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I finally got around to dumping some of my Anim8or models into the default game: the pelican, and my take on the female from one of the OSD games. When I shrink the images down to game size, I lose detail, and Anim8or also loses the details. But, all the other attempts outside Anim8or also brought in a bunch of garbage around the figure, stuff that Construed started a lenghty thread about and required some playing with to correct. This is a screen capture of unretouched images generated by Anim8or at about 80x80 pixels:



This looks almost usable, to me, and would definately cut down on the amount of retouching required. Opinions, please?

Edit: After the fact, I got to thinking maybe the artifacts were there, but were shades of dark colors. So, I put in a white background:

My apologies. On a separate thread, in this very forum, I implied that modeling a snowman was easier than modeling a turkey. It is untrue. Here's my evidence, in a slide show format:



I will endeavor to be more accurate in the future. Someone, with talent, could probably make a pretty neat animation of this, with facial reactions to the various body changes. I may try to do that, but it probably won't work right.

Modeling in Anim8or. Basic snowman concept came from a Blender tutorial site: http://www.katsbits.com/

Curious how you folks approach a spinning propeller on a plane? Here's what I have:



It looks alright, but I had to speed it up, via the gif timing, to get it to look like it does. When I was trying this stuff in Bryce, I usually just gave up and put a squashed sphere in place of the blades, then used a bumpy glass texture on the sphere. Any secrets you care to share? Anim8or model.

Since no one wanted to come out and play, and since Adeel suggested I try again, and subject to moderator approval, let us try this:

Just give us a recent background you've been working on, or recently completed. Theme/genre/topic will be immaterial. Judge the submissions, if any, on the following criteria:

     Will it work as a background in a game?

     Does it have technical merit?

I'd prefer recent work, rather than going back ten years to an image that you feel is the best work you've ever done. I will not, however, specify an exact definition of recent. I'll trust your honesty.

Since I've already taken up a lot of time, I think this can and should be a very short Blitz. In this instance, December 10, 2013 should give folks enough time to find and respond to this post.

Again, this is subject to moderator approval.

I don't think anyone on the planet would mistake mine for his, but couldn't resist giving it a try:



Had him doing more than just spinning, but then Anim8or crashed and I lost some work. The suggestion about frequent saves while playing a game also applies to artwork, apparently.

You folks don't need to tear this up, since I plan on trying again, but you certainly can if you want to do so; this is the Critics Lounge, afterall. Just wanted to share, since I liked a couple of things here.

An attempt at OSD, using Anim8or:

[imgzoom]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o756/jwalt10705/osdHairTry_zps39d42054.gif[/imgzoom]

Used some bones in the hair, which, somehow, seemed appropriate for this particular character. Also gave him a suitable "bump out," for Ray's enjoyment.

"They call me many things..."              "Yo, Manny, 'sup?"

So, you all fouled up and let me host another competition. Don't you remember my Coloring Ball? What a disaster! I shall endeavor to turn this Blitz into a disaster, too. Which one, however? So many to choose from... More every day…

The London Blitz was a disaster. But a Blitz Blitz seems, somehow, redundant. Were there any disasters so disastrous that even Hitler might have sent his condolences to the affected nation? Have to be before the war, before he earned his evil reputation, 1930s, maybe? Indeed there was.

It even takes place in a disastrous place, Texas. I know; I'm a “Greenie.” Ponch may be the only good thing about Texas.

March 18, 1937

Criteria will be fairly standard:
     How well will the image work as a game background?
     How well does the image convey the emotions of that moment in time?
     How well does the image work technically?
Go forth into ruin, and destruction, and loss.

If anyone is totally unable to figure out what the heck I'm referring to, post and I shall respond with a bit more information. For now, let it be in the nature of a mystery, a puzzle, if you will.

