heyvern

I needed a good screw for my mechanical cave bear project a while back... I cheated though. Instead of actually creating the spiral ridges like a real screw i just lathed a ridged shape and "slanted" the ridges slightly using scale and the constrain keys... I figured... who's going to see it that close anyway! As an old coworker use to say... "Can't see it from my house." p.s. Of course... I did bevel ALL the edges of the dang screw... including the head slots where the screw driver goes... there is something wrong with me I am sure. Vernon "!" Zehr

This is a wild guess... I don't know what kind of rig you are using. Do you have the kind of "standard" rig with a foot null and the kinematic constraint on the legs? here is what I have discovered in my very limited experience. When fully extended... for instance, pushing the foot null all the way to the "bottom" or floor... which fully extends the leg... I would get a "pop" like that. What I did was to "avoid" fully extending it... I kind of adjust things so that the bones (not the mesh) are never fully extended or pushed to the "constraints limits" so to speak... the leg bones are sort of "pre-bent" at the full extension. I don't know if this is making any sense... If you find a spot in the bones position where there is no pop... make that the fully extended leg position... extend the length of the leg bones so they never go beyond that extreme. The mesh still looks fine and the leg can extend completely... you just aren't pushing the "invisible bones" to those extremes. Does this make any sense? Have you already tried this and I am an idiot? Have I completely missed the point? These and other questions will be answered in the next post.... Vernon "!" Zehr

First off... You shouldn't throw out or delete your attempts. Show them here! It would be much easier to show you where you need guidance if we can see what you've done so far. If we have no idea what your skill level is... or what you currently are doing wrong or right... it is harder to give you advice. Modeling a face is very difficult. It will probably require many attempts (and "failures") before you will succeed. Keep practicing. Vernon "!" Zehr

Rubber... very Large specular size.... very low specular intensity. Add just a subtle... very subtle... touch of noise... or roughness as needed. I start with this when doing rubber then tweak till I like it. Look at the tires on the remote control car in Toy Story 1. That is... rubber. You can almost feel the texture in your head when you see it. Study real world samples of rubber. Take some photos if you can. This is very helpful when trying to simulate a material. Look closely at how light is "reflected" or diffused by the material. Vernon "!" Zehr

A bump or normal map won't actually distort the geometry. So with a tire of this type... probably not as effective. You could try a distortion map. You could reduce the geometry considerably and still have enough to get good results. The tricky part will be in animating or posing in a scene... ... distortion maps will show in shaded preview... but you need to have a fairly high display setting (page up key) to see it accurately. You will need this to make sure the tire "sits" on the ground. The displace will extend beyond the mesh surface so you need to account for this. Vernon "!" Zehr

I really like the "clawed" feet.... very spooky... You should definately keep them.... you may want to add a shot just to show them off! The furniture you've got so far is great. ------------------------------ Speaking of furniture... I had planned to do an image for the image contest (mechanical of course). It involved an old steam powered computer... I wanted the actual computer "component" to be in this totally over the top elaborately decorated huge cabinet... like the ones you see on Antiques Road Show that those freaky twins drool over and are worth $70,000. I went online and collected dozens of reference photos and "built" a bizarre contraption in photoshop to use as rotos for AM. I think I included every type of wood known to man. Lots of inlay and carved decorations... Of course... the tiny little spot for the computer screen would be dwarfed by the whole cabinet at the very top. I still plan to finish it... maybe for the next mechanical contest... i have about 1/3 of the cabinet modeled. Vernon "!" Zehr

What happened was that Seven had gotten a bit out of hand. On a temporary basis he was "limited" in his posting abilities. Strangely enough... I can't understand why ...he changed his attitude... he stopped being provocative and became a somewhat useful member of the community. After this so called "change" lasted for a period of time he was given access again to the rest of the forum. Now he is back. And once again behaving pretty much as would be expected. He didn't "learn" anything. He just bided his time. I apologize for not specifically stating what the link would do. Error on my part. Vernon "!" Zehr

Seven is taking advantage of Hash going to Siggraph. That is my guess. He knows they are preoccupied and will not be paying a lot of attention. His statements are intentionally antagonistic to Martin AND to anyone who uses AM and knows better. He just wants to get an argument started... as usual. You notice he "hides" these comments in the middle of other threads... harder to see. Your best bet to avoid dealing with this nonsense is to ignore it. The link below will place the Seven in your ignore list. http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?&act=ignore&MID=6235 Vernon "!" Zehr

