wsimike

Hello.. This isn't a complaint about anything, but rather a "how do you deal with this" sort of thing. I'm working through the AoAM book and am still on the "It's a Pitch" project. It's taking me some time thanks to rl issues and, most pertinently, because I'm finding myself having trouble working on it. Basically, I'm finding it very difficult to work with the armature. It seems that I can't get the right angle to move/rotate things and it's causing me alot of headaches. For example, I'm working in left-side view and everything looks fine.. until I look at it head on or from any other angle, then I realize that everything is out-of-whack looking. Then it's a challenge trying to find an angle that I can discern one bone from another, making sure I'm selecting the right bone, and then selecting the appropriate part of it for the task I need to complete. Not always trivial when you have several bones all overlapping each other in a given view. All in all, I'm finding myself going back and having to fix, re-fix and re-re-fix a single part of the model, like the arm when you're bringing it back for the pitch. The arm's fine.. but the hand looks all funny. So I adjust that.. looks fine.. 'til I look at it in another view.. and so forth. How do you all get used to working with rigs/models? How do you get your eyes to adjust, or know that what you're adjusting from one angle isn't throwing it off in some other way? I hope that makes sense. Thanks :-)

Hi all, Wondering if anyone has suggestions for a good online file storage site? I'll need one to place some of these finished TAoAM projects... I've done a google for them, but to be honest, I'm not sure which is reliable, secure, etc. I've tried one in the past and it seemed fine - until I tried referencing files I'd uploaded there. It started blocking the files (and it was nothing copyrighted). When I logged in to check on the files they were deleted. So I really don't want to find another one where they mess with, block or lose your files like that.. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Mike

There is no 'fixed' Keekat. He refuses to go through that procedure. As its fairly easy to tweak the foot and position it as needed in the exercise I've seen it as a good introduction to adjusting the basic rig. Now animating Keekat with that foot... hmmm... that could be a little more problematic if we don't fix his foot. Mike, If you follow the link in the very first post of Exercise #2 you'll find the discussion and download for the Knight. Knight's Knees Problem The exercise post is 'stickied'. The easiest way to get a post ignored is to 'stickie' it I'm told so that may be why people are missing it. I increased the font size to emphasize it a bit more. There are similar links in the other exercises that use the Knight too. We'll try to provide a more visible means of identifying the fix but the best means I can think of is to read through what others have done before. People have reposted the Knight several times so I know continue to miss the initial links. The best I can do right now is say 'Thanks' to everyone for keeping the issue in the public eye. Thanks! Rodney Hiya Rodney, Fair enough on the Knight situation. I'm still on the Keekat issue, though. Don't want to move forward on one before the other is completed correctly. That's why I didn't bother looking for the Knight exercise yet. As for the Keekat debacle.. Your suggestion that it be considered an exercise on how to fix the basic rig... eh... <shakes hand side to side>... kinda beyond the scope of the exercise, dontcha think? Especially being the very first thing a new user is introduced to. Seems a bit more like a "well, it's all in how you look at it!" scenario. And, you're assuming knowledge on the user's part that they shouldn't be expected to have yet - being at Exercise #1 and all. Some will know to tool around and maybe figure it out. The point is, they shouldn't have to. That's not what the tutorial is about. Perhaps I'm just being nit-picky, but I've worked for a software company as a QA Analyst. I know that if I gave a "work-around" answer like that to a customer about something not working as instructed - and it was due to a flaw on our end - it wouldn't have gone over very well... with the customer, or with my superiors. I just think it should be investigated and a solution be found, even while the work-around is suggested.

Well, my first response seems to have been "lost", so I'll try again. Prior to posting that message, I did search the forums for an answer, first because often times you can find that others have had the same question answered for them and it saves my fingers the time typing and their fingers the time typing it... again. Also, because often times asking a question results in being told to search the forums anyway.. so I basically eliminate that step from the get-go. I searched the forums again after reading the responses here.. but did not find anything any more helpful. In fact, rather ironically, I did find one response wherein the poster is told to search the forums for an answer. Go figure. Now, I did search for different variations on the topic, including words as keekat, posing, lesson 1, etc... none came back with anything useful that helped me fix the problem. So I posted here. Also, someone here recommended downloading the files. I searched the site, and the forums, for said models. but was unable to find anything about them. Some help in tracking them down would be appreciated. And finally, as a suggestion... If a topic/issue comes up that seems to be encountered by more than a couple people and can be identified and fixed with a set series of steps.. perhaps then it would be a great idea to post a stickied topic addressing the problem and providing instructions to those who encounter it on how to go about fixing it so they can move on. This way, if someone does post a question about it, they can simply be referred to the stickied topic, or, perhaps they will find it on their own. Thank you.

Hello.. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem and/or if there's a fix for it? I'm working through the manual tutorials so I can follow through and get my AM diploma :-). However. I'm stuck on the first lesson, "You're The Director". If you'll look at the attached screenshot, when Keekat's Dynamic Pose is at 100%, his right foot is not positioned as it is in the picture, but instead gets sorta "rolled" to one side. What's more, when I put the slider back to 0%, that same foot remains in the same position, even while everything else goes back to the default pose. What to do? I'm using version 2005/Sasquatch (12v+) Thanks! EDIT: Ran into another, similar problem with Lesson 2. When the models are doing the CanCan, their bodies are not twisting correctly for the second kick, but staying positioned in the original angle, so their left legs are crossing over their bodies in a very unnatural looking way. Is there some kind of problem with the files themselves, or newer ones I should be downloading from somewhere? This can't be right.

Ack... I just realized I posted this to the wrong forum.. I thought I was in the General Discussion forum.. Can an Admin move it, possibly? That'd be great.. Thanks! Mike

Hello... I'm wondering if there's another tutorial somewhere that would be a good replacement for the giraffe tutorial in the AOA:M manual? Reason is, I'm getting a head-ache trying to discern, from the side view, where the leg on the "far side" ends and the one I'm supposed to be tracing starts.. it's all sorta just combined together.. Also, the tutorial sorta leaves out what I think is an important detail.. It instructs you to shape the neck from the top - but there's nothing really to shape it from. There is the top "seam" decal, but it doesn't have a head and I don't know how large to scale it to to make sure I'm not adjusting things too big or small.. In all, there's just too many "little" things for me to feel comfortable with what I'm doing coming out correct. In all, I just think a different, but similarly-focused tutorial (modeling for animation) would do me better.. Any suggestions? How about those Anzovin CDs.... are any of them a good substitute? Thanks in advance! Mike