So, can EI do displacements?

[AVTPro]

Hey Rueben, I haven’t been doing much Zbrushing this week. Trying to clean up my drives. Thanks for getting back.

No, you don't have to prove it to me. I take your word for it. If I didn't "believe" you, I would just test it for myself. LOL. I would never suggest otherwise.

AUV/GUV is really not an issue for me. I don't plan on using it routinely since UVGroups takes  seams/gaps or mis-renders completely out of the equation. Gaps in manual UV editing are non-existent. I'm simply not having it. That's why I have several succussful texture paints. I'm not saying other methods doesn't work. Remember, I'm the one who says " User error, not program error".

 As I have said many times, I go with what I know works. I subscribe to my own UVs. The small amount of time it takes to do UVs, is worth the success to me. I will be doing more UVGroups renders soon enough. 

This study we have been doing, I believe benefits the community, and I will do more but I never planned to use AUV/GUV in my general workflow. Eventhough, I believe AUV/GUV is workable, and does work. Even if AUVs and GUV were 120% reliable, I would still learn to use manual UVs because my goals are towards current studio workflows and not just the newest cool specialty thing. Manual UVs is basic stuff. Nothing special, but works. I'm glad I know it.


Since you are an Zbrush afficianado like me, I recommend you take a look at Scott Mills DVD just for the sake of it or love of it as I did with AUVs and GUV. (to know all I can about each process). You would see how it is nearly impossible to misfire with manual UVs if you know how to blend them and make them seamless. Just a suggestion. 

[http://web.mac.com/avtpro5/iWeb/Site/Blog/E681C9B2-9632-11DA-A009-0030657CE1C0.html](http://web.mac.com/avtpro5/iWeb/Site/Blog/E681C9B2-9632-11DA-A009-0030657CE1C0.html)

Good Luck and keep up the great work.

[AVTPro]

Hi, AlonzoWell, it requires to know well what is a shift, neutral etc. etc. It’s easy to confuse all this. Let us give you a simple formulas that are true for any operations:

displace_height = greyscale(x, y) * disp_factor
normal_perturb = (greyscale(x + dx, y + dy) - greyscale(x, y)) * bump_factor

where:

• x, y - 2D image (pixels) coordinates

• dx, dy - delta step in pixels (defined by texture’s samples, AA, blur). For simplicity you can think dx = dy = 1

• disp_factor, bump_factor - interface values (Texture Window)

Displacement is applied to vertices only, normals’ recalculation - to each rendered point.

Thanks Igors. That was absolutely not help. LOL.

Do you speak Artisanese instead of Programmar?

[MagicEgger]

Hey fellas,

Cineon files, HDRI, store more levels of whites and blacks…
and we can read in EIAS…
to make a good .hdri displacement, you probably need to mix 3 exposures of maps.
what happens if we use converted .hdri grayscale files to .img
Probably we will have a better displacement render, right?

Tomas

[AVTPro]

Wow! Thanks Tomas. You Rock. Going to have to look into that. I may need it, now that I’m begining to warm up to Zbrush.

[AVTPro]

[left]Finally did some edge loops and quad in Maya.

[/left]

[AVTPro]

I’m going to have to redo these movies but that are a start. AUV does work if you use 2x2 sampling as well. It’s iffy those

http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f190/AVTPro/?action=view&current=2-AVT-GUV.flv

[left]http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f190/AVTPro/?action=view&current=1-AVT-AUV.flv
[/left]

[AVTPro]

New Character

Cupitron.

I used Zbrush to polish it. No mapping yet.

[AVTPro]

I am going to move to the body. Special Thanks to Marissa Ellen Threet for being the cutie cutie baby model. She’s almost 14 years old now. June 18th Happy B-Day Boonie

[MagicEgger]

Hey,

I liked a lot you new model, your daughter, right?

Thankssss

Tomas

[AVTPro]

Hey Tomas! thanks. Yes, my one and only Sunshine!

Except this is suppose to be a boy…but at that age…guess it don’t matter. ahah.

Anyway, shortly I should be ready do to another video tute on ZB in EI. I have sort of lightened up on AUVs.

Also, I want to do an XP script for a multiple blend target in EI. Haven’t touched XP in a very long time. I should be starting soon. First I have to finish modeling the head in Maya, then I figure I should to the morph test from EIM. It’s still good at morphs, but I don’t model in it anymore.

This is just WIP, I’m not fighting wmps. I don’t have the time.

[AVTPro]

Hey guys…

Since I went on my June excursion, it’s been a little slow getting back to things.
Had some progress and good sucesses with my character head.

http://www.ramjac.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=37&pid=409#pid409

[MagicEgger]

Hey AVT…

Maya have a type of morphing which does this directly…
I learned How to this cascade effect in EIAS… but I dont remember now…
You can ask Matt H. we chatted about this… and he did a simple prj to me.
its simple to implement in EIAS.

Thanks

Tomas

[AVTPro]

Hey Tomas

Yes, I did the sample morph of the eye winking in Maya. They call it inbetweener. It’s just a simple button in the Morph Window. This is why I hope to see it added to EI. Yes, I can do it already but I think other EI character animators could use solutions. I wish I had this along time ago.
Seamless eyes is very important to characters. With them, you can choice between cartoony or human.

