Tai Shan Posted December 29, 2007 Posted December 29, 2007 Hi everybody, I'm a big fan of the rock band Rush and cannot resist using the boys as models with which to improve my skills. Attached is my latest effort to render (from left to right) Neil, Al, and Ged. Comments and criticism are appreciated. Feel free to rofl; I gotta toughen up my ego anyway. Quote
Jeetman Posted December 29, 2007 Posted December 29, 2007 They look pretty cool! Not knowing who Rush are, I'm thinking they all wear black hehe. Keep up the good work! George Quote
Xtaz Posted December 29, 2007 Posted December 29, 2007 Hi Tai Shan .... They are Greeeeaaat .... did you rig them ? You are very good with Caricature !!! Geddy Lee is perfect !!!! Very nice job ... I hope to see their perfomance soon !!!! Can we see the wireframe ? Quote
nino banano Posted December 29, 2007 Posted December 29, 2007 hey Tai Shan..this band really rocks...are you going to animate them? nice modeling Quote
John Bigboote Posted December 30, 2007 Posted December 30, 2007 GREAT! I can't wait to see you animate Neil Peart playing drums! HEY! I did a similar job to the 'Rollin Stones' a few years ago...wanna see it? Quote
Tai Shan Posted December 30, 2007 Author Posted December 30, 2007 Thank you for the kind comments, everybody. It gives me the courage to roll up my sleeves and get this animation project moving. @George: Rush is my favorite hard-rock / progressive-rock band. The clothes are from photos of them at different concerts. The fact that their colors match is entirely by accident on my part. @Xtaz: I've got the rig ready and I just need to assign the CPs. Here are some wireframes. What do you think of them? I don't know if my modelling skills are practical or efficient. @nino banano: Yes, I'll be animating them in sync with one of their songs. Right now I'm working on story ideas. @John Bigboote: Your Rolling Stones video is awesome! That must have been a lot of work. It's jam-packed with so many subtle character nuances that made me smile. Even your avatar knocks me out. My animation won't be a straight performance video, but I have a feeling that you'll see Neil banging away with the sticks at some point. Quote
agep Posted December 30, 2007 Posted December 30, 2007 Nice models indeed! and great resemblance. I am very impressed of how low patched they are. Great job! Quote
Kelley Posted December 30, 2007 Posted December 30, 2007 This is great stuff! Very impressive what you've done with so few patches. I printed out six pics and tacked them to the wall in front of me as a tutorial...each being worth a thousand words...maybe more. [i've built everything except heads. Time to change that.] Keep us updated. Quote
Admin Rodney Posted December 31, 2007 Admin Posted December 31, 2007 You are going to find a lot of agreement that you've found an optimized spline layout for these characters. I'm looking for troublesome areas and... I sure don't see any. You've redefined the phrase 'economy of splines' for me in the wireframe images you've posted. Another plus (I assume) is that your models aren't 'unibody'. This style of modeling has been of interest to me of late. Can you clarify? Are the arms and legs attached to the body? Are they separate meshes? This effort deserves to be seen in fully animated form... so stick with it. Please! What do you think of them? I don't know if my modelling skills are practical or efficient They are indeed practical and efficient from what I can see. The final proof however is in the animating. Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 1, 2008 Author Posted January 1, 2008 Thanks, everybody. Because I try hard to make the most out of as few splines as possible, your compliments mean that much more. I'll be sure to post updates as the project moves forward. @Rodney: You're right -- they're not unibody. Initially, the body is one mesh while I check for anatomical proportion and design cohesiveness. When molding the torso to become a shirt, I detach it from the neck and arms. Then, pants are detached from the torso/shirt; the shoes are separated from the pants. It's a quick method to keep the splines of the sleeves, cuffs, and collars from curling at the ends. It's more than that. This method is very liberating -- kind of an OOP approach to modelling. Happy New Year! Quote
Kelley Posted January 1, 2008 Posted January 1, 2008 Here's something I was playing with in these last few weeks: On a whim, I took the 'Boneless Thom' [but used the boned version that comes with A:M] and squeezed and pulled the mesh, reshaping him into a different character. This character may look taller than Thom, but he's not. When it comes to clothing, I copied the CP's from neck to waist, and from left wrist to right. Copied, then pasted back. Using the Scale Tool, I enlarged the shell so that Thom was contained within. I extruded the collar up, the arms out, then pulled the points back to make cuffs, took the waistline CP's, pulled them down shaping the bottom of the coat. Then I went into Bones Mode and assigned all the new CP's to bones. Instant clothing. Instant fit! Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted January 1, 2008 Hash Fellow Posted January 1, 2008 Great looking characters! Kelley is right, those are models of economy! Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 2, 2008 Author Posted January 2, 2008 Thanks, robcat2075. @Kelley: Great job! Your method of generating clothes might be instant, but that just makes the results all the more impressive. Time-saving and effective. I would be using this method for my characters except that I tend to remove torso geometry that is concealed by clothing -- to help keep the patch count at a minimum. If my characters took off their clothes, they would look like the Invisible Man. Please follow this whim! I'd like to see more of 'Captain Thom.' Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 5, 2008 Author Posted January 5, 2008 Hey everybody, Minor update: started on the drums today. Let me know what you think. Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 6, 2008 Author Posted January 6, 2008 Another quick update: the first major pass at the drum kit is finished. I'm gonna go lie down now. Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 6, 2008 Author Posted January 6, 2008 Woohoo! Modelling is complete for the most part. It might be hard to see in the picture, but Neil does have drumsticks. Next up: Rigging! Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 6, 2008 Author Posted January 6, 2008 Neil has been rigged. Working on some actions for him. Quote
PF_Mark Posted January 7, 2008 Posted January 7, 2008 They look like they are ready for the lime light! I am a big Rush fan I saw them in Toronto as a teen ager. One of Canada's best rock Artists! If you want some help animating then give me a call Quote
PF_Mark Posted January 7, 2008 Posted January 7, 2008 They look pretty cool! Not knowing who Rush are, I'm thinking they all wear black hehe. Keep up the good work! George George check this out! http://www.rush.com/ Rush is Canada's official music ambassadors to the world! (the Canadian goverment awarded this honor years ago) they are from Toronto and are IMHO on of the world best work bands! These guys have been around for a long time I saw these guys back when I was a teenager and they have an impressive amount of quality music. Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 7, 2008 Author Posted January 7, 2008 They look like they are ready for the lime light! I am a big Rush fan I saw them in Toronto as a teen ager. One of Canada's best rock Artists! If you want some help animating then give me a call Thanks for the offer -- it's one of the best compliments I could receive. I'm probably going to keep this a solo project because I'm learning so much from the experience. Check out the links below and you'll see that my animating skills need to improve as much as humanly possible! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXNqTjKKTvU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjgGk78UQPA Quote
John Bigboote Posted January 7, 2008 Posted January 7, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOGcOYhBKho Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 7, 2008 Author Posted January 7, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOGcOYhBKho Yeah, that's a great video. Fantastic work. I'm not even going to try to top it. My goal is to make cute/funny characters that surprise you with how well they play their instruments. Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 8, 2008 Author Posted January 8, 2008 Here is a little animation test that I worked up today: Neil hits the snare drum twice. It's not much, but it's a start. Enjoy. Snare_Drum.mov Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 9, 2008 Author Posted January 9, 2008 This next video is a bit longer -- 13 seconds. It features some work on the snare, a floor tom, and cymbals. Rush_0000.mov Please check it out and let me know what you think. Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 10, 2008 Author Posted January 10, 2008 This video has Alex playing guitar in the intro. Errr... I'll get him palm-muting and fretting properly before the next video. The volume is also back to normal. Rush___Neil_and_Alex.mov How does the animation look so far? Go ahead and be honest. Quote
Paul Forwood Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 This all looks great! Looking forward to the gig. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted January 11, 2008 Hash Fellow Posted January 11, 2008 How does the animation look so far? Go ahead and be honest. I only have small knowledge of Rush so I don't know if they are that reserved in their actual stage performance, but I can imagine putting a lot more "body language" into the playing motions. Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 11, 2008 Author Posted January 11, 2008 How does the animation look so far? Go ahead and be honest. I only have small knowledge of Rush so I don't know if they are that reserved in their actual stage performance, but I can imagine putting a lot more "body language" into the playing motions. Yeah, the actions are a bit wooden, robotic -- not like a live Rush peformance. I'll work on that. Thank you for the input! Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 12, 2008 Author Posted January 12, 2008 The final animation will be more than a straight music performance. There will be cutting back and forth between the musicians and a story of sorts. This model is featured in the story section: What do you think? I'm trying to maintain a balance of simplified detail and believability. Does it still read as a motorcycle? Quote
