PF_Mark Posted November 8, 2004 Posted November 8, 2004 I posted my get well in the new user section http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9423&st=0& Quote
hypnomike Posted November 8, 2004 Posted November 8, 2004 Nice work Mark! You've done a great job, I love the way you animate the tail, very expressive. If you find a way to make the animation bigger and keep the size down be sure to post again. Quote
Willog Posted November 8, 2004 Posted November 8, 2004 Just a quick note to say that I just received my AM software, really quick if you ask me :-) Just got it installed and gonna play all night, hope to start the tuts later and will keep you guys posted. A Very Happy William Quote
Admin Rodney Posted November 8, 2004 Author Admin Posted November 8, 2004 Just a quick note to say that I just received my AM software, really quick if you ask me :-) Three days to the UK! Hash Inc must be slipping... *Seriously though... I have NEVER recieved a product as consistent (in quality) and as quickly (delivered) as A:M and A:M upgrades in the mail. Truly impressive. They must have connections somewhere... their mailmail Vern or someone... One year I did get an update that the mailing sleeve the CD was in was beat to heck... I sensed certain doom. As I slowing opened the frail cardboard there inside was Keetkat smiling on his CD... in perfect condition. He was just fine. Quote
Willog Posted November 8, 2004 Posted November 8, 2004 Yes Rodney I agree, it is impressive they way I got my software so quickly. As a new user I am however a little disappointed regarding the need to keep the CD in use, these damn things are so frail and the thought that due to some silly accident that could damage it means that I would be without the use of the software untill I get a replacement. I wonder if there is a Dongled version available? A small gripe though, I will take my mind away from such thoughts by continually playing with my new toy :-) Back to the tuts Bill Quote
PF_Mark Posted November 9, 2004 Posted November 9, 2004 Nice work Mark! You've done a great job, I love the way you animate the tail, very expressive. If you find a way to make the animation bigger and keep the size down be sure to post again. http://home.cogeco.ca/~sarahallan/movies/GetwellAnne.mov Ok quick time is the way to go over cinepak that is for sure Quote
PF_Mark Posted November 9, 2004 Posted November 9, 2004 Ok I was thinking would A.M. Films host my get well meassage? do they have to be of a certian Animation quality? I know my get well has a few bugs but I wonder if they want some work from people that have only had the software for a month. This would show people what is capable with a short amount of time. But I feel I would be begging them to remove it years from now when I am a try AM Master Another question to Rodney you says that this Art of A.M. course we direct everthing to you. I was looking at A.M. Films they have a section for tutorials but they have nothing on it. Can we upload our tutorials to there? Would they want those also? Quote
Admin Rodney Posted November 9, 2004 Author Admin Posted November 9, 2004 Another question to Rodney you says that this Art of A.M. course we direct everthing to you. I don't believe I've ever said it quite that way. A bit of history. The New Users Forum was began in the Spring of 2004 (this year!) as a place to allow new (and old) users a place to upload their images and post progress directly related to completing the exercises in The Art of Animation:Master manual. For some reason, the folks at Hash Inc selected me to moderate the forum. I figure it was because I posted too much and they wanted to move me into another area of the forum so I'd stop posting in the main forum... it 'almost' worked...almost! For whatever reasons I was chosen I feel honored to be a part of the New Users Forum and I'm always ready and willing to refresh the charter that started with the New Users Forum and encourage people as they work through the exercises. In order to get CREDIT for completing the exercises AND A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION the exercises need to be routed through The New Users Forum. As I'm the one who volunteered to give out certificates... I can't expect others to take on that duty. Maybe that's where you get the impression everything must go through me. People are welcome to complete the exercises as they see fit. If posting progress