JohnArtbox Posted July 26, 2004 Author Share Posted July 26, 2004 Thanks for the comments. New image, I needed a way to get soft fluffy (blurred) clouds without DOF. Here's the result, it took a bit of lateral thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modernhorse Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 Man oh man these 'things' ooze personality. This scene is hilarious! I for one, would happily plunk down cash for the Kapsule Action figurines. Great job ! Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iham Wrong Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 What if you made the cloud blobs jitter on the action/multipass settings like you do your lights? Would't that leave a soft fluffy looking artifact? Perhaps a mess, I don't know. Just tossing ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted July 27, 2004 Author Share Posted July 27, 2004 Damn it Frank...I spent the last three days thinking before I came up with just that idea . I think it looks pretty good but you have to modify your materials to cope with the effect. Setting1: castle in the clouds. Still a work in progress. I need to fill in the spaces, build the surround and get my lighting and texturing right .Any criticisms & comments appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binder3d Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 Wow! They are so cool! I love them! They are simple but have so much character. So much fun. Your work is very inspiring. But you did use Skycast that you wrote. Now I have to buy it to! Are there any tutorials explaning how to use it and do you update it when ever a new ver of AM comes out? Thanks- Great work!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binder3d Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 John-I went to your website and I checked out Skycast. Wow what a great app! But I have a couple of questions. You said that you can use a image map as the base-whats a good size to work with? And after you create the action file how do you use it with AM inside the chor? Or a different action? Are you planning a update for v11 and v11.5 at the end of the year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtaz Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 John !!!!! Amazing Kreative Kastle in Klouds for Kapsules do you plan to put lights inside the cells ? Peace Xtaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iham Wrong Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 Damn it Frank...I spent the last three days thinking before I came up with just that idea . I think it looks pretty good but you have to modify your materials to cope with the effect. Setting1: castle in the clouds. <Grins> Hey John, I was playing around with the cloud settings last night and I can tell there needs to be more than one action to compensate for distance from camera. I'm thinking here that an expression to control the jitter effect should be determined by measuring that distance and compensate the blur effect automatically. Sounds easy enough, just need to learn how to use the expression system. The airbase/city is great. I bet it's going to be spectacular when it's colored in edge shaders. Hmm.. need some angle caps and devil caps now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 Redo on the female giant...I like the varied hair colours. Christina: SkyCast is something we use all the time professionally so we'll keep updating it. Although it 'should' stay compatible . There are a couple of tutorials on the website, and I'm reasonably active on the forum if you have any questions. Skycast will scale any image you load as a base to 512 x 256 before running. The action is dropped onto a SkyCast light model in the choreography. These images are rendered in version 11. Xtaz: Yes, because the clouds have very little colour variation, I'll be trying to add more colour/richness with lighting. Frank: This is my 'simple' project. Expressions can wait for another day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted July 29, 2004 Author Share Posted July 29, 2004 Last character... Now I can animate ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzTiff Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 Sure looks like you're having fun! You're characters are terrific. A question, can you use skycast to light indoor scenes at all? I had a bit of a play around and the walls 'kind of' got in the way! So I'm assuming not, but this would then mean that if an animation contains both indoor and outdoor scenes it would next to impossible to get the same surface appearance on a character. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted July 30, 2004 Author Share Posted July 30, 2004 Hi Tiffany. Skycast can be used on inside scenes as an ambient light by setting the render options on exterior walls to not cast shadows. This way the light shines through the walls but cast shadows from other objects within the room. I'll put an image up to show what I mean in a few minutes. A better way to get a similar effect is too create an action which flies a bulb light around the room, and then run that action every frame(just like a SkyCast action). I'll post some images in an hour or so to illustrate. This is the Skycast with shadow casting turned off on the wall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 Hi, John: As always, these characters are fantastic! They have such zeal and whimsy about them. Simply modeled but well crafted. No easy feat. As you can tell, I really like your work. Also, I purchased SkyCast...a must buy! In the near future I hope to have some scenes to post. Just been so overwhelmed with work and family... Keep posting John. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzTiff Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 Thanks John, I'll give it whirl this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted August 4, 2004 Author Share Posted August 4, 2004 Finally got some animation done. This is only the first pass, but it shows of my new facial animation rig. All of the expressions on the face are the result of moving two bones with translate relationships. Now I need to flesh out the animation, add hand movements, change lots of bad points, refine the timing etc etc. Probably about 3 hours work so far. JackTest.mpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachBG Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 John, that's fabulous! What do the bones control? Wide-Narrow, Open-Close a la Stop Staring? