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Author Topic: What am I going to do?  (Read 16294 times)

RnDr FOX

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What am I going to do?
« on: January 07, 2008, 10:52:41 pm »

I dont know what to do. :'( I am kinda at a stand still on anim8or. Ive only been using it for about two months yet what more can I do? Anim8or was real good at having tutorials for begginers (we all know the eggplant ;)) Once I mastered the easy stuff I went to intermediate tutorials. I didnt have as many choices but they were awsome! So I fugured it was time to move on. But advanced tutorials are rare and I have not found any. Anim8or just needs a push forward. Im not singeling out Steve or anything but there should be a giant community project in aid of anim8or. Help give people direction. I know you are all saying "Why should a noob tell us what to do" yes I am a noob but the people that are inbetween ok and awsome need a goal. Questions that I have asked people say that anim8or cant do that but lets find away around that. I found a program called blender but I dont want to use that I want anim8or! But everything I need blender can do. Everybody has talked about a book but what about something like thishttp://www.blenderart.org/issues/ it has topics and tutorials and tips. I just need some enlightment! Sorry about the long post  :-[
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hihosilver

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Re: What am I going to do?
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2008, 12:15:53 am »

So basically what I hear you saying is that you want more tutorials, and more advanced tutorials at that.  First, I hope to provide some in good time.  Second, one of the best things to do at this stage is to pick up your own project!  Instead of following exactly what someone else did, try diving into your own project and coming across your own challenges.  Now that you know the basics of modeling try applying them to an actual model you make yourself.  The tutorials are there to teach you the program and how to use it, so now try to utilize that.  So I'd advise getting yourself a project with a goal instead of just following tutorials.
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ENSONIQ5

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Re: What am I going to do?
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2008, 12:41:08 am »

I agree whole heartedly with hihosilver.  I have only been using Anim8or for about six months, and just about everything I know about it I gleaned from the PDF manual and experimentation.  The most important thing is to set yourself a goal.  For instance, how about attempting to model a room in your house.  Look at each item in the room, and think about how you might go about modelling it, creating materials, etc.  Each problem you face can be solved using the manual, the excellent tutorials on this site, or good old trial and error.  Certainly there are some things Anim8or lacks, like truly ray-traced reflective surfaces for example, but some lateral thinking usually provides a solution.
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Nate_Bro

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Re: What am I going to do?
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2008, 02:24:24 am »

I have been useing Anim8or since 2003, and I am always finding new stuff I didn't know it can do. my question is, what specificly are you looking for? I Know when ever i had a question about something i didn't know how to do, i just asked someone for help. Steve is a great guy, but he is only one person, and Anim8or to my knowledge is not suposed to be like Blender with a "giant community project". but I do think the Anim8or community is a good group of people. I think there will be more Utilities for Anim8or, and even more ASL scripts poping up. anim8or was made to be an Animation modeller, not a renderer. thats why i'm working on a anim8or to pov-ray Utility so an animation can be renderd in a raytracer.
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kreator

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Re: What am I going to do?
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2008, 11:34:27 am »

Why not join in the Animanon Community Project, Help make some models , learn the program, and enjoy using anim8or

http://animanon.xtreemhost.com

Oh BTW Nate Bro at last!
Quote
anim8or was made to be an Animation modeller, not a renderer. thats why i'm working on a anim8or to pov-ray Utility so an animation can be renderd in a raytracer.
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RnDr FOX

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Re: What am I going to do?
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2008, 05:28:17 pm »

Whoa those are better answers than I expected. You are all right I need to find my own project I do need to experiment the only problem is I dont know the full capablities of anim8or and how to utulize them that is my only problem. Like if I wanted to make a cat or something the first thing that comes to my mind is take a sphere and work with that but people say that you need to use line extruding or something, ok great input but how do I do that? (all of these are just examples) I just need to know how to fully utilize the program before I do some major experimenting. Also what is this povray? And Nate Bro you are right this is a great community all of you guys have answered my questions and have been great. To top all of this off I am only an under classmen in high school so this whole computer world is a little out there for me.  Anim8or is like getting your first guitar before you start making songs(experementing) you need to know the basics of playing the notes(know how to utilize the program) Wow that was not the greatist example but hopefully you get the idea. Thanks for your input! ;D
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sciwizeh

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Re: What am I going to do?
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2008, 06:34:30 pm »

Pov-Ray:http://www.povray.org/
Pov-Ray is a (free!) text based raytracer that can create extremely realistic renderings with true reflections and refractions. it has tons and tons of possibilities.
the downside is it's text based, knowing the language is key.
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Kubajzz

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Re: What am I going to do?
« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2008, 06:37:32 pm »

I dont know the full capablities of anim8or and how to utulize them that is my only problem. Like if I wanted to make a cat or something the first thing that comes to my mind is take a sphere and work with that but people say that you need to use line extruding or something, ok great input but how do I do that? (all of these are just examples) I just need to know how to fully utilize the program before I do some major experimenting.

The best way to find out all the program capabilities is to experiment with it... Just read the whole manual (I suppose you've already done, just try once more), every tool is described there so you'll now tha basics what Anim8or can do and what it can't do; anyway, that's not really what it's all about, you just need to get some crazy idea (something like "now I'll make a model of my entire house with every detail..."); In fact, almost everything is possible in anim8or if you are inventive and patient.
The more dificult project you try, the better; even if you don't finish it, you will definitely learn a lot about using Anim8or... Just choose a really dificult one, that's my recommendation...
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hihosilver

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Re: What am I going to do?
« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2008, 12:02:20 am »

Remember that you don't need to step into a more complicated advanced project right from the get-go.  There are plenty of ways of modeling such as box modeling where you start with a cube and edit it, it's entirely possible to create a cat this way, you just need experience.  I would advise starting with something simpler though.  I'll have to start working on a tutorial on different modeling techniques after swords and lighting ;)
Remember you can study the different methods.  They don't only apply to anim8or, but most all other 3d programs as well.  So google things, look around for tutorials and things to read up on.  Just because a tutorial or information is based on another program doesn't mean it can't translate to anim8or.
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mak

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Re: What am I going to do?
« Reply #9 on: January 09, 2008, 12:44:59 pm »

ive been using anim8or for about six years and i still dont understand all that it can do(mabe im slow though) the thing i keep in mind is; look what jim henson did with puppets. its not the quallity of your medium that you express yourself with, its what you have to say, not that you have to say anything profound either. if you tell a joke and everyone laughs then its funny. if you can make a sphere sugest a cat then its a cat. and as everyone has allready said expeiment.
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