heyvern

I did all the sketches initially on paper and then scanned them in to clean up in photoshop. We had our pictures taken at the last MAAM meeting for use as reference. The sketching and clean up sort of changed as I did each sketch. I don't do a lot of this type of work and found that each one I did got more... "realistic". I started out doing a simpler style and progressed to a more shaded realistic feel. This was based on how much work I did with the sketch before scanning as well. Once in photoshop I basically was cleaning up bold out lines, adding shading or smoothing the shading of the pencil lines by blurring smudging or using the airbrush tool. I used a wacom tablet more on the early drawings and then did more pencil on paper work on later ones. I think this happened because it was faster and I started to actually get "back in the groove" of drawing on paper. Also I find it nice to be able to use the "Liquify" filter in Photoshop to shift areas of the drawings easily if I wanted to distort or exagerate features for the caricature. The final one of me was pretty much cleaned up only from the original sketch. I didn't do much distorting of the final sketch except to smooth out the shading and clean up the lines. That was the last one I did and was feeling pretty comfortable with the subject . The full body "hero" poses were just straight pencil roughs scanned and composited. This is the first time I've ever really done a "caricature" before. Generally I do realistic portraits when I draw "real" people. It is a lot of fun as long as you don't exaggerate the... er.... wrong features too much. . I am working on profiles now for AM rotoscoping. I probably won't go as detailed with those. I probably should do some 3/4 shots as well. At least we won't have to hire anyone for the dialog. . The original idea was to just animate to some of the audio in the video shot during our meetings... I don't know if that is still the plan. -vern

In keeping with the super hero theme I am working on my list of powers and weapons. I will use bags of chips and soda as weapons. Squeezing the bags of chips until they explode in the face of the attacker causing temporary blindness from all the "Extra Nacho Cheesiness". Then finishing them off with a well shaken can of warm soda aimed squarely at the face. My other contributions will include saying the following when arriving at an enemy's secret hideout: "Can I wait in the car? I want to hear the rest of this NPR interview." And also saying this after a horrific battle: "Where's my hat? Has anyone seen my hat? Did I leave it in the car?" I think the battle cry for the MAAM Squad should be: "Show us your GRRRRR face! GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!" Or possibly this: "Excuse us... MAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!" -vern

As you may know there is a group of us who meet fairly regularly in the Philadelphia area. We are called: The Mid Atlantic Animation Master Users group... or MAAM for short. Recently the idea came up to create animated versions of ourselves. I took on this challenge... uh... I was volunteered? Something like that. Anyway to start the ball rolling I did some stylized portraits of each person in the group. We have Hubakai, Entity, DDavis, Mechadelphia and of course myself, Heyvern. These are our Super Hero identities. During the day we are unassuming members of a small computer user's group but at night we become... I am not in the picture below. I was probably in the bathroom or getting a beer or something. Uh... well we don't have uniforms yet and we are still working on the logo. No specific plans for fighting crime. Maybe watch some movies on a big screen TV and eat nachos. However we hope to model these characters in AM and bring them to life. It has been a while since I used AM but I am going to take a stab at modeling... myself. We'll see how that works out. We have not completely decided on our "Special Powers" but so far we are in agreement that my character will be the comedy relief. I will be Shaggy AND Scooby in any animated adventures that may occur. Keep an eye out for updates. -vern

I don't write the tutorials. I only host links to other people's tutorials. -vern

This would open a rift in the time space continuum causing the ENTIRE universe to cease to exist in a massive sucking singularity. Try it and let us know how it goes. -vern

I would read about booleans in the technical reference. Sometimes it is very time consuming to actually build those "holes" in a complex or even simple object. A boolean is a little tricky to set up (uses bones and named groups) but in some cases can produce the results needed and is quicker in the long run to create. Keep in mind booleans do not effect the actual mesh. They are sort of a cheat that is really only seen in the render. I have used them in the past very effectively. It all depends on how critical the "holes" are and how much they "interact" with everything else going on. It is tricky to do but I've actually created a bevel edge on a hole using booleans. You have to sort of think "backwards". But considering that the resulting mesh doesn't have 50 bazillion patches at the end it was worth it. I believe there may be some plugins out there possibly that sort of do some kind of "cutting" and "merging" or "fileting" of shapes. Might have to search them out. -vern

