Eon (3D Scene) Entry: James Kaufeldt

[JamesMK]

Well then!

I'm quite looking forward to get started here. Since I've fortunately already read the book several times, I already know what to focus on:

The Thistledown Library - specifically the transition from old style to "futuristic knowledge distribution system". Now I can't quite recall if these bits were in separate buildings or physically connected (or, indeed, if they were in fact in Alexandria rather than Thistledown), but since I'm supposed to pretend I'm supervising the visuals, I simply make the call and decide that they are indeed adjacent huge rooms within the same construction.

The short animation will then fit like a glove - a "reveal shot" panning from the old to the new part.

Good luck to ye all :thumbsup:

[flaeticia]

Hi James !
Happy to see you here :D
Very cool !
Hope you you ll take great pleasure to participate to the challenge !
Good luke !
:)

[ihamid]

hiya JamesMK.
good to see u in this new challenge. hmmm The Thistledown Library sounds cool. as for me i have yet to read the book or some inspirations.
goodluck mate. cheers!:thumbsup:

[JDex]

You are soooo disqualified. :D j/k

Good luck.

[Continuumx]

Nice to see you James! An exciting challenge and a great measure of inspiration!

[Zapan]

Hi James !

So glad to see you in this one !

Have great time and best of luck

cheers ,

-Zapan

[gpepper]

James in here ! UH UH UH UH !

[DaddyMack]

:cry: Your concept is already kikkin my butt... I gotta go get me a copy o this book...

Oh, and yoinks it's great to see you here again mate;)

[JamesMK]

Cheers, fellow challengers and challengerettes :thumbsup:

Upon closer examination, it turns out my memory of the libraries had somehow merged two separate buildings (in two different chambers of the stone even) into one. And that might be a bit too far off base, so I'm going to focus on the old library, in Alexandria. Given it's history, the fact that it's still somewhat more modern than our contemporary style, and that it has been abandoned for several hundred years when the book's protagonists visit it, it should be a sufficiently cool setting to design - and there's certainly nothing to stop me from stretching the canonical subject matter as far as I need anyway. The book does not describe the interior in great detail, so I should be able to do whatever it takes to make it shine (as much as 500 years of hyper-geometric dust allows of course).

Concept sketches will appear in a few days. Have to think this through properly before I start doodling anything.

[tilite]

All the best mate... will be watching :thumbsup:

[irananimator]

nice to see you in the new challenge.good luck
cheers!:bounce::bounce:

[Gunilla]

Just stopping by to wish you luck and all that... already stunned us with your clever cracking of the clues... this must be right up your alley!

Hepp! :)

[ChewyPixels]

I'm truly impressed at your detective work. Good guess! Now, with all that knowledge regarding the book under your belt...don't disappoint. How's that for pressure? :D

[DimitrisLiatsos]

Hahaaaaaaaaa ...now this is going to be nutty! YOINKS ! :bounce:

[jddog]

james I wish you all the best for this contest ! nutty ? what's this means ? :scream:

jd

[makaron]

hej hej James...

and hope that the good luck bunny are with you... :bounce:

[spirogyro]

Hey JamesMK nice to see you entering the challenge once again. It's good to see some vets around!

Good luck

[Cartesius]

Good luck, James, I'm sure you'll pull this one off with flying colours!

/Anders

PS. By the way, you've decided to do the location I was thinking of as well! Maybe there's room for two libraries in this contest :) DS

[BrokenCompass]

Hey James,

Good to see you entering the challenge. Being the 'when is the new challenge smartypants', I am expecting great things from you.

p.s. You didn't tell us it was a big complex book, I have only read about a tenth and already my head hurts.

Best of luck,

Chris

[JamesMK]

Cheers again, random thread visitors :D

@ Anders - Yep, I wouldn't worry too much about the same location popping up from different participants... It's quite inevitable considering the nature of this challenge anyways - just good luck to you!

@ BrokenCompass - Hey, it's not complex - "intriguing" is the word you're looking for, see :thumbsup:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That aside, a preliminary schematic coming up below in a minute or two:

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1159993709_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1159993709_large.jpg)

First doodle, a bit premature, but more stuff will follow later on.

LOCATION: the "old" library in the city of Alexandria, second chamber (IIRC). I'm going to allow myself some minor artistic liberties and combine two slightly different architectures here:

- to the left is the older part of the library (referred to in the novel as "a museum") with lots of books, several storeys stacked on top of each other... currently looking at some aztec/mayan designs for walls, pillars and floor tiles.

- to the right, the slightly newer part with a different interior style, still a lot of books and so forth, but also some sort of computer terminals. Very wide and open, ceiling way up, big panorama windows showing the city outside.

ANIMATION: camera moving along the marked path, gradually revealing the newer parts and Patricia studying a book, in the distance, and Lanier walking past the camera in the opposite direction. Nothing dramatic - a typical establishing shot.

[SweD]

mixing style would be surely efficient with a good modeling, and I don't worry about this :)
Your idea is great and worked, so....
Good luck to you James :thumbsup:

[Continuumx]

Beautiful sketch James! The scope of the scene is well thought out. This looks to be a great work in process!

[TheSoracle]

Just popping in to wish you luck. Idea looks interesting so far.

[rattlesnake]

Hello James, great to see youre back , my best wishes Sir :)

[shakes]

this is going to be great! missed you in the last one James..glad you're back!

[Climax]

Hi James!
Nice to see u in a new one! :thumbsup:

[arturro]

Mr Rabbit, welcome!
cool down with your masterpiece, it's first day:bounce:
best wishes and good luck!

[johantri]

its a bit premature, yes. but despite of its rough sketch, sort of a blue print to me, i think u have plan it quite seriously...hmmm.....i cant wait to see more. :thumbsup:

[scootermaya]

I like the concept sketch Jales ! Good luck :bounce:

[Jonesisme]

are you doing an animation or 3d scene?

[tlggungor]

Hi jason welcome back :)

[madshooter]

Hi James, Man its great to see you in this challenge:).
All the best Dude:thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

Greetings, recent visitors... Nice to see lots of familiar faces from days gone by :D

Anyways, bumped into some domestic issues, so it looks like it will be a few days before I can continue working on this - no problems though.

(Q and) A:

@ Jonesisme - Well, a 3D scene, but since we're required to submit a short animation of it as well, it's definitely a good idea to keep that in mind from day one. It's not something that one should hack together later in an afterthought kind of way - that's asking for trouble. So I'm planning everything as if it was intended for full animation. Personally I think this is by far the best addition to the general CGChallenge rules they've come up with this time around. The very purpose of the 3D medium is animation IMHO, and it used to be a pain trying to settle for that one single angle for a still image in previous challenges - but now we finally have the opportunity to show off various shots and really demonstrate the full scope of the stuff we build. It's just great.

--------------------

Updates postponed until something like the middle of next week.

[mosconariz]

Well, a 3D scene, but since we're required to submit a short animation of it as well, it's definitely a good idea to keep that in mind from day one. It's not something that one should hack together later in an afterthought kind of way - that's asking for trouble. So I'm planning everything as if it was intended for full animation. Personally I think this is by far the best addition to the general CGChallenge rules they've come up with this time around. The very purpose of the 3D medium is animation IMHO, and it used to be a pain trying to settle for that one single angle for a still image in previous challenges - but now we finally have the opportunity to show off various shots and really demonstrate the full scope of the stuff we build. It's just great.

I completely coincide I love the scene idea! -and I hate the book idea-

Good Luck mate! your work is always excelent!

[TheFirstAngel]

glad to have found you too :) *subscribes* best of luck mate and have tonsa fun, looking forward to sum kick ass art. hehe, rock em all ol friend :):beer::buttrock:

[AIR]

If they make the movie in the end,,I think you will be hired for drawing building schematics.
This looks so pro man..
I like the blue color used for the backdrop.Have you noticed,lot of people using blue,,me to,,so peculiar :)

Anyway,,wanna say hi to old challenge mate..

seeya James.

[MVDB]

Hey you! Slow down will ya! You guessed the topic, so you had a head start, heh? :D
Nice sketch. Expect something cool from you..

[agou]

Best luck James ! Glad to see you already know the book - i'm eager to see new fantastic works...

[jddog]

James for me is too early to tell you if is ok or put some rpecise comment, but I really love your idea and knowing your funky and great style I can immagine the wonderful piece of work that you have in mind (well, mostly I try to immagine it). For this first step and proposition I'm very interessted and I think your starting in a good way. Will follow with lot of interest all next steps !

Just for curiosity, did you will use release 10 for this work ?

Julien

[JamesMK]

Um... g'day! *waves to old challenge chums*

(Q and) A:

@ AIRz - Hehe, indeed - surely it's the word "blueprint" itself that causes this particular choice of colour

@ Julien - Yep, definitely R10 all the way here.

