Moving on....

[MikeV]

I wasn't sure if this belonged in "Work In Progress" or this section. Since I'm not actually physically working on anything in A:M at this point, I figured this was the better option. If I'm wrong and it belongs in the "Work In Progress" section, by all means kick it over there .

 

So, after reading through the posts in that last thread, I decided that while I wait for my "juices" and inspiration to fully get flowing again in terms of learning in earnest with A:M, that I would start doing some planning for what will be my first full animation with it. I am by no means jumping straight into that project. I'm just doing all the early work that doesn't require any modeling or what-not to take place... storyboarding and so forth. This way, when I feel I'm ready to take that step and really begin work on it, I should have most everything I need in place. That's the plan, anyway.

 

Up 'til now, I've thought through the animation as a sort of "fuzzy" movie... kinda like someone with really bad eyesight (like me!) watching TV without glasses. You can make out the shapes, you can see stuff happening, but the details aren't very clear. Other than a few key props, I havent' had much else worked out. There are a few bits of the action that I'm still sorting through and I'm not sure what order they'll happen in just yet. Hopefully the storyboarding will help with that.

 

So anyway, what I did is jumped into A:M and just mocked up a quick kitchen counter (based roughly on the one in my kitchen, but not exact), and then went into GIMP and did a very rough (emphasis on "very") "paint over" of a screenshot of it to sorta "block in' where major set pieces will be. Stuff you'll see in the background to make it look like an actual kitchen counter but that won't be part of the main action.

 

The smaller props that will be more specific to the movie itself aren't drawn in yet, 'cause it's getting late, I'm getting tired and my mouse drawing skills were bad enough as it was.

 

In the meantime, I'm going to also do some reading on creating stories for animation and try to get some "formal education" (ie. more of a clue than I have now) in that regard. I know there are some experienced people on these forums who have actually "walked the walk" already and lived to tell about it.. so I might be picking at some of your brains as well .

 

Anyhow.. I'm rambling here and probably not even making sense lol. So here's a picture of my -cough- paint-over job. Yes, it's pretty much all mechanical modeling at this point (sorry, Rob!). Well, except for the curtains, which will be interesting to model, for sure. But other elements will be more round and fluid and less rigid and "straight".

 

I thought maybe some folks could take a look at the roughed out sketch and let me know if anything sends up red-flags for you right away? Anything you think might be an issue, etc? I know there's not much going on in the picture, but hey... gotta start somewhere, right?

 

'night all!

 

P.S. Aren't the curtains simply breathtaking? So realistic!

 

>.>

[Rodney]

Mike,

You must have read my mind because I was about to suggest starting a WIP.

Its not only one of the best ways to flesh out ideas but its a great way to get feedback.

 

Your persistence and determination are great assets.

Keep it up!

 

Added: I should mention here that often when developing sets/settings that aren't fully planned out, a useful methodology is to use proxy models and then later replace them with the real models. In that way models (which can be as simple a rectangles and squares) can be placed in a choreography quickly and refined or replaced later. Its not unlike what you are doing here with the curtains.

[MikeV]

Mike,

You must have read my mind because I was about to suggest starting a WIP.

Its not only one of the best ways to flesh out ideas but its a great way to get feedback.

 

Your persistence and determination are great assets.

Keep it up!

 

Added: I should mention here that often when developing sets/settings that aren't fully planned out, a useful methodology is to use proxy models and then later replace them with the real models. In that way models (which can be as simple a rectangles and squares) can be placed in a choreography quickly and refined or replaced later. Its not unlike what you are doing here with the curtains.

 

Thanks for that!

 

Yeah, I like to always keep the creativity flowing, and I hate letting things "beat me" so even if the "gotta model something" bug hasn't quite bit me again yet, I'm keeping myself creative in another way.

 

I don't intend to jump into the animation part for a bit yet, and the modeling will be basic at this point, and there's still a lot of modeling to be done, which will probably be good practice for me in general since it covers a variety of different things. Will be good material and texturing practice, too, which I haven't gotten into beyond the decaling of a couple tutorials.

 

I also have to come up with some art for a fictitious Macaroni and Cheese brand. I have an idea for that, though. I was thinking that could be a neat "sub-project". I'll use A:M to create the assets required for the box art itself, then slap the rendered image on the box in the full animation. It's not going to be anything fancy... the idea will be one of those really "child-targeted", silly-looking box art deals, but there's a few key things on it that are important to the story and action itself.