Edit1:

Got to thinking you folks might not have time to go on a lengthy search, so hints might be in order:

[imgzoom]https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/sites/default/files/public/tslac/exhibits/railroad/other/newlondon.jpg[/imgzoom]

[imgzoom]http://news-journal.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/dd/1dd33a98-d305-520d-b427-57795119b32e/4d8198f4f183e.preview-300.jpg[/imgzoom]

And, since most of us, except Ponch, had the good sense to stay out of Texas, a UK link to look at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2114188/Survivor-tells-escaped-school-explosion-killed-293-switching-chairs-classmate.html

I'd been trying to rig a bug (Silverfish) that I made in sPatch. Had some problems with my sPatch model, so tried again, this time in Anim8or. Here it is:

[imgzoom]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o756/jwalt10705/testAniBug1_zps564ea410.gif[/imgzoom]

A web search indicates there are two types of walks for this kind of critter. This was one of them. I might try for the other one in a day or so. Mainly concerned about the motion, but if you want to rip apart the model, that's okay, too.

I bought a "LowRez" bundle from DAZ. They say the characters are meant as background characters, and are not suitable for closeups. I've been impressed with them, and I worked this up through available morphs for the characters:

[imgzoom]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o756/jwalt10705/breezyLorettaSan_zps421849a2.gif[/imgzoom]

I don't like the darkness around the nose, and I'm not seeing a way to "move" the bangs on her forehead, but otherwise, she seems very suitable for close up work. Am I not seeing something?

I decided on a “classic” shape. Not much to work with. You can resize it, but the end product must still limit the field of view; it is a keyhole, after all. Can't wait to see what you folks come up with.

[imgzoom]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o756/jwalt10705/SeptCBKeyhole1_zps6c8b7462.png[/imgzoom]

Will it be a leather-clad Tabata, in her kitchen, disciplining her smiley collection?
Will it be Cat, in skin colored leggings, doing her daily, ultra booty workout?
Will it be Miez, at his computer, pixeling another masterpiece?
Will it be Ponch, in his bathtub, doing unspeakable things to his rubber ducky?

When you peeked through the keyhole, what was it that you saw?

I came up with an idea for a "single room" game using this "block" as a background. Most of the action will take place on the green bench in the middle shot. Open to opinions and suggestions?

[imgzoom]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o756/jwalt10705/streetScene0000a1_zpsde8ae244.png[/imgzoom]

[imgzoom]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o756/jwalt10705/streetScene0006_zpsf708ce77.png[/imgzoom]

[imgzoom]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o756/jwalt10705/streetScene0012a1_zps9c60a652.png[/imgzoom]

I intend to scroll the room. Would I be better served here, in this forum, to insert the background into a default game, with Roger, and post screen capture(s) instead of these Bryce renders? The modeling was done in sPatch and Bryce.

Edit 1: @ dactylopus - Replaced first and third images after trying to make the signs more readable.

I came across a site with 2500+ motion capture BVH files that can be used in DAZ Studio. Playing with it, I came up with this walkcycle:

[imgzoom]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o756/jwalt10705/thirtyFPS001_zps9b542e63.gif[/imgzoom]

It's not flawless, but I did find it interesting. Not sure why it messes up the Genesis neck and shoulders, but I did note the tutorial on the site was using an earlier version of DAZ Studio. Regarding the hitch when it begins replaying, I conclude that there is so much motion that I couldn't find the right frame to transition back to the first frame. It may not even exist, since that may not have been the reason for doing the motion captures. There are a substantial number of walk cycles scattered throughout the files; there may be a perfect one in there, someplace.

Opinions?

Edit: Link to site:  https://sites.google.com/a/cgspeed.com/cgspeed/motion-capture/daz-friendly-release

Edit 2: Listed as TooCoolWalk.

[imgzoom]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o756/jwalt10705/tooCoolAni_zps2164366d.gif[/imgzoom]

111 frames, so I hope it doesn't give anyone's system a hernia. Including mine.

