pia12254 Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 Allright, Finally "finished" Exercise Six. It needs A LOT of tweaking but for the sake of expediency I will go ahead and move on to the next exercise. Critiques on the animation are most welcome! Right now it seems kind of slow...dragging. I know it needs a lot more work so any help is appreciated. www.netherneath.com/movies/ExerciseSix.wmv Just Copy/Paste that link into your browser. Thanks!~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pengy Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 exercise 4 knightpitch.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnomike Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 pia12254 Hi! I downloaded your ex 6 anim. I can't get it to run on Windows Media Player, Realplayer or Divx The properties look ok but it plays as a zero length anim. I downloaded you "It's a pitch" (great work btw) and that played with no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnomike Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 exercise 4 Looks good The change of camera angle is a good idea but looks jumpy because the background is the same in both shots. Would maybe look better if you rerender and make sure that the two cameras are positioned at differing hights. This will move the horizon between shots and should smooth things out. You may want to vary the camera to subject distance between shots ie longer shot followed by a closer (full body) shot. Hope this is helpful. PS Nice soundtrack (my speakers were switched off first time I watched) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 10, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 10, 2004 pia12254 linked: www.netherneath.com/movies/ExerciseSix.wmv Hey! That's one of the best Exercise 6's I've seen to date. A good deal of subtle expression and character movement. Good Job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 10, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 10, 2004 Pengy posted: exercise 4 knightpitch.mov Excellent choice of music Pengy! Now you've got me wondering what type of pitch he accepted from the catcher.... hmmmm..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 Holy moley! This is a big thread! Keep up the good work training those new recruits Rodney! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 10, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 10, 2004 Keep up the good work training those new recruits Rodney! Ken, I'm not training them... they be trainin' me! I think we all are having fun though. Thanks for looking in on us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pia12254 Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 Exercise Seven Here is my Kee Kat lipsync test. I haven't added any other facial expression. Right now it is just the lip sync. Originally I tried it as the book suggested using the dope sheet and so on. However, in the limited attempts I have made at using the dope sheet for lip sync, it always seemed to put in too many keyframes and the lips were popping all over the place. I have also heard other people mention the same issue. So, I tried that first, deleted it and just tried doing it with manual phonemes. I am much happier with the result and was very surprised at how few keyframes it really takes to communicate the idea that a character is talking! If anyone has any suggestions on the lip sync feel free to comment. Hopefully I will get to add in his facial expressions as well in the near future. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 10, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 10, 2004 pia12254 said: ... in the limited attempts I have made at using the dope sheet for lip sync, it always seemed to put in too many keyframes and the lips were popping all over the place. I have also heard other people mention the same issue It's been a long time since I've heard talk in friendly terms about the dopesheet. There was a time where everyone seemed to sing it's praises but that was long ago. It's on my To Do list to look into Lip Sync/Dope sheet usage with an eye for ironing out the rough spots. My mind tends to work more in a 'build-your-own" mentality so the first thing I need to do is just jump in and check it out. Since first buying A:M I've only used the dopesheet twice... and both of those times were as tests. Time to exercise a bit for myself. In the last issue of Digit Magazine there was a A:M demo of LipSync that while not going into usage of the dopesheet it did spend some time on the importance of setting up poses to ensure the dopesheet would work correctly. I suspect this area is the area to concentrate on to see satisfactory results with dopesheets. I haven't seen that particular LipSync tutorial available online... thought I saw it once... If anyone else has been testing out the dopesheet... your insight would be most welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutch Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 Hi, due to moving and other stuff I have been away from AM for a while. So I figured I would do these exercises to get me back into it. Here is my exercise 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 10, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 10, 2004 Hutch, Good to have you with us... and glad to see you have time to get back into A:M again! -Rodney ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This seems as good a time as any to plug the ongoing discussion about Keekat. Keekat Character study Hopefully, we'll get a chance to discuss splineage and rigging a bit concerning Keekat one of these days. Check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 10, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 10, 2004 It seems appropriate to plug one of TAOA:M alumni's latest efforts as it's something of an extension of TAOA:M exercises. TC has added some more dynamic shots and even incorporated lens flare in his new Pics of the FW-190. Looking good TC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutch Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 Ok, here is exercise 2. I spent half the day learning how to make this into a gif and trying to get it to small enough size. It still plays way too slow and I can't figure out how to fix that. I am using Microsoft GIF Animator if anyone has any insight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pia12254 Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 Hey Hutch, Glad to see you working away at the exercises! At