Just popping in...

[MikeV]

Hey folks,

 

Just wanted to pop in to say that, though it's been an interesting (even if frustrating at times ) ride, that I've come to the decision that modeling with A:M and, more specifically, splines/patches isn't "for me".

 

I have decided to stick with the world of polys and subdivision surface modeling (well, actually, it's my first actual venture into Sub-D's; I'd always done low-poly stuff before).

 

I won't go into a long-winded explanation other than to say that I came to a realization over the past few nights that I'm just far more wired for learning and working with polys/sub-d's than I am with spline/patches.

 

To be a bit more specific and so it doesn't seem I'm just being arbitrary here, I'll say that I spent 1.5 hours trying 3 different ways to model a basic spoon in A:M. Each attempt was a mess and nowhere near what I was trying to produce. Finding it impossible to believe that after about 2 weeks of working with A:M, I was still having such trouble with so simple an object, I decided to do a test comparison. I fired up Blender3D to attempt modeling the same spoon using sub-d's.. something I'd never used before (all my previous Blender work had been purely low-poly).

 

Long and short of it, in less than a half an hour overall, I had both a spoon and a coffee cup completely modeled. An hour and a half after that, with some experimenting and tweaking of material, lighting and render settings I had the rendered shot you see attached. It's not a masterpiece, but then it's not supposed to be.

 

That pretty much settled it for me.

 

I decided that, as much as I like the idea behind A:M, find the technology of Hash Patches to be quite cool and love what can be done with it, I'm just not wired for it. That much is obvious. I could continue to slam my face against the wall of trying to wrap my brain around Hash Patches, but why? Why spend time trying to force my hand into a glove that clearly isn't my size, when there's a pair that fits me just fine, even if I they're a bit oversized and I have to grow into them a bit?

 

So anyway... I didn't want to just "walk away" rudely. You all have been awesome, very helpful and very generous with your time. I wanted to say Thank You once again for that and that it has been very much appreciated. I'll still come around, even if only to see what's going on in A:M world, simply 'cause this is such a great and positive place to be.. and because I still find it to be a pretty darn cool piece of software.

 

Also, I'm finding that some of what I have learned in my time here is applicable to other applications as well. As such, I'll be bringing that knowledge to Blender and to whatever projects I work on with it.

 

So thanks again, and all the best!

 

Take care and stay awesome!

 

Mike

[Fuchur]

Hi Mike,

 

thanks for letting us know. Some are just not built to use patches, especially if they already touched polygones. (that is often harder than starting up without that.)

I will do a tutorial on a cup and a spoon soon too, because it is really not too hard to create something like that in a short time... maybe you want to have a look again just to know how it can be done.

(i will see if I can provide something after work...)

 

See you and have a good time

*Fuchur*

[MikeV]

Hi Mike,

 

thanks for letting us know. Some are just not built to use patches, especially if they already touched polygones. (that is often harder than starting up without that.)

I will do a tutorial on a cup and a spoon soon too, because it is really not too hard to create something like that in a short time... maybe you want to have a look again just to know how it can be done.

(i will see if I can provide something after work...)

 

See you and have a good time

*Fuchur*

 

Hiya Fuchur

 

Heheh thanks for that!

 

Hey, the more tutorials, the better! They're certain to be helpful to others, for sure.

 

Thing is, I don't want this to be confused as "Mike's leaving A:M because of a spoon?". The coffee cup I'd already modeled before, but did have issues due to some weird glitch that, to my knowledge, was never figured out.

 

It's not about "a spoon" or "a coffee cup". It could have been any 2 or 3 or 5 simple objects.

 

The gist is more in that those are both very simple objects, using techniques you learn "day 1" for either method: extruding, scaling, transform, rotate, and in the case of A:M, detaching and re-attaching CPs. Those very same processes are used in several of the beginner modeling tutorial in the TaoAM book.

 

So, the trouble isn't from the process of creating the objects. The trouble is derived from the quirky nature of splines/cp's and all those hidden rules that I've touched on before. It's never as simple as just "attaching one CP to another". Attaching CPs is easy. Attaching CP's correctly so as to not break any of the various underlying rules is another story altogether and it's where I seem to continuously run into trouble.

 

So, while a tutorial to model a spoon and cup is certainly helpful in terms of sheer "hands-on practice". The more worthwhile tutorial, in my opinion, would be one that goes into detail of specifically how splines are connected, broken, re-connected and so forth, relative to how they are supposed to work. That's what is missing in those TaoAM tutorials and in any other similar tutorial I looked at. They all explain the "what". None of them explain the "why" in terms of those underlying rules.

