[model conversion plugin options]

Dear Animation Masters,

 

I am using Zbrush to make models and texture them as low rez poly cages, creating displacement maps to add detail and would like to import them into AM and use the displacement maps.

 

Are there any plugins around that are recommended for this process?

 

Also, I have spline models in IGES format, would they import as spline objects in AM using a plugin?

 

Thanks for any suggestions,

 

Sincerely,

 

Michael Angelo

[quicktime files and sound]

Hi Michael -

 

What browser are you using? I had the same problem with Mozilla Firefox and I had to uninstall and reinstall Quicktime.

 

Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling Quicktime (I know, kind of an obvious question)?

 

- Michael

 

 

Thanks, I had to turn off Quicktime for html QSERV or something like that, the last option in quicktime preferences.

 

Thanks again.

[quicktime files and sound]

Dear Animation Masters,

 

When outputting .mov file with sound, I am unable to hear the sound playback on hard drives or as streaming video off the web.

 

However, if I output a .wmv there is no problem hearing the sound.

 

In addition, many websites open with a big block with a q with a question mark in it.

 

I have removed flash from the list in QT pro, so I thought that would solve the problem.

 

Any tips?

 

Thanks,

 

Michael Angelo

http://www.michaelangeloart.com

[Animation Master Movie Trailers]

Dear Animation Masters,

 

Where are the trailers advertised on the new AM2007 email? I have looked over the hash website but do not see them.

 

Thanks for the links.

 

Sincerely

 

MIchael angelo

[model file imports]

Dear Animation Masters,

 

Is it possible to import a completed and textured .obj or .3ds model into Animation Master using a plugin?

 

I found output plugins but no import ones. I have AM 12 an 13q. Any pointers?

 

Thanks,

 

Michael Angelo

 

Artune Media

[new feature location search and complete]

Okay, I got AM v13 for OSX already, but where are these features again? I am so lost.

 

 

I have no idea, but you may be able to find them by going to the new users forum and looking under the latest v13 posting.

 

You can ask there, if you find out please let me know.

 

Here are some links I found....

 

http://www.hash.com/NewtonPhysics/samples.html

 

http://www.hash.com/NewtonPhysics/

 

http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showt...l=cloth+for+v13

 

All the best,

 

Michael Angelo

[simulating the look of HDRI illumination and Sub Surface Scattering]

Dear Animasters,

 

Does anyone recommend a link or process to create soft lighting effects that appear to be generated by a realistic background without using the time consuming GI function or HDRI?

 

Also, to create a crystal glass object and glowing lights through skin, are there any cheats available?

 

As I understand it, AM does not do this effect, so I thought, perhaps someone would have suggestions on how to set up a cheat.

 

Finally, is it possible to do subpixel displacement maps to create subtle wrinkles and skin textures?

 

Thanks,

Michael Angelo

[dual processors]

Thanks for the tip.

 

 

Michael Angelo

[dual processors]

Unfortunately, A:M doesnt have dual CPU capabilities. I would love to have it, seeing I also have dual CPU. They way i bypass this, is by opening 2 instances of A:M and setting affinity of each instance to a seperate core/cpu. After this is done render as a targa and render opposite frames or render certain ranges on each core/cpu. Now, you ahve to have both Instances minimized in the taskbar other wise your computer may lock up. ( Ive had this happen a few times) Also seems to render a tad faster when its minimized anyway.

 

Hope that helps!!

 

PS: Watch your CPU temperature!!! if it gets to hot, get more fans or only render with normal affinity set.

Dear Sir Spectre,

 

Thank you for the pointer, I have searched in the Help files for the term affinity. Would it be possible to define the process. Is it simply a matter of opening two projects and then firing them off one at a time and the PC will say, "oh yeah, I'll use two processors", or is there a flag in the software?

 

Thanks, as my version 13 keeps hanging or crashing when I run a render.

 

Sincerely,

 

Michael Angelo

 

http://www.michaelangeloart.com

[dual processors]

windows xp pentium II dual processors service pack 1 Hash 12 and 13b

 

Is there a dual processor render option? Did a search on forum, did not find easliy any info.

 

Thanks,

 

Also, What is the most efficient path to follow for tutorials, any opinions appreciated. I noticed forum members are ranked, how is this done?

 

I see there are forum tutorials, AN matrix tutorials, Sherwood Forest tutorials and manual tutorials, as a Zbrush artist, I am so bogged down in making zbrush textures that I was wondering what is the fastest path to getting to know the in's and out's of AM

 

All the best,

 

Michael Angelo

[v13 release tutorial inquiry]

use SEARCH button. upper right corner of the forum page

 

 

Thank you for the pointer, I was unable to find any help info in the v13 help tab and did not know that the forum has this information.

