This is an archive of CompuServe forum messages from 1985 to 1995, as saved in transcripts by John Foust.
Search Results (572 messages)
Jonas, Well, optimize is working cool. I can't equal what I saw when I built the soldier. The foot goes from 1289 to 1057 vertices. Maybe I'm getting senile (g) The one thing I have noticed is that if you plan to push and pull vertices later, optimize disorganizes the…
Yes, I do have an example. I imported a soldier I built as a dxf in Animation Master. I saved the parts as .3DS meshes. Then I ran optomize. The soldier's foot went from about 1700 vertices to around 2500. So I "Un did" the optomized version and went back…
Hi David, I have to look into the "every 10th frame" method. I'm sure there are ways I could improve things. I do have some example animations. The Tarantula fighting Wasp is on tape, VHS. If you are really interested, I can send you a copy. I was trying to…
Yes, I do have ier. The foot goes from 1289 to 1057 vertices. Maybe I'm getting senile (g) The one thing I have noticed is that if you plan to push and pull vertices later, optimize disorganizes the mesh to an alarming degree. The pretty horizontal rows of the DXF…
James, I'm interested. See my Email message. Thanks, Sanford
Brent, If that review is already being written, I understand. Perhaps because my specialty is animals and their behavior, I could approach motion from a different viewpoint. Just a thought. I would enjoy reviewing it from that viewpoint, if you are up for it. People are animals too, in my…
Hmmmmm… Are by chance building a rack full of Pent. 90 motherboards? Sounds interesting. I considered 486's but they're too slow. If you can cook up a nice integrated that is less $$$$ than 5 individual Pentiums, I would appreciate it if you drop me some info by E-mail. Thanks,…
Hi Michele, I have got some animals, a dalmation that I built. I also have a lizzard. I am putting together a CD ROM with 100 animals. It should be available after Christmas. Want a cockroach? I've got some wierdos. Good luck in your work. These meshes are not skinable,…
I am looking forward to mashing, smashing, bouncing, slamming all kinds of stuff! Got anybody to write a review for 3D Artist? I am already writing an article on instance objects and character substitution in Animation Master. If you read that mag, check out my article in issue 16 on…
Hello, Brent, That is good news. Does that mean that you will be one of the special few who will keep upgrading their IPAS programs? What about horizontal impact and rebound, like two cars running into each other. Is this motion covered and controllable? Also, can a motion be calculated…
I can't recall on the flic, but I did use Custom pallete on the 600 Targas that I rendered. I just rendered one frame from the middle, and used that as the reference GIF frame. Worked fine. The flic problem seems to come and go but it is less troublesome…
I agree that Phar Lap should be fixed or abandoned. Is it really the only game in town? This limitation on scene size is the one thing that really upsets me about 3D Studio. I just finished a render of a spider and wasp fighting. I tried to make a…
I have displace IPAS. So far it doesn't read the greyscale levels as well as Terrainman, but I'm still playing with it. I have tried a number of programs including GIFDXF, and most do not render a graient truthfully. The results are not a smooth curving surface, and I get…
Most of the people I know use Colorado quick-80 (2120) to transfer files. If it has colorado's Tape software, it'll read my tapes. I want to send you a .FLI and some dxf's as well as a project file so you can see the sequential DXF trick work. It'll take…
Patience???? Oh, that…. Well, If I know it's on its way some time, that's a real plus. Hey, I can work with greyscale for now. That will get the job done.
