mouseman

One more idea ... Robcat didn't have ideas for the head turn ... one thing I noticed is that his mouth and eyes don't seem to move (maybe the eyes do a little bit, but it's not really noticeable/readable). If you really want to fill that up with lots of acting, here's my long-winded suggestion. Just before the bottle hits him, have his mouth close and his eyes squint ("I see it's coming - even though I'm drunk" - give some anticipation for the audience). Right after he's hit (with a slight bit of recoil), scrunch up his face a little more ("yeah, that did hurt a little"), then relax and open his mouth in disbelief ("she hit me!"). Then close it again, have his eyes look forward and his head face forward. Then have him open his mouth as if he's going to complain to noone ("why I ..."), and then freeze open ("wait a moment, it occurs to me that ..."), and then his mouth slowly becomes a smile ("I'm in love!"). I'm starting to notice when real-life actors are on screen without any real dialog. Sometimes, for the really good ones, you can write a script for everything they're thinking in their heads. That's why I interspersed the descriptions of his faces with text telling what he is thinking and why he is doing those actions. Do you think that is a helpful approach? I have not yet tried this on any of my own projects, but I want to do it for my Hit And Run project.

I think that would work quite well, too. I already did it 7 years ( !!!!) ago .... Mr. Ball Death but in 25 seconds Wow, was it that long ago?

Finally getting back to doing some modeling this weekend. Current Progress: 8607 patches, 16 5-point patches Worked on rigging (based on the one created by mtpeak et al), but not in a final format yet. Some work on the driver's side. Added the driver's seat and a steering wheel; I will probably have to reposition it when I get the rest of the console in there. TODO: Maybe more under-carriage Grille Headlights Entrance doors Driver's console and window Emergency door windows, handle Texturing Rigging [ in progress ] Add edge to the fender

It's neat seeing what you've done so far! Here's an intermediate's thoughts. Yes, this is crucial! There were places where it looked like the feet were sliding, but I was not sure because it was almost as if they were dancing on a cloud (tap dancing on a cloud ... doesn't work that well). I've (mostly) given up on both walk cycles and moving things with the model bone, and almost always move the other bones. That way when you move something (like feet), they stays there; otherwise you get foot slippage. Nothing new here, I'm sure, just an "I agree!". I think key poses are best to show either a significant transition ("Aha!" or "That's sweet" or "Look out!" or an extreme of emotion. It's almost something you could write a snippet of dialog for. That's not something that is easy to do with dancing, I believe. Once you've figured out which rig would work best, use the same rig on both. Mark seems to have given you tips enough to show that 2008rig might do the trick. So do you chalk up the first version as a learning experience and jump to a new dance? That's your call.

Stunning. Clear proof that your "Not a Master" title is not true.

Hi, Gerry, Here is an alternative order, and what changes I'd make. As always, these are just suggestions or things to consider. 1. Gingerbread house. Maybe cut it slightly shorter. 2. Santa's feet. They slide to the left when they hit the ground; make it so they are planted still until he lifts them again. 3. Boy's surprised look 4. Bus Stop 5. Cricket in head 6. Green army alien 7. Wasp woman with splineage. Her center of gravity stops moving when she does the kick; keep her body moving a bit as a "recoil" of her leg being kicked out. 8. Wasp woman landing. Her arms look a little too symmetrical. Maybe change both the final pose, as well as the order the arms come to rest at that pose. 9. Gingerbread dance Hope these ideas help a least a little.

We just need a set ...

Yes, it was quite disturbing, wasn't it? Sorry I didn't warn you first.

The one thing I'd add to Rodney's suggestion is to move the center of weight slightly closer to he leg that is bearing all the weight; i.e. slightly to his right when he is on his right foot, and slightly to his left when he is on his left foot. Lookin' good, lookin' good!

You could have the .

