Anim8or Community

Artwork => Finished Works and Works in Progress => Topic started by: CoriDavis on August 27, 2010, 02:41:20 pm

Title: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 27, 2010, 02:41:20 pm
As you might have heard me say, i'm going to start a new project.  this time it will be a movie based on a book I wrote.  it will take a very long time, but I'm going to make the movie in chapters and upload to Youtube individually.

The book is called The Mare of the Midnight Star (yes, i'm really into horses)  It's not the most amazing or original thing around, so i'm not going to brag and leave myself open to put-downs.  Anyway, the story is about a horse named Shadow Runner who loses her mother (who was the herd leader) in the beginning, forcing her to be the next leader.  She tries to get a guy-horse and fails, and she meets the bad guy who's a cougar named Marfóir.  then she meets another stallion who falls in love with her, blah, blah, blah.

The main plot i guess is that she doesn't know it, but she's actually born with a power.  She's one of six horses that are called "the horses of the six powers". so yeah, sort of fantasy that's probably been done before.  The story takes place in Ireland so there's lots of hills and cliffs and oceans and stuff.

Anyway, here's what i've started with, these are my reference pictures. it's actually an old Barbie horse with it's leg broken off... but it doesn't move, so it's good for refs!
(http://i36.tinypic.com/2nrivy1.jpg)
(http://i34.tinypic.com/jzjl7a.jpg)
A full head should be easier than a skull, am I right?
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on August 27, 2010, 04:19:14 pm
Yep. Good luck with it all. Sounds good, but don't give up if you ever get stuck! ;)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 27, 2010, 04:38:46 pm
believe me, I won't. I'm probably the most persistant person you will ever meet. I made a comic book that's over 90 pages long!  the main thing with this will be learning Morph targets, I haven't worked with those yet, and it'll be a big thing with horses that will be talking.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 27, 2010, 05:06:17 pm
Here's my progress so far, my horsey is wearing a cute little burglar/knight mask! (i'm definitely going to downsize those eyes..)
(http://i36.tinypic.com/2rq2h5h.jpg)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on August 27, 2010, 05:32:14 pm
Hey, glad you're motivated then. :)

It's looking good for a start. Can't wait to see more!
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 27, 2010, 06:24:48 pm
If anyone wants to provide some trees/rocks/bushes... that's fine. I made a palm tree, but i'm still stumped on making a plain old ordinary tree.... (stumped, no pun intended)  It has to be Irelandish, so I can't use palm trees.

and could someone also tell me how I am to get those objects into my project file that would be much appreciated
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: rellik420 on August 27, 2010, 09:02:19 pm
man u really are into horses. the only thing i can stress is make sure ur edge loops are correct. it makes everything alot easier.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 28, 2010, 09:07:33 pm
Here's the head, wireframe included.  I'm asking for suggestions on if I should just make the body onto the head and skin everything onto the figure, or keep the head a seperate object and skin the body?
(http://i37.tinypic.com/5o5imx.jpg)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: rellik420 on August 28, 2010, 09:44:12 pm
i think its better to have 1 solid model. i think usually if it has accessories and whatnot u should make those seperate but i would go with just 1 object for this (excluding the eyeballs unless ur not going to animate it).
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 28, 2010, 10:09:46 pm
Ok, that makes sense. I figured I wouldn't need to animate the eyes since there are no pupils to show movement.  are there any tutorials on skinning? I guess I could check Youtube
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 28, 2010, 10:21:12 pm
oh and by the way, is there any way at all to turn a group into a mesh? I tried Convert to Mesh and nothing happens, and I can't edit it.  is there any way to do it so I can make my morph targets?
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on August 28, 2010, 10:25:27 pm
oh and by the way, is there any way at all to turn a group into a mesh? I tried Convert to Mesh and nothing happens, and I can't edit it.  is there any way to do it so I can make my morph targets?

