--- In SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com, Scrapper Black Dragon
<scrapperbd_at_y...> wrote:
> <nehumanuscrede_at_y...> wrote:
> > Yep. Still working on it. :)
> How much time have you invested so far? Any idea? I'll
> try to provide some positive criticism in this mail and ask
> a few questions, so please don't take it as me being a
> whiny, unappreciative critic. I definitely haven't done
> better!
>
*** I try to spend a few hours on it a night. Remember, this is new
software to me ( first model using it ) so I'm learning it as I go
along. Unfortunately, it makes for a slow process. ***
> > Managed to get the limbs moved into a position that the
> > IK / FK chains will be happy with when the character gets
> > a bone structure.
> I assume that means she'll be able to put her arms down by
> her sides etc then, as opposed to the 'haunting' motion
> she's currently standing in?
*** Yes. The current stance is merely to keep the IK chains from
going crazy once they are applied and active. ***
>
> > Modeled the eyes. ( These were quite a pain in the . . .
> > . took forever getting the eye socket to match the shape
> >of the eyes.
> I'm not good at drawing, let alone eyes, so I'm reluctant
> to be critical when I can't do better, but the eyes don't
> appear to sit in quite the right spot. Someone with a
> better art eye (not trying to be punny) may be able to spot
> the problem The eyes look okay, but somehow just not Des.
> Maybe sitting too far 'in' or a bit to low? Could be the
> detail / angle of perception... Really need input from
> JMH on this aspect.
*** I agree with you on this. I am of the impression that the eyes
may actually be too small. Based on the model sheet that Jim was
kind enough to work up, the eyes appear to be in the right spot.
I'll have to stare at it for a while to get any kind of insight to my
problem. ***
>
> > difficult to determine eye socket shape from the
> > reference material I have on hand.
> My preferred reference pic is DesYellow.jpg, though still
> only gives you a single aspect.
*** This very picture has been printed out and sits next to my
monitor. ( along with a slew of others ) It is from this picture
that my observations about the eyes being to small come from. :) ***
>
> > Made some minor refinements to the head.
> Is looking better - less blocky. Can see the improvement
> with each iteration you post.
*** Will look a bit better once I give her a head of hair again. ***
>
> >I'm not happy with some of it. ( Hands
> > and feet could use some tweaking )
> From my percetion then need to be more domed. If you put
> your paw (or hand for those so equipped) palm down on the
> table, the middle of the top is curved upwards and dips
> down towards the edges, conversely for the bottom. Your
> hands and feet seem to be more balloon shaped (Morphy, you
> been giving pointers???). An artist friend of mine tends
> to draw hands and feet based on triangles as opposed to
> circles. For fist shapes, this works well.
>
> The body generally is a little too symmetrical (pardon
> being picky, I'm trying to help, really!), though this
> could be a matter of tweaking different limbs and body
> parts. If you look at any hand drawing, you see curves are
> not perfect and even though the body must follow the laws
> of geometry, stretch and squidge (yes, a technical term...)
> seem to have a more irregular form. This is the give away
> for many computer animated things in movies. Just too
> perfrect. I'm sorry, this isn't that helpful in regard to
> I've only sort of identified something that isn't correct,
> but not really quantified it nor suggested a resolution....
*** You are very correct in that the body is symmetrical in it's
current state. A very simple explanation for this. When modeling,
it is easier / faster to work with half of the model at a time. In
this respect, once the basic shapes of the body are complete, a "
mirror " ( Instance in XSI ) is created and the two halves are then
stitched together to make a whole model. At this point, the parts
that could not be " mirrored " are added. ( Teeth, tongue, etc.
etc. ) The hands and feet are definitely on my fix list. The hands
look bloated or rounded to me. My goal is to get them to look like
those on the Desyellow.jpg file you mentioned earlier. ***
>
> > The last thing I will do before I begin adding the bone
> > structure will be to give her hair again....
> > slowed my system to a crawl. ( This on a 2GHZ / 1GB ram
> > system )
> Just think, in a few years, you'll look back at the
> 'little' projects you attempted on such 'puny' systems with
> complex and slow design tools... But unless you do these
> projects, the new tools etc just don't evolve! Everyfur
> remember trying to do hi-res (1024x768x256) rendering on a
> 386 with 4MB of RAM? Fractals used to calculate
> overnight... Did well for the time, but now (10 years
> later!) it is just slow and pox. Laughable when you look
> back, but serious business at the time.
*** I remember watching the fractal landscape generators " render " a
single scan line at a time. That was back on an Amiga 500. The
systems are getting better. Believe it or not, the model in it's
current state is comprised of 650,000 polygons. This is minus the
hair. Yet, the system is capable of moving / manipulating it fairly
quickly to allow an almost real time view of it. ***
>
> > she is a bit bald at the moment.
> Oh? Which part is not bald? ;-)
*** She does look like she is coated with an oil or water. I am
kicking around the idea of a skin texture for her. Though, since it
isn't a noticable trait in any picture, I'm not sure how it will
look. ***
>
> Good work, overall. Is shaping up to actually resemble the
> character. I'm looking forward to the finished product.
> Especially if you become motivated enough to design the
> Sisters (only one body shape and change pattern / colour?),
> Then Des will have some friends to play with! Throw a
> human Jim in the mix and you've got a good basis to start
> making little animated movies...
One step at a time. . . . :)
>
> Am I getting a bit far ahead? Oh well, it is striving for
> the dreams that help take the little steps towards the big
> leap.
>
> Scrapper, Black Dragon, astounded by how much work is
> required to do these tasks.
Believe me. . . you're not alone in this. <:O
>
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Received on Tue Feb 04 2003 - 16:32:15 CST