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PatMarrNC - all messages by user

2016/8/15 20:24:46
Hybrid: Muvizu characters interact with humans you are the king of banter-driven scripts! And I like the way you combine real footage with Muvizu characters.
2016/8/12 12:55:04
Tropical birds: test 1 (The Bird the word) clayster2012 wrote:
ikes wrote:
mindiflyth wrote:
Sinister might be a good base for a dino. He always holds his arms like a velociraptor anyhow!


Too bad his legs won't co-operate...



I agree, had a brainstorm last night, made a model, but there's no socket to the legs for attachments.


which is exactly why we need a utility character with lots of attachment points!
2016/8/12 12:50:46
Middle East objects [Collaboration?] regarding static poses that don't exist in Muvizu:

If you can model, the OBJ files that Ikes and Ziggy made available can be posed and textured in a modelling program

The OBJ files can be found here:
https://www.muvizu.com/forum/topic5765-base-character-reference-models.aspx
2016/8/12 12:47:37
Middle East objects [Collaboration?] the see-thru condition on the weapon is due to the way it was modelled. It's common practice among some modellers to create a 2d shape, (like the contour of the gunstock) then copy it for the other side in order to make the 2d shape into a 3d object.

The problem with this approach is that now Muvizu thinks one of those surfaces is pointing inward while the other surface is pointing outward. . Inward pointing surfaces will always be see-thru in Muvizu.

To remedy the problem, you can either delete the offending parts of the weapon and recreate them so they face outward, or you can hilite them and reverse the vector. Hope that explanation made sense, because its the only way I know how to explain it.

a semi visual representation:

When a surface is created it has a vector (basically a direction its facing)... typically it faces in the direction in which it was created (facing you). The vector side is visible, the other side is see thru


vector ^ ^^^^^^^^
surface _____________________


When you copy the same surface and move it to create a 3d object, you get two surfaces with vector pointing the same direction, so from one side both surfaces are visible, while from the other side neither surface is visible. That's the problem you're having


vector ^^^^^^^^^^
surface____________________ (one side)



vector ^^^^^^^^^^^
surface___________________ (other side)





what you want to end up with is this surface-vector condition:

vector ^^^^^^^^^^
surface____________________ (one side)

surface___________________ (other side)

vector v v v v v v v v v v


both sides are now facing outward so they will be visible from both directions
2016/8/12 12:17:43
This is my Olimpic games video Thanks Ian!
2016/8/12 5:55:29
Crocodile ikes wrote:
Some idea for talking could be to attach the head mesh to the neck socket and the jaw to the hat or hair socket. Then you can direct the head movement to simulate talking. In this example I use the body of Beefy and the feet and head are attached to a standard man character.


I almost missed this because I thought it was a repeat of the walking video.... very clever Ikes! It's a good way to open and close the mouth without the need for a lot of keyframing!

Having a couple of different variations of the same character for the scenes that need to walk or talk whatever might be the way to use these ideas effectively. It doesn't really matter if the character can do everything ... as long as ONE of its versions can do what you need for each scene.
2016/8/12 5:48:04
Crocodile LOL! Gatorade! Good one, Mindiflyth!
2016/8/12 5:46:58
This is my Olimpic games video that was awesome!

I liked a lot of things about that (wish I understood the language.. I'm sure I'd like it even more)

LOVED the scenery! and the animated jaguar was quite cool! Can I ask where you got that? VERY clean separation from its original background!

and of course, the shout-out at the end was noted and appreciated! Nice job all around!
2016/8/11 23:09:24
Crocodile if dragons are anything like T-rex, they probably don't use their tiny hands much anyway... so you could always make them static models and use the arms for wings

(I'll be searching the actions for something that approximates flapping...)
edited by PatMarrNC on 11/08/2016
2016/8/11 21:43:45
About new characters: movements, postures I'm not at my animation computer at the moment but I think any omissions would be in the area of playing an instrument. I can't think of anything else. They also have limited options in terms of hair, eyes, clothes etc.. they can't use most of the standard potato head stuff.
2016/8/11 17:40:14
Crocodile ikes wrote:
PatMarrNC wrote:
You could use that same technique to open and close a small mouth or beak. Maybe position openbeak as a neck attachment and closedbeak as glasses, then toggle which one is visible to simulate movement. I guess a larger jaw like the gator's could be animated the same way. An advantage to doing it this way is that you wouldn't be fussing with alignment every time you tried to keyframe it. The models would always be positioned right... keyframes would only turn them on and off


I do this already with the latest bird model. It has an open and closed beak which you can turn on or off with keyframes. But with this long jaw it looks very jerky.