Hi, Paradymx, I really enjoyed your short test. I tried to do a video critique, because the ones I've seen done (especially by Robcat or eCritique prizes on 11secondclub) are so very effective. It was a bit big for putting on the forum. You can see it here (108MB AVI w/ Sorenson compression which I think will play on a Mac). I made a couple of attempts, playing with compression and other options. Some of the earlier attempts I made had better comments in places, but hopefully this is representative. As always, these are only suggestions, the final decisions are YOURS! For those who care ... I used the free CamStudio app to do the screen capture video, and for drawing on the screen I used ZoomIt by SysInternals (now part of Microsoft).

Sorry I can't help out with the rendering stuff. One question I would ask is whether the lighting matches what he will actually have on that level? It looks potentially better lit than many basements I've seen. And where is the wet bar?

It's really neat to see them talk your strip up! As others said, I hope this ups your hit count.

Thanks, Dave! You almost make rigging look easy! If you are developing a rig over time, how would you do it? It seems to me that if you had to make changes to your rig, you'd want to do that pre-addition of the _INSTALL bones, otherwise you'd have to make the same changes to the _INSTALL bones as to your rig's other bones. Would you maintain a version of your model without the _INSTALL bones, and when you are ready to release a new version, re-create all of the _INSTALL bones? That sounds like a lot of work for a more complicated rig. Thanks!

Well done! A lot of fun!!

We've had quite a few ideas fly by, some of which were conflicting, which is what brainstorming is all about. At some point, we'll have to limit down to a few. Below, I tried to incorporate as large of a set of ideas that were mentioned that work together; I had to drop some conflicting ideas. Here's a summary of the points that stood out in my memory and fit together. Content Ilidrake is leaning towards focusing on animation. Robcat mentioned a short project is better for improving animation skills. John Bigboote mentioned (and I agreed) that having a pre-made set similar to the Bus Stop could help focus on animation. Xtaz mentioned something small in scope, like specific sporting events. Judging and Awards Darkwing mentioned issues with only the best person winning and everyone else has no chance. Will Sutton said you can get critiques on the forum, so it wouldn't make a great prize. (However, I think the forum environment tends towards being more supportive than offering in-depth critiques, which take a lot of effort to do well but are also extremely valuable.) I mentioned two possible prizes, both of which focus on improving animation skills: one prize where someone who is not the best but whose project could best be critiqued as an example of points to improve would be the one that is reviewed, so everyone. That way, anyone could "win" but everyone benefits. one prize where the best person gets a post pinned with their own objectives and lessons learned; I'd like to add that maybe an interview format would work. There was also the question of who judges, and trying not to place a burden on Hash to do all of the vote collecting and tallying. Ilidrake mentioned either a panel or a voting poll. Rodney mentioned Hash Fellows grading/critiquing. I like the idea of a panel that including the person that does the critique. Maybe the person that won the last contest could be one of the judges for the next contest (in addition to having the pinned post). Future Ideas Remember, not every contest has to be the same or have the same focus. A second contest could focus more on poses and "sequential art" as suggested by Nancy and Robcat. A third contest could be a "dust off and finish up your WIP" contest. General We'd probably need a contest chair for each contest. I hope this summary is helpful.

More and more impressive all the time!

Here's a visual representation of what I'd suggest trying to do. MAKE A BACKUP FIRST, in case you find my suggestions don't work out for you! Oh, and for the keys in grey, don't delete the scale channels (squash and stretch). ETA: If for any reason you want to get the point back to the way it was, "6" is the default interpolation method. You can also right-click on the point and find the interpolation menu. Once these changes are made, the Y channel should look a lot closer to parabolic. After you've made these changes, you might want to move the keys left and right a bit in the timeline (not the channel graph view) to get the timing right. The high point should be half way (time-wise) between the two times it strikes the ground. The "hang time" should be longer for the earlier keyframes, and shorten as the height shortens. It's not a linear relationship, but that should be enough to get you started. I think you'll have pretty good results after these changes. I didn't think to mention the channels earlier, but in retrospect, you pretty much have to do these steps to get the right bounce effect. I'm off to bed. Hope this helps!

