steve392 Posted May 18, 2009 Posted May 18, 2009 Hope you have a good one Paul Gene you need to read this tut http://zandoria.wordpress.com/tutorials/am-mocap-tutorial/ Quote
Paul Forwood Posted May 18, 2009 Author Posted May 18, 2009 Hey! Thanks for all the birthday greetings! Rodney, good design choice, leaving out the rest of the candles. Thanks! Cake anyone? I can export bvh but no option to import it. MOT and KFM is what it offers. Sorry, Gene. You have to create a new Motion Capture Device first. This is the container which will hold the rig and the motion data. Try this: 1) Create new Action for your model. 2) Right click and select New\Motion Capture Device\BioVision BVH File 3) Switch to skeletal mode and away you go. Quote
MJL Posted May 18, 2009 Posted May 18, 2009 Happy Birthday! Thanks for the cake. Enjoy your Antiquity! Quote
NancyGormezano Posted May 18, 2009 Posted May 18, 2009 HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! (Hope you can you see that without your reading glasses..) Quote
John Bigboote Posted May 18, 2009 Posted May 18, 2009 I'll have some of Paul's 'virtual cake' made by Rodney... unless Rodney dropped it on his virtual floor! Happy Birthday...MR. Forewood! Quote
mtpeak2 Posted May 18, 2009 Posted May 18, 2009 Happy Birthday Paul. The crouch is comical, but if the BVH rig is not scale correctly, the feet will slip and slide. I did not see this with the caveman. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted May 18, 2009 Hash Fellow Posted May 18, 2009 Happy Birthday Paul, and may all your WIPs be fruitful! Quote
Paul Forwood Posted May 19, 2009 Author Posted May 19, 2009 Woah! Thanks for all the good wishes, everyone! That's enough now or I'll have to start a new thread. Myron, I'll always be a kid to you. Nancy, you understand so well. Mr Bigboot, there is no e in Forwood. Mr. B-i-g-b-o-o-t. Cheers, Matt. Muchas gracias, Nino Banano! Mark, thanks. I noticed the slipping and also the variation in height regarding when the foot should be making contact with the floor. I will see if I can get a better alignment of rigs. The caveman model is based on human proportions and so the BVH rig scaled to a pretty good fit without too much messing around. The alien model has exagerated proportions. I'll see what I can do. Thanks, Robert. Onward and upward! You're only young once. Quote
matt_stanford Posted May 19, 2009 Posted May 19, 2009 Happy (*ahem*...belated) Birthday Paul!!! Hope you had a great one! Quote
Paul Forwood Posted May 20, 2009 Author Posted May 20, 2009 Thanks, David and Matt. Just trying out some antennae. I'm not sure if I'll keep them yet. I tweaked the rig a little but I think that I made the foot problem worse. I do have an old copy to go back to if I completely mess it up. I have noticed that there is a glitch with BVH files in A:M 15e. It looks similar to the problem with rotoscopes where they seem to multiply every time I open a project. There is actually only one BVH file in the project but look how many there are in the PWS. Any thoughts? Quote
Paul Forwood Posted May 21, 2009 Author Posted May 21, 2009 Funny coincidence #1: Last week I posted my caveman with BVH motion here in this thread. The following day there was a knock at the door which turned out to be two Jehova's Witnesses. We had the usual conversation which led to talking about evolution and mutations. I usually enjoy these conversations, if they don't go on too long, and this was no different. Before they left they insisted that I take one of their books. The book is titled, "Life - How did it get here", and is more than 150 pages of evidence, from various sources, puting forward the argument for creationism. Before we parted company it crossed my mind that I had my caveman model open on my computer and that I should ask them to come to see what a funny coincidence this was. I thought better of it. I accepted the book and promised to read it and then they left. I took the book into the kitchen and just flicked through the pages to see what I had let myself in for and noticed that the corner of one page had been neatly turned over. I naturally opened the book at that page which turned out to be the first page of chapter 7: "Ape-Men - What Were They?". The top of the page is illustrated with a picture of a man contemplating a picture of an apeman. Ha! He looks a little like me contemplating my caveman model. Wow! That's a cool coincidence! In the past week I made a few improvements to the animation of the caveman's companion, the creature that leaps onto his chest/shoulder. When I made this proxy model I had it in mind that it would be a lemur-like creature but with a very colourful coat. I thought a prehistoric lemur would make a perfect pet for this guy and would have the right amount of flexibility to handle the rapid movements that would be required as he scrambled around trying to fit in with the bvh motion of the caveman. The proxy remains a proxy at the moment but I will get back to it sometime. Coincidence 2: I noticed this news story yesterday:Prehistoric Lemur Not wanting to start the old creationist/evolutionist debate again in these forums. Certainly not in this thread! Let that happen in another thread, if you really must. But beware! It always ends in tears. I just thought it was an interesting collection of events, representations of opposing views, and which relate directly to the characters I have been working on over the past week and the stories that could be told. It was like having representatives of both views tapping me on the shoulder to say, "Hey, don't forget about our point of view". The coincidence will stay with me whenever I work on those characters. Quote