 

Sincerely,

 

Michael

[v13 release tutorial inquiry]

Dear AMasters,

 

I have downloaded the v13 release and am seeking how to's for the new features listed.

 

Does anyone have any direct links that demonstrate how to use the features.

 

In addition, are there any forum locations or links on how to output alpha channels and how to use the compositing feature I have heard is included?

 

Is there a master technical reference for the new features?

 

I am using Zbrush to create displacement maps for Maya.

 

Has anyone used this tool for Animation Master?

 

Thank you,

 

Michael Angelo

[Resurected old model]

Dear Yves,

 

The skin shader link is broken, is it possible to place it on your website or provide an alternate link?

 

Thanks kindly,

 

MIchael Angelo

 

 

 

 

quote name='ypoissant' date='Aug 23 2004, 02:37 PM' post='44824']

Here is an explanation I wrote on the "Naomi" Wip page:

 

The outdoor sunny lighting look comes from the bluish surrounding light that comes from the sky and a yellowish light that comes from the sun.

 

The easiest way to get this effect is with 3 lights:

1 yellowish sun light (I like to use a bulb for that)

1 bluish skylight light

1 bluish negative sun light (I like to use a bulb for that)

 

The main idea is to set the bluish and the yellowish lights at the exact opposite spectrum on the hue weel. You could use a straight yellow sun light or to get a warmer light lean a tiny bit toward orange and to get a hot light, lean more agressively toward orange. The saturation is maximum and the lightness is about 80%.

 

Once you have selected your yellow for the sun, you now set your skylight light and your negative sun light to the exact opposite bluish color on the hue weel. Again maximum saturation and about 80% lightness.

 

Of course, as you mentionned, you have to reduce the skylight light intensity. First I turn OFF the sun and the negative sun lights and adjust the skylight light intensity so that I still have nice shape shade definition but rather with about 1/3 or 1/2 the normal lighting intensity I would use with the slylight alone.

 

Now here is the trick: Turn ON both the sun light and the negative sun light. In choreography, on the negative sun, add translate and orient like constraints like the sun. On the Negative Sun attributes, set the intensity to minus 10%. Then adjust the (positive) sun intensity to get a nice bright light with clearly visible shadows. Some overexposure can help convey the feeling of the sunny day.

 

The negative bluish sun trick is to help enhance the bluish shadows vs the yellowish lights. The negative sun will remove some of th

 

 

e blue shades coming from the skylight where the yellowish sun should hit. By playing with the sun vs negative sun intensity, you can enhance this effect even further (but don't overdo it). My goal, with such a setup is to approach the lightings achieved by some painters (the Hildebrandt brothers or Maxfield Parish are notable examples).

 

I basicaly use this technique except that instead of using a bluish skylight light, I use a skydone with a mapped sky which serves as a color filter for the skylight. Apart from that, the negative sun light technique is used exactly as described. And I use my 20 lights skylight rig with 2 rays cast and 9 passes multipass.

 

As for the skintone. That's quite another story. Except for the face which have a whole set of maps (color, specularity size and intensity, bump, etc.) the body is only flat colored. The subtlety in the skintone comes from two things: 1) the blue-yellow lighting setup and most important, a skin plugin that I wrote which does this red transition between the light and the shadow side of the surfaces. I've attached the skin.shd plugin for everybody to download and try. (Note to Mac users: I'm waiting for the people at Hash to come back from vacation to get a Mac version of the plugin. My first intention was to wait for the two versions to be aailable before offering it for download. But since I mention it here, I might as well post it.).

[skin shaders]

Any thoughts on how to achieve SSS and ambient occlusion effects on skin?

Are there any recommended skin material settings or techniques that have become most useful in AM?

 

All the best to AMasters,

 

Michael Angelo

[simcloth]

Any demonstration will be useful. Thank you again.

 

Thank you very much for the links, I am delighted to see that there are such knowledgeable and caring animators like you on the forum.

 

Flattery will get you everywhere.

 

I have been putting together a basic SimCloth tutorial too but as is often the case it is more experimental than optimum for reproducing what the feature is first and foremost designed to create; cloth simulation.

 

If you are interested I'll put it together and post it.

It covers the very basics of setting up a Simcloth project.

 

 

It sounds like a macho project. Please keep me posted. All the best, michael angelo

 

i'm working on settings for anime hair and clothing,but havent got to it...sir.

[simcloth]

Thank you very much for the links, I am delighted to see that there are such knowledgeable and caring animators like you on the forum.

 

Most of the information on A:M's IBL (image-based lighthing) implementation is in this thread:

http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18957

 

The SimCloth forum is here:

http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showforum=53

...but I don't know if I've ever seen any authoritative tutorials thus far. Jayson "FrostEternal" Kerrick says he's working on one.