Paul Forwood Posted January 12, 2008 Posted January 12, 2008 Beautiful! I love the proportions. Quote
mtpeak2 Posted January 12, 2008 Posted January 12, 2008 Looking real good Tai Shan, keep at it. Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 13, 2008 Author Posted January 13, 2008 Thanks! Update: finally we see the trio in action! The action is still wooden as I'm finding my animation feet. The camera is fairly active this time. Rush.mov Biggest hurdle I had to overcome this time: wrists! Geddy's wrists. I cheated with Alex's model by covering his wrists with cuffs. When Geddy reaches with his left hand to fret the guitar, his wrist twists and it looked painful. CP weights helped smooth the twist a bit. Quote
itsjustme Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 Thanks! Update: finally we see the trio in action! The action is still wooden as I'm finding my animation feet. The camera is fairly active this time. Rush.mov Biggest hurdle I had to overcome this time: wrists! Geddy's wrists. I cheated with Alex's model by covering his wrists with cuffs. When Geddy reaches with his left hand to fret the guitar, his wrist twists and it looked painful. CP weights helped smooth the twist a bit. It looked like Alex's right hand needed some CP Weighting work done on the thumb area, but it's looking really good so far Tai Shan! Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 14, 2008 Author Posted January 14, 2008 It looked like Alex's right hand needed some CP Weighting work done on the thumb area, but it's looking really good so far Tai Shan! Now that I look at it again, you're right. I'll work on weighting the thumb so it bends and creases more naturally. Thank you for the feedback! Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 14, 2008 Author Posted January 14, 2008 Awesome!!!! Thanks, Sacman. Minor update: Fixed Alex's right hand. I moved the bone and points around while eyeballing the action window for quality control. The creases look more natural, I think. Quote
nino banano Posted January 15, 2008 Posted January 15, 2008 The final animation will be more than a straight music performance. There will be cutting back and forth between the musicians and a story of sorts. This model is featured in the story section: What do you think? I'm trying to maintain a balance of simplified detail and believability. Does it still read as a motorcycle? this is awesome tai shan...could you put it in wires please...nice work..go ahead with it Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 15, 2008 Author Posted January 15, 2008 Wireframes of the motorcycle? Sure -- here you go: Quote
Admin Rodney Posted January 15, 2008 Admin Posted January 15, 2008 This just keeps getting better and better. Absolutely wonderful motorcycle. ...and the scale related to the characters... perfection! Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 17, 2008 Author Posted January 17, 2008 Thanks, Rodney. Minor project update: fixed a lot of things noted in animation test #3: the camera work is a bit more meaningful; Alex is now fretting Emaj (kind of); bits of animation got added and cleaned up. Oh, and this video has SSS. Sorry if you're tired of hearing the same music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4daqjBG3qUQ I'm just providing a youtube link this time because the video size is 33MB. Enjoy. Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 17, 2008 Author Posted January 17, 2008 Minor update: modelling of a new character completed: Quote
largento Posted January 17, 2008 Posted January 17, 2008 Rodney took the words right out of my mouth. This just keeps getting better and better! Can't wait to see more! Quote
Blackjack_Davie Posted January 18, 2008 Posted January 18, 2008 Oh snap, it's the girl from the permanent waves cover! WOOT I just got to say Tai. I love what your doing. Rush is an all time favorite band of mine, I was just never big on there videos though. Some are really good, but others. . . well, they're much better in person then on TV. I really hope you have the time to take this all the way and make a fan vid. And I really hope a copy of that vid winds up in one of their inboxes and that this goes some where for you. Keep it up! PLEASE keep it up! Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 18, 2008 Author Posted January 18, 2008 Thanks, largento. I'll try to keep up the quality of my work. @Blackjack_Davie: That's right! It's my version of the Permanent Waves album cover girl. Thanks for the support. I'm determined to get this project done for Rush fans -- and everyone else -- to enjoy. If Rush ever saw it, that would be icing on the cake. Quote
Tai Shan Posted January 20, 2008 Author Posted January 20, 2008 Hi everyone, I've got the snake from Snakes & Arrows looking better, imho: Also, a couple fx tests. This one utilizes animated transparency decals. If you're a fan of Tron, then you might enjoy it: sphere_rez.mov Here, I'm testing a model with camera bloom. If you're a fan of the PS2 game Okami, then you might like this: Lotus_blossom.mov Quote
edlundart Posted January 22, 2008 Posted January 22, 2008 hey, just checking into this thread for the first time. this is a nice project you've got going. i like how there is a consistency to the look and scale. I look forward to seeing what you come up with in terms of sets (background) for the performance shots. Quote
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