on the exercises in the A:M Forum though... the New Users Forum is the place to be. Concerning the A:M Films tutorial area this is a recent addition that was initiated by Hash Inc in order to free up space on the A:M CD so other resources could be added. If people have clear, concise and useful tutorials they can be submitted to A:M Films where everyone can benefit from them. The preferred format is Camatasia (I believe) which not everyone has though so you may want to check. While films you create while completing TAOA:M are welcome to be added to A:M Films I'd guess that the sheer number of films with basically the same theme and execution might not be reasonable. Perhaps a number of movies from the exercises (Like a Top 10) could be posted on A:M Films and the movies would remain until another one of interest bumped one off the chart. It would give everyone a standard of quality to aim for too. Perhaps we'll see a TAOA:M section that highlights current efforts but Hash Inc is the place you'll have to get the nod from... not little 'ol me. Try steve@hash.com! Worst case scenario, he'll log your suggestion for another day. In the meantime... we'll continue as chartered... to collect efforts to complete the exercises here in the New Users Forum. Best, Rodney Quote
Admin Rodney Posted November 9, 2004 Author Admin Posted November 9, 2004 Willog said: I wonder if there is a Dongled version available? Wonder no more... there is indeed a dongle version. Contact support@hash.com and SPECIFICALLY let them know that the CD in the tray is the issue and you'd like to inquire about the USB dongle. They'll take it from there. They might take you through the process of getting a replacement CD should your CD become damaged too. I've been using A:M since '98 and initially I too hated that CD in the tray requirement. Now I don't even notice it anymore. Oh... and all my CDs still work! -Rodney Quote
Willog Posted November 9, 2004 Posted November 9, 2004 Thanks Rodney for the valuable info. I am not over concerned about this and I doubt I will do anything about aquiring a dongle at this stage. I think it is a priority for me to get to grips with AM and start to enjoy the company of you guys at the forums. Thanks again and hopefully my up and coming posts will be of a more creative nature :-) Bill Quote
hypnomike Posted November 9, 2004 Posted November 9, 2004 <PF>Mark said: Ok quick time is the way to go over cinepak that is for sure Thanks for taking the time to post a larger version Mark. It makes a huge difference. Great work! I've finally completed my giraffe. It's not perfect by a long shot but I'd got to the stage where improving one area was adversely affecting another. Call it the law of diminishing returns! I mentioned a problem I came across with five point patches in the new users forum. Look it up if any of you've had trouble. The main source of aggro with this was attaching the rear leg. The front worked fine but as there were so many control points at the rear I had some difficulty selecting the right ones. Probably because mine were not quite in the same position as the AOM example. I frequently came across splines that would not snap (option not highlighted), spline that bent at an angle rather than the usual curve (set to smooth) and on a couple of occasions when I deleted a control point an existing point shot away from the giraffe making it look like it had been harpooned! I would define the latter problem as a bug but for the fact that I'm currently running on unsupported windows 98. I'm upgrading my OS soon so hopefully no more surprises. Oh and here's the finished product... Quote
PF_Mark Posted November 9, 2004 Posted November 9, 2004 It looks great it's to bad the exercise does not go into making the bones structure so we can animated it. This is going to sound childish but I lost the leed Mike is now one excerise infront of me I got to get back to work maybe after the kids go to bed. Sarah has completed the 1st exercise but I have not talked to her about AoAM yet so Hopefully see likes the idea so I can post it for her. Quote
Pengy Posted November 9, 2004 Posted November 9, 2004 Great job on the giraffe Mike, lots of valuable info in that 1. Mark, you'll have to let us know how your co-worker like the ani. I thought I'd combine ex. 9-11 in this scene. Horse, chair and ball cap mdl are from cd everything else can be blamed on me. Quote