----------------------------------------------------

Looks like I might be able to start laying out some splines tomorrow night or something, so with a bit of luck I'll get past the 2D state soonish.... Laters!

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1160397030_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1160397030_large.jpg)

After fiddling around a bit with the initial sketch in 3D, I noticed I had to make a few changes.

Current state shows the basic skeleton (lots still missing) of the library, and I'm using a few ancient (really) tricks to eventually increase the perceived depth, such as shrinking structural segments gradually to make perspective lines converge faster than they should and so forth.

In terms of design, I'll try to stay around the initial idea with some kind of futuristic mesoamerican/aztec influence and some neogothic thrown in for good measure.

Technically speaking, once I start with some actual modeling, I'll try to stick to procedural geometry as far as possible to make it easy to adjust the level of detail when going from animation to high-res still render.

[madshooter]

Great start dude:thumbsup: Rightnow I'm not able to understand exactly the idea, but your pre-visulization images are giving me a rough idea. I like that view from book silo towards Archway, gives a good perpective feeling.:)

[fellah]

ah yes, some really nice lighting can be made with an interior like that and a cityscape outside! i assume those big holes down the corridors will be windows? maybe you can block some parts of them to create some kind of irregularity.
i will not try to say to much this early on. but i am looking forward to see your next move!

[Atwooki]

Little late here on this roller-coaster, but all the best of luck to you James....
Certainly looks like you've got some work cut out for yourself here - am particularly keen to see how you tackle 'the ridiculously large city scape' in the distance ;)

cheers!

Chris

[fellah]

hm, Chris.. you seem quite active in these challenge threads.. does that mean something else than just interest.. maybe........ ? :D

[Atwooki]

Ha! I live in hope, Anders; next time mebbe :D

I've PMM'ed you with the real reason tho' - so as not to corrupt J's thread ;)

Chris

[JamesMK]

madshooter - Yeah, it can be somewhat difficult to grasp at this point. It will hopefully be a bit clearer once I start fleshing things out a bit.

Fellah - That's the general idea, sort of... At any rate, the quality and nature of light is the primary make-or-brake concern here.

Atwooki-woogie - Meh, piece of cake. Distant and ridiculously vast cityscapes are made using the ancient art of chi-ting.

----------------------------------------

'til laters.

[Abaddon]

Looks promising. I like your subtle use of perspective in your shots, I think I remember thinking that when looking at your Spectacular entry.

[Lemog]

I'm late... but it's never late to wish the best to friends...

I've read the first part of the thread... that's already interesting... even if for time reason I don't want to subscribe on too many threads, I can't resist to follow yours... seeya James and don't forget the fun :wavey:

[shakes]

really interesting seeing your pre-viz work James. Cool stuff!

[mv]

you're still the first swedish in the comp, hope you wont let the little fellah take your place!

[Continuumx]

Greetings, recent visitors... Nice to see lots of familiar faces from days gone by :D

Anyways, bumped into some domestic issues, so it looks like it will be a few days before I can continue working on this - no problems though.

(Q and) A:

@ Jonesisme - Well, a 3D scene, but since we're required to submit a short animation of it as well, it's definitely a good idea to keep that in mind from day one. It's not something that one should hack together later in an afterthought kind of way - that's asking for trouble. So I'm planning everything as if it was intended for full animation. Personally I think this is by far the best addition to the general CGChallenge rules they've come up with this time around. The very purpose of the 3D medium is animation IMHO, and it used to be a pain trying to settle for that one single angle for a still image in previous challenges - but now we finally have the opportunity to show off various shots and really demonstrate the full scope of the stuff we build. It's just great.

--------------------

Updates postponed until something like the middle of next week.

I am with you on this one James, I also agree this new area for 3D in the challenges is going to allow us to do enough of an animation segment to augment the image where you are actually building real geometry and not cutting corners to get that flat image.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1160600951_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1160600951_large.jpg)

Still mainly rough previs, but more stuff being added slowly as I move ahead.

I don't really expect anyone to be able to make any sense of these renders - I know I don't, but I found the borderline non-figurative nature of these shots kind of interesting, and fun to play around with, so... In the spirit of step-by-step WIPs

[shakes]

nice work James..love the pallete! the last one is tops!

[gardogg]

I loved your work in the last challenge I participated in (spectacular) and it looks like you are off to a great start once again. Looking forward to seeing more. Good luck!

[Gunilla]

Ohh..OK, now I understand the concept better. That archway is really beautiful, and it's already a good sense of scale. You may continue like that :scream:

[Lemog]

Exactly what I mean when I saw the previous sketch... very you mate :thumbsup: I like that...

[DimitrisLiatsos]

Interesting....there is some abstract futuristic architechtural bubble really showing there...:).
Watching with great interest your thoughts James ...

[GonzaloGolpe]

I like the idea of abstration to show us a future human world.Good luck to you!:scream:

[Intervain]

the abstract tests are looking really good and promising :) especially like the last one!

[taavi]

Hey James, Your abstarct design has definitely strong mojo :)
One of my favourites. Good luck!

[Zapan]

Heya James !

The amazing work continues .... the concept is just great , and the library looks very modern and huge and "hi tech" ... pretty much like I was picturing it while I was reading !!

So I just can't wait for the next !!

cheers ,

-Zapan

[flyingP]

as you know, no time to join myself, but I'm warning you that I will find the time to come and stick my nose in here :twisted: ...... just not on Thursdays it would seem

nah what the hell, sounds like an interesting concept wabbit

[JamesMK]

Evenin', dudes and dudettes.

Oh, the greek and the pig have found my thread... this cannot possibly be a good sign.

Anyways, been fiddling around a bit more - update below

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1160776798_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1160776798_large.jpg)

Have added, and subsequently removed again, lots of stuff. Then I added some other stuff instead, and kept it. Anyhow, I think the archway may have a reasonable amount of various chunks going in different directions now.

Played around with some lights too in order to see how far I could get with just a bunch of square, squeezed spots.

Next task will be to find a decent method to add a couple of millions (literally) of books in the silo, and just generally flesh things out to get from previs to actual production level of detail.

[shakes]

nice light setup james. look forward to seeing all those millions of books! i expect seperate titles on all of them. har

[DaVee]

Nice model, and very clean.

David.

[TheFirstAngel]

looks great, very playful but stylish constructions :) stuff it with books ^^

[jddog]

here we are: very interesting architectural structor, love it. Here you have a lot of potential to reach an excellent space int your library. the small bridge now give the immensity of space sensation :thumbsup:

[flyingP]

great......where are the worms ??

[TheSoracle]

!!! "Rough Geometry test" ALready it is better then my whole project!! :p Wow, great modelling, lighting and texturing so far. Even if it is still rough.

Great work! Keep up awesomeness JamesMK.


-Steven

[MacAndre]

nice architectural visualisation :) looks very promissing in me eyes...:scream:

[JamesMK]

Um, cheers guys...

[No, the worms have not yet arrived. I actually didn't even know I was supposed to have any to be honest.]

Anyway! Concerning the task at hand - how to add an insane number of books to the silo? After thinking about it for a while, I've decided to combine low poly bookshelves with colour and displacement maps. To do that however, I need a reasonable method to generate lots of unique textures that look like lots of books.... Given the total amount of shelves, around 2000-2500, of which several hundred might be visible simultaneously in any given shot, it's important that these maps look believably random - i.e. I don't want any obvious repetition. That in turn means I probably need at least 50 different maps, each one representing 300-400 individual books.

After studying typical library bookshelves in a deeply scientific way (that is, looking at them for a few minutes while saying 'hmmmmm...' and thoughtfully scratching my beard) I wrote down a couple of basic rules for bookshelf population patterns, and started coding a script that would generate endless variations to be rendered out as textures.

So, here's SBCGAL - Stochastic Bookshelf Content Generator for Alexandria Library! :D

After setting various parameters such as book thickness and height intervals and so forth, it's merely a matter of a single click to generate stuff like this, with as many randomly assigned materials one cares to create beforehand:

http://www.kaufeldt3d.com/img/sbcgaloutput.jpg

My next job is to make a load of decent book materials, generate a bunch of these simple shelf sets and start rendering textures.