UN-group the group, then select all the meshes that are ungroup-ed and say "Build>Join Solids" then they'll all be one mesh. ;)

Looking great, too.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 28, 2010, 10:28:00 pm
oooh! ok! I get it
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 29, 2010, 04:10:05 pm
I added the neck. I imported the skeleton I used to make the cursed horse. why re-make it?
(http://i38.tinypic.com/ibz1hc.jpg)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on August 29, 2010, 06:39:34 pm
It's looking great, although you will have to adjust the skeleton a bit, you know. ;)
The neck also looks a bit too fat, but...

Keep it up! :)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 29, 2010, 07:23:58 pm
Too fat? really? I thought it was too skinny so I made it a bit wider
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: blazecon0 on August 29, 2010, 09:26:05 pm
i think its perfect :) maybe even make it thicker!
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 29, 2010, 09:32:57 pm
maybe. I definitely made the body a bit fat from the front view so i'll have to fix that.  By the way, when I mirror the image, it looks like my horse has a seam down the middle, one half is darker than the other. is that fixable?
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: ADSohr on August 29, 2010, 09:55:14 pm
After you mirror you will have two separate objects, you will have to manually merge them together. Select both halves and go to Build>Join solids. That will make the two separate meshes into one single mesh that you can operate on. Next you will have to select all of the points that lie at or near 0 on the x dimension. Then go to Edit>Merge points, That will take the two separate points and merge them together into one point. If there apears to be seams left over then check to make sure that the points there merged. After that you will have to change the smoo th angle on those edges by double clicking them and increasing the smooth angle until that edge is smooth shaded.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 29, 2010, 11:08:14 pm
Ok, when I finish the body I'll see how that works.  when I go to make the hair, i'll probably do a transmap mane, not sure how the tail will work though
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: blazecon0 on August 30, 2010, 10:24:51 am
for teh tail just do like they did in oot, made it a transparent cylender with a texture on it ^-^
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 30, 2010, 12:26:10 pm
oh ok. that'll work.  when I can, i'll post my latest progress, I finished the neck and the shoulders and i'm about to start the front leg and the belly.  before I add the hair, this whole body is just going to be a horse cut in half and then it'll be mirrored.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 31, 2010, 01:41:26 pm
Well, I was going to post my progress after I finished the hoof, but when the hoof was done, it showed me that the whole body wasn't aligned correctly to the bones!  Now I have a ton of re-shaping to do, then i'll post.

Edit-
here it is fixed, it looks a bit fat, but that's easily fixable
(http://i54.tinypic.com/16c1hfa.jpg)

More progress, starting the hips and made the tail bones longer
(http://i56.tinypic.com/zy7ngh.jpg)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 31, 2010, 05:57:22 pm
NOOO! Anim8or stopped responding and closed itself and I never saved!!!  I just lost everything but half the front leg!
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: blazecon0 on August 31, 2010, 06:12:00 pm
save save save! you can never save 2 much!
if it ever starts actin funny, save it, close it, reload it!
hope you can make it back just as well or better;)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: kreator on August 31, 2010, 06:25:58 pm
you should have autosave enabled then you should not lose your work if it crashes,(0.97 series).

 Make a folder on your computer called Autosaves then use File/Configure now point to the autosave folder, check autosave and set  interval at 5 minutes or less

See screenshot for more info.

If you do get a crash you can look in the Autosaves folder for the backup.



Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 31, 2010, 06:47:04 pm
omg! thank you so much! i'll do that
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on August 31, 2010, 06:52:26 pm
wait.. is that feature only in the new version? I can't find it on mine, crap...
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on September 01, 2010, 01:15:15 am
0.97 anything has that feature, iirc.
Too bad, though. Good luck.. ^^
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 01, 2010, 08:36:51 pm
Waah... I don't wanna start over, but I gots to....
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 08, 2010, 05:40:12 pm
Ok, so I took a really long break after I lost half of the project, but now I finished the body! now I just have to make the mane and tail
(http://i52.tinypic.com/1ze9oya.jpg)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on September 08, 2010, 07:35:39 pm
Hmm, it looks great! But I do see a few areas here and there that may require some touching-up. ;)

