curving a flat surface

[cribbidaj]

I'm am trying to create a cloud that resembles a cartoonish human face. I've attached a model with a sort of 'bubble-wrap' look and would like to know if there is a way to quickly give a nice a rounded shape to the whole model to which I can then manipulate points to define facial characteristics.

 

I'm open to all suggestions, included starting from scratch with another approach to accomplish the same thing.

 

Thanks.

Clouds.mdl

[Bruce Del Porte]

Are you sure you aren't making it harder than it needs to be, why not just arrange balls to make your cloud, do you really need the flat? Commenting on character design is difficult because it is hard to know what your vision is.

facecloud.mdl

[cribbidaj]

Are you sure you aren't making it harder than it needs to be, why not just arrange balls to make your cloud, do you really need the flat? Commenting on character design is difficult because it is hard to know what you vision is.

 

Clicking on the link to download your model opens a new tab in my Firefox browser instead of a download dialog box. I'm using Mac OSX - is there a preference I have set wrong?

[Bruce Del Porte]

Try what ever the Apple equivalent of right click/ save target as...

[cribbidaj]

Try what ever the Apple equivalent of right click/ save target as...

 

Yeah, in Firefox the right-click just opens an options for download the link as an html file. In Safari, I'm able to right-click download linked file, but it downloads the model as a text file. I think I'm aware of your concept though, but I eventually want to have the cloud "texture" rolling and billowing through the face, which I think would look better with attached splines, though it may work with seperate spheres. Hard to tell til I get into it.

[Bruce Del Porte]

Another method is to make your cloud with particles, decal the cloud sequence onto the face and then composite the face over the cloud. It is more complex. This was a test for chromadepth back when it looked like it would be a feature.

movie3.mov

[cribbidaj]

Another method is to make your cloud with particles, decal the cloud sequence onto the face and then composite the face over the cloud. It is more complex. This was a test for chromadepth back when it looked like it would be a feature.

 

That's beautiful - however, it still looks like a face appearing within a cloud (of swirling dust or fire in this case), as an apparition. I'm wanting to get the face to be comprised of the cloud substance. Particles may still hold the answer, but it seems like what I want to do requires manipulation of control points and splines within an action. I want the facial 'skin' to be bumpy and billowy, AND flowing.

 

It seems I will probably end up doing this point by point - I started this thread to see if anyone knew how to quickly manipulate my initial "bubble-wrap" model into a curved model typing numbers into the properties.

 

Thanks for the ideas.

[Caroline]

The .mdl file is just a text file - mine always opens in a new tab too, so I copy the whole page and create a new text document called x.mdl and paste the text into it, then I can load it into A:M. Same with .prj.

[Rodney]

I've been meaning to do a seamless tile tutorial for A:M for years now.

If I'm not misunderstanding that might address the effect you are looking for.

 

One thing you can do would be to limit the number of clouds in your image to one... then adjust the 'repeat' value on the image to add clouds. The images can be patch images applied to a mesh, decals applied to a plane... rotoscopes... whatever.

For ease in manipulating the shape of the image I'd suggest using a grid and modifying it in an Action. That way your original shape is maintained in the model.

 

You can play with multiple levels of images with/without alpha channels, adjust transparency... too many options to mention here.

The attached image is just a basic patch image on a grid.

 

Again... not sure what you are looking for here but offering it just the same.

[heyvern]

I'm wanting to get the face to be comprised of the cloud substance.

 

The key for that is coming up with the surface material first... then constructing the face or head the same way faces are built in A:M.

 

The thing here is not to use a different way to model the head or face but create some kind of material that makes it look "cloud like". With that type of look it could be applied to any model and the model would look made out of clouds.

 

I was thinking along the lines of that multipass inter frame jitter effect. This would produce a very "fuzzy" cloud like look. You could create actions that jitter the actual cps of the model more in some spots than others to create a more solid surface on areas that need it, like around the eyes, nose and mouth. Maybe a gradient material, like a spherical gradient thingy... that fades off at the edges would work too. A long time ago I used something like that to create white stuffing coming out of a doll.

 

My thought is not to worry about the cloud material right now, design the character to have rounded cloud like features and then use other techniques to make it look soft and cloudy.

 

-vern

[robcat2075]

all you have to do is rename ____.txt to ____.mdl

 

 

In IE (and maybe other browsers) you can change the save as file type drop down menu from "text files" to "all Files" and it will save as what ever it was supposed to be.

[cribbidaj]

Thanks for all the help and ideas . . . lots to ponder!

[MasterFunk]

Can u just model the face and make it a sprite emitter. Than just make a cloud sprite and have it come out of the face model.

[cribbidaj]

Can u just model the face and make it a sprite emitter. Than just make a cloud sprite and have it come out of the face model.

 

I found the great rolling cloud effect 'entity' has created for T.W.O. and downloaded his 'best clouds project' from those forums. I've dragged the emitter from his project onto my face model and have played with the settings a bit, but my face model is transparent in the choreography when the emitter does it's thing, though I've looked at the transparency settings of my model and the materials and can't find an explanation for this. I'm hoping he or someone else can offer advice on how to use his emitter to stay relatively in one place, evoke the facial strucure of the model, and roll slowly.

 

Thanks.