Anim8or Community
Artwork => Anim8or Challenges => Topic started by: Steve on April 14, 2017, 09:43:38 am
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OK I agree that Anim8or's splash screen is a bit, well, basic. But I'm not a great modeler and a whole lot of you are great modelers. So here are the rules:
1. It must have Anim8or and a registered copyright trademark symbol ® prominently displayed. It doesn't necessarily need to be as large as it is now, but it muse be obvious (for legal reasons). Also v1.0 should be somewhere but it doesn't have to be so large.
2. Show off what you do best in Anim8or.
3. You don't have to use every possible feature, just what's needed. But having some dielectric (i.e. glass) and glossy reflective surfaces would be nice.
4. I will need the .an8 project, etc. from the winner. I may need to make changes (i.e. change v1.0 to v1.1, move or change something, combine things from other users, who knows!) If I do I will try to keep the original spirit.
5. The current size of 750 x 450. I keep it small because it is included in the anim8or.exe file. I might make it a bit larger but might not.
6. Everyone can vote on the winner(s) but I'll have the final say.
7. Deadline is more or less May 15, the deadline I've given myself to get v1.0 released.
8. Have fun!
!!!!! Voting has started. !!!!!
View all the final submissions here: http://www.anim8or.com/home/splash-screen/index.html (http://www.anim8or.com/home/splash-screen/index.html) then vote for up to 3 of your favorites! Pole closes next weekend.
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that's awesome news. Finally a reason to create something, other than just "doodling" like I usually do.
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This should come as no surprise, but for my take on it, I'mma prioritize making it look cute.
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This should come as no surprise, but for my take on it, I'mma prioritize making it look cute.
I personally can't wait to see your entry :)
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This might be off topic a bit, but how old is the original splash screen? I don't ever remember seeing another, and I've been using anim8or for ever.
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This might be off topic a bit, but how old is the original splash screen? I don't ever remember seeing another, and I've been using anim8or for ever.
it's had a few minor revisions (adding ART materials, for example), but the basic design hasn't changed since I started using An8 in 2002, so it's got at least 15 years of use behind it!
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Haha, so excited! It's been a month or two since I sat down and had a serious modeling session in Anim8or. I need to go through my previous stuff and find my strengths so I can play them up....
Btw, Steve, will this include a new logo design?
And are we allowed to do any amount of post processing in GIMP/PS as far as text, lighting effects, lens effects etc.?
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Sounds like fun! It's been ages since I've worked something up entirely in Anim8or. I'll be sticking to my usual genre of science fiction of course, should be a nice variety of submissions :)
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Question, could I do a full composition? Like rendering a full outdoor environment? Or do I have to stick with more basic single color background with maybe a chess board?
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You can do anything you like. It should highlight things that Anim8or can do, what you think Anim8or does that's fun or useful.
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Ok, here's mine. It probably won't be much use as the actual splash screen for the following reasons:
- While it took about 13-14 hours to build the models and rig the scene, it took approx. 75 hours to render the double-size version on an i7-2600 Quaddy with AA at 64 samples per pixel! The main ship element uses glossyreflector and specular reflection while the 'Anim8or' title uses dielectric attributes, these are the main reasons for the slow render time. The time would have been much less if I rendered at final size, there probably wasn't much benefit in the large render... I just wanted to see it more clearly. The render stats are: init=0.16, render=255090.63, rays=519908721. So that's over half a billion rays :o
- I couldn't resist having a not-so-subtle dig at that other free 3D package, with a bit of a nod at the two most popular non-free packages. Fun, but perhaps a bit too politically-incorrect for a spash screen :D
Regardless, I had a ton of fun doing this! I should mention that this was all done in 1.0 beta with no problems found, everything I used worked exactly as expected. There is still the problem with the ART renderer having uncontrollable shadows (always 100% with cast/receive options having no effect) which played a bit of havoc with the layout of the scene, but this is a known problem and with a bit of forced perspective it wasn't insurmountable. The only non-3D element is the copyright and website info across the bottom, no other 2D processing was done other than a slight increase of overall saturation for the small version.
Both the 'final' version and the original full-size render are attached. The AN8 file and textures will be provided if required, note that total textures file size is about 9MB.
I'm really looking forward to seeing more submissions, there's a lot of talent in this forum across a wide range of styles.
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I really like the spaceship, it is a dynamic scene with very dark Rembrandt corners. I would love to see another variation on this theme with more light. Every where you go there are star wars images and toys, so I think Ensoniq5 is faithful to the current vogue.Great work, well done. :)
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Neat! reminds me of one of my favorite cartoons growing up "War Planets"
Though the caption at the bottom reminds me that I have a question, to what extent are we allowed to digitally alter the render in an image editing program?
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It's better not to have text added. And now that I think about it, I'll add the copyright notice afterwards using software, just like I do now. So it shouldn't have "Copyright 1999-2017 ...", just the 3D Anim8or. (I changed to rules above to reflect this.)
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Okay, here's a first look at what I'm working on. I may've thieved a little inspiration from the Anim8or gallery :3 but scenes like this are good for me because I have a rather easy time "realistically" modelling inorganic objects. plus they look cool and use loads of render-intensive materials and stuff.
There's a lot that's not there yet (e.g. bristles on the brushes, the entire sink and countertop is just a placeholder until I model the real one, gotta add a drawer under that, I'm gonna make a towel (maybe monogrammed with my or Steve's initials on it :D :D)
Rendering this scene in ART w/o AA at half the size of the final (which will be scaled down to half afterwards) took 45s.
AMD FX-8300 8-core and 8gb RAM, for those who wondered.
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No intention to double post! (I gueess technically there was, since I didn't stop myself.)
I've been putting some time into this today, have spent probably around 4 hours working on modeling and fixing materials. The mirror is pretty sweet, it's actually a dielectric layer over a reflective layer, like a real mirror.
Amazing job on the ART renderer, Steve, I'm seriously impressed by how well it performs with such ease (not to mention that's its gotten much faster to render with later releases, it seems).
Still a small, low-quality, non-AA'd version of my image. I've got a couple more days of modelling to go on this, but I'm looking forward to each step of the process. Obviously I'm going for photo-realism. But in this case, I **think** I'll have to do a little bit of pass-compositing in GIMP afterwards... is that really allowed?
At that point, it's no longer a creation solely built in Anim8or, eh? Even though all the passes ARE rendered in Anim8or and everything is modelled using the software? I'd hate to suggest that such constraints should be added, but when you think about it, the splash screen really has to focus on what the software in itself alone can do, right?
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ENSONIQ5, davdud101 Nice!
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1st Draft....
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Wonderful creations from Kreator (Kevin), some years ago he edited an on line magazine called anim8or world, this inspired me to use anim8or as my main 3d animation program.Thank you Kevin.
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ENSONIQ, you've piqued my interest plenty. How did you make the "jet streams"? Is it basically just a long, curving cone with a high emissive value and a transparency map?
Is everything put together in a single pass? (I'd assume so based on what you said above) I think I'm going to try that myself. I was worried at to whether it'd be possible because I'm using LOADS of attributes AND have to render shadows. That's gonna be a loooong render time!
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:D
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Decidedly I'll be taking a different approach with posting my WIPS on this page for this contest.
My composition is going to be character-centric, so I've spent last week remaking my model of Robin. Here she is sitting daintily but this time with posable ears. And more importantly scales actually modeled into her claws instead of textured onto them.
This, by the way is probably not the pose I will wind up going with, since I want to come up with something that works well with the image dimensions as well as takes advantage of the unique shapes in her design, this pose I feel makes her legs and skirt too hard to make sense out of.
