Tralfaz

Wow, great job on your test Paul. I like the model of the head you used. It was very expressive, much more than the one that I tried. Could you post a small sample of the video you used? Al

I have been testing the Beta software for Luuk, and this is my second attempt at doing facial motion capture. I added the bone structure to the "Wild Bill" character, then added the .bvh file. I think my rigging and smart skinning could use some more work, but Luuk's software worked great! Al fmc_test_2b.mov

Not to worry folks. We have had some rough times and good times. This is just one of those times where things have happened all at once, and it will get better again. There are always people who are worse off than you are. Yes, money is a bit tight right now, but we are all pretty healthy and happy. I have a great wife and son, so I feel I am really fortunate. Al

What I mean by justifying the cost is that in the past couple of months, expenses around the house have kind of gone through the roof. It started with my buying a new laptop. It had been a while since I bought anything for myself, and things were pretty good for us financially, so that purchase was easy to justify. Shortly after that, I got some bad news from my dentist. With years of grinding my teeth, my mouth was over closing and causing pain in my jaw and giving me headaches. After doing a bunch of tests, it was determined that in order to correct the problem, my bite needs to be opened 7.5mm. This is done by crowning all my teeth at a cost of around $35,000 to $40,000. My dental plan will cover around $12,000 leaving me on the hook for $23,000 to $28,000. To top if off, my wife's dental bridge needs to be replaced adding another $1,500. Then last week, we get a letter from our house insurance company. Since our house has aluminum wiring, we need to have it inspected and fixed otherwise our insurance will be cancelled. Now, we are looking at another $6,500 for that. So, spending $150 on a hobby at this time is hard to justify (in my particular case). Al

Wow, that is looking fantastic. Although $150 USD is probably a fair price to ask for the software, for a hobbyist like myself, it is still out of my price range. Not critizing or complaining about your price, but as a husband and father trying to make ends meet, it would be hard to justify spending that amount of money to my family. If it were around $50 USD, I could probably swing it. Keep up the great work on this, it is really amazing. Al

Great job XTaz. Agree about more pauses. Dhar, did you create that character or was it on the extras CD or DVD? Same question for you XTaz. Did you create your character? Al

That is really quite amazing! Noticed the head seems to have a bit of the jitters in this demo though. If you need an alpha or beta tester, feel free to contact me. I have been a software developer for over 20 years now with a strong ability to document problems and how to duplicate them. Thanks... Al

Not sure what you mean by 'reflective spheres', but those paint canisters look pretty darn good!! Reminds me of my plastic modelling days... Al

Due to the differences (polygon vs. splines), Animation:Master does not import 3ds files very well as a model. It does however, seem to import them fine as a prop. You just can't add bones or animate them or apply other A:M features to them. Al

Hummana... Hummana... Hummanna... Absolutely jaw-dropping work Stian. Is there anything that you are not good at modelling? Al

Uhmmmm.... Where did you download A:M Version 11.1 from? As far as I know, Hash provides the current version and 1 back available for download and the most recent (non-alpha or beta) version is 14.0a. Do you have the original CD or Serial Number? If so, then you may want to contact Hash for assistance. If this is a hacked version downloaded from a torrent or other website, then you should probably look elsewhere or just buy the software from Hash.

Don't take it too hard Ken. I appreciated your going to the trouble of posting a link where no one else did. I personally don't mind going through several links as there is always the potential of picking up other info that the other links may have missed. Or better yet, finding some tidbit that has nothing to do with the original topic but ends up being invaluable. Thanks... Al

Excellent modelling job Dhar. Your character already has a lot of 'character' to him. Based on viewing some of your other animations, I can't wait to see what you will be able to do with this guy. Al

Damn, Lee. That is one sweet model and render. Not sure about copyright stuff, but that would make a great A:M Mascott entry. Al

This is so freakin' amazing!! I am glad I got a plastic cover for my keyboard, 'cause I am drooling all over it right now looking at the renders! I haven't read Iron Man comics since I was a kid (many, many, many moons ago) and never did understand this, but didn't Tony Stark need the suit to keep him alive? If so, why did the suit never show when he was wearing his street clothes? Al

I am uploading the Nixus project file for anyone who would like to complete this project. It was created using A:M ver 13t. A lot of things have cropped up recently, and don't see myself having enough time (or skill) to finish it. Thanks... Al Nixus.zip

Another update. Started working on the top of the body and tried playing around with the color of the car and reflections. C&C always welcome... Al

Reworked the body a bit to smooth it out. While I was reworking the body, the groups that I had set up for the different parts, lost their references to the control points. I then had to spend a fair amount of time re-selecting the control points into the different groups. Now, when I get to a specific point in the project, I save it to 3 different file names. Al

Thanks Eric. Yes, I am tweaking the bias handles to help smooth out the curves and transistions. Never tried Procelain, but will give it a try. Al

Quick update. - Re-modelled the spokes on the wheels - Slowly moving up the side of the body. Darned hard to get things really smooth! C&C always welcome. Al

HOLY CRAP!!!! Excellent job Stian. Totally envious of your modelling, animation and lighting skills. Having bucket seats for feet must be murder for keeping the upholstery clean! What did you use for your camera tracking? I've played with Icarus and it seemed to work fairly well. Al

No problem. I have attached the model file here. I really need to re-work the spokes and eventually plan to add the tread using displacement maps. Al Nixus_Rear_Wheel.mdl

Beautiful work on Ironman Lee. Tony Stark would be proud to wear the suit. It would be an absolute shame if a model of this quality were never finished. Al

Great job on the NIXUS so far Viper. Started doing one myself (also in the WIP section). Not much done yet, but getting there. Al

Finally got some time to give the NIXUS a try. Thought I would start with the rear tire and rim. C&C always welcome. Al Thanks to Cristobal Vila for making the blueprints available to us, and thanks to Viper for allowing us to join in on modelling the NIXUS. " Original NIXUS concept by Cristobal Vila - www.etereaestudios.com "