NancyGormezano

Your project did NOT have any Material Effector OBJECTS in it. I created one, changed it's shape to box, created a checkered material, dragged it to the effector object, dragged effector object to the chor, placed it around your modeled objects so that it would intersect. materialeffector.prj

yeah I believe I found that the effector sometimes acted "flakily" - and I believe that some shapes of the effector work better than others (not sure) - I think if you change properties of the effector to test - you have to delete it from the chor and re-add it (again, not sure) What shape of effector did you use? - try box maybe? (can't remember which one worked best) I believe Master Tinky-John uses effectors all the time to get his crazy stuff - take a look at some of his projects. post pic and/or proj if you still can't get it to work.

I don't know much about them - but they seem to be pretty straight forward 1) rt click on objects in PWS, select NEW/Material Efector 2) create any material - drag this material to the Material effector object 3) place effector object in chor 4) ANY parts of ANY model that gets enveloped in the Material effector object will take on the material characteristics of the Material effector. You can play with shape of effector, as well as fall off properties. And you can animate the effector object

Thanks for the lighting info - very handy, neat explicit diagrams - Your final images look terrific. For oversampling - Do you mean 16-25 passes? or rendering at 16-25 times the final size (that doesn't sound right) ? Or?

Just wanted to let you know that I installed the Literig into a new model that I've just done. I may be slow - but I was sucessful. It's a very straightforward process. Your instructions are terrific - wonderfully concise & extremely clear. My only trouble was not completely understanding how the thumb rotator should be placed (relative to thumbA), but it seems to be ok... My cp weighting could still use work. And it was extremely handy and easy to use RobbieLite as a guide. Unfortunately I found out that exporting from an action wrecks some decals (changes repeat counts, & some 5 pointer patches got de-decaled). Exporting from an action also seems to delete group folders. And now I'm on to a face rig - Did you perchance get a new face rig going for Gerry ? and is it available? (ugh - just remembered there is exporting from an action, and I will have to clean up decals, etc again). I know you have a new version posted - but it sounded like you were going to do something different again. I will be investigating doing a modified, simplified face Rig using Steven Cleary's head Gizmo as well - but I'd really be interested in seeing what you've come up with, if it's available. Many thanks for doing this VERY easy to install but VERY complete rig!

Looks quite good - I like the variation for the contents of the windows For a still - the only crit is that there could be more variation of window sizes (too many horizontal long windows) - but for a fly by, one might not notice - depending on how fast the camera is moving.

I foresee another gay teapot in the making ... how quickly they forget

On the PC (don't know about mac) - you can ctrl + D to turn textures ON/OFF in real time view However if you want to preview the textures in "real time", try the render lock mode (green button) or render mode (left most blue button). Render lock with give you an onscreen progressive render (semi accurate - but quicker), whereas render mode will render on screen according to the render options you have currently set via the tools/options/rendering panel. It is a more accurate render edit: I shoulda known - Rob beat me to it.

Ooooo weeeee, lookie all them doo-dads. Yep. I'm impressed!

Of course - A:M Painter can modify any decal image that you've already applied FIRST in A:M - In 3d/A:M painter - its a good idea to rt click on the image and choose "make only this image editable". That way you won't be modifying any images that have been layered on the same patches. When you are satisfied with the modification - I always choose to EXPORT the image file to a new name (rather than SAVE) - because I don't like to destroy the original file. Then I go back into A:M and under the appropriate image in the decal container, I substitute this modified image, that I have imported into A:M. I do not use painter as a plug-in - I find there are less funnies if I use it as a stand alone app - ie, I have both A:M and painter open at the same time. And move back & forth between them (as well as having photoshop, Corel Painter open at the same time) I do not believe that group (patch) images show up in A:M Painter (almost sure) - So, then you will not be able to tell how the mods interact - you will have to view the total effect when you return to A:M. And I agree - if I had known you were going for realistic - I too would have suggested "take a photo". Geesh.

Picky picky picky... It looks like stretch denim to me (really - I'm not joking) I'm not that fussy about the stretching...Textures will stretch no matter what, when your character moves. Can't be helped. The audience shouldn't be focused on the pants, and you can always move the camera so that it's not so obvious. In your 3 egs - I would probably be happy with the decal efforts, and I would fix the patch image effort so that the images were aligned correctly - weave going in correct direction, more seamless looking HOWEVER for picky people, the goal would be to introduce noise so that no regular pattern is immediately obvious. What I sometimes do for pants (depending on the pattern) is to use a combination of patch images, with decals applied with cylindrical & planar mappings That is, using an image swatch for denim of your choice 1) first decal the entire trousers/pants using a cylindrical map - play with the repeat count - probably just increase x from 3 to whatever it needs to be to get the correct scale - seamless ON 2) next - decal the same trousers again using a planar map - set repeat count again to whatever works. Seamless ON. Sometimes it works better to apply the decal from the side, sometimes from the front. Whichever way looks better. Whichever way you do it - probably do some flattening first 3) play with the percentage mix for the 2 decals - ie try 50% for the planar decal, with 100% (or less) for cylindrical 4) If pants STILL needs noise: then take the entire pant group, right click and - add image with same denim - (you may need to set the decals to 0% while you adjust/rotate images so that you can see the patch images) Adjust repeat count if necessary. Again play with percentages of the patch images, decal images You can use the same denim image for all 3, or combine different images. You can play with adding bump as well (use same image). Here is a denim that doesn't have a distinctive weave Hope this helps some. EDIT - Just saw your new image - Looks good to me! I would be very happy .