I wanna see if I can get a composition similar to the Deviant Art artist Sakimichan. And I fully intend to have an actual background too at some point.
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ENSONIQ, you've piqued my interest plenty. How did you make the "jet streams"? Is it basically just a long, curving cone with a high emissive value and a transparency map?
Is everything put together in a single pass? (I'd assume so based on what you said above) I think I'm going to try that myself. I was worried at to whether it'd be possible because I'm using LOADS of attributes AND have to render shadows. That's gonna be a loooong render time!
Yes, the 'contrails' are modeled (extrusion of 12-sided polygon along a path before subdividing) with transmaps used to fade them out. There's a yellow>red>black gradient in the Ambient, Diffuse and Emissive fields and a black>white gradient in the Trans field (the gradient maps are attached). Importantly, Specular is 0.0 so the scene lights don't affect the contrails. The same idea was used for the engine flares and the explosion under the Blender-logo-esque space station. Be aware that these elements will all cast shadows with the ART renderer so there was some juggling of positions in the scene to ensure this didn't happen (ie. a long black shadow from the contrail cast on the planet would kinda spoil the effect!).
Rendering was done in a single pass with no 2D editing other than the text at the bottom and a slight increase in overall saturation. No external software was used for compositing or UV mapping, the only non-Anim8or software used was for 2D photo editing to process the texture maps.
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Thanks for the feedback and awesome to see some works in progress. FSS, I was hoping the Anim8or chick would make an appearance!
I have re-rendered the scene with improved lighting on the 'Anim8or ship' and a few other minor tweaks. This render was also done with AA at 64spp but took about 20 hours rather than 75 with the 'ANIM8OR' text at the top taking about 80% of that time (dielectrics look awesome but crikey are they slow to render). The background is a bit sharper on the earlier version rendered at 2X and resampled down but that's not a bad thing as being a bit softer on the new version it seems to focus the eye a bit better on the foreground objects.
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Heheh- Weren't we all expecting her?
Regarding your entree, I will give you my 2 cents, at the moment, my eyes are drawn mostly to the background, the explosion and the boost trail. Though I feel like you want the subject matter of the picture to be the space ships. Might I suggest brightening them to have them pop in front of the background more? Like this:
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Yes, that looks much closer to what I had in mind. I'm determined to avoid any post-processing, to be a splash screen I feel it will only be 'honest' if it's an actual Anim8or render. I'll have another play with the lighting to see if I can get a render closer to your suggestion, particularly the red 'Anim8or' ship (the 'Blender', 'Maya' and '3DSMax' ships need not stand out quite so much ;) ). Thanks for your feedback, very much appreciated!
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Maybe raise the diffuse or ambient value on the materials or something like that.
I'm thinking that since the splash screen is a horizontally oriented image, for the sake of making Robin absorb as much of the space as possible, she herself should be oriented accordingly instead of being straight. Because if she were straight, she'd probably look about 30% smaller unless part of her was cropped out.
As you can see in this pose, it is a lot easier to read the shape of her skirt and legs.
I'm going to play around with a few other poses though, Ive got this one idea in my head of her maybe derpyly laying on her belly.
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Also here is the first pose, but at a different angle, somehow just that and a few tweaks manages to get the composition look much more solid *shrug*
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Here are two poses of her laying on her belly like I described above.
Out of the four I have so far, which one do y'all like the most?
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fss: i'm just thinking out loud here... since anim8or is about making stuff, how about putting Robin in a more action-y pose where she's making something? e.g. give her a saw / hammer / paintbrush, etc? you could also incorporate a 3-D 'Anim8or' text into the scene as her workbench. :)
of the existing drafts, the one i like best is the top one in 'lays down 2'.
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It did occur to me to try to come up with a composition which features the knife from the Cut-Edges tool. Though in my head it'd be a kind of image of her right after finishing something which would be visible right next to her.
The 3rd pose huh? That's interesting to me, because I find that to be the least engaging.
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FSS, if I had to choose, I'm actually almost torn between the second and third poses, but the second wins out.
To my eye it feels a bit dynamic even though it's a very "stable" pose, which catches my attention. It also does a great job of displaying the quality of the model herself in the... well, 'hands', talons, face, tail, etc.
fss: i'm just thinking out loud here... since anim8or is about making stuff, how about putting Robin in a more action-y pose where she's making something? e.g. give her a saw / hammer / paintbrush, etc? you could also incorporate a 3-D 'Anim8or' text into the scene as her workbench. :)
That's a cool idea, I personally hadn't though of that myself! I wonder if I can repurpose my bathroom idea into an incredibly expensive, high-class woodshop xDD
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Sooooo I have actually been trying to think of a way to have 2 characters physically intereacting with each other in my render. Though this was a stump for me because of how--- well Robin is more or less the only solid icon of Anim8or.
Now I know that this might be reaching quite a bit here, but I realized that Steven's Shark has consistently been a part of the of the splash screens.
http://www.anim8or.com/gallery/gallery1/sharks.html
SOoo it occurred to me: I could continue that! Sure I could probably come up with a new design for a Shark-chan, either in the form of a mermaid or maybe some kind of legged shark anthro.
Of course I bring this up because I really like the idea of the challenge of creating a composition that has 2 characters physically interacting with each other as I think it would present this idea of weight and volume to the subjects that having a single character doesn't nearly as strongly convey.
But also I think it'd be pretty cute to give Robin someone to share the screen with from a pseudo narrative standpoint.
FSS, if I had to choose, I'm actually almost torn between the second and third poses, but the second wins out.
To my eye it feels a bit dynamic even though it's a very "stable" pose, which catches my attention. It also does a great job of displaying the quality of the model herself in the... well, 'hands', talons, face, tail, etc.
Incidentally pose 2 is also my favorite, I quite like how it brings out the feathery look of the top part of her dress-like red feathers, it really helps to give definition to the overall design, or at least, that's what I was going for.
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Refined the pose of her sitting such that the ears and tail have better directional sense, made her tallons have less awkward toe poses, and changed her facial expression.
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It did occur to me to try to come up with a composition which features the knife from the Cut-Edges tool. Though in my head it'd be a kind of image of her right after finishing something which would be visible right next to her.
yeah, that would be cool - the "ta-da! look what i made!" moment. oh, now i've just thought: for the sake of keeping things simple and to-the-point, what if the thing she's just carved was the 'Anim8or' text itself?
The 3rd pose huh? That's interesting to me, because I find that to be the least engaging.
i guess the overall pose is more static than some of the others, so i see where you're coming from, but i do think it has the nicest facial expression... just IMO :D
That's a cool idea
why, thank you 8)
I wonder if I can repurpose my bathroom idea into an incredibly expensive, high-class woodshop xDD
i'm sure you could - just throw in an angle grinder or something to give it that authentically workshop-y feel, heheh :P
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This is my final, I wanted to show the diversity of Anim8or's modelling rather than going for some theme/genre. The background is Anim8or's modelling screen with a model in progress, and the floor has a reflection attribute added.
750 x 450 px
1500 x 900 px
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Looking good, everybody.
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Kreator - There are some really cool models there, and I love how the top of the crane busts out of the Anim8or screen
FSS - I agree with your choice of pose, it's the most 'relaxed' and natural looking and reveals the details of the model well
davdud - The workshop concept, where 3D ideas are brought to life, is a really good idea!
Below is my final (I think) as I need to get back to other projects. The brightness of the main ship is increased as far as I want to go without having it look too cartoonish, certainly it's much brighter than the original render, and there's a few minor compositional tweaks.
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Spent the last 2 days working on my take on the anim8or shark.
