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Hash, Inc. - Animation:Master

Hector the Hero


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He looks great.

Are the seriously freaky eyes part of his super power? I'd probably have put the eyes a bit lower, but that's a stylistic thing. If you want to have the semi-real eyes I'd suggest modelling some extra detail into the eyeball so that the highlights and reflections work properly.

Great proportions and trendy uniform...plus you've gotta love the modelled rivet surface.

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Yeah... I see what you mean. His eyes are a little high on his face. In hector's defense, i think a lot of it has to do with the way i set up the wide-angle camera for the picture. See? See the isometric pic? His eyes are KIND of close to the middle of his head! :huh:

 

Oh, and i assume the eyes' freakiness is kind of due to the glow i put on them and their large size. I want him to have large eyes because he is only about 8 years old, and the glow will go away whenever he takes off his mask. It's a superhero thing, I guess.

 

Anyway, I will put some smartskin stuff up soon, because i am having some serious trouble with that now...

 

Thanks for the critique! :D

 

-Andrew

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Ok, now i am confused. Does anyone have experience with this? I am running into trouble when i try to create smartskin for the hips and knees. I rigged the legs with the Anzovin Rigging Machine, but it makes the original bones invisible and immovable, to be replaced with the foot target system. I like this system a lot... but what bone am i supposed to select to smartskin? And how to i move it? For the other joints, i have done rotations. Do i have to translate the feet targets or something?

 

Help!! :(

 

-Andrew

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I'm definitely no expert so hopefully someone will come along after me and enlighten you but I am under the impression that you have to do all your smarskinning before you run it through the Setup Machine....

 

Does that sound correct anyone? That's my best guess.

 

Love the character. Keep it up.

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Sorry bad news...

 

Running the model through TSM is always the last step. smartskinning and posing is done beforehand. To add a new pose or more smartskin you go back to your pre-rigged model, add the pose and then put it through TSM again.

 

You can sort through the hidden bones and unhide them for the purposes of adding smartskin/fanbones, but it's a lot of work, ie don't do it again. :unsure:

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You're meant to add fan-bones, CP weights and Smartskins to your model after you insert the TSM skeleton but before you run the rigger. (You read the manual, right?)

 

You don't absolutely have to start over, Andrew--all the bones from the original skeleton are still in your model, so you could theoretically make them visible, Smartskin them and hide them again.

 

But it would really be in your best interest to build the Smartskins into the original model. The issues you're encountering now are only going to multiply as you keep going, I'm afraid...

 

Edit: Apparently, John Artbox and I were engaged in a competition to give you the exact same advice at the same time. You win this round, Artbox!

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Wait... what if i like... deleted the relationships created by the set-up machine and deleted the bones it set up, and THEN un-hid the original bones, created smart skin, and then re-rigged them with the set up machine...? Or is that what you are saying?

 

There is just so much stuff i have done since rigging it... ;)

 

-Andrew

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Wait... what if i like... deleted the relationships created by the set-up machine and deleted the bones it set up, and THEN un-hid the original bones, created smart skin, and then re-rigged them with the set up machine...?

 

In principle, that should actually work. I'd suggest double-checking with the Anzovins, of course, but as long as you A) don't overlook any of the Rigger bones/relationships, and B) make sure all the pre-rig bones have their original names, you should be okay.

 

There is a silver lining. If you pull this off, your end result will be the same as if you had done everything properly to begin with.

 

From that point onward:

 

1. Make all changes to the pre-rigged model, then run the Rigger again. Make no alterations to the Rigged model.

 

2. Never overwrite your pre-rigged model with the rigged version. Think of the pre-rigged model as your template.

 

It sounds like you've got a long day ahead of you if you go this route, but from that point on you'll be cruising. Good luck!

 

Edit: Okay, I'm gonna stop "helping" now. If anyone needs me, I'll be taking a speed-typing course...

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I don't have TSM so I may be way off base, but couldn't you just turn off the relationship poses and unhide the bone you need to smartskin? I know this is how I do it with my home made rig which is just a cheap version of the 2001 rig with no balance poses and a few other mods. I like your character by the way and great lighting and render.

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Thanks for the help everyone!

 

I now have hector smartskinned and re-rigged. I have been messing around with some test poses and i messed with the textures on his gloves and shoes to make them more rubbery looking, and not so black hole-ish. <_<

 

Here is another expression to demonstrate the new hector. Again, criticism is great! Especially if you think the shoulders look funky. Maybe it's just me. I hope it is. Smartskinning is a pain. ;)

 

-Andrew

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Ok, I am all set up to try an do an animation, and now i have a slight problem. The program just crashed, and when i reopened it, and opened my recently saved choreography, hector's eyes don't show up with low res texture previews. They render fine, but if i am going to animate them, i have to be able to see them in real time- otherwise i don't know what is going on. Does anyone know what to do about this?

 

Thanks!

 

-Andrew

 

Edit: Oh, false alarm... I guess it just kind of fixed itself while i was taking a nap.

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Whew! Thanks goodness that took care of itself. Bugs in a software bring frustration and frustration is definately not a fun thing. Nope.

 

Anyway, on a brighter side, Those expressions you made with him are cool! Also, It looks like the rigging thing came out well and everything; what do you have planned for him? It'd be great to see him moving around the place.

 

-Robert Lazzarini

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What a great character. I really like his proportions. Fun little guy. The only thing that caught my attention is around the eyelit. It seems as though his costume is not a seperate piece from his body. Maybe it's just the angle that he is in. I cant wait to see the little guy animated.

 

Tony

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Yes you might get away with a 10 second animation under 1 meg.

 

I've found quicktime sorenson3 is good.

 

Play with the size and quality settings.

 

You should get away without keyframes (in quicktime) and this will save you some space.

 

If that doesn't do it you can also render it out at a lower framerate.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It depends on what you're working on...lip sync? Natural movement? Cycles?

 

Lip Sync- get a sound clip off of www.10secondclub.net

 

Natural movement- try a kick action or punch action or something like him jumping off a building

 

Cycle- Try a walk cycle, crawl cycle, run cycle, etc.

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