jon

aside from the brushwork background, i see: volumetric lighting glow bloom you might also need some fancy shaders or textures, but most of this mood is lighing-type effects. -jon

http://www.hash.com/reports/ give them the details you haven't given us, and they might help. but first, try rendering smaller.... you're prolly killing your machine with all that resoultion. -jon

the headbone's connected to the neck bone, etc... i've never messed with the complex rigs you'll hear folks talking about. i don't do enough animation to bother with 'em. i'm sure they're excellent for all that fancy moving around and such, but until you have the need to do complex animation, just start attaching bones together and see what happens. -jon

what about a percentage from customers that are "called to action" by the commercial? -jon

unless you're going to model a very old man, you don't need all those splines. try removing two-thirds of 'em, and the model will be easier to work with, and you'll have much less creasing. you might need most of those splines for the nose, but use hooks to trim down the splinage once they leave the nose. a good first step! -jon

i'm offended. you're not supposed to make 2d images with a 3d application! ' ' ) the flat work is very dramatic.. but your 3d work doesn't diminish the power of your vision. -jon

it's a great modeling job, but i don't feel the weight and power of the source design. the only specific gripe i could offer would be to thicken up his limbs a bit, but i'm not sure that's the issue. overall, great entry! -jon

are you going to create an object or a panorama? assuming object, you'll need to render one (or more) rotations of the object, and find a tool to make it a qtvr. here's apples documentation: http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Q.../InsideQT_QTVR/ i'd also check out the legacy tools on this page: http://developer.apple.com/quicktime/quicktimeintro/tools/ don't for get to show us the results! -jon

The Real Ghostbuster another cartoon with an ape or something already had the simpler 'ghostbusters' title. -jon

vista and video cards don't yet work perfectly together. try upgrading your video driver. i'm running vista x64 myself, and might just kill aero until nvidia/hp gets their act together and updates my little notebook's drivers. -jon

if you missed the memo, i'm all about the creepy. ' ' ) if may be a train wreck of a movie, but i'll still enjoy her scenes! back on point, i may have to break down and play bioshock one day. it looks pretty darn creepy itself. -jon

christina ricci is only slightly less creepy looking as an adult. go speed racer! -jon

i wonder how many points i'd get for harvesting you. -jon

give that puppy some attitude! otherwise, you're off to a great start. -jon

better and better! ' ' ) random nag: i'd expect her arm bands to be up around her biceps... they look too 70's playboy bunny cuffs where they sit. -jon

are these problems limited to the realtime display? my usual suggestion is to update your video driver, but just pressing the spacebar will often fix this type of glitch. -jon

well, it's prolly too late, but other than my complete disgust with all this hp it sounds fine. your marketing hype doesn't mention ram, but it most likely comes stock with 1 gig. get two. -jon

yep, 32 bit programs -- including a:m -- run fine on vista x64. when they have an x64 a:m, it won't run on a 32 bit os. -jon

they will all run a:m. i can't think of any direct impact changing flavors of vista will have on running a:m. for other uses, check this microsoft chart for the differences. it's mostly about networking and media handing. i run vista premium x64, and have had only a little trouble finding the right drivers. most programs however, -- including a:m -- are 32 bit native, so there's no real need for x64 unless you desperately need 4 or more gigs of ram. -jon update: this page says windows x64 is about 10% faster than the 32 bit version. again, prolly not worth worrying about.

short answer: vista works, but xp is better for now. notebook video drivers are updated by the machine's company, not the video cards. this can be trouble, but not all vendors wait a year for driver updates. i can't recommend hp, since their customer service is total, complete, comedic crap, but they do update the nvida video driver for my vista-ridden tx every few months or so. -jon

his low forehead might make him read as slow or brutish, but otherwise he's pretty average. what's he gonna do? -jon

thanks everyone! it's a new way of thinking, but i've just about figured it out. i'm creating a metacharacter with variable body types and coloring, and now i can litter the chor with copies and add a little variety. muhaha! -jon

that was my first impression, but i only see real oversplinage™ in the head, and maybe the lower torso (belly/back). keep on truckin'! -jon

heyo, it's been months since i left v8.5 for the latest production version of a:m, but i'm still struggling with some of the new tricks. fer instance, how do i set up a relationship that changes one or more group's colors. ideally, i'd have 6 or 8 color sets in one pose, but i'll take what i can get. ' ' ) thanks! -jon