I am playing the idea of having that green stringy thing represented as a cute hair style. I might want to try to manifest the purple blob thing as a pattern on an possible outfit for her.
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I like how we are all doing things that are completely different.
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I have ideas but not sure if I have the time -_-
Nice work so far everyone!
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Scary shark girl! You sure have some creative ideas, fromsoysauce :)
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FSS< that is MINDBLOWING! I rally like the way you did the feet, getting th detail of the fins in there while still keeping them "stylish". Cool!
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Well, now that I know y'all like her, I have to try to come up with a composition that includes her in my entree.
@davdud101, I actually wasn't finished with the feet, in this image I made the feet as well as facial details.
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i've started a draft of my own, but i don't have a preview ready yet because my ART materials are... um... let's say they're not exactly behaving the way i want them to! better go back and re-read the manual. but it's gone midnight local time, my brain's switching off, and i've got work in the morning, so it'll have to wait a bit :P
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I might have to get in on this...
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Playing dress-up.
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okay, turns out my problem wasn't with the materials, it was with the normals. i'd forgotten that ART can be a bit funny about rendering the back-sides of polys. so now that i've addressed that issue, i think i'm ready to show my first preview render...
i gave myself a few extra criteria for my design, as follows:
- keep the overall concept as clean and focused as possible
- keep the emphasis firmly on the title text - everything else is just window-dressing
- keep the colour scheme centred on the new grey-and-orange interface design, with a nod to the red and yellow of the Robin icon
- ...and don't even think about putting characters in there, because my character modelling is nowhere near as good as FSS's :P
i've slightly increased the sideways resolution to 800x450, to give a 16:9 aspect ratio. i've always liked working in 16:9 and i think it suits this composition a bit better than the traditional 750x450. however, it wouldn't suffer too much from being cropped back to 750x450 if that's what Steve really wanted.
this is very much a work-in-progress; known issues include:
- there are a few more modelling details to add - the reg-tm symbol and the version number are missing (although i'm kinda tempted to add the version number in post), the 'table'/'plinth' pieces will be redone in a more interesting shape, and there will be cables suspending the text pieces
- the materials aren't quite right yet; the checkerboard effect on the floor and ceiling (inspired by the default ground grid) isn't as obvious as i want it to be, and there are just too many different things all reflecting each other so i want to change some elements to use less-reflective materials; i also want the main text to stand out much more from the background
- the lighting will have to be adjusted; i like the orange-ness in general, but as it stands i think it's a bit too orange
i expect there'll be one or two more previews along the way, before this is finished...
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ah, one more thing - does anybody have any tips on how to type the Registered Trademark symbol into an Anim8or text element? can't remember whether the alt-gr key or the alt + unicode-number trick ever worked in anim8or before, but they don't now because alt and alt-gr both toggle arc-rotate instead.
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The registered trademark symbol ® is ALT+0174 on the numeric keypad, and "\0256" in wchar notation. But .... since the ALT key enables arc-rotate it doesn't work to enter UNICODE anymore. I've attached an Anim8or project with an example.
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Even though this challenge is for the anim8or splash screen, those that aren't used will still make some excellent 'Anim8or Gallery' Art.
Some awesome stuff.......Nice..... (http://s24.postimg.org/o4uvmxwjl/Thumbs_Up_G1.gif)
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ah, one more thing - does anybody have any tips on how to type the Registered Trademark symbol into an Anim8or text element? can't remember whether the alt-gr key or the alt + unicode-number trick ever worked in anim8or before, but they don't now because alt and alt-gr both toggle arc-rotate instead.
Alt+0173 works in older versions of Anim8or, simplest workaround might be to create the text in an older version and import. Another way that works is to use placeholder text such as "^Reg^" or similar and save the file with the text un-extruded or filled, then open the file in Notepad or whatever and replace the placeholder text with ® and save (I just tested it, does the job nicely).
Also, love your design, very dynamic and excellent use of ART :)
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YES! Johnar we need to get the Anim8or art gallery up and running again. 8)
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Another update on the little Sharkie. I know I said I might try to use her hair and outfit to reference the green and purple things in the old screen, but my understanding of color theory suggests sticking with the primary pallet of Red Blue Yellow, much like Robin herself, will make them visually look more aesthetically pleasing together.
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YES! Johnar we need to get the Anim8or art gallery up and running again. 8)
I was thinking that same thing! I was going through originally for inspiration, and you can just see the progression of the software as people make more and more complex models and renders.
I am really considering reworking my render though... hm. Maybe I'll go with something more organic?
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thanks for the feedback so far, and especially for the help on the reg-tm symbol, everyone! as you can see, the symbol has made it into the update below. i also improved several other aspects, and decided to include the version number within the render after all. still not completely happy with the glass effect - i might crank up the IOR a bit, and/or experiment with putting a different material around the sides of the letters; something aluminium-ish, maybe.
also, i'm going to try and smooth out a fair bit of that grain for the final render; i'm just rendering quick-and-dirty atm so i can gauge how the models and lighting are developing.
fss: i definitely prefer the new colour pallette for Sharkie. like you said, i'm sure you'll get a much stronger overall image going that route.
davdud: i think there could be scope to add something organic to your existing scene, rather than reworking the whole thing; maybe a pot plant sitting to one side of the sink? hanging a towel on that ring would make a big difference to the sense of lived-in-ness too. just thinkin' out loud, again 8)
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At long last, I finished rigging Sharkie! I must say that I'm pretty happy with the result, this was my first time trying to put together an anthro character. What do y'all think of her? I can't wait to come up with an image with her and Robin together.
@davdud101 If I'm not mistaken, I feel like each of us are trying to play to our individual strengths, so whatever is comfortable for you.
@thecolclough, Your's is real chic, makes me think of the 20 century fox logo.
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thecolclough, that looks awesome!! The text "Anim8or" is a wee bit difficult to read for my taste (it seems a little too transparent maybe), but that's just me. The scene looks really cool, though.
Noting tha the towel will be added soon.... fromsoysauce, got any tips on cloth modelling? Like I said, I'm going for the most realistic scene possible. I'll probably be using Raxx's plugin PHUR and even adding tons of tiny fibers sticking off of the towel. But, one step at a time!
I'll post a new update sometime later tonight. I've got a couple ideas that'll make my scene a bit more of a contender in this comp! :)))
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Well, what I do to sell the idea of clothing is to make it all wrinkly, notice the wrinkles in Sharkie's sleaves and shorts
I usually do this by cuttinig new edges around some edge then extruding the origin edge out a bit.
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thanks for the feedback, again - glad you're liking the design :)
makes me think of the 20 century fox logo.
hadn't thought of that before, but i can see the resemblance now you mention it!
The text "Anim8or" is a wee bit difficult to read for my taste (it seems a little too transparent maybe)
same here actually; that's the main thing that's still niggling me. i'm thinking i might try a version with the front faces of the text changed to the highly-mirrored material used on the two plinths, and leaving the sides glassy
At long last, I finished rigging Sharkie! I must say that I'm pretty happy with the result
must admit i had a moment of doubt looking at the earlier WIPs, but she came out good in the end :D
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must admit i had a moment of doubt looking at the earlier WIPs, but she came out good in the end :D
Same, FSS, the tail looked pretty stiff in the very first iterations. She's so cute, well done :)
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You probably noticed that up to this point, I've just been doing screenshots and not renders, well I came up with a configuration that keeps the solo pose Robin originally had, and *Tetrises* Shark into the frame nicely, so now I'm getting things started for rendering purposes.
I really like the way that their tails collectively create a swooping curve.
