heyvern

Yeah! What he said! Vernon "man of few words unless I have a lot to say" Zehr

okay quick short lesson on channels in photoshop: First you need to find the channel pallete. It is usually on the same pallete with the layers depending on which version of Photoshop you are using. Assuming RGB is in use, any computer image is made up of 3 "channels", red, green, blue. An alpha channel in a tga or any other type of file format that supparts an alpha channel is for "keying" out parts of the image. In photoshop using channels creatively can be considered an art form unto itself. They are very powerful and until the addition of layers in version 3 or 4 I forget, channels were the only way to do sophisticated compositing. In photoshop a channel is basically a selection area, white is selected black isn't. If you create a complicated selection and want to save it you would save the selection as a new alpha channel. Here is where it gets fun, if you have an image and say you want to "erase" parts of the image for use in AM, you can paint on a new alpha (by clicking the eyeball icon on the channel it shows up on the image) masking out those areas using any of the tools you like, paintbrush, pencil etc. By leaving the original image alone, and painting the alpha channel when the image is saved as a targa with an alpha the alpha "hides" those areas that are black and "shows" those areas that are white. If you had deleted those areas of the image, and used the transparency to create the alpha whatever is behind it (default is white) would sort of "bleed" into the alpha channel and show as a fringe around the image area. It is similar to what you do when applying a decal in AM. The decal extends beyond the area you want to cover. Same with Photoshop alpha channels. You want the image to extend beyond the edge of your alpha. Keep in mind you can still make the image as complex as you want in photoshop. You can have all kinds of layers and effects. Then just create a new alpha and paint the areas you want to show or have hidden. Then save as a TGA file making sure include alpha is checked and save as 32 is selected (24 bit, 3 channels rgb, 32 bit includes the alpha). You must have only one "extra" alpha channel. I think it will use the first one as the alpha if you have more than one. I have a friend I have been trying to teach about alpha channels. He is having trouble understanding it as well. I have been doing this for so long it seems like second nature. Hope this helps. Vernon Zehr

This may seem like a lot of work, but I would reccomend using a decal on each tooth. You will spend as much time trying to "flatten" the teeth moving points around etc as you would just applying the decals needed. You may want to try using a cylindrical application method as a test on one tooth. See how it turns out. The gums should be easier to do. You could flatten and apply a texture although that might not be neccessary. Just hide the teeth and create a new pose and in muscle mode IN THE POSE move the cps around so you can more easily apply the decal to the gum area without spots that aren't visible. Decals don't "stick" to splines that are behind other splines when the decal is applied. As for using alpha channels in photoshop for more seamless textures this is fairly easy. Generally I always have a layered PSD (photoshop) file that has my original layers and channels etc etc. You really should avoid using the eraser tool on layers as this will delete the extra color information that you will need later to get a good texture with an alpha without any fringies. I always use a layer mask in photshop to "delete" portions of the layer. Then when I create my TGA file for AM I turn off the layer mask and load it and save it as an alpha channel. In the alpha, white indicates areas of the image that is visible and black hidden. By having the color area extend beyond the alpha channel this will totally eliminate fringies because the soft edges of the alpha will contain the image itself thus creating a soft transition. To create my TGAs I use the duplicate image command in Photoshop, flatten this copy, remove all of the channels except what I need for the image and then save as a TGA. Let me know if this helps or if you need some more specific instructions. I could also send you some simple layered photoshop documents as examples to see the process. Vernon Zehr

You nailed it on the head dude! the target practice sequence is incorrect. It is suppose to be the end of the previous sequence. I put in a fade to black by mistake. At the end of each "mistake" it goes to a scene of him "fixing" his problem. Each of these scenes always include some other character, doctor, technician, other agents. These additional characters will reflect their annoyance at his ineptitude and the agent will respond (with body language) with some sort of excuse. The doctor scene will just have him wincing in pain as he is bandaged. In the technician scene (the gun exploding) he will indicate that he switched one of the parts and slap his head and laugh at himself. In the target practice scene when the other agents look at him in disgust he will be looking at his gun as if it is broken or malfunctioning and try to ignore the staring. That scene also needs to be "tightened" up and shortened. I plan to change the pan also; start with the bald agent on the end and pan to our hero. p.s. Same music. I wrote it and since I am not a trained musician I am well aware of its lack of....uh....quality? Just a temp track. I didn't want to put in anything really good that I couldn't use. It is always a dissapointment later when you have to change it. This way I have no where to go but up! (2001 was suppose to have original music but Kubric loved the "temp" music so much he left in). I just spoke with a friend who has a band. They are very solid and talented and I may get them to write and perform something for me. Vernon "I write the songs that..(insert description)" Zehr