When I wake up in the morning I often curse the world for its cruelty and sometimes I jump right out of bed and bless the start of a new day... (not often but sometimes. I don't actually "jump" anymore.) There is always something to complain about with anything at some point. That reviewer has pretty much burned his bridges. It would be difficult for him to "change his mind" or his opinion even if it was true because he would have to admit being "wrong". Are you a "glass is half full" kind of person or "glass is half empty"? Think about this honestly... are you a "complainer"? Does the slightest problem throw you into a fit of rage and frustration? Or can you work through problems to find solutions? That is the key to working with ANY program in my opinion. Depending on your response would determine a lot of your satisfaction with AM. When it comes to this sort of stuff you almost always have to lean towards "glass is half full". I've seen comments from AM users that are so much at each end of the spectrum you can hardly believe they are using the same application. In my opinion I put AM at "glass is 3/4 to 4/5 full" depending on what phase the moon is in and whether I've had my coffee yet. There are some people who complain if the glass is full and just a few drops spilled out on the table. I believe I've taken this analogy as far as it will go.... now I'm thirsty dangit! -vern

Seeing as the official MAAM group photo has been posted here now... I can post my "captioned" photos: -vern

aarrrrggghhh.... my head. Too much rich food and beer... I only had 3... Fun day! Thanks John for hosting it! I am really really sorry I kept falling asleep during your video compression tutorial. I did however absorb the information subconsciously and learned a lot of great stuff. Change of plan. If I do that "animation" to the "audio" at some point... I will probably have to bite the bullet and download a huge video file... so... there you go. I have some incentive now. Last night I dreamed of big round red null bones attacking me from the future and trying to download my brain onto a big disk (you had to be there to understand). -------- I bought "The 300" on the way home and watched it last night. I seriously doubt those flimsy shields would stop arrows raining down like that. And I have never heard of a trained rhinoceros. I don't think they can be tamed to that extent. And Xerxes seemed awfully tall to me. I've heard of poetic license but that is pretty extreme. Was it that warm in Sparta? Would they really dress like that or did this take place during an especially hot summer? By the way... I discovered that silly 2gb file size limit on Fat32. Kept trying to copy a 12gb DV file over the network and having it stop constantly. Silly me... I broke the video up into smaller chunks... before... finding out how simple it is to switch to NTFS... . NTFS has a 4gb limit correct? Or is that something else? I take it back... the Nero DVD creation software isn't that great. I couldn't make sub menus. -vern

You would think doing all those calisthenics that these cave men would have survived. Maybe it was those "multiplying spears" that killed them off. Imagine having to constantly look where you sit to make sure a "magical spear" doesn't suddenly appear. Or if a spear suddenly appeared impaled through your chest or neck without any warning whatsoever. This could be the origins for the study of quantum physics. p.s. You know there is a 20% chance we are all actually a part of a virtual computer simulation. I am going to look through my house tonight for multiplying spears just in case. I thought I saw one... but it turned out to be a broom handle. -vern

No beer? Good grief! That sounds like a Zehr family reunion! Are you turning into a Mennonite? I will be bringing beer if that's okay. I need the beer. I haven't had a beer in... 4 weeks, at my high school reunion (this is turning into a summer of reunions for me). I will probably only drink 3... ish (have to work sunday. Can't be hung over) so if I bring a 6 pack... or two... I can share. I want to bring along something cool I have been working on that is... er... not AM related. Has lots of that boring scripting code you guys hate... but I won't show you that. Bunch of computer nerds bored by code... how odd. p.s. I got an Apple t-shirt from my cousin who won that Apple teaching award. She said they brought out iPod Nanos in different colors stacked on serving trays for all the award winners... I didn't get one dagnabbit. She gave hers to her mother... like she's going to use it... probably has it filled with Barry Manilow by now. -vern