I am picturing a background with lots of plants so as to make the pallet of the characters present stand out nicely. The Anim8or logo will probably go in the top right.
I like the dynamic in this pose because one could read into it some layers of depth if they wanted to (i.e. the models we make with anim8or can feel dear to us, or at least I often feel that way) , but it also is just visually pretty to look at.
@davdud101 , heheh well you know how it is, T-pose should look stiff for the sake of ease of rigging. Fun fact, I did use Steve's shark tutorial for her.
Edit---
Wip of my take on the logo, thoughts?
Edit---
Added logo to composition.
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Love your work FSS! It's one thing to create great figures, as these are, but quite another to be able to pose them so well. All your poses seem 'comfortable' and believable without the awkwardness that is so often apparent with posed CG characters. True artistry, and it's a pleasure to watch these characters develop.
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looking excellent as ever, FSS. one tiny little suggestion for the sake of fine-tuning: where you've done the '8' and the '1.0' in red, that makes them look like they want to fit together as a pair, so i think it would work better if the lower line of text was moved very slightly to the left so that the two numbers centre-align relative to each other. i realise the whole lines are currently centred, but i think the alignment of the numbers draws the eye more.
anywho, back soon with another version of my design, once i've picked another little fight with ART :P
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@ENSONIQ5, Aww thanks, the trick of the trade is to act out the poses before making them so as to get a feeling of the *weightyness* and balance of the poses to inform how they should be drawn on the screen.
@thecolclough I like your suggestion it looks nice, you'll see it updated in my next wip post.
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okay... i got so many scrapes and bruises right now from battling ART :P I'm fairly happy with how my scene is coming along overall (i've added the suspension cables, which were the last missing bit of modelling, and i think i've improved the readability of the text), but there's the occasional little bit which just doesn't want to come out how i want. the main culprit is the right-hand end of the version-number block; i've tried all sorts of things to get it to show up red like the sides of the letters above it, but it seems determined to stay brown for some reason. hmph >:(
also, i know it's all a bit grainy atm, but i'm planning to crank up the sample count for the final render. the last two i posted were at 16, this one's 25, and i'm thinking i might go for 64 on the final pass. if the render time isn't too prohibitive, i'd like to run off a full-HD version just to see what it looks like, but we'll have to wait and see on that one! :D
anyway, what do you guys think of this one? is it more readable (or less, or no difference)? any other detail critiques?
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If it's worth anything to you, fromsoysauce, it looks amazing! I would've definitely taken a different font (and a text-logo or icon could probably be something down the road), but otherwise the scene looks awesome. I'm excited to see what you add in the background!
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@thecolclough It's a lot better, though is the "NIM" yellow on purpose? I think it might be easier to read if it were just as red as the other characters.
@davdud101, Thanks, and yea I'm not super sure what to do about the font yet, but I picked the one in the pic because it looked usable for a cute fantasy, which is what the rest of the image is framing.
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@thecolclough It's a lot better, though is the "NIM" yellow on purpose? I think it might be easier to read if it were just as red as the other characters.
i tried experimenting with orange glass instead of red, but it came out inconsistent, probably because of the different coloured lights in the scene. definitely still some fine-tuning to do on my dielectric settings!
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i changed my glass settings back to red, but it's still showing up orange/yellow in places; i'm pretty sure that's down to the lighting, so there's probably not much i can do about it without significantly affecting the rest of the scene. however: as part of my ongoing quest for readability, i've tried adding a near-black rim around the text. not 100% sure if it's working/helping, but i think i like it... almost think i should lighten the text-face colour again though ???
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I made it!
http://sayuri-sensei.deviantart.com/art/Be-Lovely-to-Each-Other-678722679?ga_submit_new=10%3A1493922612&ga_type=edit&ga_changes=1&ga_recent=1
And for anyone who cares here is a video about how the stages of development for it:
&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
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These looks amazing!!
@thecolclough, that is BRILLIANT! I think yo can eschew the red/orange "issues" because it actually looks natural for the lighting. Beautiful!
@fromsoysauce and fss knows I love her work always, that goes without saying :)))
I haven't messed with the project much this week- I may actually have to drop out, as life just got busy :/
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well, here's what i hope will be my last test render. there are only two differences here:
- i slightly lightened the colour of the letter fronts: RGB 51,0,0 instead of 33,0,0; i think that improves the contrast against the new black rims (anyone agree/disagree on that?), and it gives the image a better overall light/dark balance.
- i slightly increased the sample count from 25 to 36 per pixel, but there's still some obvious speckling on some of the ceiling tiles; i'm now thinking i might ramp up to 100 for the final.
so hopefully that'll be my entry done soon! ;D
@fromsoysauce and fss knows I love her work always, that goes without saying :)))
hear, hear!
I haven't messed with the project much this week- I may actually have to drop out, as life just got busy :/
:(
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These area all amazing. I wish I could model as well as all of you.
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@thecolclough, I'm just now realizing that there ie no mirror in your picture and that the words are actually being pinned up. Definitely come a long way since the first one in terms of visibility and legibility. I don't really see the sparkles as a problem and sorta thought they were a feature. Though this coming from the girl with a rainbow in her pic.
@davdud101 Thanks, what can I say: I started this claiming I'd go full out cute, so I deliver maximum cuteness!
Aww, well I hope things turn out ok for your busy-ness.
@Steve, that plays a bit into why I really wanted to pull the aspects of my design from the tutorials of your legacy. Because I remember actually going through both the robin and shark tutorial as a kid and finding myself impressed that I could recreate the images of your tutorials virtually identically! Since they were so significant to my growth as a 3D modeler, I honor the memory by bringing the to the focus of my splash.
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well, here's what i hope will be my last test render. there are only two differences here:
Wouldn't call it quits just yet - not without an anti-aliased render to clean up those granular reflections!
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Wouldn't call it quits just yet - not without an anti-aliased render to clean up those granular reflections!
nah, don't worry, that last image wasn't meant to be finished, it was just a last test in terms of getting the colours right. i'm pretty happy with the colours now. since then, i've done a HD 1920x1080 version AAed at 100 samples per pixel, which is much better in terms of reducing grain but still not quite there.
so the final render is at the farm as i type: i've set it to UHD / 4K 3840x2160, AAed at 225 (15x15) samples per pixel, so it'll be interesting to see how long that takes! :P
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thecolclough: Don't worry about the graininess. I can make a final render of the winner(s).
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but my perfectionist streak wants to see it in all its de-grained glory ASAP... and in UHD, just because 8)
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okay folks, i think this is it... 3-and-a-half hours of render time later! pretty happy with how this has turned out :D
you can view the full UHD-resolution version at http://thecolclough.deviantart.com/art/Anim8or-v1-0-Splash-Screen-Contest-Submission-679887884
(http://pre12.deviantart.net/77f6/th/pre/f/2017/130/d/c/thecolclough_v1_0_splash_screen_submission___final_by_thecolclough-db8scuk.png)
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WOW!
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I too decided to add a few finishing touches to my entree.
http://sayuri-sensei.deviantart.com/art/Be-Lovely-to-Each-Other-alternatvve-version-679951965?ga_submit_new=10%3A1494480150
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WOW!
I second this "WOW!" and also apply it to fromsoysauce's entry! It's the extreme difference in styles that impresses me most... that both were created using the same set of tools is testament to the versatility of Anim8or.
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Oh- sorry, It seems I forgot to mention the important part in my post.