Keep it up! :)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 08, 2010, 08:18:23 pm
Ok, when I tried to UV the mane, the picture doesn't move.  what's going on?
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 13, 2010, 06:33:32 pm
ok, fixed the UV, now to have my first go at skinning! I hope I can do this..
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 18, 2010, 01:50:03 pm
here's my walk test for my model! the cross-section tail idea didn't work as well as I planned, any suggestions?
http://tinypic.com/r/20af6ep/7
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on September 18, 2010, 03:10:51 pm
here's my walk test for my model! the cross-section tail idea didn't work as well as I planned, any suggestions?
http://tinypic.com/r/20af6ep/7

That horse looks great! So does the walk-cycle. :)

I don't have any suggestions for the tail, except to make a "tail" that has depth instead. ;)
If you want help with that, just ask. ;)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 18, 2010, 03:31:19 pm
oh and one other thing, if I import the object to make another character, will the morph targets be imported as well?
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on September 19, 2010, 05:21:58 am
oh and one other thing, if I import the object to make another character, will the morph targets be imported as well?

Ask someone else, I've never dealt with morph targets...
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: Maximilianibus on September 19, 2010, 10:07:50 am
wow, nice!
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 22, 2010, 07:58:29 pm
Ok, so every time I get on my file there's 57 missing items because I imported my skeleton from the cursed horse to build my figure on and I told it not to bring in the items.  is there a way to delete missing items?
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: Janro on September 22, 2010, 11:24:54 pm
Pretty good model and animation. If I may suggest something for the tail, you could try what some videogames do. Have a cylinder shape to take its place. Then up to you if you can build an alpha texture that goes transparent near the end to produce the soft/hair effect.

Morph targets are copied when either imported or copy-pasted. The latter gets annoying when you just copy paste one part ><

As for the missing items, the only thing way I get around that is to delete everything that is attached to the skeleton before importing it into the other project file. I don't know how to remove it in your new project file without having to go into text editor.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 23, 2010, 03:14:21 pm
oh, I see. can you tell me about Text editor? how will that get rid of it?
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 23, 2010, 04:23:48 pm
ugh.. I had the key frames from the walk sequence, but now I can't get rid of them!  I want to  use my scene over, and I delete all the keys from the walk sequence, then I switch from scene mode to sequence mode or something, and they all come right back!  same thing when I undo something, it doesn't go away!
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: Janro on September 23, 2010, 09:01:04 pm
I'm not too familiar with the way the way the text editor is built actually. I just assume that it is possible. It will be a very long process. I'd suggest just saving a copy of the original then deleting the objects attached to the figure and then importing.

I've had that problem regarding deleting sequences. From what I gather it's like permanently gluing the frames in there. The only way around it is to delete the figure and then put in a new one.

Last thing, I'd suggest you use modify post button instead of double posting. Unless you want to bump your thread. ^_^
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 24, 2010, 10:01:38 am
oh yeah, good idea. usually I do, but sometimes I forget.  normally if I double post it's because I modified something in my project, or I have an urgent problem (urgent meaning I get impatient, lol).  you know what someone should do? someone should make a thing like facebook where you can post anim8or project updates! lol, I wonder if I could accomplish that...

Oh and deleting the figure worked by the way
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 24, 2010, 03:01:32 pm
Here's my morph test! I gave my horse the best voice in the world! the awesomeness of Tobymac! lol
http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=eq8m8n&s=7
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: ADSohr on September 24, 2010, 04:12:40 pm
I suggest you morph the entire jaw of the horse rather than just the chin, especially on phonemes that require a bit more of an opening to get the right sound; "H", "A" for example. Right now it moves a lot like those mounted fish that sing. But so far so good, It's awesome that you get it synced with the sound. Do you mind sharing how you did that?

