tommyj1112
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Posts posted by tommyj1112
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BTW, I love Tom Jansen's final pose. The animation would be totally awesome if he had the key frames made before moving the bone. (I've done that quite a bit. Doh! As did Den Dotson earlier.)
Thanks for the kind words Chris! You're totally right about the keyframe thing, Shaggy's legs just kind of float their way up onto the door rather than looking like an intentional movement. That was a technique I wasn't really familiar with when I first did this exercise. This is such a great learning community!
Great job on yours too! I laughed out loud when I saw the end!
-Tommy
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #19 Flying South
Date: May 12th, 2005
Comments: Wow, flocking can be really cool, but it can be a bit finicky too. One of the things I learned is that if you are constraining your flock to a path (using the ease controls to adjust the timing along the path), it seems to be best to set your flock speed to zero. Otherwise the birds fly off ahead of the path and get into all sorts of trouble ;-)
Sorry about the artifacts on this clip, I was trying out some ways to edit views from different cameras together (after I had already rendered them ... probably should have thought this out more in advance). And well, the video editor I have handles its clips strictly at 29.97 frames per second, rather than the 30 fps I rendered my clips at, hence the artifacts.
Anyone know of any apps that will edit QuickTime files? I did some searching today, but the 2 freeware apps I found have been removed. What do you prefer to edit your clips together with?
Here's my clip: http://cybersummit.org/AM/Ex19_BirdsFlocking.mov
(oh for the record, the sound I used for the plane is from an actual recording of a real life FW-190. I thought that was kind of cool!)
Ok, wow... this was the last exercise. I can't believe I made it through already. It feels like I just got started! Thanks to everyone here (and especially to Rodney) for all the help and encouragement!
-Tommy
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #18 Waving the Flag
Date: May 10, 2005
Comments: I rendered this before adding sound, so I should have re-rendered this so that it ends at a better spot in the music. But you get the idea.
Here's my clip: http://cybersummit.org/AM/Ex18_Flag.mov
At ease!
Tommy
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #17 Cosmic Bowling
Date: May 9, 2005
Comments: I really liked the way Den's ball rolled, so I used his technique (props to Den). Hehe.. of course, wouldn't you know that I went through and added the rotation frame by frame all the through.... before realizing that I had the ball rolling backwards!! D'oh! I knew something didn't look right. So went back and fixed it up again... frame by frame. All better now.
Now... I'm not a great bowler (actually, my greatest bowling accomplishment is to get a gutter ball while playing bumper bowling! It takes real skills to suck that bad!), but I don't think I've ever seen a pin slide quite like that last one
That was all a part of the simulation... honest!
Here's the clip: http://cybersummit.org/AM/Ex17_Bowling.mov
Thanks!
Tommy
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #16 Earth, Wind & Fire .... er.... or something like that ;-)
Date: May 6, 2005
Comments: Thanks for the hint on turning off particles while working on the animation of this scene, that was VERY helpful. Sorry if a few of the sounds in this one are a little weak (my recording gear is in use on another project right now, so I just used some stock sounds).
Here's my clip: http://cybersummit.org/AM/Ex16_FireSmoke.mov
Thanks,
Tommy
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Hehe.. sorry for the startle!
I couldn't help but add KeeKat into the scene. I was watching the Knight "resolutely" walk... and kept thinking he looked like someone had just given him a big wedgie!
Then I started laughing... so I thought KeeKat would find it just as funny as I did, so he had to laugh and point too!
Ahhh.... I'm so easily amused!
-Tommy
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #15 Eat My Dust
Date: May 3rd, 2005
Comments: I scaled down the dust a little bit, since, unless you are "Pig-Pen" from the Peanuts cartoons, how often do you really kick up THAT much dust with each footstep?
Here's my clip:
http://cybersummit.org/AM/Ex15.mov
Thanks!
-Tommy
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Thanks, Ryan!
And nice to meet you!
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #14 Marble
Date: May 2nd, 2005
Comments: This is one of those exercises where you can follow it precisely, create a "result" that matches the book exactly, and be perfectly successful.... and still have no idea what you really did or why you did it. There are just so many (unexplained) attributes, and so many (mysterious) ways to manipulate them to get various results, that you really need more information to truly gain even a basic understanding of this concept. Thank goodness for some of the other resources out there!