Seeing the finishing touches in @thecolclough 's render was the thing that inspired me to do the same on mine (hence the main addition being glowey bits). I've found this entire challenge fun and cool since seeing everyone else's entree seems to have brought out a good amount of creativity for me personally! Your render really pulls that warm color pallet off nicely~
P.S. I find that last bit to be an interesting incident, since mine has a mostly cool-color pallet.
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Superb job everyone.
thecolclough: One of the best examples of glossy reflection I've seen made in Anim8or. Now I need to work on making it faster...
fromsoysauce: Wonderful fairy tale color scheme, something like I would expect to see in a Pixar movie (http://www.anim8or.com/em/johnar/smile.gif). How did you add the glowey bits? Were they rendered in Anim8or or in post production?
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Aww thanks Steve~
They are in fact a part of the render, I used the age old technique of putting sprites on squares with virtually unshaded material and having them float in the scene like this:
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beautifull!!!
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Hey everyone, I'm working on a video where I'll analyze all the entrees and, just for fun, I'll also give a kind of artist statement for my own entree.
Not giving any criticism on work, I'll just be expressing how each of the pieces made me feel on an emotional and philosophical level. Do any of you have titles for your works?
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thecolclough: One of the best examples of glossy reflection I've seen made in Anim8or.
thank you :)
Do any of you have titles for your works?
i didn't until about five minutes ago, but i thought i'd try and come up with once since you'd suggested it - upon consideration i think 'Red Letter Day' would be apt on multiple levels, so i'll go with that
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Do any of you have titles for your works?
Don't think I've ever given a name to any still image before... Perhaps "Renegade" comes closest.
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[/youtube]
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I'm very pleased that the references to those other popular 3D packages weren't too subtle, you've absolutely nailed it regarding the narrative of 'Renegade'. I only had a vague idea of the composition before constructing it, all I really had was the idea of the 'Anim8or ship', identified by its robin-esque colour scheme, and the Maya/3DS ships. Since the 3DS and Maya logos are basically the same M/3 shape on different angles it was a no-brainer to build a ship that looked reminiscent of those logos when fore-shortened and rotated. The Blender space station was great fun to build... and insanely satisfying to destroy. There's definitely something Freudian in that...
FSS: Regarding your final, aside from the strong composition I think what impresses me most is how much like a hand painting it looks. It can be really difficult to avoid the 'hard-edged' nature of CGI, your techniques in softening the background work wonderfully well in this image (I've seen your tutorial on the grass edge borders, the technique works perfectly in this image). The rain ripples in the water and the fireflies are masterfully done! This is an excellent piece of work with a delicate touch that belies what we know was a painstaking process to develop.
Thecolclough: Your final is a totally compelling image that is impossible to glance at, its crisp detail demands a detailed inspection. I agree with FSS's points regarding the composition, I'm a sucker for dramatic angles and tilted cameras! The palette is spot on and works perfectly with the Anim8or V1 workspace colour scheme. Reflections can be a PITA to work with as they can introduce confusion and camouflage the prime focus, your expert use of glossy reflections in this image perfectly sidesteps this problem and gives a prestigious, 'expensive' appearance the 'Anim8or' sign. I also love the dichotomy resulting from the combination of the abstract space within which the sign is suspended and the satisfying physical reality of the suspension rods.
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Hehehe it's good to know that's how it looks. When I design environments, I tend to try to make it feel like, if you were there, it'd feel soft. And when I make character I always want to design them in a way that they feel so cute, the viewer should want to just give them the hugs.
Now that I think about it, Thecolclough's piece and mine have nearly fully opposite aspects, what's lacking in "Be Lovely to Each Other" shows up in "Red Letter Day" and vice-versa.
RLD's got a very graphics design corporate feeling, mine has more of a art gallery/museum vibe to it.
RLD relishes in the crisp geometric hard shapes, mine's got soft biomophic shapes all about it.
RLD goes for realism, mine is instead impressionistic.
RLD hones strongly sculptural finality (solid still render), mine's implies it's a moment surrounded by past and future (as if part of a animated movie).
RLD brings completely new imagery to An8, mine takes the source material and relishes in adaptation.
I feel like RLD has a lot more, for lack of a better word, muscle work at it's core than mine does. Mine instead focuses on the use visual techniques (the kind of stuff I learn as a game developer) to get more abstract and impressionistic representation of ideas rather than fully "real" representations. This idea comes up best when you think about Thecolclough's suspension rods being actual rods, vs my glow bugs actually being sprites applied to billboards. So to bring an RPG metaphore into this, Colclough's a sword and shield wielding warrior, and I'm a spellcasting wizard.
That-- or I'm just having way too much fun looking at what came out of this little an8 challenge. Or maybe both.
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Here is my entry for the splash screen challenge:
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Great render Ron! Just check the image Dimensions final should be 750 x 450.
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Thanks Kreator. I'll fix the dimensions as soon as I have a few minutes.
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Ahh, right, well for what it's worth, here is a lower res version of mine.
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Hi Everyone. I know it's a bit close to the deadline, but I figured might as well post something. I've been using Anim8tor since... geeze 2008, and I've never found a better program than anim8tor to make 3d models. I've got a game coming out with models all made in anim8tor. We'll have a trailer soon. But here is a 750 by 450 picture for a possible splash screen using one of the characters.
(http://i65.tinypic.com/29ehnye.png)
The normal size looks like this:
http://tinypic.com/r/10xcx2x/9
Thank you for your consideration.
Either way, I'm really happy to hear that v 1.0 is finally ready and that the program is still healthy and alive! Great job Steven on making it :).
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hm... the field's getting bigger, and still no two entries look anything like each other on any level - except for one detail: everyone except me has put the title text in the top-right corner, which i find an intriguing coincidence. five other designs in the running, and none of you opted to put the word 'Anim8or' on the left?
@Kunihiko - speaking of the word 'Anim8or', btw, it's spelled without a 't' :) overall i think your image strikes a good balance by having lots of textural detail but an uncluttered overall composition; the typography is a bit of a weak point though - you could give it a huge boost by picking a more stylish typeface (i think a narrow-letter sans-serif would go nicely with the character model, for example) and rebalancing the sizes of the three main elements: 'Anim8or' could do to be a bit bigger relative to the reg-trademark symbol and the version number. i'd also recommend you ditch the hyphens; they look a bit cluttery, which clashes with how clean everything else looks. very nice image on the whole, though :D
@ronaldefarmer that amplifier looks fascinating - where those actually a thing? i'd never seen a machine like that before :o also, i like the sneaky reference to steve's past career on the box 8)
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thecolclough: I've never seen one, but I think it would be cool. I used to have a tube guitar amp many years ago, and I liked the way the tubes would pulse whenever I hit a chord.
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"@Kunihiko - speaking of the word 'Anim8or', btw, it's spelled without a 't' :) overall i think your image strikes a good balance by having lots of textural detail but an uncluttered overall composition; the typography is a bit of a weak point though - you could give it a huge boost by picking a more stylish typeface (i think a narrow-letter sans-serif would go nicely with the character model, for example) and rebalancing the sizes of the three main elements: 'Anim8or' could do to be a bit bigger relative to the reg-trademark symbol and the version number. i'd also recommend you ditch the hyphens; they look a bit cluttery, which clashes with how clean everything else looks. very nice image on the whole, though :D"
Ahh, thanks for pointing the 'T' out. I fixed it real quick. Thanks for the feed back. And I totally agree with the font. It was kind of a last minute thing and I was not sure what to do about it. I'll see if I can update it when I get home from work :)
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okay folks, i think this is it... 3-and-a-half hours of render time later! pretty happy with how this has turned out :D
For the image size and detail, that 3.5 hours is IMPRESSIVE :)
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at least i think it was 3.5 - assuming that the status-bar message 'render=13024.73' refers to the number of seconds the job took. i realise this might be shocking to some, but i must admit that i didn't actually sit at my desk watching the progress bar with a stopwatch in hand, heheh 8)
i'm running an i7-5820K at 3.3gHz and there wasn't any other significant CPU load during the render job, but i was still expecting it'd be more like 6 hours based on the resolution and the sample count. that new fast-AA feature might have something to do with it, i guess?
