rusty

Mark, Well you know I was just starting on it so this is perfect timing for me. I'll probably rig the model you use concurrently with the model I was starting on. My body model (the wardrobe) is separate from the head model (the virtual actor) and they are constrained together in the chor but I'll branch off of this quirk on my own. Jeff's a great guy -- he helped me on a project with several other people a couple of years back -- I'm sure he won't mind if it's his model but... I guess better safe then sorry. Looking forward to it! Rusty

AM works well and you will be happy with the program. However, you must do a few things first.... 1. If you've 'only' installed the program from the CD, you need to go online -- Hash's site -- and now install the latest update. For instance, version 13.0s is the latest version (note the 's' at the end). 2. Go online and install the latest drivers for your graphics card (very important). In rare cases older drivers -- specific versions -- work better. Search this forum for your graphics card type. 3. Now try it! Note: if you are using V14 Beta 2... well, its a Beta though my own experiments with it show it works well. BTW, when you post a problem, always state which version of AM you own... you can place this plus your system specs in your signature. Have fun (you will), Rusty

Matt Bradbury's Animation:Master Features wiki... What happened to this? The link is invalid. Thanks, Rusty

Might want to post an example. Rusty

I use this thing all the time; for isolating parts I want to work on, to search for instances of whatever, to help me clean up groups, decals, relationships and other assorted things. Once you know its there and know how it works... if you remember it, you'll use it. Something kind of related... select some patches... what groups do these belong to? ...what decals are stamped on these? Right click and select 'Remove Groups' or 'Remove Decals' -- you don't have to remove them unless you want to but you get to see them all and I've found this very helpful. Note: if you have a group selected when you do this, it will not show up in the list -- not sure about decals. I use it mostly for groups. Why was that related? I don't know... it just seems like I use the two together a lot. Rusty Edit: I use a ton of temporary groups that I know I'll want to remove... I start them all with 'tmp' then use that filter thing to find and remove them all.

As they did in Final Fantasy I plan to use Amplitude (speech sound) not for lip sync but for the throat/neck movements that go with speaking that are so often forgot or not considered important... how... in an old version that I'll move up to 13 (or 14). Well, that's the plan. We'll see. Rusty

Yo John (or anyone else), Very cool flock usage -- I've come to realize that what you do -- just experimenting with things and thinking outside the box --must be very enjoyable! I need to know what version of AM this was done in (including the update letter). Thanks! Rusty EDIT: Never mind, I see by the project file that you are using 13r.

Cool Beans! This has totally made my day! I'm DEEP into testing hair rendering right now but this item was just a few more items down my list! Thanks! Rusty PS Now can someone please do this for lens flares (I think/hope volumetric lights and alphas work... don't remember... 4 down on my list)? :-)

The smoke looks good. Now that I think about it, fire (sprite fire/explosions, uses almost same images as smoke) has see through qualities that play hell with trying to isolate them with alpha channels. In both smoke and fire use black as the final color before the fade and this causes black outlines when alpha'd against a light color. Probably you need to create fire/explosions in a slightly different way to work well with alpha. But again, I have not played with this in over a year -- the workaround was render against black and turn the black into alpha with some soft edges to smooth the transition. More recently, trying to use an alpha channel with lens flares was a big problem -- this did not work at all. There was no workaround I could find except to put those lens flares in front of... where you wanted them to be in front of. Rusty

Caroline, Jay -- I'll assume that you are using the lastest version of V13.0. If you find a way to get alpha channels and particles to work can you please share this with me? I have not tried this in a while however, to my knowledge this has never worked. If this has changed or there is a work around I'd sure like to know. Thanks, Rusty

Parts is parts... But when you find you can't... You can alway cheat... ... transplant! Go to your local AM CD and grab those models and/or the free models on the net... Load them up, turn them around, bend them over and find yourself the perfect butt for your character... Then... cut it out... copy... go to your model... paste... scale it, and sew er in! Generally the butts on my models come out okay until I rig the model and I need it to squat... then... HA! Strange things happen! Anyway, good luck. Rusty Edit: Do you really see the camera doing that?

