And now for something completely different...

[Kelley]

Well, maybe not completely...just a change of pace from The Sentinel. [The house at the far rear seems to have lost its textures, but that's for tomorrow.]

[jirard]

Nice stuff Kelley!

Looks like you put alot of work in this.

[KenH]

Aha. It looks like you're getting the hang of this 3D lark. The models look better, better lighting and better camera angles. However, the guy on the right is floating.

[Paul Forwood]

Looking good, Kelley!

These characters look like they would communicate by shouting, in clipped army speak, even when they are just inches from each other.

[TheSpleen]

very good work, Impressive!

[Kelley]

These characters look like they would communicate by shouting...even when they are just inches from each other

Not bad. The little guy on the right is a sargent-type. I'll make him bellow.

It looks like you're getting the hang of this 3D lark.

Let's not jump to any rash conclusions, but things seem to be improving, albeit by lurches and stumbles (or so it seems at 1:00 in the morning) These guys are the ones you rigged for me three years ago, so if they don't move right, I'll have no excuses. I'll check Tubb's feet. Thanks. EDIT: It's his back foot that's on the ground, but hidden by shadows. The front heel is about three frames from touchdown.

Looks like you put alot of work in this.

These two troopers are the first things I ever modeled in A:M. Since then, I've put the project aside, added to it, put it aside again...until by now it's acquired sufficient 'gravitas' and momentum that I think we may see it finished in the not-too-distant future. The experience makes one appreciate what Pixar must have to go through and why CG films take years. And by the way, thanks for posting the models of your kids. There too, is some really nice modeling.

[robcat2075]

That's a cool looking world you're making.

[Kelley]

That's a cool looking world you're making.

Thanks much, robcat. Thanks to all.

[HomeSlice]

I love your designs Kelly and the modeling and textures look really good too! A nice balance of simplicity and detail. It makes me want to know more about the story. Nice work.

[mtpeak2]

I have to agree with Ken. I don't think either one of the character models have any feet touching the ground. Looking at your wireframe image, it looks as though the heavy white line, below the red line, is the actual ground. They appear to be at the curb height. Their shadows, in the first pic, are a dead give away. I would double check that again.

[Kelley]

I would double check that again.

...and so it proved to be. Twice over. I turned off everything but the troopers and the road and there it was. And then the shadows. How could I have missed it?

[Kelley]

It makes me want to know more about the story.

The whole story is an expansion on a WWII cartoon drawn by Bill Mauldin, best remembered for his 'Willie and Joe' characters. That cartoon is my #1 favorite Mauldin and, of course, I can't find where I archived it on my hard drive. So I attach my #2 favorite. This will give you the flavor of Mauldin, Willie and Joe. The #1 cartoon has Joe waist-deep in a foxhole he's digging, Willie sitting up on the pile of dirt, as a Sherman tank rolls by with a neat, clean 2nd Lt. in the turret. Joe eyes it wistfully, but Willie will have none of it, saying "Nah, I'd rather dig. A movin' foxhole attracts the eye."

 

Trying to tailor my version to the classical six-minute format, I'll have my guys walk down a short length of street, past the two self-propelled guns, turn left at the corner and down another short inclined section of street. They're walking on the left side. They're passed by a short convoy consisting of a Whippet tank [now fully animated by my Sorcerer's Apprentice, Scott] [Get'em young. Teach'em A:M] and two, maybe three 1910 Rolls-Royce armored cars. They pause, waiting for a break in the traffic, waiting to cross over to a pedestrian tunnel on the other side. All this while, the MG gunner has been grousing about being dirt-infantry. He rails at the mud, the walking, the rain-filled holes to sleep in, the walking, bullets, blisters, walking...obviously Armored Cav. is the modern way to go. The little Sargent snorts and treats the whole litany with disdain. The gunner persists. He ticks off the advantages: riding instead of walking. A dry place to fight from. A nice warm engine to sleep next to, and best of all...armor plate on all sides. As they wait, he challenges the Sargent, saying, "What, exactly, could you possibly have about going into battle inside a big, solid, steel box?" The break in the traffic comes, the Sarg. waves them forward and as they get to the middle of the street, there comes the shriek of incoming rounds. They bolt into the tunnel. Outside, behind them, there will be a series of flashes, horrendous 'booms' and pieces of tank, wheels, rivets and tread plates fly past. Except for the turret of one of the armored cars which strikes the edge of the tunnel mouth and ricochetts [never could spell that] into the tunnel spinning like a top, looses off tracer rounds from its Lewis gun, and comes to a stop a few feet from them. When they discover they're still alive, the Sarg. pokes his finger at the gunner's chest and says, "HAH? Thay's what I keep telling you...a moving foxhole attratcts the eye".

 

From time to time, I wonder about doing something similar with the tank cartoon. It would have to involve a dialog between the troopers and the Fire Control Officer and the battery, and static on the line which they exploit as they play for time. You, the viewer, would know they're under a shelter of some sort, and that there's a s***-storm going on outside, but not until the end would the camera pull back to reveal the tank. Who knows?

 

EDIT: Just noticed that the caption is missing on the cartoon. It says: "Able Red One to Battery? I got a target for you...but you're gonna HAVE TO BE PATIENT!"

[nimblepix]

Man, this is gorgeous!

And I love Bill Mauldin's low key humor.

You've got a nifty combination going on here.

[Kelley]

Quick Update: Had to fill a visual hole in the street. Just big enough for a 1910 Rolls-Royce armored car. Just happened to have one handy.

[DarkLimit]

-Great stuff Kelly, it's all coming together nicely -

[largento]

Yeah, Kelley! Really cool!

[Kelley]

-Great stuff Kelly, it's all coming together nicely -

[LOL] Over on this side of the mouse, it seems more like an arm-load of ping-pong balls, but Thanks, all of you, for the support.

[Kelley]

Here's one of the Ping-Pong balls right now. When I originally built the MG gunner, his mouth was supposed to be slightly open, which was not a problem until it comes time to try a little lip-sync. Now, the test sentence ["I'm gonna transfer outta this outfit."] starts with the mouth in an "AHH" shape and returns to it when the sentence is done. Not good. So I went back to the model and closed it. The problem is that something is stopping the model from updating in the Choreography . The mouth remains open, both in "UPPER STREET" Choreography [which you've seen in this thread] but also in another [Choreography 1] with only the two troopers. I've deleted, and re-installed the character. I was [am] suspecting something in the mouth Pose Sliders which were built over the old head and may be remembering old CP positions. But I opened the last one [the UUU sound] and the mouth's default position is the newly modified face with the first keyframe at 00:00:00 and 0%. Any thoughts?

[Phil]

Kelly,

This is coming along really nice. Love the characters. I also like Mauldin's work. Can't wait to see it animated.

 

I had something like this happen to me. But it was caused by selecting some other CP's that i didnt notice when working in the relatioship window for a pose slider.

 

Phil

[Kelley]

I had something like this happen to me....

Looks like it must be the Pose Sliders. I deleted the shoulder boards on both troopers, and the choreographys updated instantly. 'Guess I'll go back and delete the Sliders and re-build.

 

EDIT: It was the "AHH" slider. I deleted while watching the Choreo. window. Once I deleted AHH, the model updated instantly.

[Kelley]

The Whippet Tank just got its textures back. Time to bring it on stage.

 

EDIT: Here's a test clip with the new treads for the Whippet Tank.

WHIPPET_TEST_02.zip

[steve392]

Very nice textures and lighting

[Kelley]

As if there aren't enough details to ride herd on in this animation, I decided that it needed some ordinary, run-of-the-mill trucks running back and forth. Here we go...