Edit3:

No doubt a graduate of the Grundislav Academie de la Dance:

[imgzoom]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o756/jwalt10705/chasTIF1_zpsbfd77ef7.gif[/imgzoom]

Unfortunately, these don't look as nice in a default game: size issue, and lots of artifacts. Don't know if I can correct either issue.

Waheela had posted an animated gif in a forum thread that I found interesting. I've been playing with FaceShop and decided to run one of the frames of Waheela's gif file through FaceShop.



The original gif image is to the left. The FaceShop texture map is to the right. The floating head is the model rendered in Bryce 7, with Bryce eyeballs. I keep encountering similar problems around the corners of the mouth, where points seem to be out of line, or pinched. The program requires positioning five dots to set up the mouth (in the "EZ" mode). Any suggestions? Any comments about the model, or the usefulness of this type of model?

I downloaded FaceShop this morning and have been tinkering with it. I am impressed to this point in time. Any pros or cons to this program?

Two specific question regarding using photos as the basis for the model. If I use an internet photo and managed to get a face that actually looked like the person, are there copyright issues? The second, related question is if I texture the model with the image am I also at risk for copyright issues?

Another question for you experts. Can you clarify the terms shaders and textures? I'm reasonably sure I don't know which is what, or what is who. Appreciate it.

I keep coming up with stuff that looks like claymation, not that there's anything wrong with claymation. The intent here was a conversation on a Greek fishing boat which was interrupted with the nearby surfacing of an Italian submarine. I came "close." I thought the boat needed to move with the gentle ocean swells, but I came up with a hurricane. Any insights into how much movement is too much movement?



Thanks in advance.

This gif has 13 frames. I know I need more frames for it to really work, but I'd like to know if I've got the general idea, here?



Open to comments, and thanks in advance!

I've been playing with the idea of doing something in Mayberry, as in The Andy Griffith show. I'm not happy with this, and I'm no place close to being finished, but you can C&C if you care to do so.

[imgzoom]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o756/jwalt10705/floydsNight_zps33c40297.gif[/imgzoom]

I note a considerable drop in quality in my night images. A similar daylight scene looks fine, but this is looking striated, almost dithered. Is this normal for low light gifs? It looks okay in Bryce and in the images I used to create the gif file.

Edit: I stuck my "Barney" into a default game. Here's a screen capture. Thought it might help explain the issue, to a degree.

[imgzoom]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o756/jwalt10705/mayBarneypng_zps34f9b9ae.png[/imgzoom]

Barney is also open to comments, if you want. I have a scale issue which seems to be eluding me.

I had in mind something that involved an Anasazi male. I'll need to age the face, in three distinct stages: from youth, to adult, to aged. This is meant to fill the youth niche. Feel free to tell me how far I missed the mark. New at this, but fairly thick skinned.

[imgzoom]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o756/jwalt10705/sedYoungpng_zps99f13555.png[/imgzoom]

Also, if anyone has seen a tutorial on aging a character, I'd appreciate your sharing it.

I'm Noob enough that I'm not sure this is the place for the posting, so an apology in advance if the moderators have to move it. That said, I had a desire to try the current Background Blitz. I may not actually enter, since I'm not at all happy with what I currently have. I'm not an artist, but I've been able to do some things with sPatch and Bryce that have kept me entertained. Here's the image:



I need to rethink my process as it relates to using AGS. I could smooth out my animation by adding frames. I could toy with the spark shower, and, perhaps, make it more realistic looking. In the end, I might come up with something for a cut scene, but not something that could stand as a background, since too much relies on Bryce. The most constructive critiscm might be a nudge in the direction of plugins and modules that would let the AGS Engine handle much of this. I've already found a Forum link to a particle system tutorial that seems well enough done that even I might be able to start using it for the spark shower. I'm going to start playing with it. I need to do some searches related to lighting via AGS also. I'd really appreicate comments about the process you folks might use, here. And if anyone has something to say about the image, I'd welcome that, too. Now, to see what the Moderators do with this post...