Speaking of resources, has anyone heard anything more recently about William Sutton's
updated Technical Reference book? As I am writting this, the CafePress website still lists the new version as "coming Spring 2005." Granted, the weather around here hasn't felt much like spring yet
Thanks!
Tom
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #13 Show Some Backbone
Date: April 29, 2005
Comments: I couldn't help but think how much Thom here looks like that little AOL dude! That explains this scene ;-)
This was a lot of fun for me! I ended up going back into the models of many of the props I used to change surface properties or add new bones (like for the cord on that lamp sitting on his desk).
This was also my first time using light lists to add light only to a specific model (like on the computer screen).
Granted, there are a few things I should go back and fix like adding some smart skin around Thom's shoulders and hips, or turning off the ambiance on the computer screen (I did that for the screen shot below). And I would like to dress the set a little more, but there wasn't anything else included on the CD or website that would work for this scene. So eventually I'll want to create some models of everyday things (like pencils or little potted plants) to fill out the environment properly.
Well, here's my clip:
http://cybersummit.org/AM/Ex13_Thom.mov
-Tom
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #12 Lip Poses
Date: April 28, 2005
Comments: "I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me..."
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I wasn't sure where else to put this, so I just followed Den :-)
Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #11 Giraffe
Date: April 27, 2005
Comments: I actually had the hardest time with this guy's butt. I ended up adding some strange patches just to close it off, so it's pretty lumpy, but at least the tail covers much of it. I haven't added any bones yet either, but I may try that tomorrow.
My one frustration with this exercise (well, besides lumpy giraffe butts), is how the manual starts off the lesson talking about "modelling for animation" and discussing things about modelling the face so that the mouth can open, or adding eyelids and that sort of thing, which would be wonderful. But actually DOING that is not covered at all in the manual. It just kind of leaves you hanging just when you are getting to the critical stuff! Oh well... I guess I'll have to look up some other resources for that.
Anyways, here's my stiff (anal retentive? Nah.. I don't think I can make one more giraffe butt reference..hehe) giraffe getting ready to chow down... somehow... since he doesn't know how to open his mouth yet ;-)
Sorry... it's ben a long day!
Thanks!
Tom
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If you are game perhaps we could work together a little and use your project to illustrate some lighting and and scenery tips to add into TAoA:M mix.
I'd be honored to work with you and help in any way I can, Rodney!
-Tom
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #10 FW-190 Fighter
Date Completed: April 26, 2005
Comments: This one was really fun (I've always had a soft spot for WWII fighters).
The hardest part for me was getting that twist in the propellor blades to look right from all angles. Though learning about different ways of selecting and hiding various sections of the model when modelling, decalling, or even assigning control points to bones was really helpful too.
I added a really simple cockpit inside, adding in some control panels and such, but really didn't do much with the pilot's actual seat. My thought (when I was doing this last night) was that the pilot would be sitting in there and would cover it up anyways. Of course, now that I've slept on it, I realize that you could have shots of the pilot getting in or out of the plane, so it would probably be a good idea to go back and fix up the seat a little.
Hey Dhar, did you ever figure out anything about adding some kind of motion blur to the propellor? Or does anyone else have any good ideas about making that propellor spin look better?
Here's my clip:
http://cybersummit.org/AM/EX10_Fighter2.mov
Oh, I added a little sound to it, so I appologize for the size of the file.
Thanks for all of your time and inspiration, guys!
-Tom
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #9 Flower Power
Date Completed: April 26th, 2005
Comments: hehe... resisting urge to put a smiley face on the flower ;-)
-Tom
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Rodney,
Ok, whew...
Just making sure I'm understanding what you are saying. Basically, the stretching and pulling of the model (with the attached decal) is causing that distortion? So really, for this particular exercise, using this particular model, that phenomenon is normal and to be expected to an extent (depending on the way you alter this car), right?
Hehe.. I was getting worried that KeeKat's, um.... "pimped up" ride was starting to rust out on him! :-)
Thanks a million!