By the way, I love Toby mac as well.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 25, 2010, 05:32:57 pm
Yay!!! another Tobymac fan!!! yeah, I tried my best with the jaw, especially the part right behind the chin, I could add a bit more. right now i'm working on the eye expressions, I added eyelids which were hard to do.
As for the syncing, I had two programs up at the same time. Windows Movie Maker, and Anim8or in scene mode. Both have a timeline on the bottom with each second marked into 5 segments (well, 6 in WMM, but it doesn't make that big of a difference) and that makes it easy to match up the sound with the mouth.
(http://i52.tinypic.com/2jfzuwj.jpg)

By the way, can Morph Targets allow you to make color change as well?
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: Maximilianibus on September 25, 2010, 06:04:46 pm
well, i dont like wmm.... arent there free programs? if not, a really good program is magix.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 25, 2010, 06:19:34 pm
Oh, well I don't know any others.  I actually started my animation on WMM with Stop Motion
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: Josmic8or on September 25, 2010, 07:36:58 pm
Hi CoriDavis!Thanks so much for sharing how you did your synching! :) :)
I've never thought of doing it that way!
Silly Me!!  ;D

I'll definitely be using your method from now on!!

Thanks again!!  :) :)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 25, 2010, 08:04:48 pm
You're welcome! WMM is really helpful.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on September 25, 2010, 11:16:32 pm
Oh, I'm a Toby Mac fan, too. :D

Looking great, as always.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 26, 2010, 06:36:00 pm
yay! another fan! we should all be friends on Facebook or something, lol. (my name is my username and my profile pooks like a pirate, just let me know somehow that you're from the forum)

yeah, my eyelids need some work, it looks fine open, looks fine closed, but animated from open to closed, the eyelid goes through the eye, so that needs some work
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: ADSohr on September 26, 2010, 09:05:09 pm
The reason your eyelids go through the eyeball are because morphs move points in a linear fashion from point A to point B, they do not care about what the points go through to get there. The easy way to fix the problem would be to make your eyeball flat rather than round. That would stop the eyelid going through the eyeball. The more labor intensive option is to make 2 or 3 different morphs that follow the curve of the eyeball. Then you would have to key in each morph for each blink.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 27, 2010, 03:46:27 pm
ok, but if I made the eyeball flat, wouldn't it not look... ball-like anymore?anyway, I was going to try moving the eyelid out further to see if it fixes it any better
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: Janro on September 28, 2010, 01:50:47 am
Not bad. I myself  use Audacity in the same fashion as you use WMM. I find it easier to get precise timing using Audacity rather than in WMM.

might I give a pointer I learned regarding lupsynching? Mouth shapes are made before the sound comes out. Not sure if a lot realize that but it feels more lifelike when done for certain words.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: ADSohr on September 28, 2010, 08:33:32 am
ok, but if I made the eyeball flat, wouldn't it not look... ball-like anymore?anyway, I was going to try moving the eyelid out further to see if it fixes it any better
Yes, the eye would look flat, the motions would look off, and there would be an ugly shadow of the eyelid over the eye. That's why I gave another option that would allow for a round eye, smooth movement, and limited or no shadow. Which one you choose to use is up to you.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 28, 2010, 03:06:27 pm
Janro, I didn't know that, that is interesting, I'll try that when I start working on the actual movie.

ADSohr, it's okay, moving the eyelid out more worked perfectly. it still does it a little at the end, but it's not that noticable, especially if it's animated at actual "blink speed"
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on September 28, 2010, 05:57:02 pm
@Cori: I don't have a Facebook, but if I ever get it, I'll be sure to "friend" you. :P

And I didn't bother to read all the eyelid discussion posts, so I can't offer my input. :P
I've never dealt with morphs anyhow. ~~
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on September 28, 2010, 06:47:04 pm
T-Mac all day! I've done a little lip-syncing, one I posted on YouTube. Check it out at:

While you're there, hope you check out some of my other vids.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 28, 2010, 08:12:54 pm
Not bad, the sound effects were kind of loud through my headphones though
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 29, 2010, 03:18:09 pm
ok, I have a new problem.  In object mode, the eyelids look perfect, but in scene mode, they're all boxy.  No matter how I move it around in object mode, it still won't go away! is there any way to fix it?
(http://i51.tinypic.com/122nfcg.jpg)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on September 29, 2010, 03:36:02 pm
maybe it's bad lighting?
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 29, 2010, 03:46:25 pm
I don't know.. it looks like the same angle to me, I just know, no matter which way I move the points around, it won't fix it
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: Gyperboloid on September 29, 2010, 04:00:34 pm
What do you mean, boxy? Maybe a wireframe and a different angle pics.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 29, 2010, 04:11:18 pm
I mean boxy as in you can see the lines and it's straight instead of round
hold on...
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on September 29, 2010, 05:57:27 pm
try looking at something in Preferences (assuming you know how to get there) or Working Divisions.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on September 29, 2010, 08:59:52 pm
I think making it look "smooth" in object mode is... double-click the mesh, then say "smoothness" (or something) 180-max. That gives it a more smooth look.