Paul Forwood Posted May 21, 2009 Author Posted May 21, 2009 Myron, no fish yet but I am working on a few insects for your song. I'll post something later. Fish aren't biting at the moment... Quote
MJL Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 That's the way it usually goes here too. When I go fishin I end up getting more bites from the insects than the fish. Quote
Paul Forwood Posted May 22, 2009 Author Posted May 22, 2009 I had some problems with the rig so I had to go back and start again. That put me back a little so all I've got for you at the moment is the prototype bug from which all others will mutate. These bugs will just give the camera something to follow as it sweeps through the first 35 seconds of intro. They will help take the emphasis off of the landscape, enabling me to stop worrying about it for now. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted May 22, 2009 Hash Fellow Posted May 22, 2009 Great lookin bug! Not sure about the high hips but I guess that is anatomically accurate. I have noticed that there is a glitch with BVH files in A:M 15e. It looks similar to the problem with rotoscopes where they seem to multiply every time I open a project. There is actually only one BVH file in the project but look how many there are in the PWS. Any thoughts? The roto problem seemed to be related to a mistaken file location. Maybe the same with your BVH file? Quote
MJL Posted May 22, 2009 Posted May 22, 2009 Good lookin' Bug. I think I saw a couple of those down by the creek, carrying off some small mammal. Quote
Paul Forwood Posted May 23, 2009 Author Posted May 23, 2009 The roto problem seemed to be related to a mistaken file location. Maybe the same with your BVH file? Can you explain a little more, Robert? How can I correct the path to a bvh file and would that actually have any effect as the data should all be located in the bvh container? Each of these bvh containers has it's own full collection of keyed bones. They all hold their own copy of the data. Perhaps it is necessary to convert Actions with BVH data so that when the project opens it doesn't automatically import a new set of data into a new bvh container. I don't know though. Good lookin' Bug. I think I saw a couple of those down by the creek, carrying off some small mammal. Yeah. That wouldn't surprise me. Thanks for the encouragement, Myron, and for the other song too! ----------- Here is another rough for the Pass the Ball collaboration. I have a slightly more advanced version but it is over 10MB so I'll tweak it a bit more and then send it to Matt with the other/s. Are these PTB contributions all due next week? I better check that. Ball_B_Bounce_A00_10secs_.mov Quote
TheSpleen Posted May 23, 2009 Posted May 23, 2009 Do not taunt "Happy Fun Ball" Looks good Paul! Quote
Paul Forwood Posted May 26, 2009 Author Posted May 26, 2009 Do not taunt "Happy Fun Ball" Absolutely! Here is a rough for another part of my "Pass The Ball" contribution: BoyHides_A00b.mov This is just a proxy set and some of the poses still need tweaking. I had the ball working well when I closed this project the other night but when I opened it again something had changed and I spent a few hours tweaking the poses to get them back. As you can see the mouth poses are still not where they should be. This is something that really needs to be fixed in A:M. I assume that it is something to do with A:M's reluctance to update in Actions and Choreographies. Even though I save and reopen projects to force them to update I think that there are some things that don't update properly until you shut down and reboot. The spacebar doesn't seem to refresh everything. Anyway, it is what it is. Quote
steve392 Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 Looking good ,looking forward to seing this one Quote
Paul Forwood Posted June 3, 2009 Author Posted June 3, 2009 Hooray! Steffen has released A:M 15.0f and now fog works with hair/particles! Seq01_Inro30fps_A00f03.mov Every tree that you see here is one hair. Quote
Paul Forwood Posted June 7, 2009 Author Posted June 7, 2009 A small update for Fishin': A man and some guitars. Myron360WIP_A00_mix.mov I modelled the guitars ages ago but as you can see they are very simple so I will be adding some detail where necessary. Quote
MJL Posted June 7, 2009 Posted June 7, 2009 Handsome son-of-a-gun. Are you sure we've never met in person? Quote
