Ilidrake

UHHHHH I'm a bit confused by that comment. Are you talking about the Compatability under properties? Under AM options? I dont see that in AM options.

Attached is the screen of the problem I'm having. This "box" shows whenever I try to select anything. For some reason the area just turns black. Nothing serious just odd. I'm using the Nvidia 9600GT on a pentium quad 2.66ghz.

Sorry about that robcat. I've actually solved that problem with the hair on the rabbit. I've included a new shot, what do you think? I took a break from modeling and animating and opened up after effects to see what the peices I have so far look like. Crits and comments plz Comp.mov

Today I have hit a milestone!!! I completed all of the dialogue recordings for the characters!!! For this I used FL 9 Studio. A handy piece of software for doing music and speech. I also started actually animating!!! I have begun the blocking process and so far I have 4 parts blocked in!!! Needless to say I'm very excited and I hope the momentum continues. Of course in all this excitment I do have one piece of advice for anyone starting out. Take your time. The actual animation started off slowly because I didn't know where to start. Honestly I pondered this question for two days while modeling. So today i just sat down and started. No paticular place, I just found a scene that appealed to me and I started animating and working on the timing. Before long it was blocked well enough for me to move to the next one. So, hat's off to all of you!!!!

Okay, here is the rabbit with fur!!! I'm really pleased with the way it looks, although this render is a bit washed out. Could someone recommend settings for still images. Thanks.

So each day I have attempted to finish something. Not always the case but I do try to get something done, be it a character or set. So here is the render of what i have accomplished today. The boy, Alex, is about 90% finished, rabbit is about 75%, and the set they are in is about 90%. It won't be long and I'll be ready to begin animating. Wish me luck that I don't fail at this LOL.... On a side note anyone know of someone who would like to do some music for this little piece? And what advice would anyone have for adding fur to the rabbit? I tried applying it directly to the surface mesh but the effect was very poor. A skull cap would work in certain places I suppose but I am unsure.

Okay I finally started on the rabbit for the movie. He and the boy are the only two actors in the short so that pre-production is kept short. This of course is a render of the rabbit thus far. Comments and crits welcome plz. I'm still messing around with how to do the fur of the rabbit but haven't stumbled upon anything that suits him.

Still churning away on this. I'm really enjoying myself. I have a solid story with some deep characters, and that is really helping my energy. I've also not bogging myself down with details. Normally I will work on one model to death, looking for details and never being happy. This round I'm simply working on them and once they get to a point I'm moving on. Are they 100%.......yes they are. For me they are. I'm sure they can be better but I'm happy with them so that's all I'm looking for. I'm also keeping sets simple. This way I can move the project along. If I have time near the end perhaps I will add more details but for now they are 100%. Speaking of sets here is one I finished today. Its from the opening seq of the film. Comments and crits plz

Here's an update of the main character for my film.

Started some serious work on this little film. The script is written and i'm working on my still shots for each sequence to get a feel for the timing and such. I'm also doing a bit of lighting experimenting as well to make sure the lighting is close to what I want. Here's a set render from the opening sequence. I think I need to add a few more props but havent decided what I want to add. They always say less is more but this hallway is pretty bare and boring right now.

So here's a new character head for a model that I will be using in my little animation piece. I'm pretty pleased with the way it looks but I will continue to tweak it.

Okay so the rig and all weights are in place. I also used a few fan bones for some of the simplier areas. Not too sure about colors or clothes so I kept it really simple. I'm working on the face rig. I've been looking into getting zign track for AM but haven't come to a conclusion. Is it worth the money or would simple pose sliders work better?

So rigging a character has got to be the most complex and frustrating part of a character. So to learn and teach myself I did this guy real quick and have been rigging him for the last two days. So far I've learned alot and this is what i have so far. no animation yet. I've had AM since 9.5 I think and I've never done the first animation piece successfully LOL.

Ah ha!!! I always try to do my weights and fan bones "after" I install the rig. I'm gonna load up the model pre-rig and start over. Thanks for the help guys

Been working on my newest model with the TSM2 rig and I'm having trouble getting smartskin to work with the hips. I've added fanbones to the area but would like to use smartskin to smooth out the trouble CPs. I've targeted the upper leg bone but when the smartskin window opnes and I attempt to manipulate the bone nothing happens, I can't move it. Sometimes AM crashes when I try this. Anyone got any pointers on smartskinning with this rig?

Okay, first pose with the new rig. I'm having a lot of problem areas around the upper thighs. I think it's mainly the spline layout. On an after thought I was wondering if you guys have any pointers for rigging? I been checking tuts and such but haven't been able to come up with an affective route. I thought maybe smartskin, but I'm not 100% on how to use it.

Yep, thayt's the one. I didn't feel like modeling and entire body so I just used his. And yes, if I actually do an animation piece with this credit will be given And of course I'm also using it to learn how to be a better splineman. It's a great model and I recommend anyone wanting to learn to pick it up.

LOL No horse for miss zorra just yet (not sure I could rig one). I still have to work on her boyfriend after I get her rigged and ready to animate. As for a non clothing shot, there isn't one. I modeled her body and then modeled the clothing around it and then deleted any mesh that would bleed through while animating. Thanks for the comments.

I am so jealous Just kidding. I love your style. Do you draw your on roto's? Please! You have got to gimme some tips LOL

I continue to work onthis and can honestly say I've never been more excited about a model. I rounded the face even furthur and the over all look is sooooo much better. kudos for the tips I also reworked the hair, though you can't see it in this shot, I got it into a ponytail and shaped it. The over all look is better. I also wne ahead and rigged in a quick jaw bone to test basic mouth movement and the layout of splines will work so well for animating. So, what do you guys think of her so far? Please, I could use all the pointers you AMers have.

Okay I've spent the morning tweaking the models face. I've removed a great deal of splines that are unneeded. I've also tweaked the eyes, nose, and lips. I also rounded the face a bit. Ive also spent hourse playing with the hair trying to give it a thick full look but have been unable to achieve anything that looks good. Does anyone have any advice on making hair thicker and fuller? I don't mind putting in the effort for grooming I was just wondering what general settings work best. I have version 13 right now...will be updating soon.

Body and some clothing. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to make her look more like a girl in the face, as I feel the mask seems to make her look like a dude. Maybe I should broaden the mouth a bit???

Thanks guys. Here's an update. Added a hat and hair/ The feather uses particle hair with a peacock feather texture. Still not happy with the hair on the base of her head but will continue to play with it.

This is continued from another thread. I'm am continuing this little experiment regardless weather it goes anywhere. Just my way of learning. Attached are shots of what I have so far of this character.