 

As for using proxies... good idea! I hadn't considered using proxy models. I'd like to have a corner modeled in on one side of the counter, with a refrigerator on the other side... just to sorta "box in" the set, and assure that however the camera's angled, it'll always be seeing "something". You'll never be looking away from the counter, so I'm not worried about that.

 

No shortage of things to do! But, I have to start getting ready for work, so that'll all have to wait 'til later.

[MikeV]

Hey Rodney, I was just thinking (stand back! it could get messy!)

 

 

Since this thread has basically morphed from a "one-off" post and is likely going to become about a work in progress, perhaps it would be better to move it to that forum section?

 

Was just thinking about that.

[Gerry]

Hey MikeV, not to complicate your life, but as you build your set, I would highly recommend beveling EVERYTHING. I know it sounds like a ton more work but the end result makes it way worthwhile. And once you get in that mindset, it becomes easier.

[MikeV]

Hey MikeV, not to complicate your life, but as you build your set, I would highly recommend beveling EVERYTHING. I know it sounds like a ton more work but the end result makes it way worthwhile. And once you get in that mindset, it becomes easier.

 

You know, it's funny you mention that, because on the way home from work, I was thinking about setting up the "proxy models" that Rodney mentioned earlier in the thread, for things like the cabinets and such. Given the "project" nature of A:M, I can easily create the basic/starting models - making sure to bevel the edges as you note (which would definitely be good practice) - and just have those models ready for when it's time to complete the finished objects.

 

And then I got to thinking, well, some things are fairly straight-forward to model.. like a bowl, or a canister (for sugar, flour, etc). Things like that. And I want to do the whole thing with having "Sugar" and such "embossed" into the surface of the canisters, which I think would be a good candidate for becoming more familiar with the material system which I haven't delved into too much yet. I'd like to get a sorta polished earthenware look which, I imagine, would require the use of a few of the settings and such. So that should be good practice.

 

So... it's not taking as long as I thought it might, but I'm feeling that "bug" coming back to create stuff. Which is good! Certainly not complaining about that!

[MikeV]

Okay... quick self-check here.

 

I'm filling out and tweaking the basic counter/cabinet set right now, just getting things into a scale I can work with, etc. I put a window into my back wall using the approach Jeff Cantin describes on his site (or at least how I understood it). However, I am finding that there are 4 dead-end splines connecting the main wall spline to the window spline. I could probably re-connect them so they flow into the splines forming the frame of the window, but then I'd have to contend with the splines wanting to curve. Which I don't want, obviously.

 

What I'm wondering is, since it's a flat surface and the intention is to have a somewhat sharp corner where the wall meets the window, is it an exception to the "no dead-ends", or at least permissible in this case? Is there a different/better way I should be doing it?

 

I want to get this right and I want to learn the right way to do this stuff as early as possible, and if doing things over is what it takes to drill it into my head, then that's what I'll do...

 

Here's a shot of it...

 

Thanks!

[MikeV]

In the meantime...

 

Got my first "prop" model done... Just need to work on the material for it now. I'm gonna look for some good material tutorials and see what I can learn.

 

Cap and main canister are separate objects, so I can have them not on fully or what not, just to add a bit of "life" to the setting. Also, the cap actually properly fits the opening... so that's a bonus :-p.

 

Lathing an object isn't a major challenge, and so this is more just a "I got this part done on this day" sort of mile-marker. Will be interesting to go back and look at how things progressed later on.

 

Here's a quick render of it...

[Vertexspline]

hey MikeV---- I thing moving along and making some progress in other areas is good for the soul sometimes. Its a big program with lots of stuff to learn anyhow .

 

Glad to see you are pushing ahead and forging forward!! and Most importantly have fun!

[MikeV]

hey MikeV---- I thing moving along and making some progress in other areas is good for the soul sometimes. Its a big program with lots of stuff to learn anyhow .

 

Glad to see you are pushing ahead and forging forward!! and Most importantly have fun!

 

Yeah. The most important thing, I figure, is to keep moving forward and keep working on stuff.

 

My current challenge is finding a good set of comprehensive tutorials on materials. I can't seem to find any. Most I find are for very specific applications. I'm sure I'll find something though.