SteelShark
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Posts posted by SteelShark
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Nice stuff. Now how did he do it?
<voice over> Buy the CD, bub...
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Well, I've got 32 segments (12 of them neck) x 4 bones = 128 bones. The neck segments are limited to 10, so I partsbuilt another two, renamed them appropriately, and now need to child them to the end of the IK chain. Also, I need to add mouth and antenna bones to the head, which is also at the end of the chain.
I guess I'm stuck until I can get horizontal scrolling in the PWS. (Bug report already filed.) But I can't get to them (yet, hopefully). I looked at the bone structure in the text .mdl file, and it doesn't look too bad. I may have to use this route.
In the mean time, if I have 4 bones per segment, and don't need stretching or bending of the segment itself, which of the 4 bones do I assign the cp's to? The first? the last?
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Due to a horizontal scrolling issue in the PWS, I would like to reduce the spine bones in a multiped from 4 bones down to 1 bone per segment (Got 20 segments... that's a lot o' bones!). They are hard shelled segments, so I don't need any intermediate bending anyway.
Can I safely do this and still have the rigger work? If not, what is the minimum amount that will still work? And what specific named bones will I need to retain?
(1 1 mspine, 1 1 mspine2, 1 1 mspine3, 1 1 mspine4)
How about in the IK neck (12 segments including the head, again TSM2 assigned 4 bones per segment)? (1 1 IKneckseg, 1 1 IKneckseg2, etc.).
Finally, the head ends with (1 12 neck, 1 12 head). Why does the head get a neck bone? Do the head cps get assigned to the neck or head bone?
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Well, dang nab it! Missed this thread earlier and I just bought the program!
Any chance you will have a monthly contest, say with the winner getting one CD?
I can only hope for another all CD contest in the near future...
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Sold! My order just went in... Waiting for that serial number...
Now, all the online literature says don't add a constraint on top of the control bones unless you *really* know what you're doing. So to get this multiped to follow a path, is there a certain controlling bone in each segment that I can assign to the path? I'd mess around myself, but I don't think I *really* know what I'm doing yet...
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I'd like to make a push for more real! If you add more detail, and I don't need it, I can always smooth down that portion of the muscle, detail, etc. (retaining the splinage underneath) If I need the detail, and it's not built in, I'm stuck...
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Thanks,
I'll check it out this weekend.
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I am evaluating the usefulness of purchasing TSM2:
I'm excited about the new multi-segment features...
For a centipede type creature, I understand you can set up the body with segments and multiple legs per segment. However, can you explain what kind of constraints are set up for the segments? I need to have the body follow a path, with each segment bending appropriately (similar to the tank tread issue on the forum). Does the constraint system automatically build this in? If so, great! If not, can I add this constraint after TSM runs?
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Something has bugged me since the first .mov, but I couldn't figure it out. Just got it.
He needs to lean forward! Currently it looks like he is walking downhill! Walking is really just falling forward, but catching yourself with each step. See if this helps.
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This topic has come up many times, and the issue has always been...
If not a photorealistic character, everyone wants their own character. That's part of what makes a character animation tool what it is. So I think you would be hard pressed to sell a semi-real semi-cartoon character.
Now photo-real on the other hand....
There have also been many projects started, but I haven't heard of any of them finishing. I'm currently doing this myself, based on the Micheal and Victoria products for poser, and using the book "Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy" by Christopher Hart (Great book for animators/illustrators!). However, it takes time, especially at the hobby level. I'm almost done with the body, with hands and head to follow. My goal is not to put in morph targets like poser, since they would be very time consuming, but rather to mimic real muscles of the body in model only. That way I can quickly define the body and head in poser, and then import a rotoscope, and match my A:M template to it. Also, the muscles will move more realistically when I animate that muscle-bound warrior...
Of course, I've had to model each visible muscle (the book helps) to allow for the transition from normal to muscle-bound. And this has caused a jump in the normal number of splines used for a human, but the future flexibility will be worth it.
Now would I have bought such a model? In a heart beat. I definitely would have laid down a couple hundred for a fully morphable, fully rigged, photo-realistic human. But it doesn't exist. Yet. So get modeling. If you can beat me, and it's better than mine, you've got one guaranteed sale!