 

The compositor, a.k.a. Multiplane, is less widely known, but explained in detail here:

http://www.hash.com/htmlHelp/v12.0/GeneratedHtml/LayerA.htm

 

For the record, your previous postings are listed here:

http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?act=S...ult_type=topics

[simcloth]

I was wondering where I might find tutorials on version 13's newest features, especially simcloth, the compositor and hdri lighting.

 

Thanks for any links or instructions.

 

Sincerely,

 

Michael

 

p.s. I asked last week but could not find my posting to see if there was a response.

[new feature location search and complete]

Is there a way to install the beta build in a seperate directory and keep v12t functional?

 

Thanks,

 

Michael Angelo O'Connell

 

 

 

 

All those features are in the forthcoming A:M v13*, which is still in the alpha testing stage. Having said that, many of the forum users are playing with early builds of v13 and having a great time, especially with the new ambient occusion and pixel-level displacement.

 

You can get the v13.0 Alpha 10 build here:

http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20854

..but I recommend sticking with v12t for any major projects.

 

(* Cloth and Compositing are part of v12, actually--search the forums for "SimCloth" and "OpenEXR". And the Newton Physics are available for v12 as a free plugin. )

[new feature location search and complete]

Dear Forum,

 

I recently recieved v12t of Animation Master and am wondering how to locate the features listed in the promo

The Sweeper Modeling plugin,

Newton Game Dynamics,

Dark Tree Simbiont textures

the new cloth utility,

new compositing features

HDRI rendering

and a good skin shader.

 

Are there actual tutorials on these items. I tried to locate them in the Help Topics

but did not find them.

 

What suggestions are there for finding and learning to use these features.

 

Thanks,

 

Michael

[Resurected old model]

Dear Yves,

 

Apparently, I just recieved the info on the skin shader but the link is gone. Is there a new link.

 

Thanks,

 

Michael Angelo

 

Here is an explanation I wrote on the "Naomi" Wip page:

 

The outdoor sunny lighting look comes from the bluish surrounding light that comes from the sky and a yellowish light that comes from the sun.

 

The easiest way to get this effect is with 3 lights:

1 yellowish sun light (I like to use a bulb for that)

1 bluish skylight light

1 bluish negative sun light (I like to use a bulb for that)

 

The main idea is to set the bluish and the yellowish lights at the exact opposite spectrum on the hue weel. You could use a straight yellow sun light or to get a warmer light lean a tiny bit toward orange and to get a hot light, lean more agressively toward orange. The saturation is maximum and the lightness is about 80%.

 

Once you have selected your yellow for the sun, you now set your skylight light and your negative sun light to the exact opposite bluish color on the hue weel. Again maximum saturation and about 80% lightness.

 

Of course, as you mentionned, you have to reduce the skylight light intensity. First I turn OFF the sun and the negative sun lights and adjust the skylight light intensity so that I still have nice shape shade definition but rather with about 1/3 or 1/2 the normal lighting intensity I would use with the slylight alone.

 

Now here is the trick: Turn ON both the sun light and the negative sun light. In choreography, on the negative sun, add translate and orient like constraints like the sun. On the Negative Sun attributes, set the intensity to minus 10%. Then adjust the (positive) sun intensity to get a nice bright light with clearly visible shadows. Some overexposure can help convey the feeling of the sunny day.

 

The negative bluish sun trick is to help enhance the bluish shadows vs the yellowish lights. The negative sun will remove some of the blue shades coming from the skylight where the yellowish sun should hit. By playing with the sun vs negative sun intensity, you can enhance this effect even further (but don't overdo it). My goal, with such a setup is to approach the lightings achieved by some painters (the Hildebrandt brothers or Maxfield Parish are notable examples).

 

I basicaly use this technique except that instead of using a bluish skylight light, I use a skydone with a mapped sky which serves as a color filter for the skylight. Apart from that, the negative sun light technique is used exactly as described. And I use my 20 lights skylight rig with 2 rays cast and 9 passes multipass.

 

As for the skintone. That's quite another story. Except for the face which have a whole set of maps (color, specularity size and intensity, bump, etc.) the body is only flat colored. The subtlety in the skintone comes from two things: 1) the blue-yellow lighting setup and most important, a skin plugin that I wrote which does this red transition between the light and the shadow side of the surfaces. I've attached the skin.shd plugin for everybody to download and try. (Note to Mac users: I'm waiting for the people at Hash to come back from vacation to get a Mac version of the plugin. My first intention was to wait for the two versions to be aailable before offering it for download. But since I mention it here, I might as well post it.).