However, maybe Scene Mode disregards that?

EDIT: Nope, that ain't the problem. I tested it.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 30, 2010, 03:11:23 pm
hmm... well, since moving the point around doesn't help, I don't know what it could be.  I just hope it can be fixed so I can start making the actual characters
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: Gyperboloid on September 30, 2010, 03:21:52 pm
 ??? And I still can't understand what are you talking about.  ??? Can you post picture with another view angle? And maybe attack a file with only the sphere inside ( not whole project ofcourse )?
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on September 30, 2010, 03:37:32 pm
Attack a file? ok! *stabs file* lol, just kidding

Anyway, you mean just the sphere, as in the eyeball?  well, the eyeball is fine, it's just a circle cut in half, and it's actually been joined to the face with join solids, so is the eyelid.  The eyelid actually isn't a sphere though, see...
(http://i56.tinypic.com/358c65d.jpg)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on October 11, 2010, 07:24:46 pm
ok, I don't think it's going to work, I thought I'd try the sphere method to see if I could rotate it, but I made it worse.. even with multiple morph target points, it's just not working.  but I have a solution, I am going to not have it blink, and it'll be offscreen when the eyes close for any sleeping scene.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: ENSONIQ5 on October 11, 2010, 09:56:49 pm
Morphs can only move vertex points in straight lines, not arcs, so it isn't really possible to rotate meshes with this method (unless you make a number of intermediate morph stages which is inefficient and unnecessarily complex).  Rather than morphing, why not create a bone for each eyelid?  You could keep the eyelid as a separate object (no need to join it to the main mesh) and so long as the bone's pivot point was accurately positioned central to the eyeball it would be a simple matter to open and close the eyes using a Sequence.  You could even create a simple 2 or 3 frame 'blink' sequence that you could drop into the Scene wherever you think appropriate.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on October 12, 2010, 03:21:51 pm
Aaah, that could work, i'll try it

By the way, like my new avatar? teehee, I made a .GIF of my logo
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on October 16, 2010, 02:21:52 pm
Ok, now i'm having even more problems.  I made my blink sequence with the eyelids, it looks perfect in sequence mode, but look what happens in scene mode
http://tinypic.com/r/xd86sk/7
Yes, the bones are moving exactly how they're supposed to be, everything is working perfectly except the eyelid won't move with the bone in scene mode and I don't know why

Edit-
Just tried deleting the figure and putting it back, no luck.  where the eye is supposed to be completely closed, the half-circle is floating above the head
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: mak on October 19, 2010, 04:42:36 am
if you have joined the eyelid to the face, then the eyelid will move around that axis.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on October 19, 2010, 06:18:53 pm
Okies, the eyelids are all fixed, I have no idea WHAT was wrong with them, they just one day worked again.  here's my test with some head movement
http://tinypic.com/r/2iv20pk/7
I think I am now ready to start making the characters!
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on October 19, 2010, 07:20:51 pm
Looking good.

Surprised you got this far. Glad you have motivation! :D
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: mak on October 20, 2010, 03:31:53 am
it fixed its self, man thats a bummer... i was hoping to figure it out. looks good so far.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on October 20, 2010, 06:29:48 pm
Thanks, here's the main character, Shadow Runner
(http://i56.tinypic.com/2q1clxi.jpg)
The black mare with the power of space and night (darkness only not meant to be demonic)

Here's Diablo, the Stallion that Shadow finally finds love with
(http://i56.tinypic.com/wguwyq.jpg)
power is Fire (if you can't tell)