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All the entries are fantastic! I'd be happy to use any one of them.
I think I'll give it a couple more days and then put all the entries together and start the poll. So if everyone could post their final image at 750 x 450 by the end of Friday, May 19th, I'll get the poll started.
Great work!
Steve
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750 x 450, sure thing!
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No probs, here 'tis.
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Here is mine....
Thought I could do something else, but the size is restrictive as this https://www.dropbox.com/s/rzmw6rff1e1apew/splash3a.gif?dl=0
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darn it, this here is messing with my aspect-ratio purist streak... but if the boss man wants 15:9, then 15:9 it is, i guess :P i think RLD still works in this format, although i personally prefer the 16:9 version with that little extra bit of breathing room at the sides. curious whether anyone else sees a difference, though?
this wasn't downscaled from the UHD version, btw - this was a re-render at 800x450 at an even higher samples-per-pixel count of 400, and then cropped in GIMP.
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Here is my final render:
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No problem, revised the font and adjusted dimensions for 750 by 450.
High Def image in case you need it: http://tinypic.com/r/2jenvk4/9
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Nice work, ronaldefarmer and Kunihiko!
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This is what it looks like rendered at 1500x900:
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Like the valves AN8 -V1
not ECC 83 or EL34s!!
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ronaldefarmer: "AN8 -V1" - nice touch :)
kreator: You didn't know that I sell home-made vacuum tubes in my spare time ;) ?
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Great work everyone! This was fun~
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kreator: You didn't know that I sell home-made vacuum tubes in my spare time ;) ?
Seriously???
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kreator: You didn't know that I sell home-made vacuum tubes in my spare time ;) ?
Seriously???
Yeah, that must be in Steve's OTHER spare time, the one where he's not working on Anim8or.
Wait a minute....
Steve's in another dimension, where time and space are meaningless, and he has nothing BUT spare time!
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Voting has started!
View all the final submissions here: http://www.anim8or.com/home/splash-screen/index.html (http://www.anim8or.com/home/splash-screen/index.html) then vote for up to 3 of your favorites in this forum! Pole closes next weekend (May 28th as far as I can tell).
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All the splash screens are so good :)
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wondering if it might not be appropriate for me to vote, given that i'm one of the contestants? anyone agree or disagree?
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Thecolclough: I don't see any reason why you shouldn't vote if you want to. I am abstaining because I think ALL of the other contestant's entries deserve to win, and because I probably can't be entirely objective about my own entry.
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Yes, everyone can vote, including contributors. Besides you can vote for 3 so go ahead and vote for yourself if you want - you can also support others.
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Is it okay to discuss the merits of the individual entries while voting is ongoing?
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I think so. There is often thoughtful criticism in the "Challenges" forum.
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3 Choices huh? I'm going to have to spend some time thinking about this...
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Even though I love the old splash screen, I'm glad to see anim8or going further.
Too bad we can't see how many votes so far...
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The poll closes Sunday and I'll post the official v1.0 soon afterwards.
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OK I have one more request of the splash screen entrants: Do you have a name for your entry? Most works of are are given title by their creators. I think these all qualify as art!
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OK I have one more request of the splash screen entrants: Do you have a name for your entry? Most works of are are given title by their creators. I think these all qualify as art!
well, we've already got:
- 'Renegade' by Ensoniq5
- 'Be Lovely To Each Other' by FSS
- 'Red Letter Day' by yours truly
so that leaves Kreator, Ron and Kunihiko currently untitled. if Ron has a title in mind, then i've got a hunch what word it might revolve around, but i won't say what my hunch is yet because i don't want to influence his decision-making... :D
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I thought "Model Mayhem"
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Yea my title was just as thecolclough reported.
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I think I will call my entry "Retro Chrome Tube Amp". I'm sure you can see now that I have no imagination whatsoever.
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I think I will call my entry "Retro Chrome Tube Amp". I'm sure you can see now that I have no imagination whatsoever.
...and there was i thinking you'd call it something along the lines of 'Anim8or Amplified' or 'Amplify Your Vision'... eh well, i guess i can't be right all the time :P
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Haha that's awesome we get to name these?
I'll call mine "Anim8tor Another Age" lol
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Thecolclough: That's pretty good. I'm going to steal it. "Amplify Your Vision"
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I'll call mine "Anim8tor Another Age" lol
Its not Anim8tor its Anim8or,
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I'm going to steal it.
well, you know what they say about great artists :D
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ronaldefarmer: then I'll steal for you and call the original one "Retro Splash", not that it's in the contest but it still needs a name.
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I have to say that Model Mayhem is a real attention getter. I particularly like the impressive assortment of vehicles in this composition. It really shows off Anim8or's usefulness in a way that I think will have a broad appeal to many 3d enthusiasts.
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Other observations: In the aptly-named Red Letter Day, the Anim8or logo is the focus of the composition, which seems appropriate for such an auspicious event as the release of the long-awaited version 1.0. Also, excellent use of light and space.
Nobody likes a good 3d text object more than I do.
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... for such an auspicious event as the release of the long-awaited version 1.0...
This adds an interesting perspective to this 'comp'. It's not about whose image is 'best', it's about which image works best as a splash screen for Anim8or. Which image best exemplifies what Anim8or is, and what it can do? If there's one thing the entries show it's how diverse a group of artists we are, and how wide the range of uses we all have for Anim8or is, and I'm not sure any single entry could possibly cover everything. I have my favourite and I enjoyed taking part, and I'm very glad the decision isn't mine to make ;)
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I'm not sure any single entry could possibly cover everything.
You are correct, each of us seemed to hone a specific point, and sharpen it as far as we could, to try to cover everything would be to dull the metaphorical point ;)
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Agreed, I think this event was just awesome for everyone to take part in, and also a really good eye opener for everyone to see just how many different directions this wonderful program can be taken. I really do believe you can make whatever model you want with it :)
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Be Lovely to Each Other...What a nice sentiment! Fromsoysauce, your style is truly unique. I like the way you reinvented these two familiar Anim8or characters to tie in to the general Anim8or theme. Also, it looks like you modeled your Anim8or logo by hand, rather than simply extruding a text object. I think only you and Kunihiko did that. Nice touch.
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... for such an auspicious event as the release of the long-awaited version 1.0...
This adds an interesting perspective to this 'comp'. It's not about whose image is 'best', it's about which image works best as a splash screen for Anim8or.
Nobody specified any criteria for judging. I just thought it would be fun to mention what I like about the contenders. Maybe it is just about which is the most compelling image.
So here is what sets Renegade apart: This one has a lot of energy and motion. Things are exploding and the hero (or villian) is dodging enemy fire to make his escape. A lot of cool things are happening at once-and you tell the whole story in a single 750x450 image. I won't be surprised at all if Rengade is our winner.
I really thought there would be one or two mediocre entries, but that isn't the case.
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Nobody specified any criteria for judging.
This is absolutely true, I had no intention of saying how folks should vote and apologies if that's the way my post came across. I haven't had time to comment in detail on all entries but I hope to do so at some stage as I am truly inspired by all of them. The 'suitability' of each entry as a splash screen was one factor in how I voted but wasn't the only factor, I think 'Renegade' is not particularly suitable for the reasons I said in my first post. It also doesn't highlight Anim8or's abilities as well as some other entries do, "Amplify your Vision" included.