....holy breakdown of American values Batman! ...I just blew coffee out my nose...... I just woke up and this is the first thing I read..... Better than a caffeine pill I tell you! (hee hee...Paris Hilton....hee hee) Vernon "!!" Zehr

Okay, version 2. It isn't complete yet. Still have to finish the roof sequence and the torch cutting scene. There may seem to be some awkward pauses on some of the scenes. Those are for things I know I want to add I just haven't put them in the animatic yet. The roof scene is a little rough. It will basically be some over the top jumping and rolling of the agent just to travel a short distance. I need to put in some more quick cuts. Enjoy! It is about 4.7 mb. The (incompetent) Secret Agent Vernon "!" Zehr

Mmmm....Coffee... heh heh... coffee I love coffee.... I am drinking coffee right now.. Coffee's good... mmm. I love the animation too! And not just becasue of the coffee reference. I had to click on this topic just because of the subject. The bounce on the door as it slams is excellent. How do you get that kind of subtle motion? I always struggle with that kind of thing. It is worth the effort though. What was the reference audio from? Vernon "Caf-Fiend" Zehr

Thanks for the comments. I wish I could work on it right now! I am in the middle of a disasterous project. deadline looming....total brain lock! Oh well. Always the weekend. Question about your username: Is it "mediaho" like "westward Ho!" or more like the prostitute thing like "You're just a damn mediaho!"? Just curious. Vernon "Media Prostitute" Zehr

eeww! Don't joke about that. I still have the nightmares! When I did the research to build the apollo stuff that Zach has put to very good use here I kept getting links to Apollo debunkers and faked moon landing sites. I started to doubt... they are very convincing. p.s. So... if Bush sends men to the moon... will this be the first landing? Or will they fake it this time as well? Vernon "Stay away from moonies!" Zehr

WooHoo! Yeehaa! I am thrilled to death that someone could make use of my apollo models! It makes me feel all warm and gooey inside....no...wait...sorry that was the burrito I had for lunch... Anyway, excellent job! I agree that Neilly needs some work. He needs to be a little more bouncy. Great job dude! I LOVE THE GAG! Godzilla vs. Bambi! You may want some more wreckage sticking out from under the foot or some dust, at first it looks like another astronaut in the foreground. I knew it wasn't but.... Hey? I just watched it like a minute ago and there was no gag...I think...am I losing my mind? p.s. the only other model of mine someone used was an ethernet cable in an image contest entry a while back.... or was it the electrical plug...can't remember. Vernon "Where's the Pepto?" Zehr

Thanks so much for everyones enthusiasm, support and comments! Very very much appreciated. The music... I wrote that piece a few years ago. I kind of like it but since I am biased and not a trained musician in any way (I can't read notes anymore, just midi) I thought it might not be good enough. I do plan to polish it up with my new copy of Reason. I might look at some royalty free stuff. If I find something that is 100 times better I might use it, but I kind of like the idea of doing it all myself. The title.... Nope, I like the title. It makes sense to play it up. I do have "The Secret Agent" come up first. The INCOMPETENT is to indicate a stamp in his file symbolically. It also gives the viewer a heads up to pay attention. Plus! On the end credits the same title card comes up and additional stamps will appear; "Totally", Completely", etc, etc. The zipper gag.... The reason I didn't do an insert shot of the zipper actually catching on the nipple is that generally in comedy it is much funnier to see the reaction rather than showing the specific action (The movie "Something about Mary" for instance. You know exactly what happened with the zipper). There will be a much more detailed closeup scene of the doctor bandaging the nipple. That sketch in the animatic I did way to small and zoomed in. I didn't spend as much effort on it. Sequals!!!! After I did that more polished intro it hit me like a brick in the head that this could expand into a whole series like Petey and Jaydee. I want to get this one under my belt first of course. I hope I don't come across as being pig headed about everyones suggestions. I sound like a prima dona but this idea seemed to come from somewhere else. It popped into my head in its entirety in one gigantic whoosh! I typed it up in one complete stream without stopping. It just feels so perfect, like it was given to me. I almost didn't have to think about it. Vernon "Modest by nature" Zehr

Yes, but only if you are drinking a Pepsi at the time....or a beer. Wine coolers don't have enough solvents. Vernon "Got caffeine?" Zehr