I love you guys! Now you will find out about my secret deal with the devil. I am so disappointed but happy as well. I recently got a TON of new work which put the kibosh on any of the AM stuff I was working on... I am especially disappointed that I didn't have time to work on my Lost World project. Did I bring that last time? I will bring it anyway just in case. I will also bring my handcuff poster image. That poster got RAVE reviews by the way. I ended up doing the program cover as well. I also put my name on the program. The last time they were suppose to have my info in the program and they only mentioned my name buried in the middle of the copy about the director or something. I had to search the program to even find it. -vern

I think... I think... I think I may cry. There are tears of joy welling up in my eyes. This would be like... christmas in august if I get to go to both of my fav events. I would be mopey and sad at the reunion for missing the MAAM meeting... and I would be mopey and sad at the MAAM meeting for missing the reunion. It is a no win situation. If anyone else has a conflict on the 18th please do not change the date on my account. I am the one who is "calender challenged". When I run my finger across the little boxes I somehow get shifted over one spot... or I'm just looking at the wrong page. I know what it was! I was looking at the date UPSIDE DOWN! Another "Father Ted" reference. -vern

The fact that I would be drunk might be a giveaway. Mennonites know when your drunk. I guess there is no chance on pushing this a week? -vern

AHHHHAAHAHAHGGGGGHHGHHG!!! I can't make it saturday guys. My family reunion is on the 11th. I thought it was the following weekend. WHAT ARE THE FREAKING ODDS?!?!? I am obligated and... well... no offense but if a choice has to be made in this situation family wins out. Some of the people there I only get to see once every few years. And my brother and sisters might be there. That is a rare occasion when we are all in the same place at the same time. I am so torn by this. I desperately want to go to both events... each has its own appeal... hanging out with right wing conservative, Christian, Bush supporting, war mongering, tea-totalers or... drinking beer with technodweeby animation aficionados.... my brain is going to explode from the agony of this choice. The reunion is actually on Friday AND Saturday. I am going to check the Zehr forum to see if I would be disowned or excommunicated if I attended Friday only. Saturday is when all the real "fun" happens (we're Mennonites... fun is a relative term). If they found out what I was doing on Saturday instead... I could be in the doghouse. The reunion is unfortunately located in the complete opposite direction by about 2 hours... so add on another 30 minutes to get to the MAAM meeting plus traffic... it could be a 3 hour one way drive to try and make it. I have not missed one of the MAAM meetings... but this is out of my control. So sorry. -vern

Gurrrllllssss? Feck! Arse! Drink! Girls! p.s. That money was just resting in my account. -vern

I draw the line at kissing any men. I tell all my alternate-life-style friends... "we can hang out, have a few beers play some pool, but if you try to kiss me for any reason... I will have to slug you." This "rule" of mine came about as a result of a drunken new years eve party when I realized that one of the women who kissed me at midnight... desperately needed a shave... I was very drunk at the time... ... there is a photo of me holding a lava lamp and smiling stupidlly before I remembered very suddenly how those things actually work. p.s. Jello shots were invented by Satan. -vern

"Come in Alpha Base. Alpha Base are you there? Come in Alpha Base this is Eagle one! Answer me Alpha Base! God Dammit Alpha Base are you there? Come in! Alpha Base I can't read you. Alpha Base please resp..." "God dammit Eagle one you have to let go of the button so we can respond! And you really need to wait a few seconds to get to the dang radio already." I love that show and have many on DVD but those Eagle pilots have the patience of a gnat. -vern

Count me in!!!! I have to say I have not opened AM since finishing that play poster. I have not done any work on any of my AM projects (Lost World, Image Contests etc). I have not done ANY animation or personal work of any kind for quite a while. I recently landed a "new" client who is... shall we say... devil spawn. I so want to have a face to face meeting so I can check their scalps for the number of the beast. But I also have other good news I can share with you guys next weekend. It's so good... that... it sounds too good and I might want your professional opinion on it before I sign the contract. If I sign this contract it... is like... selling my soul so to speak. I am tempted as it would solve my work/money issues for quite awhile. I would even be able to rent office space and get out of my house... buy new equipment... etc. -vern

