Digital Clock Readout

[danf]

Here's a more interesting question for you: I want to have an LCD-watch style screen in an animation. How would you do that? Would you map a movie of the digital readout ticking, or is there a cool way to do that within A:M?

 

I'd create an image sequence of this display in a paint program, going from lowest price to highest price, and apply that sequence as a decal to your sign.

 

In your chor you can control the displayed frame of an image sequence. It would be easy to make it go up-down-up-down as needed for your story. And easy to revise the timing of that as you refine your animation.

 

Is "image sequence" a technical term? I made a bunch of .jpgs of the various prices, but I don't see an obvious "apply image sequence" option under applying decals.... (the glitches I'm getting w/ jpgs is another problem, I'll just mass convert them..)

 

Is this just another way of saying make it a movie, and then I can control the movie within A:M? I like that idea because it includes rolling back and forth through the prices, which I think would look cool, like a 70s alarm clock. I would love more detail on how to make this work.

[robcat2075]

Is "image sequence" a technical term?

 

yes. if the images are numbered:

 

name000.jpg

name001.jpg

name002.jpg...

 

and you select the import animation sequence option they will be imported as if they were a movie

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made a bunch of .jpgs of the various prices, but I don't see an obvious "apply image sequence" option under applying decals.... (the glitches I'm getting w/ jpgs is another problem, I'll just mass convert them..)

targas are better than jpegs

 

Is this just another way of saying make it a movie, and then I can control the movie within A:M?

pretty much

 

 

I like that idea because it includes rolling back and forth through the prices, which I think would look cool, like a 70s alarm clock.

make your image sequence include every $0.01 increment from the lowest to the highest you need.

 

 

 

I would love more detail on how to make this work.

 

after you've applied this as a decal to your model and saved that and put it in your chor...

 

enable the "show more than drivers" icon for the model (in the chor again)

 

this will make it possible to set properties for the decal (u gotta hunt for it) including the frame being displayed.

[danf]

Sorry, I still don't see where the "import animation sequence option" is.

[johnl3d]

right click on image and select as below

 

[GAngus]

digitalnumbers.prjHere's an old project file by Vern (heyvern-here) that does the digital clock thing using a pose !!

 

Very unique solution, indeed.

It was done in vers. 10.5 and dates back to 2004 but loaded OK here in 13.0t

 

Just in case it may be helpful to you.

digitalnumbers.prj

[danf]

That is brilliant beyond belief. You people are like Mother Teresas of animation.

[danf]

I'm still having several problems here.

 

First off I don't know where to start reverse-engineering digitalnumbers.prj, so while it's an inspiration, it's not quite a TAO:AM tutorial either, so I'm back to robcat's method, which seems to have merit, but I must just be hitting incredibly unique glitches, because it seems like I keep missing by the skin of my teeth. Let me go through the different problems I've had and the solutions I've tried rather than come begging for solutions again:

 

I made several jpegs numbered sequentially but even when I selected "import animation" it would only import the one I clicked. I tried adding names, same problem. I made them all targas, same problem. I pasted them into quicktime and made the .mov file zipped below, it usually imports as a black square. I then used Quicktime to export ITS version of an "image sequence," and it exported about 1/5th the image files I had before. The rub: When I import one of THESE targas, it recognizes it as some combination of the original constituent images. When importing each of the new targas, it has a different mixture of the original images, I believe no overlap.

 

This hurts really bad because it's basically what I wanted, only it's not doing it exactly the way I want, and without some of the specific frames, some of the humor won't play the way I planned. (Don't worry if you d/l, the 69, 666 and 420 are strictly inside/subliminal jokes)

 

At this point I pretty much think there's a problem with the mac software, because I have come so close, and followed directions to a T. This is probably the only prop in my first animation that requires this kind of decal, so if someone would like to just paste it on, or even take a guess at what my problem is, I'd be much obliged.

 

If you'd like to try it out, I have my gas sign model and a .mov of the sequence I hoped to decal onto it here:

http://homepage.mac.com/somniac/.Pictures/Gaspricesign.zip

[Fuchur]

Okay... lets be sure about this:

 

1.) Your JPEG_Sequenz / TGA-Sequenz is numbered like this:

"image_1.jpg" , "image_2.jpg"

OR "image1.jpg", "image2.jpg"

OR "image01.jpg", "image02.jpg"

-> Important is, that the number at the end is running up.

 

2.) The images are the same size? (don't know if it acutally makes a difference, but just to be sure)

for instance 300px x 300px each...