steve392 Posted June 8, 2009 Posted June 8, 2009 yea yea we can see its a real bloke you just shot him in front of some greenscreen ,Nice model Paul Quote
Paul Forwood Posted June 12, 2009 Author Posted June 12, 2009 Thanks for all the comments! Here is a test of the rig, which I am still working on. No weighting yet either. (It should loop) ------------- Edit: I have been trying to upload a QT file for ages but something is stopping me. It is probably my firewall but I am out of will power to keep trying... Quote
MJL Posted June 12, 2009 Posted June 12, 2009 The image is not looping, but I would assume that it's because it is stunned into paralysis by the characters incredible good looks! Rock on! Quote
nino banano Posted June 12, 2009 Posted June 12, 2009 very well done Paul, I like the pose, go ahead with it Quote
Paul Forwood Posted June 14, 2009 Author Posted June 14, 2009 ManA__Loop_A___8secs__A00e_comp_a.mov This is just the rigging test render that I was trying to post. Lots wrong with the animation, because this was just a quick test of the rig, but I think that there is probably at least one of you that would like to see/hear this. Download and set to loop. Quote
TheSpleen Posted June 14, 2009 Posted June 14, 2009 That looks great!!!!! My one comment is that the guitar seems a tad too big. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted June 14, 2009 Hash Fellow Posted June 14, 2009 Looks good. Fingers on a musical instrument like a guitar or violin is a problem I've been thinking about lately. The ideal thing would be some sort of switchable IK/FK arrangement for each finger, I think. I'll let you do the R&D on that. I'm curious about how you handled the strap. Quote
MJL Posted June 14, 2009 Posted June 14, 2009 That looks really great, Paul ! I only wish I could look that studly on stage. Quote
Paul Forwood Posted June 14, 2009 Author Posted June 14, 2009 the guitar seems a tad too big Yes. I'll fix that, although this character will only play an acoustic guitar in Fishin'. This character has slightly exaggerated proportions which may get tweaked back towards more realistic proportions. Not sure yet. Nice work, Paul! Thanks, Mark! Fingers on a musical instrument like a guitar or violin is a problem I've been thinking about lately I will be using pose sliders for both the finger poses and for sliding the left hand up and down the neck of the guitar. The guitar strap is part of the character. There is a bone at each end of the strap and matching, "connector" bones on the guitar. The strap bones are constrained to the connector bones in an Action. As you can see, I forgot to add the orient-like constraints. That looks really great, Paul ! I only wish I could look that studly on stage. It must be all the makeup and the lighting. I'm glad that you find him appealing. Am I anywhere near to a likeness yet? Quote
Paul Forwood Posted June 19, 2009 Author Posted June 19, 2009 Myron sent me some good reference images so I have made some adjustments: Oh no! Not another full moon! Ah! That's better! Myron_E_A00b.mov Testing volumetric light. Quote
Paul Forwood Posted June 30, 2009 Author Posted June 30, 2009 Besides adding translucent properties to mass SSS seems to do much of what porcelain does, smoothing out the details and making everything look puffy. Maybe just my settings though. This is in A:M 14c. No. 3 is the only one without SSS and the heavy bump map is temporary. I don't know what is causing the problem with the right eye. If anyone can guess who this is meant to be I will be stunned. Quote
Zaryin Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 Hey, that looks real good. I love the hair. The person looks familiar, but I can't place them. I usually use both porcelain and SSS -- cheating I know, haha. Quote
Paul Forwood Posted July 1, 2009 Author Posted July 1, 2009 Thanks, Jeff. I avoid porcelain except where I need a very puffy surface, without any small details. SSS does give a very nice quality to skin, and it does seem to be much faster than I remember it being, but I think that I will reserve use for just those scenes that demand it. A clue: While the average American was sinking she soared and lifted their spirits with her achievements. Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted July 1, 2009 Hash Fellow Posted July 1, 2009 I believe she went missing over the Pacific. Is there a way to make that hair cast shadows on the head? Quote
Paul Forwood Posted July 1, 2009 Author Posted July 1, 2009 A clue: While the average American was sinking she soared and lifted their spirits with her achievements. Susan Boyle? I am so pleased to hear that, Myron. The bit about Susan Boyle lifting your spirits. Robert... I am stunned!!! I have shadows turned on for the hair but they are not showing up. I'll try A:M15 later. Quote
Paul Forwood Posted July 1, 2009 Author Posted July 1, 2009 Little update with lots of intersections: Quote
Paul Forwood Posted July 1, 2009 Author Posted July 1, 2009 Just proxy flying hat and goggles for the moment: AE_WIP_A00.mov Quote
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