Okay it wasn't done in AM but it will be! This is a rough test of the intro segment for the ISA. It was done with Photoshop and AE. I will of course redo it in AM but at least all of the texture maps and layout is done. Without further ado: Intro test 1 p.s. I kept wishing AE had better keyframing and spline tools. Vernon "I could've been a secret agent" Zehr

This is my original concept straight from my brain....it might be a little sticky still. Scene 1: Funky spy secret agent music Agent getting dressed, boots, gloves, etc. When he zips up his body suit catches nipple in zipper.. Agent in doctors office having zipper removed and bandaged Scene 2: Same opening this time when zipping suit agent is overly careful. See bandaged nipple as zipper goes up. Agent on roof at night. Secret operation. Opens case with complex looking weapon/harpoon. Assembles weapon (cut scenes of assemble with fast music). Holds weapon up to shoulder and fires. Weapon explodes. Agent at desk of instructor going over instructions for assembling the grappling gun. Agent is noticably injured with burns and bandages. Not overly so just subtle enough to see. Sees mistake by waving hands how he switched the part that blew up and slaps head with a laugh. Scene 3: Once again on top of building. Repeat first two scenes successfully. This time aims weapon at building accross the street. Fires weapon. Close up of grappling hook flying through the air. Approaches building. mIsses building and flies through window breaking the glass. Inside apartment, old woman watching tv. Oblivious to grappling hook flying past behind her into another room. rope trailing hook goes slack hear a cat scream as it is impaled (don't see this just hear it). On roof again as agent holds rope and jumps off ledge so as to climb rope to next building. Rope never goes taught as the agent plummets to the sidewalk below. Camera pans to side walk (swish!) we see agent in crumpled pile on sidewalk (crater?). As the grappling hook rope falls we here the cat again impaled on the hook as it hits agent. Agent more noticably injured now is at target practice range. Scene 4: Start from beginning. Fires hook at building successfully attaches. Agent swings to building and climbs up to roof. Agent runs to an area on the roof. Pulls out blow torch and starts cutting a hole in the roof to gain access. Agent unawares cuts a hole around him and falls through roof only to land behind the old woman watching tv (or old woman is talking to police officer, depends on my stamina). Fade to black credits roll.

Okay I will answer a few questions: Scratch the music?!?! Can't, all it is is music, no dialogue, just sound fx and music. There may be a few grunts, screams and laughter etc. The music is the most important thing, Drives the action and gives a nice contrast to what is really going on. Yes, timing... that needs some work. That is what the animatic is for. Once I have the whole thing in then I will fine tune it. The animatic was produced with photoshop and After Effects. I may redo it in Flash for size and it is a little easier/faster to do stuff. I will have to test this to be sure. AE is pretty good I am just not as comfortable using it. I have been working on the intro segment with the title! It looks so cool! Can't wait to post it. Thanks for the support! Can those who didn't catch the "zipper joke" let me know how to make this clearer in the animatic or exactly why it didn't come across? Can you tell me what you thought was happening? Thanks. Vernon "M" Zehr

Yes! The zipper joke...It could have been a lot worse but I wanted to keep it clean... I was going to throw in some textual "sound" effects (ZIP! SNICK!) that should help with that particular gag. The final animation will be very clear what is happening. As for how much will go in the final? Do you mean how much of the story I have presented in the animatic? The story is bare bones really. No fat at all. I anticipate putting all of it in plus more. As for the final render "style" that will be a realistic "cartoony" look. Not sure yet. I want that kind of simplistic bold look. I don't want the characters to be "real". It will not be toon rendered. I can't do toon. All of the sketches were done basically freehand in Photoshop. For some reason I start doodling on paper and then end up doodling on the computer. I just love the computer I guess. Since I don't have a drawing pad on my computer I started using this technique with a paint brush set to fade in size over distance then just draw pretty much with straight lines using the shift key. It is fun and I like the sketchy feel of the end product. Sometimes I will draw a quick path and stroke it with the same brush. I can tell you it is faster for me than drawing by hand. I did use some reference shots from....uh...Poser....just the basic body shapes so I have something to go by. Like using a manikin. I have not completely decided on the "look" of the agent character. The look he sort of has now just came up in sketching so I went with it. I definately want his hair to look "frazzled", unkempt. Vernon "the (incompetent) animator" Zehr

The cereal project has been around longer....and it is a bigger project.... and just maybe I am getting a little bored with it... It will get done eventually. Anyway this one has tons of repetition (just change the camera angles slightly for each repeat) and is fairly short. A few minutes at most. There is only one more repeat after the end of the current animatic. He finally makes it to the roof and... well I will let you see the new animatic when it is ready. I was a little reluctant letting the cat out of the bag this early on but I think it will keep me motivated. Thanks for the kudos on the animatic! Those are kind of fun! Don't have to worry about all the details. Vernon Zehr