 

3.) You imported with the option "imagesequenz" (the checkbox under the explorer-window has to be checked, no matter if you are using "import image" or "import as an animation..." (it's both the same but the checkbox is checked by default...)

 

*Fuchur*

[danf]

Fuchur, I think your third point is where my problem is. I don't see the "imagesequenz" checkbox here on the mac version, and I'm pretty sure I'm running the latest one. Here's what I see:

 

[Gerry]

Hi Danf-

Once you import the first of the numbered images, check in the images folder in the PWS to make sure they've all come in. If they're numbered they should all be in there, but if not, you can shift-select the whole range of images in the import window. Now they should be in your images folder.

 

In the modeling window apply the first image as a decal.

 

Now bring the model into a choreography. In the timeline (or PWS depending on which you're using) you'll see a Shortcut to Model1(or name of model). There are a couple of icons to the right of the model name, the first one has a red X over it. Click that and the red X is gone. (this is the "Show more than drivers" icon that gives you access to things like, oh, decals on the model!) Now when you click the plus sign to the left of the model name, you should see an item for Decals. Click that plus sign and you should see an Images container. Click that one's plus sign, and you'll finally see your decal image!

 

Phew! I hope you're still with me! Press zero in your top row of numbers (not the keypad) so you can see the decals in the chor. Now drag the playhead, and you should see the decal animate.

 

Under Image, click Timing. You'll see Crop, Range, Length, Speed and Frame. The "Frame" setting will allow you to set keyframes to govern which decal frame you want to display at which frame of the chor.

[robcat2075]

[Gerry]

Robcat, that option isn't available on the Mac side. You need to shift-select the whole sequence and click Import. I thought you could select the first one and the rest would follow but that doesn't appear to be the case.

[heyvern]

The digital numbers project I did is actually very very simple. All it is is a single percentage pose. 10 numbers, 10 keys. Every "10%" of the percentage pose corresponds to a number; 0% = 0, 10% = 1, 50% = 5, 90% = 9. At each of those points on the pose I changed the colors of the groups that make up the digital readout.

 

Then I used this in an action (or it could be used in in a chor) I keyed the exact number using "hold" interpolation. I suppose it could be simplified and use hold interpolation in the pose. Don't recall why i didn't try that. Can you set hold interpolation on keys in a percentage pose? I think having the option at least to do a "fade" is nice. Could add a touch of realism... have a split second of "fading" from one number to the next to simulate subtle power fluctuations as the numbers change.

 

Anyway, to use it just type in exact percentages at 10% intervals to key the numbers. Set the keys to hold. You could have a whole set of instances in a chor lined up all using the same cycled actions. I bet with some small effort you could create a sophisticated count down of hours minutes, seconds using just that one action repeating at different rates for each instance

 

To create your own versions of a counter just design a new "clock" with splines (or I suppose images) and key those changes on 10% intervals in a percentage pose.

 

Anyway. It is really very very simple.

 

p.s. So simple in fact that an idiot like me makes the 3 backwards and I could still figure it out.

 

-vern

[danf]

Wow, this thread has become incredibly comprehensive. I'll get to try it tomorrow (long day, need rest) but I'm pretty sure Gerry showed me how to do what I was asking, and heyvern perfectly explained how easy that clock he made was. I'm pretty sure this case is closed, but I'll post my awesomely functional sign as soon as it's done

 

That sounds like hubris... I should just say "I'll see you when I run into my next hurdle." But seriously, you guys are great.

 

P.S. thanks robcat, I don't blame you for not knowing about the PC-mac difference, you've been a great help the whole time, w/ the show more than drivers tip, it got me really pretty close.

[danf]

I was able to map an image sequence to the sign! I'll try the "Crop, Range, Length, Speed and Frame" portion tomorrow, it's been an unfortunately long day .(

 

I may have actually hit it at moments before, but I was thrown off because at times it would render all glitches, and I thought it had loaded wrong, but this was simply a problem with the shaded view- a preview render revealed all of the frames I'd intended to import.

[danf]

Under Image, click Timing. You'll see Crop, Range, Length, Speed and Frame. The "Frame" setting will allow you to set keyframes to govern which decal frame you want to display at which frame of the chor.

 

Alright I followed up until here (yeah I haven't pursued rendering the animation until now). I don't see "Timing" let alone an "Image" to find it under. It seems like you got some properties window that I haven't seen. Where do I find these controls, more specifically?

[robcat2075]

you need to turn on "show more than drivers" for the model in the chor

 

then navigate down to the Decals folder and down until the properties window shows "Image>Frame"

 

that's what my V13 shows.