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ENSONIQ5 brings up a fair point. I find it admirable that he decided to determine what to consider as factors for picking his votes consistently across all entrees. Though I dispute suitability for Renegade. Since for my perspective, Anim8or is a means toward telling stories, so I knew from day one of judging that it'd have my vote.
@ronaldefarmer Thanks. What can I say besides, I love designing characters. I feel like "taking a spin" on existing characters is a fun way to try to express what the characters mean personally to me! Yea there were a number of steps that went into making the text for my bit.
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I had no intention of saying how folks should vote and apologies if that's the way my post came across.
I didn't take it that way at all. Actually, my post didn't come across the way I intended. I just meant that I wasn't trying to say that it isn't okay to pick one just because it is a nice picture. I don't disagree with you on any point, except that I think Renegade is a strong contender for first place.
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No problem ronaldefarmer, totally understood.
I'm very happy with the winner of the poll, 'Red Letter Day' would have been my choice if it was up to me. Congrats thecolclough, it's an excellent piece of work and a deserving winner :)
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Congratulations Thecolclough! Well done!
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Congratulations thecolclough and to everyone that entered the contest. I would be happy with any of the entries. So, while I've uploaded the official v1.0 release here (http://www.anim8or.com/download/files/animv100.zip) with thecolclough's winning "Red Letter Day" as the new splash screen, I've also included a .dll that with all the entries. Place this file in the same directory as anim8or.exe and it will use a different one each time it's run. Or, to always see your favorite you can use the command line:
anim8or.exe -splash #
where # is a number from 1 to 7. (I added the original Anim8or splash as number 7 even though it wasn't in the contest. Hope nobody minds!)
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oh wow... well, that's got my week off to a good start! thank you everybody :D
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17 out of 26? That's Really impressive thecolclough congrats!
Also I want to say thanks and congrats to Steve for getting this far with the cool little program!
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I only joined this forum very recently, so I didn't vote in this poll, however I agree with the decision to go with thecolclough's entry as I think it best achieves the requirements for a Splash Screen.
The only possible change I can think of that would make it better is if a little Robin got in through one of those windows and was seen flying through the scene (or perhaps sitting on the number eight) and leaving a small "deposit" for good luck! ;-)
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Nobody likes a good 3d text object more than I do.
i had kinda noticed that :D
Also I want to say thanks and congrats to Steve for getting this far with the cool little program!
i'll second that!
The only possible change I can think of that would make it better is if a little Robin got in through one of those windows and was seen flying through the scene (or perhaps sitting on the number eight) and leaving a small "deposit" for good luck! ;-)
something to bear in mind for v1.1, maybe :)
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Congrats thecolclough!! Hopefully we can have these every 5 "point" versions or so, that'd be a lot of fun! :)
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As an idle bystander I actually found all the entries great!
I was about to suggest that they all should be included and shown in rotation, so that none of these efforts would be wasted, but I didn't want to disrupt the competition so I later considered maybe PM Steve about letting the competition run but in fact put all the entries into final product, but(again) I eventually backed out after rethinking that the extra splash screens would bloat the executable further.
Eventually this doesn't matter! Apparently Steve had already thought of this and settled this in a much better way by putting the extra screens into an external file (which I suppose could be deleted if someone is really that desperate to save those 2+ MB disk space).
Instead of seeing a fixed splash screen, I'd like to see all of them from time to time though, so I'll suggest maybe we should have a random mode (or just rotate the screens in order each time Anim8or starts) in future releases, maybe using "-splash -1" or whatever as parameter.
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The only possible change I can think of that would make it better is if a little Robin got in through one of those windows and was seen flying through the scene (or perhaps sitting on the number eight) and leaving a small "deposit" for good luck! ;-)
something to bear in mind for v1.1, maybe :)
I was thinking somthing along the lines of this.... 8) .. Just a quick mock-up!
The "deposit" would probably look more effective if it was mainly dripping from the top edge(s) of one or more letters down the face, and maybe even pooling on the floor below, however I've just quickly grabbed what I could from imagery on the web, so it's not very effective, but is just to give some idea of what I was thinking.... :)
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As an idle bystander I actually found all the entries great!
I was about to suggest that they all should be included and shown in rotation, so that none of these efforts would be wasted, but I didn't want to disrupt the competition so I later considered maybe PM Steve about letting the competition run but in fact put all the entries into final product, but(again) I eventually backed out after rethinking that the extra splash screens would bloat the executable further.
Eventually this doesn't matter! Apparently Steve had already thought of this and settled this in a much better way by putting the extra screens into an external file (which I suppose could be deleted if someone is really that desperate to save those 2+ MB disk space).
Instead of seeing a fixed splash screen, I'd like to see all of them from time to time though, so I'll suggest maybe we should have a random mode (or just rotate the screens in order each time Anim8or starts) in future releases, maybe using "-splash -1" or whatever as parameter.
Congratulations thecolclough and to everyone that entered the contest. I would be happy with any of the entries. So, while I've uploaded the official v1.0 release here (http://www.anim8or.com/download/files/animv100.zip) with thecolclough's winning "Red Letter Day" as the new splash screen, I've also included a .dll that with all the entries. Place this file in the same directory as anim8or.exe and it will use a different one each time it's run. Or, to always see your favorite you can use the command line:
anim8or.exe -splash #
where # is a number from 1 to 7. (I added the original Anim8or splash as number 7 even though it wasn't in the contest. Hope nobody minds!)
As far as I can see it randomly selects an image, cannot get it keep displaying a single favourite!
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For example type this on the command line:
anim8or.exe -splash 2
and it will display fromsoysauce's colorful scene.
Note: this only works for the v.10 release.
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:P Oh, my bad for not reading thoroughly the whole post(I only saw the -splash part), so it's already random if the parameter is not specified.
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... or simply rename or remove the DLL which is sitting in the Anim8or directory.
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For example type this on the command line:
anim8or.exe -splash 2
and it will display fromsoysauce's colorful scene.
Note: this only works for the v.10 release.
Sorry Steve, now forgive if I am thick, (Its My Age, retirement fast approaching!!)but what command line? Do you mean in the icon for anim8or, as I just click on that on the desktop.
If that is the right action, then I still get a random image appearing and not the specific one relating to 2.
in fact i tried every number from 1 thru 7 and it still does a random pick. I have V1.00 and the dll in an Anim8or directory
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Right click on the anim8or shortcut on your desktop.
Select properties.
Add -splash 2 at the end of the target line.
Click on apply.
Should work that way.
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Follow Claude's instructions
Was about to post same (except I was going to suggest making a copy of the default shortcut first.
-- Also, you should ignore my earlier advice to temove the DLL ... I thought you wanted the new default splash, but I realize you're after your own version.
The command line Steve is referring to is the Windows cmd.exe (type cmd in the search field of the windows menu and you'll see it.)
Claude's instructions are equivalent to the cmd line instructions from Steve, -- it just gives you a more convenient way to run it. ( If you want you can even create 7 different shortcuts and simply vary the final number specified in the target field in order to have the choice of all 7 splash screens whenever you like depending on your mood.)
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Claude: Nope it don`t work for me, each time I get a random splash screen. Did exactly as you suggested.
Chuft-Captain: Certainly not going down that way, much to long winded having to navigate through DOS to get to where I want to be.
Just a point who`s splashscreen is who, number wise?
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There's a space missing between splash and 2.
