holiday challenge/short project

[Glider]

I was thinking of making a holiday themed animation as a small project and figured I'd open the challenge up to other people learning A:M

 

Here's the simple idea:

 

A Gingerbread village.

 

 

Here's the rules:

 

Nobody who's got more than 2 years A:M experience. (We'll let them critique it after!)

Needs to be done by Dec 24th

Everything on theme

Capable of being assembled into a project at the end (Same scale)

 

I'll post a gingerbread tree in photo and model. Feel free to modify/ re-scale if you like, but mostly I'm posting it as a starting point.

 

Some ideas:

 

A house (or houses)

Snow,

Candy cane fences,

Ginderbread citizens,

 

ETC.

 

Hope a few of us take it up. I'm looking forward to see what the other beginners can cook up (no pun intended) and sharing their techniques if there's something I haven't learned yet.

 

Glider

Gingerbreadtree.mdl

[TheSpleen]

nice looking tree.

We need more info if your doing something like "pass the ball"

not really sure what your wanting.

you just want models? or animations?

[Rodney]

I like the idea... thanks for the enthusiasm!

 

But...

 

While I admire the spirit behind the challenge... the newbies forum really isn't the place to initiate such challenges. Imagine what would happen if everyone started their own challenge here in the newbies forum.

 

There really is only one challenge for newbies... complete TaoA:M!

That may not appeal to everyone but it is what it is.

Once that challenge is conquered newbies can 'officially' move on to other projects.

 

A few words of caution, caveats etc.

Soliciting others to help in someone's personal project... no matter how fun... is a little outside the scope of the newbies forum. This is done to protect newbies from getting pressured into working on projects not officially sanctioned or approved by Hash Inc. (Forum rules and such)

 

If you want to complete a Gingerbread project and invite people to join in may I suggest starting a topic in the Jobs forum? If its not a solicitation but a project you have just opened to others then you could post in the WIP forum.

 

Or... we could discuss how to fit your challenge into TaoA:M.

I'm certainly not opposed to that but it might not fair well for your deadline.

 

I'm always open to suggestions. (but not always to unsolited challenges)

 

Best,

Rodney

[Glider]

The Idea was just a simple extension of the learning that goes on in TAOA:M as so many of the threads in newbie forum go well beyond the exercises in the tutorial.

 

I have recently picked somewhat random tasks that went beyond TAOA:M just to see if I could do them ( A diamond, a working TV set, 'CSI' style medical animations, etc.) and have found it valuable to see the capability of A:M beyond the basics, as well as improving my ability to actualize the final rendering of something that began as a concept in my coconut! TAOA:M shows how to solve all the problems for the individual lessons (which is perfect to get the ball rolling) but once I started to tackle more ambitious challenges I found out that it was in encountering obstacles that I have learned the most.

 

I Figure that, since the holidays are nearly upon us, that I'd pick something seasonal as an A:M 'workout'. And, rather than peppering the forums with questions like 'how would I make the sugar covering for a gumdrop?' or 'How can I make snow with random sparkles that show lens flare?', I'd toss the concept out to any other newbies who had some time and ideas. They may have more interesting questions and solutions than I can come up with on my own.

 

I am just interested to see the kinds of ideas some of the other budding creative minds would throw into the ring and, what obstacle they encountered and how they overcame them. Hopefully in the end, learn something and see what we had for a group of models and scenery.

 

So, I didn't really see it a s a 'job' so much as an excuse to have a little pointless fun and pick up a few tips on the way. The 'WIP' forum seems to be people with a specific problem that need feedback and/or advice. My plan is just to throw open the idea.

 

I have a concept for a gingerbread house, for example, but maybe someone out there would conceptualize it differently and we could learn something by comparing notes, and bask in the greatness of our group achievement later!

 

As long as it's not undermining the newbies concept, I'd be interested in someone's version of a gingerbread house, a reindeer, or whatever else they think would go in a holiday gingerbread village. We could post all the models and then even arrange and render them individually and see what differences result. Animation or still photo, however the spirit moves you!

 

 

However, if this idea somehow violates the spirit of the Newbies forum, I'll chip away at it on my own and if I get anything complete by the 24th, post a photo.

 

Glider

[Jeetman]

Glider,

 

I take it this project is just for fun? Meaning, you aren't getting paid by someone for it?

[Glider]

Just for fun, not commercial in any way.

 

Anything uploaded would be free for all to download/ change/ animate eaten by the grinch, etc.

 

More of a 'directed waste of time'

 

The WIP and JOBS posts I see are way over my head and seem more commercially slanted. My objective was a simple free to all skill builder/ thinktank.