hypnomike Posted November 9, 2004 Posted November 9, 2004 I thought I'd combine ex. 9-11 in this scene. WOW!! You've killed three birds with one stone! I like it, it's great to see models in different/unusual surroundings. Mind you I do miss the famous Pengy soundtrack. Quote
Admin Rodney Posted November 10, 2004 Author Admin Posted November 10, 2004 Nice Pengy. I really like the design and layout! Save that project... burn backups... make it read only. I think your image needs to be expoited and made into an ad for The Art of Animation:Master or something. I like. *You might be able to add the car from exercise 8 in there too... on the bottom self perhaps. Quote
Admin Rodney Posted November 10, 2004 Author Admin Posted November 10, 2004 Mark, I agree. Seeing the larger version really helps. I hope Anne enjoyed her animated card! Quote
Biotron2000 Posted November 10, 2004 Posted November 10, 2004 Mike, Nice work on the giraffe! Do you plan to add bones and animate it? Quote
Biotron2000 Posted November 10, 2004 Posted November 10, 2004 Here's my take on The Door's Stuck. I originally posted this in WIP; I didn't realize this post is the place for TAOAM progress. I'm kind of spotty on these exercises, I like to do things the hard way and try to bite off more than I can chew. It was a lot of work doing what seemed like a simple exercise, but also a lot of fun. Maybe I'll go back and do some more of them! Quote
Admin Rodney Posted November 10, 2004 Author Admin Posted November 10, 2004 Thanks for joining Patrick, I was eventually going to point at your work and get your work linked in here... but I've been mostly asleep. I hope I haven't been posting in my sleep again.... I hate when that happens... Zzz... Very nice rendering. The clarity really shines through! Quote
Willog Posted November 10, 2004 Posted November 10, 2004 Hey pengy I like your image, colours are superb and I also like the perspective clean look of the scene, I think Rodney is correct it should be an image to promote AM. I am very new to AM and will look out for more of your work. Bill Quote
hypnomike Posted November 10, 2004 Posted November 10, 2004 Great work Patrick! I saw your early version in WIP and you've sure improved on that, very funny ending, remember folks SWITCH YOUR SPEAKERS ON SOME OF THESE CLIPS HAVE SOUND. Maybe it's just me but I sometimes forget to turn them on if I'm just surfing. Do you plan to add bones and animate it? No plans at all..... I had so much trouble with this, each problem fixed created another and it still looks bad from certain angles. I spent more time staring at a giraffe's backside than a zoo keeper! Good one for learning though, but time to call it a day on that one methinks. As a point of interest I didn't need to apply the top decal and colour and roughness were not set (forgot). Quote
Willog Posted November 10, 2004 Posted November 10, 2004 Just thought I'd start the tutorials from the Manual so here is EXE 1. Hope I got this right. Bill Lets hope I do not get too well into this new bottle of Irish single malt before the next tutorial :-) Quote
Willog Posted November 10, 2004 Posted November 10, 2004 Just a follow up of my first tut file here is EXE 2 Bill CanCan_1.avi Quote
hypnomike Posted November 10, 2004 Posted November 10, 2004 Both spot on Bill! You're sure getting stuck in. Best of luck with your progression, keep those posts coming! BTW you may be better using quicktime for your animations as more of us can view it (a lot of members use Mac Computers). Quote
Admin Rodney Posted November 11, 2004 Author Admin Posted November 11, 2004 Yep... William is off to a great start. Go get 'em William! Quote
Pengy Posted November 11, 2004 Posted November 11, 2004 Great start Bill. And don't discount the creativity that can come out of a bottle of Irish single malt Quote
Willog Posted November 11, 2004 Posted November 11, 2004 Thankyou guys for the feedback, much appreciated. I will certainly do the anims in Quicktime so that all can see. The more I play with this program the more I love using it, something new around every corner. I did originally plan on just modeling with it first and then using the posing features to compose a scene. The way in which the manual introduces you to the software does a fine job, it makes me want to complete the exercises just so that I can get to find whats next in this bundle of fun. I am sure it's gonna get much harder as the exercises get to use more complex features, but I look forward to that challenge. Anyways I am rattling on too much now so here's my adaptation on the third exercise. Bill Quote