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forgive me, but I tried several ways with spaces, no spaces, Capitals no capitals, just the hash with a 2, but still getting absolutely nowhere.
Update: re downloaded the files again and stuck them in the dir ... corrupt dll file? anyways its working now on -splash 3 whoopee!!
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Chuft-Captain: Certainly not going down that way, much to long winded having to navigate through DOS to get to where I want to be.
Kreator: No need for DOS, these are windows shortcuts. For your convenience I'm made them for anyone that wants them. Just extract the attached Zip onto your desktop or the folder of your choice.
NOTE that after extracting you will have to edit the target box in each shortcut and change "C:\Anim8or\v1.0\Anim8or.exe" to the location of your own anim8tor 1.0 executable. (eg. "C:\Program Files\Anim8or\Anim8or.exe")
Note also that if spaces are involved such as in "Program Files" you WILL need the quotes as well.
1 = thecolclough
2 = fromsoysauce
3 = kreator
4 = ENSONIQ5
5 = Kunihiko
6 = ronaldefarmer
7 = old splash
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Try this: Copy a .png or .jpg file into the "Images" directory (the one in the File->Configure dialog) and rename it splash.png or splash.jpg, then run Anim8or.
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Nice Steve,
Just what I needed! ;D
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i'm pretty sure this is the first time i've produced a piece of art and somebody's responded with "hmm... it's nice, but it needs more poo" - but hey, whatever floats your boat, heheh :D
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actually, i've just remembered, and thought it might be of some interest... there were a couple of alternative directions that Red Letter Day nearly went in:
my initial idea was to have a very different environment, with a huge wave of water crashing through the scene, but that went by the wayside because i couldn't figure out how to model the wave or how to fit the water around the text without making the text illegible.
later on in development, after i'd settled on the current general layout with the round room, i thought about giving the image a grittier overall effect, leaving some of the 'window' panels out and showing pipework and concrete walls behind, with cables coming through, hanging in mid-air and attaching to the text object as if it was undergoing some sort of maintenance. i didn't take that route mostly because i thought the clutter would probably detract rather than enhancing the effect; i thought the clean-and-shiny look would better convey the excitement and optimism of the landmark release. i might go back and do a mock-up of this version sometime, just to see how it would have turned out, but then again i might not.
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i'm pretty sure this is the first time i've produced a piece of art and somebody's responded with "hmm... it's nice, but it needs more poo" - but hey, whatever floats your boat, heheh :D
LOL. The poo idea is mostly about finding a way to inject the mascot into the splash (with a bit of comic relief), as well as to confer good luck upon Version 1.00. (I'm sure you've heard the expression: "It's a sign of good luck to be shat upon by a bird" ... although I've always suspected that this particular proverb probably originated only out of a desire to make the shitee feel a little better about the event. 8)
...i thought about giving the image a grittier overall effect, leaving some of the 'window' panels out and showing pipework and concrete walls behind, with cables coming through, hanging in mid-air and attaching to the text object as if it was undergoing some sort of maintenance.
I'm picturing a sort of "Blade Runner" aesthetic from your description. (Or perhaps something more recent such as the movie "Total Recall", or "The Expanse".)
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Try this: Copy a .png or .jpg file into the "Images" directory (the one in the File->Configure dialog) and rename it splash.png or splash.jpg, then run Anim8or.
Sounds exciting but i'm not getting any splash screens using this method or the basic competition entries mode. The prog just goes straight into the work space.
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Congratulations thecolclough and to everyone that entered the contest. I would be happy with any of the entries. So, while I've uploaded the official v1.0 release here (http://www.anim8or.com/download/files/animv100.zip) with thecolclough's winning "Red Letter Day" as the new splash screen, I've also included a .dll that with all the entries. Place this file in the same directory as anim8or.exe and it will use a different one each time it's run. Or, to always see your favorite you can use the command line:
anim8or.exe -splash #
where # is a number from 1 to 7. (I added the original Anim8or splash as number 7 even though it wasn't in the contest. Hope nobody minds!)
This is very cool Steve, working nicely. Cheers!
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Some custom icons to decorate your new Anim8or 1.00 shortcuts...
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Oh we're doing icons now? I wanna try!
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I just hacked these together from the splash screens (but this method doesn't make for very effective or pretty icons). Just a quick and dirty way to easily distinguish between the shortcuts.
I'm sure you can do better! :)
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I'm a bit late, but congratulations thecolclough :)
I totally agree with the results. Great job bro!
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I'm so happy with the new splash. That was the one I love most. Congrats for all contributors though.
Anyways, it seems there's a problem when I render. Dunno if someone else experienced this.
When I try to render, it shows the left side buttons (as it would render) but I can still see the camera view and even move the object. See the images bellow.
When I switch to, let's say object mode, then come back to scene mode again, it works... But this bug happens again and again. Has anybody else experienced that?
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Just for fun :). Modelled in Anim8or, rendered with Carrara.
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Late congrats thecolclough
You were destined for the splash screen.
http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php/topic,1262.0.html (https://s6.postimg.org/y2drxlqch/Winkgrey.gif)
I'm not having any luck with using the .dll for random splash screens, and doesn't work putting a 'splash.jpg' pic into the images folder either. Have tried every suggestion in this thread and, although i like thecolcloughs' image very much, i would really like to be able to change splash screens at will.
Any other suggestions on how i might be able to do this?
thanks
(Windows 7)
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Late congrats thecolclough
You were destined for the splash screen.
http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php/topic,1262.0.html (https://s6.postimg.org/y2drxlqch/Winkgrey.gif)
I'm not having any luck with using the .dll for random splash screens, and doesn't work putting a 'splash.jpg' pic into the images folder either. Have tried every suggestion in this thread and, although i like thecolcloughs' image very much, i would really like to be able to change splash screens at will.
Any other suggestions on how i might be able to do this?
thanks
(Windows 7)
Doesn't work for me too.
I'm so happy with the new splash. That was the one I love most. Congrats for all contributors though.
Anyways, it seems there's a problem when I render. Dunno if someone else experienced this.
When I try to render, it shows the left side buttons (as it would render) but I can still see the camera view and even move the object. See the images bellow.
When I switch to, let's say object mode, then come back to scene mode again, it works... But this bug happens again and again. Has anybody else experienced that?
Same here. It seems that it behaves like a "rendering mode" thing, kind of. It does not start the rendering session right after you click to render the image, but it moves you to the " rendering room" :P . Then you have to choose all the settings and then do the final actual rendering of the image. Don't know if that happens to others or it's a bug or somethjng Steve did on purpose.
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Late congrats thecolclough
You were destined for the splash screen.
http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php/topic,1262.0.html (https://s6.postimg.org/y2drxlqch/Winkgrey.gif)
I'm not having any luck with using the .dll for random splash screens, and doesn't work putting a 'splash.jpg' pic into the images folder either. Have tried every suggestion in this thread and, although i like thecolcloughs' image very much, i would really like to be able to change splash screens at will.
Any other suggestions on how i might be able to do this?
thanks
(Windows 7)
Up to V1.0 I always just loaded Anim8or to the desktop, because why not? With V1.0 I created a folder that contains the Anim8or.exe file and the Anim8orSplash.dll file, and created a shortcut from the desktop like any other program. This seems to work (also on W7) with a random splash screen loaded each time.
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I found a bug in the rendering software that can cause this behavior. I will post it as soon as I get back home this Saturday.
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For me it's intermittent. Most times I get one of the random screens, but sometimes I get a sort-of-pixelated uniform backdrop instead. I'm probably starting Anim8or somewhat differently when it fails (I usually just double-click on an existing .an8 file), but I'm not sure what the difference is.