As a token of infinite kindness, the full script is found below here for ye olde copy/paste operation... It's not perfect by any means, but good enough to do this particular job. Since it's written in COFFEE, it will only run in Cinema4D, and because I wrote it for R10 it's rather unlikely that it will run in any earlier version without modification... but anyway... here it is:


// -------------------------------------------------------------------
// SBCGAL -
// Stochastic Bookshelf Content Generator for Alexandria Library ;) -

// COFFEE script for Cinema4D R10 -
// (c)2006 James Kaufeldt -

// LICENCE: -
// GNU General Public License - http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt -
// -------------------------------------------------------------------



// CONSTANTS - Adjust these values to influence the overall result:

var gap = 3, // inbetween padding, adds space to the right of each book
w_min = 10, // mimimum width (thickness) for the books
w_max = 60, // maximum width
h_min = 200, // minimum height
h_max = 340, // maximum height
b_depth = 200, // constant depth for all books
t_max = 0.4, // maximum angle (in radians, not degrees) for tilted books
t_prob = 0.05, // probability factor for books to be tilted
v_prob = 0.05, // probability factor for empty slots
shelf_width = 2000, // total width of each shelf
shelf_height = 400, // height of each shelf level
shelf_num = 7; // total number of shelfs to fill

// Do not edit code below this line unless you know what you are doing
// -----------------------------------------------------------------------


// PRE-DECLARATIONS:
makeBook( rand, y_baseline, x_left, gap, w_min, w_max, h_min, h_max, b_depth, t_max, t_prob, v_prob, shelf_width );
countMaterials(doc);
addRandomMaterial(rand, doc, op);

// GLOBALS:
var previous_tilt = 0;
var previous_empty = 0;
var booknum = 0;
var parent;

// MAIN:
main( doc, op )
{
// add a null object to hold the books:
CallCommand(5140);
parent = doc->GetActiveObject();
parent->SetName("Books");

// add and initialise random number generator instance:
var rand = new(Random);
rand->Init(time());

var r = 0, y_base = 0, x_left = 0;

// infinite loop - calls makeBook() repeatedly and breaks out when the bookshelf is filled up:
while (true)
{
r = makeBook( rand, y_base, x_left, gap, w_min, w_max, h_min, h_max, b_depth, t_max, t_prob, v_prob, shelf_width );
x_left = r;
if (r == 0)
{
y_base += shelf_height;
if (y_base/shelf_height >= shelf_num) break;
}
}
CallCommand(100004767); // deselects all objects
}

// IMPLEMENTING makeBook():
makeBook( rand, y_baseline, x_left, gap, w_max, w_min, h_max, h_min, b_depth, t_max, t_prob, v_prob, shelf_width )
{
// Calculate random dimensions for the new book:
var xsize = (w_max - w_min) * rand->Get01() + w_min;
var ysize = (h_max - h_min) * rand->Get01() + h_min;
var zsize = b_depth;

// Check if book should be tilted:
var b_angle = 0;
if (rand->Get01()<= t_prob && previous_tilt==false && previous_empty==false)
{
b_angle = t_max * rand->Get01();
previous_tilt=true;
} else {
previous_tilt=false;
}
var tiltoffset = sin(b_angle)*(ysize);

// Return 0 and discard book if there is not enough room on the current shelf:
if ((shelf_width - x_left) <= xsize + tiltoffset)
{
return 0;
}

// Return new x_left and bail out without adding new book if this should be an empty slot:
if (rand->Get01()<= v_prob && previous_tilt==false)
{
previous_empty==true;
return (xsize + x_left + gap + tiltoffset);
} else {
previous_empty==false;
}

// Create the new book:
CallCommand(5159); // adds a cube
var bookob = GetActiveDocument()->GetActiveObject();
bookob#PRIM_CUBE_LEN:VECTOR_X = xsize;
bookob#PRIM_CUBE_LEN:VECTOR_Y = ysize;
bookob#PRIM_CUBE_LEN:VECTOR_Z = zsize;

// Calculate multiplier to direct tilts randomly to the left or right:
var tbias = 0;
if (int(rand->Get11()+0.5)){tbias=1;}else{tbias=-1;} // whoa, obfuscation...

// Translate:
bookob#ID_BASEOBJECT_POSITION:VECTOR_X = x_left + (xsize/2) + tiltoffset/2;
bookob#ID_BASEOBJECT_POSITION:VECTOR_Y = y_baseline + (ysize/2);
bookob#ID_BASEOBJECT_POSITION:VECTOR_Z = 0;
bookob#ID_BASEOBJECT_ROTATION:VECTOR_Z = b_angle * tbias;

// Place cube as child of parent null and give it a name and number:
if(parent) {
bookob->Remove();
bookob->InsertUnder(parent);
var booknumstring = tostring(booknum);
bookob->SetName("book_"+booknumstring);
booknum++;
}

// Apply random material:
addRandomMaterial(rand, GetActiveDocument(), bookob);

// Return the new x_left value to offset next run:
return (xsize + x_left + gap + tiltoffset);
}

// IMPLEMENTING countMaterials(doc):
countMaterials(doc)
{
// Returns the total number of available materials in the document:
var mat = doc->GetFirstMaterial();
var i = 0;
while(mat) {
i++;
mat = mat->GetNext();
}
return i;
}

// IMPLEMENTING addRandomMaterial(...):
addRandomMaterial(rand, doc, op)
{
// Calculate random number between 0 and max.materials:
var random_material = int(rand->Get01() * countMaterials(doc));

// create a texture tag and set it to UVW Mapping:
var ttag = AllocTag(Ttexture);
var tbc = ttag->GetContainer();
tbc->SetData(TEXTURETAG_PROJECTION, 6);
ttag->SetContainer(tbc);

// loop through available materials until random number reached:
var mat = doc->GetFirstMaterial();
var i=0;
while(i < random_material)
{
mat = mat->GetNext();
i++;
}

// apply tag to object, then material to tag:
op->InsertTag(ttag);
ttag->SetMaterial(mat->GetMarker());
}

// ------------------------------------------------------ end ------------------------

[Jonesisme]

That is sure generous of you, now I can steal your project!(JK) I can't wait to see them all in there with the shadows cast upon the shelves.

[Gunilla]

Hmmm... that's pretty impressive! Are you saying you can randomize premade textures on these or can you have a script creating individual textures for the books?
Apologies if that's an illitterate question. :)

[ChewyPixels]

Neat script. :thumbsup:

[shakes]

very impressive james..clever!

[flyingP]

[No, the worms have not yet arrived. I actually didn't even know I was supposed to have any to be honest.]


bookworms, you got books, you need worms :wise:

and stop showing off ........pretty clever though nonetheless....umm......bastard :D

[bearfoot]

really nice concept james but i am missing a sense of scale with it maybe


keep going !

[JamesMK]

G'd'evenin peeps

Quickie answers:

Gunilla - The script picks a random material from a list of preloaded materials and applies it to the currently processed book, so it doesn't actually generate any on its own. But it means I can set up a bunch of textures first, then run the script and have each book randomly textured... if that makes it any clearer (it frankly made me more confused)

Pig - Right. I'll throw some maggots in there later on then :rolleyes:

bearfoot - Agreed. There are no solid depth or scale cues right now, but I'm confident that the size will be more readable once those bits are taken care of

-------------

No pending updates right now - laters!



.

[flyingP]

Pig - Right. I'll throw some maggots in there later on then :rolleyes:


worms not maggots James, you can have breakfast later ;)

[Gunilla]

Yep - much clearer thanks! I did a library scene once and I wished to have something like this then. The repeatedness was hard to overcome.

What's this about worms then? Isn't it supposed to be book-moths?

[jddog]

I think I have to found my bravery and start to study xpresso, coffe, part etc... I find my self lost seeing what you did here for the books... Thanks to share this, excellent results !

jdd

[flyingP]

What's this about worms then? Isn't it supposed to be book-moths?

nope only worms here....... and the odd mashed mosquito

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1161349036_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1161349036_large.jpg)

So I've started preparing to build the final geometry for parts of the book silo.

Based on the stuff thrown in during previsualisation, I'm currently making some wall segments for the silo in question, and since I also want a fully operational transport system for it (to move bookshelves around, and to show that in action in the animated submission) things have quickly become somewhat complicated. As always, I'm just happy about the fact that I don't have to do any actual cutting of stone or metal pipes, or welding... or wiring...

But anyway, the starting point is hopefully illustrated in a clear manner with this image.

The basic workflow so far is mostly about modifying rectangular splines and sweping those along spline arcs with properly calculated radii and start/end angles. The resulting chunks can then easily be instanced around a central point to form full rings around the inner silo walls - and since these segments are fully parametric, I obviously get good UVs for free and it's quite easy to change the profile in various ways if needed.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Anyways - In terms of crawly things, I'll make maggots or nothing at all, dammit.


.

[madshooter]

I like the way you work in details, thats what makes it more convincing. You scene is going in the right direction. Also you are planning to show the transport system in action, that will be cool.:thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1161905621_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1161905621_large.jpg)

EEeep! Been horribly busy with a lot of entirely unrelated crap, but finally got some time to continue on the accumulation of filled bookshelves.

Started out by photographing a lot of book spines from my personal collection (and Eon is there somewhere - good luck finding it :) and I added some more I found Googling. About 100 textures where then randomly applied to a total of 40 different shelf sets generated by the script I posted earlier. Each such set represents displacement and colour for a single filled shelf containing around 300 books (average). These set textures have quite a high resolution to allow for fairly close-up shots.