 

Anyway!

 

Off to work with me!

[Fuchur]

Hi Mike,

 

thanks for letting us know. Some are just not built to use patches, especially if they already touched polygones. (that is often harder than starting up without that.)

I will do a tutorial on a cup and a spoon soon too, because it is really not too hard to create something like that in a short time... maybe you want to have a look again just to know how it can be done.

(i will see if I can provide something after work...)

 

See you and have a good time

*Fuchur*

 

Hiya Fuchur

 

Heheh thanks for that!

 

Hey, the more tutorials, the better! They're certain to be helpful to others, for sure.

 

Thing is, I don't want this to be confused as "Mike's leaving A:M because of a spoon?". The coffee cup I'd already modeled before, but did have issues due to some weird glitch that, to my knowledge, was never figured out.

 

It's not about "a spoon" or "a coffee cup". It could have been any 2 or 3 or 5 simple objects.

 

The gist is more in that those are both very simple objects, using techniques you learn "day 1" for either method: extruding, scaling, transform, rotate, and in the case of A:M, detaching and re-attaching CPs. Those very same processes are used in several of the beginner modeling tutorial in the TaoAM book.

 

So, the trouble isn't from the process of creating the objects. The trouble is derived from the quirky nature of splines/cp's and all those hidden rules that I've touched on before. It's never as simple as just "attaching one CP to another". Attaching CPs is easy. Attaching CP's correctly so as to not break any of the various underlying rules is another story altogether and it's where I seem to continuously run into trouble.

 

So, while a tutorial to model a spoon and cup is certainly helpful in terms of sheer "hands-on practice". The more worthwhile tutorial, in my opinion, would be one that goes into detail of specifically how splines are connected, broken, re-connected and so forth, relative to how they are supposed to work. That's what is missing in those TaoAM tutorials and in any other similar tutorial I looked at. They all explain the "what". None of them explain the "why" in terms of those underlying rules.

 

Anyway!

 

Off to work with me!

 

Even better... that is more fun for me anyway

I'll see what I can do this evening.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[thejobe]

Im sorry to hear you are having trouble getting started in A:M, if you need any help im available. you can reach me several ways.

if you need a tutorial on modeling something small like a spoon i pretty much mastered all small objects at this point.

and hey maybe you could help me figure out blender since that for me is like trying to jump a hurdle 400 ft high.

all my contact info is in my signature.

[Gerry]

MikeV, no doubt this has come up before, but are you certain that "mirror mode" and "snap to grid" were both turned OFF while you were working?

[Fuchur]

I am right now rendering the video-tutorial from vegas. I have to go to work now, but I'll upload it here at the evening.

It is a 50 mins startup-tutorial explaining a little bit of the interface, splines and patches (some basic prinzipels behind it) and we are going to model a basic spoon with A:M.

I think I got many useful infos in this tutorial and hope it will help you.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[Fuchur]

Hi!

 

so here it is...

Beginner Tutorial for A:M

(better audio and smaller version can be found here!)

 

It is quite large (mp4, about 50 min. 1304px * 804px resolution).

Filesize is about 400 MB, but I think it is worth for a beginner!

Let me know what you think.

 

I am covering different things like:

- user interface

- basic spline / patch principles

- some comon questions like: how to connect a shape to a arm > explaining when to use which patches, etc.

- what and when to use hooks

- the advantages and disadvantages of peaked vs rounded splines

- hooks, lathe, extrusion, copy/flip/attach, a little bit about normals

- many many helpful little tipps concering keyboard shortcuts, good practice, etc.

 

And finally we are modelling a spoon in A:M.

Hope it will help you to get started with A:M in a better way.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

 

PS: It is not my mother tongue so: Please be patient with me

[MikeV]

Im sorry to hear you are having trouble getting started in A:M, if you need any help im available. you can reach me several ways.

if you need a tutorial on modeling something small like a spoon i pretty much mastered all small objects at this point.

and hey maybe you could help me figure out blender since that for me is like trying to jump a hurdle 400 ft high.

all my contact info is in my signature.

 

Hey there, thejobe..

 

Thanks!

 

Well, it's not creating the spoon that's the problem. Like I said before, the object is really arbitrary. We could be talking about anything that you can create by using extrude, scale, rotate and transform, with hands-on spline modeling being required only to "close off" the object.

