Gerry

Yeah, do it in an action and all will update the way you envision it happening.

No, but I do need more imagery than is in the animatic, e.g. Mouseman's comment earlier that the scene in the kitchen needed something. it got me to thinking about doing something with the dropped snapshot, and that shot is coming out really nice.

It's a serious challenge getting the TSM quadruped rig to function in an upright posture, but not impossible. Lots of testing and false starts so far but I'm making progress. I've got some twisting in the ankles that I may just tweak in the pose, but I don't think it will be too noticeable unless I need some ankle closeups. For some reason. I think I also need to put some face bones in, for puffing out of cheeks, pursing of lips, and I guess he's going to need eyelids, none of which was in the original plan.

Dude! EDIT: Happy Birthday. Got a little rattled.

THank you guys! i did a really quickndirty render with the sax solo inserted and the gecko bouncing along. Sorely tempted to post it but it does need way more work. Fun, though!

Here's a quick revise, hat and vest in, and the sax fixed. I've gotten him to where I want to use him more prominently in the video.

Here's a scan of an article I got into the current issue of The Cartoon!st, the newsletter of the National Cartoonists Society, about doing the Plympton Animation Jam. Got a plug for A:M in the photo caption.

I've been working on the Sax-Playing Gecko and did this still. Still working on it, I think he needs a hat and a black vest.

I've noticed that in the model, action and chor windows, decals on five-pointers display badly, sort of disappearing or breaking up in the middle. However it's only in the workspace and doesn't affect rendering, just looks weird, so I've put off mentioning it or filing a report. It occurs on both platforms. Anyone else see this?

Took a step back to see just where I am on this whole project and it turns out I have the elements in place to start building about 90% of the shots. What a surprise! Several of the elements still need detail work, decals, extra modeling on some sets, etc. but really it's closer than I thought. I enlisted the aid of a friend with some experience in feature animation to help me fine-tune this from this point on and his first suggestion was to make a sked of target dates for completing elements, shots, etc. I squirmed a little at this suggestion as this project doesn't have an actual deadline, but seeing how close I am I really should go and do that. I may even complete this by the fall instead of spending another year on it, as I've had in the back of my mind all along. Ironically the parts I still need to build are a few shots that will be 2D. I've been holding back on these as I really am feeling my way in the dark with 2D, but I have to do it eventually.

Looking forward to it.

Hm, I hadn't thought about narration but that would be fun! So the unifying elements would be: Nicely designed (and consistent) title slides, a plain white background, and narration. Keeps the focus on the animation.

I remember thinking the exact same thing at one time! It's an easy thing to fix, but also you should start beveling pretty much everything you model. It's a little extra effort but the results are like night and day in terms of realism of the finished model.

Do we even need a set? Why not use a generic high school gym wall or something? or a plain white background?

Happy Birthday!

Wow, that's looking great!

It is is night shot, and the geckos will have some ambience turned on so they'll be "lit" for a little relief. Problem was with the toon lines on, it overwhelmed their little shapes, so I didn't put them in the still. I'm hoping that with the zoom-out and animation, it won't be as obtrusive as it is on a still. Good suggestion on the light, John Bigboote. I had a thought to add the shadow of a roof edge along the top, but I like the branch shadow too.

i like that and it gives me an idea for a very specific structure. It would go like this. Say it's called "The Animation: Master All-Sports Video Instruction Manual". First we agree on a list of segment titles, e.g., Broken-Field Running, The Lay-up, Batting stance, etc. The sillier the better. The bridging device would simply be nicely designed title slides. Then we each pick a segment to do, and from there we're each on our own.

Thanks Mark. Here's a final-quality still of the scene. It looked good last night but it seems a little dark today.

Here's a quick n dirty test of the wall dance... GeckoWall_wirefram_h264.mov

this is looking nice Steve. I really like the detailing in the fire escape.

Cookie-cut decals?

I like the new "entrance" for the imp but it seems to happen a bit abruptly. Maybe you could do it more gradually? Only other comment is, in the last scene can you have the DJ turn his head and look straight out at the viewer when he says "suddenly the sidewalk show"? I think it would give it a little "snap" there at the end. Otherwise nice, and much improved!

Hey Mark, I've just reviewed this whole thread to try to get up to speed with the 2008 rig. I wondered if the face rig is pretty much gone or if you have reconsidered getting back to it.

I wish you had said something about that sooner.