Question:
Morph targets don't seem to let me make color changes, the eyes are supposed to glow.  How should I accomplish this?
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: MeepII on October 21, 2010, 11:09:42 am
If you want a glow, there are some good tutorials on the tutorials page. If you want them to change colour, I think you need terranim8or for that.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on October 21, 2010, 03:27:58 pm
Aww, darn it. oh well, I think I have another plan on doing this.  it might make quite a bit of extra work, but if I add two seperate "eyes" that will be invisible inside the head, I can move them into the correct spot when I need them, and use the fade transition effect in WMM.  that should work as an alternative.  It's amazing how you can use a basic default program like WMM to accomplish so much.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on October 26, 2010, 05:09:54 pm
Here's Crystal, the mare with the power of Ice, and the leader of the Daerastréc herd
(http://i53.tinypic.com/6gvr5x.jpg)

And Hazel, the mean, snobby, annoying one.  She has the power to shapeshift (which means i'll have to make a Lion model, and a Cougar model, and a bird model... and whatever else she changes into throughout the story)
(http://i53.tinypic.com/jv3xms.jpg)

Here's Lightning, Hazel's friend who gets annoyed by her snobbyness.  with of course, the power of Electricity
(http://i56.tinypic.com/mlnk86.jpg)
all that UVing is making my back hurt, ow...

And last, but not least, Waterfall. the mare with the power of Water.  this is all the Horses of the Six Powers. 
(http://i51.tinypic.com/2n84q9s.jpg)
now I just have to make a couple "random and insignificant" characters for in the background and I can start some tests.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on October 27, 2010, 06:06:23 pm
looks good so far. so, are there any voices? or music? because I'd love to help for either. and scenery objects.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on October 27, 2010, 08:21:11 pm
yes, I am currently picking voices, once I have all I can get, i'll let you all know who I still need voices for.  and also, scenery objects will be very helpful, especially trees.  plain old normal trees, not palm trees or pine trees... well maybe pine trees.  and some rocks too.  anything you'd see in Ireland.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on October 28, 2010, 08:17:41 pm
Here's the beginning of my lipsync test!  by the way, what's with the only-3-shade color scheme? it makes things hard to see.
http://tinypic.com/r/a5j63b/7
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: ADSohr on October 28, 2010, 10:41:24 pm
Not bad! He forgot to blink though. I would videotape people talking to see what they do and use it as reference for your charachters. Look for hand movement, shifting wieght on thier feet, blinks, breaths. Details add believability.

Also if you could model in some different charachteristics for each charachter, it would make them look more like individuals than clones.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on October 29, 2010, 03:00:34 pm
thanks, and first of all, it's a SHE! I hate how manly my voice sounds...  anyway, yeah I kind of figured i'd get the clone comment.  and yeah i realized she forgot to blink, but that's what the test is for if you know what I mean
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: ADSohr on October 29, 2010, 03:04:53 pm
Oh, well I didn't have speakers, so I actually did not hear the words.  :P Sorry about that.

Tests are indeed great for finding better ways of doing things.

Keep it up!
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on October 29, 2010, 03:49:23 pm
yeah, she was saying "This is no longer your land, it has been claimed by my herd. Leave in peace or leave in blood, but leave either way!"  Had this been an actual scene in the movie, she would have been talking to the bad guy.  I think i'll add subtitles for the final test in case people can't hear or understand somebody.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 02, 2010, 04:27:16 pm
Ok, now I am in need of.... voices! Anyone who wants to help can post and/or PM or email me.  The voices needed are

Bright Sky Shadow Runner's mother who unfortunately dies in the beginning (not intending to copy Bambi) How many active people on here are actually girls besides me? this might be a problem...

Random, Insignificant horse  #1
Random, Insignificant horse  #2
Possibly more eventually
Just some random people with a few lines, can be guys or girls

Cloud Walker Shadow Runner's Grandmother. Anyone able to do a good Granny-voice?

Elder Fits in with the random people, can be a guy or girl

Bush Possibly the biggest available role here.  Bush is a Thorny Devil (don't ask, he was created by an old friend) for which reason since he couldn't be contacted, I need someone to play him.