 

It's more the way patch/splines work "under the hood", the rules they're governed by, and how to utilize that knowledge - pro-actively - when modeling with them. What put me off with it is that it seems the problems I run into seem to happen more often *after* I've moved beyond the spot where the actual problem occurs. So, not only do I not know *what* caused the problem, I don't even know exactly when it happened.

 

For example, on a model I was working on in another thread, a five-point patch just vanished. That did not happen until I was several steps, and about an hour at least past the point of creating it. Yet, the problem with it was directly related to one of the CPs defining it. So, why did that issue not pop up right when I was creating it in the first place? Why did it disappear a while later? I have no idea... and that's what I've been trying to convey as the issue.

 

If there was a tutorial or a demonstration or something that demystified all that, I think you'd see a big difference. Sure it might seem obvious or intuitive to some... but then, not everyone learns the same way or at the same rate.

 

Fuchur is working on a tutorial vid to address this, if I understand correctly. So I'll be interested to see if it clears up that bit of "mystery" for me. Then we'll see where things go from there.

 

I'm sure others around here have gotten tired of me by now... what with the lack of response from a few notable people, even to another thread I started specifically asking for feedback/advice. It's fine. Those who want to respond and discuss, will. I don't take it personally.

 

As for learning Blender.. sure! lol I can at least show or help point you to some of the more "common stuff" when it comes to modeling and such. I wouldn't want to discuss all that here, though, since this isn't a Blender forum. If you want to contact me in a PM, I can point you to some stuff that way.

 

Thanks!

[MikeV]

Hi!

 

so here it is...

Beginner Tutorial for A:M

 

It is quite large (mp4, about 50 min. 1304px * 804px resolution).

Filesize is about 400 MB, but I think it is worth for a beginner!

Let me know what you think.

 

I am covering different things like:

- user interface

- basic spline / patch principles

- some comon questions like: how to connect a shape to a arm > explaining when to use which patches, etc.

- what and when to use hooks

- the advantages and disadvantages of peaked vs rounded splines

- hooks, lathe, extrusion, copy/flip/attach, a little bit about normals

- many many helpful little tipps concering keyboard shortcuts, good practice, etc.

 

And finally we are modelling a spoon in A:M.

Hope it will help you to get started with A:M in a better way.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

 

PS: It is not my mother tongue so: Please be patient with me

 

Awesome! Thanks for putting that work into it!

 

lol.. love how all the focus is on it being a spoon XD.

 

Well, as long as the principles taught are applicable to anything, and not "spoon-specific", that's what matters .

[MikeV]

MikeV, no doubt this has come up before, but are you certain that "mirror mode" and "snap to grid" were both turned OFF while you were working?

 

Hey there, Gerry.

 

Naw it was definitely not either of those.

 

Thanks!

[Fuchur]

All about spoons in there.. nothing else... for forks you will need another tuto... of course not

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[MikeV]

All about spoons in there.. nothing else... for forks you will need another tuto... of course not

 

See you

*Fuchur*

 

lol!

 

Nice

[itsjustme]

I'm sure others around here have gotten tired of me by now... what with the lack of response from a few notable people, even to another thread I started specifically asking for feedback/advice. It's fine. Those who want to respond and discuss, will. I don't take it personally.

 

You shouldn't assume that a lack of response means anyone is tired of answering your questions or helping you, Mike...it could be any number of reasons, including lack of time.

[Rodney]

I'm sure others around here have gotten tired of me by now... what with the lack of response from a few notable people, even to another thread I started specifically asking for feedback/advice. It's fine. Those who want to respond and discuss, will. I don't take it personally.

 

Mike,

You've got me scratching my head.

I add this here because you've asked for feedback and advice so I'm offering it here.

 

On the one hand you say that you've moved on because you can't grasp the concept of splines and on the other indicate a lack of response from specific people as a factor.

 

I can't speak for others but I'm in the middle of a move from Japan to the U.S. and that has made it particular hard for me to comment on things posted in the forum. Priorities in finding a house to move my family to and job hunting unfortunately will keep my priorities elsewhere for the foreseeable future. One of the reasons I personally didn't comment on your other thread is that I looked at it and figured you were well underway. While you may still be learning, it is readily apparent that you are well beyond the hand-holding stage. One of the whole points of posting is to encourage others to comment. That puts a little onus on you to solicit that commentary. A comment of "Advice Welcome" or "Let me know what you think" is just generic enough to suggest that folks should wait for the next update.

