a different type of WIP

[barkest]

I am new to animation of any kind and after picking up the aoam user guide I saw that it was packed full of information but only if you could look at it as a guide only and not something that was going to make you a great AM user.

 

So here is my WIP and I generally put new stuff on there every day of the week (yes really).

 

I would be grateful for any comments that you may have.

 

My Webpage

[KenH]

That's a great idea. It'll be a cool reference once it's done too. Don't forget to search the forum as you learn. There's lots of information packed in here too.

[barkest]

I am getting on with it really quickly now and most of the animation section is finished and well down the track with the technical section.

 

I kind of think of it as something for us non experts who really dont have a clue.

[myfish]

That is actually very good.

 

A similar idea based around the online manual would be great.

 

like an online moderated WIKI based around that versions help file.

 

It would be much easier than the disjointed "search" on forums.

[oakchas]

Steve,

 

I think your blog is a great idea... And I see you're moving along well in the TAO I'm not gonna catch up with you becasue of my time constraints but that's okay too cause I can sorta follow your footsteps easier than I can just compare my work with other posts of the excercise.

[nimblepix]

Steve,

 

This is a super idea, I hope you can keep it up.

It's a great service to the community.

Thanks!

[Rodney]

Steve,

I haven't had time to go through all your blog but I read a few of your latest.

I LIKE!

 

Thanks for the plug too. I do indeed give give away advice for free (The free upgrade Hash Inc offered me last year I gave away in a drawing so I'm still 100% free! I come with the box. ). I volunteer my time because I remember what it is like to have a dream. On behalf of Mike Stamm and David Higgins I think I can say they appreciate your pat on the back as well.

 

You raise some good points in your recent July blog. The ones I recall off the top of my head are:

 

1) Exercise 6: "The Door's Stuck" comes a little early in the animation learning process.

You know... I think you are right. There are some things we can do to help people get animating without getting stuck with constraints that push the limits of patience.

I don't think you'll see TAoA:M change too much in the order of exercises but I would like to enhance what is available online to complement the manual. There is a lot more we can do with path animation and walk cycles too.

 

2) The New Users Forum isn't as much of a community as the rest of the forum.

Ouch. The truth hurts. I know this... and you made me realise that other people probably know it too. I'm not sure how to get the community 'feel' embedded further into the New Users Forum except to suggest that New and Old Users continue to help each other out and always remember that they too were once a 'new user'. One way to make the New Users Forum blend better with the rest of the forum might be for me to step away from the keyboard more often and let others respond. As time goes on I think you'll see the community flow equally through all of the forums. I'm not reading too much into it but I am recognizing the truth in what you said.

 

You have a lot more great insight on your site but those two I thought I would comment on. I enjoyed your blog and encourage others to visit and read through it. Here's hoping you continue blogging for many years to come.

 

Best,

Rodney

[barkest]

thanks for the encouragement guys. My explanation of exercise 7 (lip synch) is how I see the aoam notes going. I cover phonemes, adding sound and an exercise on building a set of lips and adding poses. I hope it supplements a great user guide animation guide

 

Thanks Rodney. I think that the new user forum suffers becuase people see the 'experts' in the main forum and just hit them with a question which unfortunately can be answered by themselves if they just do a little digging.

 

Maybe a name change for the new users forum, who knows? What I do know Rodney is that there are a handful of guys on there holding it together, mainly yourself (nice job) so I can fully understand that as you cant do everything you must rely on others. I still ask all of my questions in that forum, I have only been using it for a few weeks and with zero projects under my belt I am a very new user.

 

The blog and guide to the user guide is still going full steam and this week should see the finish of the first section (animation) complete.

 

The technical section is filling up nicely and will hopefully be completed in September.

 

Modeling - my nemesis, but I will get down to it soon.

 

Over and above that I will continue to update the guide as I find new stuff out so its not a fixed document but a living one that will change as I gain more knowledge.

 

thanks again

[seven]

Over and above that I will continue to update the guide as I find new stuff out so its not a fixed document but a living one that will change as I gain more knowledge.

 

thanks again

Nice - someone trying to do a guide!

 

Why not upload the guide as a .zip-file to the Software Tutorials Forum.

And why not use free WINK - http://www.debugmode.com/wink/ - to explain something to us?

 

WINK is easy and funny to use and you can tell all the steps in doing something.

I believe not getting all the steps is the problem for the one wanting to know something.

Showing all the steps with some text to explain them I found good. I do not believe you have to use video showing the mouse movements and having a voice to guide what is happening. I hope you will have a try with WINK or just upload your HTML-guide to the Software Tutorials Forum and a link to your blogg!

[barkest]

thanks seven. I already have Wink and maybe that is something for the future. Initially I want to cover all the exercises in the book then get back to them as I progress.

 

I do agree with you that step by step is the best way to go about things. After I finish the technical section I will see if there is any interest from the community here if so then I can see what to do about putting it on the boards.

 

I have a project in mind as well for it which will follow the book, in other words it will be all of the exercises put together in one movie. I hope to start on this in the next two or three weeks.

[Rodney]

Steve,

I believe your perspective (that of a newcomer to animation) is a valuable one.

I hope you'll continue to remind us of your updates here in your WIP.

 

With your permission I'd like to link to your site from somewhere in the New Users Forum. (Haven't figured out where the best place might be yet)

 

Rodney

[barkest]

no problemo Rodney, link away.

 

I update it every single day including weekends. Lots more work on exercise 7 put in there this morning.

 

As a perspective I hope it is interesting, due the fact that I have no animation experience whatsoever and I am a very poor artist, if it can work for me then trust me when I say no-one else should find it daunting.

 

Then again I have yet to reach the conclusion of whether it works for me yet but the signs are promising and of course the community help is crucial.