In addition to the maps mentioned above, I've also baked a few occlusion maps which are used on the shelves themselves (hey, that rhymes) and on the supporting wall segments.

The render here (click image for full-res) shows approximately 1/4th of the smallest silo wall (less than 90 degrees of the full circumference), so there's quite a lot of work left to do filling everything up.

As far as the lighting goes, this does not represent anything close to what I would call 'final', but is rather to be considered as a quick sketch for the intended mood.

[Leotril]

Hi !!!

wow.. i was just passing by .. that looks really nice !

hope some day ill do anything so grand at this.. check my stuff at the mini challenges k lightning challenges with jeremy birn/...

im new at 3d in general been playing with maya and renderman since july 06


lLater Man
Good Luck

[TheFirstAngel]

holy, hope those book are well indexed, hell if you gotta search one that is out of place, this simply is huge :eek:
awesome work mate, this simply rocks! keep it up! :beer::buttrock::wip:

[madshooter]

great work dude looks awesome. lighting eventhough not final but I guess you are almost there:thumbsup:

[CourtneyCasper]

Congrats on such a nice concept and for getting it fleshed out so quickly. Looks great....really shows the massive scale.

[gardogg]

that script business is crazy! I don't see myself ever learning that... I guess it's needed sometimes though. I think the library render looks incredible! Especially the lighting.

[Gunilla]

Oj!! Very impressive and totally crazy of course :)
Could you show us a close up on one of the shelves?

[agou]

wow, impressive work! the script you used shows good results. I'm waiting for new updates now!:bounce:

[daWinky]

Hey James,

I really like your well elaborated concept and the previews of your futuristic architecture, very nice style with a good feeling for the scale:thumbsup: . And I'm impressed to see how tricky you fill your bookshelfs:D ...

Looking out for more now!

Cheers,

-sabrina

[JamesMK]

Good morning, folks

(Q & ) A:

Gunilla - One close-up ordered:

http://www.kaufeldt3d.com/img/42000_closeup.jpg

Now do you want fries with that? :D

Anyway, looks like I'll be able to get some more work done today too - updates might appear tonight or tomorrow. Laters!

[Gunilla]

Thanks! And the impressiveness just multiplied - looks fantastic!

Now do you want fries with that? :D

I settle for some moths, thank you :)

[flyingP]

Thanks! And the impressiveness just multiplied - looks fantastic!



I settle for some moths, thank you :)

with or without ketchup ?

[targus]

Man, you are crazy.. looks cool, great job !!!
Don't forget about time, some models can take too much time if you do them in details, i just hope you'll be able to do everything in time.

Keep on working and good luck.

[CloudSky]

Started out by photographing a lot of book spines from my personal collection (and Eon is there somewhere - good luck finding it

http://webs.ono.com/usr022/pillows/42000_closeup.png

I won!! :grin:

BTW good work.

[shakes]

that is just so cool and clever James! great seeing the closeup. respect!

[volcano]

it is going well. good luck in eon.:)

[JamesMK]

I won!! :grin:
Damn, man - that's really impressive! I couldn't even find it myself until you posted that :D Anyway, the first prize is a stuffed squirrel with some exquisite leaf gold decorations - I'll send it over to you as soon as I find my local post office.

That aside, sort of an update coming up below in a couple of minutes.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1162158253_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1162158253_large.jpg)

Getting the light right has been somewhat frustrating, but a nice way to pass the time when being really tired of duplicating bookshelves...

Anyway, I've settled for a sort of greenish ambient light filtering into the silo, and then lots of local point lights with very narrow falloff scattered around the place.

To make the animation pop properly, I've decided to place small lights on the horizontal bookshelf conveyors - the small things with a yellow casing running along the rails inbetween every second level of shelves - so, when they zoom around there to retrieve shelves to pass on to the vertical conveyor, they'll sort of illuminate various areas as they pass by, sort of like the head and tail lights of a car driving around at night.

On a general note, progress is slow but quite steady... so far.

[Continuumx]

James this new render shot is really wonderful. I like the touch of light and accent. See if you can take some detail from the book on the devices that were used to probe information, like that could be up close in the foreground.

Anyways excellent progress!:thumbsup:

[ChewyPixels]

I really like the lighting you have there. It's coming together real nicely.

Looking forward to more.

[Gunilla]

Well - that has to be the best library lighting I've seen today. Very moody.
- and if you add some motion trails for the colored ones it will look like being in a wasps nest (see? you did some insect thinking after all) :scream:

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1162240843_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1162240843_large.jpg)

Well, all shelf wall segments are in place now, all the way up to the cupola of the silo.

Still a lot of actual shelves missing, but it's a simple yet tedious task.

Lighting coming in from the silo ceiling is in an embryonic state at this point, but as far as I've figured out at this point it seems to work fine with a number of omni lights along the Y axis in the very center of the silo, dropping off in terms of intensity and falloff according to their distance from the top - it appears to give this sort of gradient transition I'm looking for.

Overall lighting levels need to be bumped up a bit though, while retaining the general mood. So, in essence, it needs to be a bit brighter without actually being brightened...

Anyway, I hope to be done with the silo part soon, since I need to get moving on the arched glass hall thingy and of course build Patricia and Lanier ASAP.

[flyingP]

very nice sense of scale there this time round wabbit :thumbsup:

[userBrian]

Wouldn't make a bad 6th chamber either.

[shakes]

wow, the second angle looks amazing James-I really love the lighting.

[fellah]

waaaaa that starts to look amaaazing! love that last shoot.. it's feels like I'm standing there for real, like a little shit.

btw, that football makes it feel very...."sporty" :p

[JamesMK]

Now that 'football' was mentioned, I can see it very clearly - and it has to be changed... Damn those hexagons!

Anyways, doing some further tests, and the scene is getting heavier by the minute, currently counting over 16000 objects.

I have randomly removed a bunch of bookshelves to get rid of any excessive regularity (too much bran flakes) and I'm slowly moving away from the silo into the glass archway. The current plan is to start making preview shots for the animation very soon, and I'll probably render the final sequences separately and then composite the characters in later on, because the scene as a whole is starting to become very sluggish and painful to work with, so I really want to get rid of it as soon as possible.

No updates planned for today though.

[krrrk]

wow, this looks good
I really like that last shot
that 's a giant library you got there
keep up the good work
:thumbsup:

[SweD]

i'm really curious to see you final 4-8second shot ! in my opinion, it will rocks ! such a feeling of vastness !

currently counting over 16000 objects. damn ! lol
i count more of 3 380 000 polys in my scene :D

[targus]

It must be interesting shot i think.
Good job, im looking for your porgress.

Good luck.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1162731058_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1162731058_large.jpg)

A final silo test render before I move on to the other parts.

I don't have a 100% clear idea about what to do with the glass sections yet, so I'll do the aisles leading into the silo first, because I know exactly how I want those to look. They too will be stacked with books of course...

After the aisles, that shouldn't take too much time to put together since I don't have to build any major new assets, I'll finish the archway and make a cityscape to be seen through the glass. The cityscape in question will probably be a simple camera mapped 3D matte since it's just a backdrop that's mainly there to be an environmental hint and provide some added parallax in shot 3 listed below.

As far as animation goes, the current plan is a short sequence made up of four different shots:

1. Camera truck, 2 - 3 seconds, through one of the aisles leading into the main silo. This should work as a nice reveal shot as we go from the cramped dark aisle into the wide and relatively open space that is the silo.

2. Camera on silo floor tracking a bookshelf being moved by a horizontal conveyor to a vertical lift taking it all the way to the top. 4 - 6 seconds.

3. Camera on floor trucking sideways into the glass archway, Lanier briefly walks by, Patricia is seen sitting at a table reading the history book. 3 - 4 seconds. This is the original shot I described in the very first concept sketch I uploaded when the challenge started.

4. Close-up on history book. 1 - 2 seconds.

All in all something like 10 - 15 seconds. The plan might have to be adjusted once I've done the preview renders, depending on the outcome of those.

[Gunilla]

Ahhh, Ohhh, Ahhh ... and so further.
Looks really impressive now and the planned sequence sounds good. I can already hear the sound effects of the swooshing shelves. But what I do miss is some wacky detail... something that is usually found in your pieces, to make it truly Jamesiesque - maybe coming later?

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1162847746_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1162847746_large.jpg)

I was starting to get slightly bored with setting up the interior bits, so I took a break from that and rendered the first of the four shots I want to put into the animation sequence. Picked out four frames from the result to post here...

This was just a basic camera run through the aisle leading into the silo, so setting it up and tweaking it around a bit served well as a boredom antidote :)

The full shot is just a little more than 3 seconds at 25 fps, and we're basically moving through the aisle at a fairly high speed until it opens up into the silo itself.

