Gerry

the head size definitely makes it look young-ish, or a little cartoony. But overall really nice, good splining too!

Nice work!

Yeah, nice job all around!

Here's a good face tute. I've used it a couple of times and it works well. It's a pdf, so download it and print it out. Someone here on the Hash forum did it, Jeff Lew maybe? the url has jsherwood in it. Sorry I don't know more about the creator. http://www.hash.com/users/jsherwood/tutes/SkyLark.pdf

Don't the Squetch rig tutes go into assigning cp's and some fan bones for the shoulders? I can't find the link right now, but I seem to recall that info in the videos.

Yeah, I have to be careful about talking to my friends about my work. If you try to describe what you're REALLY doing their eyes glaze over in a heartbeat. Keep it simple, like "...so I made his pants BLUE!" Great work by the way!

This is a great start and a fun theme! As has been mentioned, I think it needs to be snappier overall. You can move something like this along pretty quickly and the viewer will still "get it". More please!

that Anamie book looks so great I just ordered it! Great clips on the book's website too.

I've never used an animated gif but any image sequence will do. A:M seems to like targa's best, so that's the way I go with anything, other than using a QuickTime movie which also works well. Like John said, the bit depth of the gif might have made A:M hiccup.

Just checking in here for the first time in a few weeks. Great work! This is all coming along beautifully! I'm curious though why you went with TSM instead of the Squetch Rig? I take it the TSM install is more automated in some respects?

Yeah, really nice model, and nice detailing. Will you be able to show us the client's finished :30 when it's done?

I've been following your progress on this and it's coming along very nicely! In your efforts to get some definition/detail in a low-light setting I wondered if you've tried giving the railings (or other elements) a little ambience so that you're not depending entirely on the low lighting to be able to see the scene.

What can I say, this is looking great and I love the ship. But what are the yellow things on either side of the prow? Solid objects, or banners of some kind? Still, it's all looking good.

Haven't been here in awhile but wanted to say this is looking great as usual! Gerry

thanks for the response guys. Glad you like it, Robcat! I think you're both onto something, I'm just concerned that there are folks who can't see it and just give up. In any case, the final version on the co. website is a WMV file, since most of our clients (lawyers) are on pc's. So this isn't an issue for the company, but I would like to get to the bottom of this for my own satisfaction. Gerry

I've heard from a couple of folks who can't download or view this file. If you've tried and it won't play, let me know as I'd like to figure this out. One guy gets an error message that he's missing some component (probably a codec) in his QT software, and another friend gets the blue Q logo but no download. Both *claim* to have the latest QT software, which I can't check. But if you've tried and failed, then given up, let me know what behavior you're seeing. Thanks!

Here's the "final" version, though we still have a few more days to tweak, so there's no telling what else might change. In any case, this my official "Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays" to all you Hashers out there! Gerry 2007_Holiday_finalh264.mov

Hey, that's what I was gonna say!

Ya know all this work is so gorgeous, but the renders of just the ship alone have such grandeur, and this setting takes that away and makes it look tiny. I hope you plan to show it to us in another setting, or even a camera angle that features the ship in dramatic foreground, and the paint cans and scissors etc. as background elements...? Just a suggestion. the work is really killer!

I tried yesterday to do some tracks in the snow for that last shot, using a bump map, but the effect was so slight it wasn't working. Having the snow "pile up" in front and on the sides was also something I thought of, but doing it with bump maps isn't the way. I still have some time so I may think about this a bit more. I did kick up the percentage of the bump map but that didn't appear to have any effect. Not even sure what the "percentage" setting is supposed to do. Maybe I could have an intersecting model of piling snow just come up through the snow on the ground. Hmmm... EDIT: Tried to make tracks with boolean cutters but I started getting the same wacky behavior I got with the footprints! So for now, no tracks. I may take another swing at it in the morning.

Well, my boss might have something to say about that! But after this is all done, I would like to contribute the Santa model for the next Hash CD, and maybe even the sleigh if there was interest. I put a lot of work into the sleigh and I'd like to see it get more use.

Here's the final render sans sound, which my bud Randy will be starting on tomorrow. I did the snow in After Effects. I might still tweak some things but for all intents, this puppy is on its way! Mastercomp_final_h264.mov

Dang, Matt, I thought your original solution was so elegant I've been showing it off around here to show what AM could do. I like the comment about all the Maya guys stepping back from this one. I know your solution will be good no matter what you end up doing.

Fantastic!

Dhar - you can import the .mov file itself as an animated decal. You apply it to the mirror surface as a decal in the usual way. Once in the chor, click on the "Show more than drivers" button (the one with the red X through it) for the model, and then click open the Decals folder. In the Properties panel of the decal there should be an option showing for frames. You can specify what frame of the chor you want the .mov to start on, and then what frames you want to play for any specified stretch of the chor. In Graph view you'll have a graph line indicating frame count. If your .mov is the same length as the chor, then just set the .mov frame 0 at chor frame 0, and .mov frame 330 at chor frame 330. You should be able to step through the chor and see the frames play. But an animated decal is super flexible. You can have it sit at frame 0 for a span of time, then play the .mov starting at a particular point in the chor, then stop it, etc. If you want to do this, it will help a great deal to make all the graph points peaked. Also, you may notice in the Properties window that the decal is displaying, say, frame 18.32 of the .mov. Don't worry about this, it will still play fine.