hypnomike Posted November 11, 2004 Posted November 11, 2004 WOW! You sure got the hang of posing quickly. Keep this up and you'll be passing me in about a week! Multiple rabbits is a nice idea,well done Bill. Quote
Willog Posted November 11, 2004 Posted November 11, 2004 Thanks Mike, much appreciated. I guess I am lucky to have a bit more time to play due to retirement, but I am in no hurry to complete the tutorials really. I am spending time now trying to expand on each tutorial by making small changes or adding a little something. However, saying that, I haven't added anything to exercise 4 as it did take some time to get the poses anywhere near to where they should be. I am finding the small tags to adjust the bones a little fiddly but I am sure I will get used to them. Ok here is Exercise 4 and this time I tried the Quicktime format, hope it works ok for you guys. Bill exe4.mov Quote
Pengy Posted November 12, 2004 Posted November 12, 2004 Great to see you're thinking outside the box Bill. I had the same problem for some reason with the rotate manipulators on the bones, try clicking on the bone then going up and clicking on the advanced rotate manipulator tool. I found this gave me better control. Quote
PF_Mark Posted November 12, 2004 Posted November 12, 2004 Giraffe is going well Just thought I would drop in a update before I call it a night Quote
hypnomike Posted November 12, 2004 Posted November 12, 2004 Nice work on "it's a pitch" Bill. I had real problems with that one on my first attempt so I scrapped it and did it again a week later. Much easier second time! A useful tip is to save your work often and in versions (pitch v1/pitch v2 etc..) so you can always go back to a previous version if you get lost. Good to see that you like to add your own touch to the exercises, it's becoming a bit of a tradition here in newbie corner, great fun and helps us spur each other on. Glad you're enjoying retirement, keep those posts coming. Quote
Willog Posted November 12, 2004 Posted November 12, 2004 Thanks guys for the comments, Yeah Mike I also found the Pitch tut a little more demanding and decided to make a save project each time I did a keyframe, but as time went on I gained a little confidence and just did a save every so often just in case. This attempt was also my second, I was suffering from over indulgence of that Irish single malt :-) Gonna start the 'Take a Walk' tutorial this evening, I have dabbled with it a few times but will make a serious attempt at it tonight. I will probably stay around the early tutorials for a while and use them to develop my basic skills before venturing on to later tutorials, I don't want to just wizz through them like as if they are to be over and done with. Anyways onward I go, lets see if I can make this bunny walk for his supper. Bill Quote
PF_Mark Posted November 16, 2004 Posted November 16, 2004 Ok just the eyes and mouth left to do then applying decal. Mike I am thinking of how to start the eyes. What did you do can you post a close up shaded wire frame of the eye? I was thinking of not doing the mouth how do a create a hole for the mouth? Quote
hypnomike Posted November 16, 2004 Posted November 16, 2004 Hey Mark! I can't post a wireframe at the moment, my BIOS got corrupted and I've had to buy another machine. Every cloud has a silver lining though, this one's much faster! I've just got firewall, antivirus, internet and e mails up and running and I've salvaged alot from the old machine so I'll be back on track shortly. Mike I am thinking of how to start the eyes. What did you do can you post a close up shaded wire frame of the eye? I was thinking of not doing the mouth how do a create a hole for the mouth? I didn't do anthing for eyes or mouth, I just used the decal as I don't plan to animate it. Quote
PF_Mark Posted November 17, 2004 Posted November 17, 2004 well here the Giraffe the decal needs some touching up but I can do that later on to lip poses Gota catch up to mike Quote
Willog Posted November 17, 2004 Posted November 17, 2004 Nice Giraffe there Mark, I got a way to go yet to start the Giraffe tut, I had a major fault with my laptop so had to re-install the os and AM as well. Anyways back on track now and will be starting the plane model tut next, hope this Laptop holds out this time around. :-) Quote