[taavi]

Holy XXXX!
It looks amazing (alltough i guess that all posts are getting quite boring- just repeating how amazing it looks - but it does, too ;) )

One thing bothers me - usually i'll stand the high places, but looking up to the "shaft" , i feel dizzy already. I wonder who actually IS able to go/climb up and pick a book without fainting and falling down? :)

[Lemog]

I continue to have much pleasure to follow your art and especially your skills... you manage here a very professional project... congrats :thumbsup:

I'm impress... but I already knew how good you are :applause: good continuation James...

[TheFirstAngel]

hugeness, awesomeness, nutsness, wabbitness. fantastic shots, looks like paintings of light.
bad ass stuff mate, love the preview. keep on rocking! :beer::buttrock::arteest:

[flyingP]

OMG ....that's actually good :eek:





:D .

[MacAndre]

nothing more to say then :applause:...

[simovici]

Very nice ligtning and texturing and very nice everyting you put in tat scene. I can't wait to see the final animation.

[DimitrisLiatsos]

OMG ....that's actually good :eek:





:D .

YUP...and it has motion blur on speed run too....:scream:


No..seriously ..that looks very cool...very good light too there....


:bounce:

[flyingP]

YUP...and it has motion blur on speed run too....:scream:



is just an easy way to cover up the cappy bits :wise:



:D .

[JamesMK]

Cheers guys and... um... guyettes. So, I'm totally lacking in the interactivity department in this challenge, am I not? Anyway, I hope to find some time to peek around in a few threads today or tomorrow to see what you're all up to :blush:

Some Q & A:

Gunilla - Indeed, there's no even remotely wacky detail yet! I have a feeling I might add some silly stuff to the animation, but I don't think the scene in itself will have any outbursts of weirdness - I'm surprisingly enough in a 100% serious mode here...

taavi - Luckily enough, there's a transportation system installed that actually finds and moves any shelf you want down to the floor, so there's no need to be climbing around up there other than for the odd repair mission.

Dimi and Pig - Shuddup

Ye Olde other visitors - Thanks for stopping by, guys - Laurent, your avatar needs a shave!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm currently waiting for a backdrop render that's supposed to go with shot 3 in the animation, and it's about 12 hours left right now (155 frames), so rather than just hanging around idly I thought I'd catch up a bit with the modeling milestones which have been a bit lacking. Thus, for the sake of general completeness, there's a very boring update coming up below in a couple of minutes.... You have been warned.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1163542590_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1163542590_large.jpg)

This is most of the geometry that's been used so far. Just think along the lines of lots and lots of instances and you'll get the general idea.

[userBrian]

Gunilla - Indeed, there's no even remotely wacky detail yet! I have a feeling I might add some silly stuff to the animation, but I don't think the scene in itself will have any outbursts of weirdness - I'm surprisingly enough in a 100% serious mode here...




Yikes! I decided no wacky stuff for my trailer entry this time too! I was counting on relying on yours for laughs. I'm still gonna try not to break. I still laugh at that library silo - I imagine
Bugs Bunny at the bottom of his rabbit hole looking up at Elmer Fudd with his shotgun shooting thru the soccer ball! Anyway, we'll see who breaks first. But I do like your seriously cool library and bet the animation will be likewise.

"Come out wabbit!"

[icedeyes]

Very nice work james... and thanks for the tips... your previous challenge's compositing tips helped me out a lot in something i was making...:thumbsup:

[Gunilla]

Gunilla - Indeed, there's no even remotely wacky detail yet! I have a feeling I might add some silly stuff to the animation, but I don't think the scene in itself will have any outbursts of weirdness - I'm surprisingly enough in a 100% serious mode here...


Maybe just a half-eaten sandwich stuck in one of the shelves...? :)
OK - I'll give it a rest now - you're allowed to be 100% serious (just don't let it become a habit) :D

Oh, and your modeling and organisation of the whole thing is very clever, right from the start. This will be splendid.

[JamesMK]

userBrian - OMG! If you don't make any wacky stuff either, I fear the very fabric of time and space might be in serious peril!

icedeyes - That's nice to hear, and I hope to add some more useful info sooner or later... lots of compositing this time around as well, but I don't now if it will be complex or just plain basic stuff

Gunilla - Theoretically, there could be thousands of sandwiches hidden in there already, and you'll never find out :D

----------------------------------------------------

Minor update below in 3... 2... 1...



.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1163599255_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1163599255_large.jpg)

Still waiting for renders to finish - hence more time to model stuff!

Started on Lanier here. Some minor flaws in the edgeflow at this point, nasty 6-pole and a pentagon... to be cleaned out very soon... 'til later.

[ChewyPixels]

Hehe, I like the first stage of the Lanier modeling. I hope he ends up looking less goofy in the end. Might end up being confused for a loon with those wacky eyes. :D

I also like the simple yet effective models you are using for your scene. The scene looks so much more complicated.

Keep it up! :thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1163682563_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1163682563_large.jpg)

Just moving on here. Head geometry almost done aside from inevitable minor tweaks. Will get busy building the rest of him soon.

[JamesMK]

...........aaaaand to provide su'hm addischnul edschumacation - below here's an animated gif showing how to build your own Lanier in just 36 simple steps!

: (approx. 800 kb, might lag a bit on slow lines)

http://www.kaufeldt3d.com/img/lanier_step_by_step.gif


:

[SweD]

Hi James, this one look very clean, you do a very great modeling start ! even if I knew already that ! and this little Gif is always interesting to see how good modeler like you works on.

[flyingP]

hehe now just give him glasses and a cigarette and you have ..........

edit.....and a bit more meat :D

[DimitrisLiatsos]

hehe now just give him glasses and a cigarette and you have ..........

edit.....and a bit more meat :D

I heard that ..u little bastard....:D


@ James...nice work...and i like the progress wips too on head...:bounce:

[flyingP]

I heard that ..u little bastard....:D


who's little ?

[Zapan]

the library is gorgeous .... :cry: :cry:

Lanier is great too , thx for sharing the gif , it's great to see you how you build the mesh !

Can't wait for more ....

cheers ,

-Zapan

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1164118896_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1164118896_large.jpg)

Just making a body for the old Lanier dude here.

Boots and hands to be added soonish, then onwards to rigging...

[JamesMK]

Hola! Thanks for stopping by and so forth...


Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand here's a GIF animation depicting the steps involved (so far) in building the body (roughly 700 kb):

http://www.kaufeldt3d.com/img/lanier_body_steps.gif

[ChewyPixels]

Great to see that Lanier finally has a body. :D

Interesting animated gifs. Should be helpful to some.

Keep on rockin'! :buttrock:

[taavi]

The animations are really inspiring. Thought to try this kind of body modelling apporach aswell :thumbsup:
Character reminds me a bit Hannibal Lecter :buttrock:

[Bergquist]

This project is incredible bro! I'm almost speechless!

Nice preplanning with the camera shot, the follow through is really looking great!

I'm interested to see how you're going to balance the characters into this incredible scene you've created, but I'm sure you'll pull it off... :thumbsup:

that little script for the books on the shelves... ingenius! ...but I don't remember seeing any left over sadwiches in those close up shots :D I think you're lying!

- I've just entered this competition, so hopefully as soon as I come up with some of my own work you'll have a look and let me know what you think. Peace Peace, and I can't wait to see more!

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1164404875_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1164404875_large.jpg)

Made the boots for Lanier (and Patricia will eventually end up wearing the same of course).

Since the weather around here is starting to get really cold, I had to dive into my closet the other day to find my old winter boots, I decided to simply snap some photos of them to use for modeling reference and textures - so this is basically a fairly accurate representation of my own boots.... I did not include the small bits of dry dog poo I found under the soles of the originals though...

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1164405007_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1164405007_large.jpg)

Well, it's hands. Three copies of my left hand to be precise.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1164405135_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1164405135_large.jpg)

Although I could go on tweaking this guy forever, it has to end sooner or later.

So, for the time being, this is the finished Lanier. I have to move on to rigging, setting up a few morphs if needed, followed by unwrapping and texturing (and possibly hair).

I'll build Patricia later on by simply tweaking the crap out of Lanier...

[SweD]

simply great james ! i love the shoes and the global shape is very clean ! :thumbsup:

[Gunilla]

Finally! It's about time we got to see some funky boots up here :thumbsup:
All really nice modeling and thanks for the gifs - it's really helpful to see how you bring it to live.
You're doing a great job here - men jag hade inte väntat nåt annat heller :)

[DaddyMack]

Just lurking and smiling...

Love the topology on his clothes and hands mate and your concepts look huge... Will be most interested to see how far you can take this...