Cougars Followers of Marfóir, the bad guy. Whoever can do a good Evil voice!

Those are all of the voiceless characters I can think of at the moment, if I find more I will post.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on November 02, 2010, 05:55:12 pm
Me. I'd be glad to do a voice for you. Anything, actually.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 02, 2010, 05:56:42 pm
ok, is there a sample of your voice somewhere? I could choose where I think it would best fit.

Update: I need a Hazel!!!  Someone who can do a really good Snob voice
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on November 02, 2010, 06:32:28 pm
ok, is there a sample of your voice somewhere? I could choose where I think it would best fit.
Yweah, check me on youtube
Channel: Davdud101
My lineup of Comedy vids: WebX 104
[EDIT]: Oh yeah, I also do vocal impersonations, so I can alter my voice to how you want it.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 02, 2010, 06:43:23 pm
Alright, i'll check it out. Do you know how to use Sound Recorder? you can use whatever program you use to do your voices for the videos.  You have a Microsoft computer, right? I can't get Mac files to work, I have no conversion things...
Wow, you're a lot younger than I expected, heh. So... you might be able to do Bush's voice, or possibly a foal, or a younger character.  If you think you can do Bush, that would be great.

Bush is kind of the crazy, silly, funny character.  At times what he thinks is funny is annoying to some people, but he just likes to make people laugh.  Even though a couple times his humor gets him into trouble.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on November 02, 2010, 06:46:03 pm
alright, I'm fine with being Bush. No prob. Oh, and age is nothing when placed next to ability, something I thought of on the spot just now...lol.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 02, 2010, 06:57:37 pm
Nonono.. lol I wasn't saying the age had a problem with the ability at all, I meant the actual voice itself.  (not saying there's anything wrong with it) but the voice should be age-appropriate to the character.  unlike some child shows where young kids have grown-man or changing-voice-teenager voices, that drives me CRAZY.
The character of Bush though was meant to have a younger-sounding voice.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: MeepII on November 03, 2010, 03:26:57 pm
Meh, I'd be an evil one if I could record.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 04, 2010, 04:43:04 pm
Yeah, being able to record is important.  My personal way is to use Sound Recorder in Accessories>Entertainment (for anyone who doesn't know)

I also have AIM/AOL and Skype that can be used for file transfer and Email. (PM me if you want my username for contact for this)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on November 04, 2010, 05:56:21 pm
use Audacity. It's better and free.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 04, 2010, 06:38:42 pm
hmm, ok, that'll work too. just as long as it can make a .wav or .wma file.

And by the way... Prepare to say Awwww....
(http://i51.tinypic.com/2z88fu1.jpg)

I looked at a picture of a horse and foal together to compare them. I made the body shorter and skinnier, the nose shorter, and the ears and eyes bigger.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: ADSohr on November 04, 2010, 10:01:46 pm
Are those transmaps? Sweet. I've never gotten around to making a model that needed them.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 05, 2010, 03:02:02 pm
yep, transmaps.  I use those a lot.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on November 05, 2010, 03:44:42 pm
In my opinion, I would try modeling the tail and hair, instead of using transmaps. Transmaps are good for things like fences, windows, fancy designs, glasses, etc. Flat stuff. But this is actually a solid object so I might would try just modeling them.

But it's your deal. ;)

Me, I have a microphone, but I seriously doubt I'd be able to do voices for you, sorry..
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 05, 2010, 04:10:39 pm
eh, yeah I see where you're going. I usually use transmaps for Hair a lot though. it makes rendering faster, and in most cases makes the hair look more realistic.  I also use it for clouds and such too.  I can see it being very helpful in making sparks and stuff like the spray of the sea
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: ADSohr on November 05, 2010, 04:27:50 pm
I personally would use transmaps for all of that as well. If you were using Blender or 3DsMax instead of Anim8or, then you could model the hair and use physics for movement. Since Anim8or does not have that capability then transmaps are the better option.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 05, 2010, 04:57:13 pm
Yeah. I didn't trust Blender, you've probably heard me say why before.  but yeah, transmaps are kind of fun.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on November 05, 2010, 05:43:55 pm
I can't use Blender because the interface seems impossible.. But I did try out some pretty cool stuff with liquid and cloth particle and physics.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: ADSohr on November 05, 2010, 06:18:56 pm
I wasn't trying to start a conversation about Blender.  ::)

For me Blender is a tool that can be used to great effect. I just do not have the computer power to be able use Blender.

