Simon Edmondson

Rodney Thank you for the info, Trial underway... regards simon

Extracts foot from mouth and engages brain to reply... I should have guessed that ! Thank you. simon

Rob Thank you once again for you help. Pardon my ignorence but, what is a ? regards simon

In earlier versions of AM ( V8) it was possible to specify Black and White as the output of the render then that began to change with V9 and V10, when it became necessary to treat it as a post render treatment. I am using V15 to redo an old project for a competition but I can't find where the BW option is, could anyone kindly explain where it is and how to use it? regards simom

In earlier versions of AM ( V8) it was possible to specify Black and White as the output of the render then that began to change with V9 and V10, when it became necessary to treat it as a post render treatment. I am using V15 to redo an old project for a competition but I can't find where the BW option is, could anyone kindly explain where it is and how to use it? regards simom

Sun lights cast parallel rays over an infinitely wide area so their position shouldn't matter much, only their angle. You really should only need one sun light rather than 4 aimed in the same direction. Rob I followed your advice and deleted all but one light and then proceeded from there. Finally, I realised what the problem was. With a single ray cast the shadow shape was sharply defined, as you suggested. With multiple rays the penumbra becomes more pronounced and takes up a larger area... ? I think that was the problem. I include two renders, One with single ray the other with 5 rays cast. Both from a single source with no other differences. The nost notable difference in the result is the size of the shdow aea (?) I think the reason I was getting thetrouble was because I was adusting the lights to get the shape I wanted with a single ray and, when I switched to multiples did not know to adjust for penumbra size. SO, the overall darkening was caused by the multiple penumbras spreading over the area, making it look dark ? Inexperience strikes again... Thank you kindly for your time. regards simon

Robert Thank you very much for that I will try it tomorrow. I have a test render going through as I type to test something else. I am learning ( very slowly ) to be more systematic so a sole light suource on a different scale to rodgers suggestion, is tomorrows task. I took note of your recommendation in another post about the book on digital lighting (?) and keenly await its delivery. regards simon

Rodger You are right about the bright sunshine I tried the method you suggested but, I work in cm and, when I converted to the imperial units you suggested I had to convert and ( with my capacity for Maths ) didn't do that good a job. I will remember the technique for next time though ! regards simon

Apologies for double file posting. Sorry ! simon

Consolidated_Street_Projectr.zipConsolidated_Street_Projectr.zipThe best way for anyone to help you is for you to upload and post the project to the forum, then masters like Rob can go through it and do the incredible work they do I'm still a bit vague about attaching files so, I hope this works. I have uploaded a zipped version of the project using a slightly modified model setup ( I've removed all the decals to keep it easy ). I checked before uploading and the same problem persists , adding more than one ray cast causes a form of black out in some aeas... Thanks in advance for any help regards simon

Rodger Thank you for that. I shall try that too. I'm going to post the project if I can to see if theres a fault in that ( it wouldn't be the first time I've eerred... ! regards simon

Thank you for the info re Mac screen grab. I shall have a go tomorrow ( UK time ). Thanks also for the suggestion re uploading. I'll have a look at that tomorrow too. I didn't want to impose on peoples good will more than I have already.... regards simon

I'm sure there's a simple reason, but without knowing how everything is arranged in the chor and what's in front of what and what's not in front of what... it's hard to diagnose. Rob Is there anything I can do to get the info you need, such as a screen shot of the top view of the chor /If so ca you let me know and I will post that ? regards simon ps I'm more familiar with PC's so not sure howto do a screen grab on a Mac...

Thank you for that I shall try it later. I'm just trying to find a setup to give me a general effect for the street scene I'm working on. regards simon

many light settings may play into your results, such as width, falloff, "darkness" and position and it's hard to judge those from the two images. Hello again Rob. Thank you for your reply. The four lights are 'suns' and I think, all the settings except the number of Rays are the default values. Just checked. Width and falloff are 150cm and the darkness is the default 80 %. The position of the lights does not change from one to the other, the only change is to the number of rays cast ? regards simon

]It seems to be the season to ask questions about shadows ( !)... I am trying to be more systematic in my approach and, after losing a lot of time due to operator error. I finally got a lighting set up in a choreography that I liked. The shadows were an interesting shape and lead the eye into the picture. As part od the new approach I re read the section on lighting in the old V8 manual and in the new Technical reference book and thought I'd try it with more than one way cast for the shadows. The results were a big disappointment and I don't know if its me or a problem ? The two included files show what I mean. Example 1 is using one ray cast per light ( four lights used ). The shadows are clearly defined and the other side of the street evenly lit. Example 10 is using 10 rays cast per light ( otherwise no change in number of lights or their position and orientation ) The shadows are softer but they now occupy nearly all the space and the opposite side of the street is in deep shadow ??? Toon render was used for both on a Imac 3:03 running snow Leopard on V13 of AM ( I haven't tried it on V15 yet ) . Does anyone know whats happening ? Thank you in advance. regards simon

Rob Thank you very much for that. I shall try it out tomorrow ( UK time ). I'm using the rig off the data CD ( 2001 ? ) Thanks again regards simon

Rob Thank you very much for that. Could I ask a supplemental question? Which constraints would you suggest using ? I tried Translate for the hand but it detatched from the rig and adhered to the box. Orient like was a bit way ward and kinematic caused all sorts of 'wobbles " ? regards simon

I have a figure lifting boxes out of the back of a van and wondered if anybody could advise as to which was the best setup for the o constraints ? The box to the figures hand or hands, The hands to the box, and which would be the best constraints to use? The figure is lifting the box up, turning through 90 degree then walking off to the side, carrying the box ? regards simon

Just got in from the studio ( garden shed ) and... The answer appears to be to load the choreography rather than the project, then replace the camera in the choreography with a new one and pu the new settings on that. Thanks to everyone for heir help. simon

David Thank you for the reply. I have a couple of things to check and approaches to test, I will do so tomorrow ( Its UK here ). The problem is that the render and output settings were initiated and saved on the Mac and when I came to specify the place to save the rendered files on the PC it won't let me change the location string from the Mac. regards simon

A good point. Thank you. I shall try again tomorrow but start with the choreography instead of the project. Then specify the render settings.. Following Rob;s suggestion I'll check the file sructure too. I'll get there eventually. regards simon

Rob Thank you for the question. I shall check tomorrow morning. I think the .prj file is within a folder that contains folders for all the other items, textures, models, materials, decals... regards Simon

For various reasons I am slowly moving over to using Macs instead of PC's, wherein I discovered a problem today and wondered if anyone might have a solution ? I have set up and tested the animation on a Mac then, while I prepare the next part, was going to get the old PC to render the stills to the best quality because it doesn't matter how long it takes ( relatively ) as I'm preparing the next part. I've tried to keep the same file structure on both platforms but, when I came to rendering on the PC the project file had 'remembered' the destination as being the Mac HD and, although I tried repeatedly, it would not allow me to change the drive ID to suit the PC. Can anyone suggest a way around this ? regards simon

If you haven't already, you may want to watch my "Keyframing Options" video. In the Screencam tuts link in my signature. Rob Thank you kindly for that. I shall have a look. simon