Good luck good sir;)

[flyingP]

I'll build Patricia later on by simply tweaking the crap out of Lanier...

sounds rather painful, hope she gets smaller feet though :D

[JamesMK]

Nope, she'll be a hobbit too




.

[JamesMK]

Just stopping by to say that Lanier has now been fully rigged and unwrapped. Messed around for several days with standard joints and skin deformers, but nothing of it looked even remotely right, so I had to change the approach slightly.

Ended up building a simple mesh of body part proxies inside his clothes, then rigged those bits instead and set up IK and controllers. The pants and jacket are subsequently handled as cloth simulations after I've keyframed the proxy setup. After a few tests and tweaks it finally looked like I wanted it too.

He's currently only wearing his reference texture, and I've not finished the facial rig yet, so there's still quite a lot of work left to do here.

This morning, Lanier had to be humiliated (for purely scientific testing purposes of course :D ) in this audition clip below:

>>> http://www.kaufeldt3d.com/img/lanier_audition.mov <<<

Rather silly overkill in fact, since all he'll ever need to do in the final shot is to simply walk past the camera, and that's it, but I figured that if he can handle an epileptic seizure /slash/ lobotomized zombie dance act, he will certainly be able to walk properly later on.

Again, my apologies for being generally absent - lots of non-challenge work has been building up, and I don't have much time for browsing and posting stuff :blush:

Laters!

[DenialK]

It's Justin Timberlake!

[nakaikoi]

good work with Lanier. He is pretty bundled up. I guess that makes sense since there is no sunlight in the stone. Love the boots, cant wait to see more.

[flyingP]

:D the poor dude is losing poly's

[Intervain]

lol looks like a thriller-zombie dance routine in pajamas *g* I love your library! So cool, can't wait to see it all come together!

[ChewyPixels]

Damn! Haven't been here for maybe a week and already you have him rigged and ready to go. Great progress! My fav is the animation. It's too hilarious! :D Go Lanier...go Lanier...it's your birthday...

[JamesMK]

lol @ everything above :D

Got a minor texturing update coming below....

Aside from that - keep in mind it's only 45 days to go, people! And there will be all sorts of christmas crap messing with the schedule soon, so think about subtracting at least 15 days from that....

If you haven't already got a really solid plan for rendering the final deliverables, it's definitely time to start making that plan.



.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1165004101_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1165004101_large.jpg)

Been painting stuff... Aside from the colour map for Lanier's head, I've also started texturing the clothes - nothing close to final there yet though, but the head is looking more or less like I want it.

[Gunilla]

Haha! I'd love to see him do that dance routine in the final scene - perhaps it could be the musical version of EON? :D

Texturing is coming pretty good too - he remids me a lot of that swedish actor I just don't seem to be able to find the name for now. Kind of emotional figure, a bit weak but sensitive.
Anyways, good job as usual!

[userBrian]

Love the way Lanier does the Potato! Such a stoner! LOL!
I like his pajamas too! No wonder the Boojums hide! I'd SMP!

[ChewyPixels]

Texturing is coming along nicely. Keep it up.

[chandro]

are you going to use a skin shader for that?

[flyingP]

cooooome on...time for an update dude

[icedeyes]

great work james.... I like it very much... the textures look very nice...

[DimitrisLiatsos]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1165004101_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1165004101_large.jpg)

I could swear he is ...creepy smiling...nice....c'mon..update !...the thing i don't post much doesn't mean that i am not looking ...so...bring us something to look...no...not that ...!!!....the update on Eon....... :)

[JamesMK]

Guys.... easy now... just too friggin busy with a couple of freelancing projects, no time to work on this here challenge thingy right now.

Fear not though, I'll probably manage to assemble everything just in time for the deadline... -ish. Most of the lengthy render passes were completed a few weeks ago, so I'm just waiting for a chance to do the final animations and composite the whole darn thing.

And @ Chandro - yeah, there will be a proper skin shader involved. I was just testing the colour map itself there. For the finals I'll do a layered approach with a separate SSS pass and so on, then pull it together in post for optimal tweakability.

Aaaand, for the time being: Merry Christmas everybody, and... er... stuff!

[flyingP]

Guys.... easy now... just too friggin busy with a couple of freelancing projects, no time to work on this here challenge thingy right now.

AKA slacking, pull finger or I'll spam your inbox with UB40 songs :twisted:

[Leotril]

Hey James

I started this whole Eon thingy mostly cause ur thread was so inspiring .. the library is perfect .. im kinda waiting for those city renders of alexandria u did if got them render already why hold back ? :rolleyes:


later

[JamesMK]

Leotril, glad to hear you found this stuff inspiring, and I'm sorry if it seems like I've been holding back, but I really haven't had time to be as active in this challenge as I usually am. So, there's no holding back going on at all really, m'fraid...

However, got a few spare days now around christmas, so I promise to pull some stuff together and post a massive update here very soon - deal?

And pig, if there's even a single note of any sort of UB40 song at all coming from your direction, you'll be a very sorry pig faster than you you can say 'eep!'

[flyingP]

And pig, if there's even a single note of any sort of UB40 song at all coming from your direction, you'll be a very sorry pig faster than you you can say 'eep!'

red red wiiiiin......ee.......p

[DenialK]

Maybe Kingston Town by UB40 (or the Paris Hilton cover version - retitled Stars are Blind) would speed up the process a bit?

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166861608_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166861608_large.jpg)

Well, here are the hands sporting a new colour map.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166861825_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166861825_large.jpg)

...and here's Lanier in his animation suit. Basic joint setup, some IK controlers and a very simple set of bodypart proxies to provide some collision for the jacket and pants mesh.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166861990_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166861990_large.jpg)

Out of the five shots total making up the finished animation, these last two are not yet further along than at this previs stage. Stuff I need to build is Patricia, the desk she'll be sitting behind, and the evil history book of doom.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862175_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862175_large.jpg)

Simple bookshelf for the floor of the glass archway whatchamacallit. Baked AO in diffusion channel, books to be displaced in the same way as the others in the silo.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862333_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862333_large.jpg)

Towards the end of shot 2, the camera looks straight up through the open ceiling of the silo, and it turned out that this shot wanted some birds flying around for added visual niceness.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862455_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862455_large.jpg)

A bunch of rather simple highrise buildings for the exterior view. These will be seen in shot 3 as the camera pans from the silo into the archway, and given the general appearance of the shot, they needn't be too detailed.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862554_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862554_large.jpg)

Just a few random frames in their almost-entirely-finished appearance.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862649_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862649_large.jpg)

Just documenting the process I decided to go for in terms of skin shading.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862780_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862780_large.jpg)

The compositing for the other shots is slightly less involved, but this overview should give you a fairly accurate idea of how everything comes together on a shot-by-shot basis with various passes and layers.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862911_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862911_large.jpg)

And finally, another compositing example - from the end of shot 2 - with the silo ceiling, volumetrics and seagulls and all that.

[flyingP]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862911_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1166862911_large.jpg)

And finally, another compositing example - from the end of shot 2 - with the silo ceiling, volumetrics and seagulls and all that.

seagulls...O_o, wouldn't you like get a lot of bird poo on the books ?

[JamesMK]

seagulls...O_o, wouldn't you like get a lot of bird poo on the books ?
That's true, and I figured some poo would simply add to the general sense of desolation in a good way...

[SweD]

Really interesting work on the composite process James ! :eek:
you're doing a really excellent job man !

[leving]

In the latest render it is somewhat difficult to tell what the ramps or bridges crossing the middle of the silo are. I think they may be a bit too opaque for their own good, as they are kind of getting 'lost' in the rest of the image, and I think they add alot to it. Just thought I'd offer some CnC. Looking good. Merry Christmas!

[Gunilla]

Oh! Someone has been busy I see :)
It all looks really impressive - and a big plus for showing the steps. Always a lot to learn from your thread.
And god jul and all that even if it's a bit late.

[claudiojordao]

Hey James, I love the ambience of your silo.
Are the birds part of the story, or did you just felt like it?
Shouldn't any of those birds be in the low levels of the silo?
Great work my friend... as usual, good luck.

[icedeyes]

Great work james... what i love about your challenge threads the most are the shots breakdown... pure brilliance and help people understand or even learn a little more...:thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

Thanks for stopping by, ladies and gentlemen...

SweD & Gunilla - Cheers!

leving - Good point, I'll see what can be done while recomping those shots

claudio - I don't think there were any birds mentioned in the book, just added them because I felt like it (or technically because my ex-wife thingy saw a few frames while they were rendering and asked if there was going to be any birds in it :D )

icedeyes - I'm really glad you like those bits.

--------------------------------------------------------

Another update coming below in a few minutes...

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1167398584_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1167398584_large.jpg)

Here's the initial state of Patricia after I've applied the stunning GenderBender(TM) technology to the original Lanier mesh. Unfortunately, the GenderBender is currently an entirely manual process involving the same old pushing and pulling of vertices as any other modeling...