That was GREAT! Was EVERYTHING done in AM? The slide show aspect with the spot light and the shifting images... was... so... real. The camera motion was dead on... in my humble opinion. The only critique I have would be Kit Kat... his jump at the end seemed... floaty? Is that the proper use of the term? He seemed to not obey physics properly. Some of his motion overall could use some tweaks... but I was watching the hysterical images on the screen... I loved the white house upside down... perfect. You need to exaggerate the "scream" at the end... really just... have him go completely nuts. Maybe his eyes could bug out for like... 2 frames... his tail could go straight and.... well you get the idea. One more thing... if the pointing to the hand is the image... maybe have a finger pointing to the hand... if it was there and I missed it I apologize... I watched it several times... but that was a couple of hours ago. I don't recall a finger pointing to the hand... just the hand. Vernon "!" Zehr

Thanks Chris! Phew! I was concerned you would take it the wrong way. The character is great and very well done. I would hate to see it get "criticized" for the wrong reasons. I also hate to see too much stifling of artistic expression... but... you know... there is a giggling snorting 13 year old in all of us... or an offended Mennonite looking for trouble... Doesn't have to be "Disney" appropriate... you could show a little arse crack... that would be okay... and funny! p.s. I changed some of the dialogue in my Happy Bear scripts for this very reason. I figured... Ethel the fairy didn't really have to swear so much... Vernon "Giggling snorting 13 year old" Zehr

My questions would be this... Is his penis an integral part of the story? Is it there for more than just controversy? If you don't care about any of the resulting "side issues" that will result, then... leave it in. If you want the animation and story to be the focus, and his penis is just a bit of "fluff", leave it out. If the animation and story are fantastic and wonderful... this one small element... may become the focus instead (or lack there of if it gets pixelated). Just my 2 cents... ...uh... yeah... 2 cents. Vernon "??" Zehr

Got the family reunion next weekend... Loads and loads of conservative mennonites... ...my dream would be to take someone who looks like this to one of those gatherings... They would be talking about it for years... --------------------- Nice job Patrick. Like the hair. Would she look that "happy"? In this get up? ...oh wait... android... programed for "happiness"... nevermind. Vernon "!" Zehr

WooHooo! Fantastic. Where can I order one? ----------------- Finally someone as obsessive as me about modeling the details! p.s. In my case though... I would model that kind of detail on a watch that was in a drawer of a desk... in the other room. Vernon "!' Zehr

I want to know... how the heck he gets that chin through the neck of his suit... ...maybe that is the true origins of Robin! Bruce Wayne gets his chin stuck in the neck of his rubber suit and Robin has to help him... it may involve using butter or soap at some point... He reminds me a tiny bit of "The Tick" with that chin. I like it. Vernon "SPOOOON!" Zehr

I hope I didn't come across too preachy Bjorn... ironic in the circumstances if I did. Just trying to keep away from those touchy topics. They can get ugly. I believe the AIG organization is what it is. You either believe in it or not... like PC vs Mac... Republican vs. Democrat... not as trivial as those, but you get the idea. Creationism is only a piece of the larger picture. I guess we should just agree to disagree. p.s. I have many relatives who follow this as well. We have our "discussions" at the reunions... then go back to the loooong food table for more home cooked mennonite cuisine. Can't argue while scarfing down barbecued chicken, fresh potato salad and mint tea with lemonade. They won't tell me exactly how they make that tea... I have like... 12 aunts... and they get mad when I get them mixed up or forget all their names. Now they call me "Steve" or "Joe" and laugh at me. I tell them they should wear name tags and we wouldn't have this problem. Vernon "!" Zehr

We all have different views here. Everything done anywhere by anyone will offend someone, somewhere in some way. Unless it is a bunny with flowers, someone's going to complain. (even then, the animal rights people might complain, or people who kill and eat bunnies, you never can tell.) What I personally will try to do is appreciate the effort and the artwork without dwelling on the message. Within reason of course (see postscript). Daniel and the supporters and creators of this organization believe in it. No one here will change that with the few words and discussions possible in this venue. However we can still appreciate the artistry, talent and effort involved. He worked his butt off and deserves acknowledgment for his achievements regardless of our differences in religion or politics. We are all artists here. I'm going to leave all that "other stuff" to be dealt with in more appropriate arenas. He produced a quality piece of work that required a lot of effort and trouble along the way. Putting aside all other aspects of its derivation can't detract from its quality. I realize now that if I allow irrelevant political/religious views to effect my opinion of this piece of work, the same applies to me if I do something that might offend Daniel or others and I would still want their technical or artistic opinion. p.s. As I said... I will try to do this... I'm not perfect and there is a huge gray area involved. A line may be crossed where it is impossible for me to separate the "message" from the art. In these extreme cases I may choose not to comment. Vernon "!" Zehr