 

The dilemma I face now in commenting after you've indicated you've moved on to other things is that I tend to step back from those that oppose themselves until they recommit in some way. My own person thought is that you never really committed to the effort in the first place. You were exploring... satisfying your curiosity... while maintaining the thought that you could always move on to other things. I tend to invest time in people who are willing to invest in themselves.

 

My advice is that you can use more than one program but in order to be successful with A:M you've got to at least commit yourself to it and know that in time you will overcome the obstacles you will face. My own feeling is that subscribing to v17 would have pushed you into this state of commitment and have made a significant difference. My view with Blender is that it isn't an either/or scenario but rather an exploration of how A:M and Blender can be used to best advantage together. The price of Blender certainly makes it easy to add it to the A:M toolset.

 

It's an odd thing to say but the news that you'd moved on wasn't a surprise to me. But consider that in order to move on you'd have to have actually been here. That more than anything is the reason you and splines may not yet be falling into sync. It's almost as if you were just popping in to begin with to satify your curiosity but really had no intention of staying.

 

I hope this doesn't seem harsh as it's not intended that way.

Wherever your journey takes you I wish you great success.

[MikeV]

It's an odd thing to say but the news that you'd moved on wasn't a surprise to me. But consider that in order to move on you'd have to have actually been here. That more than anything is the reason you and splines may not yet be falling into sync. It's almost as if you were just popping in to begin with to satify your curiosity but really had no intention of staying.

 

I hope this doesn't seem harsh as it's not intended that way.

Wherever your journey takes you I wish you great success.

 

I don't take it as "harsh". It *is* completely off the mark and more than a little ignorant. My comment was based on the fact that in every other thread I started with something I was working on, or with a question I was asking, I'd get responses/feedback to it within at least a day. All of a sudden, almost all of that fell away - and this is even before I stated that I'd decided to pick up Blender again. So I guess my "comittment" was being questioned before I even thought about changing 3D programs? Hmmm....

 

For just over two weeks, every day, I was at my computer working on learning things in A:M as much as I could. I was going through exercises, trying things out for myself, posting results up here on the forums. Discussing what I was doing. Taking the feedback I was getting and applying it - or trying to - etc. It was as much commitment as I could manage, given the time I have to do so.

 

I'm not even sure what you consider a "convincing level of committment". Further, I wonder why you feel qualified to place such arbitrary expectations on people before you deem them "worthy" of your time. Do you know what my time availability is? Do you know what my other responsibilities are? Do you know how my time is spent outside of being able to sit at my computer and work with A:M, or any other 3D program? No. You don't. So how could you possibly sit there and cast such an arbitrary judgment?

 

What I wonder is what "standard" I should have met in your eyes to satisfy your "requirements" for one's "level of comittment". Maybe I should have posted twice as much as I was? Perhaps I should have had a live camera on me the entire time I was working so you could see how much time I actually was spending on it? I don't say that just to sound snarky (deserved as such a response would be to such an undeservedly disrespectful and dismissive attitude as yours toward me), but to make a point. You're holding someone else to some arbitrary standard that only you know.. and regarding them accordingly. I really hope I don't need to point out how unfair or unreasonable an attitude that is.

 

No, what made me finally move on was this... I was trying to learn A:M. I posted in *frustration* that I wasn't picking things up as well as I'd like to be and that I was hoping to move on and get good enough to where I could start actually creating things on my own and perhaps even give back to the community. Perhaps you missed those posts and those remarks, but they were made, and they were made with 100% sincerity.

 

What happened, Rodney, is not that I "wasn't comitted to learning", it's that - after ~2 weeks of repeated problems with *very basic things* in A:M - I started to wonder if I was barking up the wrong tree. Maybe spline/patch modeling just wasn't for me. I *stated* this openly. I didn't say it proudly. It bummed me out because I really was trying to learn, understand and apply it all - your doubts about my "level of commitment" notwithstanding.

 

I re-downloaded, installed and fired-up Blender only as a self-check to see if maybe I would have similar issues with creating the same objects in that program, using sub-d surfaces. Maybe it wasn't just A:M that I'd have that kind of problem with. I'd never used sub-d's before, beyond making a cube, applying a sub-d level or two to it, saying "that's neat...", then deleting it and moving on to regular polygon modeling. It so happens that I actually didn't have that much trouble with it. Not even close. It went smoothly and that's when I realized that, okay, it seems that my mind, for whatever reason, just isn't wired for splines/patches.

