Paul Forwood Posted February 8, 2009 Author Share Posted February 8, 2009 I vaguely recall, that this has something to do with a percentage setting somewhere at the shadows casting of the lights. Thanks, Jake! I'll try messing with the shadow values. I have been concentrating on the light and model properties up to now and have found that I can eliminate the anomalies by keeping the width softness at either 0% or 100%. Anywhere inbetween causes a problem. I have eliminated just about every other possibilty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted February 8, 2009 Author Share Posted February 8, 2009 Here is a 360 degree flight around the lights with the colours set to RGB to see how well they interact. I thought that the dark specks might be caused by the angle of the light in relation to the camera but thankfully this shows that it is not the case. The red light, which has a width softness of 50%, is displaying some of those pesky particles but not enough to form streaks. The other two lights have their width softness set to 0% and 100% and don't show any signs of dark particles. Hooray! Cam360_A00b.mov All of these lights have simple gobos on them to help create the soft streaking of light rays. One more test render cooking at the moment, which I will post here, and then I will clear out some of the heavy deadwood that I have left all over this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted February 8, 2009 Author Share Posted February 8, 2009 As I have now got enough understanding of volumetric lights to know that I can rely on them this will be my last post on the subject. I can move on to other stuff now. More hoorays! ParticleWoman_A_Test01__B00.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 Nothing much to show at the moment. Just playing around with rigging and weighting in Clint's face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Nothing much to show at the moment. Just playing around with rigging and weighing in Clint's face. Oh, man - I'm hearing a story just looking at that expression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve392 Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Paul this model inspired me to try bump maps and hair ,it doese look good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 this model inspired me to try bump maps and hair Yeah. I see that you are making good progress too, Steve. Oh, man - I'm hearing a story just looking at that expression. Oh good. Here are a few more expressions: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 I don't know what I have done but suddenly what was taking about 20 minutes to render is now taking several hours. Maybe when I updated the drivers for my graphics card it forced some changes to the rendering or maybe hair is a little denser. Anyway I blocked this out in an Action, tried to render it in a choreography and gave up after 45 minutes when the render was still working on frame 0, pass two, of a three pass render. So this is just rendered in an Action. I'll have to play around with hair some more to get render times down to something useful. Imagine if the rest of his body was in the scene with props and other actors! MyClint_Head_Talk_A001d.mov ------------------------- Edit: Okay! I reduced hair density from 60% to 45 %, adjusted the Muh Hair strength properties, (which had unexplainedly changed to very high values ), and switched shaders on in the render properties. Now my render times have gone back to their previous state... in the choreography... with ray traced shadows! That is great! But what changed the Muh Hair properties and why did I get such high render times even though I had shaders turned off in the render properties? One to watch I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I assume you're using A:M Track? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 I assume you're using A:M Track? No, this is just blocked with pose sliders but I have made the head rig compatible with A:M Track/ZignTrack so all I need to do is drop one of my old ZT Action files onto him, adjust the pivot points of a few bones and he should be talking rubbish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I have made the head rig compatible with A:M Track/ZignTrack so all I need to do is drop one of my old ZT Action files onto him, adjust the pivot points of a few bones and he should be talking rubbish. That I'd like to see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve392 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 He he thats good looks and sounds very good ,the hair is nice and the facial expresions ,you got it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 That I'd like to see! I have to put in a few bones that I didn't get around to doing and alter a couple more on the mouth before I finish weighting it for ZignTrack. That may not happen for a week or two but I will post something when I get around to it. the hair is nice and the facial expresions ,you got it Thanks, Steve. Not quite Clint yet though. In the meantime here is something else that I started: OctoTest_A00.mov ------------------------------------------------- Just testing the rig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve392 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Thats good ,the rigging of the tenticles must be a bit of a knightmare but theye work well .I notice you have the full 8 legs but the Oktapodi movie only has 6 is there a reason for this do you think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyGormezano Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I notice you have the full 8 legs but the Oktapodi movie only has 6 is there a reason for this do you think Probably for the same reason that cartoon characters have only four fingers per hand. Nice Octopus, Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 the Oktapodi movie only has 6 is there a reason for this do you think Well it certainly cuts down on the amount of work that the animators would have to do but it also makes for a cleaner, easier to read, character. This guy won't be taking a lead roll and won't have to do half the things that the octopii in "Oktapodi" had to do. I have to give him a bit more character now and get away from that uniform shape. Nice Octopus, Paul. Thanks, Nancy. This is a test model that I did back in September: The rig didn't work quite as well as the new one. Not enough bones in the tentacles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyvern Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Thats good ,the rigging of the tenticles must be a bit of a knightmare but theye work well .I notice you have the full 8 legs but