There seems to be So much to learn

[thumperness]

I can quickly get overwhelmed by wanting to know how to do everything in A:M. So I have finally decided to study modeling.

 

I am by no means an artist, but that is no reason not to know how everything works as far as splinemanship et al. This focus will also include creating phonems(sp) for speech. I have some models, from the extras DVD, with which I really want to do some lip. sinc.

 

I guess I'll start with making my set of primatives, how to make holes in things, etc...So you are gonna see alot of examples and questions of how to do it better.

 

I'm going back to Jeff Canton's tutorials and then moving on to whatever else I can find.

 

I want to make friends with this so I can fix what I don't like and can create the mechanical stuff I have in my head.

[John Bigboote]

You can download some great models here on the forum... to sort of 'backwards engineer' how they are made.

[Vertexspline]

Thumperness.......Well......any complete 3d application is huge. Lots to learn indeed. Sometimes it seems very daunting indeed. My approach has been kind of semi focused on modeling and doing very simple things that hit on a topic i see in forums sometimes or just a few objects that might someday be in a scene I have in head to make.

 

Recently been working with AI files and trying to use some of these object shapes into scenes I may someday use. I do save the models I make that are decent and save all my AI shapes files for later use.

 

I also recently worked a little on a own walk cycle and boy that was tricky business ....

 

Bottom line...I feel good just working on things but sometimes feel the same way ....wow there is a lot to cover and learn!!

[largento]

I remember feeling the same way (and still do sometimes.)

 

Like any big task, the key is to tackle it a little bit at a time. Then it starts to get cumulative and doesn't seem quite as overwhelming.

 

I've had this conversation before with people about how once you start to get into it, you realize, hey, this isn't so hard ...but then you realize the sheer volume of work necessary to create an animated project and you get overwhelmed again. :-)

[Wildsided]

I'm sure there's probably a better way, but I do my phonemes by using muscle mode to make % poses for the major sounds like A-I, E, F, L. T. O and U. Then in the chor/Action import the sound and adjust the sliders depending on the sound on each frame.

 

I do all the speech first, then go through and animate the bodies relative to the scene and then a 3rd pass for inserting random blinking (Again with a pose slider)

 

But I have no doubt that the pros around here have much faster and more efficient ways of doing things.

[itsjustme]

I would suggest reading one of the versions of Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right by Jason Osipa. It is a much better method than using phonemes. I read the version from 2003, so there may be more information in newer versions of the book.

 

Hope that helps.

[Rodney]

I think you've got the right idea here.

 

While learning for the sake of learning is fun it'll pay dividends to you to work with a plan of action.

Because there is so much to learn (we'll never learn everything there is to learn) it can help to define a project or series of projects that eventually will lead to a specific outcome. For instance, in learning how to model you might have a goal in mind to create the props needed for a set for use in a 30 second animation about... . In this case the target is primarily just a means of getting you through the learning process with a goal in mind. Keeping that target simply will ensure you arrive near your intended destination. Even if you change your goal along the way you'll have learned a great deal and produced a whole lot and that may be particularly useful as you move toward your next project where you will learn even more.

 

Concerning Lipsyc:

If you are interested in lipsync I would encourage you to listen to a whole lot of dialogue before you even take hold of your mouse.

Exhaust the resources of The 11 Second Club (but don't get distracted by full character animation... only focus on the lipsync part!).

Study movies. (Lipsync and Body Language go hand in hand)

Learn to love the Muppets! (studying puppet dialogue will do wonders)

Watch people talk. (Note how the same dialogue can be performed with different accents)

Flood your senses with ideas and definitions of what lipsync is all about.

Then take a break and do something else.

When you return to work with lipsync in A:M you'll be amazed at what you'll be able to figure out.

 

Lipsync isn't about how you manipulate stuff in A:M.

Take what you learn from the real world and then apply that in A:M.

[mouseman]

If you have the gumption, I'd suggest trying to do quick end-to-end projects. Maybe you are focusing on modelling, but do a model, then do an animation with it. Maybe only 20 to 35 seconds or so. But get in the habit of doing animations frequently, you will have a framework on which you can build wherever you want, as opposed to just being stuck for example in modeling.

 

This is advice that I have not taken very well. But look at what TheSpleen has accomplished and how much he has developed.

[robcat2075]

First rule: keep it small enough to do.

 

As much as there is to know, i still think A:M is the best platform for solo CG animation artists.

 

I have Maya and it comes with a book of beginner tuts about 3x as thick as TaoA:M but after you finish it all you've done is make some boxes, a flying saucer, a jointed robot and a blob with an eye. Everything you do seems to take twice as many steps as it would in A:M.

[thumperness]

I appreciate the responses. and will digest them as time goes on.

 

Here's my 1st 'issue' I have run into as far as modeling goes....see attached

 

Beveled Cube Shaded Wireframe

 

and

 

Beveled Cube Rendered

[robcat2075]

I appreciate the responses. and will digest them as time goes on.

 

Here's my 1st 'issue' I have run into as far as modeling goes....see attached

 

Beveled Cube Shaded Wireframe

 

and

 

Beveled Cube Rendered

 

We'd have to see you do it but my first guess is you have doubled splines of some sort.

[Rodney]

It looks like an effect of internal patches.