So... now that you have pipe cleaner reference photos you will model these in Animation Master? I kid! Nice, very realistic. It figures, sitting around trying to come up with inspiration... you come up with this great, simple, minimalist idea... ...BUT, you need to use HAIR! So, are they as hard to straighten out as the real thing? That use to bug me in elementary school art class. My pipe cleaners always got knotted and never straightened out... then they lost their fuz.... just like me! Vernon "!" Zehr

My first question would be... How would you flatten that model so you can texture it? ----------------------------------- Klein bottles freak me out... so do Möbius strips... Neither of which is in my spell checker... I wonder if there is a connection? If you cut a Möbius strip in half... lengthwise, you end up with 2 separate connected loops... what happens if you cut a Klein bottle in half? I get so freaked out looking at that thing.... p.s. I have problems with infinity. As a child I was horribly frightened when I realized the never ending repeating reflection when you pointed a mirror at another mirror, would never ever stop... Vernon "!" Zehr

Very nice work. The live footage/cg composites are especially convincing. The only thing that really bothered me was the "shield" effect or wormhole thing. The scale felt way off. I had a sense of a large scale... until that energy field happens... it suddenly made everything feel "small". I don't know exactly how you could fix that. Good luck with your project. Vernon "!" Zehr

Oh come on! If you zoom way in on one of the frames you can clearly see the reflection of someone holding a video camera. Seriously though, the wave is the killer. That is the best one I've seen yet... in perfect honesty... I wasn't sure exactly if it was done in A:M. I had to re-read your post to make sure I read it correctly the first time! Vernon "!" Zehr

So... Now that you have this illustration you will be creating this in A:M? I'm kidding! It really does have a "natural media" illustration feel to it. I like it. Vernon "!" Zehr

The only critique I had was this... More story! the idea was good. The acting was FANTASTIC! You nailed that frightened teacher concept with subtle body motion in a short time frame. I was... disappointed a the end... I liked the idea of the scratch on the chalk board as an ice breaker to connect with the students... I was just hoping for more... don't know what exactly. My first impression... the first thing in my head at the end... "Wow! That looked fantastic... but that's it?" I wanted more of a payoff. Anyway... great job! I hope I haven't said anything to discouraging. Vernon "!" Zehr

Woohoo! Isn't that the best feeling in the world? When you do something like this and it surprises even YOURSELF! Nothing like it in the world. It happens to me too... I finish something and think... "who the heck did that? Couldn't be me! The render elves must have snuck in and did this!" Beautiful image. Has a very realistic "out door" lighting feel to it. You will have to give us some behind the scenes info on that tree... I like that tree. Is it splines? bump? Displacement? Vernon "!" Zehr

Nice web site. Very clean and simple. I would have gone with a flexible width... but I am sure you had nothing to do with that. Congrats on the logo animation. Great job. I may not agree with the concepts but I appreciate your talent, hard work and devotion to this project. You must be a proud papa right now eh? (I hope the horrors of the R&R fiasco is water under the bridge. No hard feelings right?) Vernon "!" Zehr

Yes, His hair is a bit too well groomed and "uniform" for a Yeti. And maybe a tad short. Most of the ones I have seen are very unkempt. This may be an individual stylistic choice of course... or I may have just caught them on a bad hair day. As far as the stubble goes... When I see a thread like this I click on the image and admire and study it... maybe not long enough... I then close the window and read the other comments. Each time someone mentioned the stubble... I opened the image again and looked at the stubble. Then someone mentions stubble on the hands... open the image again.. look at the stubble... So... the moral of this very long story is this... The stubble does look slightly strange... however... I didn't notice it at first blush till someone mentioned it. And I still don't have a big problem with it overall (I would assume they need to shave their hands so they don't get hair in their food). Oh... bigger feet. Yetis... Yetii... (what's plural for Yeti anyway) are known for their big feet aren't they? When i see them they wear large shoes... hard to see if they are just big shoes like a clown or if they NEED big shoes. Vernon "!" Zehr