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted August 4, 2004 Author Share Posted August 4, 2004 thanks Zach, I haven't read the book but it sounds similar. Mouth wide/narrow Open/Close Happy/Sad Eyes Open/shut Blinks&Asymmetry Angry/Happy + there's a teeth control I haven't used yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkLimit Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 John thats cute and funny awsome work so far.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted August 4, 2004 Hash Fellow Share Posted August 4, 2004 Hey that's working very well! I've been waiting to see those guys move, I was wondering how they'd walk with such big feet and short legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlJack Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 I was wondering how they'd walk with such big feet and short legs I had the same thought. Does not seem to be an issue. A little tweaking and your gold. Its just a test so I'll save my crits for now. Great work John. I have been waiting for those little guys to move. They drip even more with character now that they move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mootsger Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 Nice work, John. It has that Aardman feel to it..... minus the uni-brow. And you need to keep your voice in. Maybe not as Jack, but maybe the giant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRToonMike Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 Nice work there, John! I really like the acting the character's doing. And the voice ain't too shabby. But can he walk and talk at the same time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamgaylord Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 Really look forward to seeing this story develop. These capsules are "easy to swallow". Amazing amount of personality in such a simple design. Love it! I can imagine these little guys and gals in all kinds of situations... ..."Can you hear me, Major Tom?"...(space capsule)... ...How many capsules can you fit in a phone booth?... ...Dr. Who?...(time capsule)... ...the rock band Kiss...encapsulated... and the list goes on, ad nauseum... ...my apologies... At any rate, I love these little guys! Bill Gaylord Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted August 11, 2004 Author Share Posted August 11, 2004 Moving along a bit further. I've added hand animation to the first section and extended the animation . The end section, after he stops talking, is a floaty first pass but it's taking shape. I scrapped two previous versions because they didn't read well enough. I extended the translate controls onto the hands so that a single bone controls spreading fingers, closing to a fist, pointing and inbetween hand shapes. testCsm.mpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted August 11, 2004 Author Share Posted August 11, 2004 Rig Each of the squiggles on the side are attached to a bone which controls the relevant feature eyes, mouth, teeth, left and right hands. These are in turn parented to a bone which orients them to the camera so they are always easy to manipulate. I use the TSM for the skeletal control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted August 12, 2004 Author Share Posted August 12, 2004 I'm talking to myself again. This is the majority of the animation. It's turned from a test into a trailer I've got to do another pass on the animation but real life is intruding so I thought I'd get this up. I also need to do a proper lighting and render setup. Criticism is good... http://www.artboxanimation.com/AmStuff/jacktest.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted August 17, 2004 Author Share Posted August 17, 2004 waiting for the render. Here's what he looks like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Looks great John! I know it's only a test, but if I might be so bold....IMO some of his movements should be more exaggereated ie when the words are falling. He doesn't seem scared enough. And more hand movement in front when the foot(?) is about to crush him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted August 17, 2004 Author Share Posted August 17, 2004 Hi Ken Be bold, I asked for criticism I've already added some extra movement on the end and shortened the time. He's only supposed to be surprised by the falling text,and when he sees the content is actually pleased by it(I think i need to add my screams/exclamations, and an "ooo" and a "cool" to note approval for the new voice and better script. The current versions are off a sound fx cd I have. You're not the only viewer to miss the "pleased" aspect so I obviously need to communicate it more strongly. On another note netrender has been running for three days with only one failure(and that's because the network cable fell out). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted August 19, 2004 Author Share Posted August 19, 2004 another few stolen hours dedicated Added a jittering action to the keylight to improve shadows tightened up some of the actions. Moved the giant's shadow into frame to give Jack something visible to react to.http://www.artboxanimation.com/AmStuff/jack.mpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Hey John. Can I ask how you went about making his hair. I'd like to use that look in a model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starwarsguy Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 I love this! Greatest character ever! You could do so much with this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted August 24, 2004 Author Share Posted August 24, 2004 Next, and probably final, incarnation. The main changes are a modified Jack model with better cuffs on his shoes, and a newly modelled giant foot(which no longer looks like a giant avacado. Ken: the hair is just extruded tubes tapered and then pulled into shape. It hearkens back to rolled plasticine hair . Somewhere I have a sketch pad with a whole lot of different variations. Time to put the real show on the road now, and move onto the film. Otherwise I'll have a fantastic trailer but no short Jack mpeg 9mb download Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted August 24, 2004 Hash Fellow