ToonLook for McKnuckles

[3DArtZ]

Okay, I took a little while this morning to threw together a new run cycle and did a quick preview render(without toon). I am going to do a full render with Blur and all that later today.
Spent sometime on the the channels to try and smooth out all the sharp channels a the begining and end of the loops data..... and have to say that the channels are easier to use than ever! Nice


http://www.3dartz.com/WIPs/McRun.mov

Mike Fitz
www.3dartz.com (http://www.3dartz.com/)

[Bugle]

Nice. Toon lines with normal shading, is it? I normally use some sort of toonnation texture to control the shading more directly than with lighting, but lately I'm leaning towards simple gradients.

[3DArtZ]

Hey Bugle....yeah for the most part I just played with the toon with gradient settings.
I also used the ambient color/int. channels on the surface properties.
Mike Fitz
www.3dartz.com (http://www.3dartz.com)

[3DArtZ]

Okay, here's the run. I didn't use blur in the render, but will probably set it to render over night.
I'm pretty happy with how the render is looking....

http://www.3dartz.com/WIPs/McTRun.mov

Mike Fitz
www.3dartz.com (http://www.3dartz.com)

[3DArtZ]

And a strut cycle...
I posted these over at the hash forum,but figured I'd keep posting here too!
I think it coud use some touch ups, in the channels too, but I literally put this together in like 20mins today. I'm thinking if I don't think too much about what I'm doing....sometimes stuff comes out better!

http://www.3dartz.com/WIPs/McTStrut.mov

Mike Fitz
www.3dartz.com (http://www.3dartz.com)

[3DArtZ]

Hey Hashers, I guess I have a touch of the "cycle" bug.....
Figured I'd give a go at a sneak cycle...

http://www.3dartz.com/WIPs/McSneak.mov

Mike Fitz
www.3dartz.com (http://www.3dartz.com)

[Bugle]

Looks good, needs a little variation in the speed though, he's regular as a metronome right now. There's also some line weirdness going on in his soles... looks like line geometry that isn't sticking to the rest of the shoe's movement

[3DArtZ]

Looks good, needs a little variation in the speed though, he's regular as a metronome right now. There's also some line weirdness going on in his soles... looks like line geometry that isn't sticking to the rest of the shoe's movement
Hey Bugle, thanks for the reply! Only so much variation one could put into a 1 stride cycle!
The stuff with his feet is something weird that the toon renderer does.... while we can't see the geometry that goes behind other geometry, you can still see the lines that the toon renderer draws..... it's wierd.

Mike Fitz
www.3dartz.com (http://www.3dartz.com)

[Bugle]

I still think a bit of a speed up when he puts his foot forward would help break it up - you can make a single stride cycle that doesn't look too obviously regular - after all that's the point of a cycle

The toon lines on top is actually a feature that was requested by a friend of mine, she posts here on CGtalk as celshader - anime characters have eyebrows that get drawn "on top" of the hair, it's a 2D technique for maintaining readability of facial expressions in a stilyzed character. She mentioned it to Martin Hash in a trade show a few years ago and they came up with a material that caused this effect. The feature was more trouble than it was worth however because the lines drew on top of everything that was in the way of the eyebrows, walls, other characters, etc... it looks like for some reason that feature is "leaking" - might be something to do with the materials you're using, I haven't noticed any of my toon lines overlapping like that.

[3DArtZ]

I still think a bit of a speed up when he puts his foot forward would help break it up - you can make a single stride cycle that doesn't look too obviously regular - after all that's the point of a cycle


The toon lines on top is actually a feature that was requested by a friend of mine, she posts here on CGtalk as celshader - anime characters have eyebrows that get drawn "on top" of the hair, it's a 2D technique for maintaining readability of facial expressions in a stilyzed character. She mentioned it to Martin Hash in a trade show a few years ago and they came up with a material that caused this effect. The feature was more trouble than it was worth however because the lines drew on top of everything that was in the way of the eyebrows, walls, other characters, etc... it looks like for some reason that feature is "leaking" - might be something to do with the materials you're using, I haven't noticed any of my toon lines overlapping like that.
Perhaps, but the main point of a cycle is to easily reproduce a repetative action. I think it would be easier to add meaningful secondary motion if I had McKnuckles sneaking across a crickety, squeaking wooden floor, where the variation in motion would be in direct response to trying to move a quietly as possible....
Right, I understand that characteristic of anime, but I'm not sure what's causing that in the software. I'll have to take a looksee at that later....
Mike Fitz
www.3dartz.com (http://www.3dartz.com/)

[3DArtZ]

HeyBugle, just fyi on the lines through the floor thing...

I had cast shadows turned off on the floor geometry for some reason. Anyhows, that was the difference. If it's off the lines show through... if it's on the lines don't.

Thanks
Mike Fitz
www.3dartz.com (http://www.3dartz.com)

[Bugle]

Another AM mystery solved!

You can always animate the enforcement of the action in the choreograpy to introduce variation in the cycle. In which case it being regular is probably better

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.