Cool! Good to hear that my thinking is on track with what you're doing here!

Regarding this thread, I sent a support request to add the ability to put multiple attachments in the same socket, then toggle between them with keyframes. Whereas one toggle sequence may sometimes look jerky, a series of intermediate positions could look quite convincing

Unlike a lot of our requests that require new models or changes to the game infrastructure, this would just be a coding change. Instead of storing the attachment in a single variable, they could use an array variable
edited by PatMarrNC on 11/08/2016
2016/8/11 16:55:53
Things I'd like to see in Muvizu. recent threads have made me want a new feature:
the ability to assign two (or more) different attachments to the same socket, then toggle between them with keyframes.

This would open a LOT of potential in ways too numerous to list



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edited by PatMarrNC on 11/08/2016
2016/8/11 16:51:27
Crocodile ikes wrote:
I modelled his hands myself and put it in the socket of his arm. They are of course static, so no finger movement. It's only hands, not the arm.

I'm impressed by how well it follows the movement of the original arm

The eyes pupils are controlled by textures and his eye lids are also a mesh covering the eyes which visibility is controlled by directing.


The pupil textures idea is downright inspired... I've managed to duplicate that one, and it is a highly reusable idea that opens up a lot of flexibility.. especially when you can't get enough transformation distance to use the standard Muvizu eyes!

It never occurred to me to animate by making a mesh visible/invisible!

You could use that same technique to open and close a small mouth or beak. Maybe position openbeak as a neck attachment and closedbeak as glasses, then toggle which one is visible to simulate movement. I guess a larger jaw like the gator's could be animated the same way. An advantage to doing it this way is that you wouldn't be fussing with alignment every time you tried to keyframe it. The models would always be positioned right... keyframes would only turn them on and off
2016/8/11 16:42:55
Crocodile ikes wrote:

I did try to control his jaw, but you can't keyframe movement of attached meshes (another unfortunate shortcoming concerning attachments).
I do however have some other thoughts boiling for his jaw...


yes, the jaw would have to be a separate model.... but... you know how to do that.... ;-) (and more)

I'm sure that whatever trick you have up your sleeve will be highly entertaining and a learning experience for all of us
(I'm looking forward to seeing it)

A note about the store:
The forum is on a learning explosion here, and even the most advanced people are learning new techniques every day. At the end of the explosion I think a bunch of us will have new expectations about what we're willing to pay for.

My suggestion is to hold off on posting progressive changes to the store. At some point you will have a new combination of traits that become your signature character. If you post a collection of interesting characters at a slightly higher price, it will be so compelling that you'll sell a lot more of that set.

The ultimate character (whatever its design) needs to have animatable eyes & mouth and respond reasonably well to most character actions. Once this gator can talk, he fits the bill.

At the end of it all, if the store has a gator with fixed mouth and one that can talk, nobody will download the earlier version
2016/8/11 16:30:03
Competition? fosforino wrote:
Mi piacerebbe partecipare ad Una sfida senza premio.A patto che possano partecipare sopratutto i principianti, cioè persone che utilizzano Muvizu non una scopo commerciale (o almeno non ancora) poichè servirebbe per testare le proprie capacità ed autostimolarsi per migliorare le proprie competenze.


Google translate version:

I'd like to participate in a challenge without premio. A condition that they can participate especially beginners, ie people using Muvizu not a commercial purpose (or at least not yet) as it would serve to test their skills and stim to improve their skills.


I'm not sure what "without premio" means. In general I take this to be a request for a contest using the free version only. (Is that your take, MDW13?)

If so, That's a good idea... it's more inclusive.... but it isn't a good fit for the challenge I want to make.

