NancyGormezano

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?

Awwwww...he's a cutey!

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!

Hmmm...Very Interesting...Yes - it works for me now...but I wonder what changed in 15g to have this show up (same rig wasn't a problem in previous versions)... Yay David!

path: SO/Data/Actors/Trot/Trot.mdl but in case you don't have SO database - here is trot model - no decals, materials TrotNOdecals.mdl

The test I did in 15g: start new default chor with Trot only (rigged in 15e?) - can select trot, can switch between director/chor mode & skeletal mode - however eventually it seems that at some point (very quickly) can not switch modes in chor on that model by selecting trot in chor window, nor in pws - try it I think it's a selection type thing - maybe related to new filtering change in 15g? - maybe related to new compensation default change in 15g ? However if add tinwoodman (rigged in 13s,t) to same chor in 15g with trot - can switch modes between director and skeletal on tinwoodman, but something is still funny with trot Both models work as should in 15e chors - can switch between skeletal and director mode

I haven't come across a problem like that...throw it at me and I'll see if I can figure it out, Steve. It's a problem with 15g - the models with the squetch rig used in Tinwoodman work in 15g, the ones with the new squetch (used in Scarecrow) don't work in 15g (I believe lite rig has same problem, not sure)...they all work in ver 15 e,f...Perhaps it is related to which version of A:M the model got rigged?

Paul - Your characters are terrific! hmmm...this looks familiar - Are you also using the skin shader? I remember noticing similar anomalies with the skin shader when working on Princess Gloria for Scarecrow of Oz - I can't remember if it was also due to using the skin shader, with a fake rimlight material, or doing multipass rendering, or doing final AA (no multipass). Try temporarily removing the skin shader to isolate the problem maybe?? And go from there.

heh heh...I think you misunderstood Robcat - and he misunderstood you (i.e. - It seems to me you both seem to agree) AND coincidently - in the process of finally getting around to installing 15g - I was just downloading the 15g versions of Steffans plug-ins (an absolutely amazingly helpful collection) - I came across the "smooth" plug-in - I haven't tried it - but it looks like it might be very useful in the decreasing creases quest.

try the porcelaine material? (the lazy people way) edit:bad idea - not included with 15, and produces anomalies sometimes

Muhair is deliberately shiny and I like the look that you have going there...(but I of course would make the spec color purple) However - if you want to tone down the specularity of muhair - then set the primary strength to hair material/hair emitter/surface/specular render shader=Muhair/primary strength=50%

Alain Desrochers - aka alweb

Caroline wrote a plug-in called Dress Me awhile back that was for that purpose - essentially it applies translate and orient like constraints on the clothing model bones to the same named bones of the base model. I think however - you will find that you might have to refine the geometry of the base model so that it doesn't stick out in certain situations.

Elegant! Very clever. Thank you once again for presenting a generalized solution. I have just recently did an general exercise for myself following your fabulous tutorial on "Modeling a character with A:M". One of the things, that I have always struggled with when modeling a character, was having to re-figure the spline layout. Especially on the face. Your generalized methods are brilliant! . I had a little trouble with some of the language - but the screen capture illustrations are excellent. It's wonderful that your delightful artistic style comes thru as well, even with a general solution. Thank you so much - I will be using your method from now on, and I no longer have to think!