hypnomike Posted November 17, 2004 Posted November 17, 2004 Nice work Mark! I'm still restoring my old programs to new pc so now's your chance to retake the lead! Quote
PF_Mark Posted November 17, 2004 Posted November 17, 2004 Nice work Mark! I'm still restoring my old programs to new pc so now's your chance to retake the lead! Yes the lead is within sight Actually I just realized that by decally the inside of the model I would have covered the inside of the legs so I will probably fix that tonight then if I can go on with the next tut. Thanks guys I like modeling but I am looking forward to adding bones in the up coming tut. Quote
PF_Mark Posted November 18, 2004 Posted November 18, 2004 Ok fixed giraffe inner legs will get to next tut tommorow night I hope Quote
Willog Posted November 19, 2004 Posted November 19, 2004 Hey Mark the tall guy looks even better now, well done !!! I will be a bit slower keeping up as my laptop died tonight, slightest bit of work in either 3d or rendering killed it good n proper. I am lucky I guess that I took out extra insurance on it so I am waiting for it to be picked up and repaired. I will have to work with my other puter (the one I am on right now) trouble is it's in my radio shack/Art Studio at the bottom of the garden, so I have to give up home comforts to use it :-) Anyways cannot wait to get back to the tutorials and trying the Giraffe model. I watched the Say it tutorial and completed the basic lipsink bit and was very impressed with AM's performance. I am really looking forward to attempting this tutorial in its entirety. So back to you Mark .... you seem to be getting on very well with AM and the tutorials, the Giraffe is now ready for animating dare I say it :-) I look forward to your next post Bill Quote
PF_Mark Posted November 19, 2004 Posted November 19, 2004 Thanks for the kind remarks guys I am really liking the modeling aspect of AM. Ok how do I submit exercise 12 Lip Poses I have completed it and I am wondering how we are submitting this one? If I had a original character I could do th elip sync and have a talking video. Rodney need a ruling on this. Is my word good enough Quote
Admin Rodney Posted November 19, 2004 Author Admin Posted November 19, 2004 Click here to see how TC presented the exercise. (Hi TC!) Do you think I went too easy on him? Quote
PF_Mark Posted November 20, 2004 Posted November 20, 2004 This is the O pose This is the A I pose Now on to show some backbone Quote
hypnomike Posted November 20, 2004 Posted November 20, 2004 Dang Mark, you're over three hours ahead of me! Nice job, we'll have to give Eddie a set of teeth sometime. I've seen a set on the forum, I think it's jamagica's, if your reading this jamagica why not fit poor Eddie with a set of your teeth?? I did a (very) short animation, lets just call it "Say Ah Eddie." Bye for now folks.... Lip_Poses_Ex.mov Quote
Admin Rodney Posted November 20, 2004 Author Admin Posted November 20, 2004 Nice job guys! For those looking in. Short of posting the entire project file Exercise 12 isn't an easy exercise to place online for viewing. Paul and Mike have met the requirement for completion of exercise 12. There are several important elements of animating in Animation:Master being learned here. How to set up reusable actions, dopesheet usage and more. The first time I really felt the power that could be tapped into with reusable actions (and dopesheets) is when I saw Greg Rastomi's online demonstration. Dailup users beware the demo files are huge but I believe at least the .WMV version is set to stream down to you. Near the end of the demo Greg works his way into examples of Victor Navone's "Alien Song". Watch the phonem sliders (and other action sliders) really move around in realtime. This is a great demonstration of the power of computers in animation. Everything achieved by the power of reusable actions even in such simple things as mouth shapes. Quote
PF_Mark Posted November 21, 2004 Posted November 21, 2004 Paul and Mike have met the requirement for completion of exercise 12. Who is Paul? do you mean me? do I need to do a better presentation? Quote
hypnomike Posted November 21, 2004 Posted November 21, 2004 Hey Mark! Who is Paul? do you mean me? do I need to do a better presentation? Play it safe Mark, do nothing for now.......until I've retaken the lead! BTW I'm sure he meant you. Quote
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