higginsdj

Sorry but big with red eyes does't sell 'mean and threatening' to me - where's the emotion? Might I humbly suggest some work around the eyes to give the worm a pronounced scowl! Cheers

The hand/ball work is very good - a little stiff at a couple of points but I would have liked to have seen more movement in the body/arms/head. Cheers

Perhaps obvious to those more recently out of kinder! Cheers

I read the story - but my point is - will the image hold up without the need to explain it? Cheers

Looks interesting but my first question is - What is the little fish scared of? The large worm has red eyes but what is really menacing about it or the situation? Is he going to get thumped or eaten? Other than this I like the shot and the composition but agree you need to make the water look more like water - perhaps some caustic effects! Cheers

I think you might want to tone down the bright white lettering on the box and give it a weathered look. Cheers

You need to use the timeline on the thickness property to change the settings over the length of the grass. The alternative is to use an image of the blade of grass. Cheers

Does it work in v12? I'm running it in v11.1! Cheers

I take it you are not a fan of mime! Cheers

Hey Seven, An intriging animation. Reminds me of a style I can't quite place my finger on. Are you intending on taking it further - ie some secondary animation, some facial stuff rather then just the mouth? Cheers

If gravity was the determining factor in hair growth then we humans would be in strife now wouldn't we - but hair does in fact (in most cases - except for those festering ingrown hairs) grow outward. Cheers

Ignoring the dynamics for the moment - not just the hair but the breats as well - unless we are in zero gravity of course), there are some serious issues with hair coverage..... But other than this its nicely modelled. Cheers

My method: 1. Define your key poses and placement/posiiton in the sequence 2. Render and Fix your basic timing 3. Do your tweens - the big primary motion bits - don't worry about the small bits, secondarys/offsetting etc 4. Render and fix your timing 5. Add your anticipation, make sure you have nice arcing motions, add weight, your follow through - the bigs bits only 6. Render and fix your timing 7. Add your secondary motions 8. Add your offsets 9. Finesse Cheers

Hi Rich, Don't be discouraged - you are definitely on the right path. I find the easiest way to keep track of the keys is to keep them all aligned ie keying every 3 or 5 frames etc until the basic animation was locked down then start adding secondary motion then start offsetting and do some finessing to finish off. After a bit of practise on large chors/actions it gets easier to keep track of keys. It also helps to name your bones to have them grouped on the PWS/timeline - ie the arms chain is all together etc.... Cheers

Hi Rich, Very nice model though I feel theere may be some proportion issues there. Anyway, to the animation. It feels too 'stilted' and way too slow and there is some jerking/popping going on there. Some specific things to consider: 1. in the walk you have his shoulders and hips turning in the same direction. They shoudl be opposed to each other. 2. on the first step his right foot starts slow then shoots to the ground. Since the foot is hardly rasied off the ground it should actually start fast and end slow (dragging) 3. his general posture is too upright. You need torelax his shoulders down and forward. 4. His step and turn movement is too deliberate. It needs to be softer and less stop then turn then step back. 5. What is his head doing during this phase? 6. The start of the sit seems OK though it looks like you have auto balance on so each leg does exactly the same as the other. What was that left hand doing? It started well position then flicked forward while the right arm from elbow down has been motionless for a fair few frames. 7. Just as he rear touches the cube his upper body jerks back with the head leading making it look even faster. Remember arcing movement and follow through. Body should lead the appendages (and the head is an appendage) so some offsetting is needed. 8. Final pose is great BUT you might consider siding at least one of the feet rather than having both lift off and touch down. Overall it is a great effort with not much more than some timing issues. Cheers

Ideally you will give it a few frames to settle. The amount you need will depend on the distance from the deflector, Mass weight, springiness, damping levels etc. Cheers

Whats your collision tolerance set to? The shirt is not coming to rest on Thom. Cheers

I wouldn't get too hung up on perfectly smooth surfaces - particularly when learning a new appliction and methodology. You can get close with good modelling techniques and if you want the 'perfect' finish just apply the Porcelain material (making sure your normals are all pointing in the right direction - out. Small blemishes won't be seen once materials are applied and it's all going to depend on the lighting anyway. Cheers

Can we see a final render version with shadows? Cheers

Roger, Nice work. Yes - I'd like to seet he project first hand. Cheers

Duplicator wizard is the key. Check out the latest Tech Note film whcih specifically covers this type of thing. Cheers

The one thing that seems to be lacking in the AM gallery is the EPIC shot. Yes there are a couple of examples - but not many. If you can spare the time I'd really love to see a step by step tute on putting it together - perhaps with small example project - as I can't make sense of " camera fog image" and "volumetric dust box projecting a green dust " in my head. My interpretaqtion of the scene was something similar to the start of 'Star Trek - The Motion Picture' where Vger swallows up the space station. Cheers

Just to emphasise what I was refering to re the mouth and smile - see attached. The corners of the mouth (blue) are too rounded - they should be pulled to an acute angle. The 'crease' in skin is too long and in general is caused by the skin being pulled tight over the teeth but the teeth/upper jaw shape is not wide enough to cause this shape and in any case would not go all the way to the cheek crease. Cheers

I think some people take these contests far too seriously. There are 11 entries that have had at least part of them displayed/discussed on the AM forum before (mine inlcuded) but no one has 'complained' about them! The purpose of the contest is *not* to win it but to be challenged to show off the *best* that you are *currently* capable of using *your own style*. It does not matter that someone has had the 'advantage' of seeking advice on how to improve. If you haven't asked then more fool you for *not* asking! Cheers

The smile doesn't look right. I think it is the corners of the mouth - they are too round and smooth and the upper lip at the corner of the mouth seems to be bent under leaving that shadow area. Cheers