#128149-
scaling DXF's
Message #128187
Great! I will put together a few disks and send them. Can you read a Colorado tape? I am very interested in developing sequences of meshes that can be "hidden" in a scene and brought out to create 3D special effects. Regards, Sanford
Gary, my problem is that I plan to do Much more complicated scenes in the near future. Animal behaviors, insect life, etc. I am trying to devise a way of using Video Post to composite different scenes of characters interacting, but I need to be able to import an image…
Thanks David, But I'm almost certain I heard an evil gremlin laugh when I looked for my message (g) Sanford
I am going to try animated opacity maps of bat shadows against the twilight sky, and then place them on layered transparent walls. There ought to be some way to defeat the Ram Eating Beast!
scaling DXF's
Message #128063
John, I read your message about scaling DXF's as they are imported into 3DS. I tried to use REPly to post a message to you, but I don't think it worked because the original message was not addressed to me. If you get two messages from me besides this one,…
John, I just wrote a reply about sizing sequential DXF's for animated meshes as you import them. I use them for facial expressions and they must all be scaled and fitted to the figure's face. Any change in size ruins the animation. I would use this feature a lot!. Funny…
Hello John, I have been doing lost of DXF -> 3DS translations, and I do have a reason to shrink the dxf file. I am using Terrainman on my Mac to generate sequential DXF animations of facial expressions. I scan the faces from my drawings, then convert them im Photoshop…
Hello Edward, Glad to see you are a 3D Artist reader. Great magazine! I wrote that article in the heat of battle with two stubborn 486's and a balky 3DS R3. I am glad also that you have discovered A.M.'s Sculpture module. True, it doesn't do everything, but together with…
Sounds like a good idea! I am building a scene now with 30 bats using instances. The trouble is that even though the mesh file only has 4600 vertices, the instances seem to take just as long to render as real mesh objects. I think your animated texture map idea…
Glad you liked the article. The Roadrunner is still not animated beyone a few frames. I am waiting for a new Pentium. I have a copy of OS2 but I havn't loaded it yet. I will try it soon. I have a future city file that is much larger than…
A.M. is a good one. Sanford
Animation Master is the Pro version of Playmation. $699 from Hash Inc. in Vancouver, Wa. Sculpture is a module in that program. The $249 playmation version also export DXF's from its Sculpture module which is the same as the one in Animation Master. Call (206) 750-0042. Sales, or call a…
John, I am trying to get the skin wing thing down. It is time consuming in any program. My pet thing is animals so I'm faced with soft objects with flaps, pockets that bulge, floppy ears, all that thin, hard to animate stuff. Try doing a good floppy Basset hound,…
Hello Joe, I am now using the REP command. I didn't know it worked in this forum because when you enter (?), it is not included in the list of commands in the message section. Type ? and you get SEL, DEL, REA, BRO, SCA, COM, UPL, DES, NAM, CHA,…
#Skin methods
Message #127431
Bill, I guess I'm just spoiled. Of course I can go in and move vertices around over time, but gosh, the time goes by. The magnetism I mentioned is present as a command in many programs, notable Prisms on SGI. It is very useful, and can be used with objects…
#Skin methods
Message #127391
Bill, Again your eloquent and much appreciated explanation sheds light. Yes, I did envision Slicing every mesh. In Alias I have used hulls, which are a collection of control vertices. My question is how can you get details of shape such as muscles which flex using the "simpler the better"…
Skin eyelids
Message #127387
John, Don't you love puns? ..or you hate them, but they won't go away. This thread points out the weakness of the tech notes that come with IPAS6. Explaining a morphing jar just doesn't do justice to the power of skin. Bill and you have done much to clarify proceedures…
skin imported mesh
Message #127295
John, Thanks for the tip. I build lots of animals. The plasticity of the Animation Master Sculpture module is very good, and I'm sorry to say I find the Shaper/Lofter process to be a real pain and a time waister, but at least, with your helpful idea, I can get…
Playmation DXF's
Message #127292
Stephen, DXF export is very easy from Playmation or Anim. Master. But, you need to have the latest Revs. Playmation 1.48 or later should have the Export DXF command in the file menu. If not, call Hash Inc. at 206-699-5360 and get it. The real problem with export DXF is…