Personally I can't quite figure out why more software companies don't use this model for software. Think about it for a minute, those who always want the latest greatest buy the update each year, those that are happy with what they have at the moment or just can't afford it can still upgrade at anytime for the same price. I have several programs I would upgrade in a heartbeat if they offered a simple price structure for upgrades. One of the things that motivates Steve Jobs with his "99 cent" per song obsession is that it's SIMPLE. The public LOVES SIMPLICITY. When you need to upgrade AM... $99... that's all you need to know. I tend to stick with the same versions of programs long after a new upgrade has come out. -vern

10.5? Dang! And I thought I was way behind the times using v12! That's... holy cow that's before 11! I was trying to remember when I used 10.5 last... I think I killed those brain cells at my high school reunion last week (an old teacher was there collecting assignments I never turned in... no wait... that was a bad dream I keep having.) Time for an upgrade. Seriously though... upgrade if you can. -vern

Thanks David! I thought about writing something "funny" but there didn't seem to be any point. I don't think our "victim" even understands the trouble with his request. ------- To Thebestkiller (I really hope this is a mispelling. Should it be "Thebeastkiller"?), if you are still reading this thread keep in mind that an alien is probably one of the very first things new users try to create... or at least in the top 11 . Aliens don't have to be "perfect", they don't have to look like a person, the options are nearly limitless and lend themselves to learning A:M. You could take many of the included models with AM and twist and distort it to create an alien creature. You could use the distortion grid or the magnet tool to stretch and modify a "human" model to look like all kinds of weird alien creatures. If anything is easy in AM, modifying an existing model definately is easy and is a fantastic way to learn. If you did it correctly you could even keep the existing skeleton, possibly having to scale some bones a bit if the body changes too much. All of the bone rigging and point binding is done. Even starting with the "Thom" character could lead to some funky looking aliens. You could then go crazy with AM materials or Photoshop or an image editor creating new textures for your alien. If however you absolutely can't do this... it will be difficult to get EXACTLY what you want. You obviously want something for free... it is hard to get that kind of model created for free. A whole rigged model with detailed "cool" textures takes a lot of time and effort. If a user has created something on their own and they share it with the community you should take advantage of this before looking for more. In most cases like this the new user with high expectations rarely gets to the end of their epic movie production. That would be one reason why I wouldn't bother with it. You may even be too early looking for the perfect alien when what you really need to do is write a script, do a story board, record dialog... build props... etc etc. Keep in mind a fully rigged textured character model is not something simple to produce. When someone has gone to all that trouble they may not be inclined to release it to the public on a whim. That is why the group of folks who spent hours, days, months putting all of the user contributed models on the AM extras CD is so valuable. A few years ago there was nothing like this. I am going out on a limb here and theorize that you don't even HAVE the extras CD that comes with a full legal copy of AM. With all of that content there must be something you can use... especially if the Knight character is good enough for you. I apologize if I am incorrect in this assumption. -vern

-vern

Thanks Mr. Jaque, Actually... it was so cool how AM just fit right in. It was like a life preserver. It's always there when I need it. Even for small simple things I can throw something together under pressure. I tend to lean towards photorealism and this has always been a big part of my use of any 3D package. Can it render something that would be hard to tell was "3D". Sometimes more so than animation I need it to do photorealistic stills. I knew as soon as I did the first test rendering of the hand cuffs I would write this "case study". -vern

AHHHHGGG! Give a guy a heart attack! I had to go back and make sure there wasn't a typo. ------ Doug, I'll get you a "high res" PDF (it's 150 dpi so it might get fuzzy if printed REALLY big) soon as the client gets HIS copy. I just got final approval and sent the file to the printer today (approval shmoval... when I say it's done it's done! ). These people are so slow. They usually wait till the last minute to even ask me to do the poster. In the past my brother would ask me... then say he needs it in two days. He wouldn't ask me sooner because he doesn't want to impose. Then when he gets desperate... he doesn't feel so bad asking for the help. I lucked out this time and knew 2 months in advance what the play was going to be and that eventually they would ask me to do it... I had to wait for the official request of course. -vern