Nice weighting, shifting of weight. There's a bit of a pop about 1/2 way through, it looks like the pelvis bone. One tweak ... when he lifts his left foot from the ground, have his hip/pelvis drop on the left side a bit, since the right leg will be the one holding up his weight. One other suggestion. Play back the animation and look at his face. There is very little animation in his face. One of the best acting jobs I've seen in live action performance is the version of Pride and Prejudice with Jennifer Ehle as Elisabeth Bennet. You could write the entire dialog of what is going on in her head based on her facial expressions. Another place to get some facial expression ideas is here: http://www.imgzzz.com/pic/1292457579 or search for "expressions" or "facial expressions" on Google Images. Good to see you really getting into it!

Definitely a lot smoother! The little rolling effect is even more effective than I thought it would be! Good work! The change in direction when it is in the air is a bit too quick. It almost feels like it is bouncing off of some unseen object in the air and reversing direction instead of going in a smooth arc. Think of a ball being thrown in an arc; it slows down it's upward motion (while still moving sideways), then goes almost horizontal before it starts moving downwards. The bouncing ball should be the same thing for the Y axis, except without any X (or Z) motion. Remember I suggested to post a screen capture of your Y channel graph? That would give us something to draw on to very clearly show how you the motion should be over time. Basically, that graph of the Y axis channel should look like these two pictures from Wikipedia (basketball and water fountain).

Smart move! Classic exercises are good to do because people (including me!) incorrectly assume they intrinsically know how these things work and therefore they should be easy. The basic motion is there, although it seems extremely quick. Maybe 1/2 or 1/3 or that speed? You have a bit of squash and stretch going, which is good. Some ways to optimize it: 1st down motion: Although it's blurred, it looks like the squash is starting well before it hits the ground; best to wait until just as it is hitting the ground. Also, some people like to start a little bit of a stretch as it is approaching the ground, although I think that's more appropriate for live characters that are intentionally stretching as they are reaching the ground. 1st up motion: It seems to start out a little slower and then accelerates. The initial up rate should be about the same as the previous final down rate. The squash should be undone as fast as possible, and moving into a little bit of a stretch will show how the energy that was stored in the squash is the force that made it go up in the first place. It should then slow down gradually until it reaches the top. By the top, the ball should be back to its normal size (no squash/stretch). 2nd down motion: again, it seems a little too fast, and then starts slowing down again as it hits the ground. It should be accelerating all the way down (but not too much). 2nd motion up and 3rd motion down: the height seems a little low. After the last landing, it might be good to have the ball roll just slightly, so it doesn't look like some phantom force just made it stop out of nowhere. For all of the motions, look at the Y channel; you're looking to get very nice near parabolas for arcs. In fact, you might want to post a window capture of the Y channel along with your next version. Can't wait to see version 2!

I really like the idea of pre-made sets and characters. I think it would be neat to have the same script and/or audio recording for everyone; then the focus of the competition would be on staging, acting choices and animation quality. ETA: This way, once the contest is done, even if you don't win any prize, you can compare your choices with the choices others made, and study the ones you think will help you most. I'd love to see the person that wins write up a post describing what they were focusing on, what they were proud of, and what they had troubles with and wish they could have done better. That post could then be pinned to that forum. This would both establish them as one of the best around, and share their experiences and lessons learned with everyone else. I think the best possible prize would be a critique, similar to the 11secondclub eCritiques or the occasional critique video that robcat does. It should go through and highlight what worked, make suggestions for plussing the work, and encourage them on their future path. However, I don't think that the critique should necessarily go to the best entry. Maybe one somewhere in the middle. The reasoning is that if the critique is geared towards the median of our collective skill sets, then it will have the most benefit for all the members. I think the goal is to lift as many of us up by the bootstraps as possible.

Current Progress: 8188 patches, 16 5-point patches Created wheels. Boy do I wish I didn't have other work to do tonight. TODO: maybe more under-carriage Grille Headlights Entrance doors Driver's seat area and window Emergency door windows, handle Texturing Rigging

Nice work! Would have made a great bus stop project entry.