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Other than porcelain, your best friend for smoothing meshes is to have two windows open, one showing the cp, the other an OpenGL/Direct3D view at ~45 degrees from the surface (so you can see shadow perturbations in the surface). Then adjust offending areas by moving the cp with the '6' held down (not numpad, but above keys). This will move the cp in/out constrained to the normal. Great, very fast results!
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Got it. Had to make a new project and import the model, similar to Ken's solution.
(11.g)
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I'm having problems where I make an action to flatten. As soon as I try to rotate the axis in preparation for flattening, A:M crashes. Also, if I don't rotate the axis, but just try to flatten, then undo, it crashes.
Could these be related to the above issues?
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Are props affected by dynamics? (i.e. can they be a collision object for cloth and particles?)
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Eagerly awaiting your UV tutorial!
I noticed you had only one arm and leg on the UV template. Will you be explaining the mirroring of the decals also?
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This subject was covered quite extensively a couple of months ago. But in case you can't find the excellent treatment on the subject, the short answer was that to cast a shadow (or block light), the model must be two meshes thick. In other words, you msut model both sides of the wall. If I seem to remember right, it only occurred with a cartain type of light, but someone else may know the answer to what type.
So I'd check your model and see if it's only one sided.
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It's based on the number of posts to the forums. Very misleading!
I would love to see it actually reflect the level of expertise of the individual. Sure, it's controversial, but a neutral party (Rodney) could make the decision based on the quality and/or quantity of advice they dish out. Might not be fair to the daily A:M animator that is an expert but doesn't post much (Jeff Lew comes to mind), but exceptions could be made. The neutral party (Rodney) would simply base it on the community respect for the artist.
I'd love to actually move up this ranking, vice the simple # of posts used currently.
Sound like something anyone wants to take on? (hint hint Rodney?)
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Well, I've done some searches on the forum and didn't find an answer so here goes. (hint hint to all these new arrivals that want to find, for example, stiffness for hair.... only about 10 posts already answering that question....
)I've been working on an animation and a screenplay for a while. However, it is a derivative off of someone else's published story. And "fan art" still must comply with copyright laws.
I'm very concerned that, even if not published for a profit, they may make me take it off of any public forum such as A:M films, because technically, the internet is a public publishing. Yes there's no profit, but some companies are sticklers... And why do it if you can't share it?
So do I continue and take my chances, or contact them on the slim chance they will allow "fan art", or abandon the project?
Then if they do allow the fan art, do they own the copyright? That would be depressing...
I would hate to have to abandon the project due to stupid copyright laws. I mean, if Star Wars: The Assassin can be made, why not my story? I just don't want to spend precious time making something that will never see the light of day.
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Wonderful! Loved the morphing city. Imagination at its best.
The soundtrack really set the mood.
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I've still got my Deluxe Paint manual sitting next to my A:M V5 manual on my bookshelf. Right next to my Word Star and Lotus 1-2-3 manuals.
Don't ask me why...
And yes I had a mullet too!
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A group surface property overrides a model surface property. Make sure you don't have any group surface diffuse colors set.
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Select the three sides you want to decal.
Hide everything else.
Group and name your selection. (Just in case you have to redo)
Now make an on/off pose.
Go into muscle mode, and manually unfold the three sides to make a flat shape.
Decal the three sides with one stamp.
- The decal should be bigger than the model. This will prevent missing any portion of the model.
- As long as the other three sides are hidden, they won't get decaled.
Now when you go back into the model, your model should be perfectly decaled.
Look at the flatten tutorials by Jim Talbot in the ARM.
Now here is the true power of A:M...
To make multiple DVD cases, copy the model after decaling. You will have a copy with decal intact. Now just replace the image in the stamp with the new image. And presto, new DVD! Repeat as necessary. One decal process, and you've got the DVD template, ready for any decal. Just make sure the decals are all the same size.
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Nice setup and explanation.
Now, is it possible to do the same thing with CP weights? Or does the ring get too distorted?
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How did you get her to stand with her arms outstretched for the rotoscope?
Flatten success?
in (2003-2004)
Posted
I use flatten all the time for decaling. I just have to always check the manual because I get confused about which axis the flatten happens on. You will most likely have to rotate the axis. Then move the axis away from the mesh a bit in the direction of the flattening for best results. Very easy feature once you get the hang of it. (Just make sure you do it in a pose though!)