Andy, This is one of my favorite topics, much of what I do spilling over from my programming days. I looked for previous posts I’ve made on this subject but could not find them so here I go again. Leo presents a very good simple workable file structure which will serve you well for smaller, non-collaborated projects. Beyond Leo’s folder structure (which is in fact an abbreviated version of what I use), you have some other things you might wish to consider depending on how far you wish to go… Standard Folder Structures and Files I have a standard project folder structure much like Leo. It is called ‘StandardizedProjectStructure003’ (003 is the version). When I start a new project I simple copy this to my wip directory renaming it the project’s name. The project folders I use are: Actions/ Audio/ Composite/ Correspondance/ Distribution/ Maps/ Materials/ Models/ StoryBoard/ RAD/ Stills/ Sets/ Reference/ Renders/ Screen Tests/ Scenes/ Scoring/ /ProjectPlanning.mpp /ProjectPlanning.xls /RenderSchedule.xls The structure also contains standard management files (like the last 3 above) and, there are a few sub-foldes you can’t see (i.e. Audio/ -- Sounds, Dialog, MusicScores). One thing not shown is Cache which holds large files (Renders, tests, etc.) I would not wish to include in the nightly backups or internet transfers to people helping me. I also have very similar folder/file structures for Models, Sets and Scenes. These live under their associated folders (and also in my central resource pool explained later). Note that most of the work is done under the Scenes folder where each scene has a standard folder of its own. This above structure was posted on my site and I will try to find the URL if you are interested. Resource Management You will find as you go forward that you quickly acquire many models, materials, images, sets, sounds, etc. Many people as well as myself create a resource pool – simply a single place where you keep and organize models, images, materials, sounds, chors, sets and so on. AM has a library function and I use this to front end my resource pool. The AM CD as well as the Extra-CD are examples of resource pools. Centralized or Distributed (aka Self Containment) Resource Usage If you have a resource pool you have three choices on how to use it. Each has Pros and Cons. 1. Centralized (in which case you have a ‘Central Resource Pool’ 2. Distributed (aka Self Containment – I use this) 3. A little of both Centralized Here you pull models, materials, images, etc into the AM project directly from your resource pool. Pros: Saves disk by preventing file duplication. When new resources are created for project the are created in the resource pool. Cons: You must be careful if you customize not to overwrite original files thereby losing them; It is harder to send part of the project to others; It is harder to keep a valid backup over time; If the resource pool is moved, it will affect the projects. Distributed (aka Self Containment) Here you copy everything used in a project or a model or a scene to the corresponding folder (each element has everything it needs within its folder, aka it is ‘Self Contained’). Pros: Project level resource customization is transparent to the resource pool; Projects well as project elements (i.e scenes and models) are complete units easy to transfer to helpers and backups; Projects are independent of the resource pool. Cons: Uses more disk; New resources created in project need to be collected and organized into the resource pool. File Naming Standards Do yourself and favor and document and use these. I do not think that what you use matters too much these days; almost all OSs allow spaces, long names, mixed lower and upper case and long extensions. However it will help you if you always know what format filenames are in. Because I established my standard years ago, I use a standard that reflects older file naming restrictions that I mentioned above – I just don’t want to change it now. Mine is: [000_]ADiscriptiveNameLikeThis[_000].xxx Where: [000_] = Optional number to force file sorting order ADiscriptiveNameLikeThis = Simply a descriptive name with no spaces. [_000] = Optional file version number for files that change (strongly recommend having this!!) .XXX = Windows file extension. That I think is that! Oh, I checked my site and the zip file of my standard folder structure was removed. If anyone is interested I’ll be happy to put it back out there. Hope this helps, Rusty Edit: I see that while I was putting this together, several other people responded. Sorry for any duplication. Edit2: In the Maps folder (which is all images except 'reference' images which are in reference) are sub-folders to orgainize these. In these folders, where the images live, there is a wip folder which contains the large PS originals. This folder, as well as the Reference, Stills, Screen Tests and other folders that hold large files that are not directly used in the animation project and, that I do not want to backup or send via the internet to helpers -- these are replaced with links to the file wihch is moved to a folder outside the Project folder called Archive. This works well.

