NancyGormezano

Very nice! - very christmas tree/ holidayish type thing

I really don't know why - however - I believe I have noticed (in the past) that sometimes after playing with the font wizard & ai wizard - that the ai wizard stops working - I would suggest closing A:M, and restarting it - then try it with a clean new empty model ... what version & platform (pc, mac) are you using? Also - sometimes depending on where (x,y loc) the vectors in the ai file are - you might not actually be viewing the model if A:M really has created something with it. In the model window, do a shift + z to zoom in to where it might have been created

Nice little scene you have going. Very good for a first wip - are you going to animate it? One thing that seems a bit off is the scene thru the window - the perspective appears funny with respect to the ground plane - so that it more resembles a hanging painting. It will be less odd when you get the frame around the window - but I suspect it might still seem off.

- very nice - I guess the little worker guy leaves little dots wherever he goes - so he can find his way back to his desk . Is this the lines of communication in this virtual newsletter producing office ? I just noticed your avatar matching the illustration - I assume everyone in your company has to dress to match. KIDDING - looks great - Still guessing as to what this software does.

A:M has a font wizard for taking text and creating a 3d model. To start - In your model window - Right click (PC) - Select Plug-Ins, Wizard, Font. Type the text into window - choose the font you want to use, use the options as set - say ok if you get some silly message warning about clearances - and Voila! You can play with the various settings - after you see what you get with the default settings. If your company logo is a special font - or special design, A:M also has an AI (adobe illustrator) wizard, that takes an ai file and creates a 3d model. Same thing - except rt click - select plugins, wizards, AI - then browse for the file in ai format (I believe has to be ai ver 8 or less).

Very, very cute - but he's missing his whiskers!

Seconded. Thanks to both of you. Actually I'm not trying to hide them with filters. I'm trying to get rid of the obvious CG look (which is not appealing to me) by smushing, blurring, obscuring in any way that looks good (to me). I've never been a purist when it comes to media. The works that I use to sell in galleries were Mixed Media on Paper - I would start with full pigmented watercolors, then enhance (if needed) with pastel lines, oil pastel, ink, torn paper, acrylic - anything I thought that would work. The imagery would be abstractions combined with elements that were definitely recognizable (mainly wild crazy loveable fancifully colored animals). None of my stuff had all hard lines - it would be a mixture of smush & blend with just enough definition, an iterative process between media. They were obviously irreproducible - and would fly off the walls, along with my soul. I got tired of selling my soul. I wasn't charging what they were worth (to me). I'm just trying to do the same process with computer. For my own purposes, I would even print these works out - mush em up with natural media - scan back in - and reuse in CG - back & forth, back & forth. I really want to make an animation that would look like animated smushy 3D artwork I don't enter these contests to win. I enter just to challenge myself (and cause Martin's such a nag loaded with bribes of Animate CD's)

he's a cutey hoooman frogman insect pale lime/olive green alien - obviously waiting for the next train. (10 months later?) I like him.

ok - I relooked - and I'm not as good as you in being precise as what is bothering me - but I believe in the first sentence the Pick up cafe, driver, stop right here - looks a little mushy and off - even tho he's supposed to be a slurry drunk - in actuality it sounds like he's articulating more pronounced than animated. Also maybe even when he says Absolutely - might like to see it more Ab - solutely. And like I said - I dun no wha I taking bout. ACK - I just noticed this is in the showcase thread - so if you weren't looking for critique - I apologize - because I REALLY love it.

love the acting style - fabulous - wouldn't change a thing in body movements - excellent - fun - fluid - imaginative I think some of the lip sync could be made stronger - sometimes I had the feeling that it was out-of-sync. Would have liked to have seen more pronounced empathsis on some of the consonants. I will have a relook & see if I can pinpoint what I'm talking about (I never know what I'm talking about)

I see no difference between using a glass filter or a sumi stroke or an out of focus or a tone shift or a contrast/brightness post-processing shift. Filters is filters. And I don't buy - well, I could have done it in A:M but it was easier to do in photoshop or painter - hell - every (still) image I do I could have done easier in something else & painted faster - like in 10-15 minutes. I see nothing wrong with having an IMAGE contest - where it's the resultant image that's being judged - as long as A:M was used in the process somewhere. I would think the hard & fast rule would be NO OTHER 3d program can be used in the making of the image. That lets out all those "other program" imported props. But this is not my image contest to set the rules, and I definitely don't want anything to be done about the results of this one.

