. Steffen confirmed that the particle switches have been implemented and this should make working with multiple materials on one emitter much easier. Steffen appears to be keeping A:M afloat single-handedly so let's not put any more pressure on him.

Try right clicking on the "Images" icon, at the top of the Project Work Space, and then select "Clear Cache". You may have to Save and reboot before you see a change, not sure. Ken Heslip offered this solution in a recent thread which you might find using the search engine, (top-right of these forum pages). I believe that there was another step to this in Ken's description but try that and see if it works.

That's very impressive! What rig are you using?

Yes. I usually use a skull cap because you can shape it to suit the hair style while using less patches, you can avoid 3 and 5 point patches, which tend to send hair flying in unpredictable directions, and if neccesary you can break it into several pieces to allow for partings. Also, as Steve suggests, you can build a library of hair styles for reuse.