OMG - The world is not safe anymore !!!! Yeeee hawww!!! This sounds terrific...given the great success of your "Flying Dutchman" - I have no doubt this adventure will be great fun to watch (gee - I didn't know dragonflies had round serrated gears at one time .... ) What's the # of flaps/second projected to be?

Yowzerlicious!

the vw model is not in the zip file - just upload the model - don't need the chor

Sorta like that - What might be better is to break the poem where the kid has to guess what happens next or what the rhyme might be Just off the top of my head - but should be more clever - maybe something like: page 1 - (illustration could be just of boy, dog, parents - but no indication of snow - or some hints of snow falling..or he's rolling around in the dirt to throw kid off) I'm a normal boy with normal parents They teach me things I do not know I love my normal dog named Terence, and he likes to roll around in the ... page 2 SNOW While he loves to fetch a stick for me to throw. My friend Willow is awfully funny I tease her because she's afraid of the dark She likes to pick ... (illustration might have dog with stick, rolling in snow, with willow laughing, watching? eating honey, hiding behind tree?) Page 3 HER NOSE while eating honey in the park ... ___________ The above examples aren't quite right because they break the rhythm ...so more thought would have to be put into it. But whatever it is - it should set up a pattern, of either completing the rhyme, or ending on trying to guess something unlikely, ridiculous - so that the kid gets the game, and wants to have the story read over & over & over, even tho he/she knows the answers. Another tip from the course (these things are coming back to me): The illustrations for this age group - can have sub-stories going on that aren't even mentioned in the text - eg like having a little mouse that appears watching, doing something on each page that provides even more things for the kid to notice and wonder about. (I think? page 1 always starts on the right ? That could be a myth I just made up.) As for appealing to the Mums? Bat your eyelashes...a lot. EDIT: just saw your edit2 - that would be very appealing to mums - I hadn't picked that up from your text, - so the trick perhaps to where you break your poem, should be related to having the kid get the moral lesson without them knowing, ie, has to still be fun for them. Or they have to figure out the moral lesson - ie, they have to make a choice as to what's the right thing to do? Or could forget about breaking the poem, and aim for making the rhymes something that they would love to repeat over and over

other things I learned from that weekend course, a thousand years ago (which makes me an expert, of course) - is: 1) the Mums are # 1 customer - they're the one's with the dough - it has to appeal to them first...AND 2) to appeal to both Mums & kids & everyone, is to make each page/rhyme a Page Turner - ie, leave some mystery so that one has to go to the next page to find out some resolution...something for them to discuss, and use their imagination - like in "what do you think happens next?" This might be done with starting your "rhyme" on one page and finishing it on the next, as well as starting the next rhyme/thought . Or something like that. Or even string them along for the whole book. (a la the DaVinci Code)

Not sure what the problem is? - 1) select the group - add image? for patch images 2) or select the group, hide the rest, rotate view for best application, apply decal (planar probably) ?

Myron's got it almost right, but not quite - he was probably thinking about the DECAL image which you can flip horizontally, vertically by rt clicking (EDIT: well - there's an option for it, but doesn't seem to work in my 15e) For the PATCH images: select patch(es) that you want to change (pink patch selection tool works well), right click on the patch(es), and choose "rotate images" until it looks right on that patch. Is a pain - but it works

Neat font - make sure it's not copyrighted or whatever they do to protect font designers livelihood - It's a little hard to read in that color - even tho I like the choice. Maybe make it darker? I once took a short weekend course on writing children's books - a long time ago - and I don't know if this is relevant any more - but at that time (no self publishing on the web) - childrens books had standard # of pages, because of how publishers/printers worked, and the folding of the pages and binding - I think it was 16? 32? and there were standard sizes - also due to press configurations - with standardization of laying out title pages, bookends, etc. Like I said - all this may be not relevant to createspace requirements - but maybe you can check into it - it may increase printing costs if not standardized?

I do not believe version 12 will bake dynamic constraints - but I'm not sure. If you are having problems with dynamic constraints, you might try rendering final with multipass OFF - rather than ON. It might work better (can't remember ver 12)

very nice !... and inquiring minds - John & I - still wanta know - Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the unicyclist party?

Hmmm...Are you also using any particles? (or hair?) - if so - you will have to bake particle systems after you simulate spring systems and before rendering as multipass. Particle systems and dynamic constraints seem to interfere with each other (or they use to). If you do not have particle systems - then simulate spring system should be all you need to do - it produces keys for the bones (and it automatically sets "simulate on fly" =off). So it sorta bakes it. 15e PC (did not try in 15g)

Concept sounds terrific, it grabbed me from the getgo & The snippet definitely made me laugh, and want MORE - that's the way to do it Doesn't sound like a crazy idea at all.

Oooooo...Robbie B9 Robot looks terrific ! Fun stuff...I agree with Mark tho, could be more of a shiny metallic, if you are trying to stay true to the original(s) (Robcat - that concertina rig is da bomb! - would also work well for other, simpler, bendy, squetchy arm, leg models)

He looks great!