Darklimit - thanks for posting When I first started composing "Daytime Planet Shinola" (before the sun set & the Busy Bee Cows came out to play) - I had a very simple composition that I ran thru a Glass Distortion Filter - that I really liked the effect - looked like runny soft gooey oils, REALLY got rid of the hard edges, much more painterly (2nd image). I kept trying to achieve a similar effect with A:M - using glass in front of the camera - with refraction - but just couldn't control it - so I kept throwing elements into the scene so that lots of reflections would start to add interest to the composition. I tried soft reflections, which took an inordinate amount of render time for a result that was nowhere near what I wanted. I also ran that final composition thru the glass filter in Painter - but by that time there was too much in the scene for that to work. I would have probably taken that final image and worked with it in Painter - distorting it by hand (no filter) to make it look more like hand painted natural media, so that I could even more control the amount of smush, and where the smush was. So - it was questionable to me, if using post processing was allowed. And if it is - How much is too much ?

Thanks Jim - I'm sure your image would have won even without the DreamyPhoto - and yes the blur, bloom, tinting and mixing of the resultant images with the original (using opacity) probably could have been done in composite. I haven't really played with composite - so I'm guessing. I am always looking for a way to soften & abstract images. I had tried modifying mine using a glass distortion filter in Painter, loved the results - and had tried to figure out how to do the same in A:M using refraction - but it just didn't get the same results & it was too difficult to control and figure out for me. Given how Marcel is writing a post plugin filter (sumi strokes) - I am hopeful this is opening up more artsy filter writing. HINT HINT you plug-in writers! Thanks & Congrats again.

Respond with reply. 2 ways to reply: reply to a specific posting in this thread (reply button at the bottom of the specific reply you are replying to) or just add a new reply to the thread (use add reply button at the top or bottom of thread). DON'T do a new topic. For your updates in images & progress - the SOP - is to keep posting a new reply (in this thread) with a new image. Then the last postings reflect the current status. However you can also choose to maintain the latest image(s) in your first posting. It's your choice. AND the house is absolutely looking terrific!

I like the style of the illustration - but I wonder about the software ? Makes me sad to see these poor little worker bees in a office cage being oogled thru the magnifying window, having to sit facing forward whilst the evil nasty boss behind them, in his own partition, is watching their every movement. Brings back those straight jacket memories I have of working for government contractors.

Neat idea - One thing I might suggest, if you are reworking it - is to have the drop be "more drop shape" as it first emerges from the faucet - then transform into the tank shape as it "hits" the perceived ground. Your company should get a kick out of this.

I just googled all those people - fascinating works! I, obviously the plebeian, have just been educated. Thanks. They don't let me out any more.

I love this concept - you've done a great job - I too have always wanted to have my animations look like stop motion (but have never really succeeded). This is looking terrific. I don't know any of these people you speak of. I'm probably from a different generation - will have to google.

Depending on what you really mean by removing a decal - there are a couple of different ways 1) if you just want to remove a decal from some patches (but not from all patches that have the decal) - select the group of patches, right click - choose "remove decals from group" - then in the dialog box choose the decal (and stamp) you want to remove & click remove 2) if you have applied the decal using multiple stamps - and you want to remove just 1 stamp - go to the decal container - expand the container (click on the +) , then click on + of the stamps container - select the stamp you want to go - hit delete (or rt click & choose delete) 3) or if you want to delete all instances of the decal - select the decal container & hit delete (or rt click -choose delete)

That's a fabulous clip Paul!. Love the setting, lighting, animation - Looks like a great project. I've never really experienced the hair stretching like that when rendering. Does it happen consistently? I have found that oddly enough sometimes I have to run the real-time playback first thruout the sequence before rendering it, in order to not get artifacts in the render.

My, my John. I marvel at how daintily she glides as if loaded with the finest grade of Porktroleum. We have been the Busy Bee Cow, haven't weeee? Three big Oink-a-roonies to you. I do suppose you're still designing some tasteful haut-couture ensemble for this Vision-in-Pink Enchantress. Nothing too provocative I would imagine, of course.

terrific looking interpretation ! very original. (new mirrorsplines? - I 'll have to see what that's about)

He looks really great - I like his fluffy hair, big tuft and all and also think he could do with some flirty eyelashes.

fun fun fun snow effect ! very good (how'd ya do it ? - do tell). I like that some flakes appear blurred at the end, as well. The one thing that seems off to me is the santa sleigh appears too soon - love the pattering of raindeer footsteps & the tracks being left - I just feel like santa should appear after she says "and what to my eyes should appear but eight tiny raindeer", then the patter patter patter and then very quickly the sleigh is seen up in the air passing back by - Could be funnier, and more surprising.

Ok makes me laugh - good idea for a thought balloon - but it has sooooo many other uses - I love the effect - BUT Yikes! I don't wanna know what you were thinking...