Well some of you at the last chat on wed may recall a pitch I did for a new short. I have a rough animatic started (takes longer than you think). This is not the complete script. There are a bunch of scenes missing at the end. Also the music is temporary. Something I had lying around. I can see how this is really going to help me get all the details worked out. I will keep this uptodate as much as possible. here is the QT of the animatic. Sorenson 3, about 2.3mb: The (incompetent) Secret Agent Vernon "Sleep? What's that?" Zehr

Congratulations! I won't make any negative criticisms as they are pointless. The artist sees them and a million more that know one else could find. This is an outstanding effort! You must be a bit giddy now that it is done. I want to also applaud your integration of live action figures with CG. Even with some imperfections they work well and are also an extremely tough challenge (even with the "huge" budget you had to work with!). I know for myself I would not be brave enough to attempt it! I kept expecting Boba to get killed....oh...wait....okay now I remember.... p.s. I saw the original original Star Wars the first week it came out with my brother...a long time ago in a galaxy far far away...where Vern had all of his hair. You know Luke didn't seem as annoying when I was younger... As I recall after we saw it my brother and I agreed this movie was going to be BIG! Very prophetic.... ...this is the same brother who got me stoned before we saw Fantasia... Great job! Vernon "not stoned now" Zehr

Okay so I am watching one of my favorite movies on my computer (Deep Blue Sea) and the end credits just start to play as I see this image of the cool fish with the teeth. LL Cool J is singing that song at the end of the movie (Deepest, bluest, my hat is like a sharks fin...it may be "head" is like a sharks fin, hard to tell). Anyway suddenly in my head I see that fish singing the song! I mean I could see it in my head! I see these big exagerated facial mouth expressions singing along with the song with the eyes squinting and glowing menacingly.... I need therapy.... Great job DL! Vernon "I see fish!" Zehr

Will, You were right! This trailer is better than the first. It is tighter, the editing is much better. I really can't wait for this. This is one of those "guilty pleasure" kind of movies. Just pure fun. I know without even having to see it that it will be a fun ride and worth the price of admission. Can't wait for the release. Any idea where to purchase when available? Online? Borders? Dark alley? Bordello? Crack house? Church fundraiser? Vernon "That's Ms. Castaway" Zehr

This is brilliant! Thanks! Yves is so right! I can easily use your idea and combine it with photoshop actions and TGA sequences. Think outside the box! I was dieing to see how you got the footprint "image". So simple you can't think of it...well I couldn't think of it. Obviously you did think of it otherwise...oh nevermind. Vernon "!" Zehr

Saw my name in the topic so I had to reply! Not a face expert but will give you some pointers that may help out. You want to try and model the splines around the eyes "circular" like you did with the mouth (hard to see the splines around the mouth but it looks like you are on the right track). The eyes should also be the center of a series of concentric "rings" so you can have lots of expression. Plus it is much easier to create eyelids when you have a nice "ring" to extrude from when you get to that point. You will still have 5 point patches or possibly hooks but you can hide those in areas that don't move much like the side of the head or next to the nose area. Also since the nose doesn't really move that much you could try to eliminate some splines from the nose if you are concerned about the patch count. Unless of course you intend to have a lot of stuff happening there. To eliminate some of the creasing on the side of the head i would just add a few more splines to help "round" it out a little better. Or you could rotate some splines from the back of the head (if you have them) a little to the front to acheive the same result. He doesn't seem spline heavy except for the nose. Basically the splines down the center of the face are wasted since most of them won't be used for that much motion. In the nose area you can edit the bias more to get what you want with less splines since it doesn't move too much. For a man in the moon type character you may want to "shrink" the face a little so it fits in the sphere shape (his chin sticks out). This is just my opinion though. Looks like a good start.

Oh man! I love Tintin! Some of my fondest memories as a youngster was discovering those wonderful comics! Believe it or not they had all of the Tintin comics in my juinor high school library! Vernon "No, Tintin, not rin tin tin!" Zehr

Hmm... where is the cereal and milk? Oh never mind...that's my project. How did you determine the measurements? Like the proper hieght of a counter top and such. Did you just wing it? I have to build a kitchen my self. I keep putting it off. It would be easier to build a real kitchen. In a real kitchen everything already has "bevels". I have a fridge and a sink so far...oh and some counters. Vernon "Cereal Killer" Zehr