Kelley Posted February 7, 2006 Posted February 7, 2006 Here's a sampling of my 'movie set' for a first animation, [if this looks to be CP heavy, well, I've been a polygon modeler for over 10 years] and my first two characters. All they will have to do is walk down a long, straight alley, down a set of steps, across a courtyard and emerge on the street near where the tank is parked. Then cross the street. Simple. [Yeah. Right!] Will they talk? In the process of learning to install bones, I'm sure I'll do the "Can You Say That?" tutorial, and by the time they can walk...well, maybe. I expect the boning procedure will not be a short one. I approach 'bones' with great trepidation. Tried them in Carrara. Never did get it right. Tried in A:M with TSM2 and it's not right yet. However, I did install bones by hand in an A:M Fish model and they did work. Sooner or later, we all have to jump in at the deep end of the pool. Now it's my turn. The troopers are modeled after two characters by Vaughn Bode' [1971] The tank is patterned after the British WWI 'Whippet'...so named for its speed. [it could do close to 8mph, where the larger tanks could do no more than 4mph.][attachmentid=14201][attachmentid=14203] Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 7, 2006 Hash Fellow Posted February 7, 2006 Don't know anything about Vaughn Bode, but I like the look! Not sure I understand the lighting in the two set shots, the shadows are confusing. Quote
Slipin Lizard Posted February 7, 2006 Posted February 7, 2006 Looking good so far... you're experience really shows! Nice! Quote
trajcedrv Posted February 7, 2006 Posted February 7, 2006 I LOVE those characters!!! I LOVE the backgrounds!!! I'm not so sure about the lighting... ;-P Hyrry up with those bones, I can't wait to see those guys move around ;-D Hovewer, bones in A:M have by far easiest implementation compared to anything around (Reading manuals always helps;-)) Drvarceto Quote
Stuart Rogers Posted February 7, 2006 Posted February 7, 2006 I do like your sets. They're very nicely detailed and textured. With some imaginative scripts, I reckon you could have some fun animated shorts with this stuff. Quote
nimblepix Posted February 7, 2006 Posted February 7, 2006 Wow, talk about nostalgia! Great job on the Vaughn Bode' models, and your set. I still have his comics from the hippie days. Too bad he died so young. I'm looking forward to what you do with this. Quote
Admin Rodney Posted February 7, 2006 Admin Posted February 7, 2006 I agree. You've perfectly capture Vaughn Bode's style. I too have some of his comics. His unique and cartoony style really caught my eye as I was growing up collecting comics. The mature themes, while part of his works charm, I didn't care for much but the style... simply exquisite. OT Commentary: As far as Vaughn Bode's death all I can say is; what a colossal waste of a life and talent. Artists who live life on the edge all too often fall off. It's best to have a safety net to get you through the rough times. Vaughn Bode may have had one but it failed him if he did. Looking forward to seeing more of your project! Those characters should look great animated. Rodney Quote
Bruce Del Porte Posted February 7, 2006 Posted February 7, 2006 Wonderful characters and gorgeous sets. I look forward to seeing a video. Quote
Dhar Posted February 8, 2006 Posted February 8, 2006 Excuisite work. I can sit back and look at that background and those characters for hours. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 8, 2006 Hash Fellow Posted February 8, 2006 Tried in A:M with TSM2 and it's not right yet. When you say "it's not right yet", what do you mean? Quote
Kelley Posted February 10, 2006 Author Posted February 10, 2006 Thanks for all the comeback. Also, it's good to know that Vaughn Bode is still remembered. The news from the Project is good: I sat down with the manual today, summoned up 'Boneless Thom', and by 10:00pm had him fully boned and walking. I did take a shortcut and did not apply SmartSkin. [He really needs it] However, I did do the leaf tutorial. I'll play with that some more, and some bending cylinders, and then put bones into my troopers. I feel a major hurdle has been put behind me. [blessings on Martin Hash!] About the lighting: Admittedly, it is dark. Partly, I'm making this happen at night so I don't have to line the street with houses. The model is CP heavy as it is. I don't want to have to do a whole city block in order that the camera not see empty space. The other cause is that I, being semi-retired now, work on a golfcourse grounds crew during the summer. The winter months I have off, and that's when I really lay in on the 3D projects. Left to my own devices, I tend to sleep long in the mornings, putter about in the afternoons, start serious work at around 5:00pm and work through the night into the early morn. With just a small desk lamp by the monitor, colors look brighter and sharper to me than they do in daylight. So the lighting will be fine tuned with some brighter 'hot-spots' to accent what's going on. But for now, the first walk cycle is a big leap forward. I'm appending two more pics.[attachmentid=14318][attachmentid=14319] Quote
Dhar Posted February 10, 2006 Posted February 10, 2006 OK, you've tantalized me enough. I gotta see some clips Quote
agep Posted February 10, 2006 Posted February 10, 2006 gotta see some clips I second that! What I really like is the atmosphere you got there, and great models. Looking forward to see more Regards Stian Quote
KenH Posted February 10, 2006 Posted February 10, 2006 Say, Robert, have you been lurking or did you just pick up AM quick? Nice work. It's a shame you're tied up so much. Your lighting (and other stuff) experience would come in handy on TWO. Quote