 

 

 

 

Glider

[Rodney]

Glider,

I know you have the right spirit intended so that isn't at issue here. Thanks for understanding my concerns.

 

I personally like your idea. Now its just a matter of making your idea work for everyone and still remain true to the spirit of the forums we are in.

 

The Newbies forum points people to TaoA:M. (the surest way of getting up to speed quickly with A:M)

The ToaA:M forum promotes mastering the basics of A:M (and graduating newbies into the community at large... TaoA:M provides a solid foundation to build on while there.)

 

Modeling props must fit into this scheme somewhere.

We just need one good hook to make it stick.

 

So... Let me ask you this question (I have my own theories):

If you were a holiday prop modeling challenge where would you fit in?

 

Lets not waste anyones time here... lets have a lot of fun modeling, animating and filmmaking instead.

[Rodney]

I am just interested to see the kinds of ideas some of the other budding creative minds would throw into the ring and, what obstacle they encountered and how they overcame them. Hopefully in the end, learn something and see what we had for a group of models and scenery.

 

So, I didn't really see it a s a 'job' so much as an excuse to have a little pointless fun and pick up a few tips on the way. The 'WIP' forum seems to be people with a specific problem that need feedback and/or advice. My plan is just to throw open the idea.

 

I have a concept for a gingerbread house, for example, but maybe someone out there would conceptualize it differently and we could learn something by comparing notes, and bask in the greatness of our group achievement later!

 

As long as it's not undermining the newbies concept, I'd be interested in someone's version of a gingerbread house, a reindeer, or whatever else they think would go in a holiday gingerbread village. We could post all the models and then even arrange and render them individually and see what differences result. Animation or still photo, however the spirit moves you!

 

 

However, if this idea somehow violates the spirit of the Newbies forum, I'll chip away at it on my own and if I get anything complete by the 24th, post a photo.

 

I should have addressed some of this so I'm adding this separately.

What you've written here makes me think this is perfect for the WIP forum.

 

In the WIP forum everyone is free to post their own projects and invite others to join in.

That way the projects can stand and fall on their own.

The better the start the more likely a successful outcome. (IOW - It helps to plan ahead)

[Glider]

I agree, I don't want to waste any time so I think I'll let this go, I have a feeling the intention has been missed. I was simply looking for something to build new skills on and thought a gingerbread village would be a little more seasonal than a grenade launcher

 

Then, I had wondered if other folks may want to throw their two cents in ( my contribution will be 2.52 cents because my Canadian dollar is taking a beating at the moment!) anyway, it has seemed to appear somehow more potentially sinister than I meant.

 

The only 'commercial' type work I do with A:M is to try and illustrate some technical material to the pilots I train (mostly commercial/airline) and I must comment that not only has A:M allowed me to realize this goal, but dramatically raised the bar on what I would even dare to tackle. I think the mark of a good artistic tool is that it allows a person to articulate what they have imagined. A GREAT tool allows them to imagine greater things. I have imagined (and thankfully created) much more ambitious work projects than I had hoped when I purchased A:M less than a year ago. I'll post an example one day, but can't seem to get anything to upload tonight.

 

The rest is just good clean fun.

 

As to why I think the newbie forum still may be the right place:

 

-The Jobs forum looks commercial (this idea is not)

-The TaoA:M forum deals with the TaoA:M lessons (this isn't one of them)

-A brief review of the quality of work in the WIP forum shows that it looks far removed from the newbie perspective (the postings are outstanding) and I doubt many newbies spend much time there.

I thought a little friendly collaboration might be a good way for the beginners among us to transition into the more advanced forums, as a beginner is going to look at the skill displayed in a piece like

'Christmas Rabbit' and feel that it is out of their league. But, if they wanted to be a part of something bigger, a simple contribution like a candycane might be something they could sink their teeth into

(bad pun, totally intentional!)

 

-And in the end.... I'm a newbie!

 

So, when the newbie forum reads "A gathering place for new users to learn the ropes", I thought this might be the spot. It was in the spirit of, well, gathering and learning. I surely wasn't trying to take advantage of anyone or the forum if that's how it looked.

 

Have fun, and I'll be back the next time I run into a wall I can't climb on my own!!

 

Glider.

[Rodney]

Thanks for understanding Glider.

 

Good luck with all of your projects wherever and whatever they may be.

 

 

 

I'll post an example one day, but can't seem to get anything to upload tonight.

 

Some file types won't attach to forum posts. When in doubt a Zip file containing the other files will usually work. The suggested movie format for uploading is .MOV. I'm not sure if any other movie formats will stick.

 

Forum members who haven't posted much may find their filesize or the number of attachments they can post restricted until they have more history in the forum. I'm not sure of the specific restrictions set.