ZachBG

Just curious, what's the length of this one, and what codec did you use? Is it possible to put up a smaller version? Your character looks evocative, but your site is very slow (I'm downloading the clip now at about .8K/second). (I feel your pain... once when I released a short film all the feedback I got at first was "Put it on a faster server!") Zach

Conrad, you stole my avatar, damn you! Could you post a wireframe? It's tough to offer modeling advice otherwise. In general (and I am _not_ a modeler, so take my advice with a grain of salt) it's best to build with the holes in mind rather than stitching them in later--this could come around to bite you with the eyes (unless you're going for a cartoony look with separate eyes) as well as the mouth. You might need to delete the bottom of the head and rebuild it... Zach

The results for the Internet Ray-Tracing Competition (animation round) just came out. http://www.irtc.org/anims/2003-10-15.html I'm working on a DV-sized version (with better keyboard close-ups) and I'll let everyone know when it's done. Zach

Nice. Good character! I'll assume you already know about the foot slippage at the end. The only thing that seemed out of place to me was the jump; I don't think there was enough anticipation or sense of weight to lead into it. Just my opinion. Man, I wish I could model like that! Zach

First of all, very nice model. Second of all, no, the newest version would make it much harder--in the short run. 10.5 has a different feel than 8.5 and it can take some getting used to. In particular, smartskin is now three-dimensional, but you can use it to drive mesh, bones, almost anything. In the long run, I think it _would_ be easier--or at least you'd have more options. For instance, you could use a distort box, smartskin, traditional fan bones, control point weights... Hope this helps; I know it's kind of vague. Zach

Beautiful! Zach

With all this amazing BMW work going on, I'm starting to think BMW should sponsor A:M or something! Zach

Not on a Mac, you can't... Zach

By all means upgrade at Christmas... if you check with steve@hash.com and make sure you're getting the 2004 CD! If not, you should wait for a few days until it comes out... traditionally the first of the year. ****This post has not been checked for misinformation****

Uh... lighting? Not sure exactly what you mean. Still, he looks good to me; plenty of character, and his mouth reminds me of Aardman Animation. Zach (Zachs unite! Even if you do spell it "Zack.")

I would love to see a wireframe of these guys! Zach

Cool! Another quick and easy way to do this is turn OFF the "define relationship" button, then apply your constraints pose, then turn the button back ON to define your SmartSkin. Same thing, different method, and because "define relationship" was off, the pose won't be added into the SmartSkin. Zach

Just curious... are you planning on major mouth animation? The splinage seems pretty minimal for that if you're planning for that... Zach

The kid looks much more like a kid now. (Watch, you're gonna say that you didn't change him at all.) Nice work! Very distinctive but still aesthetically pleasing. Zach

In 10.5, you want to choose "Show more than drivers" on the choreography shortcut, then look down in the Decal properties and change the Frame value over time. You can then change the end method on the resulting driver just like you would on anything else. Just FYI. What you have works fine, of course. Zach

Thanks for everyone's comments! In an alternative universe, where I can hold down a job, it might be for a client. I guess you could call it for practice, but there is a secret ulterior motive... more later. I think you'll need to send Steve Sappington a case of beer, or at least email him. Zach

Just a quick run cycle. Very quick, in fact. (Picture musical accompaniment by pots and pans.) Comments always welcome. http://www.hash.com/users/zachbg/abox.html Thanks, all. Zach

That was frippin' fantastic. I don't know if it's a goal to which you aspire, but I wouldn't have been able to tell it was rendered by a computer. Nice work.