Simon Edmondson

Steve Thank you for the info. I'm guessing that the plastic matt you refer to is a material ? rather than a matte in the photoshop sense ? I do like the effect though. The thing I noticed was the hair movement not relating to the head and forward direction but, I think that probably comes later. I find it a little difficult to gauge from the angle you choose so unable to offer anything more positive. My apologies. simon

Steve I'm not in a position to comment on the running but I would like to ask a question if I may. How did you get the white outline on the figure, with the rendered look inside ? regards simon

I like your model. They used to hold 24 hour races for 2 CV's at a nearby track to here. I tried to persuade my family to have a go, they declined... On a more practical point. I would suggest that the profile of the tyres needs to be less substantive, its a bit tall at the moment. You probably have the picture references you need but, does the front wing come below the level of the bodywork ? On a trivial note, I think 2Cv's. only had a three bolt hub on the wheels which were made of pressed steel ? If you are going for aliteral look, it might make them easier to model ? The rear wheel arches look good, and I like the corrugated bonnet and the safari type front grill. Did you model the Duck? If so, very good job, I like that a lot. regards simon

Update on the sequences Revised version of the car traveling, Credits.mov New one of the title Titles.mov Any feedback welcome regards simon

Nancy Thank you for your feedback.I shall take out the title and intercut them instead with a different setup. The road sign went by a lot slower at first but it made it look as if the car was doing 5mph, appropriate perhaps given the rain, but looked a bit slow. I was hoping to have this done this week but may get delayed with visiting family. The sound design is going to be another problem altogether! regards simon

Updated opening , retains title position but has roadside sign. Any comments welcome. regards simon Credits.mov

Rodney Thank you for your feedback, much appreciated. I was just thinking of putting the title on a road sign outside the car when I read your suggestions. I shall try that this afternoon. I like the way the title appears and disappears but, as you say, it lacks clarity that way so revision awaits. regards simon Ps Looking for signs I could get font styles off I saw this. It might amuse ?

Heres the first pass at the opening scene/Title I haven't animated the hands beyond positioning at this point. Any feedback would be very welcome. regards simon Credits.mov

Gerald Thank you. Another reason to upgrade. regards Simon

Pardon me but, how do you bake the surfaces ? Its something I would like to try but couldn't find the option... ? regards simon

I like that very much. Did you use dynamics or were the bounces keyframed ? regards simon

Judging by some of the charges levied elsewhere, he was undercharging by some considerable margin ! simon

My niece sent me this today. It does not relate directly to this thread but it might amuse ? simon It does have a narrative thread a begining, middle and surprising end soi maybe it does fot ?

I'm not a programmer by even the strongest stretch of imagination but, does the V17 help act as guide to an established reference system or is it a stand alone product ? By which I mean, is it context relevant, you hold the pointer there and it tells you what that does because the help and info is built into the system at that point in the program. Or Does the position of the pointer determine which part of the help file is referenced in a completely separate section. If its separate might that make the task of co ordinating it easier. If its inbuilt that would make extracting it a lot tougher and more time consuming.? regards The mouth like a gold fish

Robert I'm still on V15j but 17 is not too far away. I'm not in a position to comment on the technical info contained in the ref because I don't have the knowledge to verify it. At risk of sounding immodest ( something I try to avoid ), I may be able to help on designing a structure for it, as I used to specialise in curriculum design at my last job, designing the first modular Art and Design course in the country at National Diploma level. I would be happy to try it if needed.? simon

I'd be happy to co operate. Its a little daunting as a prospect but could allow me to learn a lot. simon

I think we can find people to do it with little problem. Getting people to pay for a manual is a problem of a different color. I think I am about to regret opening my big mouth but, I may be prepared to do it for free. It will obviously take some time but we ( collectively ) would need to agree a structure for the content? As to costs of the book, would it need to cost more than the current tech ref book? It could be done as a PDF that came with the program and sold separately for those ( like me ) who prefer to read off the page rather than the screen. In the words of the old Smiths song, "Big Mouth Strikes Again..." simon

I think Nancy put it very clearly, unlike the book itself. Simon

I'm curious about what you find awkward with regard to the Tech Ref. Rather than take this thread further off topic can you start another topic to describe what you find awkward about the Tech Ref's usage? Thanks! Rodney Its mainly a lack of knowledge on my part. If you are trying to find out how to do something, you need to know how to ask the question in the first place, ( catch 22 I suppose ? ). Any software has its own way of doing things and uses its own terms for the things it does. For example, before I started with AM I used Max, its way of working was completely different, not just in the modelling process ( splines versus poly's ) but the animating, staging and materials process too. Its a long time since I used it ( R2 ) but as I recall, it has different names for the same processes and methods that AM uses. When I was using PC's I found the help option useful and would like to use it on the Mac. I'll try using the ref over the next few days with the next phase of the project then, when I can be more specific, I'll let you know? regards simon

Mark Thank you for that. I have a printed copy ( two ) of the tech ref book but I do find it a bit awkward to use. Hence the questions. This is not a gripe as such ( hope not anyway ) but, one of the things I do find a bit frustrating with AM is the lack of a full and detailed manual. I understand the fiscal restraints that cause that but it can be a limitation to progress. Off to read the tech ref... simon

I know there is a text/type tool in AM but, could someone kindly point me to it ? Also, In the past when I installed AM the help file was installed too. It seems to do so on PC's but hasn't on the Mac. Could somebody tell me howto do it so I can stop asking simplistic questions ? Thank You regards Simon OSX 10.68 V15J

Blast !!! I've just done it with properties. But I will try the pose sliding Bones later. Thank you simon

I appreciate that it is possible to control a light in a chor using the properties in the PWS and thats the way I've done it before. I wondered if it was possible to control those same properties, such as intensity, cone angle, fall of and so on, using pose sliders ? I tried in the actions section but it was not possible to select the lights, or the camera to try to make the poses. Its not a problem, I just thought it might animating them easier in the chor? regards simon

Rodney I fully intend to but, I haven't bought V17 yet. There was some debate elsewhere about the 64 bit version for Macs not being available yet (?) and, domestic finances and dental bills aside, I'm waiting for that. When I rendered a sequence of png frames. then "Saved Animation As" within AM, it seemed to come out as I expected. It only seems darker on the single, individual frames ? regards simon

Nancy Thank you once again for your comprehensive explanation and help. Much appreciated. I'm just gearing up to start rendering the whole lot so that will be a lot of help. I've learnt a lot doing this project. Far more than I expected to, but all of it worthwhile. Regards simon