the Oktapodi movie only has 6 is there a reason for this do you think Don't forget what Pixar did with the ant legs in "Bugs Life". Those other guys went more realistic with "Ants" which I felt made the characters look more "alien" and less "friendly"... although imagining Stalone and Woody Allen with 6 legs was not much of a stretch. -vern Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpleen Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 very cool stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 I enjoyed both Ants and A Bug's Life. Ants had a darker feel but had some outstanding imagery and social comment while A Bug's Life kept things light and catered primarily to the kids. very cool stuff! Thanks! I've made a few changes to the octopus: Blue_A01.mov He still needs loosening up and he also needs his 'suck and blow' apparatus. All of these textures are still temporary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtpeak2 Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Looks great Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted February 25, 2009 Admin Share Posted February 25, 2009 You are just full of surprises. Splendid. I agree. He looks... and moves... great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agep Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I've made a few changes to the octopusHaha! He looks cool, though a little "special" I like him very much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 Thank you, guys! Very much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyGormezano Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 he's terrific! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largento Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 That's really fantastic, Paul! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animus Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Very nice! Michel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazzamataz Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Someone's enjoying themselves aren't they :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted March 1, 2009 Admin Share Posted March 1, 2009 Someone's enjoying themselves aren't they :-) Hey Gazz! Great to see you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Thanks for all the encouragement, people! I have been a little distracted by my octopus models, trying out different approaches to a mouth and textures. So far I prefer the simplicity of old Blue, (no mouth), but I had to try some more talkative versions as well. Gazzamataz! Yeah, I'm still playing around in here. It has been a while but I can see that you have been busy with your AM studies. I checked out your new showreel and was just amazed at the leap forward in the quality of your work! You have some very convincing animation examples in there now. Looking very strong. Well done! Here is a species that you might find anywhere between the Carribean and Ethiopia: Rasta_B_A04c.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve392 Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Now That is nice modelling the mouth and eyes are teriffic,I gota say I do like the pullover he has on in the image though,keeps him warm .Very nice work Paul edit He would make a hell of a rugby player or a goalie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 LOL Has that rasta Octopus been done somewhere before? It seems a perfect match. Very nice work so far Paul. Looking forward to seeing what you do with all these models. I hope you're YouTubing this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 Thanks, Steve. Has that rasta Octopus been done somewhere before? It seems a perfect match. That's what I thought too. Why_A00eComp.mov I tried bringing this guy into A:M 15 and had some problems with an action that I had made in A:M14. For some strange reason CPs in the face had become offset across the y-axis and nothing I could do would correct the problem. I checked their assignments and all was correct, including the weighting, but I couldn't get them to jump back into their correct postions. There was a "Splines" folder in the Action but A:M15 wouldn't let me delete it. Eventually I gave in and deleted the action alltogether. I then set my displacement map back to 'displacement' instead of 'bump', something that appears to be neccessary in A:M15 in order to be able to work with the realtime display, and A:M instantly became unuseable so I rebooted, set the displacement map again and it "took" so I tried a render. Everything that has the displacement map refused to render at all so I compromised again and ditched the displacement. (Sigh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Yeah, no displacements here either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve392 Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Im prety sure displacement was working ok in v15 ,I had it on a modeld hair and it worked ok ,unless that was a previus ,before 15e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Thats looking really good Paul. WHY? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted March 5, 2009 Admin Share Posted March 5, 2009 LOL Has that rasta Octopus been done somewhere before? The closest to this I've seen are the two jelly fish stooges 'Ernie and Bernie' from 'Shark Tales'. They stole the scene in every scene they were in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 Thats looking really good Paul. WHY? Persistence? Or maybe you just like your cephelapods with smooooth legs. Seriously though, he needs his suckers so for the moment he'll have to jump back into A:M 14. I've got to finish rigging his mouth and then give his eyes some attention. Some weighting issues to sort out too. Then he might start to look the part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted March 11, 2009 Author Share Posted March 11, 2009 (This movie has been updated in my next post.) I finally had a chance to try one of my old Zign Track Actions on Clint. There was bit more tweaking than I anticipated because it has been a while since I last used any mocap data, and this character's face rig is little different from previous versions, but after I made a few minor adjustments and rebooted A:M it was fine. I have shown this action before, on a completely different model, and it was obvious then that I hadn't filtered the jitters enough. I have added a couple of "B" phonemes, where the mouth shapes were not strong enough, and I have animated the eyes, blinks, head and neck motion by hand. All very rough but very quick! I need to find, or record, some suitable dialogue next. ClintZT_A00.