Thanks Tomas, I will ask Matt, but I hope it’s not a replacement animation. I think it would be great to have a plug that can load in a bunch of Cloth models for Maya and morph them.

[AVTPro]

Just in case you miss the post on the RamJac site.

Sorry for the stretching in ratio.

http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f190/A…inking.flv

http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f190/A…blink1.flv

I am very excited about this. I didn’t like that I could ONLY do toon eyes.
Choice is good.

[FelixCat]

Hi, Alonzo
Nice progress of you qupie… How do you do the blinking of one eye? You did the morph target just for one eye?
BTW. in the second animation, something weird happens behind the ear when blinking…

FelixCat

[AVTPro]

Hi, Alonzo
Nice progress of you qupie… How do you do the blinking of one eye? You did the morph target just for one eye?
BTW. in the second animation, something weird happens behind the ear when blinking…

FelixCat

Thanks Felix,

This is only a test, so I only did one eye to see if it works as planned. So it’s Good To Go (Glory to God)

It’s my first test with a character that has the head and eyelids as one part instead of separate cartoony eyes with deformers like Pupil and Frankie. The research I have been doing was initially inspired by EIM “Man~n~Moon” model but the eyes weren’t big enough to make an impact. I needed to see if a single multiple target slider would work on a super big bulgey eyes like Qp’s. Again, GTG, it works.

Ok, the skinny is it works in Maya. EI Users need a suitable sustainable solution (quoting Malc). In my own words, I believe this to be the last step in making Animator creations on par with modest budget broadcast character animation for commercials. Most character have seamless eyelids. I don’t like any of the backfipping that has to do with seamless eyelids. The solution should be simply. I have even seen eyeballs that recede when they blink inorder to avoid the pupils being sliced off by linear morph deformations. Valiant, but ineffective IMO.

Hopefully soon, we will have a simple button that just say morph tweener in the Morph window but til then I see XP playing a large roll in the solution.

As we speak, there are at least two really generous XP scriptwriter working on Qupie’s Morph Tweener script. If anyone else is interested in developing script to this purpose of sharing a script that will be published in XP…E-me. I can send them the Maya and EI morph target files.

BTW, the little twitch in the ear is because I accidently move a point when modeling the morphs. The model isn’t finished at all. I’m moving on to the body soon. Good luck guys with your MultiMorph scripts.

[AVTPro]

Hey AVT…

Maya have a type of morphing which does this directly…
I learned How to this cascade effect in EIAS… but I dont remember now…
You can ask Matt H. we chatted about this… and he did a simple prj to me.
its simple to implement in EIAS.

Thanks

Tomas

Hey Tomas, I got your files. Yes, we have the same problem and same solutions. Youre info gave me an even clearer idea of what is done and needs to happen.

This option morphs from one target to the other, switching morph anchors
as it goes. For example. If I have an anchor “A”, and targets “B, C, D”,
Morphing would proceed by going from A,B=0 to B=1. Then B becomes
anchor and we morph from B,C=0 to C=1 then C becomes anchor and we
morph from C,D=0 to D=1.

A single slider controls the morphing even though multiple files are involved.

The morph interface must support more than 10 targets.
The morph interface must allow the reordering of targets.

This will allow EI users to animate heads with lids in one piece or non linear morphs with the use of mutliple targets in one slider.
One slider controls a winking or blinking eye without the eyelids cutting through the concave surface of the eye ball. The lids in the EI project should follow the curvelinear surface of the eyeball. One slider that controls several morphs.

Basically 3 or 4 sequential morphs can equal one morph control. This way the morph can fake curvelinear interpolation.

The script should be simple to implement for non XP saavy users. Just paste the name and the name of the tragets,sliders or morph window slider.

I should be able to make more morphs and run the script for the other side of the face.
As long as it works I will be happy

I have included a working Maya file. It uses several morphs to open and close the eyelids, then back to open in one slider. It works fine with the current 3 targets or shape that have been converted to fact files for the EI project.

Duplicate any of the existing head target files to ensure good transition. I added an extra open target in Maya to help keep the form of the face but all must advance in chronological progression.

so you can go head !, 2, 3,2, 1 for open and close. (naming by change in EI but is still sequential)

If you want more form you can add 1,1,2,3,3,2,1 for doubling the open and closing targets. Please “Don’t Model” extra targets.

I don’t know if the script will need any overlap into each target.
This is how mayas morpher blends.

? maybe so delta insignia.

?=Porig - Pshape

or

P=((?aWa)+(?bWb)+(?c*Wc)+Porig

I got the equation for the Maya morpher out of a book, “realist creature creation” yesterday and scratched it down in my sketchpad just in case but I don’t think XP needs it to do the script.

The way morphs work is through adding the morphs and subracting the original and leaving the difference.

What I don’t understand is whether AB, the area between the blending of two morphs is needed when moving from one multimorph target to another (?)

[AVTPro]

http://www.ramjac.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=37&pid=452#pid452

The EI Tweener Tool has been successufully scripted by super scripter Daniel Hartlenert from Germany.

Thank you.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.

More to come.

To God be the Glory.
from whence cometh mine help.

[AVTPro]

AVT Pro’s ReadyRigs©

presents

“BLINK”
The Tweener Tool©2006

Script by Daniel Hartlehnert
Developed by Alonzo Von Threet

RamjacForum

“Praise God from whom all things are possible”

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