#skin imported mesh
Message #127225
Thanks for the idea. Can I assume that the "hull" object functions as a template in the shaper, or can I work with it somehow in the Editor and use slice to generate cross sections? I make and import almost all of my ogranic objects from Animation Master, and have…
Match Pers. 3DS R4
Message #127208
Thanks Greg, Will the color image apear in the Keyframer where it will be of greatest help, or only in the Editor? If you match perspective in the editor, then go into the keyframer without a background image you've just lost all visual references except your own wireframe. Can I…
#Match Image in 3DS R4
Message #127146
Gary, I need to bring an image into the Keyframer as a background and animate over it. Is there any provision being made for this function? Most, if not all, cell animation is done using a color image as a background reference for positioning. I'm wondering why the 3DS world…
skined walrus
Message #126994
Looks like I'm going to have to do a walrus, for sure. Sanford
#Importing skin mesh
Message #126833
Gary, Is there a list of any or all of the skinable meshes in the asoft libraries? Could an (S) for skinable be appended to the "good" files by the sysop? Perhaps someone like Greg Pyros, who has kindly made a list of all IPAS's (including his own) could compile…
#The great skin game
Message #126829
It is a good idea, especially since I would like to sell them a few meshes. Perhaps they would like an alien bandersnatch, or the "Mother of all Rulers" Sadam Hussein. Wouldn't Hillary Clinton be a popular model if you could make her in the lofter? Well, anyway, maybe they…
#skin imported meshes
Message #126732
I would like to import a mesh into 3DS that was not built in the lofter. Then I want to skin it. But, of course that won't work. Now. Suppose you could re-number the vertices in the imported object. Would the Skin IPAS recognize that, then, as a valid object…
#move path keyframer
Message #126155
Jack, Thanks for the Alt-Path/Move tip. I have read every word in the manual, but I missed that! Glad you are watching, Thanks, Sanford
Adjusting imported paths
Message #126153
My compliments on a great concept! Buuilding paths for all the parts of a figure and importing them, then modifying and tuning with Tempo! Great! I'm starting tonight. I'm sure that after a few animations, you will be able to recognize and design the proper path for a swinging hand…
#Inside 3DS path
Message #125956
Hello Steven, Thanks, I move the spiral tunnel, and I will re-do the scene. Inside 3DS is a great help. Phillip Miller contacted me as well. This forum is tops! I did run the keyframer after assigning the path to the spiral and it took off following the path. I…
Tunnel camera path
Message #125954
Thanks for the quick answer. I like the chapter and I will put the info to good use. Yes, I did move the spiral after I imported in to the Editor. I will do it again, and build my scene to aligh with the spiral entrance. Thanks, Sanford
Get camera path-lofter
Message #125752
I have been trying out different techniques from Inside 3D Studio and I have been stumped by importing a camera path from the lofter. I made a spiral tunnel…4 turns with banking set to off…the tunnel looks great, and the path looks great, but in the Keyframer, it screws up.…
#skin branch example
Message #124458
Jonas, I have been looking into the Skin Ipas and wanted to look at the Branch examples, but I can't locate them in the Ipas or the 3DS libraries. Are they under Branch.zip or not? Thank for your help, Sanford
#Esoteric Gardens
Message #124194
Gary and Rolf, Lots of parameters to figure out. What fun! Yes, it does look quite esoteric, and hopefully the results of this exploration will be fruitfull. Thanks for your quick response. Does this set of parameters plug into or substitute into the data listed in the .LS file when…
#Algorithmic Beauty
Message #124031
Gary, I am searching for a copy of the book. I hope to find it this weekend. Is there some really super bookstore that you go to? I will try OP Amp books in L.A. tomorrow. Algorythmic beauty…. I can't wait, but do I need a degree in esoterica to…
#more silicon structures
Message #123856
Gary, Thanks for getting into the Silicon Structures thing. I would love to see a souped up Sil. Gardens or a separate disk that has lots of structures-space filling geometries-whatever. I am into the labrinth/matrix spacial structure exploration using instances in the keyframer and it would greatly enhance the look…
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