Simon Edmondson

This is the tipsy neighbour eyeing up the young gardener but, it also shows the problems I'm having with cp weighting. Hope to resolve that later today. Robert pointed out the woman is looking straight ahead, where a lower and more sided gaze might be better. I will correct that but will wait to correct the weighting before re rendering, as the render times are very large with all the reflections going on. any other critical feedback very welcome. simon S5D 720.mov

Thank you Robert. I shall try to be there. I've installed the Lite rig on a version of he model and definitely need some help with the weighting and or smart skin regards simon

I had a look on the Live answer thread but can't seem to see how it works, It mentions something called Google hangout but someone else mentions Skype? Could somebody clarify the setup for me please. regards simon

Rodney, Rober Thank you for your help. I shall try to get to Live answer time on Saturday. I think CST is the same as Illinois time (?) which is 6 hours behind us in the UK. I'll have a bash at installing the 2001 rig in the meantime, while a long render goes through. regards simon

Rodney, `Steve, Robert Thanks for your help. Much appreciated. Are the 2001 and or Lite rigs available on the extras DVD or where can I get them ? I bought the TSM when it was first introduced and still have it on backup somewhere but, until I get a PC ( possibly courtesy of my brothers at Easter ) its not currently an option. I did have a dual boot Macbookpro I was given by a friend but, in a fit of madness i seem to have lost the window option and, to add insult to injury, the flash drive I'd backed it up to has gone missing as well. Hey ho. The reason for the mesh 'mess' was that ( to save time) I had re used the bodies, with adaptations, and put new heads and hands on them. I think less rush and more care for the future. regards simon

Rodney Thank you. No, I've not used smartskinning. I was advised in the past that cp weighting was the better way to go. Perhaps I should try that instead, or as well ? Regards simon

Rodney Thank you for your reply. As you have spotted modeling is not an area I'm comfortable with. The parts that are giving me the most trouble are the backside at the top of the legs, the top of the thighs at the front and the shoulders/arms areas. I did wonder if I could get away with less splines in the hips/leg areas? I shall have a look. The 2008 rig is a complex thing, I wonder if I should try something simpler? regards simon

I'm working with the 2008 rig in V17 ( although also use V18 ) and I'm having real trouble getting the cp weighting done correctly. Whatever I seem to do goes wrong after a short period, leading to all sorts of distortions and bulges. Is there a table anywhere which suggests suitable settings ? or, Can I pay someone to do a figure for me so I can use that as template to setup the other figures ? Its driving me crackers. simon Grandson Shirted 01.mdl

Doris arriving on her bike. Colour version. Trying to get the tipsy neighbour done tomorrow. Critical comment very welcome. simon S5.mov

Two slightly different versions of the same scene. 001 has an all toon figure in the foreground, 002 has toon flesh over a 'normal' dress. Any preferences ? Mine is towards the second but very happy to hear other views ? Hope to get the animated version done tomorrow.

Rodney Thank you very much for your feedback and encouragement. Much appreciated. I'm happy with all feedback, I get a bit involved and start to lose perspective so, any comments or suggestions will help against that. I Hope to have the next part done today. I have to make sure her hands stay in the handle bars and put the sky in . Minor details ! regards simon

First part of the next scene, just before Doris arrives on her motorbike. Any critical feedback very appreciated and welcome. simon S5A 000.mov

Rodney Thank you very much for the info. This evening reading taken care of ! regards simon

Some updates to work so far. 720's from 1080's files Any critical feedback very welcome indeed. S Two 720.mov S Four.mov

On a more humble question. Can someone kindly point me towards an explanation of what normal maps are and what they do? I've heard the name but have no knowlledge of them at all. regards simon

Robert Thank you for your feedback. Agree about the starting blocks ( ! pardon pun ) but I think the clouds work OK as an indicator of seasonal time ? I hadn't thought of that initially, but followed up a suggestion on FB. It seemed to make more sense to give a longer timelapse than a short version, given that it covers one house, then the whole estate being built ? I have a lot of timelapse cloud sequences from other projects ( presently resting in the fridge, awaiting reheating ). Its relatively easy to do these days with a DSLR and a laptop, even bought a clockwork rotating head so you can get panoramic timelapses. Ebay is a terrible diverter of funding !!! regards simon

Following suggestions received, adapted the colour version. Any critical feedback very welcome. simon Intro 03.mov

Robert Thank you for your feedback. Much appreciated. I'm trying to get it to look like a TV commercial for a property developer. Its the link into the second scene where, the two main characters are having lunch in front of the news on TV. It sets up the location for later in the short, when the Bill and Doris go to visit their daughter and grandchildren. The news report is about the developers going bust and the financial crisis reaching the region. Basically, its the context in which the narrative takes place. Hope that doesn't all sound too pompous. regards simon

Two tests, with clouds. My personal preference is for the coloured sky but, wonder if the greyer version allows the rest to read more easily ? Any critical feedback very welcome indeed. simon Intro 01.mov Intro 02.mov

Haven't worked out the clouds yet but, this was an idea towards the intro for the project. Going for a time lapse effect. Its going to be a TV commercial for the property developers and acts as a link between two scenes. Any critical feedback very welcome. simon Intro.mov Ps 720 conversion from 1080 file

Robert Thank you for your help. I thought that is what should happen but, when I tried it before,it didn't seem to work. This time it does regards simon Rodney Thank you for your help.Much appreciated. I shall try that later. regards simon

Robert Thank you for your reply and help. What I want to do, when I've found the Toon setting that I want, is to save it as a preset, so I can then load it for different scenes with the same characters in. The three generations of characters in the narrative use different settings and I wanted to be able to render those differences then composite them in a single scene. Hope that makes sense ? regards simon

Working in V17 I asked a while back about Toon render settings. As there was a save option, I had thought that, as I found a setup I liked, I could save it in the render options window and reload it later (?) I appears I was mistaken. Is there a way to do that and, if so, how do you do it ? Using the little sliders in the Toon option, "overide shading' drop down, its a case of doing it by eye to get the divisions required. Is there a way of doing it numerically so I can record it and reuse later? Thank you for your time simon

Bobby Thank you. I remembered your example and was thinking of it when I tried mine. Your background photos were a lot better than mine and fitted together very well. Mine did not. I have another project that your example will work really well on and will use it then, It uses a time lapse sequence with a motorised camera turn,, so the photos all link up nicely. regards simon

The same scene, some while later, at a more sedate pace... Any critical feedback greatly appreciated simonNHF S006 Mini.mov