The render only has a colour map, no special shading yet, as that will be done while compositing just as I did for Lanier.

Still to do: painting a proper hairline, maybe a minor nose job... and so on.

Seventeen days left - this will be a very close call :scream:

[ChewyPixels]

Seventeen days left - this will be a very close call :scream:

You can do it James! If you don't finish on time, I'm going to have to give you a cyber-beating! :D

[gpepper]

Looks excellent James ! I like to see your technique !

Oh, Happy new year too !

[Gunilla]

Don't even consider on dropping out now! This is going far to well.

And I finally remembered the name of that actor your Lanier looks like - Emil Forselius (http://www.emilforselius.se/upload/large/bild17.jpg)

Good luck for your final steps.

[Leotril]

nice updates James..

ill try working on the head model of Patricia but was a pain i loss so many days and is a complete mess.. Your almost done !!! try to work more on Patricia right now shee looks to much like Lanier after a bad day on the library...
I forgot theyre Stone.. oh my bad just kidding :applause:

later

[JamesMK]

Don't worry - I'm not dropping out, just saying that it will be a very close shave... Hopefully in a couple of days I'll find some time to finish everything up.... stay tuned... :scream:

[HFix]

nice work so far...umm i dont know why but your model of patricia doesnt look very feminine and rather boney in the face..maybe pack some meat in those cheeks? good luck with the final!! :)

-Eon Link-
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?postid=4109615

[JamesMK]

HFix - Good observation. I've puffed up her cheeks a bit, and also gave her a slight nose job while I was at it.

That aside, I've made the last few additional models I needed for the still - update below

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1168255197_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1168255197_large.jpg)

These are presumably the last bits of geometry I have to build this time around.

As far as the databank design goes - just picture a male Cray XMP marrying a female R2D2... this is what their kids would look like.

Current status at T-minus 7 days 12 hours:

- the animation is completed except for the very last 2 second shot, but I hope to finish that within the next few days so that I can finally post the full animation.

- the print-res still has been rendered to no less than 29 different layers, but I have not yet had time to sit down and do the actual compositing, so that'll be a couple of days from now as well.

Looks like I will indeed be able to meet the deadline at any rate, but quite a lot of things will be sort of "first draft" rather than "final revision"...

Laters!

[Squibbit]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1167398584_medium.jpg


dis second one is so cool, u should stick to dat


.

[SweD]

Current status at T-minus 7 days 12 hours:

- the animation is completed except for the very last 2 second shot, but I hope to finish that within the next few days so that I can finally post the full animation.

- the print-res still has been rendered to no less than 29 different layers, but I have not yet had time to sit down and do the actual compositing, so that'll be a couple of days from now as well.


- can't wait the animation upload ! :bounce:

- 29 layers... ! could it be (eventually) possible one day to see a part of your composition workflow ? it could be interesting to see how you manage your render :bowdown:

Your last models are promising for a high detailled piece. :thumbsup:

[icedeyes]

just dropping by to say i cant wait for the final animation... great work on every stage man... i wish you the best of luck on wrapping up the piece for the challenge...

[JamesMK]

Squibbers: Yeah, I just knew you had a thing for really thin-haired chicks

SweD: I'll try to document the compositing as much as possible... there's a first set of clues coming up below here in a couple of minutes

icedeyes: Thanks dude

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1168378820_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1168378820_large.jpg)

These are the layers/passes I'm going to use for the print resolution still image. The original render size is 4000 x 2250 pixels.

Brief descriptions:

01. Exterior backdrop RGB. Rendered with stochastic radiosity in C4D AR.

02. The depth pass for (01).

03. Library interior RGBA. Rendered with 3Delight in order to gracefully handle the sick amount of displacement going on in the bookshelves.

04. Flat color matching (03)

05. HDRI-based ambient light for (03). This pass rendered with C4D AR using Mathias Bober's "Enlighter" shader to produce imagebased ambience with bent normals.

06. Original depth pass from (05).

07. Original depth pass from (03).

08. Alternative depth pass with glass treated as opaque surfaces.

09. Alternative depth pass from (03).

10. Library interior ambient occlusion to be multiplied with (05).

11. Lanier and databanks straight RGBA.

12. Lanier flat skin colour.

13. Lanier skin SSS.

14. Lanier and databanks depth pass.

15. Ambient occlusion for Lanier et al.

......contd. in next post

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1168378958_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1168378958_large.jpg)

.... contd. from previous post...


16. Object buffer for meshed panels on databanks.

17. Object buffer for Lanier and databanks excluding (16)

18. Patricia and desk straight RGBA

19. Flat skin colour for (18)

20. Patricia skin SSS

21. Patricia depth pass

22. Reflection pass for horizontal bookshelf shuttles

23. White lights geometry for shuttles

24. Combined glow and lens effects for shuttles

25. Object buffer for shuttles

26. Glow only for shuttle lights

27. Lens only for shuttle lights

[alvin-cgi]

Amazing works!!:thumbsup:

ENO (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=413368)

[flyingP]

woooot... go wabbit go :D

[SweD]

:surprised :surprised:surprised:surprised :surprised omg...

a big thanks to you James, it's more than i've expected ! it's really impressive to see all your plan cut, i know now why the 29.
So maybe a noob question (surely....but...but...), but why make a special render for the sss and not a lonely render with flat+sss ? what is the benefit ?

Anyway, great thanks for the opening of your workspace :bowdown:

[JamesMK]

alvin-cgi: Well, glad you like it

flyingP: LOL

SweD: No reason in particular except for flexibility when comping it really... If you make a combined layer in which SSS is already multiplied with the flat colour, you can't change the ratio or tweak the individual components afterwards if you for some reason would want that. Not that it's likely it needs to be changed, but having that option without having to rerender anything is a good thing I think.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1168475052_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1168475052_large.jpg)

Well, here's what I'm looking at right now... As of this very moment, I'm not sure about what to tweak further, so I'm giving it a rest for a couple of days now that the deadline has been extended and all.

I plan to use this extra time to show the compositing process in some sort of step-by-step fashion, but it's a lot of work to organize that stuff in a reasonably readable format, so it will probably be a few days until I can start posting those summaries. Not that I'm even remotely any kind of compositing guru, it will just be basic stuff that I found somewhat mysterious myself not too long ago, so hopefully someone might find it interesting.

Laters!

[vmulligan]

I like the look of the library -- particularly the way the books on the shelves hint at stone tablets. Nice work, and good luck to you in this contest.

[chandro]

nice interpretation of the library! are the camera set up are final? btw what do you mean by
"now that the deadline has been extended and all."?

[yoff]

good job, I think maybe the volume of the library would read better if the backgroud were less saturated...or mayby just the cylinder part, since the hallway is in glaring sun light..

[Leotril]

Hi
Nice work on the comp...I think it will be fun to learn a bit about composition ... i did my tests already and all but i dunno wich layer use on top .. the order of things :wise:

about lanier he looks abit unease kinda out of place.. much need therapy he needs after a couple of years up there ull never know :applause: 20 days left :eek:

later

[JamesMK]

vmulligan - glad you like it

chandro - The cam setup is final, and I can admit I'm not entirely convinced by it either, but I doubt I'll do any changes at this point. The deadline is indeed extended -> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?p=4117614#post4117614. Of course, this was not announced until AFTER I had pulled two all-nighters to get things done... :rolleyes:

yoff - I agree. Have tried to find a reasonable level of desaturation in the cylinder part, but it's pretty tricky to avoid it looking entirely grayscale since it is already very low on colour. It might be a contrast issue as well. I'll keep tweaking it around though, so keep an eye out for release candidate 2 this weekend or so...

Leotril - M'yeps, Lanier has a lot on his mind at this point, so he'd have to be somewhat tense and edgy... The comp summaries are in progress btw

[icedeyes]

Hi James... The image looks great except from the neck tilt of Lanier... he kind of looks more than tense... like having a neck cramp or something... The composition works well for me... gives a sence of space and all... Can't wait for the breakdown... It's always nice to see how others work in terms of rendering out elements... I have to optimize my scene too and render out in elements since right now, the scene refuses to render when all elements are put together... Hopefully your breakdown will help...:thumbsup:

[flyingP]

Ok you are going to hate me ...er...more :D
but the intial tests you were doing had a much nicer moodier feel IMO, this lacks the contrast and the overall sharpness is making it look kinda busy for me, I also can't say I am a huge fan of the sepia tones in the background....I know I know I am just a pig :D

[JamesMK]

icedeyes: Maybe he does indeed have some sort of cramps :D Seriously though I can't see any major problems in particular with his neck, but I promise to look closer for anything that might cause it to be perceived as such.... I'll look into it for sure

flyingP: Well, can't say I don't agree... I could probably do something about the sepias, but the other bits might have to remain more or less unchanged unless I render everything again, and I really can't say that sounds very tempting.

