A Quick Update on Yesterday!

Hey guys,

So, I was looking at the video from yesterday when I realized that Jimmy's left eyebrow seems to shrink when his head moves at the end of the clip.  This got past me when I was editing but it jumped out at me when I watched it on the blog.  You can look at the clip below to see what I mean.

Obviously, this won't work so I went back into the model and tried several fixes, none of which seemed to work.  The problem I was having was that his eyebrows were a separate mesh from his face.  I did it this way because it was quick and easier to get the shape I wanted without changing the shape of Jimmy's head too much.

As it turns out, by doing it this way I seemed to have made this model more complicated then what I was originally looking for.  Again, my plan is to practice animating a simple model, so I went back to the model and did what I should have done in the first place.  I removed his floating eyebrows and added ones that are part of his mesh.

The upside is it works beautifully.  The downside is that I don't think it looks as good.  Still, it looks alright and that really is the point of this side project so I need to let this go and do what works.

So, here is the clip with the less detailed eyebrows that don't float away or unwantingly changing shapes...

I think that looks alright.  Can I make this any better?  I believe I can, but that isn't the point.  This is just a side project to get used to animation so I'm not going to hold it to my usual standards.

Besides, I still have a lot to fix on Jimmy's armature.  My next test video, I want him walking and talking.

I'll keep you posted.

A Xam and Power Dog Test Video! Well, Kinda...

Hey guys,

I know, I know.  It's October, and I'm usually working on the Hollinger Hollow display, but while I wasn't doing that I was thinking about the trouble I've been having animating the movie.

One of the problems I've been having with this movie is that my vision for it was bigger than my ability to make it.  Now, that doesn't mean I'm giving up.  Not at all.

What it does mean though is that I'm going to take a step back from the Xam and Power Dog movie and work on something else for a couple of months.

But not to worry.  I will keep updating this blog as this little "side" project will, in theory, help me animate this movie.

So, what is this side project?  Well, the idea behind it is that if the reason I'm having so much trouble animating Xam and Power Dog is the fact the models are more complicated than my ability to animate them then I will need to practice animating less complicated models.

I plan on doing a 10 minute scene from a different movie I've had in mind for a long time.  I'll go into the specifics as this new project moves along but for now I want to show you what progress I've made.

First off, this model actually looks like it could come from the world of Xam and Power Dog (I did build it after all) but there are differences.  The most noticeable difference is the hair.  The models hair is not separate particles like everyone from Xam and Power Dog.  Also, the eyes are less realistic and, out of fear this may fall under TMI, their clothing is not separate from the character mesh.  This clothing thing has already been a big improvement with the animataion because whenever I moved T-Boom's legs they went through his pants.  Not a problem on this character, who's name is Jimmy by the way.

So, below you will find a little 8 second clip of Jimmy.  Now, it's not perfect, but I actually got him moving an talking and that is a huge step forward!

Take a look...

In case you're wondering, no, that isn't going to be Jimmy's voice.  If you watched it then you probably have clue where the sound clip came from.

And there you are.  Like I said, I will have more updates on what this is and what this is for down the road.  It is, October after all, and I do have other projects I'm working on (Hollinger Hollow), but feel free to stop by in the next couple of weeks.  I'm sure I'll have more then.

More updates to follow...

Haven't Quit, Just Not Working Much on the Movie!

Hey guys,

Sorry for the lack of updates lately.  I know I sounded pretty upbeat in my last post and then nothing was posted for all of August.

If you've been coming to my blog for the last couple of years then you'll know that Halloween is a very big holiday at my house.  So big, in fact, that pretty much all my spare time, August through October, is dedicated to working on our annual display, Hollinger Hollow. (click on the link to check it out)

That said, I wouldn't be expecting a lot of movie updates for the next month.  Still, I might get some free time every now and then to work on the film and if I do I will definitely let you know.

I promise, I will be back in November!

And, just in case you want to learn about what is taking up so much of my time at the moment, hit the link above.

Later!