This one might be a good contest for Muvizu to sponsor because they could award a full license to the winner(s)
2016/8/11 16:15:36
Crocodile That looks AWESOME Ikes!

I notice there appears to be a joint at the lower jaw... are you planning to make his mouth move with keyframing?

I like the short legs... works well for this character!

For what it's worth... you basically have a T-rex there... a few differences in the model and longer legs and he be bitin' on all the other characters!

How did you create hands with claws? In fact the whole arm looks beefier than usual.. is that a stock arm? Or a model attached to something?

You realize, of course, that we want to hear all the detail about how you did this...


Also, I just want to thank you for posting this because it's been almost 24 hours since you posted anything that totally changed the way I understand Muvizu, and I was getting worried.



============================
edited by PatMarrNC on 11/08/2016
2016/8/11 16:09:39
Sweet Home Greetings from another muvizu musician named Patrick!

I loved everything about that! Your scenes were all framed in interesting ways (I liked the playing cards floating in the air as the person entered his house). The music was very well played and mixed! Did you play all the instruments? I especially liked the tone of the guitar... what was your setup? (Guitar -amp-effects)

I thought the song had an Aussie rock sound to it... are you in Oz by any chance?

The winding path... did you create that by applying a graphic to the environment as ground? Or did you just put it on a backdrop and move the character in front of it on an invisible plane?

The double keyboard model is cool!

I think all drummers should be dogs, but hey.. that's just me

I appreciate your explanation about how you created the pendulum... explanations about any other cool tricks you used are also appreciated.

Based on comments from others you have been here before and now you're back... great to have you participating on the forum! I like what you are doing and I look forward to seeing more from you!
2016/8/11 5:18:06
MUVIZU.. the best deal in town! Rocque wrote:
PatMarrNC wrote:
Smith Micro/Anime Studio/Moho announced their latest upgrade opportunity today. I mention it here for purposes of comparison.

They want $199 USD to upgrade from last years version! ($399 for full purchase) This upgrade adds minimal new content and features.


Does that mean you would have to pay $399 for it if you are not upgrading?


that's my understanding. Yes. I think that's wayy too much for an upgrade. So I guess this is where I draw the line with Smith Micro. There are thousands of their users who would update faithfully for years at $99 per year. Many of them will drop out at this price, and they'll actually make less money than they made at $99
2016/8/11 3:22:20
Assigna Material for an imported FBX prop. Rocque wrote:
Congrats on the purchases Pat. The HD sounds nice. Is it external?


it's internal. I opened my computer to see if I had any more RAM slots, and when I saw all those empty bays I knew there should be at least another hard drive. Next purchase will be a GTX 1070 graphics card and power supply.

Also the Milkshape sounds worth it so maybe in 6 months or so you can help me use it. Keep us informed of your progress.


I'm a slow learner ... grew up in the seventies, and I left most of my brain cells there... but I'll be happy to share any knowledge I manage to gain from it. The KEY Thing to know now is that it is one of the few affordable modelling programs that supports BOTH of the file formats that Muvizu can import. Blender is another.. but milkshape has the reputation of being easier to learn than Blender.




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edited by PatMarrNC on 11/08/2016
2016/8/11 0:56:57
Tropical birds: test 1 (The Bird the word) clayster2012 wrote:
mindiflyth wrote:
Would there be a way to swap the wings for dino-claws? Because with this sort of anatomy it seems like it's just a short jump from birds to a T-rex, and once dinosaurs are an option I think people will go crazy with them.


Ideas Strikes Hard on this forum, man...another one to consider ikes, the way things are going finger pistols will take longer then I thought, so I guess inspiration will lead to a better muvizu way of life, I like dinos to!


Follow the ideas and the excitement, Clayster.... you can always return to finger pistols when you've satisfied your curiosity!
Besides, Ikes needs a co-conspiritor or two in creativity to keep things interesting around here. ;-)


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edited by PatMarrNC on 11/08/2016
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Muvizu is easy to use 3D animation software that allows anyone to create high quality animations quickly and easily. Muvizu’s animation engine is ideal for storytellers, animators, teachers and businesses looking to engage, enchant and delight audiences with animated content.