mtpeak2

The bus is not going to be released to the community.

This is not what is intended. The set is not supposed to change, that was the whole point of it. Other props could be brought in as needed for the animation though. It doesn't matter if the props (brought in and used by the character) are there or not in the beginning and ending of the animation, the bus is suppose to take care of that, but the set must not change. Not changing the set for each animation keeps the continuity of the whole sequence and make editing easy.

Yes, that's the image I used to model the new sign. Yes, I get that feeling too. I'm about ready to give up on this set and let someone else build it. Or.... let you guys go back to the "Next Room" idea, then you can do whatever you want to it.

Ok, red letters are out.

Looking forward to seeing it textured.

Here's a bird's eye render of the actual set and a render from the camera view.

Finished the sign.

New sign. Still need to do a few things.

I will guess that you would have to turn ON "cast shadows" for the ground plane as well - I'm guessing that the sign may have had only single thickness? This is not the case, I had cast shadows ON on the ground plane and the sign was double thick.

Here's a new test render. The problem with the shadow was I had the proxy ground set to flatshaded, not sure why that would cause an issue though. I had to redo the lighting setup also, since the ground wasn't flatshaded anymore. Robert, I'll see what I can do with the sign. I may redo the whole thing in a different style.

yup

Loads fine here.

Yeah, I noticed the sign wasn't casting a shadow, but I haven't figured out why yet.

Thanks Marcos, that worked like a charm. I rendered a hires image for the rotocope (softened the edge as Marcos suggested, though I really need to do that to the decal used for the hedge.). Here's a test render of the set that will be used.

Thanks, Marcos. I've been trying to figure out how to do that, with no sucess. I'm not that good with paint programs, though I have learned a few things with this project. Can you point me in the right direction with doing this? [EDIT] Thanks to Marcos, I got it figured out.

Made adjustments to the grass density map and added a length map. Retextured the dirt area. Shifted the bench and trash can (too much?) to the left and the sign to the right a bit. Set repeat higher on grunge map, on road, so it's more noticable. Added damage and scuff marks to the curb. [EDIT] updated image

Here's an option with no grass between the sidewalk and curb. I also lowered the camera to show more of the road. Robert, I was planning those things for the curb, I just haven't gotten to it yet. I'll try moving the trashcan and bench a little. There won't be any particle hair in the final set, it will be a render of the scene used as a rotoscope and front project on to the proxy ground.

How's this Robert? Also extended the sidewalk to the curb, I'm not sure I like that though. Should I just extend the whole sidewalk to the curb? I like seeing the grass between them though.

Here's a quick test render, only 1 pass and AO off. The scale of the bus actually needs to be larger, it just seemed too big. What do you think? I could change the camera distance further away and adjust the focal length of the camera, but it changes the look of the scene. The bus need some work too, to get it ready. I want to tint the windows so you can't see inside and change some decals (maybe textures too). bus_stop_test.mov

Very cool Stian.

Thanks Will. Steve Shelton was kind enough to donate his bus model to the cause. I'll try and post a test render of the bus coming and going later tonight.

The curb is modeled into the proxy set. Well, then more sets need to be modeled and another transition render of a bus ride to the next stop? That's all doable, but complicates things. I do have other ideas for other bus stops, but they'll take awhile to model and setup.

I'll see what I can do Robert.

I rendered the set with no trash can, bench and sign at hi res, with hair and AO on. I then used the render as a camera rotoscope and set the proxy ground model to a front projection target. Added back in the props and character. Rerendered at a lower res, with AO still on. The frame rendered in 32 secs, which I think will work quite well. The only thing with using the roto and front projection is, you can't translate, rotate or zoom the camera in and out. There is a couple thing, like the grass not being infront of the legs of the bench and can, but I think I can live with that. Any thoughts? Suggestions on any change to the set? (Paul, I'll see what I can do) Is the lighting OK?

Ok, I think I got a bus to use. What I'll do is render out the bus, with an alpha channel, pulling up, stopping and leaving. Then this render could be used for the transition during editing (with slight overlapping of the animations).