-Tom
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #8 Custom Car
Date: April 25, 2005
Comments:
Um... what in the world is going on around my car doors? All of those black little lines appeared when I rendered this, and I haven't even started messing with lighting let. Anyone have any ideas? Might it have something to do with the surface settings of the car body??
Thanks!
-Tom
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #7 Can You Say That?
Date Completed: April 23rd, 2005
Comments:
Well, as you can see, I'm still experimenting with some "nite-time" lighting (and not doing a very good job). I have my key light with a blue tint, and have some yellow light coming from the street lamp you see at the begining (hence the camera movement, so I could establish that lamp). But I'm still not getting the control over my lights that I want. I did just pick up the David Roger's book, so I'll read up on it.
It's amazing how much you end up learning just by trying to go a little farther with some of these exercises. Simple things like making sure KeeKat's arms don't go strait through each other can be deceptively tricky.
Wow, KeeKat sure has a number of facial controls (though, interestingly, no controls for his ears). Sometimes it's not always clear when to use which control, especially when some of them overlap to an extent. Or how to know when one control might be over-riding another (like Hand Clench vs. an individual finger roll).
Also, what's the best way to animate the his Tail? I didn't like the movement I was getting so I removed it for now, until I can figure out a more natural sense of movement.
Here's what I've got so far: http://cybersummit.org/AM/Ex7_Secret.mov
Thanks for all of your valuable insights!
-Tom
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OK, cool. I've never noticed that. I'll have to take a look at that!
Thanks!
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #6 The Door's Stuck
Complete: April 20, 2005
Comments: One of the things I struggled with on this one was simulating collision detection, and trying not to let body parts go strait through "solid" objects. :-)
Oh, is it possible to open Shaggy's eye's up any further? The Eye Close is already set to 0%, so I'm not sure how else to manipulate his eyes.
Here's my clip: http://cybersummit.org/AM/Ex6_DoorStuck.mov
Thanks! :-)
-Tom
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #5 Take a Walk
Date Completed: April 18, 2005
Comments: Well, in addition to just setting up the walk cycle, I wanted to learn more about Path Ease (so I did that wave tutorial too). It took some time to understand how to apply it, so there are a couple of things I'd like to fix about how the Rabbit starts his walk (he just abrupty starts, I'm guessing that I need to copy the first keyframe of the walk so I can allow him to get into that pose just before he starts walking) and ends it (Once he stops, I added in some ear movement, but since I didn't copy that last walk cycle keyframe, it over-rode the ear bouncing that is built into my walk cycle).
Here's my Clip: http://cybersummit.org/AM/EX5_TakeAWalk.mov
Thanks!
-Tom
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Thanks for the encouragement guys!
I see what you mean about the camera being so close all the time. I may try switching cameras a bit so I can cut between close-ups and a medium shot so we can see more of the action.
So Rodney, how can I fix up the look of that grass? I'm still trying to figure out what each of those Surface properties do, and how they relate to each other.
Oh... and is there a way to insert frames into the timeline? For example, maybe to slow down a particular movement, I might want to insert a few frames between each keyframe. Or like with this pitching exercise, I would like to add some time to the beginning of this scene (perhaps to have the pitcher look down a runner on first or something similar). What's the best way to go about that?
Thanks for all of your help guys! Your experience and insights are greatly appriciated!
-Tom
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: #4 It's a Pitch
Date Completed: April 16, 2005
Comments: Just doing some experimenting with the camera and filling out the scene a little.
Here's a link to my animation: http://cybersummit.org/AM/Ex4_Pitch.mov
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Name: Tom Jansen
Exercise: Here's my #3.
Comments: I was imagining the second rabbit saying "You are one good looking rabbit" to the first :-)
Date Completed: April 16, 2005
Thanks for offering this chance for us to learn together!
-Tom
Exercise 19: Flying South
in TaoA:M and the A:M Technical Reference
Posted
Hey Tenez!
It's not that they are actually "flapping" fast, as much as they are colliding with each other, and smacking each other around. I had that problem for a while too. They are just to crowded. Spacing them out a bit, so that they each have room to flap their wings without hitting each other will help that.
Very nice ending! Ha! Loved it.
-Tommy