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve392 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Looking good and he makes a good crooner ,lipcync works well,what is jitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuba X Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I enjoyed both Ants and A Bug's Life. Ants had a darker feel but had some outstanding imagery and social comment while A Bug's Life kept things light and catered primarily to the kids. very cool stuff! Thanks! I've made a few changes to the octopus: Blue_A01.mov He still needs loosening up and he also needs his 'suck and blow' apparatus. All of these textures are still temporary. WOW!!!! GEAT WORK!!! It has Both a Cartoony and Realistic look at the same time. Very Impressive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuba X Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Thanks, Steve. Has that rasta Octopus been done somewhere before? It seems a perfect match. That's what I thought too. Why_A00eComp.mov I tried bringing this guy into A:M 15 and had some problems with an action that I had made in A:M14. For some strange reason CPs in the face had become offset across the y-axis and nothing I could do would correct the problem. I checked their assignments and all was correct, including the weighting, but I couldn't get them to jump back into their correct postions. There was a "Splines" folder in the Action but A:M15 wouldn't let me delete it. Eventually I gave in and deleted the action alltogether. I then set my displacement map back to 'displacement' instead of 'bump', something that appears to be neccessary in A:M15 in order to be able to work with the realtime display, and A:M instantly became unuseable so I rebooted, set the displacement map again and it "took" so I tried a render. Everything that has the displacement map refused to render at all so I compromised again and ditched the displacement. (Sigh) HAHAHAHA!!!! LMAO!!!!! GREAT!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuba X Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 ClintZT_A00.mov I finally had a chance to try one of my old Zign Track Actions on Clint. There was bit more tweaking than I anticipated because it has been a while since I last used any mocap data, and this character's face rig is little different from previous versions, but after I made a few minor adjustments and rebooted A:M it was fine. I have shown this action before, on a completely different model, and it was obvious then that I hadn't filtered the jitters enough. I have added a couple of "B" phonemes, where the mouth shapes were not strong enough, and I have animated the eyes, blinks, head and neck motion by hand. All very rough but very quick! I need to find, or record, some suitable dialogue next. You are Just Too Much! Keep On Keeping On! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted March 11, 2009 Author Share Posted March 11, 2009 Hey, thanks for the comments, Steve and Nuba X! Steve, jitter means 'to shake' and is the effect you see in this animation because I didn't filter it out when I saved the Action file from Zine Track. I could go back and do it now but I think that I'll just be more careful next time. ------------------------------------------------- Back to Clint: ClintZT_A00c.mov This is a slight update on the last movie. I smoothed out x rotation data for the errant lip bone with one fell stroke. Just grabbed the whole channel and scaled it down. I didn't know that was possible before. Great! I have also added a few more phonemes for "B, W and Oo" shapes. Although this has a fairly nice feel to it really doesn't do justice to what is possible with AM Track/Zign Track if you take a little more care with the initial filming of the actor's face and set your filters to remove the shaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJL Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Nice "soulful" animation of the rendition. I think they have some new treatments out now for that Parkinison's . . . . . Do you look that good singin' the tune? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 Do you look that good singin' the tune? Well, I've got a little more hair and almost as many teeth. ;D Sorry it took a while to reply to your post, Myron, but I've been busy stoking up a new collaboration. It is going to take a long while to do it but I'm going to have fun. Hey, with the sound ready to work to, half the job is already done! People can follow the progress here: Fishin' The blog will be tidied up over the next couple of days. Until then you can make as much mess as you like. ----------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpleen Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Do you look that good singin' the tune? Well, I've got a little more hair and almost as many teeth. ;D Sorry it took a while to reply to your post, Myron, but I've been busy stoking up a new collaboration. It is going to take a long while to do it but I'm going to have fun. Hey, with the sound ready to work to, half the job is already done! People can follow the progress here: Fishin' The blog will be tidied up over the next couple of days. Until then you can make as much mess as you like. ----------------------------- I love your style! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share Posted March 22, 2009 Thank you, your Spleenship! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted March 29, 2009 Author Share Posted March 29, 2009 Just an early test for the forest. Hair is the only real solution for such a lot of trees but that brings problems with it. The scene is set at sunset but the hair trees can't reflect the sunlight convincingly so I will just have to paint it into the textures. Intro_Decent_B00eComp.mov A:M hair has real issues when using hair images combined with fog. This is a shame as I really want the aerial perspective that fogging gives so I will have to paint it in and just restrict the camera to side panning and short dollys. No rotations without cuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyGormezano Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 That's a mighty impressive set - always amazes me how people do landscape sets Are you using a combo of hair trees and cookie cutter trees? And maybe painted tree backgrounds? And when you say hair tree - do you mean the hair emitter is a tree image? or the tree(s) have hair leaf emitters? really nice job ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpleen Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 your making me look awful! lol great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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