 

And that's really all there is to it. If you want to believe that, great. If I'm still "not convincing you" of what my level of commitment was to learning.. well, that's your problem. I know how into it I was. I know what I was trying to do, and I know what my commitment level was. Your perception of it means absolutely squat. Well, outside these forums at least. I'm sure your opinion is considered "gospel truth" to others around here.

 

Well, I was going to stick around here because I thought y'all were a great group of people. Apparently, though, that's only so when you're all "rah rah rah A:M!". The moment you second guess or state that you're not going to be continuing with it, suddenly "you're not committed enough, so I'm not going to answer your questions".

 

WONDERFUL attitude. Very endearing.

 

Good day, sir.

[Fuchur]

WONDERFUL attitude. Very endearing.

 

Just to mention it: This will be as that in any software-specific forum you will go to.

If you tell them "Sorry, I will use something else but hey, tell me your tipps and tricks anyway (maybe I can make the other software better...)"

where do you see the motivation coming from to help you?

 

It is all about giving and taking and if you are using Blender from now on you will not be giving anything to this community anymore...

 

But I think it is different: You still have A:M and like that you are still able to use it. My motivation will be gone, if the tutorial I made for you is not even watched at all.

So lets get on with things. Did you find the time to watch the tutorial yet? Did it clear up some things?

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[Rodney]

WONDERFUL attitude. Very endearing.

 

I prefer to call it 'caring'. For my part and for daring to be honest with you, 'Tough love' I suppose could be another term.

It's the kind of honesty that one might expect to see shared with a friend.

 

The whole reason we are here is to help everyone succeed with A:M.

 

One of the reasons I am required to question your commitment is demonstrated by this response from Fuchur:

 

My motivation will be gone, if the tutorial I made for you is not even watched at all.

So lets get on with things. Did you find the time to watch the tutorial yet? Did it clear up some things?

 

Folks in this forum will go out of their way to assist you in your efforts.

Commitment simply means you still care.

[Darkwing]

What happened, Rodney, is not that I "wasn't comitted to learning", it's that - after ~2 weeks of repeated problems with *very basic things* in A:M - I started to wonder if I was barking up the wrong tree. Maybe spline/patch modeling just wasn't for me. I *stated* this openly. I didn't say it proudly. It bummed me out because I really was trying to learn, understand and apply it all - your doubts about my "level of commitment" notwithstanding.

 

If I may interject here for a moment, 2 weeks is far from enough time to make the decision whether splines were "for you" or not. I say this because I think we've all been there. I know I was. 2 weeks into it you're still scratching your head and not quite "getting it." In fact to this day I'll sometimes wonder if I'm getting it, but I think now I am and can chart (in my mind at least) immense progress. However; that was over the course of 6 years. Some pick it up faster than others. I've seen people in a couple months achieve what took me a couple years and I think I know where Rodney's coming from when he talks about commitment. It wasn't until I changed my frame of mind that I started to "get it." There's 2 ways really to approach failing to learn something (especially something as complicated as 3D modelling/animation). At first when you're struggling and there is that period of "no one wants to listen to my whining nor will they help me" and that is partially true and partially just imagined. When one is perceiving that, they're kind of doomed to failure as that subroutine is always running at the back of your head "I'm not geared for this, I'm not geared for this etc". Some people get over that from the get go, some in a few weeks, a few months. But if you make it to a year or even just a couple of months and even if you're still struggling something suddenly clicks. It's that moment of "hey, I'm still doing this, I'm struggling, but I'm still doing this." When that happens, you kind of realize that you then have that "commitment" as Rodney put it.

 

