Interview with the creator of Absolute Character Tools

[Theta-Dot]

kewl

[Magarnigal]

The best seven words I've heard all week:

"A Maya port is in the works."

ahhh.

[jschleifer]

Yeha! can't wait to give this a shot! :)

[Array]

wasnt there an old 3dsmax plugin similar to this called MuscleReyes? Was it done by these same people?

[facial]

Cool stuff here. Thank you Leo. :applause:

[Bulldog]

Cant wait to try this out when it comes out for maya.

Great Interview.

[Martijn Wijmer]

Array, you're completely right on this one. Take a look at this image: http://www.reyes-infografica.net/imagen/meta/screen/meta01a.jpg
And it's quit "old" too, I think the first version of metaray (Not muscleray) is about 3/4 years old. I don't know if these guys also contributed on Character Tools, but from the looks of it I would say yes.

[Transform Gizmo]

I think thats pretty cool how fast technology that was only available to big studios not too long ago, has become available to everyone.

[maelstrom]

yummy :drool:

[CGmonkey]

Aboslute character tools are so great.. I saw it in action once at a big local animation studio!

:drool:

[Eudaimic]

Hehe, he certainly didn't hold back on the praise :rolleyes:

Looks really cool though, wouldn't mind giving it a testdrive.

[nimajneb]

Uh, sorry to say but MetaReyes has absolutely nothing to do with ACT, or muscle deformation. Metareyes was a metaballs modeling plugin for MAX. ACT is a skin deformer, an extension to Skin, Physique, & Bones Pro. MetaReyes is basically the same as Clay Studio Pro from Digimation.

[Reality3D]

Metareyes was/is a isosurface modeler(metaballs and metamuscles). These metamuscles allowed dynamics, but they weren't very usable

[DAIMON]

ACT + MAYA = Perfect Animation tools (I hope so)
I hope it comes out soon
:)

[PotatoHead]

maya's anim tools are pretty damn cool already, so what will it be with this plugin? - cant imagine it....:bounce: :beer: :)

[Mahlon]

Originally posted by Magarnigal
The best seven words I've heard all week:

"A Maya port is in the works."

ahhh.

"...we have just about finished the Shave and Haircut port to Max "

Best 12 words I've heard all week!! :airguitar

sweet.

[Virtuoso]

Thankyou once again for yet another great interview.:beer:

A very interesting product,that's for sure. Shave and a haircut also is something I may look into. I would like to see for myself just how it compares to Shag hair.

Again thanks for the news.............:applause: :beer:

[ErickG]

Hi everyone,

Great article. Very informative. Looks like max + ACT is the next hot ticket for high-end animaion.

I friend of mine told me that Disney was amazed at this tool. They had spend umteen million developing the tools they had used in the Dino film and ACT blew these out of the solar system!

We all should thank Dr. Mark for bringing this stellar product to the market so all of us can have a chance to play!

-Erick

[Silver_Angel777]

very cool indeed, makes sense really, if you want to create something to look as reaslistic as possible, you have to basically create it like the real thing itself in the first place, and someone has now made this possible cool !!!!!!!

It's no surprise that Dr. Snoswell is a doctor, because he ultimately knows the importance of what lies underneath the skin, (I take it he is a doctor medically or something to do with anatomy !?) and has seen the potential to branch his experience out into the CGI world......very clever guy.

It would be a cool thing if other experts in fields of science and ngineering could also put forward their research and ideas and help CGI development in other areas too, so that much else in our real world can be created correctly and more effortlessly within our virtual worlds......

I am new to this forum and find it a great resource, and must say it is the best I have seen.

I have worked in the game industry for a few years developing racing games in an artistic capacity, and unfortunately never got to do any proper 3d as the programmers didn't want to innovate and the bosses weren't interested in development, and so milked the company for as much as they could. The game engine became quite stale and the company ended up going downhill as a result.
I did texture work and front end stuff, some modelling and loads of level design, but the company wasn't run properly and went to
ruin, and many of our artist's best efforts became a pointless struggle and remained in the can.

I am so glad to see people out there that are ready to fund and research and develope despite all the risks, rather than just think about 'the money', and now that I am struggling to get back into design and learn all the stuff I need to know to get back into things, I am just so glad to see how things are moving ahead so well in the CGI industry. I have a smile on my face despite having been very disheartened about the bad experiences I had in the company I had worked for, and I would like to stress that work experience is a priceless thing in today's media related industries for everyone to get ahead, but I must also stress how getting your first break with a company which ends up messing you up and is reluctant to develope things properly, is almost like a curse !

I have been getting back into my music and acting, but everything is a struggle in such fields, and I still love design, and want to get back into it properly......even of getting back into the industry in an employed capacity will be tough !
I have some experience with 3ds Max, but after so many different views expressed by all on many forums, I am not sure whether to stick to Max or to get involved with another 3d package.

I find that most either swear by Max or Maya, but surely the best work I have seen produced by both packages seesm to be amazing. I cannot judge as I have never used Maya, and haven't used Max much either, but surely it is the artist and his imagination and work, and not the package at the end of the day !??

Another thing, is it really so tough to get back into the computer arts related industry , even if your work is truly worthy ?
Any advice anyone.....

sorry if i went on abit or bored your socks off.......but hey, cheers for reading this guys and girls !

Byeeee.........

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