Dear Chrury, I'm assuming you will want to animate this face... if I am wrong, please ignore the rest of this post... 'cause I hate to be Captain Bringdown especially on Christmas Eve! This looks just like my first attempts and I wish someone had told me before I textured and rigged! But perhaps it is salvageable… and I put more effort into the reply fishing up examples.  IMHO your face ‘as is’ is not animate-able or, lets say... you will have a very hard time creating facial expressions that look good. Now I'm just looking at the splines and trying to image how it would work -- and I just can't see it. The splines are placed wrong. You need a few concentric circles surrounding the eyes and mouth so they can… close, open and move around a bit.. and, also splines that follow the muscles and creases of the side-nose, mouth and cheeks. My own personal lupus test for ‘are-my-face-splines-going-to-animate-well' is: 'Can I easily make the face do this': (I call it the face scrunch) (Example from me… mostly using Bill Young’s method from CD) (Example face from Shaun Freeman – I put the ‘scrunch’ together quickly but you get the picture) (Examples from Bill Young – Anzovin Studios) (Pretty cool map for spline placement to muscle/creases from “How to Model a Face” CD B. Young) Notice in all the circular patterns around the eyes and mouth and how they come down from the nose and into the cheeks and side of mouth. Also the brows and forhead are built to animate. So maybe study your splines, plan out how to improve them then break ‘em and salvage! I hope this helps! Merry Christmas! Rusty Edit: I see you've improved the splines a bit and there have been more posts since I started constructing this one. Take into account.

Yes, that's it. Awesome tut! Thanks!

Novel idea! Very cool! The skin that needs to stretch between the corners of the outer month -- maybe 5 months ago I had a similar rigging challenge and remembered a tutorial on that very thing -- some bird-like dinosaur (I can't remember the name of it) had skin stretching between its digits in the wings. This tut offered a awesomely tricky but most elegant solution which works great and made my life a whole lot easier. Off the top of my head I can't remember who did it or where it can be found (maybe someone else?) but if you need it, I can check my notes – dig up the info. Cheers, Rusty

No offesives, no worries, all is good.

Is 'futurama' a TV show? I don't watch TV believe it or not -- use to 20 years ago but now the thought of sitting in front of a box for hours doing absolutely nothing (not moving, not thinking, only blinking) listening to recorded laughter so you know what's funny... nope, not for me. I use to watch Star Trek NG and occasionally my wife tells me about a Discovery documentary that I'll watch but that's it. Maybe a rented movie once a month when I need a break. But I digress. Sorry don't know what shaders you are referring to. Hopefully someone else will. There is so much to learn in AM like all the shaders. I too used Max -- XSI as well (used on college) -- before discovering AM. Not sure I would ever go back to polygonal based programs. There was a lot of good stuff in that tut but with no audio these are wasted. Like always building only one half of any symmetrical object, how to cut a model in half without leaving all those pesky cross splines, how to use the deformation box for more then just deformation and other little goodies. Next time. I've seen so many video tuts that do things the long way instead of using ways that are much faster or better I've been seriously thinking about putting together a tut. Perhaps these people have a reason for doing things in a way that takes 60 seconds instead of an alternate way that takes 5 seconds... I don't know. Didn't mean to steal your modeling experience by doing it for you! This didn't occur to me. Its good that you want it a different way. Cheers, Rusty

Its called Windows Media Encoder and it came with the PC. Sounds like a free one but I am not sure. Rusty

