NancyGormezano

That looks terrific

And also - watch Holmes' video rigging tuts (AMFilms?) - part 1, geometry bones, Part 2 is the control rig part

Oh yes! that does look terrific! - but unless it's used as a roto, could be too long for rendering? EDIT: 23 secs is impressive - is that with fakeao?

Here's the project (ver 16) I've played with the hair emitter properties (transparency, thickness, density, transparency, bow, length, emitter image, etc), the surface color of the hair group, as well as the hair grooming (this one is probably too smooth for you). You can turn off spec (in Rim light), or dial down the spec in emitter prop. I only have RIM, and FILL lights active. I also used FakeAO (pay version) post effect - so my settings may not work for you hairshaft3lesswilder2.zip

give me a sec...I'm hunting it down

Cookie cuts have been around longer than multi-pass so they ought to work. Someone should make an AMReport if it hasn't been done for V16 yet. I did awhile ago: report #5974

Cookie cut decals also have a problem when rendered without multi-pass. Unfortunately the default cho is set for Multi = OFF.

Super GOO to the rescue! Hair shaft under high magnification. Had to try using hair material - hair settings - (sprite surface- 50% transparent, 100% spec, combing differently for different looks)

terrific character!

You are confusing front projection and image based lighting. They are separate things. What you have described in the wiki is NOT image based lighting. What you have described is "front projection of the camera rotoscope" - ie. using the camera rotoscope projected on those models that you wish to appear white (overrides the textures). You could use any image. The trick for getting the "clay look" with already textured models is in using a "white image" front projected onto the model. If you want to do "Image Based Lighting", you would have to select the Global Ambiance type to be Image Based Lighting, and then select an image to use as an "environment map", like having multicolored light sources. (In all examples, there is 1 white klieg light as well, some ambient intensity and 0% Ambient occlusion) In my 1st example I'm using IBL with an abstract image to determine the ambient lighting (AI=100%, AO=0%). The sphere has surface color=white, the IBL lighting is what causes it to appear multicolored. I also have a green gradient camera rotoscope front projected on the ground plane. I also made ground flat shaded to show the shadow of the klieg light. On the 2nd image, I used an all white rotoscope front projected onto the ground, but left the IBL environment image the same as first. In 3rd image, I changed the IBL image to a green gradient image (left camera rotoscope white) In 4th image - just to be complete, I made sphere front projected (with white camera roto), changed characteristics of the rim light (intensity, shadow softness) and changed IBL environment map to white, changed ambient intensity = 50%. NOTE: There is problem when changing the environment map for IBL, when experimenting to see the different effects. I find that toggling Ambient occlusion amount (even if not using AO), is one way to get the change to register. For eg if AO=0, I change it to 1, then back to 0, and the new environment map will take effect. If you don't do this you won't see a change when rendering (even to a file)

My way as well. But I prefer to render to an image sequence of stills (jpg, png, tga) and have QT pro assemble into a mov, especially if doing longer sequences.

wow! that is quite amazing and dizzifying!

I again found that if I used a DB in an action that at first the DB would be visible in all modes in the chor. If I saved the chor, then started a new project and re-imported chor then DB would not be visible in shaded mode in the chor, but would be visible in shaded/wireframe or wireframe mode (as desired) However I then found if I selected the DB in the chor pws - it would again be hard to make it go away in any mode. However, closing the chor window, and reopening, changing to shaded, made it go away I think if the "refresh" or "re-init" problem was fixed, it could do the trick. But of course a visibility property would be nice. I also think the distort box work flow is a little screwy to deal with. That is where I would prefer to see mods, if any were to be done.

Uhhh...now I'm confused...I find that if I am in shaded view mode in the chor, and the model has DB's (controlled via pose sliders), then the DB doesn't show. However if I am in shaded/wireframe, or wireframe then the DB's will show (as expected). I don't know if that helps you. So have you saved your model, saved your chor, and then started new project and re-imported your chor? Not sure if that's your problem.

Nice effect!

Hmmm...I am assuming you have added the DB's to the chor, and NOT the model(s)? If so then I'm guessing that you might be out of luck, & will have to see the DB's, even if you're done with distorting and unfortunately it is messy. I found I had slightly more control if I added the DB to the model via a relationship, and then made the pose slider control the cp's of the DB. Tricky stuff.

I am not talking about the temporary DB used in modeling When I first added/created a permanent distortion box via a relationship to a model, it showed up in the model window, in shaded view, in modeling mode, as well as in bones mode. It would not go away from modeling window, until I saved the model, started new project, and brought the model back in. I suspect Maka might have been running into the same "funny" as I. If one makes changes, and is experimenting with permanent DB's in actions, relationships, chors, one runs into many "funnies". It's not all smooth sailing.

If you are referring to turning off the visibility of a distortion box that is part of the model via a relationship/pose, I have noticed that I can not turn off the visibility in the model window, right after creating the relationship. However, I noticed if I then save the model, and start a new project and bring model back in, then the DB is no longer visible in model window (as desired). Seems to be a refresh? issue, perhaps

This looks to be more useful to animate, as well as makes it easier to reset the distortion. Probably only need to assign the "middle" cp's of the DB to bones (top, right, left, front, back, bottom) EDIT: What I have also found is that one doesn't have to use the original action that was used to create the original DB action object. It appears once a DB has been created, one can drag the DB to any chor action and animate the DB bones.

EXCELLENT advice for any creative effort! It is very rare that the first idea is ever the best idea. The first idea is usually the easiest, most obvious, most common, the most cliché.

unclick the snap manipulator to grid icon

yayy! - looks great!

To create an explodable version of any model - right click on the model in PWS/plug-ins/wizards/explode Rebuildmodel A dialog box will come up - I just left it at default settings. Plug-in will create an entirely new version of the model which will contain a sequence of groups named Explode_nnnn, plus will also assign a bone to each new group. I'm guessing that this explodable model is then used with Newton. I believe Johnl3d has done many tinkertests with it. I tested it on a complicated model and it took quite a bit of time to create the new model, and consumed mucho memory. I thought it had hung - but eventually it finished. Probably best to try it out on a simpler model to start, just to get the feel of how it works.

IN addition if your patches belong to multiple groups - then select the patches, right click, and select "remove from groups" - the list of groups to which this patch set belongs will appear, and you can choose from which groups you wish to remove. Similarly - you can also choose to selectively remove decals (and individual stamps) from patches - by right clicking on the selected group and choosing "remove decals". A list of all the decals/stamps that are applied to this patch will appear.

I'm not sure I am understanding what you mean by matching the "appearance between the model and the photo is crucial". If the final product is to be a still image (or animation) rendered in a chor where the camera doesn't move and the photograph is used as a rotoscope (background image) which contains the image of the mountain top, then you can probably make the top of the mountain model a "Front projected model" (shortcut to top mountain model/options/front projected target =ON). If this is not what you want or mean then can you post the photo that you are trying to match (as a jpg) - and show us where the mountain top is in the photo, and what you mean by "match"?