ZachBG

Not anymore, I'll bet. I'm still making a regular human bean, too, but I thought I might as well try for those Valuable Prizes.

Any chance of a wireframe? Or would that reveal trade secrets?

Hi, Mike; thanks for the crits. That's what I need. You mean the splines that loop around the mouth, right? I think I put those there for a reason, but I can't remember what it was, so you're probably right. When it comes time for making face poses, I'll try it both ways and see what works better. Thanks!

...and here's the wireframe. (He's not actually been Copy/Flip/Attached yet, so his middle splines are peaked but they won't be in the final version.) I think he's going to have a potbelly. Hope he's taken his heart attack medication.

Added some arms--here's the render...

That was worth at least three cents, Steve! Thanks!

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.... maybe! The eyes are sort of influenced by Keith Lango's characters in his short film "Lunch," so I'll have to watch that again and see how he handles that. I had thought it would just be a head-turn thing with the eyes staying still, but I really like your suggestion, Robcat.

Thanks John!

Boy, that scarf really helps. He looks just like Tony!

What I love is that (at least in these renders) they don't look CGI. They look like clay figures, and that's awesome.

Hi, Mike: I can't quite tell, are the eyelids part of the face mesh, or separate? Also, be sure to post tests if/when you do some mouth animation. Very interested to see how those lips deform. (Hmmm... that might be a line for Vern's top 11 list...)

Wow. For a first model, you're doing incredibly well. That said (and I'm not a modeler, so here's a spare grain of salt I have laying around, no, take it, I insist), there are some things you should consider: 1. Three point patches don't render or animate very well. You should examine your topology to see if you can avoid them--change them to four- or five-pointers. 2. If you want to animate this fella, especially the mouth and the eyes, you need more circles around those areas. That is, your splines should follow the contours of the mouth all the way up to the nose and onto the cheeks, creating concentric rings all the way. Do a search in the WIP section for threads started by JTalbotski. Soon enough you'll see a wireframe that shows what I mean. (And Jim's a Mac-hed, too!) Welcome aboard!

Thanks, Mike and Ken! Hmmmm.... you may be right. Those splines loop under the chin, but I don't think they're doing anything essential there.

And a pre-Copy/Flip/Attach wireframe.

Hello, all. Well, this week's Animation Showdown got me really down, so I decided to cheer myself up with a new head. (Some people say a new brain is in order instead, but I just laugh at them. Hysterically. Until the persons in white coats come...) Anyway, here he is thus far, in a quick turnaround. He's my usual low-patch cartoony fare, but I think he might have potential for the future. I do wonder where to go with him next, as far as clothes and a body of some sort. Right now I'm leaning toward a gas station uniform, but I don't know why. Suggestions welcome. turnaroundhead_sor.mov

Nice! He looks like he's in the same mood as me...

Hey, are the "folds" in the clothes painted on, or toon-line generated? Great stuff!

Thanks, Jack! Yeah. You got a problem with that? Good point. Hmmmm... I'll try that. You may be right.

Hmmm.... I smell a TSM2 contest... That certainly was fast. /me grabs a centaur from the shelf

Thanks, guys! Ha, I was trying for that "furrowed brows" look, but when my wife saw it, she said, "Did someone punch him in the nose?" Back to the drawing board. I think you're probably right--three frames instead of two, maybe.

The subject for this Wednesday's Animation Showdown was "CHOP! Animate your character chopping down a tree or door or anything else that needs to be chopped to pieces!" Here's what I came up with in 3-4 hours of work. (I since re-lit and re-rendered, but the animation is identical.) Comments welcome! The movie is Sorenson 3, 4 seconds long and 423K. Zach Chop2.mov

Damn, but that's nice stuff. I'm curious about the edges of your characters in the last render you posted. It looks like they're ever-so-subtly back-lit and have a translucency to their edges that really helps them look like clay rather than plastic. It's wonderful--was it achieved with materials, lighting, or both? Making me wish, again, that SkyCast was available for the Mac (with all due respect for my friend Godfrey's rig...) Zach

My only comment is that without pupils, it's tough to read the emotions. Of course, that is presumably something that wouldn't be a problem in final render. That, and yes, the feet are slipping. It also looks like he's on a treadmill when he arrives at the dinosaur--like he doesn't have any farther to go, but keeps walking anyway; which, though it's a feeling I often have before my first cup of tea in the morning, might not be what you're looking for.

Thanks, Mike... I don't know, I think her reaction has humor potential as it is... just kinda like, "What the hell are they doing?" No thanks, I already know all there is to know about the Crying Game.

This is a bit from the revised fight scene for Duck Sauce; my awesome team has been helping me make a new version to send to film festivals. I've been posting stuff to the team occasionally, but I liked the way this one turned out enough to show it to the list. The context is that the rubber chicken and the rubber duck are fighting, as the rubber pigeon saves the pink flamingo from certain death. (And what a context that is!) http://www.hash.com/users/zachbg/blog/lowe...ndFight_mp4.mov You can see the original version of the whole film on A:MFilms. Comments welcome!