[Nomad]

Great idea about your "step by step lessons". That will be certainly interesting to see.


For your still image IMHO it don`t have dynamic... maybe try a more dramatical camera angle?


Anyway great work so far :thumbsup:

[flyingP]

flyingP: Well, can't say I don't agree... I could probably do something about the sepias, but the other bits might have to remain more or less unchanged unless I render everything again, and I really can't say that sounds very tempting.

OH come on! sleep is overrated anyway :D take some more Snus and get it right :wise::D

[DimitrisLiatsos]

Yeah u nut...don't sleep....by the way i like it very much so far :)


boing ! boing ! boing ! boing ! boing !

[flyingP]

by the way i like it very much so far :)


see James, now you REALLY should be worried :D

[JamesMK]

Nomad: A more dramatical camera angle might indeed be... well, more dramatical! So, it's a good idea and all, but I'm pretty sure I will not change it as I don't feel like rendering everything again...

Dimitris: You're scaring me...

flyingP: See above

-----------------------------------------------------------

Release Candidate 2 will appear below in 20 seconds...

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1168618947_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1168618947_large.jpg)

Made some changes:

a) The Pig edit - got rid of the sepia depth cue and replaced that with a more traditional cold blueish

b) The Audio Brother edit (off line) - moved Lanier a bit to the left

c) The Wabbit edits - Gradient local changes to the luminosity of various areas, added a subtle oily layer to Laniers skin (simply ran an additional render with very blurry reflections and the skin colour map used in the bump channel to break it up), and generally upped the magenta on the skin layers to get warmer skin tones.

I'm pretty sure that prior to posting the final image, I'll most likely end up doing an RC3 as well...

[DimitrisLiatsos]

....
Dimitris: You're scaring me...

flyingP: See above

.......


bastards...ok ...ok....I really love the composition..it's so great ...u will win this one! :twisted: :scream: :scream:




:bounce: ...that is what i call ..payback...hehehe

[angel]

Looking great James. I do like it better with the blue tone instead of the sepia.

[AIR]

James, If you aren't capable of creating believable scene for EOn the movie, then I really
dont know who is.

I mean, there is alot of fine art here, but you just go step further.
looking at your image,,I just see the story develop,, and I wanna go on,,wanna see more of architecture and more of eon world done by your hand.

Im just telling things I feel in this given moment.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[spire]

Great architecture and luminosity.

[mmoir]

James,

This is what I imaginged it too look like , great job.:thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

Dimitris - lol.... no comment... :D

SNoWs - M'yeah, blue is probably what you'd expect as far as depth cues go

AIR - wow, well, thanks a lot for your thoughts :thumbsup:

spire - thanks dude

mmoir - I'm happy to hear that. Guess I was mainly using the fact that the book did not describe the library in much detail, so I could fill in the gaps any way I felt like.

As per usual, I just realized a couple of days ago that I was (yet again) subconsciously inspired by Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil' - just look for the huge interrogation chamber where they put Sam Lowry... yep, it's a really big silo with some sort of small rectangular-based pattern going on. It seems that the visuals from this movie, which I saw for the first time at age 17, and countless times over again since then, are permanently engraved into my cortex and aren't planning to go anywhere anytime soon.

That aside, I will upload my final deliverables very soon. I don't particularly like deadlines being changed, so I'll stick to the original date, i.e. today.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1168882837_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/11692/11692_1168882837_large.jpg)

Software: CINEMA 4D, 3Delight, After Effects

OK, so here are my final deliverables...

THE ANIMATION
...has a couple of semi-dodgy shots, but the overall look and feel is pretty much what I wanted to accomplish with this project. Had circumstances been different I would definitely have done a few revisions, but there you go... For those interested in a higher quality version of the animation, point your browser to http://www.kaufeldt3d.com/media/alexandria_mpeg_hi_q_audio.mov for the 13 MB QuickTime edition.

THE FINAL STILL RENDER
As far as the still goes, I made the same mistake as a few other participants and worked at print resolution. I presume this is caused by the fact that we've all had to do this in the past, and it's somewhat easy to jump to the conclusion that it was supposed to be done this time too. Anyway, never hurts to have a 4K version... Since the standard submission format is a bit limited in size, I've uploaded a half-res version, 2000 px wide, for those interested in having a closer look -> http://www.kaufeldt3d.com/media/alexandria_final_2K.jpg

THE STORY
I don't particularly feel like trying to go "creative writing" all over the description of the still, since Mr Bear obviously already handled this a long time ago. But to pin down the still to its proper context, I should perhaps mention that it is supposed to depict the moment when Lanier is leaving Patricia with a bunch of books in the Alexandria Library, and she is just about to find the passage describing The Death, which will happen in just a few weeks in their timeline, although it is already ancient history for the historian who wrote the book in question.

TO THE MODERATORS
As you will notice, the animated clip has an audio track that was not made by me personally. I hope and assume that it doesn't matter, since it's all about the visuals anyway, but if this turns out to be "illegal" in any way according to the rules for the 3D Model category, I'd appreciate it if you let me know, and I will promptly upload a new version without audio.

SPECIAL THANKS
...to CGSociety for once again opening up this can of whoop-ass otherwise known as the CGChallenge. It was a bit slow this time around, but the theme was excellent as always.

...to my brother for composing/performing the score and providing foley for the animation milestone. Even if I end up having to resubmit a silent version, the full audio experience is still available in the clip on my server (see link in first paragraph).

...to those who followed this thread and/or provided valuable input, particularly to the flying piece of pork who yelled at me from time to time (off thread) to fix things, which I in turn subsequently failed to fix... business as usual in other words.

Play Video >> (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/eon/player.php?entry_id=76442)





.

[arturro]

Unbelivable :)
really great animation. But in your final still I feel lack of the outside city,
it's beautiful in the animation...
good luck

[GonzaloGolpe]

A wonderful job, yes sir! good luck with this challenge!:thumbsup:

[SweD]

you're a master James ! :scream:
Even if i have some idea about your final still render, the animation let me on my ass... you've doing an awesome work on it, and i wish you best of luck for the rest to come !

:thumbsup: thumb up for this one ! and i've just one thing to say, to close my paragraph, one of the sentence which was good to remember :

"But simply épuré the noveau petit eclaire and... umm... decapité the general consommé, and you'll be fine!"
-JamesMK

respect James :applause:

[taavi]

Your animation is really outstanding. Respect!
Well composed scenes, excellent timing, camera movement - you are a visual storyteller :)

[Gunilla]

Attans! I knew you are good at stills but that animation is ... ööhh... mmm... for once I'm speechless. I bow before thee and wishes you the best for the judging with this, oh you master of many things.
Sound and music is great too - lucky you to have a sound brother.

Still think it would have been good with that half eaten sandwich though :D

[JamesMK]

Well, I'm glad y'all like it. As you can probably tell, I spent most of my enthusiasm for this project on the animation rather than the still, so the latter was handled mostly in the spirit of "ok, whatever".

Anyway, still looking for the headless soup - still no sandwiches found either - and I'm mindlessly moving ahead to start working on a new personal project as soon as possible.

Again, I feel kind of bad about being so hideously antisocial this time around, but that's just the way things go sometimes. At any rate, I'd like to wish you all good luck and may your software and general computer equipment serve you well these last weeks before the ultimate deadline.

[icedeyes]

Hey James... just dropping by to congratulate you on wrapping up your entry... great work... Good luck with the challenge...

[Lemog]

Congrats James... the animation is really great... I very appreciate the good rythm... and especially the good framing and transition choice... the mood is a bit cold... but very living anyway... so perfect.

Even if I don't have much time to follow your thread as I like during this challenge... I love much your final...

...great respect for you, your skills and you arts...

sincerly

Laurent

[AndreiSzasz]

hey James ! your image is great, and the animation is really cooolll. you did a verry good job on this, you could post it in the trailer forum as well :D . it has a really cool fealing in the undergruond of the Alexandria library.

cheers ! and good luck ! :thumbsup:

[flyingP]

particularly to the flying piece of pork who yelled at me from time to time (off thread) to fix things, which I in turn subsequently failed to fix... business as usual in other words.


no surprises there :)

[taavi]

Hi James,
just wanted to step by and thank for advices You gave me about postproduction issues :)
I think those tips might save may project from being delayed :D
Ps. i am using C4d ver 9. So'ill try your tips soon !!!

Suur Tänu! (big thnx!)
Taavi

[claudiojordao]

Hello James, I just saw your final scene and animation... and both are very well done.
Congratulations and the best of luck.

[DimitrisLiatsos]

Yeah , congrats u Swedish wabbit. Cool finish...:bounce:. ...i 'll wait 'till u pop up in msn for the rest...:twisted::scream:.