Case, Last night I tested some software that might allow me to make tutorials (AM as well as others). I needed to do something so I grabbed your space pod sketch and started in. As this was my first time using the capture SW I did not try to do audio, just video. Also I was leaning what worked and what didn’t so I stumble a little at first (double clicking and some shortcut keys do not work). Finally the screen size is very large but this seems to scale down to something people with smaller screens can use. Also, I focused more on the capture program rather then modeling and use shortcut keys which can’t be seen. Still most of what I do is obvious so the video may help you and others just starting out. Its 'almost' a good modeling tutorial. It can be found here: http://www.virtualmediastudios.com/spacepod.wmv Also, the model that was created making this is attached below. It is not perfect and not complete. When you open it do a render lock. [attachmentid=21486] Please leave feedback on the video allowing that there is no audio. Cheers, Rusty PS: The video missed two steps at the end: 1. I selected the glass group and from a side view did copy/paste and moved the copy back and shrunk it a bit. Then I joined it with the glass group on the sides and then ‘added’ all of this to the ‘glass’ group and changed the attributes of this group. You’ll see all of this. 2. I created a few groups and added a few materials to these to make it look better.

coming along nicely. what will you do with it?

Case - Wow! Whooo DOCTOR! Hang a star on that one!! That's a little bit different huh!! Most excellent! Nope... didn't copy that from me! I don't have anything like that! Now your cooking! I was kidding!!! I know you wouldn't! You wouldn't have to! I'm not that good at space ships despite the fact that I've been a total space sci-fi freak for 30 years. Sad but true, the 'awesome' stuff you see there was either done by another artist helping me or, if by me, closely based on someone else's work. I'm right up front about that. I make sure to change it enough to keep it short of outright theft but I do what I got to to get there. Seriously, if I were 13 I'd have some drop dead ideas too. I'm wanting to do my own work too but I'm only 57 and so I have to work for it. LOL! The Loud Lander -- now that is classic Rusty without looking around for something existing to base it on. I'm in disparate need for a replacement of that model (want to help me out?)! Way cool! Rusty PS: Thinking about a head on collision would have stopped me from imagining that design -- when you get to my age crap like that stumps your creativity and there's no reason for it -- the glass bubble right out in front is totally cool. Anyway I can't remember seeing a design quite like that ever before. Way to go!

THAT is very cool. The shape of the head and it's reflection of the ground transform it from nice to absolutely stunning. However, the hole in the elbow joint above the head... stick a light bulb in it or something! It looks... undone. :-) Rusty Edit: Yeah... a light bulb and then call it... IDEAMAN! Seriously! Idea Man has a definite ring to it.

Hi Jason, Up with insomnia and you ask me this, LOL! Be careful what you ask for and all that… I’ve been ‘playing’ with stuff like this (‘flying logos’ and mechanical modeling) since 1992. That said, I am self taught in the ‘design’ area -- I am (or was before I retired in 2001) a software engineer – but I did seriously study ‘design’ reading books and such. In other words, take anything I say with a grain of salt. People properly trained in design (and that’s what we are talking about here) can leave me in a cloud of dust (I hired an expert to design my site though I did the logo). Anyway, at the end of the day, it’s the client’s opinion that counts though as a design professional it’s our job to steer him or her away from improperness and/or a design that is dated. I will assume that this is a new logo and color scheme not intended to stem or migrate from any previous design. That said, if the client had another design that they used for any length of time, abrupt departure from this could hurt his business in many ways (tossing an identity is always risky not to mention replacing stationary, cards and such). A lot of what I will offer is of course just personal taste. It’s clean, moves very well and the highlights, shadows, lighting and overall design are not ‘overdone’ and reasonably safe. It is, by design, slightly off balance as the center oval is not centered in the rotating ring and this, as a general rule, can be chancy as it can leave the viewer slightly off balance. Beyond that, ‘facing forward’ it would work well as a stationary design for stationary, cards and such and also silhouetted for a watermark or icon. Facing ‘backwards’ it does not fare so well nor look so good IMHO. The lighting is good and the beveling works well. It gives no clue as to what the client does but this can be okay. The color scheme is ‘safe’ as well as good – a few years ago red ‘was in’ but I’m not sure about now. There are too many identical TFDs for my taste – making either the ring or center-oval TFD a cutout would be more to my likening. For myself, it is too plain – I like complex but that’s just me. Making the ring semi-transparent (a grid or glass) whose shadow or altered light would fall on the oval and, allow the oval to be centered within the ring would be my own inclination. I don’t like when the center logo shows it’s back to you – blink and that part becomes a red oval. You should visit http://www.coolhomepages.com/newstatic/Log...er&HS23=Log If you have not done so already – it is an excellent resource and shows you what’s ‘in’ and what’s ‘dated’. I hope this helps you. Cheers, Rusty PS: It’s late. Plz excuse any typos.