least I am not alone... Actually, Pengy has been posting some cool stuff as well. As far as the .GIF thing goes, I think the reason it plays slowly is because it is not on a local harddrive. My guess is that, even after it has been downloaded to your temp directory (or however that works) it cannot play at a full frame rate. I have tried right clicking and saving the animated .gif's to my harddrive and it seems to play smooth then. That's my $.02. :-) Keep the posts coming. Also, thanks to Rodney for all his encouraging comments! It really helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 10, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 10, 2004 Ok, here is exercise 2. Good job Hutch! I must admit (once again) I really like the GIF format for easy display of these exercises. I'd like to put together a tutorial to help people streamline the process of getting their images posted. I have a day off... so maybe I can get it done! Eventually, I think you'll see the ability to post your results in the forum for all to see to be incredibly easy... More on that as time allows. -Rodney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pia12254 Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 Exercise Seven "Finished"... Allright, here is my lipsync action with some other animation applied to make it a scene. Let me know you're critiques... Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutch Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Hey pia, that's pretty good! I love the slightly angry face he makes when he says, "Didn't think so." I am having problems with the animation personally. All I did before was model and make stills. I have a terrible time with timing and manipulating key frames. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pia12254 Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Hey Hutch, I know exactly what you are talking about!!!!!! I remember when I first starte trying to animate how frustrating it was wanting just to make something move and having it float all over the place etc. I still have such a long way to go but at least it is at a point where I can start to enjoy some of what I am doing. It just takes a lot of persistence. I usually work until I get frustrated and want to throw my computer off a cliff and then I take a break until I realize I am missing it. Here is my Exercise 8 still. I deleted some of the models when I upgraded to version 10+ so I didn't have the Sedan model. As such, I tweaked the Tank model from Avalanche Software. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 11, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 11, 2004 All, D has posted his results and ongoing efforts to improve his ability to convey a character's personality in the WIP section. I encourage everyone who can to give him honest critiques and suggestions for improvement. Sharing in such a way will help a lot more people and grant them useful insight in the character animation process as well. See the WIP here: pia12254's Lipsync and personality WIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutch Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Exercise 4. I am not real thrilled with how this turned out but I did learn a bit. This is the very first animation I have ever done. Like I said before, modeling is more my cup of tea. So let me know how it looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 11, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 11, 2004 This is the very first animation I have ever done. For a first animation I think you are doing great. You are off to a great start. If anybody wants to give Sir Knight something to throw there are at least two baseballs on Mike Muncies old site. Get em before they disappear like the User Models that have been there in the past! Mike Muncie's Sports Models Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 11, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 11, 2004 For the general inspiration of all A:M Users I'm proud to REpresent: The February 2001 Animation Contest Entries for Ball Throw and Bat Swing Great stuff from way back in the beginning of Exercise #4! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pia12254 Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Hatch, For a first animation that is AMAZING! If you stick with this I promise it will get easier...eventually.... My advice would be to just get in there and start punching all the button, moving all the keyframes, messing around and testing things out. I think part of my problem initially was that I was too afraid I was going to mess something up. Once I got past that timidity and actually started to play around with channels, setting keyframes, deleting keyframes etc. I really started to grasp the concepts. Now, maybe you don't share my weird paranoia of pushing the wrong button... If so then great. Anyhow, keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 11, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 11, 2004 D said, I think part of my problem initially was that I was too afraid I was going to mess something up. Excellent observation there! Save often and ALWAYS before you experiment. Then you can experiment often! If your're not going to break anything permanently (because you've saved your files) you can really start to get things done. Thanks D! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pia12254 Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Thanks Rodney! Yes, definitely save early and OFTEN!!! I guess I take that for granted because I have screwed up so many projects by not saving often enough and not saving in stages (i.e. ProjectA.prj, ProjectA1.prj, ProjectA2.prj etc.). Good sage advice. Here is my version of Exercise 9...Flower Power. I had actually built a model of a rose sometime ago. When I came across this exercise I went and dug it up. This series is all from the same render...just different looks I applied playing around in Photoshop. Hope that's not cheating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 11, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 11, 2004 Here is my version of Exercise 9...Flower Power. I had actually built a model of a rose sometime ago. When I came across this exercise I went and dug it up. This series is all from the same render...just different looks I applied playing around in Photoshop. Hope that's not cheating! Well, if it's cheating at least you are cheating with style. Very pretty! Since Exercise 9 is the first exercise that really digs into