Now take me for example. I've been using Animation Master for near 6 years now (I still consider myself an advanced beginner BTW, maybe an intermediate user, but I'm definitely no pro like Stian or Robert or any of the masters here) and a couple months ago for kicks I decided I'd start to learn Maya. That whole first month was a lot of the same thing you're going through now "I'm not getting this." But I give it time, I just learn a little at a time, learn how the interface works and realize it's probably gonna take me years to get to the level I'm at with AM. But I also realized something else about myself and that it was to at first play up my strengths with each program. For AM, it's modelling, for Maya, it's currently animation. I haven't even attempted to model something yet in Maya, however I still feel like I'm accomplishing things because I'm playing up my current strength in Maya which is as I said, making things move. So maybe you should approach AM differently. Perhaps don't try and learn modelling quite yet. Maybe make a car move, or play with texture maps or I dunno, something you can feel you can do. Then you'll accomplish something, feel a little bit proud of yourself and then you'll start climbing the ladder. When you feel you're ready for the next step, you try it out. And try it again and again. Only then will you get that "feel" for splines. The trick with splines is simply that they flow. I'm sure there's some sort of technical science thing behind it, but for me, all I know (and what works for me) is that splines simply flow. They're graceful. You try to avoid such things as abrupt endings like hooks and 5 pointers and only use them when you need to. I kinda imagine it like wide, rolling fields. Each patch is a field with a spline flowing and running through it. Also, less is more with splines. That's drastically different from polys (what little I know about polys). With polys you need a lot of them to make smooth and flowing surfaces. With splines it's the opposite. You can achieve that with just a couple CPs, Splines and Patches.

 

Now I'm thinking there's still a part of you that hasn't quite given up. I've been around forums long enough to know that when people create threads like these, they're looking for some reassurance and encouragement to continue with whatever it is they intend to be leaving. (Of course there are those who are the exact opposite and do it simply for seeking attention and maybe have some anger motivating them and do it as a sort of an F U to the community, but I *don't* think that's the case here, but I could be wrong).

 

Something you should know about this community is they're always helpful. I've never seen someone decline giving assistance here. Something else to note though, is people here generally give advise and help in areas that they're pretty confident in (which makes sense). So if you're asking modelling questions but the pro modellers aren't around, then it may be a while before you get some solid advise about modelling. And like Rodney said, summer is a slow time for forums. People go on vacations, work, move whatever. I think we can all agree that summer can be a busy time of year that can keep a lot of people away from their computers.

 

Also, one other thing to consider is that there are certain areas of the board that gets frequented more often. If you ask for help about modelling something in the AM Tutorials and Demonstration section, fewer people may see it then if you post it simply in the Animation:Master board. The rule of forums is the lower it is when you first load the page, the fewer people seem to respond. Just some food for thought (others may disagree with me on that rule, but it's something I've personally found to be true).

 

Anyways, I hope all this typing wasn't in vain and that it does help and that this thread doesn't turn into a personal bashing between members, we're above that (I hope...). I say we just keep this about the program and less about judging others.

[Gerry]

Hey Chris, I really like your analogy to "flowing fields"!

[Darkwing]

Thanks! I found that was my key to understanding splines, was to constantly visualize them. It kinda originated from something I think it was Mark said to me when I was trying to build a face once. It basically went something along the lines of if the splines are bumpy, then you get bumps! That's sorta when I realized that splines are supposed to flow. They're really kind of elegant if you think about it.

[jakerupert]

Hi MikeV,

 

I think you showed great commitment already in posting so much about your proceedings and having us witness so closly, how a beginner can have to struggle to get into AM. It was quite interesting for me to follow this thread.

 

And Rodney surly didnT mean to insult you or anything, but much better tried to provoke you into showing some more patience and persistence.

Naturally it would have been a succsess for us all, if you would have stayed, because you showed so much engagement

 

This community is by far the most friendly and helpfull bunch of people, I ever had the pleasure to molest with my silly questions.

Its infact one of the major "features" of AM.

 

so good luck on your 3d path and don`t walk away in anger

 

 

;>) Jake

[thejobe]

hey mike could you send me an email. PM is turned off on the site.

[fae_alba]

Mike, don't know if you have totally given up or not but..let me chime in here as well. I started with A:M a long time ago..with no artsy skills, experience or prior knowledge of anything dealing with animation (other than watching it!). I can comfortably say that it took me a looonnnnggg time to "get it" and to be able to actually do something half way entertaining (to me at least). I still scratch my head when modeling, especially organic models (human-ish, animal-ish, whatever). Perseverance is the key, and learning things in small bite size chunks. Don't give up after only two weeks, you're not doing yourself or the software or the community (but especially yourself) any good. People come and go from the forums, and has been mentioned, summer is not the time to expect people to respond quickly, though many do. So while perhaps your feelings are justified, so aren't the remarks of others as well.

 

When it comes down to it, it's on you. Just do it! Learn it, take your time, enjoy the process/challenge of learning A:M and invite us into your experience, we'll all be happy to share with you, when we are able.

[markw]

Hi!

 

so here it is...