Kelley Posted February 10, 2006 Author Posted February 10, 2006 OKOKOK, guys...I'm on it [LOL] Damn. I kinda figured that if I declared the project, and posted it in the Showcase, it would serve to keep me moving along on it. Lots of other animation projects have foundered in other programs just because installing bones is such a pain in the butt. ['just came over from Carrara]. I thought that if I decided to be a Show-Off-In-The-Showcase, I'd have to stick to it & deliver the goods, or, six months from now, someone would say: "Aren't you the guy who was doing the thing with the tank and the two troopers? What ever happened to that?" And I don't want that. I am very happily surprised at the response to the sets so far. And pleased ['exultant' would not be too strong a word] that I got bones installed in Thom, and last night I took him on a 15-sec. walk.['been a long time comin'...didn't sleep a wink last night] Now to practice with SmartSkin, and building some walk cycles from scratch and some smaller detail things. Expect clips by the end of the month, if not before. Thanks again for all the kind words. Here's a few more pics. of the street.[attachmentid=14336][attachmentid=14337][attachmentid=14338] Quote
Kelley Posted February 10, 2006 Author Posted February 10, 2006 Say, Robert, have you been lurking or did you just pick up AM quick? Nice work. It's a shame you're tied up so much. Your lighting (and other stuff) experience would come in handy on TWO. No Ken, I've not been lurking about, but I have been through a fair number of 3D applications during the past ten years. I love 3D work, and will go to see just about anything that's computer animated. [Let me warn you off "Hoodwinked"! It's a clumsy, amateurish mess.] But I started with A:M about four or five months ago after a buddy saw a demo and called me and said: "You HAVE GOT to get this program!" Took a little while to get my head around Spline Modeling, and Decaling drove me crazy until I updated the drivers on my Radeon. {I now consider the A:M Decaling system to be the best I've ever worked with.] Thanks for the compliments. I don't think I'm tied up so much that I couldn't pick up some peripheral details on TWO. During the summer season, I work the golfcourse from 6:00am to 2:30pm. Home by 3:00pm. Basically all my spare time is spent at the computer doing 3D...I just don't put in many late nights. In the Winter, we're laid off from early December until the start of April and I can do just about anything I want. Keep me in mind if there's some small 'starter projects' that I could help with. Quote
Stuart Rogers Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 I kinda figured that if I declared the project, and posted it in the Showcase, it would serve to keep me moving along on it.Damn right! With material like this, you're not going to get a moment's peace.Here's a few more pics. of the street.Again, very nice. Your troopers are getting lost amongst the detail of the background, so one day you should ask us about gradient materials - you can fake a nice rim light with them that will make your troopers stand out from the background quite nicely. Anyone who's seen Stephen Millingen's (pequod's) "Briar Rose 'entrance'" test anim will know what I'm taking about. BTW I took a look at your website earlier - you have some very nice material there. I do hate it when people show how much more talented they are than me, which is why I hate everyone. Quote
mark Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 Well I love the mood set by it all. I've been using AM on and off since v7, but the feel of my images have never been like those. Sigh. Quote
Kelley Posted February 11, 2006 Author Posted February 11, 2006 STUART: I do realize that Tubs and Pepperbox [as Bode' named them] do get a little lost in some shots. Everything should be considered provisional at the moment until I get the walking smoothly. And mouths moving. [going for the Big One there.] Camera angles are pretty close to final, but focal lengths, exact placement, lighting, etc. will all needfine tuning and I'm warmly appreciative of all the help and suggestions. I print out and file interesting problems/solutions. So...to that end, would you go ahead and explain Gradients Materials, also Light Lists. I think I'd like to change that Klieg in the alley back to a Bulb to get my long shadows back. If I recall correctly, you said a Light List could specify which objects got the light? Is the 'Briar Rose' entrance test viewable on the web? Quote
luckbat Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 I can't find the Briar Rose entrance online, but here's a lipsync test that uses the same shading technique: http://www.hash.com/users/milos/briar.MOV Also, Light Lists: http://www.hash.com/htmlHelp/v12.0/CustomH...LIGHT_LISTS.htm Quote
Stuart Rogers Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 STUART: I do realize that Tubs and Pepperbox do get a little lost in some shots. Everything should be considered provisional at the moment until ...I realise this, which is why I said 'one day!So...to that end, would you go ahead and explain Gradients Materials, also Light Lists.The light lists is easy, as the link Mike provided shows. Try this: create a new, default choreography and drop a couple of objects into it, side by side (so they're both illuminated by the default lights). Do a quick render to see what it looks like. Now drag the key light's shortcut onto just one of the objects. Accept the default value in the dialogue box that appears. Render again and see that the object without a light list is not illuminated by the light you added to the other object's light list. As for the gradient materials, I think I'll have to leave that to others. It's been a while since I last played with them, and I would like to try it out before saying more, but A:M is crashing every time I try modifying my gradient material. (And I'll be away from A:M for the rest of the weekend.) Sorry. Quote
3DArtZ Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 This does look like it is something special. Please keep us posted!!! Mike Fitz www.3dartz.com Quote
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