Technical Directors Training

[Rodney]

Note: Users of A:M 2006 (Yeti CD) please read information at this link for more on troubleshooting a problem with the Knight's knees. Read about it HERE . You'll want to use a working model for Exercise 15: Eat My Dust.

 

 

The Art of Animation:Master (Online)

 

Please add your exercises to this topic and others will join in.

 

The Art of Animation:Master is being completed on a continual basis in the New Users Forum. Meeting deadlines can be an important skill to master early on but this course is self paced to allow each person the flexibility they need to learn the basics of Animation:Master. The course can be completed in as little time as necessary or as much as is needed by each participant.

 

Note: You may want to download the videos first.

All available Video Tutorials related to TAOA:M can be found on one page:

The Art of Animation Master Video Tutorials

 

The Art of Animation Master Part III: Technical Directors Training

 

 

TECHNICAL DIRECTORS TRAINING

14 - Playing Marble (Materials)

15 - Eat My Dust (Volumetrics)

16 - Smoke, Wind, and Fire (Particles)

17 - Cosmic Bowling (Dynamics)

18 - Waving the Flag (Cloth)

19 - Flying South (Flocks)

[rbjohnsn]

Name: Dick Johnson

Exercise Completed: Exercise 18

Date Completed: 7 Dec 2006

Instructor: None

I jumped a head only because I completed this exersize while try to learn Cloth for WIP model I was developing.

[attachmentid=22979]

Ex_18_Dick_Johnson.mov

[rbjohnsn]

Name: Dick Johnson

Exercise Completed: Exercise 14

Date Completed: 7 Dec 2006

Instructor: None

[attachmentid=23001]

 

Name: Dick Johnson

Exercise Completed: Exercise 15

Date Completed: 7 Dec 2006

Instructor: None

[attachmentid=23002]

Ex15_Dick_Johnson.mov

[rbjohnsn]

Name: Dick Johnson

Exercise Completed: Exercise 16

Date Completed: 9 Dec 2006

Instructor: None

[attachmentid=23031]

Ex_16_Dick_Johnson.mov

[rbjohnsn]

Am I placing my exersizes in the correct place or should I place them in the directory where you download the tutorial videos? It look like that is where everyone else is doing it. I understud it to be this directory, or folder as MAC users would say.

[rbjohnsn]

Name: Dick Johnson

Exercise Completed: Exercise 17

Date Completed: 11 Dec 2006

Instructor: None

[attachmentid=23075]

Ex_17_Dick_Johnson.mov

[Rodney]

Am I placing my exersizes in the correct place or should I place them in the directory where you download the tutorial videos? It look like that is where everyone else is doing it. I understud it to be this directory, or folder as MAC users would say.

 

Dick,

Its fine to place them here.

You may not get as much commentary from others who are posting in the separate areas.

I'd move them to the individual exercise areas myself but haven't had the time I wish I had to devote to it.

 

The important thing is that you are posting your exercises.

Where you post will always be secondary to that.

 

So... keep on doing what you are doing!

[rbjohnsn]

Name: Dick Johnson

Exercise Completed: Exercise 19

Date Completed: 12 Dec 2006

Instructor: None

The rendering in this JPG image is how the MOV should have rendered. Not sure what the problem is yet.

[attachmentid=23093]

 

Here is the movie file version

[attachmentid=23094]

Ex_19.mov

[rbjohnsn]

Name: Dick Johnson

Exercise Completed: Exercise 20

Date Completed: 13 Dec 2006

Instructor: None

 

This has two issues. I wasn't able to color the hair on the back of the head. All the number setting if the file are as stated in the manual on page 207, but this does not resemble the picture as it is supposed to be.

[attachmentid=23122]

[Rodney]

Dick,

If you can either upload the file here to the forum or email it to me I'll take a look at it when I get the chance.

 

Thanks!

Rodney

[rbjohnsn]

Rodney, here is a consolidated PRJ file of my Ex 20 per your request.

 

[attachmentid=23148]

 

Good luck. I also had numerious issues with adding decals. Some would scale with the mouse,but not all. The only control was for those was to use the arrow keys.

Ex_20.prj

[Rodney]

Thanks Dick. I'll investigate.

 

In the meantime just keep busy by redoing all the TaoA:M exercises.

[rbjohnsn]

Question: what does "TaoA:M" stand for? I understand the A:M but what is Tao?

[Rodney]

The Art of Animation:Master

 

TaoA:M is the name of the manual.

 

The lowercase a and o are apparently preferred.

[rbjohnsn]

The Art Of, Ok. Thanks Rodeny

[rbjohnsn]

Noel corrected an error in my PRJ file which resolved my issue with Ex 20. Some how when saving the file a pointer to an invalued CP caused the problem. Here is the completed Ex 20:

[Moonsire]

Here is Exercise's 14 and 16.

 

Done:1-4-2007 and 5-14-06 in that order

No Inst.

 

I am, however having trouble with the Flying South exercise (19) because the Flocking function is creating invisible birds. They don't show up.

This is weard because only last week, I did the exercise (didn't save it because I wanted to do it a little differently) and it worked fine.

 

 

Exercise_16.mov

 

I'll try flocking again before I bother you anymore Rodney.

[Moonsire]

Hey Rodney.

 

Here is exercise 19, flying south.

 

I did this one 12-26-05.

 

The odd part is, I haven't been able to get the birds to be visible in the flock since then. I'll try again a little later.

 

Lesson_19_FlyingS.mov

[Caroline]

The odd part is, I haven't been able to get the birds to be visible in the flock since then. I'll try again a little later.

 

I'm working on flocking, too, Phil and happened to me. A lot. By about the fourth time I remembered what to do - you need to turn particles on in the renderer. If you have rendered with particles off, then flocking remembers that. So just go to Tools Menu > Options > Rendering and turn particles back on.

 

That was great flocking by the way, really smooth.

[Rodney]

The Particles thing is a recurring omission. Its so easy to forget that Flocks (and Dust!) are particles.

 

The benefit is that if you remember this lesson for when new users encounter the problem you can jump in and say, "Turn on Particles!", and you'll look really smart!

 

Good job Phil,

My wife wouldn't care much for this exercise... as those birds fly to close.

She has a very strange dislike of birds. Childhood trauma or something...

[Moonsire]

Thanks a lot guys. I'll turn on the particles in render, and go back and play with flocks some more.

 

I've been talking a lot about A:M on the sets I work on, as most people in Hollywood who work in the business have more than one pot to stir, and I know that a few of them have checked out the program. It helps that I can show them animations that I have done, and I always point out that a visit to the galleries is fun, seeing stills and animations.

 

I have uploaded all the exorcises that I have completed and could find. I know I did the airplane (rather well I thought), but can't find it, so I'll have to redo it for my cert. The one that stopped me was the blasted giraffe. Didn't finish that one, and can't find the one that I was working on when I quit. I guess I'll have to do that one too.

 

Thanks again for comments and tip.

 

Phil...