If you use Gimp you can make good transmaps for hair, then put those maps on planes that cross eachother in Anim8or. that makes it so that you can see the transmaps from different angles. A couple of planes can be moved around alot quicker than a volumetric tail, and has the added benefit of quicker render times due to the reduction in the number of polies.

Maybe sometime tonight I'll make a quick tutorial of sorts.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 05, 2010, 09:05:42 pm
ok, that sounds like a good idea
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: ADSohr on November 05, 2010, 10:13:53 pm
Wow, I'm really bad at speed modeling.

Anyways, since my attempts at a a tutorial explanation fell through, I'll just point you to an example.

For inspiration look in the gallery to the left <. In the first image of the building/shack all the grasses are trans maps. They can be very effective.

It's funny, in my college course we are studying shaders and alpha maps!  :D
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 06, 2010, 10:29:00 am
that's pretty neat. i'm still working on the new models for the other characters, and the script.

By the way, wouldn't you have to invert the black and white to make a transmap with that?
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: Mills on November 06, 2010, 10:54:17 am
For inspiration look in the gallery to the left <. In the first image of the building/shack all the grasses are trans maps. They can be very effective.

ADSohr: I certainly don't want to contradict your good advice, but I have to correct you on this. The grass isn't transmapped in this image, every single blade (in the foreground at least) is modelled. The reasoning was to do with shadows (which you don't get with transmaps) though it didn't quite work out, but you can see the models are receiving the blue light source from left of view.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on November 06, 2010, 01:24:00 pm
This was made using a transmap, he even shows how he did it. So it is possible to do it that way, but like Mills said, there won't be any shadows. ;)

http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=2422.0
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on November 06, 2010, 03:17:24 pm
Mills, both those are absolutely PERFECT!!!! must've taken just too long to render "Wheat"!
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: ADSohr on November 06, 2010, 04:41:08 pm
My bad.   :'(
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 06, 2010, 07:29:37 pm
I'm starting a new model! possibly the hardest one, Bush the Thorny Devil, the character Davdud will hopefully play.
(http://wild-facts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/ThornyDevil.jpg)

I still need to think up an excuse on how a thorny devil ended up in Ireland...
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on November 07, 2010, 09:49:05 am
I could totaly model it, if you'd like. Or I try and we both see whos is better.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 07, 2010, 01:59:09 pm
If you want to, sure. BAH!!!! where did all my pics go!?! stupid Tinypic, it never did this before...
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on November 07, 2010, 05:31:14 pm
I use photobucket.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 08, 2010, 04:53:09 pm
I thought Tinypic was convenient until now...
Anyway here's my Bush so far (http://i51.tinypic.com/2sbwfvs.jpg)
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on November 08, 2010, 05:22:38 pm
Oh, looks pretty good. Are u using a transmap for the mouth? also, I expected maybe a smile and more characteristic features, opposing anatomical detail.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 08, 2010, 05:47:55 pm
yeah, and no the mouth really is open. I want to have it that way for morphing, then i'll close it.  And I was planning on having a brown camoflage material for the skin color, along with a rough-looking bumpmap
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 14, 2010, 03:01:50 pm
I was bored waiting for "Hazel" to do her lines, so I made a quick run cycle test.
http://tinypic.com/r/i1k9z4/7
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: davdud101 on November 17, 2010, 03:32:15 pm
Wait i thought I replied to this.... Well looks pretty good to me. So when porduction due to begin? I'd be willing to make music and backgrounds.
Title: Re: My new project
Post by: CoriDavis on November 17, 2010, 04:08:03 pm
really? sounds interesting. I've said many times I need trees, plants, and rocks.  but as for music, can you come up with something Celtic that sounds kind of terror-ish? Ex. Running from something