Will i be able to make the whole city like this?! Yes, no, maybe so. This takes one building model and copies it, each time it does this it can place it based on the location of the last model and size it (on X, Y and/or Z) based on the last model. I would say probably not by itself. A combination of all the things I mentioned or at least some of them would be needed but again, 'what' depends on the specifics of what you want. What you need to do is take one or two evenings and learn and experiment with the tools and plug-ins at your have to work with. Go to the tutorial area of the forum and locate available tutorials on the duplication wazard and others I mentioned (there are many many others that could help). Rodney and others have made your life easy by creating lists with links of what is available and these are pinned to the top of the tutorial forum area -- look at the 'Tech Talk Series'; it has a great video on the dup wizard. I took two weeks (8 hours a day... I'm retired) and I aquired and learned and experimented with each and every plug-in available for A:M. Sooner or later you need to do something like this. I just went to my 'reference library' folder where I collect documentation on everything -- it is orgainized alphibetically so I just selected all the plug-in reference and zipped it for you. It looks like 55 plug-ins - some newer ones may be left out. Most are free, some cost between $10 and $30. There are lots of these that could assist in building a city in one way or another (scatter, extrude, bitmaps ). Here you go. [attachmentid=21426] All this effort is my good deed for the week, LOL, I must now get back to my own work before sleep takes me out! Take the ball and run with it! Good Luck, Rusty

Dear Case, I’ve had to build a few cities or, city blocks, areas, etc. There are some options for saving time depending on this and that (how original you want to be, how detailed, how realistic, etc.). 1. There are A:M models available that you can use; buildings, blocks, even a city if memory serves. 2. Also you can go to places like www.3dcafe.com and get more models that can be imported as props and used. 3. There is the duplication wizard and the Extrude plug-in that can duplicate, space out the location and juggle the size. You can get tricky and inter-space these with other buildings. 4. Also, ‘perhaps’ you can also do things with expressions to take one building and automatically vary the location, size, aspect ratios and maybe even the texturing. In XSI I once created a building and did this very effectively. I have not tried it in A:M but it seems like you could. 5. Images you can get from goggles image search can be used – just cut them out, add an alpha map and use as a cookie cut decal on a patch or use on a layer (there is a limit to how many layers you can use). This can look great and renders really fast. 6. Also, I am using building images with hair systems to create a massive city which I then destroy. In the link below I show and tell -- there are links to a ‘proof of concept’ test I did and also to a thread where I spelled out how this was done. Note that his method only gives you something that can be used at a distance and with motion blur (or depth of field)… close ups would probably not work so well as it lacks detail. S:\Virtualmedia\WIP\BookTrailers\01 SciFi\SpiralSlayer\SpiralSlayerSite\wip\effects\blastcity\index.html All the above can be mixed and inter-spaced. So there are options to painstakingly modeling each structure. Some suggestions… • Remember that buildings in the background will mostly covered… some times only the roof shows. • I modeled building parts – walls, windows, stone work, doors, etc. – so that I could re-use these over and over, mixing them together and/or rescaling to create new buildings. This builds reusable model libraries for future work. • I found that, depending on what you are doing, sometimes it is best to model the streets/sidewalks/blocks first. What you've done so far looks great! I hope this helps, Rusty