modeling there are some important things not to overlook. Overlooking them might lead to problems later on. Here they are from my perspective: MODELING - Know that traditional approaches to art apply in Animation:Master. Where necessary use drawings or photos as reference. - Understand the basics of lathing - Know how to effectively and efficiently attach, delete and manipulate Control Points. - Understand when to use Peak and Smooth to get the modeling effects you need. - Know what adjusting the Bias Handles of a model can be used to do. *I'll add that a knowledge of the effects of Alpha and Magnatude adjustment is important too although not obvious in this lesson. - Know how to Copy and Paste in the modeling window - Know how to Flip Control Points - Understand Named Groups and their importance in Animation:Master. *Also realize you can Nest Groups (group groups) as of v11. - Understand Manipulator Properties and the way to type in parameters to save time and achieve precise rotation, scale and translation of a group or model. - Understand how adjusting the Pivot point in a group manipulator can be used to best effect. *Not in the lesson I think but know that named groups save the pivot location. This can be an important time saver. - Use and understand Duplicator Wizard functions BONES (Rigging) - Know how to create a basic Bones setup for your models - Understand the importance of bone hierarchy in chained forms - Understand how "Drag and Drop" works with bones within the Project Workspace - Know how to assign Control Points to Bones. Know where "Auto Assign" can best be utilized. - Understand the basics concept of Smartskin and why it is used. **This basic knowledge is important for later on! Missing this information meant years of not using Smartskin when it would have been quite useful. Everyone should gauge for themselves the benefit they get from completing each exercise. If you can DEMONSTRATE the principles, techniques, and methodologies listed above you've mastered Exercise 9 and it's time to move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutch Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Hey, nice Rose! Here is my last exercise for the weekend. The walk cycle kicked my butt and I had to redo it like 6 times for various reasons. Each time got easier and faster though so I guess that is a good thing. Also I had to make my stride length quite a bit longer than the tutorial said to stop him from sliding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 11, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 11, 2004 Since we are on the subject of walk cycles it seems a perfect place to bring in these valuable resources. These gems come courtesty of A:M Users (just like you) that participated in the January 2001 Animation Contest. Walk Cycles and innovative storytelling were submitted by the following very talented animators: Adrian Skilling Andy Weston Brian Wells Chad Finnerty David Higgins Dieter Wagner Eric Spitler George Ecet Harun Wahab Jeffrey Shaffer John Atkinson Marcos DaSilva Mark Thompson Mike Hough Rich Lovato Stephen Gurban Thomas Ingram Timothy Weber Zach Brewster-Geisz There are 19 separate Project files and 1 Tutorial supplied by the contestants. The following restrictions should be noted with respect to usage of these Project files: DATA PROVIDED BY CONTEST PARTICIPANTS FOR *EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY!* DO NOT REUSE THIS DATA WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE ARTIST. Use these projects to learn the art of the walk cycle but please respect the artist's personal property and contributions to the A:M Community. Thanks! Without further ado: Preston Blair Walk Cycles from the January 2001 Animation Contest Note and Warning: You will want to RIGHT CLICK and choose Save Target As to download the project files. You may also have to substitute actors/models in a few cases. Some projects may not be worth using in v11 without major editing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnomike Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 I had to make my stride length quite a bit longer than the tutorial said to stop him from sliding. I had the same problem. Trial and error (mainly error!) sorted it out. I've noticed animated posts in this section which just appear to show a picture, clicking on the picture has no effect. Am I missing something here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutch Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Hi, are you saying my animated GIFs aren't animated for you hypnomike? I just downloaded the "fixed" shaggy model. Is this the way his thumb is supposed to go? Seems really messed up to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 11, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 11, 2004 I've noticed animated posts in this section which just appear to show a picture, If not set to loop they only play through once. Sometimes by the time it has loaded and you've scrolled to it the animationn is finished and it stops on either the first or last frame. There are two options (I know) to fix this problem: Creator. Select loop in your gif animation utility (assuming it has one) Viewer. Hit the refresh button to relaunch the animation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnomike Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Hi, are you saying my animated GIFs aren't animated for you hypnomike? Hi Hutch! Yes I am having problems. When I move the mouse pointer over the images it turns into a hand for still images but stays as a pointer for animated gifs. I've tried Rodney's solution without luck, refresh only refreshes the page I'm on. If I right click and select properties it shows as a gif, but if I save it to my hard drive it becomes a bmp!??? I am using windows 98 maybe this does not support animated gifs, anyone have any suggestions? I just downloaded the "fixed" shaggy model. Is this the way his thumb is supposed to go? Seems really messed up to me. I don't know if the shaggy on the 2004 disk is the fixed version but I have the same problem with mine. Keep smiling Does anyone know what the problem is with the old version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnomike Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 pia12254 I downloaded your ex 6 anim. I can't get it to run on Windows Media Player, Realplayer or Divx The properties look ok but it plays as a zero length anim. Problem solved, I hadn't tried quicktime, it works fine on that. Nice work by