Beginner Tutorial for A:M

 

It is quite large (mp4, about 50 min. 1304px * 804px resolution).

Filesize is about 400 MB, but I think it is worth for a beginner!

Let me know what you think.

 

I am covering different things like:

- user interface

- basic spline / patch principles

- some comon questions like: how to connect a shape to a arm > explaining when to use which patches, etc.

- what and when to use hooks

- the advantages and disadvantages of peaked vs rounded splines

- hooks, lathe, extrusion, copy/flip/attach, a little bit about normals

- many many helpful little tipps concering keyboard shortcuts, good practice, etc.

 

And finally we are modelling a spoon in A:M.

Hope it will help you to get started with A:M in a better way.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

 

PS: It is not my mother tongue so: Please be patient with me

Good video Fuchur, I liked it!

Great introduction to splines for new users. But the sound level is very, very low.

So I wonder, could you redo the sound level and post it to the Tutorials, Modeling, section so its easier for new users to find?

[Fuchur]

Hi!

 

so here it is...

Beginner Tutorial for A:M

(> Smaller and slightly reworked version can be found here!)

 

It is quite large (mp4, about 50 min. 1304px * 804px resolution).

Filesize is about 400 MB, but I think it is worth for a beginner!

Let me know what you think.

 

I am covering different things like:

- user interface

- basic spline / patch principles

- some comon questions like: how to connect a shape to a arm > explaining when to use which patches, etc.

- what and when to use hooks

- the advantages and disadvantages of peaked vs rounded splines

- hooks, lathe, extrusion, copy/flip/attach, a little bit about normals

- many many helpful little tipps concering keyboard shortcuts, good practice, etc.

 

And finally we are modelling a spoon in A:M.

Hope it will help you to get started with A:M in a better way.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

 

PS: It is not my mother tongue so: Please be patient with me

Good video Fuchur, I liked it!

Great introduction to splines for new users. But the sound level is very, very low.

So I wonder, could you redo the sound level and post it to the Tutorials, Modeling, section so its easier for new users to find?

 

No problem, here you go Mark :

Tutorial Section: Beginner Tutorial

 

Now with normalized and remastered soundlevel and a little bit smaller (160 MB at 1024px*608px, still showing everything)

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[Vertexspline]

Mike V...... In my eyes seeing what you had posted ---I felt you were doing great for only two weeks . I guess from your eyes it was not so much fun . But really ---you were showing some pretty decent modeling and yes you ran into some of the trouble spots that the patches do present. Everyone does .

 

I can understand your frustration.......patch modeling is still difficult for me and an obstacle indeed .....I have not wanted to give up totally but have taken time off now and then and in the end that never helped. I think only by practicing and practicing and practicing --does one get over the hump as it were. Time is limited so progress is slow but I think one has to think of this as drawing or sculpting -----unless you are some kind of genius these things take some training and practice .

 

I do hope you have not left for good as I really think you had shown great promise and determination as I am sure many others did as well and were so eager to help you. They still would ---as they help everyone who asks.

 

And Fuchur -----thanks for the video ---I am downloading as I write ----so generous of you to take the time to do this .

 

Rich

[Fuchur]

Mike V...... In my eyes seeing what you had posted ---I felt you were doing great for only two weeks . I guess from your eyes it was not so much fun . But really ---you were showing some pretty decent modeling and yes you ran into some of the trouble spots that the patches do present. Everyone does .

 

I can understand your frustration.......patch modeling is still difficult for me and an obstacle indeed .....I have not wanted to give up totally but have taken time off now and then and in the end that never helped. I think only by practicing and practicing and practicing --does one get over the hump as it were. Time is limited so progress is slow but I think one has to think of this as drawing or sculpting -----unless you are some kind of genius these things take some training and practice .

 

I do hope you have not left for good as I really think you had shown great promise and determination as I am sure many others did as well and were so eager to help you. They still would ---as they help everyone who asks.

 

And Fuchur -----thanks for the video ---I am downloading as I write ----so generous of you to take the time to do this .

 

Rich

 

No problem Rich,

good to see that someone is actually watching it .

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[Vertexspline]

Its awesome Fuchur ----one of best introductions to AM ------very clear and concise. And your voice and language is rather good ---so do not worry -----its must seeing for anyone new or having troubles .

[robcat2075]

MikeV, sorry we couldn't get you over the hump. If you want to try again in the future I'm sure someone will help with questions you have.