Share Posted August 24, 2004 Hey, that looks really snazzy! two thoughts... the light yellow title against the white clouds is hard to read... and the falling text seems to be falling too slowly. But those are probably the two items from the trailer that won't carry over to the finished show, so... never mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ypoissant Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 I checked the first Jack clip and the last one. The last one definitely reads much better. Especially the hold on the giant foort shadow. Very nice. And good timing too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 29, 2004 Admin Share Posted October 29, 2004 What happen?? Outside of the Osprey tutorials John (Artbox) Henderson hasn't posted a WIP in ages. It's like he's gone missing or something! Are you working on another supersecret project? I'm in pain here John. It's the withdrawals... Got... ...to... ...see... ...MORE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 I think he's a mentor, so he's probably beavering away on something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 29, 2004 Admin Share Posted October 29, 2004 I think he's a mentor, Yeah... but that's not a good excuse!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted November 11, 2004 Admin Share Posted November 11, 2004 John was spotted tonight at Wednesday Night Chat! I saw him... I did! Living and Dreaming Kapsules he is! Yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 Cooool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamgaylord Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 How did you do the facial rigging and animation for the mouth movements? The Kapsules are very similar to my Marshmallows (especially since I recently simplified the mouth to match the approach on your Kapsules ). Bill Gaylord Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starwarsguy Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 If you are truly a beginner at lipsync, then look at another characters lip poses (on the cd) and copy them best you can. That's how I started! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted November 22, 2004 Author Share Posted November 22, 2004 Sorry for the absence...worked went truly berserk for a while and for the last few weeks i have..as Rodney said...been eating, sleeping and dreaming Kapsules. The script, design and storyboards have been consuming all my time, but they're almost done. William How did you do the facial rigging and animation for the mouth movements I use a very simple facial rig designed for fast animation. The eyes, eyebrows, mouth and hands have a bone each with a translate relationship that weights different shapes An example is the mouth shapes here mouth shapes Move the bone left and right to make the mouth narrow or wide, backwards and forwards for happy to sad, and up down for open closed. Then combine in any combination. It has the advantage of allowing you to smooth any problems within0 the relationship, rather than at animation time. I'll post a bit more detail in the coming weeks. for now here's some bg design Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starwarsguy Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 Those are great designs. If I could amke designs liek that, I'm sure my models could be better. Great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamgaylord Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 Move the bone left and right to make the mouth narrow or wide, backwards and forwards for happy to sad, and up down for open closed. Then combine in any combination. That is pretty cool! Look forward to learning more about it. Most of the scripts I have lined up for the Marshmallows do not involve much dialog, if any, with one exception of a talkative french marshmallow. Most depend more on sight gags, so a simple means of lip sync like this would be great. I like the background designs. Using discarded barrels, tea pots, etc., for buildings is a nice touch. Kind of shifts the sense of scale in a humorous kind of way. Sort of like the giant Lego blocks in the evil castle of "Time Bandits". Bill Gaylord Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted November 23, 2004 Author Share Posted November 23, 2004 One of the main characters for Investigating Jack is this knight. There's more work to do to finish modelling and then I have to rig the new geometry, but it's been so longsince I posted any 3d I thought I'd show the progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thierry Posted November 23, 2004 Share Posted November 23, 2004 always BRILLIANT John!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted November 23, 2004 Admin Share Posted November 23, 2004 Thanks for the update John! I was experiencing serious depression for lack of getting regular updates regarding "Investigating Jack"! It's a good think I ran into in #hash3d the other day or who knows what state I'd be in. If everyone else is as addicted to your story and characters as I am I'd say you've really got a real hit on your hands. I keep wanting to see more of the world of Jack and the Kapsules. It doesn't have to be much... but please please please... keep those images flowing. Crop out all the secret stuff if necessary but keep the world of "Investigating Jack" in the headlines and hearts of the viewers. Please? Perhaps you could share with others some of the sketches you showed in chat. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamgaylord Posted November 23, 2004 Share Posted November 23, 2004 Me too!! These guys have a lot of appeal. Any maidens or damsels? (Oh, yah...now I remember...you do have a damsel in the mix...) Interesting asymmetry in his armored footwear. Is this second-hand armor? Nice style. I plan to experiment a bit with your face rig approach this week. Pretty darn clever, that! Bill Gaylord Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnArtbox Posted November 29, 2004 Author Share Posted November 29, 2004 and now he's rigged Bill: The asymmetry of the armour was due to laziness, I built the knight by modifying Jack, that way I get to keep a lot of the rigging and the facial expressions built into the Jack model. I just hadn't finished copying the leg across. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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