the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pia12254 Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 Wow! Thanks for the comment! So, the video ended up playing in Quicktime?!?! That's bizarre. I didn't know .wmv files would even open in Quicktime....weird. Well, at least you got it to work! Thanks for taking the time to look at it. Sincerely, Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnomike Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 So, the video ended up playing in Quicktime?!?! When you load a non quicktime clip the open button is replaced by a convert button. I've just tried a few, some it converts and others it doesn't, even if they both appear to share the same properties. As you said Daniel, bizarre! Keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modernhorse Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Okay, this is a bit of a double post as I've also included this link in my thread "Still Stuck on Door's Stuck". Well, for now I'm considering this exercise completed. I have plans to go back to it and fix up the myriad of issues but ... here's the link. The Door's Stuck (rough) Cheers, Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 13, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 13, 2004 hmmm.... last file didn't make it through. Tryin' again. Doug, I can't see your movie. I just get the broken movie icon. Perhaps it's the filename: http://www.5000hp.com/Doug/TheDoor'sStuckA.mov The apostrophe seems certain to cause problems. -Rodney Note: I couldn't see it in the other post either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnomike Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Hi folks! submitting ex1 completed 12 Oct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnomike Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Here's ex 2 can can. By the way how do you show a picture with your message. My ex 1 just shows as an attatchment? ex_2_cancan_160_x_120.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 13, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 13, 2004 Uploading files/images to the forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnomike Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Uploading files/images to the forum Thanks Rodney I'd uploaded a targa image. Converting to jpeg did the trick so I've edited my original submission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modernhorse Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Rodney - I edited the filename and deleted the apostrophe. It was working for me but I'll remember that for future file naming. Here it is again ... The Door's Stuck (rough) Thanks, Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 13, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 13, 2004 Doug, That's got it! Shaggy jumps around a bit but otherwise looks like he's having success. When you try to tackle it again try to eliminate some of the keyframes next to your main poses and the moves should flow more smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 13, 2004 Author Admin Share Posted October 13, 2004 Mike, Yep... you did it. I still get excited when I see someone post Keekat for the first time! Strange though that might seem. I think it's that feeling that there just is nothing else quite like success! Remember these moments... they fade from memory all too quickly and in their own little way they are the power in where you'll find yourself later on down the line. When the world of animation becomes a more complicated place it's harder to get joy out of the little things. Wherever you find yourself don't ever lose the magic in such moments! (Boy that sounds cryptic... or even derived... it's not meant to be though) Thanks for posting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnomike Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 You're right there Rodney! As you become more proficient at anything it always becomes harder to amaze yourself. BTW the last two exercises were completed on 12 Oct. Ex 3 completed today. (I was up to ex 6 but have restarted for certification as some of my early attempts were lost) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pengy Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Some really good stuff being posted. I,Like Rodney find it interesting to see everyones's interpretation of the different exercises. I'm still plugging away but real life jumped in for a couple days. I think I'm going to nail my door shut until I finish the TAOA:M. The road to animation enlightenment is some times filled with hurdles:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PF_Mark Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Ok just a little confused are you issuing certs for each exercise or hte completion of all? I have loaded my stuff on my web site for all to view http://home.cogeco.ca/~markallan/ Is this acceptable or is uploading the way you guys want it? I will finish my E-mail with info. next RodneyMy Webpage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypnomike Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 <pf>mark Hi! I've just visited your site and checked out your work. You're progressing very quickly! I was very impressed with your flower animation. Have you done this kind of work before? Keep it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PF_Mark Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 mark Hi! I've just visited your site and checked out your work. You're progressing very quickly! I was very impressed with your flower animation. Have you done this kind of work before? Keep it up. No have I have not done animation work before. Thanks for asking I feel this is really fallen into place nicely. I just keep saying to myself "I can do this I know I can do this" I really feel pumped I shaw the work improgress of someone (sorry name escapes me now) of the next tutorial were he make Keecat talk and I am really wanting to get on that. All day I at work I walked around thinking and yes saying. "I got a secert. Can you keep a secert? Didn't think so." I just have to finish the door is stuck first which is also fun. I also want to say that these Forums are really helping me I am reading about problems and getting idea's on tutorials I have not even started yet. I am reading constructive helping suggestions by more experienced animators and this is worth more books then you can ever buy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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